This week in the Pearl – March 27, 2026


We stayed pretty close to home this week but still a few highlights stand out – especially with food and people. Saturday morning we had a WhatsApp video chat with Shirley and Jim, our friends and former neighbors in Mukilteo, who now live in Paris. Though technology can be a pain, we are thankful for…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday – crispy aubergine


I know it is Monday here in Portland, but it is Tuesday in New Zealand and Australia where some of you folks live. In last Friday’s post I included a photo of a crispy, cheese-filled, aubergine. The Travel Architect, one of my favorite bloggers, asked about the recipe, so here it is. Tramezzino di melanzane,…

This week in The Pearl – March 6, 2026


We had a wonderful weekend. Saturday we celebrated Alexis’ birthday by going for high tea at DOJA Tea Lounge in Tualatin. It is next to Tualitin Lake at The Commons. Tricia had the ‘Vegan’ – the rest of us carnivores had the ‘Citrus Menu’, though there was only a tiny bit of chicken on one…

This week in The Pearl – February 6, 2026


We continue to just enjoy life in The Pearl. What we like about it here are the small similarities it has with Paris. Our streets are like cobblestone, actually basalt stones once used as ballast in sailing ships. The streets are tree lined, parks, and shops and restaurants are easy walks. There is even Powell’s…

This week in The Pearl – December 19, 2025


A good week in The Pearl, quite rainy, but we had nothing like our friends to the north in the Seattle area, nor in areas of Oregon that were hit pretty hard with power outages and flooding. We stayed close to home except to venture out to visit friends and go to a birthday party….