They call it breakfast, I call it a blessing to eat this good food beside the fireplace at the Multnomah Lodge.

Here's an update about the Columbia Gorge Express, in case you saw any of my videos posted on Monday. I've discovered and claim it to be true that if I had dug into their Web site deeply, I would have learned much more which would have most likely have meant that I would not have missed the bus away from the Gateway Transit Center, nor would I have gone too early to wait for the bus back to Gateway from Multnomah Falls. I thank them for their efforts to get me there and back so that I could make magnificent Memorial Day memories!



First memory at Multnomah Falls, this really, really, really (I could go on and on) scrumptious breakfast known on the menu as Trailblazer! Those are supposed to be silver dollar pancakes. Gosh! If silver dollars were that large, we'd all be tickled to have four of them, right? I tell you what, as great as these beauties tasted and as fine as their texture yielded to the fork, they were perfect as is, no need to be a collectable coin. I have not had a pancake since Mother's Day, 2015. These were worth waiting for! I ate only one slice of bacon and about two thirds of the scrambled eggs, both delicious. I ate all of the pancakes and figured out how to count the carbs when I got home to my WiFi.



The view looking across the dining room, looking north. The blue-tinted trees are across the Columbia River in Washington. I couldn't resist taking this candid photo.



I like the look of this lamp in focus with the background out of focus. Do you?



A worker got another log out of a closet in the wall to the right of the fireplace and tossed it onto the fire. In no time it seemed to me the flames grew taller, crackling and popping. Outside the sun shone, but in the shaded by virtue of being the central room on that second floor, the dim lighting allowed me to get this photo that I like.



One of two photos that I took looking out the second floor window outside the restrooms. I wanted you to see the flower beds enclosed in the rock walls and part of the crowd. Believe me, the crowd grew and grew as I hung around enjoying myself for several hours. The crosswalk markings on the road lead to a short footbridge, then to an underpass beneath not only the railroad track but also beneath the eastbound lanes of I-84. The parking lot over there is larger than the one you'll see a portion of in the next photo but still not large enough for the crowds. So, there is a free round-trip shuttle from there to another nearby park at Rooster Rock where there is more parking. The Oregon Department of Transportation runs it. If I were to drive out there--which I won't do because I don't own a car and have no intention of getting a Zipcar to go there--I'd go very early and try to park here at Multnomah Falls.



The second photo that I took from the second floor. You can see for yourself how small the parking lot across the road from Multnomah Falls appears--it's narrow and always full when folks have the chance to get out to the Gorge. I for one am thankful for the new shuttle service, the Columbia Gorge Express, $5 round trip from the Gateway Transit Center in Portland to Multnomah Falls and back. Not without some hiccoughs on its inaugural weekend, nevertheless, I shall use it again later on this summer. I've now been able to learn the ropes through trial and error and will be much better prepared mentally next time. Of course, being open on a weekend that abutted a federal holiday really put a strain on their preparations. That's their plan, to be open Friday through Sunday and federal holidays, May 27-September 25.



The room where I ate, to the right near that closet door. I added some light when I took the photo so that you could actually see the room--it was nicely dim in there.



The next room towards the back of the lodge, bathed in light from those big windows. It has just dawned on me that you probably can see parts of Multnomah Falls from those windows when the trees have lost their leaves. I wonder. Something to check out on my next trip there. Even if there are still leaves on the trees, I can always ask an employee.

I left the restaurant and visited the gift shop before taking my pancake-fueled body outside and towards Multnomah Falls, the real reason that I had made the trip. Next time I'll have two reasons, the falls and the pancakes!

UPDATE and view from the rooftop garden at my work building

UPDATE: Well, I've not felt very well today; slept in the recliner and the bed last night, but never could tell if I had really been sleeping because I came aware so frequently. Today, tired, tired, tired. Took a long nap in the recliner in the afternoon, but thankfully Lamont called at around 5 p.m. and woke me up, so that I hope I'll stay awake until a reasonable bed time. We'll see. Also, I have a red rash patch on the inside of my right calf--not itching, thank goodness. Plus, the occasional peripheral neuropathy and achy all over feeling. Not been a good day, but, since there is no nausea, I'll take it as it is.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



Whenever I go back to work, I want to be sure to go to the rooftop garden and take a look around the city from that vantage point. This is one of my favorite views because it includes the neon Portland Oregon sign, over on the west end of the Burnside Bridge. I've always believed myself to be blessed with the job that I have, that I will be able to return to one of these days. It's the people that I work with who make it so great, not just the view!

UPDATE - Sights around Portland that I miss right now.

UPDATE: Still sleeping about three hours at a time. Not as much aching in the knees, thank goodness! Still experiencing peripheral neuropathy, though, with the humming mostly on the shins and down into my feet right now, not as much in my hands right now. Still wobbly and feeling out of balance when I walk, but with this perfect-size-for-me studio apartment, there is a sturdy piece of furniture or a wall within easy reach, no matter where I go. I am not dizzy, either.

So far, hallelujah, I have noticed no taste alterations nor have I had enough nausea to result in what could follow it--you know what I mean.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.




I took this photo on June 21, 2012, because I happened to notice that the lights were on in the evening at Albertina Kerr, making a lovely backdrop to the rose blossoms. It's not often that there is an evening event going on there, so I count myself blessed to have been able to get this photo.



I took this photo on March 19, 2011, while I waited for a bus at the roundabout where NE Glisan St. and NE 39th (also known as NE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.) intersect. I love vintage vehicles and couldn't resist this one tootling along.



Here's a view that I'll miss forever, of The Big Pink and the Portland, Oregon neon sign--I took this photo on March 18, 2011, years before the construction of a 19-story building got started. It makes me so sad to realize that when I get well enough to return to work and riding the bus each morning, I won't see this view. I hope to goodness that the building is worth it, as in OK to look at on a week-day-basis which is when I'm most likely to be here. The building is going up at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, smack up against it on the north side of the bridge. I imagine it has already increased by several stories since I was last there and took a photo or a video--probably did that in June, is my best guess.

My March Madness continued inside the Rose Garden Arena as I located my seat!

My seat! Section 120, Row E, Seat 1! The only seat in the row! Foot room! Room for my purse! Room for my plastic bag of souvenir T-shirts! No one right beside me steeped in cologne or after-shave! Hallelujah! All that and a wildly wonderful view. Not that anyone was on the court yet, but I felt a strong premonition of 10 young men at a time, engaged in quick, skilled college basketball in my immediate future. Four times today and two times on Saturday!


Thank goodness I had verified that this would be expected of us ticket-holders for both sessions. I didn't have an NCAA Souvenir Cup, empty or otherwise. I took my trash from lunch and someone's empty Diet Coke bottle which I saw in the cup holder on the empty seat in front of me to the recycling bins when I left. Don't worry, I picked up that bottle with a napkin. Without a trace of paranoia, my motto is be vigilant, take no chances with germs when in public places.



Aglow in what must be NCAA blue--it was everywhere electronically as you can see from the Jumbotron screens to the narrow surround-the-arena screens to the center circle and half of the free throw circle on the court. The row of chairs beside the Rose Garden employee in the gray jacket is the home team while the visitors sit at the opposite end of the floor. All sorts of media folks would later fill the seats at the tables covered in NCAA blue.

Do you agree that--in my immediate future--I've got a fantastic view from my one-seat row?

The view from ... ?

Guess, anyone? Looks like I've been to an exotic locale and didn't let you know I was going, doesn't it?


I will tell you that I took the photo, uploaded it from the D5100 to Flickr, opened it in Picnik where I altered it with two effects, vibrance and HDR-ish, then I cropped it as a square before putting it here on the blog. Then I looked at it for a while and decided to try to clone out the upright that is on the window pane. That's the photo you see at the top of the blog. I tried to clone it out, and for the most part, I'm pleased with the results. Well, sort of pleased. It's not easy to find colors and directions that you can use to cover up what you don't want visible.

Here's the original photo, straight from the camera.


OK. I'll spill the beans. My living room has four windows which look out onto the sidewalk that goes from the building's front door out to the sidewalk along the street. I pulled the blinds up on the east-most window and liked the look enough to grab my camera and take a few photos. I distinctly thought, "These should be fun at Picnik!"

So, I'm not crazy just because I thought this would be fun to play with at Picnik. You can see why when you look at the altered photo above, can't you? Hope so. Such outcomes are one of the reasons I adore taking digital photos and having a great camera to do so and then having a great computer, my beloved iMac which I have named ALL, a place to get busy with my photos.

No, I'm not crazy. I'm keeping myself sane.