ABC Wednesday - N is for Necessity, the Mother of Invention

Y'all know Mama loves to do crossword puzzles. She subscribes to two of the little magazines. Being almost 83-years-old and left-handed, she has a huge need for the spine of said magazines to be pliable, to open back so that she can get to the spaces to write in her solutions.

I'll never forget the first time I heard her hammering away, in the kitchen. "What are you hittin'?" I asked. "My puzzle book," she answered. She's done it every time that the book proves itself to be too tightly glued for her comfort. I thought y'all would enjoy a series of photos depicting the process, blow by blow.

Inside ...

Outside ...

And a lot more inside, up and down the spine ...












Checking ...




She doesn't hit her fingers, just the puzzle book. Amazing! And she always does this during the day so as not to disturb any neighbors.

ABC Wednesday - M is for Mushrooms

Guest photographer, my elder son Lamont, picked these chantrelles (left) and lobster mushrooms (right) last Thursday, east of Portland.


He picked these chantrelles on Monday, off Highway 26, west of Portland.

All of them ended up at 3 Doors Down Cafe, where he's the sous chef, as part of nightly specials. Needless to say, the arrival of such fresh bounty excited Dave, 3 Doors Down's chef/owner.

Here's some Wikipedia info about both kinds of mushrooms:

Chantarelle or Golden chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) is probably the best known species of this genus Cantharellus. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, it has gill-like ridges that run almost all the way down its stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. It has a fruity smell reminiscent of apricots and a mildly peppery taste, and is considered an excellent food mushroom. Scientific research has suggested that the golden chanterelle may have potent insecticidal properties that are harmless against humans and yet protects the mushroom body against insects and other potentially harmful organisms.

Lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum) is not, in the truest sense of the word, actually a mushroom. It is a parasitic ascomycete that grows on mushrooms, turning them a reddish orange color that resembles the outer shell of a cooked lobster. It colonizes members of the genera Lactarius (Milk-caps) and Russula, such as Russula brevipes and Lactarius piperatus in North America. At maturity, H. lactifluorum thoroughly covers its host, rendering it unidentifiable. Lobster mushrooms are widely eaten and enjoyed; they are commercially marketed and are commonly found in some large grocery stores. They have a seafood-like flavor and a firm, dense texture. According to some, they may taste somewhat spicy if the host mushroom is an acrid Lactarius.

ABC Wednesday - L is for Lynette's back ... just kidding. L is for Long Load.

Count 'em, please. Do you see five trailers attached to the tractor? That's how many I count. Long Load indeed.


I really, really like this photo. Hope you do, too. I have to wonder, though, at the different heights of the trailers. I wonder what that's all about.

By the way, I've been sick and then recovering, so that's why I missed several ABC Wednesdays. I'm happy to be back!

High. And low.

High above the building that said, "Hello, Lynette," we see Portland's blue sky dressed with clouds highlighted by the sun. It's that same sun that reflected off the Fox Tower, leaving this pattern of light and shadow playing across the brick facade. I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.


Of course, if the entire block between the two buildings had not been demolished at some point, there would have been no spectacular for me to witness. Here's some information about the Fox Tower and the construction going on between it and my featured building.

From Wikipedia:

The Fox Tower is a 27-story office building in Portland, Oregon. It opened in 2000, making it Portland's most recently opened major office building. Thompson Vaivoda and Associates designed the building and Tom Moyer developed the property. The building is named after the Fox Theatre which occupied the site from 1911 until the late 1990s.

The building is most notable for the contrast between its curving east side and boxy west side. The juxtaposing angles of the building create a unique shape from nearly every angle. This multiplanar and set-back design is meant to prevent as much of the building's shadow as possible from falling upon Pioneer Courthouse Square on the opposite corner.

The Fox Tower's 462-space underground parking garage was the deepest in Portland when built.[citation needed] In 2006 the Fox Tower's developer, Tom Moyer, started construction of an underground garage on the block to the west, connected to the Fox Tower garage. This new parking structure opened in December 2007. Because the west block lies slightly uphill from the Fox Tower, the west garage will be deeper than the Fox Tower garage, relative to ground level. The new garage is designed to be an underground facility, with a City of Portland park on top of the garage. Construction and landscaping for the park was started by the City of Portland in March 2008. The underground parking is also planned to be connected to the Park Avenue West Tower.

Low down in the left corner of the top photo, you can barely see a sign, white letters on blue background. Here's a close up of that sign, a photo I took and posted in April.


And here's some information on the Guild Theater from Cinema Treasures: Operating as the Guild Theatre since at least 1950, it was last used by the Northwest Film Center for film festivals. It closed in the summer of 2006. The single screen theater has 425 seats.

Honor.

Let us pause for a moment to reflect on 9/11, in honor of those who died that day.

Here. ABC Wednesday, H is for here, on Sept. 10, 2008.

Here we see the intricacy of the brick work as well as the architectural details on this lovely old building on SW Park, between SW Taylor and SW Yamhill.

By the way, please take a look at Monday and Tuesday, too, because I have made the H week, in honor of my maiden and married last names, and in honor of my wonderful two sons' first names--they're each named for one of my beloved grandfathers. And if you, like, please come back for Thursday and Friday, too.

Happy ABC Wednesday!

Now, an extremely important aside:

I am repeating something that I had already added to Monday's post. Thanks for taking a moment to read and to click on the links.

To me blogging is a community of like-minded individuals who care about each other, about what each of us decides to reveal about our lives in our posts. We demonstrate that we care about where we live, that we believe certain things and abhor others. We support each other by clicking, reading, and commenting. Please take a moment to read this post at Wendy Brandes Jewelry. Click on the links "fabulous auction of jewelry and immortality" and "Stephanie (NieNie) and Christian Nielson's medical expenses" and "Stephanie Nielson and her family." You will read about Stephanie, a 27-year-old mother of four, and Christian, her 29-year-old husband. and the hand that fate has dealt them. You will read about your opportunity to help, either here through WendyB's efforts or at Stephanie’s sister’s blog.

How?

How did this light and shadow pattern cover the facade? Keep reading to find the answer.



Here you see another photo that I took a few minutes after I took the one above and the one in yesterday's post. See the tall tower behind Nordstrom? Notice the sun on the strips of glass on its surface? Get the picture?

The Fox Tower covers the entire block. On the SW Park Avenue side of the building, you find the Regal Fox Tower 10 and the Fox Tower Stadium 10 movie theaters in the southwest corner, while a deli known as Elephant's is in the northwest corner.

Bright sun peeked from the clouds and reflected light from the Fox Tower onto the featured building, making a most intriguing sight for me to photograph. I doubt it would have been as interesting without the alternating non-reflective strips. What is your opinion?

Hello.

Important update below. Thank you.

"Hello, Lynette," said the brick building that stood alone, at a height of five stories.

This Wednesday is ABC Wednesday: H. In honor of that letter, the first letter of my maiden name and also my married name, plus the first names of my two sons who were each named for one of my two grandfathers, I have decided to base this entire week's post on the letter H.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
To me blogging is a community of like-minded individuals who care about each other, about what each of us decides to reveal about our lives in our posts. We demonstrate that we care about where we live, that we believe certain things and abhor others. We support each other by clicking, reading, and commenting. Please take a moment to read this post at Wendy Brandes Jewelry. Please pay close attention to the link in the sentence, “Click here to read about her and to bid.” You will read about Stephanie, a 27-year-old mother of four, and Christian, her 29-year-old husband. and the hand that fate has dealt them. You will read about your opportunity to help, either through WendyB's efforts or at Stephanie’s sister’s blog. Watch the first hour of the Today Show in the morning, or tape it and watch it later.

Thank you.

September 3, 2008 - ABC Wednesday - G is for Graffiti Ghost

At this time, in this space, you unlock the door of ABC Wednesday, in the key of G. When you do, you enter another dimension, the Construction Zone, where things are not what they seem, where light and shadow combine, where graffiti ghosts peer through doorways. I am there for you at the edge of that zone, to document things and ideas. "Nee nee nee nee nee nee nee nee." (Think "Twilight Zone" theme song.)

Photo One shows the ghost as I first saw it, coming out of the doorway, trailing light behind itself as it flew westward.

Quickly I stepped to the east and snapped again, framing the ghost within the chain link fence that served to keep all at bay who might choose to invade the it's personal space. Would I make that choice? Not on your life. I know better than to enter the Construction Zone without a hard hat on my head.

Look closely through the doorway. Is that a second ghost, forming near that crack in the back wall? Remain in the Construction Zone, if you choose, and live with the consequences.

My alternate ABC Wednesday F post

Originally I had intended to use this Botkier purse with fringe as my ABC Wednesday F, so I thought it only fitting to go ahead and post it today.

I saw it in the window at Saks Fifth Avenue.

August 26, 2008 - ABC Wednesday - F is for Flying and a few more "F" words

Construction workers prepare steel forms for flying from the flat bed truck to the site of the new skyscraper, First and Main, just west of the Willamette River.

Here's a close up of the forms, on the fly.

In looking at them, I wonder if they are steel rebars, those reinforcement bars that go into poured concrete, into columns maybe. If my dear husband LeRoy were alive, he'd tell me exactly what they are--he was a construction worker and a carpenter. I know his career is one of the reasons buildings and bridges fascinate me so.

ABC Wednesday - E is for egg, as in the ornamental device egg and dart

Wikipedia has this to say about egg-and-dart.

Here's what I have to say about egg-and-dart. Last week I took these two photos at the Hamilton Building,529 SW 3rd Avenue, downtown Portland. In fact, I was looking for ABC Wednesday subjects as well as architectural details to photograph for a contest sponsored by the Architectural Heritage Center.

I walked along, stopping here and there, looking up at the riches of downtown Portland. When I realized that I could lean against a wall in the doorway of the Hamilton Building, parallel with the street, and focus with my zoom completely out of the way of others on the sidewalk, I settled in for the moment. When I looked through the camera, I got even more excited. Just two days before I had discovered egg-and-dart in the dictionary, complete with an illustration. I looked, thinking, "I've seen this downtown. I just know it." If realized that if I could find some photogenic egg-and-dart, I could, to paraphrase, shoot two projects with one click. Happy at the Hamilton, I took lots of photos, moving from the wall to first one column, then the second one where I zoomed out and discovered the reflection of the last column and the brilliant blue sky in the window.

Of all those photos, I picked these two for ABC Wednesday.





Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the Hamilton Building--The Hamilton Building is a historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon. It went through a renovation in 1977, and was listed on National Register of Historic Places in March of that year. It is the neighbor of the Dekum Building, a fellow NHRP listing on Third Avenue.

The building, completed in 1893, is an anomaly among its contemporaries. While many buildings built during the late 19th century were often ornate, the Hamilton building has little decoration. It is said that architects Whidden & Lewis designed a ground-breaking building, built decades ahead of later (and similar) trends in commercial architecture. Decoration comes in the form of granite-clad cast iron entry columns and cable mouldings, set against a Japanese-brick facade.

The Hamilton Building is 6 stories tall, and is named after Hamilton Corbett, son of Henry Corbett. It is also the first building in Portland designed in the Classical Revival style.

ABC Wednesday - D is for Delicate and Dinner

Hydrangea, delicate blossoms


Hydrangea, dinner blossoms


In our Northwest Hills neighborhood, a hydrangea bush about six feet tall stands beside a nearby house, robustly growing in a narrow dirt-filled garden space between the sidewalk and the house. When I walked by one morning, taking a different route to the bus for variety's sake, I stopped to take a few photos of the lovely blossoms.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 - ABC Wednesday, C is for Choice

As in the Red Bull Flugtag Peoples' Choice Award winner, Team Space Balls, here before your very eyes! They got 6700 votes, by text message.

I have to admit if I were a text-messenger, this way cool Winnebago would have gotten my vote, too!


Mama got a big kick out of this entry, especially since it reminded her of the 1987 Winnebago that she and Daddy had, right down to the shape of its nose and the color, too. Their actually Winnebago was a 33-footer, she told me just now. I couldn't remember that statistic, but I can say that I agree with her--the similarities are uncanny.


There's Princess Vespa, playing to the crowd during their skit. Dark Helmet and Lone Star duel while Barf looks on from the front of the Winnebago.


I'm particularly impressed with the streaks of white paint on the black windows which lend an air of realism to the craft. How about those windshield wipers, too?




See Pizza the Hut, the fifth member of Team Space Balls, running to catch up with the others as they push the flying W towards the end of the flight deck?


It's off! Hilarious fun for everyone!

Here's a crowd shot from Red Bull USA--80,000 came to Flugtag.


HOME HANGAR: Everett, WA
PILOT: Matt Solie
FLIGHT CREW: Wayne Akana, Takaichi Aoki, Seth Cardon, Chris Carlson, Pierre Chambion, Marylou Collins, Hiromi Imai-Dellario, Stephanie Lightbody, Brian Mann, Michele Mislang, Maya Okano, Natalie Saez, Dave Smolinsky

ITINERARY: “Our inspiration comes from the movie ‘Spaceballs,’” says Matt Solie, captain of the eponymous Red Bull Flugtag team. “Being that we work at an aircraft interior manufacturing company, this will be one pimped-out flying Winnebago!” Matt is employed by Jamco America in Everett, Washington, and the co-workers who appear with him on the flight deck this August 2 (Chris Carlson, Stephanie Lightbody, Brian Mann, and Michele Mislang) will be representing a larger, multicultural contingent of employees who are helping to build the funny flyer.

While it’s true that the group is constructing their craft on the Jamco manufacturing floor (after business hours), fellow competitors shouldn’t worry too much. These teammates realize just how unlikely it is to fly any handmade aircraft lacking mechanical propulsion, let alone a boxy recreational vehicle. A master of statistics, Matt enumerates, “The budget for the movie ‘Spaceballs’ was estimated at $22,700,000. Our budget is a handful of screws, old airplane parts, and whatever we can gather at the company bake sale. We’re just looking to have fun and show the crowd a good time.” He evaluates the entry’s chances like this: “Your odds of being killed in a tornado are 1 in 2 million; and the odds of our flying over the river are about the same.”

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - ABC Wednesday, B is for ball and busker and blue

When Mama and I took the MAX on Saturday, we knew we'd see plenty. We didn't expect to see this busker sort of gently juggling this ball.


While we're on ABC Wednesday, B, here's a close up of the busker, the ball, and his blue-tinted sunglasses.


And here's the entire young man. The first time I saw his performance, I put some money in his can, and he stopped to quickly shake my hand! Right after I took these photos, someone dropped something in, and the busker shook his hand, too.

As the MAX car started up again and we rolled away, I asked Mama, "Wasn't that neat?" She said, "Sure was," and had trouble believing he was not a robot!

UPDATED TO ADD:

Here's the last photo I took, just before the doors slid shut and the MAX train left the intersection on the green traffic signal.


And here's Merriam Webster online's take on busker:

Function:noun
Etymology: busk, probably from Italian buscare to procure, gain, from Spanish buscar to look for
Date: 1857

chiefly British : a person who entertains in a public place for donations

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - ABC Wednesday, A is for Awesome!

Awesome view from the top of Multnomah Falls, courtesy of guest photographer Kailey.

I could never take this photo because I would not be able to convince myself to even try to hike to the top of the 620-foot falls. Here's a crop of the pool at the bottom of the upper falls (on the left of the photo, where the logs are floating) and the viewing deck at the bottom of the lower falls. I've been here but no higher.

You can just see the Benson Bridge, too, if you follow the path from the curved deck up and around to the left. Monday, July 14, Kailey, Leland, Lindsay and Lamont hiked to the top, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and hiked back down. What a great time they had!


In order to get another perspective of this awesome waterfall, here's my photo of Multnomah Falls from the viewing deck.

And here's the pool at the bottom of the falls.


Read about Multnomah Falls here.

Wednesday, July 16, 2007 ... ABC Wednesday, Z is for Zing

Several Saturdays ago as we walked along NW 23rd, my rolling black bag and I, we spied this orderly row of Harleys. Immediately, my rollin' black bag noticed those two travel bags standing proudly attached to the first bikes in line.

Ah, to speed over hill and dale, the wind rustling your whatever-denier-nylon-self. Zing went the strings of my rollin' black bag's heart, contemplating a life on the road, at speeds much greater than my feet or mass transit afford. That's the life for a travelin' bag!

Not. I see no motorcycles in my future, although there is a romantic British racing green Triumph in my past. Alas, my rollin' black bag wasn't even a twinkle in my eye back in 1972! Holding tight to LeRoy, the reason for the zing in my own heart, lent a brilliant sparkle to my eyes.

Yes, I've gone bonkers here, stretching for this Z, but I had fun. Hope you did, too!

If you're of a mind to, please go to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for loads of other ABC Wednesday blogs! Look at the list of links per Mr. Linky.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 ... ABC Wednesday - Yellow

Mustard, running down a crusty corn dog
Toward a walking teensy fellow.
High on his shoulder, a big ol'hot dog
Looks good in front of sunny yellow!

I took this photo at lunch on Tuesday. Look at that gorgeous blue sky!

If you're of a mind to, please go to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for loads of other ABC Wednesday blogs! Look at the list of links per Mr. Linky.

July 2, 2008 ... ABC Wednesday - X is for X to the Nth

OK, so I didn't plan to have that bottle of Dos Equis hanging there on the left side of the photo. In fact I had absolutely no idea that it was there when I went looking for X photos a little while ago. It was the metal bands that make up the big head, criss-crossing themselves into a plethora of Xs that I wanted to find among my thousands of phot. I mean, I took these photos last October, knowing that sooner or later I'd find a use for them, and here they are!


I shot this, too, so we'd all know what the sculptor's intentions were, for the big heads--there's one on each corner, a block apart. I got off the bus early that sunny afternoon and walked to the south side of West Burnside on purpose, just to take big head pix.


See, here's the other one.


And here's the first one again, with PGE Park in the background.

I'm kinda tickled with my ABC Wednesday X post--hope y'all are, too!

If you're of a mind to, please go to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for loads of other ABC Wednesday blogs! Look at the list of links per Mr. Linky.