Portland is for Lovers: It was only a matter of time...

It was only a matter of time before the San Jose lovers found themselves, and their blog, relocated. Like the uprooting of our home, possessions, jobs, sanity, etc., the blog hasn't been hasn't been very well updated or organized over the past few weeks. So, here's a short recap.

Adam & I moved back up to Oregon last month in anticipation of greener pastures for the arrival of our sweet baby boy. It was a move we contemplated for some time, and hasn't been met without some risk and doubts. I (the Mrs.) quit a job I loved, and we packed up most of our worldly possessions for a couple of weeks and stayed with some very kind family/friends we know in the bay area who put us up while we waited to move. Multiple trips were made up and down I-5 until we found a place to settle down in. I saw the house in person for the first time upon arriving after our long, final 11 hour drive.

We have moved many times in recent years; some across long distances and and often on shoestring budgets. I have to say though, never has the hard work of moving paid off so much - Adam did a great job of finding just the right place for us and it's been lovely to be back home in Oregon. We now live within short driving distance of our families and a lot of close friends, which is really, really wonderful.

Some of my favorite things about life here so far:

For the first time, we aren't sharing walls with other people and have our own space. And a washer and a dryer! It's pretty life changing after years of paying to do laundry.
Our street is quiet, with the occasional sounds of dogs barking, kids playing, and ice cream trucks going by.
We live within two blocks of a great park and a five-minute drive away from many others.
I can casually get together with family and friends that I used to only see on planned vacations that involved plane rides, long drives and approved days off from work.
I have inherited some beautiful garden plots which have inspired me to cook new things (chives, rhubarb, and rosemary, tomatoes - deelish!)
The air is clean, the water tastes great, the trees are plentiful.
People obey traffic laws and seem to meander along in their cars at about the same speed as you might take an evening stroll.
I can pull my car into the very front of the grocery store, and unload the bags from my driveway without any stairs or gates or long walks from a parking garage.
No sales tax.
And...no pumping your own gas. Just hand over your plastic and ask the kind station attendants to fill-er up. ;)

And some pictures for good measure.