City Daily Photo Theme Day: My City's Skyline

I can't get this here any other way. Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste it to get to the gallery of Theme Days posts. They're great! Enjoy! http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/august-2016-theme-day-gallery-my-citys.html


Portland's downtown skyline west of the Willamette River, seen and photographed from the building where I work on the east side of the Willamette. I always enjoy these flowers on our 5th floor rooftop garden.

City Daily Photo Theme Day - Shelter, it's more important to me than ever while in treatment for cancer

It's a great day in the City Daily Photo realm. We invite you to join us! Click here to see Theme Day posts from around the world.



In a few hours I will be at the Oncology Center undergoing Chemo Round Four of the six prescribed for me. Since this journey into my new normal began in early March, the love of my two sons for me--Lamont on the left and Leland on the right in this photo that I took on January 7, 2012, one year to the day after my little Mama had died--has been the place to go in my mind, in my heart, and in person whenever I needed to be sheltered from the reality of my new normal. And that's important to me.

These two little boys who have grown into men who comfortably draw me in physically, up against their chests, holding me tight with their strong arms, murmuring their love for me until we let go and smile at each other before going in for one more hug before we part. Lamont and Leland, their father's two boys. I love them so. And that's important to me.

Lamont and Leland who have looked at me with their beautiful eyes and smiled at my bald head and my thinning eyebrows and eyelashes and answered me in a most believable way when asked. Told me that I look fine, that I look good, that that hat doesn't work. Told me so that I know I still look like their Mom to them, no matter what. And that's important to me.

Lamont and Leland who have taken my grocery lists to Fred Meyer, called or texted me photos from there to make certain the right items ended up in the cart. Since late June, they each have even endured a slow-moving visit to Fred Meyer when I felt like I needed to go with them, to hold onto the grocery cart and shop for some new earrings in addition to grocery staples and cravings for me. And that's important to me.

Lamont and Leland who have walked with me back and forth to the Blue Diamond for food and fellowship or have taken me in their cars to satisfy other food cravings to Killer Burger or Burgerville or Cha Cha Cha or Bijou Cafe or 3 Doors Down Cafe for those same reasons. Sometimes to places to be together out and about for a good time. So that I could enjoy riding along, looking out the window, feeling the fine Portland breeze, being out of my apartment and with one or both of them. And that's important to me.

Lamont and Leland, who with beloved friends, took my place in April when my Portland Trail Blazers played two home games in the first round of the NBA Finals, one loss, one win. Whichever son was at the game texted me photos of the good time had by all in that huge crowd of hopeful fans--the other son watched with me at home on TV. Those same sons and beloved friends took my place at a Portland Thorns NWSL soccer victory in August (a Portland Trail Blazer season ticket holder perk) and texted me fine photos from there, too. And that's important to me.

Lamont and Leland who have helped rein in my occasional ramblings and/or wonderings about not only the cancer, but also the two surgeries when the cancer quickly came back two months after we thought it was all gone, the chemo, the upcoming radiation, the slight changes in my currently part time work schedule and my successfully riding the bus and streetcar there and back, but also about my dealings with a short term disability insurance employee when I finally revealed to them her total ineptitude* once I got over the shock of it and could spell it out to them. And that's important to me.

Lamont and Leland, who as far as I can tell have believed me from the get-go when I have said that this cancer is not going to kill me; that my expectation is to be cured, that my positive attitude is as great a weapon as the medical ones I readily subject myself to endure. The cancer has changed my life, sure, but I'm in treatment for the cure. And that is most important to me.

Merriam-Webster says this about shelter, a position or the state of being covered and protected. I say this about shelter, that my sons provide it for me as if it were second nature, about which Merriam Webster says this, an acquired deeply ingrained habit or skill. Thank you, Lamont and Leland, for becoming the men you are today, who wear your second nature so lovingly.

While my City Daily Photo Theme Day post focuses on my sons, I shall not leave out for a single second the cover and protection in my new normal provided by each of you who continue to pray for me, for us, for my caregivers. I am grateful for your love and concern from afar as well as for the help provided by those of you in Portland. I love y'all and and thankful for y'all.

*She had my claim connected to the wrong policy the whole time and incorrectly told me that my going back to work part time would not impact the receipt of my short term disability benefits. Thankfully, she got it explained to her about the mess she was making in time to correct it before I ended up owing money to the short term disability insurance company from benefits she might have approved and released in error.

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day is Upside Down

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The sign I ran into and repositioned, making it upside down. I can't remember, but maybe it had been knocked around, loosened up, by various other folks, maybe some on bicycles--lots of bicycles cross the Willamette River on the Hawthorne Bridge when they go straight at this intersection. Or maybe folks had turned right from SE Madison onto SE Grand too close to the curb and jarred the edge of the sign, weakening the connectors holding it in place. All I remember is that as I trotted across the street and hopped up onto the sidewalk so that I could board the bus, I misjudged my position in relation to the sign and whammed into it with my right upper arm, dislodging it. Little did I know that I had created the perfect image for the City Daily Photo Theme Day!

City Daily Photo Blog Theme Day - Stylish

On the first day of every month the City Daily Photo Community comes together publishing photos from around the world with their interpretation of a chosen theme. Click here to see Theme Day posts from around the world.



Serendipity, I fouond the perfect photo to use for the Stylish CDP Theme Day in my Flickr account, one that I had taken on July 22, 2011, on my first visit to the Portland Art Museum exhibition, Allure of the Automobile. There are several more photos here; as you scroll down, you'll find them.

I adore the juxtaposition of the stylish 1954 Plymouth Explorer Coupe with the casually dressed man and woman admiring it. Here's something from The Oregonian about the automobile: 1954 Plymouth Explorer Sports Coupe: Chrysler was looking to upgrade its dowdy postwar image and turned to Ghia designer Luigi Segre to jazz things up in a series of Dodge concept cars called Firearrows. The Explorer Coupe quickly followed. Long, low and sexy but also roomy inside, the Explorer and its Ghia sisters had a sporty but quietly luxurious look that anticipated and helped inspire Detroit's ebullient designs of the later '50s and '60s.

More info about the automobile, found at Concept Carz: In the post-World War II era, the public were very enthusiastic about the so-called Concept Cars of 'Dream Cars.' Virgil M. Exner had been placed as head of Chrysler's Styling department and was responsible for improving Chrysler's rather stodgy late 1940's image. He turned to Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin, Italy, to produce a unique series of one-of-a-kind 'idea cars' on production Dodge, Chrysler and Plymouth chassis. Exner had sourced the work out to these Italian craftsman because they could build these one-of-a-kind cars more creatively and less expensively than any American company.

Exner designed the Chrysler K-310 Series, which was followed by three more Ghia-built Chrysler design studies: the C-200, the SS, and the D'Elegance, as well as the DeSoto Adventurer 1 coupe. Luigi Segre of Ghia was asked to produce a memorable quartet of cars for Dodge called the Firearrows. The Dodge Firearrow III was a precursor of the subsequent De Soto Adventurer II and Plymouth Explorer concept vehicles that followed.

The sleek, wide-mouthed Explorer was mounted on a 114-inch wheelbase Plymouth chassis and was just 54-inches tall. Powering the vehicle was a 230-cubic-inch Plymouth l-head six that offered a humble 110 horsepower. There was a semi-automatic transmission, twin exhausts that exited through the rear fenders, and wire wheels. The car was distinguished by elegant ivory-hued side reveals, vestigial fins, a metal green finish, a white leather interior with bucket seats and fitted luggage.

Along with giving the public a glimpse into future designs for the company, the Dodge Firearrows, DeSoto Adventurer and Plymouth Explorer significantly helped to rejuvenate the company's image. Chrysler's 'Forward Look' styling of 1955 - 1961 inspired other automakers to return to their drawing boards to revise their models which lacked Chrysler's fresh, Italian-inspired flair. The car debuted in the May 1954 Motor Trend. Despite its racy good looks, the Explorer was powered by the 110-horsepower, 230 cubic-inch, 6-cylinder engine coupled to a Hy-Drive transmission. The dream cars were the inspiration of Virgil Exner who was hired by Chrysler boss K.T. Keller to reinvigorate the Plymouth brand. Chrysler had discovered that there was considerable interest in 'dream car' design proposals, so much so that GM took its cars on tour, staging the elaborate Motoramas around the country. Throughout the 1950s, Chrysler displayed a string of dozens of cars penned by some of the leading styling houses in Europe.



Here's that wide mouth mentioned above.



How the back of the automobile looks. Amazing to me, how aerodynamically smooth it looks. By the way, the stylish woman in black is my friend from work, Sharon, who accompanied me to the exhibit. It was free Friday entry, which we happily took advantage of by planning to head over to the museum right after work.

Found on the Internet, about the exhibition: Portland Art Museum Exhibits Cars as Art in 'The Allure of the Automobile'by KC Cowan OPB, June 9, 2011 5 p.m.

To some people, a car is just a form of transportation — a way to get from here to there. But to others, especially serious collectors, the automobile can be a work of art.

That’s the idea behind “The Allure of the Automobile,” a new show at the Portland Art Museum. Curator Ken Gross says he wanted to celebrate the essence of 20th century industrial design on wheels.

“These are hollow, rolling sculptures,” said Gross at the press preview.

The collection consists of 16 of the world’s most luxurious and rare cars. In some cases, the automobiles are truly one-of-a-kind. Either it was the only car like that ever made or is the only one surviving. Top collectors as well as museums loaned the cars for this show, a feat that museum officials said was unprecedented.

“We have cars from collectors who never loan their cars out,” said Museum Director Brian Ferriso. He hopes the show will attract people who would not ordinarily come to the museum.

“Taking objects in the world today and celebrating it in a museum changes the concept of it,” Ferriso said.

Among the beauties now in the main-floor gallery of the museum: a 1953 Porsche 550, Prototype; a 1931 Duesenberg SJ Derham Convertible Sedan; 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS “Teardrop” Coupe and a 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Coupe.

The show will run through September 11th, and if you plan to go, you might want to consider visiting on a Saturday for the Cars in the Park exhibit. Local car collectors will show off their vehicles all summer long Saturdays from 10am to 5pm. Each Saturday will have a theme – from Italian Cars to Hot Rods to Green Cars.



A look at the passenger side of the automobile.



A close up of the front passenger side wheel. Exquisite.



A look along the passenger side of the automobile.

City Daily Photo Theme Day, April 1, Camera-shy Self Portrait

Click here to see other Theme Day posts from all over the world!



Wouldn't I love to be taller than I actually am? Y'all better believe it! In the other few selfies I have taken, I'm obviously visible in the photo which to me means hardly camera-shy. Therefore, I take my stand among the others today who decided that a mere shadow of ourselves sufficed for today's Theme Day post. Enjoy!

Cracked and torn, almost graffitied. Aging. City Daily Photo Theme Day

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Here's something I never thought would show age--a plastic container top. This particular blue one must have disappointed its owner since it has been shoved into the crack in this power pole on my street.

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day: Squares

Square grid, made of some sort of wire, covers this window. Inside, a small basketball court. At least I think it's small--I didn't put my face up to the window to check. I needed to get my Zipcar back to its home parking spot on time. This is my photo for City Daily Photo's Theme Day: Squares. I took it on April 18 at 8:18 p.m., purely a coincidence, both those 18s. Seconds before I took the photo, that man had been taking shots at a basket out of sight to the left. I altered this photo with HDR at Befunky dot com.  Click here to see Theme Day posts from around the world.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: People on the Street

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I've made a collage for Theme Day because I couldn't resist sharing with you the coincidence of movement, expression, and stance between these two people waiting at a bus shelter on a Portland street. I took these photos on February 28, 2009, five years and one day ago.

Here are the close-ups of each photo so that you can see for yourself what I find to be so interesting--their movement, expression, and stance. Then there's the rest of the serendipity all over the place, the similar mustardy yellows on his jacket, the folded-shut street barricade, and her leopard print skirt. Plus, several of the faces on her stockings have blonde hair. And her lace-up boots match the sidewalk's color.
 

They appear to be looking at each other.



They're both looking the opposite direction, at the same time.
    

They're both reaching up to the side of their heads, at the same time.
 

They looked down at the same time.

City Daily Photo Theme Days: September Gallery - PINK!

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At the fundraiser known as the Special Olympics Polar Plunge at the Columbia River on February 9, 2013, a lady in black and white completed her look with a pink swim cap and bouquet of pink fake flowers.
 

Wearing a handmade silk banner emblazoned with references to Polar Bear and Polar Plunge 2013, the lady carries her bag of dry clothing which she must have put down on shore before entering the water. In this photo it looks to me like she heard that photographer say something that made her look back toward him. She turned to look, mid-step.
 

I know you're all focusing on how tightly clenched her toes are on her left foot as she put on the brakes!
 

City Daily Photo Theme Day: June Theme Day - The beauty of decay

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I haven't yet figure out how to link this post directly to the others, by that I mean so that you can easily find other posts on today's theme. I think if you click on the link above, though, you'll come across lots of them.



Vintage Chevrolet 3200 pickup truck, seen on the street in Portland, Oregon. Decay has set in, rust and dents. Yet, this vehicle remains as beautiful and useful. Back to the Mother's Day Mini-Vacation tomorrow.

City Daily Photo Theme Day, the Creative Artisan: St. Mary's Cathedral, seen on the Architectural Heritage Center, Northwest Sacred Spaces Walking Tour, Sunday, April 21, 2013

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I cannot get the link to the rest of the Monthly Theme Day posts to work for me. They can be seen here, if you copy and paste it. Thanks!

http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/may-theme-day-creative-artisan.html



West Transept Stained Glass Windows - The Four Evangelists
 

East Transept Stained Glass Windows - St. Patrick, The Blessed Virgin, St. Brigid and St. Dominic.

From the Religious Artworks Packet, available for download at http://maryscathedral.com/artwork

TRANSEPT STAINED GLASS WINDOWS The historical stained glass windows in the transepts are from the earlier cathedral built in 1885 and removed when that building was demolished after the great flood in 1894. They may even date back to an earlier cathedral from the 1870’s. After having served in the present church for seventy years, these windows were restored by Cummings Stained Glass Studio of North Adams, Massachusetts. Now that the side balconies have been removed, these two windows occupy places of prominence and are much more visible.

At the top of the left transept window (west) are images of the four evangelists. Above each head is their traditional symbol. A winged man for Matthew a lion for Mark, an ox for Luke, and an eagle for John. At the lower left is the image of Mary, the mother of the Word of God. At the lower right is St. Jerome who translated the gospels from their original languages into Latin.

Depicted in the right transept window (east) are St.Patrick, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Brigid and St. Dominic. At the lower left is the image of a woman and child.

Found online at the Multnomah County Library's "The Historical Oregonian, 1861-1972," in an article from 10/01/1894: As many of the windows of the present Cathedral are valuable, and most of them donations, they will be placed in the temporary Cathedral for their better preservation and to give the place a more ecclesiastical and home-like appearance. It is the intention to replace the old Cathedral with a business block in the style of the section now being completed at Third and Oak streets. Just when the Cathedral will be torn down, is not known, but as the windows will be taken out within 60 days, it is safe to presume that the demolition of the building will not long be delayed."

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Pedestrians Crossing

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April's theme day presented a problem for me, only in that I have so many photos of pedestrians crossing at so many intersections, I had a time deciding on one image. That is, until I came across this one and realized that these folks are indeed pedestrians crossing each other on the sidewalk. Here's the HDR-altered photo, taken of the sidewalk beside the Sizzle Pie on the corner of NW 10th and West Burnside, downtown Portland. To take a look at all of the City Daily Photo Theme Day posts, click here.

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day: Cobblestones

Cobblestones along the MAX light rail tracks near then PGE Park, now Jeld-Wen Field, of the Portland Timbers, our MLS team. The patrol car you see heading east is the Transit Police, on patrol. See other Theme Day Cobblestones posts here.

#8, CDP Theme Day, Action Shot(s) related to the work on the circle at the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge ramps

It's Theme Day at lots and lots of City Daily Photo Blogs. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants who have posted an Action Shot for your enjoyment and/or edification.

A - Angle of the raised dump truck bed.
C - Circle being reworked for to the fall, 2012 arrival of the Portland Streetcar Eastside Loop.
T -Tamp Tightly like the man with the shovel in the top photo.
I - Interest I have taken in these goings on.
O - One of these days this series of posts will be complete.
N - Not a moment too soon, I'm sure some frequent visitors will testify.

S - Smoothing accomplished by that wheeled contraption in the bottom photo.
H - Hot asphalt.
O - One more sidewalk to finish; take a close look at the bottom photo.
T - Tell me what you think of my ACTION SHOT, please and thank you!

The person closest to the back of the dump truck operated some sort of latch which opens some sort of chute and allows the hot asphalt to stream out onto the street, in a narrow, elongated hump-like shape. Looks to me like the next man is tamping it down with a shovel, tight as he can get it against the new curb on the new sidewalk on the inside of the circle.


Next thing I know, the first-laid asphalt has been rolled over by that wheeled contraption the man is riding and driving. See how smooth it looks up against the curb? You can sort of see the slight dip for the truncated domes matt at the handicap section of the sidewalk, too. Now the wheeled contraption is flattening the asphalt up against the newly formed curb across the street. And asphalt is being dropped out of the dump truck to complete the entire surrounding of that point of curb. There is still no concreted sidewalk completed there, though. Up on the eastbound Hawthorne Bridge ramp you can see two men working with a traffic diversion sign of some sort, so you know that work surely continues at or close to the intersection of SE Hawthorne and SE Grand.

January, 1, 2011--Monthly Theme Day

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's Monthly Theme Day--2010, the favorite photo.


My photo is of a portion Portland's downtown skyline at the west end of the 100-year-old Hawthorne Bridge that crosses over the Willamette River. The Hawthorne Bridge in the midst of celebrating its birthday during July's PDX Bridge Festival.

Happy New Year, y'all. May you be healthy, wealthy and wise in 2011.

Decisions, decisions, at Portland's Overlook Park. Shall I swing or play basketball? Or do I have time to do both?

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in the December 1, 2010, City Daily Photo Theme Day posts on Time.


The tree, human in its appearance
Must decide whether to swing on the left
Or to shoot on the right
Before time makes a disappearance.

Seen on the MAX Light Rail, part of TriMet's public transportation in Portland and the surrounding metropolitan area

On the day before Halloween, I boarded the MAX Blue Line across from the Lloyd Center Mall for a ride to the station across from PGE Park. There I could wait for the 15 bus to catch--it would get me only a block or so from the apartment. I sat down across from a young man holding a rather large pumpkin in his lap. Naturally I had to glance at the pumpkin. Immediately I noticed there was no lid on it. At another glance I noticed the stem was still on, that the large opening must therefore be on the bottom of the pumpkin, and that the inside had been scraped rather smoothly. So I asked, "Are you going to wear that on your head?" "Yes," he answered, going on to state that he'd been doing so ever since he was 16. I didn't pry and ask how old he was, but he certainly didn't look far out of his teens. Anyway, we talked for a moment about how much work is involved in getting the inside of a pumpkin that smooth, and then I asked if he kept his stocking hat on when he wore the pumpkin. "Sometimes I do. It softens the bump," he explained, pointing towards the inside of the pumpkin opposite the stem. "Ah, yes, there's a bump there." He agreed. In a few minutes two cute young ladies sitting across the aisle from us asked about the pumpkin, and he started with the same line about how long he'd been doing this. "Want to see?" he asked them. Naturally when he place it on his head, I lifted the camera and clicked.

Just goes to show you never know what experience you'll get to have on public transportation; it's best to have the camera out hanging around your neck at the ready, I always say.

Today's Monthly Theme at City Daily Photo is public transportation. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.