One year a go today we moved into our apartment in Avignon. Tricia has posted many times about Avignon, here is my post from our first week there – it is hard to believe all that has changed.

It was a good week here in The Pearl and beyond. Though I have been an Urban Sketcher for many years, I have ever actually met up with sketchers at a group event so last Saturday I joined the Portland group near the Baghdad Theater on Hawthorne. A bunch of nice people, I am sure I will do it again.

Timberline Lodge holds a lot of memories for me from years long past – many overnight hiking trips, skiing The Magic Mile with my dad, and cross-country skiing into Trillium lake. And a special memory that involves the US ski team, my dad, and a VCR – Tricia will be posting about that today so be sure to check it out for the whole story.

It was a beautiful hot day. Thankfully there was an Adirondack chair in the shade with a view of the mountain.

I did this painting for the blog Tricia is posting today.

Watching A Place in the Sun always makes us dream of Europe, we love the white washed houses built on the sides of the hills.

This week has been good for food as well, though our lunch at Timberline, long anticipated, was disappointing – you would think I would learn someday. Last Friday I had the perfect dinner. Patagonia brand Spanish white anchovies in roasted garlic – it is just hard to beat the simplicity.

For our Sunday lunch Tricia made one of my favorite appetizers- Parmesan crisps, I don’t think I have ever had anything better, even at top end restaurants. Then I grilled salmon and an artichoke. We do love food.

Since we were disappointed by our Timberline Lodge lunch we decided to go back to a place we had been to many years ago in Portland, Southpark Seafood, voted best seafood in Portland – rightly so. Though it was many years ago, this time I was not let down, in fact the meal was amazing, easily the best fish I have had since returning to the US.

We started with oysters, then Tricia had a grilled shrimp Cesar. I had broiled monkfish, perfect.

Last night we had a video chat with our Japanese daughter, Saori. We are so frequently reminded and grateful for all of the friends we have all over the world, it is so special.

I hope your week is going well, that you are taking time to eat good food, talk with friends, and of course do a sketch.