I Want to Trick-or-Treat in Parenthood

Holy smokes, do you watch NBC's sort-of-new show called Parenthood?

Did you see last week's episode where they go trick-or-treating? What kind of neighborhood is that?

Parents are dressed up as well as kids. Did Halloween rules change? It's hard enough coordinating costumes for my kids, since when do I have to dress up too? And what was Max's Mom dressed up as? A cotton ball?

There is creepy smoke hanging in the air to give the neighborhood that eery feel. Every house is professionally decorated to look like a haunted mansion. There are great big blow up pumpkins in every beautifully manicured yard.

I'm contemplating a trip down to Southern California this week-end to try to find this neighborhood. My kids would love it.

I Love PDX

What has changed since we moved to Portland, you ask?

We Don't Sleep Much.
It gets dark here at ... oh ... about 10 pm. It gets light at ... yawn ... about 4:55 am. I'm serious. Not kidding one bit.

Our House is Old.
Our "new" house is 95 years old and our "old" house was seven years old. For more on this, read one of my favorite posts.

We Can Walk to Whole Foods Paycheck.
We live less than one mile from a Whole Foods but more than 20 minutes from a Walmart. We used to live 20 minutes from the Whole Foods but less than a mile from Walmart.

We Don't Have Air.
Our house does not have air conditioning. Where we used to live, we never turned the air off. Here, we have no chance to even turn it on, and no need to.

There are Subtle Weather Differences.
In late June we were still wearing long pants and jackets, which I got from the "winter clothes" bin I dug out of storage. I guess I will go to our "ski clothes" bin for our winter clothes.

We live Close to Downtown Portland.
Which means we live near a lot of hip things. Like a medical marijuana facility, a Japanese grocery store, a Vietnamese take-out restaurant and an acupuncture clinic, all within five blocks of our new house. There was a Chic-Fil-A, an Office Max and a Quizno's within five blocks of our old house.

I Heart Gas Stations.
In Oregon it is against the law to fill up your own gas tank. I used to wait until I was driving on fumes to stop, but now "gassing up" is a big break in my day to sit and chill out for a minute. All I have to do is hand my credit card to the attendant and say, "Fill it up, please".

Hurricanes are Frozen Drinks, Right?
There was a hurricane threatening the Gulf coast and I only heard about it third-hand on the national news (meaning, Parenthood was not interrupted with a "storm tracker" update).

I Participate in Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge by Default.
Talking on cell phones is against the law in Oregon. Good thing, because there's a LOT more traffic in Portland so I need to concentrate.

Recycling is Cool.
On garbage day, all of our neighbors drag out a huge garbage can filled with recyclables, and a teeny-tiny much, much smaller can filled with regular garbage.

I'm Still Wondering if I'm Groovy Enough to Live in Portland?
I attended a women's networking event last night for working mothers, and about a third of the women arrived by bike! Making me instantly question my decision to drive there.

I feel like I'm home, because I am. I love Portland, but of course I miss my friends in Florida and I'm sure I will, eventually, miss the sunshine. We'll talk again in March.