Sara's Blog

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great Christmas…we made it to Portland last week just in time to experience Snowstorm 2008. Those of you used to winter weather are probably not impressed by the ice layer on top of our 6” snowdrifts, but it’s such a rare thing in Portland that the entire city came to a standstill. Bless the TriMet bus drivers—they gamely chained up and got us around town. And thanks to the people who work at Powell’s Books (my favorite bookstore) for keeping the store open…no trip to Portland is complete without a stop at Powell’s, even if it’s like a hike in the Arctic to get there. (Okay, it was two blocks from our hotel.)

In the end, we took the train from Portland to Eugene to get to my parents’ house in time for Christmas Eve. We originally planned to rent a car for the trip but the freeway was closed part of the way and it’s probably not wise for two people who normally ride bikes to drive in snow and ice anyway. Even then, the trains were delayed or sometimes cancelled so we were lucky to get there—even if it was a few hours late. My dad is from Michigan and can’t stand the snow (I think it’s all those childhood memories of having to shovel it) and by the time the stuff finally melted I had to agree with him! I’ve never been so glad to see pavement.

One of my favorite gifts this year is a cookbook my sister made for me—she included some of her favorite (easy) recipes plus fun cooking-themed quotes like “Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?” The whole thing is in a 6”x6” album. I love it! My mom also gave me a cookbook—Jamie Oliver, of whom she says, “He’s so cute but I wish he would comb his hair.” I’ll be cooking a lot in the new year! I’ve been taking some cooking lessons here in Amsterdam and the woman who teaches them also does culinary tours of the city, including the markets and specialty stores—so that will be my treat to myself this winter!

One last note to start off the new year. Webisode viewer Pearl asked about enlarging the Webisode video screen to better see some of the details. There’s a tiny button along the bottom right side of the video screen—it’s shaped like a square with funny little corners, and it’s just to the left of the “T” button. Click on that and the screen will get larger. I just discovered it and while I’m not excited about seeing myself so large, it does make it easier to see folding techniques. Thanks, Pearl!