Heading for Labor Day. Workers, working, NE 20th and East Burnside.

July, 2012, while I waited to cross East Burnside, I watched these two men who were almost finished repainting the brown background of the Willoughby Hearing Aids neon sign. The center, left side Hearing Aids sign gives you an idea of just how faded the brown had become. I believe that they repainted the white behind the neon letters, too.
 

After I parked the Zipcar hours later, I took this photo of the finished work before I finished my walk home.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 8

Here's the map again. Today's photo, taken on May 19, 2012, shows SW 10th which is the same street that the bright yellow Portland Streetcar rode on in the post from Monday, 05/28/2012. The vehicles are heading northbound on the one-way street.
 

I realize that I really don't need to point out the three, count 'em, three people wearing the matching neon chartreuse green! They're as obvious as the noses on our faces! Abundant serendipity at play here.

Now for the street level matching colors, also abundant. The girl walking away has on shoes which are two shades of gray, as well as a gray skirt, all of which match the pavement, parts of the sidewalk, that pole in the light gray base on the right, plus the wall and overhang on that building down the street. Part of her shoulder bag is a muted chartreuse, the section beneath the flap, the outline of the flower on the flap, and the shoulder strap itself.

The girl walking towards me has on a black coat, black pants and carries a black bag, all of which match the line of poles either beside her or marching out of sight beyond her. Also, check out that man walking towards me, wearing sunglasses. He's got on a black jacket and black pants!

And the girl sitting on the light gray base of the gray pole had getter hope that when she gets up from there that her white pants are not light gray! In the meantime, her pants match the extremely clean-looking white T-shirt on the man walking towards me as well as the random white-painted traffic stripes.

To tell you the truth, this photo provided the inspiration for this series. So, you can blame it on these three strangers!

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 6

Here's a map for you. I hope it will enhance your enjoyment of today's post, as well as those on the upcoming days. We'll start with Powell's Books, on the northwest corner, and then go counterclockwise from there.



First up, a man in bright red-orange shoes, wearing an orange jacket. He is walking north across West Burnside at the intersection of SW 10th (behind him) and NW 10th (in front of him). You see, Burnside, whether it be West Burnside or East Burnside, divides Portland into its northern and southern sections.

There's a good chance that he's going to Powell's Books which is on the corner he's headed toward. The red post and railing is in front of the store's main entrance. Powell's Books takes up that entire downtown Portland city block.

There's an orange sign on a pole just beyond the woman who has turned to look south, towards me. Although I can't quite read it when I click on the original size, I can see that there is the logo of the Portland Streetcar. Up the street to the north on the man's right, there appears to be a sign on a building which is red and orange.

Lots of matching colors to be found, thanks to the man's orange jacket and shoes. I took this photo on May 1, 2012.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 5

Talk about serendipity! Look at this guy's helmet juxtaposed with the back of that stop sign on the corner of SE Stark and SE 6th Avenue! How cool that I snapped when I did and the camera got that split second in time! Wow! I'm excited about this photo.

Oh, before I get totally distracted by my excitement, look off in the distance, south down SE 6th. See those parked vehicles, many of which are red? They match the man's backpack. There's a north-facing red stop sign, too.

OK. I found something else that matches--there's a teensy bit of bright green there at the corner to the right of the bicycle's front wheel. When I clicked on the original size for an up close look, I saw that it appears to be what's left of a bottle brush, crushed and torn up by traffic, no doubt. And it's the same color as his jacket! Whoopee!

I took this photo on November 9, 2011, on my walk to work.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 3

Last Saturday on the way home from a fine lecture at the Architectural Heritage Center and a rewarding trip to Powell's Books, I got off the bus for the block and a half walk to my apartment building.

On the corner, I noticed these two stacks of orange traffic cones as I crossed to wait for the traffic signal to change at the corner of NE Sandy Blvd. and NE 20th Avenue. "Hmmm," I wondered. "Is tomorrow's Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon coming by here?"

Then I saw the man approaching on the bicycle, wearing, of all things, an orange knit hat covering,  I imagine, a head full of dread locks. I couldn't believe it--orange and orange, right at the same instant that I stood on the corner, camera on its strap hanging around my neck.

Yea for serendipity!

(And more about the cones later on in this series.)

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 1

April 20, 2012, outside the Rose Garden Arena, I noticed a colorful sight, this young woman on her Day-Glo orange bicycle which has buttery yellow sidewall tires and even brighter orange wheels. There's even a narrow, swooping orange stripe on her creamy white-colored bicycle seat. She's wearing a bright chartreuse green safety vest. Her bicycle helmet has a matching orange stripe, a matching green stripe, and a soft blue stripe on its creamy white surface.

I saw her outside the Rose Garden Arena, pedaling north at through the intersection of NE Wheeler and NE Multnomah. Just to the right of the street lamp, up that slope, lies I-5, the southbound side of it. NE Multnomah crosses beneath the interstate.

I had a good time looking photo, noticing street level matching colors. Shades of orange--a streak at the base of the street lamp, rust on the fence poles, some sort of flaking sherbet-colored paint on the concrete wall. Shades of green--the new grass, the trees and shrubs, the flaking mint-colored paint on the concrete wall. I can't get myself to count the green on the street signs, though--it's just too different to count.

A night of firsts

Today is Veterans Day. Support those who served and their families, plus those currently serving. Thank you.


Last night, I went to the Laurelhurst Theater for the first time. I saw Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 classic film, "Rear Window," on the big screen for the first time. I walked home from the movie theater, a total of 10 blocks, for the first time since I was a little girl in Norco, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans.

Back then, the movie theater was a couple of blocks away, and I remember going several Saturdays to watch episodes of a serial. Don't remember which one, but I vividly remember walking down the shell road in the trailer park where we lived, walking toward the street perpendicular to the road between two rows of trailers, walking toward the levee that enclosed the Mississippi River. That levee soared above me, it seemed. I remember once seeing the smokestack of some sort of ship moving slowly by. I was in elementary school, maybe eight years old. I was short which added to my impression of the height of the levee. I remember that the smokestack was blue and white and yellow; there might have been a star on it. And here's why I only saw several episodes--my Daddy's job, building water cooling towers for industrial purposes, took us from place to place all across the country. The longest we lived anywhere was three months, the shortest overnight in Enid, Oklahoma--the supplies to build the cooling tower were not on site, so we were sent back to Borger, Texas, to work on another one there.

I don't have any trouble remembering scenes and the setting and the plot of "Rear Window." It is my favorite film, probably seen it on TV a dozen times. I feel blessed to have been able to see it tonight on the big screen. I never get tired of watching Jimmy Stewart act, seemingly without effort. I never get tired of watching Grace Kelly glow on screen. The characters played by Thelma Ritter, Wendall Corey and Raymond Burr-all so well done. And let's not forget the folks who lived in the other apartments overlooking the courtyard. Intriguing to be sure. No wonder Jimmy Stewart's character couldn't stop watching. He could go no where else, so he found the perfect way to spend time.


The lobby, looking toward the box office.


The theater where I watched "Rear Window." There are narrow, rectangular tables in part of the seating area, on every other row, I think. Until everyone ate their slices of pizza they'd bought in the lobby, I have to admit to sensory confusion--smelling pizza in a movie theater struck me as weird.

And the icing on the cake, this delicious neon all over the marquee.

Walk #2, playground equipment in neon

When I saw this playground equipment, I immediately thought of changing it to neon in Picnik. Success.


The playground as I saw it.

The playground itself is at the east end of the da Vinci Middle School campus. The school is at 2508 NE Everett Street.

Neon man-made greens.

I adore this sign on Interstate Avenue.


Love this one, too, which is also on Interstate Avenue.


And one more beaut, also on Interstate Avenue.


Here's one more that I enjoy seeing on SE Hawthorne.


Kelly's Olympian at night, with a Green Cab out front.


Here's the whole store front for Kelly's Olympian. By the way, these two photos were taken in 2007. The Kelly's photo on Sunday's post was just taken on Saturday, October 23, 2010.


Last but not least, my absolute favorite neon sign here in Portland. At some point in the future, it will read Portland, Oregon.

Man-made instances of the secondary color, green.

The drums on stage with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Jimmy Mak's, a fine jazz club within walking distance of where I live--how fortunate.


Handlebars and the frame of this bicycle, man-made greens, as well as the cloth in the baby seat. By the way, I actually saw a lady standing near this bicycle with a baby strapped to her chest. I have to tell you that, while I am in favor of bicycling, I just can't get used to folks riding on busy thoroughfares, especially with a baby on board. It strikes me as dangerous, asking for trouble, irresponsible. To give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she rode up to the Hawthorne corner on a side street. But, to tell you the truth, those particular side streets are narrow, often with vehicles parked on both side, and busy. But, I digress. Back to green, known for its calming impact.


The background of the signs at Kelly's, as well as the neon in the signs.


The trash can and these bike racks at Powell's Books, on another extremely busy thoroughfare, West Burnside. Hopefully these riders rode on side streets, too, but again to tell you the truth I've been in autos and buses going slowly along behind bicyclists riding along in the traffic, on the two-laned street which is often bordered with park vehicles.


The rolling waves in this fabulous mural with a terrific message: Practicing nonviolence is a way of life.


The green paint on the Pinecone. I wonder if the building is apartments or condos? I hope it's still apartments because surely that's what it was built to be.


1929 Ford Roadster, seen at the Cruise In at The Bomber.



Fireworks from July 4, 2010, as seen from the Willamette River, downtown Portland, Oregon.


A truck parked across the street from the Cruise In at The Bomber.

H is for Happy Holidays!

I thought this neon H would serve well as an accent for our warmest wishes to all of you during the next month and through the end of the year. It is in the window of a building in the Pearl, but I forgot to take a photo of the actual name of the business. If anyone knows, please tell me. Thank you.

ELLEA, Thursday, November 6, 2008

Each of us got another good night's rest. The only downer of the entire short trip to Lincoln City was just that, it's short length. Nevertheless, we knew we'd best eat up, pack up and head out by noon, check-out time at the Ester Lee. Lucy and Mama both used the microwave to heat up leftover coffee. I'm not a coffee-drinker, never have been, never will be, I can say with certainty. Lucy's new jammies suited her very well, and she's wearing the earrings she found at the outlet mall.

Mama did very well with a blender new=to-her, mixing her protein just like she likes to do each and every morning. It always gives her an energy boost and serves for nourishment until lunch time.

One thing I learned early on up here in Portland is that one cannot under estimate the importance of keeping one's hood out of one's eyes, hence the cap with the bill. Let me say that I have not got it cocked to the side because I'm a member of some gang. I have to set my Los Lonely Boys hat on my head like because I have a barrette holding back my hair on the left side of my head. Mama took this photo, by the way, and did very well. She's famous for cutting off folks' heads! I guess you've guessed that I'm dressed like this and Duncan's wearing his coat because it's raining outside, and it's his morning walk time. A strong wind blowing from the south managed to spray my glasses, right beneath the bill of that cap and my hood both!

The sweethearts happily played Hand and Foot until time to get ready to go.

I spent some time watching the waves, heading north at a sharper angle to the shore than the ones on Tuesday or Wednesday. My goal was to get a decent wave photo and a bird photo. Look at these iPhoto enhanced and cropped photos to see all I was able to get--I'm satisfied, for this time.

It looks like a pelican to me, flying south into the wind.

Yep, I got every bit of it back into the trunk!

And turned in the key at noon, on the dot. Then I took this photo from the office windows. At some point, I'd like to stay with the guys, their girlfriends, Mama and Duncan in the cottage, the top story one that has the tan SUV parked at the door, or the one you see on the right, with the brown door, if it's just Mama, Duncan and me.
Right after I left the key in the office, we headed back to make our exit at the north end of the parking lot so that I could get a clear shot of Cottage 232. That's it with the door open--the housekeeper didn't waste a moment going in to get to work, looks like. That round window was in the bathroom, and that's the chimney for the gas fireplace at the other end of the cottage. I slept near those two windows on the corner to the left of the door, on a twin bed straight across from that great big picture window in the living room and next to the fireplace. Mama, Duncan and Lucy slept in a bedroom diagonally across from my corner, with a pretty good-sized window overlooking the ocean.

A few miles north, on Highway 101, there's a public parking lot with access to the beach. We pulled in there so that I could take a few more photos and the gals could get one last look at the Pacific Ocean. First thing that caught my eye--an exuberant dog, digging sand at high speed which he had halted before I could get the camera ready! However, I like this shot of three different types loving a windy, cold, lightly rainy day at beach.

Next I shot several photos of the gulls enjoying a sort of inlet and/or the beach. I've cropped and/or enhanced these photos, with iPhoto. I hope they look OK. You certainly do get a feeling for the wind when you see those waves.





Notice the wind buffeting this bird's feathers? Is it a crow?


Before my hat flew off my head, I stuffed it into my coat and quickly walked back to the car. Our next stop, for 30 minutes, an antique mall on Highway 101 where Lucy and I took a quick look--Mama and Duncan waited in the car. Then we were off for Spirit Mountain and the penny machines! Look at the beautiful sight that greeted us as we pulled into the parking lot!

While we didn't win big, we did manage to hear some bells and whistles and see some flashing lights, including one of my favorite neon signs on Barbur Blvd.

A few minutes after taking this photo, I parked the Corolla in front of the Doug Fir. Inside at the bar, Lamont waited for us to join him. One of our Mississippi buds, Chris, works there so we got to see him, too. Plus the three of us split a couple orders of their crispy, tasty fish and chips before heading home to the apartment.

All told, our mini-vacation to the coast made each of us very, very happy.