Happy Birthday, Leland! Happy Halloween!

I entered a pumpkin carving contest that Zipcar held. Here's one photo of the finished product, treated to the neon effect at Picnik. Mama's on the left of the photo, holding the pumpkin at a tilt for me to take the photo. She's a trooper!


Here's the photo that I submitted to the contest. Although there were no specifics about whether or not the photo had to be unaltered, I decided to err on the side of caution and merely crop my submission. My idea was to have the big pumpkin be the Zipcar and the two little ones be the wheels. So that the entire Jack-o-lantern grin could be seen, I sat the pumpkin on an upside down bowl. On Friday, 10/29, I got an e-mail stating that while I didn't win the big prize, they so liked my pumpkin that I would get $15 driving credit! Hooray!


Leland is 32 today. Happy Birthday, honey! Here he is with his darling girlfriend Kailey. I took this photo on Super Bowl Sunday, 2010. Click on my Sept. 24th post for lots and lots of photos of both sons, mostly from when they were little boys. You'll be glad you looked at them because, like any proud Mama would say, they're mighty cute!

Variations of violet, a secondary color

Starship 2000 spins a violet ring on a cloudy evening at the WaMu Waterfront Village, Rose Festival 2008.


On Saturday, May 8, as I stood waiting for the 15 home, I saw a few vintage vehicles cruising by me. This violet vision same first.


Lavender clouds top the sunrise over NW Everett.

Creative green

Dinosaurs Invade Portland, during the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry's Dinosaurs, China's Ancient Giants. This beauty, the OMSI dinosaur, resulted from the efforts of the Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women which is part of the Portland Public Schools.




The sign beside the dinosaur says this about the students who decorated the dinosaur, "Their creativity, enthusiasm, and shared love of science are inspiring."

Green watching ...

A man in a green T watches another man endeavor to get his lizard where he wants it, evidently on his shoulders.


Downtown Portland, in Pioneer Courthouse Square, a bright Saturday morning. As I waited for the MAX Yellow Line to go get my flu shot, I noticed the lady in green. Later on after I had downloaded the photo, I noticed the young man in the green hoodie watching her as she made her way up the circular ramp.


Downtown Portland, a woman in a green sweater crosses SW Alder, heading north on Broadway. Hopefully the driver of the Green Cab noticed her and the two other pedestrians prior to making what I believe was a left turn in front of them.

Man-made green, chartreuse shines on a Studebaker

1949 Studebaker Starlite Coupe, several views

Neon man-made greens.

I adore this sign on Interstate Avenue.


Love this one, too, which is also on Interstate Avenue.


And one more beaut, also on Interstate Avenue.


Here's one more that I enjoy seeing on SE Hawthorne.


Kelly's Olympian at night, with a Green Cab out front.


Here's the whole store front for Kelly's Olympian. By the way, these two photos were taken in 2007. The Kelly's photo on Sunday's post was just taken on Saturday, October 23, 2010.


Last but not least, my absolute favorite neon sign here in Portland. At some point in the future, it will read Portland, Oregon.

More man-made greens.

How about that bit of green paint on the mannequin's chest? She's all decked out in a window at The Red Light Clothing Exchange on SE Hawthorne. Hoards of people shop here for Halloween finery.


Our bit-o-green gal is on the left in the window. There's a green petticoat between her and the other mannequin--Lady Gaga?


The green placard stands on a table at The Kingston on West Burnside. I took this photo from inside the 15 bus, stopped in the traffic, probably waiting for someone to walk across the street--for some unfathomable-to-me reason, there is a crosswalk with no light at the opposite corner of the building from where these two men are seated. For safety's sake, there is a crosswalk at a traffic signal about 100 feet east of the one without a signal.


The green Apartment Finder box stands on the corner of SW 14th and SW Morrison, outside The Tiffany Center, which is Portland's premier historic event center, according to its Web site. Weddings happen at the Tiffany Center. Must be why this shop in the corner of the building.

Man-made instances of the secondary color, green.

The drums on stage with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Jimmy Mak's, a fine jazz club within walking distance of where I live--how fortunate.


Handlebars and the frame of this bicycle, man-made greens, as well as the cloth in the baby seat. By the way, I actually saw a lady standing near this bicycle with a baby strapped to her chest. I have to tell you that, while I am in favor of bicycling, I just can't get used to folks riding on busy thoroughfares, especially with a baby on board. It strikes me as dangerous, asking for trouble, irresponsible. To give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she rode up to the Hawthorne corner on a side street. But, to tell you the truth, those particular side streets are narrow, often with vehicles parked on both side, and busy. But, I digress. Back to green, known for its calming impact.


The background of the signs at Kelly's, as well as the neon in the signs.


The trash can and these bike racks at Powell's Books, on another extremely busy thoroughfare, West Burnside. Hopefully these riders rode on side streets, too, but again to tell you the truth I've been in autos and buses going slowly along behind bicyclists riding along in the traffic, on the two-laned street which is often bordered with park vehicles.


The rolling waves in this fabulous mural with a terrific message: Practicing nonviolence is a way of life.


The green paint on the Pinecone. I wonder if the building is apartments or condos? I hope it's still apartments because surely that's what it was built to be.


1929 Ford Roadster, seen at the Cruise In at The Bomber.



Fireworks from July 4, 2010, as seen from the Willamette River, downtown Portland, Oregon.


A truck parked across the street from the Cruise In at The Bomber.

Seen from the MAX Yellow Line, Portland's Union Station

Info about Union Station from Wikipedia:

Union Station is a train station near the west shore of the Willamette River in the Old Town Chinatown section of Portland, Oregon, United States.

The initial design for the station was created in 1882 by McKim, Mead, and White. Had the original plan been built, the station would have been the largest train station in the world. A smaller plan was introduced by architects Van Brunt & Howe, and accepted in 1885. Construction of the station began in 1890. It was built by Northern Pacific Terminal Company at a cost of $300,000, and opened on February 14, 1896. The signature piece of the structure is the 150 ft. tall Romanesque clock tower. The "Go By Train" neon sign was added to it after World War II.

The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Besides serving as an Amtrak station, the building contains offices on the upper floors, as well as Wilf's Restaurant and Piano Bar on the ground level. It also has Amtrak's only Metropolitan Lounge (reserved for first-class passengers) on the West Coast.

Southeast of the station, the tracks make a sharp turn and cross the river on the historic Steel Bridge. To the northwest, they follow the river, passing through rail yards before crossing the river again on the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1.
Union Station serves as a transportation hub for Portland. Portland's Greyhound bus station is the next building to the south, having moved to a new building there (from a location in the center of downtown) in 1985.

Union Station connects to MAX Green and Yellow line trains at nearby Union Station/Northwest 6th & Hoyt Street and Union Station/Northwest 5th & Glisan Street stations, as well as local bus service provided by TriMet. Located at the northern end of TriMet's transit mall, the light rail stops are in the Free Rail Zone, which means that trips into downtown are free. In addition, it is only a short walk to the Portland Streetcar, which provides service to the Pearl District or south through the west end of downtown to Portland State University and the South Waterfront.

In 1987, ownership of the station and surrounding land was transferred to the Portland Development Commission as part of the Downtown/Waterfront urban renewal district.[4] Shortly afterwards, Union Station underwent a renovation. It was rededicated in 1996.

The PDC earns $200,000 a year from nearly 30 tenants. Amtrak, the main tenant, has a lease through 2010 with a renewal option through 2015.

In 2004, the roadway in front of the station was reconfigured, providing a new connection to the northwest and a forecourt. In addition, the area is being redeveloped, including new housing where railroad tracks once were.

Additional current info about Union Station:

Portland Union Station - Passenger Train Service

Portland Union Station is served by three scheduled Amtrak intercity passenger trains.

With three daily departures between Seattle and Portland, as well as daily service to Vancouver, B.C., the Amtrak Cascades is a convenient link to the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Amtrak Cascades' European-style trains offer laptop computer outlets; bicycle, ski and snowboard racks; and regional food and drink. With service between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C., Amtrak Cascades is perfect for both business travel and weekend getaways.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight operates daily, connecting the West Coast's most popular destination cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

Amtrak's Empire Builder takes you on an exciting adventure through majestic wilderness, following the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. The Empire Builder begins in Portland and heads east to Chicago with stops at the following destinations and more: Spokane, Whitefish, Glacier National Park, Minot, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee.

Seen through the plate glass window of the Goodwill Store on West Burnside

Here's another photo that I took last Saturday when I was out and about. On the way back from getting my flu shot, I decided to branch out and ride the MAX Yellow Line, then the Portland Streetcar, then the 20 bus. After I got off the bus to walk to our apartment, I passed the first ever Goodwill Store I visited in Portland--back when Mama and I came to see the guys back in the summer of 2004--and now I live so close to it that I walk by each weekday on the way home.

Earlier in the week I had noticed these shoes, so you know how excited I was to see them again on Saturday! And to make things even better, I walked right in and found some paperback books that we haven't read yet, so I bought them and stuffed them into my Goodwill-purchased red Kate Spade handbag. I'm loving living in Portland!

Seen from the MAX Yellow Line, snaking rail cars along the east side of the Willamette River, heading north.

Saturday in Portland, the sun shone, the breeze blew, the temp chilled, and I rode the light rail train to get my flu shot, taking photos to my heart's delight. At this particular point in the ride, the train has crossed the Steel Bridge, heading east towards Interstate Avenue, then north on it.

Seen from the MAX Yellow Line, Portland's Big Pink.

Saturday on the way to get my flu shot at Kaiser Interstate, I decided to try holding the camera next to the window of the MAX train, pointing it up towards The Big Pink. Oh, joyous serendipity! I got a decent photo of the building and the parking garage next to it. Read below so you'll understand why it doesn't look pink at this particular moment, and why it has that nickname. The yellowish rectangular spot is the reflection of a fluorescent light in the MAX train.

From Wikipedia: The US Bancorp Tower is the second tallest skyscraper in Portland, Oregon. It stands at 536 feet (163 m) with 42 floors. The building has nearly 1.1 million square feet (69,000 m²) of office space inside, making it the largest office building in Oregon in terms of volume, and the second tallest building in Oregon, with only the Wells Fargo Center exceeding its height.

Designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) with Pietro Belluschi as a consultant. The tower opened in 1983 with construction costs of $128 million. At first the building served as the national headquarters of U.S. Bancorp, then the regional headquarters of that organization after a 1997 merger moved the corporate offices to Minneapolis, Minnesota. U.S. Bancorp has 480,000 square feet (45,000 m2) leased until 2015.

Perhaps the most unusual features of the building are its shape and color. Pietro Belluschi was most concerned about the play of light and shadows on its surface; meanwhile, the SOM team had to work with a uniquely shaped lot due to the street grid. The meshing of these two concerns led to what has been called Portland's most dynamic building. Because of the street grid, the tower features no right angles in its parallelogram footprint. This, in turn, makes it look either extremely slender or wide depending upon your viewing angle. Belluschi carefully selected the glass and granite for the exterior facing. The windows can absorb or reflect light depending upon how much light is upon them, while the surrounding granite may appear darker or lighter than the window pieces depending upon the time of day. The building can be described as being pink, orange, purple, or even gray all in the same day. The unusual pinkish color earned the building the nickname "Big Pink", after an album by The Band.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the top floors held the headquarters of Louisiana-Pacific. Since a $4 million renovation in 2002, the thirtieth floor of the tower has been occupied by the Portland City Grill, Portland's top-grossing restaurant. It is often cited as the restaurant with the best view in Portland. (Lamont and Leland both used to work at Portland City Grill.)

The building was purchased by JPMorgan Asset Management in August 2006 for a price of $286 million. It was previously owned by Unico who purchased it in 2000 for a price of $165 million. Currently, 92% of the building is occupied.
On September 9, 2008, LaSalle Investment Management entered a purchase partnership with Unico Properties for $285 million to acquire the building.

Looking through ...

... the folding gate at the door at Shrunken Head Skateboards on SE Morrison.

Looking through ...

... the bars at a parking garage in downtown Portland.

Looking through ...

... the bus window at a couple of food carts on SW 3rd in downtown Portland.

Looking through ...

... the bars at the Lloyd Center MAX station on a sunny Saturday. We both got on the MAX and ended up at the Saturday Market, me to look and shop, she to entertain and hopefully make some moola.

Looking through ...

... the railing along the Steel Bridge towards the Pearl District in Northwest Portland. We were in a Zipcar, stopped by a bridge lift.

Looking through ...

... the chain link fence at Jefferson High School at a break in a Saturday morning football practice.

As I pulled to the stop sign, I thought, "Look! A sidewalk statue!"

Then as I grabbed my camera and pointed it, she moved! Startled, I couldn't focus before Leland had to move the car with the traffic, out of range. Still and all, I like the photo of the woman with her messenger bag and bicycle on a corner in the Pearl, Northwest Portland.

Friday night at 3 Doors Down Cafe, SE 37th and Hawthorne, once again

Draught prosecco is now available at the restaurant. If you look closely you can see an empty glass in the center of the photo with the Bayern label and lion's head just to the left of it. That glass is attached to the handle that you pull on the machinery that contains the prosecco. I guess that's called a spigot that the liquid flows through, though I'm not sure at all.


My drink was prosecco, lemon sorbet with lemon peel. Very refreshing. This is the same shaped glass that is on top of what I'm calling the spigot.


I took this photo with my iPhone--I love that phone's many uses, but as yet I am not too crazy about the camera aspect of it. However, I could not get a decent photo (not enough light) of this big, hearty bowl of soup with the D50, so I used the iPhone and it's flash. The soup is mini meatballs and escarole in chicken stock. Let me tell you, I have eaten many a meat ball at 3 Doors Down Cafe, but none exactly like these. They were firm yet light. By that I mean they held together very well as meat balls and cut easily with the spoon, but they almost didn't need to be chewed--they just sort of melted and/or crumbled apart in my mouth. And that escarole was tender and tasty. Finishing it all of--grated parm. Along with the chicken stock, these ingredients added up to a soup I would like to have again next Friday.


My next and last course was this appetizer, a great combination of smooth, creamy Miticrema fresh sheep's milk cheese from Montesinos, Spain, along with Padron pepper jelly (made by chef owner Dave), prosciutto rossa, 30-year-old balsamic vinegar and grilled bread. First I picked up a slice of the bread, then spread a bit of the cheese on it, followed by a generous dollop of the pepper jelly. Then I cut a bite of the prosciutto with my fork to have at the ready after I took a bite of the loaded bread. Wow. Taste, texture, and just enough heat from the Padrons. To get this photo I took my plate over to a table near the window--you can see the light still outside that filtered in through the blinds which allowed me to get a photo that I liked with the D50.

All in all, if I were to score tonight's dining experience at 3 Doors Down Cafe, I'd put it at 10 out of 10. Can't help it, y'all. It's true.