Saturday's outing to the Portland Farmers Market at PSU and to the Stadium Fred Meyer, downtown Portland. Lots of panorama shots made with my iPhone.

When I woke up this morning--slept late by an hour and a half, yea--I decided to not eat breakfast here. I wanted to go by bus to the Portland Farmers Market at PSU and then to the Stadium Fred Meyer on West Burnside. I knew that I could walk off the calories in a Pine State Biscuits biscuit, fried egg, and some strawberry jam. So, I got in the long line, watched people, passed the time successfully.



Delicious, every single bite!



My view from the bench where I sat to eat. I'm at the southern end of the farmers market which takes up two full blocks in what's known as the South Park Blocks--they're on the campus of Portland State University, too. After the last photo in the post, I've put info I found online at the Portland city government Web site about the South Park Blocks.



I walked the block and sat down to rest. As I shot this panorama image, a couple of guys walked from left to right in front of me, at practically the same speed that I moved my iPhone. Those are their body parts splayed about in the photo. I had no idea this would happen, but I find it sort of cool.



I decided to take this photo because I felt so happy sitting there in the shade, amazed by the blessings in my life.



As I continued to walk north towards West Burnside, I thought this would make a great panorama photograph--the Portland Art Museum on the left, across the South Park Blocks, the Oregon Historical Society on the right.



Once more I found a bench for a short rest. I'm at the southern edge of this park block which is known as Shemanski Park. I'm looking mostly west, a bit north. On Wednesdays, the Portland Farmers Market opens with an abbreviated number of vendors right here in the lovely spot. When I used to work 40 hours per week and had an hour for lunch, I'd ride a bus west across the Willamette, get off two blocks away and walk up the hill to shop for goodies. Now, I'm working 32 hours per week and have half an hour for lunch, so I don't do that which is one of the reasons I came to the PSU market last Saturday and shopped extensively.



In between Shemanski Park and this view, there's a block full of downtown buildings. I can't remember what I heard for certain when on a tour of downtown, but it seems like there was something to do with the family who owned the block selling it. Anyway, this photo shows the southern edge of Director Park--from the little black building through those trees--which is the newest of the South Park Blocks. I don't know anything about buildings on the left side of the photo, drat it. (I don't have the energy after my busy hours to dig around on the World Wide Web.) The tall one in the center is interesting because for years after the economy went bust, it sat there, a huge, block-sized hole in the ground, not much visible other than rebars waiting for concrete and certainly nothing that caused one to be able to visualize the now finished 30-story tower. The high rise on the right is known as the Fox Tower.



Here's a view of most of Director Park, including Teachers Fountain. On warm days, children run through the streams of water, squealing and having lots of fun. The park covers a 700-space underground parking garage, which connects underground to the Fox Tower and possibly that 30-story tower, too--I read online that was the original intent but didn't dig around to find out if it actually happened once the tower was completed.



And here's O'Bryant Square, the final park that I got to photograph. I'm glad that I got a chance to photograph it and still made it to the bus stop for the 20 in time to just be able to get on board to ride the rest of the way to Stadium Fred Meyer. It irks me that I missed a chance to get a photo of the North Park Blocks which begin where I caught the 20, but they're not going anywhere, and I really needed to get on to Freddie's to buy some water to drink and to shop. After I took this, I walked as fast as I could get myself to go until I got to West Burnside, then I waited to cross safely and almost made it to the bus stop. The driver saw me and pulled to a stop for me a few feet west of the stop. Thanks, TriMet!



Once inside Freddie's, I spied an empty chair and sat down to get my wits about me. That's when I was a dumb ass because I took my phone out of my purse and set it in the grocery cart child seat on my black scarf so that I could easily check my list. I put my purse there and my camera bag, too. I should've put the phone in my pants' pocket! Dumb ass because the iPhone doesn't record movement (steps) when the thing is riding in a grocery cart! I figure during the hour that I wandered around shopping that I shorted myself maybe 1400 steps and burning maybe 200 calories. Yep. Dumb ass. At least I had enough sense to put the rolling black bag into the cart--see it at the center bottom of the photo. I would've never been able to roll it and the cart. Nope.



This photo has hilarious vehicles in it, squashed and/or down to nothing but wheels, thanks to taking a panorama photo with my iPhone. I sat in the bus shelter waiting for the 20 after packing my purchases carefully in my rolling black bag, my backpack, and one reusable shopping bag. I had three miles to go by bus to get home and knew that I'd be very happy that I had finished one 16 ounce bottle of water in the store and had bought one for the road. In order to be able to walk on level sidewalks, no sloping uphill with my very heavy rolling black bag for me, I got off two blocks past my street. I made it home just fine, finished that second bottle of water right after I got inside my apartment, put away the refrigerated items, made myself a proper sandwich with Franz Organic Twenty-Four Thin Sliced Bread, three ounces of baked chicken, and four Unbound Pickling bread and butter pickle slices, plus a little bit of Best Foods Real Mayo. Yummy. I drank two more glasses of water. I enjoyed three Tillamook strawberries that I had bought at the farmers market. Then, I went outside and walked for about 10 minutes and came back to work on this blog post. I drank two more glasses of water and ate half a cup of Breyer's Lactose Free vanilla ice cream with two more strawberries sliced into the bowl. Now my goal is to be able to stay awake for the Thunder vs Warriors at 6 p.m. I want the Thunder to finish it tonight!

In case you're interested, here's a good bit of info about Portland's spectacular South Park Blocks, found on the Internet:

General Info Acreage: 8.76 Acquired in 1869

Amenities Includes fountain, historical site, paths – paved, playground, Plaza, and statue or public art. Fountain Historical Site Paths – Paved Playground Statue Or Public Art

Special Information Park hours: 5:00am-9:00pm

Program Information

This park is maintained with the volunteer assistance of the Friends of South Parks Blocks. To find out how you can help at your neighborhood park, call 503-823-5121.

Historical Information

In 1852 Daniel H. Lownsdale designated eleven narrow blocks of his plat at the western edge of town for public park space. Between 1852-75 the park was an unimproved roadway on the outskirts of the city center; the southern portion up to Jefferson was part of the Great Plank Road. During the 1870s the area became a fashionable residential neighborhood with large Italianate mansions, schools, and churches. In 1877 the first landscaping of these blocks occurred when the City Council authorized florist and landscape designer Louis G. Pfunder to plant 104 Lombardy poplars and elms between Salmon and Hall. The Ladd School opened on the present Portland Art Museum site in 1879. In 1885 the city's first parkkeeper was appointed and a more formal park began to develop. Over the years, much has been added to the park, but there seems to be consensus that the blocks should remain "a cathedral of trees with a simple floor of grass."

By the 1880s many lots were subdivided for smaller residences; by the turn of the century, apartment buildings were developed. Lincoln High School was located at Park and Market. This later became the first Portland State University building. The campus from Market to Jackson was established in the 1950s. In 1973 the campus was redesigned and streets closed off.

Today there are twelve South Park Blocks stretching through the heart of downtown Portland. Each park block features artwork. On the block between Hall and Harrison is the most recent addition. Installed in 2004, this work made of white Indiana limestone by Oregon sculptor Donald Wilson is entitled Holon. The word comes from the Greek holos which means whole, entire, complete in all its parts - something that has integrity and identity at the same time as it is a part of a larger system. A block north at Montgomery is the 1973 bronze statue and fountain Farewell to Orpheus by Frederic Littman (1907-79).

In the center of the block between Market and Clay is a granite mosaic sculpture by Oregon artist Paul Sutinen. In the Shadow of the Elm, installed in 1984, depicts the shadow of a tree that may have once existed within the grid of trees in the block. In the center of the block between Columbia and Jefferson is a very different sculpture, also installed in 1984. Comprised of three large granite pillars, Peace Chant is the first known peace memorial in Oregon. Sculptor Steve Gillman wished to express his own advocacy for peace as well as that of the nearby churches. In May 1985 the City Council named this block Peace Plaza.

Between Jefferson and Madison stands an 18-foot-tall bronze equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt by New York sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor (1860-1950), who was known for his western art. Mounted on a 14-foot tall base of California granite, the statue entitled Theodore Roosevelt - Rough Rider portrays the colonel in the actual uniform and accoutrements he wore in his famous ascent of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. It was presented to the city by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe. When Dr. Coe was just beginning his medical practice in 1884 in North Dakota, he met the young Roosevelt, who was there trying to regain his health. Their friendship lasted until Roosevelt's death in 1919. Aside from his personal friendship, Coe (who moved to Portland in 1891) admired Roosevelt's politics. It was mostly for this reason that he decided to express his admiration in the form of a public statue. Calvin Coolidge broke ground for the statue in August 1922 and it was unveiled on November 11 of that year. The block was named Roosevelt Square.

The block between Madison and Main was named Lincoln Square because of another donation by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe - a 10-foot bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln on a granite base. Sculpted by George Fite Waters and cast at the famous foundry of Claude Valsuani in France on Lincoln’s birthday in 1927, the statue was unveiled on October 5, 1928.

Located between Main and Salmon is the Shemanski Fountain, given to the city by Joseph Shemanski in 1926 to "express in small measure gratitude for what the city has done for me." Shemanski (1869-1951) was a Polish immigrant who started out as a traveling clock salesman before he founded the Eastern Outfitting Co. and became an extremely successful businessman. The triangular structure of cast Oregon sandstone was designed by Carl L. Linde, a local architect whose work included many fine homes, hotels, and apartments. The fountain includes three small, low drinking basins for dogs.

The original design included a large central planter, but after the fountain was erected, Shemanski felt that a sculpture would better complete the graceful cupola. He commissioned Oliver Laurence Barrett, an art professor at the University of Oregon, to create a bronze statue of Rebecca at the Well. It is not clear why Rebecca was chosen, but as the wife of Isaac in the Old Testament known for her hospitality to strangers and kindness to animals, she was a fitting choice.

At the northern end of the block at Salmon sits the Simon Benson Memorial which was constructed in 1959. It was planned by architect Albert E. Doyle while designing the Benson Hotel. A round bronze plaque with a bas relief of Simon Benson, timber baron and philanthropist, is mounted on the curved brick wall with stone benches. He looks out at a drinking fountain which represents one of the 24 bowl fountains that Benson gave to the city in 1912.

The newest park on the Blocks is Simon & Helen Director Park located between Taylor & Morrison. The site was a surface parking lot donated to the city by real estate developer Tom Moyer who also made a substantial contribution toward the design and construction of the park. Another generous contribution was made by philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer who named the park in honor of not only his maternal grandparents, but of all immigrants who helped to build Portland. The design team was led by internationally-renowned landscape architect Laurie Olin whose projects include Bryant Park and Battery Park in New York City and Canary Wharf in London.

UPDATE and I tried to get creative Saturday morning taking photos in the roses at Albertina Kerr

UPDATE: I went to the Fred Meyer with Lamont today and walked quite a bit throughout the very large Hollywood store, using the grocery cart to provide rest when needed. That was good for me, to work on stamina. However, when we got home, I found myself exhausted which means that my oncology pharmacist's prediction that fatigue would set in even more between Chemo Round Four and Round Five has come true. I shall not give up. I shall walk and rest and repeat until I accomplish however much I am able to manage. I shall not overdo anything so as to put myself in jeopardy. And, as always, I thank you for every single prayer, for your love and concern.



I held my camera among the small blossoms in a large pot placed between two benches on the south side of the front walk up to the doorway of the Albertina Kerr Center. Sitting on the other bench and twisting myself to the right, not wanting to crush any of the flowers and not being able to see my tilt screen very well in the bright sun so I had no idea where the focus might lock, I held the camera as still as I could, depressed the shutter button half way, heard the focus sound, and took one photo after another, repeating the steps until I had to sit back and rest, enjoying the smell of the roses blowing in the breeze. None of the photos are exactly what I hoped to accomplish with such a haphazard process, but I am pleased with this one, so I'm sharing it with y'all.

UPDATE and modern day street parking procedures

UPDATE: I had a bit more energy parts of today for which I am grateful. It's great that it's Friday, believe me. And the FedEx man left a package inside the building at my front door--I've been hoping for this since he missed me by about 30 minutes on Wednesday and a whole lotta hours yesterday--now Leland and I don't have to go to their location tomorrow to get the package. Yea! If I feel right, we're going to the Laurelhurst Theater to see the latest Mission Impossible as a second run movie, therefore much more affordable. And if I feel right, we'll go to Fred Meyer afterwards, for my second time to go there since June. Everyone keeps telling me I should ride the scooter. I don't know about that 'cause I'm pretty much uncoordinated. I really shouldn't subject Leland to it or the other shoppers.



Does your town or city use this sort of parking meter? Is this even called a parking meter? Well, I just looked online and the City of Portland calls this a Pay Station when they give you a link to how to operate it. The other links about parking use the term parking meter, as in Parking Meter Rates and How to Report a Broken Parking Meter, etc. Does that make parking meter a term like Kleenex which lots of us use when we have any sort of tissue in hand. Know what I mean?



The lady has the piece of paper she needs and is on her way to her car to place it as instructed, I'll bet. When you click on the link about how to operate the Pay Station, you learn that the piece of paper is officially the receipt and that it is to be placed in the curbside window seal. You have to keep reading paste what looks like the end of the instructions on the Web to find out that you need to be certain that the date and time need to face out. Of course, all of this is on the receipt itself, in case you're new to the whole thing.

All of this is just one more reason that I'm glad that I don't own a car and that I hardly ever drive the Zipcar anywhere that I have to park on the street. Count your blessings where they are, I always say.

My sons excel at splitting.

My lovable lefties, splitting the bill for our impromptu Mother's Day Brunch at my favorite breakfast spot in Portland, the Bijou Cafe.

Yes, impromptu. For Mother's Day, all I really wanted was to shop the sale on Twinings English Breakfast Tea and Walker shortbread cookies at Cost Plus World Market, followed by a tour of and shopping in the recently completed remodel of the Fred Meyer on West Burnside. As we excited World Market, I realized lunch time was nigh. After a bit of discussion, Lamont mentioned the Bijou, so off we went in search of a parking space in downtown Portland and a short wait at the cafe. Success on both counts! After all, it's best to shop for groceries when one is NOT hungry.

From October, 2006, through January, 2011, Mama and I lived within walking distance of the Fred Meyer store's previous iteration which I thoroughly enjoyed because it was not a huge store, more like a neighborhood store of yesteryear. I admit that I've been curious to see the finished product after having shopped the work-in-progress last November when I had a Zipcar and could drive over there from where I now live across the Willamette in Northeast Portland. I found everything I needed. Lamont drove us; the guys carried the groceries in, and Leland put them away--good sons, splitting the effort that made my Mother's Day so special.




My divine brunch, a French omelette filled with smoked goat cheese, bacon and green onions. I had one buttermilk griddle cake and gave the toast to Leland, most all of the potatoes to the guys.



Lamont's brunch, an omelette I know nothing about except that he ate every single delicious bite of it, his salad and his toast, as well as the aforementioned potatoes.



Leland's brunch, a Mother's Day special involving bacon-wrapped eggs which turned out to have been made in the oven in a muffin tin. He ate all of that, too, plus the aforementioned potatoes and toast from my plate, plus the last of my omelette.

Memories, seen from a new perspective, thanks to the AHC's tour of 705 Davis Condominiums

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I took these photos from different windows in other condos--looking at the views was just as much fun for me as looking at the condos themselves.
 

On the sidewalks of NW Everett, between NW 22nd and NW 23rd--I'd have a hard time counting how many times I walked these sidewalks, in all kinds of weather, before and after work, on weekends, to and from the Fred Meyer, by myself, with Mama and our little dachshund Duncan, with my two sons, with my brother when he visited, my our friends-so-great-that-they-are-family visited from Mississippi and California, with a sweetheart of a friend from Mississippi who also became a Portlander, and with a friend I met at the bus stop who had a pet skunk. Walked with those folks in all sorts of combinations over the years. Back when we had a car, the '96 Buick, I parallel parked on either side of this one-way street numerous times--on NW 22nd also--sometimes with the ease of a hot knife in butter, sometimes not.
 

I could almost type the exact same text beneath this view, too, except that it's looking at the dead-end intersection of NW King with NW Davis. I parked the car here a lot, too. Boy, am I happy not to own a car any more!
 

Here's more of NW Davis, just east of the intersection in the photo right above this one. Mama walked the sidewalk on the right back when she was healthy enough to go to the beauty shop which was on the corner hidden by all of the leaf-laden trees. I have to tell you that when I looked out the window and took this photo, I got choked up for a little while, remembering the day she asked me to find her a beauty shop that she could walk to from our apartment. I used Google Maps Search Nearby and found us a beauty shop. I'm getting choked up right now just typing this because over the years we knew what we'd really found was a sweetheart of a woman, our friend Rosa. This woman came to our apartment in later years and gave Mama her trims and perms there because Mama's mobility lessened as congestive heart failure took its toll. The last photo of us together Rosa took with her camera after she'd done our hair in our kitchen, on the Sunday before Mama died in her sleep on Friday afternoon, January 7, 2011. I count myself blessed to still have Rosa in my life.
 

Back in the day, when Mama was mobile, we walked together to Fred Meyer a few times. We never carried our groceries home in a bag (back then the stores in Portland were allowed to use plastic bags, but not now as you can see from this paper bag in the hands of that man). We used a rolling black bag. Another thing, back in the day, we could walk right into our Fred Meyer with our little dachshund Duncan on his leash. It was hard to tell you was more popular with other shoppers, Mama or Duncan.
 

One last memory. See the mustard-colored, multi-storied building, top left? It stands diagonally across the street from our building. We lived on the top floor of our four-story building, and I seem to remember that the building we're looking at had six stories. Our living room was on the corner of our building closest to the intersection, therefore not far at all from the building we're looking at. Our TV was in the corner, with two good-sized windows in each of the two walls that made up the corner. I could sit in my chair, placed diagonally in front of the TV, and easily see most of the top floors of the building, not the two walls you can see in the photo, but the wall just out of sight to the left. Mama could not see what I could see from her recliner. Anyway, one night I'm sitting there in my chair, watching TV with Mama. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed motion in one of the windows, a repetitive, rhythmic motion. Taking my attention from the TV, I focused on that window and realized that I was seeing a man and a woman having sex in what I figured must be the living room, without any curtains shut. Her legs were straight up in the air and he was very busy between them. "My gosh," I said, "there is someone having sex in an apartment over there!" Mama said, "What? Where?" Then we decided we'd turn out the light so that she might could catch a glimpse without us being noticeably voyeuristic, but by the time we did that, it was all over over there. Truth.

Thanks to my Zipcar, here's something I saw at the Oregon State Fair, the Slingshot!

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Just released, speeding upward on some sort of giant rubber bands! Holding on and smiling. I took this photo at 2:43 p.m. on Sunday, September 1, 2013, in Salem, Oregon.
 

In no time at all, physics takes hold and spins the seat so that the occupants are heels over heads and still speeding upward. I didn't count the number of ups and downs, but I can tell you that one would be more that I could take. Have you ever been on this ride? What makes it a ride? More like a jolt.
 

My Zipcar, Toyota Prius Islidur. We're at my on-the-way pit stop at the Fred Meyer in Canby, Oregon. It's the best place to stop for the deli counter and the restroom, bar none, when leaving Portland and heading south to Swan Island Dahlias, Bauman's Farm and Gardens, Schreiner's Iris Gardens, the Oregon State Fair, and/or the Sublimity Harvest Festival.

And, remember yesterday's post with the sign? Today there are signs, too. Folks, pay attention to these if you're trying to decide if you ever want to submit to the Sling Shot. I didn't even have to read because I knew beyond any doubt that I would never find my boo-tay strapped into the capsule. No way, no how.

I've typed what the one one the left says for you here:

Rules
1. Please remove all loose articles: Hats, Sunglasses, Keys, Cell Phones, & Loose Change.
2. Everything must be removed from your front pockets before riding the sling shot.
3. You must be at least 48" tall to ride the Sling Shot.

Restrictions
1. You ride the Sling Shot at your own risk!
2. You cannot ride if you have back, neck, heart, or other medical conditions!
3. YOU CANNOT RIDE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT!
4. You cannot ride if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol!
5. By going on the Sling Shot you agree that you have read all the Rules & Restrictions and will          abide by them!
6. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone!
7. NO TICKETS, NO RIDE, NO REFUND!

But here's where it gets down to brass tacks, on the sign on the right:
SLINGSHOT Riders
$30 per person (the squares with the prices on them have been attached to the sign because, dontcha know it, the prices have changed, gone up, I'm sure--it's the slingshot, they're not gonna go down, are they?)
Single Rider $30
Video $the stair rail is in the way, so I cannot tell if it is $30 or $20, but I'll lean towards $30, for consistency and continuity of pricing.

DO NOT RIDE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT DO NOT RIDE IF YOU HAVE BACK, NECK, HEART or HEALTH PROBLEMS

Hot Shot Thrill Rides
TOWER HEIGHT: 190'
CAPSULE HEIGHT: 250'
APPRX. SPEED: 100 MPH
MAXIMUM G'S: 5

RIDERS RIDE AT OWN RISK Needless to say, all I did was take a couple of photographs.

Zipcar Trip to Ikea, Home Goods, Dress Barn and Fred Meyer, and a couple of sights to see in my neighborhood.

Saturday, believe it or not, I decided to forego seeing the Porsches in Cars in the Park. I got myself a Zipcar and did some errands instead.


The Zipcar of the day, a Toyota Prius named "Plush," a hybrid hatchback. I only had to walk four tenths of a mile to get to the car--not bad at all, especially since the closer one, only one tenth of a mile away, showed up on Zipcar's Web page as unavailable when I searched for a car to reserve.


This was my first ever trip to Ikea all by myself, no son along to keep me on task, following the arrows on the floor, and not missing any details of the Ikea experience.


Here's what I got at Ikea, five additional Branas baskets for my Expedit bookcase, six more Ribba picture ledges, one table-top ironing board, one Antonius over-the-door hanging rack which just might work when I have Milton and Kay here in a few weeks, and one Lajban drying rack, which just might work if the other one doesn't. No one likes or needs or deserves a somewhat soggy bath towel.


See the C reflected in the back window? That's how I found the car again--I parked in a space near the C because I figured I could easily remember cool and/or crazy, both terms that have been applied to me, now and then.


At Home Goods, a store I had never previously shopped, I found one more over-the-door rack with an attached shelf, plus the cutest paisley fit&fresh Retro Chiller Bag which includes a lunch POD with reusable chiller pack (their capitalizations). That's the bottom of it that you see here. I figured out how to attach it to a strap on my backpack! Next I drove over and parked in front of the Dress Barn where I lucked out and found three tops, two on sale, one not but still comfortable and affordable. No photos of the Dress Barn plastic bag--I know you are thrilled at that turn of events!


I extended my Zipcar reservation by using the app on my iPhone, drove home and unloaded the back of the car, ate a quick lunch of tuna salad and saltines, accompanied by a small Mt. Dew in a can. Then I drove to the Hollywood Fred Meyer and shopped for groceries, etc. Once I had made my purchases, I filled the two rolling black bags in the anteroom, grocery cart area, exited for the Zipcar with the Northern and the Brawny and one of the bags in the grocery cart, pushing the other rolling black bag. That silver sliver you see beneath my rolling black bags and the bag of Brawny is the removable thing that you attach somehow to the inside of the back of the car so that what you have in the back of the car is out of sight--it goes up and down with the opening and shutting of the hatch. Of course, someone who drove the car prior to me had taken it loose, I am not sure how to attach it, nor did I really need it. One of these days I may have to figure it out, but not yesterday.


I unloaded everything with 15 minutes to spare, drove the Prius "Plush" to its home, and walked back to my apartment. As I crossed the street, something shiny inside the open door caught my eye. I walked in and talked for a few moments to the nicest woman inside the Tip Top Cleaners , locally owned and operated, on the corner of East Burnside and SE 20th Avenue. The sidewalk you can see is along NE 22nd Avenue, heading north. That's my path between the apartment the "Plush," the Zipcar Prius.


"These mosaics are great! Did y'all do them yourselves?" "I did," she replied, smiling. "This is Mt. Hood!" I exclaimed. The lady replied, "My Mama thought I was going too slow, so she put some things at the bottom (to finish it), but that's the thing with mosaics (it didn't hurt it)!" I agreed with her and asked if I could take some pictures for my blog. She gave the OK. The pieces of mirror on the sides of Mt. Hood had reflected the sunshine, catching my eye as I walked by on the sidewalk.


The other counter says, "Welcome." I wish I had thought to ask if she worked on the mosaics elsewhere or here on the base of the counters. I will stop by again some time and ask.


As I left, I told her how much I enjoyed their neon sign, a comment that garnered me another big smile. Then I took this photo and continued on my way, for a few steps.


Then I stopped, looked at the sign painted on the window, glanced back south on the sidewalk and decided to take this photo. See the white car in the distance, about to come out of the side street?


That side street is where "Plush" lives. The closer white car in on East Burnside."Plush" at home, behind the 76 station.


A close-up of the sign on the window. I really like how the outline paint's color closely matches the color of the neon at the bottom of the arrow. Besides going back to ask about the process followed in making the mosaics, I need to get back over there after dark and take a few photos of the neon sign. Then I'll share them with you.


In the meantime, here's the same photo as above, altered at Picnik with the effect known as Lomo-ish.


Another couple of steps and I couldn't resist this oh-so-professional-looking Alterations, expertly painted across the three windows which such confidence in its ability to make someone notice what it says.


One final colorful local place caught my eye as I walked by, Spunky Monkey Coffee Roasters .