Poo-Poo Platter

Over the weekend I drove down to the Portland area to spend some time with my family for Mother’s Day. I hadn’t actually been back there since Christmas, so I was due for a visit. I normally head down there once or twice every couple of months, but busy schedules prohibited me from making the drive. Insane gas prices didn’t help either, not like the prices this past weekend were all that great either.

Although Mother’s Day was the catalyst for getting everyone together in the same room, it was really all about seeing all the relatives again and catching up from the past few months. Sure, we wish all the moms Happy Mother’s Day, give them flowers and cards, and shower them with love, but I talk to my mom on the phone every couple of weeks, so Mother’s Day was just another excuse for us to go out, have a fancy meal, and socialize.

The fancy meal this year was the Mother’s Day Buffet at the Portland Marriott. I’m generally not a buffet guy, since I try to control how much I eat, but I let my normal eating limit slip a little bit for the special occasion. I kicked things off with a big fat waffle with strawberry compote and whipped cream then moved on to a plate of roasted pork loin, poached salmon, a few breakfast sausage links, and grilled veggies. I didn’t eat nearly enough food to justify the high cost of the meal, but the rest of my relatives more than made up for it.

One of the highlights of the meal was getting to see my little cousin Karissa. She’s always a blast to hang out with. It takes her a moment to warm up to me, but once she’s over her shyness, she’s like a crazy girl who can’t be controlled. Karissa had made a tissue paper butterfly as a Mother’s Day gift for her mom, and she insisted on introducing everyone to the butterfly, whose name was Buttercup.

After the introductions, Karissa had a light lunch and then gorged herself on goodies from the chocolate fountain. She dipped pineapple, strawberries, dried bananas, marshmallows, and, of all things, potato chips. She made a grand ol’ mess of her face with all the chocolate. As you would expect of any child who takes in a lot of chocolate, Karissa was soon in ultra-hyper mode, running around in circles and dragging everyone along with her. It was far too much fun.

The afternoon concluded with a short visit to my cousin Patty’s new condo over in John’s Landing. She managed to score a huge 950-sq-ft 2-bedroom 2-bath condo within a stone’s throw of the Willamette River for under $300,000. I guess it’s good to live in the Portland area, because, compared to Bellevue, it’s dirt cheap. I was entirely too jealous of her for finding such a great place. Of course, since her condo is in such a nice central location, I’m sure the family will be using it as a meeting point more frequently. That I’m not jealous of at all.

The photos from the afternoon are available in my Flickr photostream. Because I was too busy eating and socializing, I didn’t take very many pictures. However, I did manage to capture a handful of nice moments for the virtual family album.