April gave us one of those wonderful weeks of sun that lulls you into thinking that the gray and rain is done, so it was a brilliant week, yet my weather apps are telling me that there is still some clouds coming in. For those not familiar with our weather here, it does not rain…
Tag: USK
This week in The Pearl – October 24, 2025
It has been quite a week, certainly not dull. It started with a full and eclectic Saturday. Saturday morning I joined the Urban Sketchers of Portland at Directors Park in downtown Portland. Contrary to what you might hear on the news, Portland is not burning down. It was a beautiful sunny morning, the bright autumn…
This week in The Pearl – August 22, 2025
This week? Food, Urban Sketching, a birthday, chatting with friends from France – all good. Last Friday after posting our blogs we headed to the Yamhill Valley for lunch and a wine tasting. First stop, Dundee Bistro for lunch. We first went to the Dundee Bistro about 15 years ago, before we knew that Alexis…
TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip – How to travel with pens
When flying with your fountain pen – keep it full and upright. First my credibility, and some blatant bragging. I spent 25 years traveling the world as a seminar speaker. On Alaska Airlines I hold a Million Miler card. Before I stopped flying on United there were years I logged over 200,000 miles a year…
The Pearl, a world away from La Thebauderie
Tuesday we got the fobs, they don’t use keys these days, to our apartment in the Pearl District of Portland, a world and two centuries away from La Thebauderie in Normandie. Tricia’s view today, and her views two years ago. We like the Pearl, it has a bit of a Paris feel. The streets are…