Battle Ground, Washington
Work takes me to Portland. Friends and fun take me to Battle Ground.
I’ve been away from the family farm for a couple nights on assignment in Portland. Joe and Carol have helpfully offered to let me stay at their five-star in Battle Ground since it cuts my commute time by more than half, and last night I got the first solid 8 hours of sleep I’ve had since, oh, before Jonah was before. I wish Erin could experience the same, but it can’t happen until after we switch to a breast/bottle feeding combination, and that’s a few weeks off. In the meantime, while I’m gone at least we have my parents and several friends dropping by for extended periods so that Erin can sleep soundly while Jonah is looked after. It’s only been 24 hours, but I miss them both already.
Not that I’m having a bad time in Battle Ground. After Monday’s soccer game debacle where the other team and referee didn’t show, Joe, Carol, and I hung out and chatted into the night. Last night, Joe BBQ’d some burgers for an excellent dinner. Then he and I fiddled with a Wacom tablet and Apple’s handwriting recognition technology while Carol was at her book group. I started reading Joe’s copy of The Not So Big House by Susan Susanka, a book on house design which I must say looks terrific. Joe started reading my copy of Mac OS X Unleashed, which I just picked up used at Powell’s Tech Books (always a dangerous place to go with a credit card).
In short, it’s been a fun, relaxing time. A big thank you to Joe and Carol for making it so.