Easy Street

You know that song from Annie?  The one that Miss Hannigan and Rooster crow while scheming their evil plan? Its been playing in my head since we arrived West.  When we got our Portland library cards yesterday, the lady librarian mentioned she also moved here from Brooklyn... 20 years ago.  Her big observation?  Living here is So. Much. Easier.  And so the refrain continues, "move them ever lovin feet, to easy street..."  Ok.  So those are the only lyrics I remember, but the easy street part sure hits (the new) home ;)

To be perfectly honest, it all started just leaving NYC.  It has been unbelievably sweet to watch our little Brooklynite process suburbia and then a smaller urban environment.  In the tiny town of Erie (where we stayed while E and his father drove West), P and I played with dear friends and babysat the sweetest little 8 month old you could get your hands on.  When we went out for a walk, P was absolutely flabbergasted that you could stand in the street.  Safely.  For long minutes.  Its a tiny town on the high plains, a Boulder suburb in the bush, really.  And if a car is coming, you can't miss it. So P pushed his toes into the hot, melty asphalt and called out to BB, "BB!  I'm standing in the street!  Can you believe it?!"  Poor little Brooklynite ;)

But, beyond that, he didn't find the suburbs appealing.  There was a bit of agoraphobia for us both.  Such wide open space that had nothing but row houses.  And our few errands took us on long drives to big box stores that gave us both headaches.  By the end of our week, P lips were cracked open (beyond their usual winter glory) and our skin was a mess from the dry, high desert air.  The large houses and ease of walking out the door, however, was not lost on the child.  Oh, I hoped, please let Portland be the right mix....

He was giddy from the get-go.  Giddy about the size and cleanliness of the airport.  Giddy about the rental car.  Giddy that he could run along the sidewalk, unwatched, to and from the Penske.  Giddy at the yard. The stairs.  The floor upon which he could stomp.  The walls, beside which he could holler.  The super sweet neighbors that popped over - our very first day - and invited him to play in their yard.

And the happiness hasn't let up yet.  Granted, its only been a week and a half :)  But he is in heaven here.  Honestly, so are we :)

The food is phenomenal.  Since we are so close to where things are grown, the flavors are unbelievable.  The freshness is astounding.  And the environmental impact is almost always thought of already, rather than something we have to labor against.  Our wonderful organic grocer is only 5 blocks away and sells local eggs so popping with pasture fed glory that the yolks almost look neon.  Not to mention we somehow keep getting an egg with a double yolk.  Eliciting decrees that "Everything is better in Oregon!" from the kid ;)

Very impressed with our eggs :)

Of course, the yard is such a selling point, I don't even know where to begin.  Its nothing overly sizable.  Just right.  A little grass to roll in, some grape vines to dream about, some space to plant and an area to picnic.  The flush of catmint and irises don't hurt anything, either.  Especially if you are a six year old who has spent the last 4 years dreaming of picking your own bouquets.  There are few things sweeter than being presented with bouquets from moist and muddy little palms...

The yards here, since everything just grows, are so ridiculous it makes me laugh.  You know that one house that would be on the garden tour, the one that has the old lady that spends 800 hours a week in her yard?  Yah, all of the yards here are like that.  I have never seen so many flowers in my entire life.  And since the child has always collected fallen flowers (as his solution to wanting to collect, but not having a place to pick), getting him to go on a walk is cake.  He takes a little satchel and off he goes, collecting fallen blooms till his heart's content.  Where it could be difficult to get him to go out once a day in Brooklyn, it has been easy to do three different jaunts a day here!  He just slides out the door and starts skipping.  Life-changing...

The park down the street... P was sooo happy to try his first teeter totter.

The 15 block schlep to get groceries, uphill, balanced on the back of the scooter, is no more.  The wide aisled, fully stocked with local lovelies New Seasons just 5 blocks away lets you take a wagon home.  Easy street...

They also sell organic heirloom veggies for planting.  The child chose the most logical crop: corn.  Heheh.  He also chose pumpkins, cantaloupe and tomatoes.  And 12 foot tall sunflower seeds.  Apparently, when gardening and six, bigger is better :)

Farmer P, in his raised bed, planting his corn.

As I did laundry (in the full-sized washing machine that does not hook up to my sink and bathtub and block off my toilet) I watched P dance around with two butterflies in the backyard and I had to smile.  And then I realized he was, what, singing? No, that looks like he's calling to someone.  I finished tossing in the load (that could include an entire sheet set all in one load) and went out to listen.  He came running up to me, informing me he had been trying to meet our other neighbors.  Apparently, he had heard someone, in some yard nearby, and called to them "I think I'm your neighbor!"  After a few tries and no reply, he called them a boogerhead or some such beauty and moved on.  Hahahahaha.  He had no idea backyards are thought of as private space.  Not quite like a stoop :)

But that pretty much sums up his feelings about people here.  I mean, the people are friendly.  Not creepy, fake.  Just community building nice.  You try to cross a street, anywhere, and the cars just stop for you.  I'm not kidding.  This town is so dedicated to non-car transportation that we even had a bike stop for us on a little side-street today.  Apparently, pedestrians rule here.  So, soooo different than NYC ;)  And this vibe seems to continue everywhere we go.  And in a week and half, the kid has become a social butterfly.  Chatting with everyone.  Telling them our story.  Asking them questions.  Shouting names at them over the fence...

I dont' mean to smack down Brooklyn.  I luuuurv Brooklyn.  This is just a nice change.  Right about the time those four flights combined with this baby belly was grinding me down ;)

And all of this doesn't even touch on the fact that we sit beneath a snow-capped volcano (holy cow!)  Or that we drove a tiny titch, hiked a waterfall that was crazy beautiful, drove another direction and hiked in the mountains (the volcano, actually;) and then the next day hit the beach.  Its all just too lovely.  I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.  On my freakin' head :)  Nobody gets this easy of an easy street!