This week in The Pearl – July 11, 2025


Thank you in advance for indulging me a bit of reminiscing. Just a year ago this week we were in the final throws of leaving La Thebauderie in Normandie. I am one of those people who tends to let events pass with little residue, yet if you have followed this blog you know that is…

This Week in The Pearl – June 20, 2025


Today is Summer Solstice. Sunrise this morning was at 0521, where it has been for the last 10 days. Sunset will be at 2103, the latest of the year. That makes the day 15 hours and 42 minutes from sunrise to sunset here in Portland, Oregon. Soon the days will begin to shorten by a…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip – June 17, 2025


“Try not! Do!” Yoda Yesterday, I thought oil painting would be a good idea, but setting up and cleaning seemed like a lot of work. Thankfully Tricia gave me a bit of encouragement and I got my stuff out and started. Once into the motions I enjoyed doing a small painting from our trip to…

This week in The Pearl – June 13, 2025


Last Sunday we got back to our longstanding practice of Le déjeuner dominical (it has been jokingly called le messe du ventre – the mass of the stomach). Tricia and I both cook, I resist using the phrase “cooking duties” as that implies a burdensome task; for us it is a pleasure. The Brits use…

This Week in The Pearl – a bit of café culture


Tricia frequently says, “Wherever you go, there you are.” Jimmy Buffett sang that “you take the weather with you.” Both of these thoughts came to my mind this week as I was sitting outside at Via Delizia, just down the street. Wednesday was a good day – a trip to Oblation Paper & Printing, a…