UPDATE and another sight I'd like to see again

UPDATE: Much the same, thank goodness. Eating by the clock because I have no feeling of being hungry no matter the time of day, but I know that I don't need to miss a meal. Nothing much tastes right, but I'm managing with what Lamont and Leland have bought for me lately at Fred Meyer. They're such helpful, caring guys. I am blessed. Also, thanks to each of you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



Led by a dachshund on a leash, pedestrians cross West Burnside at SW Broadway, downtown on November 4, 2011. I waited half way up the block for a 12 or a 19 so that I could go home.

UPDATE and something I miss right now

UPDATE: Still very little peripheral neuropathy or aching knees. Yes! The biggest side effect is fatigue, but I continue to listen to my body and take naps when I just cannot stay awake. I'm sleeping at night, too. Yes! Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern. Y'all are special to me!



I took this photo on a glorious October 25, 2008. Look at that fall foliage along the east side of the Willamette River! I miss seeing sights like this so much this fall. However, I'll be well and out and about next year, taking lots of photos with matching street level accessories, like the Broadway Bridge and the rail cars. I know that I will!

UPDATE and a lovely shot of some fall foliage from October, 2008

UPDATE: Fatigue is back, but not so much that it prevented my getting to work and working my four hours. A friend who gets off on Mondays at 2:30 p.m. gave me a ride home--very nice of her to do that for me! I rested until about 5:15 p.m., then walked down to the Blue Diamond and enjoyed some food and friends. I'm home now, ready for the recliner and sorry that my KC Royals are currently getting the stew beat outta them. In a little bit, when I go to the recliner, I'll check how the Blazers are doing down in LA against the Lakers.



Last Monday I was in this neighborhood and these trees didn't look like this. I most certainly would have remembered if they were on fire like this--I wonder if the very dry and hot weather all summer has messed with lots of the fall foliage here? I know I've not been out a lot, but when I have been, I haven't noticed much color, or I've noticed that the leaves have already fallen from the trees.

Aren't they amazing? The street is West Burnside where it intersects with NW 23rd Avenue. Mama and I lived in that neighborhood from October, 2006, until she died in January, 2011. I still miss the area, but I'm very happy where I've been all these years, about three miles almost directly east of that apartment.

UPDATE and I miss being out and about, looking for fall foliage to photograph. The next best thing, searching my Flickr account for photos taken in October. 2007.

UPDATE: Saturday's been much like Friday, and I'm thankful for no increase in the fatigue. Leland, my younger son, came over today and did two loads of laundry, figured out what I'd touched on my camera to cause a couple of distracting actions and tried patiently to get stuck in my chemo-addled-mind what to do if/when either one happens again.



Downtown, the elk stands tall on SW Main between two lovely, square block city parks. I really like this statue, The Thompson Elk Fountain. Notice that line of TriMet buses in the background? Since this is October, 2007, the downtown Transit Mall is rerouted to SW Third--the street you see--and SW 4th which is behind me to the west, so that the actual mall on SW 5th and SW 6th could be totally redone which took a couple of years. The building with the teal-colored glass is the Justice Center, home to various courts and one of the Multnomah County jails. I've seen vintage photos of horses hitched into delivery wagons drinking from this fountain, and I've witnessed Portland Police Bureau horses taking a drink from it.



The teal-colored lower floors of the Portland Building look neat against the golden leaves of the gingko trees. Here's a bit about the fountain, from the city's Web site, fountain page: David P. Thompson drove sheep to Portland over the Oregon Trail. From 1879-82 he served as Portland's Mayor. In 1900, Thompson's gift of this bronze elk sculpture was intended to commemorate elk that once grazed nearby. Roland Hinton Perry sculpted the elk.



Here's a 4 bus making its way by the elk without difficulty. Lots of days after work, I'm on that bus, lately only if I miss the Portland Streetcar outside my work building.



Other vehicles successfully pass the fountain, too.

UPDATE and some fall foliage

UPDATE: I didn't work today which was planned; I work on Monday and Tuesday next week. I rested every time my body told me to take it easy. I didn't want to go outside, so I walked in the building hallway some. I enjoyed watching the Royals beat the Blue Jays 5-0 on my big ol' TV. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern.



The Saturday that Leland and I went out taking photos of Forest for the Trees 2015 murals, we saw these beauties south of East Burnside. I imagine they all been blown off the trees by now. I'm glad that I got the photo through Leland's windshield .

UPDATE and a quick bit of fall foliage, well the beginning of it on these particular trees

UPDATE: Felt like myself until 1 p.m., then the fatigue came back, making me out of breath after walking 12-15 feet. I have places to rest no matter where I am, be it a bench or a chair, a wall or a post. In other words, I make it. I continue to make it.



This morning I transferred from the 12 to the 4 at the shelter downtown at SW Pine and SW 5th. Sitting in one of the seats, I noticed this autumn-leaves-tipped trees and zoomed in for this photo. When I uploaded it to Flickr, I saw that I have one of my favorite things in the photo, too, what I call a street-level-matching-accessory--the orangey bronze Honda parked on SW 5th. Love it! You'll find lots of leaves that it's color matches very well. Plus, y'all, take a look at the bricks on the sidewall of the service station. Orangey! Double SLMA!

ESHT 2014 - What I saw on my walk across the aqueduct and back to the coach

To my right: These trees seem to be right at the beginning of changing their colors. Would love to be there when they're at their fall foliage peak.



To my right: A closeup of the bridge over the River Dee. On Google Maps, I think I've found the correct bridge--it's on the Gate Road. I'm going Google Map walking!



To my right: An even closer look at the bridge. I wonder how old it is? And why do the supports make that diamond-shaped space available? In one of my Google Walk shots, I noticed a pedestrian/walker standing in this very space, looking at the river. Perhaps whenever this bridge was built, the designer wanted to provide a spot for people to stop and take in the beauty of the River Dee and its surroundings. At each end of the bridge there's a round white sign with a red border that reads >6'6"< which I take to mean the width of the bridge. Right below it on the same pole is another sign that says "Except buses and coaches," in English and Welsh. Does that mean no bus, no coach? I'll bet the coach we were on was wider than that!



To my left: With all of those clouds, the random appearance of the sun proved fleeting. The haze impacted the view, too.



To my left: See what I mean?



To my left: I like this one best--sweet shadow beneath the tree in the corner of that field.



To my left: A close up a few seconds later and you can see how the shadow beneath the tree has already changed.



To my left: Here's the River Dee, and in the distance, the Cefn Mawr Viaduct. To find it, look above the last of the visible water, then above all of those trees. See the row of arches?



To my left: Here's a close up for you, taken through the haze, shown straight out of the camera. I read this on the Internet: The Cefn Mawr sandstone Viaduct, built by Thomas Brassey, railway contractor, in 1848 to carry the Shrewsbury and Chester railway across the valley of the River Dee.

I also read this on the Internet: The Chester and Shrewsbury railway runs at the eastern end of the Vale of Llangollen, beyond the parish boundary, passing through Cefn Mawr on route from Chester to Shrewsbury. It is carried over the River Dee by a stupendous viaduct, half a mile down stream from the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. It measures one thousand five hundred and eight feet in length, and stands one hundred and forty-seven feet above the level of the river. The structure is supported by nineteen arches with sixty foot spans. Construction on the viaduct began started in 1846 and was completed in 1848. Civil engineer and railroad pioneer Henry Robertson completed plans for crossing the River Dee at Cefn Mawr.

What was instrumental to the ability to complete the construction of both the Cefn Viaduct and the Chirk Viaduct in only two years was the Shropshire Union Canal or what is now called the Llangollen Canal for the shipment of sandstone form the quarries of Cefn Mawr on the north side of the River Dee valley across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct to the south side and onwards to the Ceiriog Valley.

So cool! We really touched history on our aqueduct adventure!



Here's a view of the Poncysyllte Aqueduct that shows you the landscape on both sides at once. The overcast increased, and I soon turned around and started walking back to the coach.



As I neared the entrance to the aqueduct, I stopped for a moment and then looked down. Imagine my surprise when I saw this path made of steps. I like the curves of it in juxtaposition with the rectangles made by the steps.



Close up--really cool.



One more close up. I couldn't stop looking, and considering my fear of heights, I feel blessed to have been able to see this path.



I glanced up the slope and saw this man with his bicycle. So neat!



Pretty roses in bloom in early October.



To me, this house looks much larger than others nearby.



One last look at the autumn roses. Next post--I start my photos of Llangollen!

Fall foliage and the Big Pink--can't get much better on a blue sky Saturday

Click here for a trip to City Daily Photo, transporting you around the world every day.



Last Saturday after my volunteer work at the Architectural Heritage Center was done, I walked north on SE Grand from SE Alder to East Burnside. My intention, to catch the next 12 or 19 bus home, struck a short-lived snag, but on the way I got to take this fall foliage, Big Pink, colorful Central Eastside Industrial District photo. Crossing SE Ash, I noticed that if I stood in just the right spot, I could make it seem that the Big Pink came up out of the corner of that vintage building painted a pale butter yellow. (I read something recently about plans to tear down the pale butter yellow building and put up some sort of taller building. I am not happy about that. I hope it doesn't happen.) Anyway, I check the traffic signals and the traffic, then stood in the street and took myself this photo. Success! By the way, the Big Pink is on the west side of the Willamette River, and I'm over on the east side taking this photo, almost a mile away! Come back Sunday for a photo or two of the short-lived snag.

Street-level matching accessories

Couldn't resist taking this photo after work last Friday. I got off the bus at the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge for the express purpose of photographing fall foliage. I walked south, then west on the bridge approach to take a few photos. As I traced my path back to the bus stop to catch one home, she popped up, a street-level matching accessory to Nature's paint brush. You see them, don't you? The red jacket, green bag, and rust-colored purse. They match the foliage, fall and otherwise.


I kept walking towards the corner, going the same direction she did, once the light changed. The view to the right. These cars are coming off the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge. More street-level matching accessories.


The view as I stopped for the traffic signal on the corner of SW 1st and Main. All except for the man's cigarette, it's a great photo. I thought about cloning it out at Picnik, but decided to just not take the time. I guess I could stretch and say that the sidewalk sign matches the fall foliage, but it's too wimpy-colored. I like how the green leaves beneath the autumn leaves accentuates the colors. Cool.