Sunday sunshine

I think all of Portland is celebrating today. A special occasion? Yep, the return of the sun.

In recent days, I think even native Oregonians were getting tired of what seemed to be constant rain. Last Thursday and Friday seemed especially dreary.  Saturday was dry but overcast. So when the warm sunshine finally broke through, it lifted spirits, sent people outdoors and restored a little order to the universe.

Lori and I went up to the roof of our condo and had lunch there while Otto laid down on his side and soaked up the rays. Nice.

It may seem counterintuitive to write about such a pleasant day while I'm here inside at the computer. But it's only for a few minutes. Just long enough to say that...

pozole

-- I'm looking forward to cooking dinner tonight. I'm making pozole -- a Mexican soup made with hominy and chicken (or pork) that goes really well with corn tortillas and beer. I'm using a recipe I found in Esquire offered up by the owner of a cafe in Mount Vernon, Iowa, of all places. (For some reason, neither the article nor the recipe is online.) Anyway, the ingredients include onion, garlic, kale, poblano, jalapeno and chipotle chiles, chicken stock, tomatoes, cremini mushrooms and, on top, chopped cilantro, sliced avacados and crumbled goat cheese.

-- I returned to the scene of the crime of my multitasking faux pas on Saturday. (See my previous post: "Multitasking to a fault") As I walked into the grocery store, my iPhone was already put away and so I shut off my iPod, removed my earbuds and went about my business. Went through the checkout line as if it were pre-1977, the year cell phones* went public.

* According to cellphone.org, cell phones were still a rarity 15 years ago, but now most of the world now communicates by cell phone. "The cellular business was a $3 million market 25 years ago and has grown increasingly to close to a $30 billion per year industry," the website says. (Emphasis added.)

Photograph of sunshine by shaheen
Photograph of pozole by Meutia Chaerani / Indradi Soemardjan http://www.indrani.net