Lapping It Up Around The Mall

     The weather in Portland has been freezing since I've been here, the temperatures well below normal.  But at my sister Romaine's house,

    ...it's always warm and cozy,

...and bright and cheerful,

....and delightfully arty,

...inside,

...and outside.

Winter,

...and summer.

      So on Monday night after I arrived from Los Angeles and the icy road conditions made going out unadvisable, it was nice to stay home, chow down on spaghetti squash with spinach feta chicken sausage sauce (see yesterday's post) then plop down in the living room, wrap ourselves in comforters, turn on Netflix and watch "White Chicks", 

...a Wayans Brothers' comedy about two black FBI agents posing as white society girls that got abysmal reviews but cracked me up all the same.
      Tuesday morning started off with continued icy conditions, but by afternoon the roads had melted enough for us to venture out for lunch at what I've decided is my favorite spot in Portland:  a popular little Cuban restaurant (that would have been close enough to walk to from Romaine's house had the weather been warmer) called Pambiche, 

...that was so crowded even in the middle of a bad-weather Tuesday afternoon,

...that we were happy to snag the last couple spots at the bar, which was nice, anyway, because we got to watch what was going on in the kitchen.

     The food was over-the-top delicious,  the portions huge, and the presentation beautiful.  I got the $8.75 Arroz Con Pollo - Rice With Chicken:

...and Romaine got the $10 Vaca Frita - Fried Cow:

     After our wonderful - and filling - lunch we were jonesing for a nice long walk.  
     Now, if I were a hearty native Portlander I probably could have handled walking around outside with no problem, as many other locals were doing in spite of the brisk temperatures.

      But, alas, I am no Elsa; the cold always bothered me, anyway.
      But I did come up with the idea of going for a walk...inside the mall.
      So we drove to the closest mall, the Lloyd Center, 

...where we walked up, down, and all around, stopping now and then to watch the skaters in the mall rink. 

     A skating rink at a shopping mall struck me as an awesome - and totally Portland - idea.
     At one point while we were walking around Romaine turned to me and said, "Oh, no, look at us!  We're walking at the mall!  That's what old people do!  
    To which I replied, "Nah, we're not ​old people - just cold people!"  ;)