UPDATE and the skies of Portland over the past few weeks

UPDATE: Slept well until around 3:15 a.m., then slept off and on until 8:30 a.m. I've been outside before the predicted rain started so that I could get in some walking. I'm walking in the building off and on now. I don't have much stamina yet, but I'm working on it. In fact, I walked the two blocks to Subway and got a tuna sandwich which I carried back home in a rain shower--I wore my hooded raincoat on purpose, y'all, so I was fine and able to rest at the somewhat wet picnic table at the Blue Diamond's back door on the way there and back. Y'all, thanks for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



I took this photo today, mid-morning, when I went out for a walk. For me, the sky tells the tale of why this flag flys at half mast--the heaviness in a lot of folks hearts and minds after the murders at Umpqua Community College on October 1. I assume that's th case, that Albertina Kerr followed the President's call to lower the American flag to half mast; however, they've not returned it to the top of the flag pole yet--the order was half mast through October 6.



Portland has some fantastic blue skies, sometimes with clouds which magnify their impact. I took this photo on October 8, six minutes after I took the next one on today's post. I was on my way home after work. I waited at East Burnside and NE Grand for a 12 or a 19 bus. That building on the left will end up 21 stories, not all visible from this position since the ground floor of it rests below the height of the Burnside Bridge, and I'm at that height here on East Burnside. The one on the right tops out at 10 stories. Both of those heights are what I found online in early stories about the construction--I assume there have been no changes.



Thirteen blocks south of the previous photo, same day, 2:34 p.m. I took this one as I sat at the Portland Streetcar shelter, waiting. I like the juxtaposition of the rust-induced-chocolate-truffle-colored public art with the blue sky. The sculpture's title is Inversion Plus Minus.



Downtown, outside the Portland Art Museum, September 26, when Leland and I had been inside at The Artisans Cup American Bonsai exhibition. I'm sorry to report that I don't know the name of this sculpture; it's in the outdoor courtyard between the two buildings that make up the PAM. The 175-foot tall church bell tower peeking between the trees and the cloud is across the South Park Blocks; it's the First Congregational United Church of Christ and is amazing in its architecture and Povey Brothers Studio stained glass windows.



One last photo of Portland skies, this one taken as I arrived at work on September 22. More of Inversion Plus Minus, the public art which also appears at the opposite end of the block and is shown in an earlier photo in today's post.

UPDATE and a quick look at the southernmost piece of public art across the street from work, with me also in two of the photos

UPDATE: I woke up at 5 a.m. and went back to sleep! I didn't wake up again until the alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. I cannot remember the last time that happened, y'all! Pleased as punch! I nibbled while at work--Ritz crackers, green grapes, Cacio de Roma sheep cheese from Italy, Sun-Maid Raisins, Mariani Prunes, and water. So, since I knew I'd be pretty hungry after work and that the food I had cooked last night ended up tasting all wrong although in the past it had tasted very good--chemo-induced-taste-changes rampant this time--I decided to stop by Subway after I got off the bus near home. I walked in and ordered a six-inch tuna on wheat with shredded lettuce and tomato, an individual-sized bag of Lays Classic chips, and a cup of Coca-Cola. I walked on home and enjoyed every single bite! Then, I had two milk-chocolate-covered-dried cherries for dessert. Now, almost five hours later, I'm not hungry again. Anyway, it's too late to eat anything now if I want to be healthy about it, right? It's after 8 p.m. So, I've had a pretty good day. I'm making sure that I stay awake until a decent hour because I'd like to experience another great night's sleep.



When I got off the 6 bus near work, I decided to take some photos of myself with the public art in the background. I've grown to like this controversial work named Inversion Plus Minus. I thought it would look good behind my gray, oh-so-Portland-hat, that Lamont bought for me the last time I had chemo. He walked from Kaiser on Interstate over to Mississippi Avenue in NE Portland, ate lunch, and then noticed a boutique. He found this very soft hat. Surprisingly, it is made of bamboo and spandex and gets more comfortable every time I stretch it over my big head. In this photo, I've stopped on the traffic loop that has a sidewalk alongside it--it rises some feet from below where MLK runs south, so I'm facing north and standing below street level for SE Grand which is the street on the west side of my work building and is the street where the public art stands at the corner of SE Grand and the eastbound exit ramp of the Hawthorne Bridge.



Another shot so that you get an idea of the height of this sculpture. I'm standing up on SE Grand beside it now.



So you get the picture, here's one that I took of the southernmost piece of public art back in August, 2013. You can see the railing alongside the traffic loop I stood beside to take that first photo. You can see the Hawthorne Bridge which crosses over MLK, the lower street I mentioned when trying to let you know what I meant when I said that the traffic loop rises some feet from MLK. The traffic loop continues in a circle and takes traffic straight onto the westbound ramp onto the Hawthorne Bridge which is not visible but is to the right of the photo, in real life.



See, there's the westbound ramp going onto the bridge, as well as the northernmost piece of this public art installation, Inversion Plus Minus. I took this photo in October, 2013.



And one more that I took in May, 2013, showing where I get off the bus down there near MLK which is the street with the two vans, the car, and the pickup on it. The sidewalk is up against the outer edge of the curve, along that wall which gets progressively shorter until it is waist-high when you reach the sidewalk seen at the base of the public art.