Tam’s Think Tank

arty us

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

This is what happens when you take a picture of yourselves with your phone camera and something goes awry. I ended up liking it though, so I’m posting it. Sometimes, more often than not, mistakes turn out unexpectedly well.

Somehow I missed the fact that I passed by 500th post without mentioning it, or really, without even noticing it.  Seems I’ve been at this so long now it just wasn’t something on my radar.  So, in honor of passing the milestone I will just say… wow.  Who would’ve thought I’d still be at this two years later.  Amazing.   Yeah me.  I’m throwing confetti at myself… ow… damn… got some in my eye.  Bummer.

Waiting For The Train

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

And then it was time to head back to Oregon….

San Jose Station

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

San Jose… We had such a wonderful time with Karen’s family. Thanks so much to them for putting us up, making such a great dinner (three nights in a row), and for being so warm, welcoming and gracious. Every time I spend time with them I love them more. We ate, we talked, we ate, we talked, we went to a movie, we ate, and we talked. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do on Thanksgiving? And Don… thank you so much for the clubs. Really… that’s by far the sweetest, coolest gift I’ve gotten in a long long time. I can’t believe you, one… gave me your clubs, and two… went to all that work to make them work for me. You are a great guy and I totally love them… and you. Thanks.

The Upper Bunk

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

This is it. The upper bunk. No windows, pretty enclosed, with straps on the right to keep you from falling out and off at night. Not bad though… really. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just small.

The Cascades

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

These are the kinds of scenes you can see when you go by train that you can’t see when you go by car.

Whipping By

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

Taking pictures while moving… sometimes makes for a bit of blur.

Factory

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

Compartment

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

Here’s my half of the compartment. You can see Karen’s foot up on the seat. She was sitting on her side.

Stand Back of Yellow Line

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

Every platform at every station has this same yellow line.

Go By Train

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

Wednesday, November 21, we took off on Amtrak and headed South to San Jose to spend Thanksgiving with Karen’s parents and her sister’s family. We had a wonderful time.

The trip started with our boarding the train at Union Station (aren’t all train stations in all towns called Union Station? Seems that way…. hmmmm…. ). We got a little sleeper car, what Amtrak calls a roomette. Two seats (they fold down into a bed), a tiny area for “stuff”, and a pull down bunk bed. It was small, but really pretty comfortable. The great thing is that you have your own little space on the train where you can hang. You can also shut the door to your little compartment and pull the curtains if you really want to be left alone. There are cup holders, a little fold down table between the seats, and two big windows to watch everything whip by. Plus, you get all your meals in the dining car with your fare, and a wine tasting in the parlor car reserved for sleeper car passengers, if you want to attend it. The whole experience was a little adventure, and it was fun. Really fun. And, really relaxing. We would both recommend going by train if you have a little extra time. It takes a bit longer, but it’s cool. Great scenery and relaxed travel.

You’ve spoken, and I’ve heard you.  I had a few requests to change the template I was using for my blog.  I had a dark background, as most of you who read regularly probably were aware.   It seems the dark background was tough for some to read, so… by popular demand, I’ve changed it.  At least, this is what it is today.  I could change again, but if I do I promise I’ll keep the background white.

We spent most of the last weekend finishing up shopping for Christmas gifts for Mary, Martin, Karen’s parents, sister, brother in law, our nephew and niece. I know it’s kind of early, or not if you’re some people, but we have to get things mailed off to the kids before we leave tomorrow for San Jose just to make sure they get everything by Christmas. This mailing to England is tricky, but we’ll get the hang of it.

San Jose… tomorrow we jump on the Amtrak and are taking the train down to see and spend Thanksgiving with Karen’s parents, and her sister and her family. I’m excited. Both by the prospect of taking the train (how fun, we got a mini sleeper car) and of seeing Karen’s family. Plus, I’m ready for some tasty bird as well. Ah Thanksgiving, the day when we are expected to eat too much and then be semi catatonic the rest of the day. Just lovely.

As for the rest of our weekend… the power went out on Sunday afternoon. Good thing we hadn’t started making dinner yet. It was out for a couple of hours. Kinda nice really. We just lit some candles, grabbed a blanket, and sat chatting in our cozy living room. Weston got loads of attention as well, which I’m sure he appreciated.

Now, it’s Tuesday. Last night we wrapped presents. All the stuff we’d purchased over the weekend and then some. It was like a little elf assembly line. You wrap that batch over there and I’ll do these…. worked out pretty well, I must say. Two back aches later and we were done. At least with the first round. Everyone else’s stuff will get purchased and wrapped after we get back from the great Thanksgiving train adventure.

The train adventure… we have downloaded some television shows, we have some movies, we have cameras, we have loads of music, some books, a deck of cards, and a travel game set. I think we’re good to go. All that’s left is to find parking at the station, find our little roomette on the train, and be off. Taking the train… sort of a romantic notion. I like it.

November Drive Home

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

The strange picture taking continues. This one done with my phone camera as I was driving home. The white dot in the center is the crescent moon… not exactly clear in this shot and yet, I like it.

St. Johns Bridge in the Rain

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

Also love this one, which was taken with the phone camera as well. I need to remember to bring the actual camera with me, though this didn’t turn out so bad. It has a great fall Northwest feel. It wasn’t taken this year, it was actually taken two years ago.

truck.jpg

Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl

I’ve recently been trying to add all the pictures from my laptop to flickr. In doing so I’ve run across some cool and some strange photos. This particular one is a favorite of mine… I took it with the camera on my phone while I was driving over Cornelius Pass (those familiar with the Portland are will know what’s often referred to as Corn Pass). There’s something about it… the light, the sky, the way the truck looks against it. I love this one.

I’ve created a few sets at my flickr site, the newest of which is called Quirky. This shot definitely fits. You can find all my photos at flickr by scrolling down my page and clicking on the flickr strip you’ll see there… or you can just click on any one of the photos on my blog and you’ll be whisked there as well.

We watched the film, Evening, last night and about it I just have this to say… if you like excellent acting, watch this movie. It is a veritable powerhouse of women’s acting. Yes, there are some great performances by men in this movie, but women dominate the story and the screen.

Vanessa Redgrave is, as usual, stunning as Ann, a woman who examines moments in her life as she lay dying. Sounds morbid… it’s anything but. I’m always impressed with Vanessa Redgrave’s ability to act without speaking. Her eyes are, simply, luminous. She can do an entire scene, saying nothing, and communicating everything. It’s an art form and she’s a master.

Also in the movie are Claire Danes as the younger Ann, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter who plays the younger Meryl character in the film), Natasha Richardson (Vanessa Redgrave’s daughter who actually plays her daughter in the film), Toni Collette, and Eileen Atkins (the night nurse). It’s a stunning cast.

This isn’t a film for people who love action or suspense, but if you love great acting, excellent writing (the same screenwriter as The Hours), wonderful direction (Lajos Koltai) and gorgeous cinematography, check out Evening. This film takes you on a journey. A journey you will not be disappointed in.