adventures in snot

i've been sick since thursday night. a head cold... a radio announcer's worst nightmare. the voice was scratchy enough that i called in sick on friday (first time since i moved here, almost 6 months ago). i spent the weekend pretty much holed up, watching the entire season 6 of the sopranos.

i did venture out a couple of times to participate in some meetup groups i'd signed up for. (risking my health for the potential to meet new people.) one group was "portland women meeting for friendship"; about 6 of us met for dinner in a cozy italian restaurant nearby. that went really well. and i also met with a women's "foodie" group at a coffee shop saturday afternoon... these women in particular are fantastic, and i'm looking forward to exploring the portland dining scene with them.

then tonight, feeling near-healthy, i went to a screening of the reel music film festival. amazingly, this festival is celebrating it's 25th anniversary, and i couldn't be more tickled over the array of films. tonight my friend paula and i saw one about anita o'day, a vocalist who makes frequent appearances on divaville. i'm going back on tuesday to see a film about stax records. and then the next will be about tom petty on saturday, and one about tom ze on saturday, too. good stuff!

oh, paula & i had dinner before the show at a fancy shmancy little place called higgins. i've eaten there before, but the food i had this time blew me away... it was a hanger steak served over a *savory* bread pudding. i *love love love* bread pudding (actually had some for dessert at the little italian joint the other night) but have never heard of a savory bread pudding. i was in heaven... it had garlic and herbs and was fluffy and amazing. better than mashed potatoes!