I scored a hat trick with these trifectas.

Thursday morning in between buses on my commute to work, I walked back over to Pioneer Courthouse Square to check how many flowers remained from the Flower Sale at the end of the Festival of Flowers. I couldn't resist taking a few photos. Here you see a few beauties with the Portland Hotel wrought iron arch in the background, added joy with the pedestrian's placement inside the arch. Then there's the TriMet bus heading north on SW 6th, part of the Portland Transit Mall.



And here's another photo. I wanted to share it because not only is there a TriMet bus, there's a MAX train, too, waiting at the traffic signal in just the right position to be seen through the arch.

Hat trick, three goals scored by the same person; trifecta--excuse my stretching this one--I took these photos with these items in the exact order that I predicted, once I realized what was happening right before I clicked the button on the camera. 1st, Festival of Flowers; 2nd, Portland Hotel wrought iron arch; 3rd, TriMet on the Portland Transit Mall.

UPDATE and the after-work commute today

UPDATE: I made it through work today without any problems--hooray! Soon I'll be back in the recliner at the Oncology Center for Chemo Round Three. I wonder if it will be different, the side effects. Or, will it be much the same as Rounds One and Two? We'll see.



After work today, I missed the streetcar, so I took the 4 bus across the Hawthorne Bridge to wait for the 12 that I would then ride the rest of the way home. Here we are looking south on SW 6th Avenue. Where's that next bus? I like to be in downtown, so I do this most all of the time after work when I'm there full time because the bus gets filled up with folks coming out of downtown office buildings. That means if I were to ride the streetcar or a bus north on SE Grand to change at East Burnside like I did last week in the middle of the afternoon, I'd be waiting on a 12 or 19 bus with no seats available. I'd rather go west across the river, then end up going east to make certain that I get a seat. It's safer to ride sitting down than standing up, in my opinion.



Ah, there's the 12 at the other end of the block. Why? I know. It's shift change, from driver to driver. When I walked by after getting off the 4 bus, I had noticed a TriMet employee sitting on the sidewalk with his back leaned against one of the huge concrete planters that dot the streets of downtown Portland. When I noticed the 12 pull in, I put two and two together and came up with shift change. I've been riding the bus since July, 2006, and often make correct guesses as to what's going on after observing lots over time.



Curbside service, thanks to TriMet and the 12 bus, y'all! I only had to wait seven minutes, total; I spent the first few minutes sitting at the bus shelter, but the sun shined on me too directly which I knew I didn't need to have happening, due to the chemotherapy, so I ended up standing where I figured the bus would come to a stop in order for all of us commuters to board.



I decided to put my phone on, I guess you call it Facetime, so that I could hold it up to the window and catch some candid shots, maybe a video. Here's a photo that I cropped because about a third of it was of the inner wall that separates this window from the next one. I like how this turned out! The shelter and the stop are at the MAX Green and Yellow Lines' stop beside Pioneer Courthouse on SW 6th between SW Yamhill and SW Morrison. Pioneer Courthouse Square is directly across the street.



I like this video! The building is one of A. E. Doyle's best, in my opinion--it's my favorite--the Bank of California built in 1924. I wish I were filthy rich 'cause I'd love to own it! The video ends as the 12 pulls to a stop at the bus shelter in front of a restaurant called the Original Dinerant on SW 6th. The next building north is the Big Pink. I've eaten at the Original twice, but that was at least two or more years ago. The food was good, sort of expensive if you don't make Happy Hour, and I might stop there some time in the future before I go to a Portland Trail Blazers' home game. I would then catch the MAX to the game at the stop beside the Big Pink.



Here's a video as we head up the slope of the Burnside Bridge and on across the Willamette River. I stopped the video sooner that I meant to, but that's OK. You get the idea of how the bridge railing looks, as well as the sidewalks. At the beginning of the video, the bridge approach is above downtown streets and the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, thus all of those trees.



Finally, here is a video shot through the windshield, showing you the new building being built at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, right up against the north side of the bridge. The building's name? Yard. Just Yard. Not The Yard.

Mr. Statue, on a rainy Saturday

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Photo taken at SW 5th Avenue and SW Morrison, downtown Portland, on February 16. 

Mr. Statue, a popular mime in Portland, set up beneath the glass overhang that protects the door to Pioneer Place, a multi-story shopping center. I took quite a few photos and had a difficult time deciding on just one. Once I had altered this one at BeFunky dot com, I liked how it turned out, so I decided to share it with you. I may post another one or two later on, just because I like them so much. Oh, by the way, this spot is the first place that I saw Mr. Statue--I'm not sure which year, but it was quite a few ago.  

Festival of Flowers, Pioneer Courthouse Square, downtown Portland

Let me set the scene. You're looking slightly north of east across Pioneer Courthouse Square, nicknamed Portland's Living Room. The white glazed terra cotta building houses Macy's and The Nines Hotel, but it was originally the Meier & Frank department store, the first major commission of my favorite Portland architect, A. E. Doyle; the building was completed in stages between 1909 and 1932. The lovely building to the right of the trees is the Pioneer Courthouse, completed in 1875. And in front of it is a TriMet MAX Yellow and Green line light rail station--those people milling about are waiting for a ride closer to home.

At BeFunky dot com, I've altered this photo by cropping it, sharpening it, and using the special effect Orton. The result reminds me how some vintage post cards look--I really like it.

About the flowers, here's the news release from The Square PDX dot org:
FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS CONTAINER OF ESSENCE ARRIVES TO PORTLAND’S LIVING ROOM JUNE 1ST! PORTLAND, OR – (May 25, 2012)

The 28th Annual Festival of Flowers celebration officially opens June 1st in the heart of Downtown Portland!

This year’s design, Container of Essence created by local artist and sculptor Dana Lynn Louis, will be on display at Pioneer Courthouse Square through June 12th.

Container of Essence at the Square will bring together nearly 20,000 colorful flowers, bamboo and ornamental grasses to create a mandala in the heart of downtown encouraging peace within one’s self and the world at large. In conjunction with the two week festival there will be plenty of noon time activities encouraging downtown visitors to find their inner peace with free yoga and meditation! For two weeks on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, grab your yoga mat as the Square transforms into an outdoor yoga studio. Beginning June 4th at 12pm, CorePower Yoga instructors will be conducting FREE Yoga classes on the Square. For more moments of Zen, Maitripa College, one the first Buddhist colleges in America will be leading classes in meditation on June 5th and 12th. KIND Healthy Snacks will also be at the Square for “KIND Tuesday” on June 5th as they hand out free snack bars and seed packets for your garden, while supplies last.




See the little girl sitting on the bricks, near the mandala, with her left arm raised in the air? Would that I could read  her mind and know the memories she's making at the sight of these lovely flower designs.


And this info about the Flower Sale, from the same Internet source:

2012 Festival of Flowers Price List

Container of Essence Design by Dana Lynn Louis
4” Flowers/Annuals & Herbs
$1/each or $10/Dozen

Flowers/ Annuals ($1 each)
Blue Salvia, Red Salvia, Red Begonias (bronze leaf), Red Begonias (green leaf), Durango Red Marigolds, Orange Marigolds, Orange Impatiens Extreme, White Alyssum, White Impatiens Extreme, White Begonias (green leaf), White Begonias (bronze leaf), Light Pink Impatiens Extreme, Light Pink Begonia (green leaf), Coral Petunias Simply Madness, Dark Pink Impatiens Extreme Rose, Dark Pink Begonias (green leaf), Lime Green Coleus Versus

Herbs ($1 each)
Peppermint, Spearmint, Lemon Balm, Common Sage, Hyssop, Chives

3.5” Grasses/ Perennials ($3 each)
Acorus Gramineus ‘Ogon’, Carex Dolichostachya ‘Kaga-Nishiki’, Juncus Effusus ‘Unicorn’

1 gallon Grass ($5 each) Imperata Bloodgrass

Bamboo ($60 each) 8-10ft Phyllostachys nigra from Bamboo Garden

Flower Sale begins Wednesday June 13th at 8:00AM
Boxes and Bags available while supplies last!

Another favorite sight of the season

The photo, altered at Picnik. I took it on December 17, after work. Pioneer Courthouse, a bright moon overhead, and lots of folks waiting for the MAX.


The original photo.