I Brought Summer With Me

I'm taking credit for the ninety-degree temperatures here in the Portland area. I mean where else did it come from?

In other thoughts from the Pacific Northwest:

• I guess Farmers Markets are overpriced everywhere, not just Reno.  Earlier this week I plucked blackberries from a vine growing wild vs $3 a pint this morning?!  I used to rationalize it that I was subsidizing the farmers directly.  That was when we actually had a disposable income.
• I can get my Winco fix here.  I was always a Raley's gal but once I discovered Winco's bulk section I changed over quickly.  Winco may be Oregon's best export!
• Living in Reno it's rare to meet a fellow blogger.  Here I got to meet Heather from My Everyday Graces.  She's just as wonderful as I'd imagined! 
• Blogging seems to be harder since the days go faster with a teen around.  Otherwise I'd have a post up about Heather already.  And how pretty her hens' eggs are (no offense to the Bombshells). And the Farmers Market.  And one about the house with the purple door.
• I have a map showing bike paths--guess what I'm going to be doing next week?
• I'm capable of waking up at 6 a.m.  It's worth getting up to enjoy the cool mornings as well as beating the rush hour on the school run.
• I had two monrings of admiring Mt. Hood on one stretch of road.  I'm hoping for more if the smoke clears.  Fires are the worst part of summer-turning-to-autumn in the West.
• I'm trying hard to focus on the delicious Gravenstein apples we bought this morning instead of missing the Balloon Races with my walking partners this morning.  The Glow.  Dawn Patrol.  Apple Crisp for dessert and applesauce this week is a pretty fair trade-off.  My family loves those Gravensteins!

That's a positive note to end on.  And the news from San Diego continues to be upbeat and encouraging.   Good news all around!