Rainy day Portland

I thought today I would just write to write. I miss writing on my other blog, but have had such writers block since my diagnosis. I feel like words that use to flow freely in a somewhat eloquent way are jumbled up and spit out in an accent that isnt mine. So please bear with me as I try to reclaim my voice.

Today is a classic rainy day in Portland. The kind that makes you want to brew a cup of coffee and curl up next to a fire and read a book. Or in my case, seek the comfy chairs at a coffee shop close to my home and attempt to write! Today is a day where the clouds have no end and no beginning. They expand across the sky as one giant blanket. If you look closely enough you can see them moving in and out of each other; none of them relinquishing a glimpse of the so called blue sky. Its a rain boot wearing kind of day as the low spots in the sidewalk are collecting water and sometimes, it just feels good to walk through a puddle.

Portland is truly my favorite city in this country. I often talk about how much I loved living in New York and how Montana will always be home. Europe was pretty awesome and living in Denver was fun, but Portland (in my opinion) is one of those cities that truly captures every part of oneself. Portland ranks in the top 10 of a lot of lists, some funny and some respectable. I hear a lot of stories about how people came here for a job or school and just never left. And to that, I can relate.

I havent written a list in a long time, so I thought I would comprise a list of some of my favorite things about Portland. Here you go!

1. Its okay (and maybe encouraged) to be a coffee snob. But with that comes some of the best coffee in the country. Half the battle is a good roast. The half is the brewing process which I would like to get better at. It is #80 on my list in fact
2. Food carts and hole in the wall places are everywhere offering some tasty menus for low budget people like me. Anna and I visited one today for lunch and it was delightful
3. Its a bike friendly city. I love biking to work and being able to transverse the city without threat to my life.
4. The bridges, water and green landscape are abundant. I feel most at home when I am near water and even though the Willamette River isnt one to swim in, just hearing the water slap up against the edges is music to my ears on summer nights
5. Because it rains. And because it rains, nearly everything is green. The rain affords lovely contemplative days like today. Because everyone knows rainy days bring moments of nostalgia and deep thoughts tend to outnumber the simple ones

Short list today, but it feels good to write again. I appreciate this rainy day. Perhaps this is just what I needed