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We have a home exchange planned for Europe this Summer, was just debating the 'safety' of this with friends.  We choose to believe that the vast majority of people in the world are good.  Would we trash their home?  Of course not!  So why would I thinkt they would trash ours?  We "met" on Skype and we will be in their home while they are in ours.  Both parties have friends/neighbors nearby who will look in on the guests.  We will Skype with them while we are in each others homes.  We trust that they will treat our home and car just as we will treat theirs.  We could not afford the lodging for our family of 4 otherwise. This allows us to have a kitchen, laundry, really get good sleep, etc. Its perfect!  

posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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I Tivo'ed the speech and haven't watched it all yet but was strongly applauding what I heard the President say about education.  He mentioned that schools and teachers need to have very high expectations for students.  This is something we've been very frustrated with at our kids school. We are very tired of low expectations, doing 'just enough' not pushing kids to reach farther and work harder, teaching to the low middle, etc.  He also mentioned retiring teachers (baby boomers) and bringing on new young energetic teachers and that society needs to honor and respect teaching more. 

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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Not to be a downer but all the talk of bridges lately....we should keep in mind that the bridges have also been sight of some great losses for Portland.  Graham we have not forgotten you. I think about you every time I go over that goddam bridge.

posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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You may be hoping for too much racial harmony and togetherness by sending your presumably white children to a very diverse school.  I grew up as a white minority in Oakland Ca. and went to public school all the way.   In my huge high school it was probably 35% white, 40% black and the rest asian/hispanic.  The groups did not mix. Period.  Did I have tons of exposure to people from every shade of brown in my childhood? Yes, but that was the city, not that my friendships broached racial lines. What I missed was a rigorous education.  AS an adult talking to friends who went to schools elsewhere in the US its clear they had a much better liberal arts education than I.  I have had to do a lot of self education as an adult to become a literate, educated person.

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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Yes Connie I agree - how can large companies justify a $10 payment??  I myself have written that $10 check for our corporation for about 10 years now and felt ridiculous each time.  I am happy to pay $150 instead.  While we do get hit with plenty of taxes as a business in Portland and multnomah County, I feel we get amenities for that tax.  The state needs to also get its piece.  If Nike, Columbia Sportsware, Kaiser, McDonalds, Les Schwab, Macy's etc, are all paying the state only $10 that is criminal.

posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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A comment about the effect of caring for an elder on the young children of the household.  My grandfather came to live with us when I was 12 and lived there for 10 more years untill he died.  My mother did all the caregiving.  Big resentment can come up for the children.  They see their parent being stressed, having all this new caregiving work, losing their parents time and attention. Also - while the conversation may be uncomfortable - you need to have a big conversation BEFORE the elder moves in about expectations, where will the elder spend most of their time, how will dinners go, how each group can have their own private time.  We were a casual, noisy young family with 2 boys and a girl.  Suddenly Grandpa was always there and us kids were expected to be on "grandparent-visiting" best behavior all the time.  No more kid jokes, laughing, goofy around, questionable language.  It suddenly got very formal and lots of tension between my mom, my grandfather and us.  I frankly ended up hating him for many years due to the change he "caused" in our house and my childhood and mostly the stress it put on my Mom.

posted 4 years ago
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I have visited Hood River many times (live in Portland) done the Fruit Loop etc., and am not aware of any visible sign or evidence of the Issei and Nisei's contributions to Hood River.  Is there a Yasui Avenue? Would a visitor to Hood River have any way to learn about the great contributions that that immigrant community made to get the orchard and fruit industry up and running to be world renowned as it is today?  It is very sad to me if their whole presence has been erased.

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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We have gotten into graphic novels, thanks to the library. Multnomah County library (Hollywood branch!) has had a shelf for kids graphic novels and my 8 year old son and I have read through all of them. He has been exposed to things he wouldn't have otherwise, because it was put in graphic form. There are classics in GN like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and others. Currently we are looking at a GN interpretation of Walden. He gets to read Thoureau's words and more importantly - get the spirit of Thoreau's quiet observations of nature, through John Porcellino's great pictures. Its great to be able to expose an 8 year old to those ideas and a GN is a very effective way to do that.
My only caution would be that you need to carefully separate teen GN from kid GN, which the library has done a great job of.

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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We have changed nothing at our house. We have always been thrifty, its in my DNA. My parents were influenced by growing up in the shadow of the Depression and then environmentalism in the 60s. I save and use everything very carefully - I don't know how to live any other way. Its both to be light on the planet and to save money.
I laugh at all the people now marveling at how they are watching their spending for the first time, using the library instead of a bookstore, coupons, 2nd hand kids clothing, comparison shopping, etc. This is new to them but so many of us have always done these things. We have lived on one income for 8 years now and lived quite well with 2 kids and a beautiful neighborhood.
I think the economic shakeout in Portland was necessary. Really how many stores selling candles did we actually need?! The 'belt tightening' will be good for the planet.

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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