In the Pink

Walking down to the local wine shop to get some local pink rosé*, I was struck by the pink landscape around me. All these images are within a 15-minute walk of my house. The last few, including the gorgeous pink tulips, are in my front yard. I love spring!

* First of all, yes, I know saying pink rosé is redundant. I was making a point for emphasis, since my post is about pinkness. Secondly, a note about my rosé quest: Every year my best girlfriend and neighbor, Jacqueline, and I embark on the quest for the perfect rosé of that year. We're looking for the right balance between acidity and minerality — usually somewhere between a typical French rosé and an Oregon Pinot Noir rosé. in previous years, we have loved Noccetto, Chiaretto, and Patton Valley. This year, we haven't found it yet, but we're just getting started. Part of the fun is the search, after all!

If you're interested in helping us further our research, please note your favorite discoveries in the comments section. I'll be sure to post again, later in the summer, when we've found the one.

Cheers! (Not sure how this turned into a wine post, but really, shouldn't be too surprising!)

Drunk with color

Yesterday Anna and I walked up the street to our neighborhood library. I brought my camera to shoot some photos of the local color on the way. Three hours (!!!) later, we completed our 10-block circle, drunk with all the beautiful colors. I don't know if Portland is stunningly, ridiculously beautiful this time of year or if we're all just so starved for color after the long, grey winter that we're easily cheered. Either way, it's all everyone talks of these days — the blue sky, the sun, the flowers popping up everywhere.

Of course, today we're back to grey again, so I'm giving these photos to you as my gift, to fill your days with color until the sunshine beckons again. Sort of like Frederic, one of my favorite childhood stories by Leo Lionni, a graphic designer turned children's book illustrator back in the 1960s.

Enjoy!