I know it's late for this to be posted, but it snowed on Christmas Day!

Sorry I'm so late in posting my Saturday post, but Mama, Leland and I spent from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, Portland time, at either the Urgent Care or the ER. She's got an inner ear problem, a head cold, and maybe a touch of some stomach flu. You know how it is sometimes, difficult to nail it down, and it can come on rather quickly with little ol' ladies, which is what she'll tell you she's glad to be! She still feels awful but is now at home, asleep in her bed with Duncan bundled up beside her. She's taking meclizine for the lightheadedness and nausea and hopefully will feel better tomorrow. Thank goodness Leland was off work today and could help me, or I would have had to call for paramedics and an ambulance, she was that falling every which way. Lamont must have called four or five times, checking on her; he had to be at work around 1 p.m.

I'm about the hit the hay myself, but I'll be back tomorrow with something for Sunday because I appreciate y'all so very much, and I love this photo blogging so very much.

Anyway, to show you how great Mama normally is, here are some photos of her and the surprise snow--which we thought was so great--and then more snow without people. I took these photos of our trip to Lake Oswego, to Lindsay's Aunt Laura's home, for our Christmas Day with family, friends, food and fun.

Here's Mama! Dec. 25, 2007. On Jan. 23, 2008, she'll turn 82, a fact which continually surprises her. She first posed for me, standing inside the building's entry.


Then she bundled up and posed in the snow before heading for the Buick. Personally, I was thrilled that Leland was driving because I could take photos!


Here you can see the entrance to our building. Besides being good for Mama--not too many steps, two colors on the steps which helps her perception as she makes a decision about where to step, and a sturdy handrail--it's quite nice-looking, too.


Notice the red lampposts? They're in front of Portland's Classical Chinese Garden. How about this wonderful quotation I found on their Web site: "Most cherished in this mundane world is a place without traffic; truly in the midst of a city there can be mountain and forest." Wen Zhengming (1470-1559)


The traffic signal marks the intersection of NW Everett and NW 3rd Avenue. We're about to turn right onto 3rd. Two blocks after the turn, we'll pass the bus stop at NW Couch. I sometimes walk there, all the way down Everett, 1.22 miles (according to MapQuest) from the apartment's front door.


We're on SW 3rd Avenue, just south of Burnside. The snow looks great against that dark awning and the red brick.


I didn't look at the street signs, but I think we're on SW 1st Avenue here. You really can tell how important trees are in Portland from this shot, can't you? This is southwest downtown, in the midst of all sorts of office buildings.


Here's the 17, in southwest Portland, miles from where we can catch it a block from the apartment. TriMet operates every single day of the year.


When we paused at a traffic signal in Lake Oswego (where Aunt Laura lives), I took this photo through the open window.


We almost there now.



It will be a couple of days before I get the rest of the Christmas photos posted--thanks for your patience.