UPDATE with video & photo - Look at these four fine young people enjoying one of my Portland Trail Blazers' season ticket holder perks!!

Update: Well, I got my hair clipped down to a Velcro-like stubble yesterday, professionally and in no time flat, by Rosa, my sweet friend and hairdresser.



Here's the big reveal! It's video, so when you click on it, you'll go to my Flickr account and have to click one more time to see and hear it. Thanks! Now, over 24 hours later, I'm completely at ease with how I look and ready for whatever is next. Chemo Round Two is Wednesday.



A photo that I took today, wearing a scarf which soon became loose. I'm not so sure about scarves. Maybe I'll come around because I believe I'm gonna have plenty of time to find out!



Back on August 5, I had hoped to go see the Portland Thorns play soccer at Providence Park. However, it turned out that my chemo port placement procedure got scheduled for first thing that morning, be at the hospital at 6:15 a.m. to check in. I knew I'd be very tired, still recovering from the July 29 Chemo Round One, plus the early rising to make that appointment. So, Lamont, Leland, Rachel and Brody enjoyed the soccer outing instead. They had a blast! The Thorns won 5-2! The kids also got a meal voucher for a hot dog, chips and soda. Oh, and the each got a cool pair of shades!

UPDATE - Sunshine and shadow at the Portland Farmers Market at the Portland State University in the South Park Blocks, downtown Portland, June 6, 2015.

UPDATE: Fell sleep during the 3rd quarter of the Seahawks' game. Woke up after it was over to find out they'd been beat by Denver. Shoot. I finally went back to sleep around 1:45 a.m. and woke up at 6 a.m. Better than no rest.

Yesterday after I had posted a video of some of the hair that came off my head when I washed it, my sweet friend and hairdresser Rosa and I texted back and forth about the next step in dealing with it. I realized I needed to take Rosa up on her offer to come cut my hair again, this time with clippers. She'll be here at 10 am. Portland time.

Once I saw some of it blowing off my head yesterday evening when the wind gusted, hairs catching the sunshine as they flew away from me--I had walked the 400 steps to the Blue Diamond's back door to pick up some food I had ordered because I needed a break from what I have here--I thought to myself, "Just in time!"



Lovely flowers.



Juicy berries.



Can't resist sharing this closeup of the flowers, y'all.



Man-made shade aids produce shoppers. How's that for a caption for this one?



Can't resist sharing this closeup of the peonies, y'all.

UPDATE and adorable faces seen here and there over the years

UPDATE: I had another good night's sleep! Hooray! When I ran my plastic-bristled brush across my head this morning, it felt so good. To be expected, more hairs ended up in it. Blueberries do not taste like they are supposed to, so they're out of my diet now. I imagine it will be long after chemo is finished that I'll try them again, sometime in 2016, y'all. Just because I have a box of them in the frig, I won't keep eating them now that they don't taste right because that could ruin them for me, long term. Next Tuesday, I go for blood to be drawn for pre-chemo tests. If all is well with those tests, Chemo Round Two will happen next Wednesday. I don't know what to expect exactly if there is a problem with one or more of those tests--I'll get a phone call or an e-mail, I imagine, with the news if changes are afoot.



It's a lot of fun to look through my thousands of photos and find one that inspires a post. This adorable little guy certainly did that for me! I took this photo in Sherwood, Oregon, when I went to Cruisin' Sherwood, June 13, 2011. I went looking for more adorable faces and easily found a few more to share with you.



Here's another adorable young man, with his dad I'd guess, at National Train Day festivities at Portland's Union Station, May 10, 2014.



I understand a lot of folks find clowns to be scary. I don't. But, it looks like this adorable little guy has yet to make up his mind. And I have to wonder how long that hot pink stick-on dot remained on his nose. This is another photo from May 10, 2014, at National Train Day.



At the risk of scaring folks, here's a photo that proves adorable faces come in all ages. One more National Train Day photo, y'all.



Scary? Maybe. Busy. For sure. The addition of the hot pink stick-on dot seems like overkill. Surely it was done to make unsuspecting little people accept a dot stuck to their own noses--she's the clown in the photo with the little boy sporting his own pink dot.



A little person off and running at the Portland Farmers Market in the South Park Blocks, downtown at Portland State University. I took this photo on June 6, 2015, when I had recovered enough from the April 24 hysterectomy, so that I had gone back to work for that entire week, then got myself by bus to the market for some shopping and people watching.



For my final photo of adorable faces, I give you my sweetheart friends, Milton and Kay, who came to Portland by train from Jackson, Mississippi, in August, 2011, to be here for the sprinkling of Mama and Duncan's ashes.

UPDATE and let's go for when Portlanders needed umbrellas for Throwback Thursday

UPDATE:

My hair is loose, y'all. If I run my fingers through what's left after that short hair cut on July 21, I have hairs between my fingers. I don't feel them leaving my head, there's no tugging or pulling or pinching. It comes out while I'm sleeping, too. I'm OK with this because I know why it's happening. What if I didn't know the reason? I'd be panicking right and left. As it is, I'm centered by knowledge.

Yesterday, since I took a several-hour-nap, right after noon through 3:30 p.m., I was wide awake until 12:45 p.m. Then I managed to sleep until 7:15 a.m. although I woke up twice during the night. 

I've got to get this sleep thing worked out because two weeks from yesterday, I'll return to work part-time, August 26 through September 8, then have Chemo Round Three on September 9.

That's what I expect to happen, that's what I'm planning for. It all depends on what sort of whammy Chemo Round Two is on August 19.



Cars in the Park, June 18, 2011--theme of the day, Chevrolet. Folks came out to enjoy the vintage vehicles on display in the South Park Blocks in downtown Portland, umbrellas and other rain wear at the ready. We're in front of the Portland Art Museum--inside it there was an outta sight wonderful exhibit, The Allure of the Automobile. Every week throughout the summer, cars shows with a particular theme took place. A vintage vehicle lover's paradise, let me tell you.



Every which way, pedestrians with umbrellas. I remember when I moved here, the guys told me I'd want a raincoat with a hood so that rain wouldn't run down my neck at the collar, dripping there from a rain hat. They also said that umbrellas proved to be a pain. I took their advice and never looked back, until I realized that sometimes I'd be OK with my little travel umbrella given to me by British Airways on my last student/teacher/stray adult trip to Europe in 2001 when some of us got upgraded to Business Class--wow, that was superb! I love that little umbrella which easily slips into one of the water bottle pockets in my everyday purse. Very seldom do I have to use it because when rain is predicted, I wear my hooded raincoat. It's a back-up I'm blessed to have with me.



I like this one a whole lot. You can see the raindrops on the Chevy.



Nope, this car show's not going to the dogs even though this dog came prepared for the weather.



One more photo that gives you an idea of the rain.

UPDATE - Quirky, seen on the street

UPDATE:

Slept well again last night, although I woke up at 4:30 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. and have been awake since then. I walked outside after breakfast and quickly realized humidity had come to Portland. I checked the weather app on the phone, 79%. Whew. Getting myself ready for next Wednesday's Chemo Round Two.



When I was out walking the other day, I noticed this quirky sight.



A child's Croc. Made me wonder how the adult with this child didn't notice that this shoe was not with them any longer.



You can tell that it totally fascinated me, since I took all of these photos.



Here's the last one. The shoe was still there the next morning. When I walked over there this morning, it was not there. That's my building in the distance.

UPDATE and some roses to share with you

UPDATE:

I slept from around 11:30 p.m. until I heard my phone remind me to shut the windows at 6 a.m. Hallelujah! I cannot remember the last time that I slept that long--well, maybe I did when I was knocked out in the hospital for the hysterectomy in April or the robot surgery in June, but I cannot remember. Anyway, I feel better than I have for the last two days.

Still no nausea, very little peripheral neuropathy. So thankful to be able to write both of those. If I can just get my stamina built up, I will be ready for Chemo Round Two a week from tomorrow.

Let me tell you, I owe each of you so much for how I'm doing--your prayers are felt, they are amazing, just like y'all are! Thank you!



Saturday when I walked outside, thankful for the opportunity to go across the street to Albertina Kerr, I took a few photos of the roses. My friend, Milton, down in Mississippi, would've been right beside me, asking in his wonderful, lyrical Southern accent, making at least three syllables of my name and two of the word have, "Lynette, how many photos of roses do you have?"--meaning, "Lah-neigh-yet, you've lost your mind. Why you takin' more photos of roses?" I know. I know. It's OK, though.



These overcast skies meant that I could be outside without sunblock. Here we're looking north while standing in front of the Albertina Kerr Center. The rose gardens are well-cared for neighborhood treasures.



How about the soft colors here? Amazingly beautiful.



I love these tall rosebushes! In this photo, we're looking west, towards my building.



I'll bet any bride would love to have these beauties as part of her bridal bouquet. Luscious, muted colors.

UPDATE - Fun from the past, seen in downtown Portland

UPDATE:

Still less energy than I would like to have at this point. However, I'm plugging along. Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



One August I went after work to enjoy the Oregon Ballet Theatre at Director Park. I knew I'd some something special, but I had no idea what a special treat it would be to watch these two go through parts of this particular dance, over and over again. I came to a new appreciation of their strength and training and work ethic. Their efforts proved to be breathtaking.

Here's some info about the dancers and the event in the park:


The lady: YUKA IINO / PRINCIPAL DANCER, joined OBT in 2003

A native of Japan, Yuka Iino joined OBT from Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company where she became a principal dancer in 1996. She is a graduate of the Reiko Yamamoto Ballet School and a recipient of both the 1998 Varna International Ballet Competition Gold Medal (Junior Division) and the 1995 Asian Pacific Ballet Competition Bronze Medal. Ms. Iino has had ballets created on her at OBT by Christopher Stowell, Kent Stowell and Yuri Possokhov. In August 2008, she performed the pas de deux from George Balanchine's Rubies at the Chicago Dancing Festival.

The gentleman: BRIAN SIMCOE / SOLOIST, joined OBT in 2005

Brian Simcoe began his training in Southern Oregon under the direction of Sylvia Bolton, and also studied with the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet School and Long Beach Ballet Arts Center. At OBT, he has appeared in Christopher Stowell's Swan Lake, Lar Lubovitch's Concerto Six Twenty Two, as the Cavalier in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and Who Cares?, and the leading role in Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun.

EXPERIENCE BALLET IN THE WILD: OBT EXPOSED RETURNS TO DIRECTOR PARK

August 20th through the 24th, OBT will move their dance studios outdoors to Director Park in downtown Portland, offering visitors of all ages the opportunity to sneak a peek inside the choreographic process. Thanks to a collaboration with White Bird Dance, this year’s OBT Exposed will be a Choreographic Institute featuring international choreographer Pontus Lidberg. Dance lovers of all ages will have the opportunity to watch as Lidberg works with OBT dancers to develop a new contemporary work featuring music by Portland-born, Julliard-trained classical composer Ryan Francis that will premiere in April as part of OBT’s American Music Festival program (April 18-28, 2013).

This project represents the first official collaboration between Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon’s leading resident ballet company, and White Bird, the sole dance-only presenter west of the Rockies. OBT Artistic Director Christopher Stowell and White Bird Co-Founders Walter Jaffe and Paul King agreed on the selection of Pontus Lidberg for the Choreographic Institute in light of his growing reputation as a gifted young choreographer who uses classical ballet as a springboard for inventive new work that he often combines with film.

Dancers will also be rehearsing selections from Swan Lake in preparation for their upcoming performance at the Oregon Symphony's Waterfront Concert August 30th.