Sunday, July 6, 2008 ... 4th Fireworks and Food, in reverse order of how it really happened, and a bit more Duncan

Right before 10 p.m., after we'd eaten all sorts of great food and either thrown the Aerobie or watched it being thrown and/or sat around talking and enjoying the beautiful day and being together, we walked two blocks up to stand in an empty parking lot to see the tip tops of the fireworks being shot off 22 blocks west, down on the Willamette River. The guys walked Grandma slowly and carefully and brought along this desk chair. Leland pushed her back down the slight decline when the show was over. Ready, set, go! Making memories!

I took a few photos which are not at all representative of the actual show. However, I thought--what the hay!--I'll post them. At the bottom of most of the photos is the top of a one-story apartment building or a really good Mexican restaurant, Nuestra Cocina.









Here's the only firework we had, compliments of Kimberly and Tom. She picked it up after its performance (see the next two photos) and held it for this photo.

Loud squeals, rapidly changing colors--both marked the path of the little paper truck firework. It's visible between these two bursts of green light.

Look closely and you can see the tiny paper truck, fire shooting out the grill

Asparagus ready for the grill

Seeming to come, almost, from Lamont's thumb, olive oil drizzles onto an onion slice. If you look closely, you can just see the bottle to the left of his hand.

Fresh Walla Walla sweet onions and slices of potatoes, grillin'

This huge pan holds the slabs of ribs that had first been smoked about four hours before going into the pan and being covered with industrial plastic wrap. Lamont told me that they then went into a warm oven for at least an hour. As far as spices go, the only one I know about for sure is Peruvian hot peppers--I got a blast with one bite that lasted through several swallows of sweet iced tea!

Leland got the slabs of ribs out of the pan one at a time and sliced them into two-bone pieces. I believe he sliced the flank steaks, too.

Yummy, sweet, yummy fresh grilled corn.

Fresh asparagus on the grill. I know for sure it got sprinkled with salt and chili flake, plus drizzled and tossed with olive oil--not sure about anything else except that, as Mama told Aunt Baker on the phone this afternoon, it was really, really good.

Lamont's paper platter; Kailey made the Fred Meyer run for all of the paper goods, plastic goods, etc.

Michelle and Vincent enjoyed their 4th of July dinner. After a couple of bites, Vincent said to Lamont, "Hey man, it's a shame none of this is edible!" Vincent came back again and again for ribs. Mama observed, "Vincent really likes that meat." I did, too. The guys made us a fine, fine meal.

Here's Grandma! She graciously stopped chewing for the photo, ha, ha!

Lindsay made this lovely cake from a recipe of her mom's. She iced it with marscarpone cheese, topped with fresh cherries and powdered sugar. Both of us got a kick out of the fact that as I focused in on the cake, I got the sprinkling of the sugar!

Duncan gets to look and not touch because he's on a special diet. Brixx, the rottweiler, will be over later on with her folks and claim this great big bone as her own.

Duncan and Scooner appear to have a meeting of the minds

Saturday, July 5, 2008 ... 4th Friends and Family. Food and Fireworks ... tomorrow

I walked over to the Buick to get it so that I could drive around the corner to get Mama and Duncan. It wouldn't start. I assumed the battery was dead, that something had been left on Wednesday evening after we had gone out to eat, to meet Leland and friends from Mississippi. Vincent, Leland's best friend since middle school, and his wife Michelle flew in earlier that day to visit Leland and the rest of us--how wonderful is that? We are so blessed with our friends and family. And we got the grand news that they're having a baby in February! I cried when I heard the joyous news.

I called Leland to ask for help. He and Vincent came in Vincent's rented red Impala Chevrolet. The Buick wouldn't jump, the hood came down on Leland's right wrist and cut it pretty bad, I had forgotten Duncan's dog food for 5:30 p.m. What a mess of a few minutes. We left the car. I walked back to the apartment to get the dog food, Bandaids, ointment, etc., while the guys got Mama and Duncan from one car to the other. They picked me up on the corner, and we headed east, across the Willamette.


Michelle and Vincent, the proud parents-to-be, happy visitors to Portland. On Thursday they and Leland, and Lamont and Lindsay, shopped first for the 4th of July cookout meat at Gartner's, ribs and flank steak. Then they headed for the beach, stopping at roadside stands along the way to pick up yummy, fresh vegetables and fruit.


Friends Kimberly and Tom


Friends Katie, Angela and Kailey


Kailey and the lovely lilies she couldn't resist




Duncan and Lindsay


Leland and Vincent


Lindsay and Lamont


Mama, Duncan, Kailey and Leland

Friday, July 4, 2008 ... Fireworks

Happy 4th of July!


Leland's girlfriend Kailey took these at the Rose Festival in June, from the Hawthorne Bridge looking north. She graciously e-mailed them to me, and I saved them for the 4th of July! Thanks, Kailey.

I just might make it to the fireworks on the Willamette tonight, with my tripod. We'll see--if I eat too much of the guys' good grilled meat and veggies, I might opt to go home and watch the fireworks from Vancouver, WA, on the TV. They're expecting thousands and thousands of people downtown to see them, and much the same number in Vancouver at theirs.

Thursday, July 3, 2008 ... Salmon Springs Fountain, last night from the Buick

Mama and I were on our way home from Three Doors Down Cafe, and I couldn't resist driving around the block so that she could see how the fountain looks at night. I took several photos, not expecting anything to turn out since we were stopped at the traffic signal. I do like this one, though, and want you to notice the rich blue of the sky in addition to the fountain and the people around it. All I did was download and crop, no enhancements. Just beyond the fountain is the Willamette River, and just to its right is the Hawthorne Bridge, a ways to its left is the Morrison Bridge.

July 2, 2008 ... ABC Wednesday - X is for X to the Nth

OK, so I didn't plan to have that bottle of Dos Equis hanging there on the left side of the photo. In fact I had absolutely no idea that it was there when I went looking for X photos a little while ago. It was the metal bands that make up the big head, criss-crossing themselves into a plethora of Xs that I wanted to find among my thousands of phot. I mean, I took these photos last October, knowing that sooner or later I'd find a use for them, and here they are!


I shot this, too, so we'd all know what the sculptor's intentions were, for the big heads--there's one on each corner, a block apart. I got off the bus early that sunny afternoon and walked to the south side of West Burnside on purpose, just to take big head pix.


See, here's the other one.


And here's the first one again, with PGE Park in the background.

I'm kinda tickled with my ABC Wednesday X post--hope y'all are, too!

If you're of a mind to, please go to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for loads of other ABC Wednesday blogs! Look at the list of links per Mr. Linky.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 ... heat relief

I took these two photos Saturday afternoon, across the street from Keller Auditorium where I'd just seen "Avenue Q." Frequent visitors will remember my ABC Wednesday, V is for Voluptuous post that featured Lucy, a saucy puppet from the musical. It's amazing that I lucked out when a friend at work offered me her friend's ticket because the friend of my friend couldn't come into the city for the show. So, I got to go see the 2 p.m. matinee. I laughed a lot, enjoyed the singing very much, marveled continuously at the talent and creativity. The entire auditorium full of people joined right in with me, too. I have to say that I've never seen puppets so raucous, so filled with angst, so reflective of many of society's 20- and 30-somethings in search of their purpose. The biggest laugh came in the last song, "For Now," when they sing "And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now..."(I've left out some of the lyrics here, but they're listing things that are only for now, and go to this next line) ... "Is only for now! (George Bush!)" ... That's when the crowd roared the loudest!



Later when I walked in the apartment door after my bus ride home, I heard the weather person on TV saying, "... and in Portland today, a new record of 100 degrees." No wonder all of those folks were at the fountain making memories--soaking wet, jumping, laughing, taking photos!



From the City of Portland's Web site:

Ira Keller's Civic Theatre Forecourt Fountain between SW 3rd and 4th, and Market and Clay

13,000 gallons of water per minute cascade through this fountain. The fountain holds 75,000 gallons of water. Its terraces and platforms suggest the Northwest's abundant waterfalls. Angela Danadjieva designed this fountain for Lawrence Halprin Associates. People have gathered here since its completion in 1971.

Please use caution while enjoying this fountain. Like all streams and waterfalls, slippery surfaces, rapidly moving water, pools of water, and high drop-offs require careful attention. Please stay back from edges due to falling hazard.

The Portland Water Bureau works to make sure that the fountain today is true to the spirit of Lawrence Halprin’s vision.
In the mid - 1990s a major restoration costing nearly ¾ of a million dollars addressed problems related to old age. The Portland Water Bureau:

o Restored loose rock on the surfaces of the block.
o The blocks had shifted and there were some very major leaks. The bureau project restored the blocks to their original configuration and grouted between them.
o Brought the electrical components up to code.
o Updated lighting fixtures.
o Upgraded the chlorination system so it was automated and could keep chlorine levels consistent with what is in swimming pools to protect public health.

In 2005, the Portland Water Bureau’s operating engineers worked on the pumps and motors while the fountain was off for the winter season. Their work reduced electricity needed to keep water moving by 17% last season. That’s good for the environment and city ratepayers.

Monday, June 30, 2008 ... Dining at Nostrana

Leland, my 29-year-old son, tosses pizza dough at Nostrana Saturday evening.




Our friend Danielle heads back to California tomorrow. We've certainly enjoyed having her with us as she completed her field work towards her occupational therapy degree. She herself enjoyed very much getting reacquainted with Portland and friends here. She'd lived here for several years before going to school in Oakland.

To say thanks to us for being her hostesses, she wanted to take us out to dinner last night. We decided to go to Nostrana over at SE 14th and Morrison--that's where Lindsay tends bar and Leland cooks, sometimes pizza, sometimes other stations in the kitchen. When we walked in and toward the bar where we wanted to sit, Leland saw us, smiling and waving. I thought to myself that he must be working the wood-burning oven so just maybe I could get a photo of him tossing the pizza dough--hooray! The three of us didn't opt for pizza, though, since we'd had one delivered from a nearby pizzeria earlier in the week.

After a delightful appetizer I shared with Mama about which I cannot remember the name or the ingredients other than paper-thin slices of a delicate mushroom and wild greens, my pasta dish arrived.

I found the details at Nostrana's Web site: House-made fettuccine with chive oil, true and snow morels and fava beans. Fantastic! As I ate my third or fourth bite, I remarked, "This tastes like summer time!" I happily devoured the entire dish.

Danielle started with the Summer Minestrone with Arborio rice and basil pesto, chilled, followed by the Warm carpaccio of Highland Oak Beef Tenderloin with cremini mushrooms, shaved Parmigiano and arugula. She kept saying, "This is so good!"


Mama got sand dabs, but I was too busy eating by the time that Lindsay got the backbone out of each fish. Like Danielle and me, Mama repeatedly said that it was delicious.

For our shared dessert, Lindsay thought we'd enjoy the Warm Chester blackberry jam crostada with mascarpone. We had a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of the mascarpone. Yummy, yummy.

Mama and I are so blessed to be here with these two young men who love to cook, aren't we?

Finally, we wish Danielle and her mom a safe drive home--Pat is flying up Monday to make the return trip with her which I find comforting since the forest fires are so bad in California. Let's all remember the firefighters in our prayers, as well as those who live in the endangered areas.

Sunday, June 29, 2008 ... last of the sunflowers, Pioneer Courthouse Square

Saturday, June 29, 2008 ... last of the urban meadow, Pioneer Courthouse Square

Friday, June 27, 2008 ... Sunflower for a sunny day

This sunflower was among the many for sale at Pioneer Courthouse Square last week. I thought it fitting to show you such a pretty flower with a bit of sun shining on it since we're in the midst of some really beautiful, sunny days. In fact, we're forecast to have record-breaking heat in the Pacific Northwest this weekend.



I especially liked the care that was taken to showcase the sunflowers with the corn behind the rows of pots, along with whatever that is in front of them, shorter so that they don't detract. Do I see a cone-shaped bloom or some such among the green leaves?

I'm so very late posting because I decided to take a nap yesterday evening and never made it back to the computer then or this morning. I did manage to wake up last night and this morning to walk Duncan, our darlin' miniature dachshund and to go to work. I'm a good girl after all, raised right by a good mother. By the way, Mama and I and our nine windows and six fans are as ready for the heat as we can be.

Thursday, June 26, 2008 ... Let's continue looking up

Last May, 2007, I started to notice these sort of muted, creamy, almost dogwood-shaped blossoms, practically at eye level as I walked down the slightly steep sidewalk from West Burnside to our apartment building. As time passed, I snapped these photos. I lucked up on finding out what the tree's name is, with the help of Google and Marsha at work--she's quite the gardener.


July, 2007


August, 2007.

Kousa Dogwood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa or Benthamidia kousa), also known as the Japanese Flowering Dogwood (Yamaboushi (ヤマボウシ, Yamaboushi?)), is a small deciduous tree 8-12 m tall, native to eastern Asia. Like most dogwoods, it has opposite, simple leaves, which are 4-10 cm long.

The tree is extremely showy when in flower, but the "flowers" are actually showy white bracts below the cluster of inconspicuous yellow-green flowers. The flowering is in late spring, weeks after it leafs out. It has a relatively upright habit, unlike the closely related Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) of eastern North America, which has a sprawling habit. It also differs from that in flowering about a month later, and in having pointed (not rounded) flower bracts.

The fruit is a globose pink to red compound berry 2-3 cm diameter, though these berries tend to grow larger towards the end of the season and some berry clusters that do not fall from the tree surpass 4 cm. It is edible; though lacking any interesting flavour to humans, it is taken by birds.

There are two varieties:

* Cornus kousa var. kousa. Leaves 4-7 cm; flower bracts 3-5 cm. Japan.
* Cornus kousa var. chinensis. Leaves 5-10 cm; flower bracts 4-6 cm. China.

It is resistant to the dogwood anthracnose disease, caused by the fungus Discula destructiva, unlike Flowering Dogwood, which is very susceptible and commonly killed by it; for this reason, Kousa Dogwood is being widely planted as an ornamental tree in areas affected by the disease. A number of hybrids between Kousa Dogwood and Flowering Dogwood have also been selected for their disease resistance and good flower appearance.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - ABC Wednesday - W is for Wonderful

This morning I walked east to a bus stop three blocks from our apartment, instead of waiting for the bus at the closer stop. About half a block from that corner, I stopped to take this photo, something I've been wanting to try, to see if I could get the camera to see what I see. What a wonderful canopy of leaves and its myriad shades of green!


Right now I could get up from my little iBook and look out any one of our nine double hung windows in our fourth floor apartment and see many, many wonderful trees. I thank those Portlanders who had the foresight to plant and care for so many, many wonderful trees. And I'm thankful that my camera saw so clearly what I saw this morning as I stood in the slight, cool breeze and looked up.


If you're of a mind to, please go to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for loads of other ABC Wednesday blogs! Look at the list of links per Mr. Linky.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 ... Jamison Square, the Pearl District, Portland, Oregon

Saturday before last before I walked over the Burnside and Morrison bridges, I rode the streetcar to Jamison Square so that I could take photos of folks enjoying a sunny Portland afternoon along with a unique fountain.

The water's deep and the fountain's flowing while children play, their adults relaxing in the sun.

The water's less deep here. Have you got an idea what has happened to it?

The water's back in this photo that shows some of the Pearl's surrounding buildings.

Here's a close-up that gives you a clue as to the different depths.


Bits I found online about Jamison Square:

The Portland Streetcar stops just across the street from Jameson Square in the Pearl District, Portland's trendiest neighborhood. The square boasts four totem sculptures designed by Kenny Scharf, play structures, and a fountain. The square is a magnet for Pearl District residents and visitors, especially those with children. The park’s main feature is its kid-friendly fountain, whose water tumbles out of a stack of rocks in a series of mini-waterfalls. The water cascades into a large pond that – designed to mirror the ebb and flow of the ocean tide – periodically drains and then refills.

And here's a link to more complete information from the city of Portland's Web site.