Merry Christmas from Portland's Living Room to yours

Portland's Christmas tree proudly stands in the middle of Pioneer Courthouse Square, just feet west of the Mile Post Sign. Since the post points in all directions, I decided what better image to use to convey my Christmas wishes for you and yours, wherever you call home.

Merry Christmas--via my little Mama--December, 25, 2007

Without a doubt, my Mama gave it her all for me and my camera, readily stepping up whenever I asked to take her photo.

Here she is, first standing in the protection afforded by the porch at our apartment building in NW Portland, face glowing, her smile spread all the way to her eyes. Second, she's completely bundled up, posing just outside the porch, snow spitting around her. In the third photo, I've walked down to the street to get a shot of her from that persepctive. Even more snow's coming down, and she's ready to go, leg cocked to start her walk down the steps, just as soon as she hears from my sons. They were driving over to get us because our celebration was to be at a friend's home this particular Christmas. She's got her cell phone at the ready, gripped in her right hand. Seems to me that they drove up right after I took this photo.

We enjoyed our Christmas very much. I hope that you enjoy yours today. I appreciate getting to share my little Mama with you again. I miss her very much, every single day, so it means a lot to me to include her here at momentous times like this. Thank you.

Framed for Christmas, No. 7

Merry Christmas greetings from December 22, 2007. Here you have Purq (the purple and turquoise papier-mâché cat), Cow-Dog (the brown papier-mâché dog whose creator could never remember if he was making a cow or a dog), and Flat Stanley. Or was he Flat Chris? I cannot remember, and it's too late at night to be looking at my blog from back then to find out for sure.

What it boils down to is that the two lovely papier-mâché critters were created by patients at the Mississippi State Hospital and were sold at a stupendous yearly silent auction known as Serendipity. Rest assured, I hovered until I had the winning bid for these two and lots more art that I hold dear.

The little guy wearing the green and black polka dot tie with his dress shirt and slacks came to me from a teacher friend of mine back in Mississippi who had her second grade class--I think it was second grade--mail drawings of themselves to friends/relatives who lived in another place so that they could vicariously experience elsewhere through photos and text that said friends/relatives would create and mail back to the students. One little guy said, "I ain't got nobody to send my Flat Stanley." So, she asked me to help out. Naturally, I jumped at the chance, totally thrilled. Mama and I had lots of fun "taking" him all over Portland and the metropolitan area. Oh, the reindeer antlers are mine. I sewed and/or glued all of those colorful items--including the medallion with my Christmas wish for you on it--to the antlers in order to spiff them up a bit. The night I took this photo, I was bound and determined to get a photo where I looked like Cow-Dog was wearing the antlers. I love it when a plan comes together.

Merry. Christmas. Y'all!

I like what's going on in this photo so much that I had to divide it into three pieces so that you could have fun seeing it all, too. And then it's put together again at the bottom of the post.


Merry.


Christmas.


Y'all.


Merry Christmas, Y'all! Took this photo in the northeast corner of Pioneer Courthouse Square as the tubas warmed up to my right, getting ready for Christmas carols and Tuba Christmas, December 10, 2011.

My wish for you ...

Things are changing. It snowed all morning and rained all afternoon.

Here's a photo from yesterday that I wouldn't have seen if I hadn't had to walk all that way home! Walking west, as I approached and heard dripping water, I looked up and saw this unique sight.

Then I walked past it, avoiding the drips, and shot this from the other side. The white streak in the dark sky is a falling drop!


Now it's 32 degrees, so things might freeze back before too long. I'm still pretty doggone tired, but I had much, much better commuter luck today. It took not quite an hour to get to work and the same to get home, although I did have to walk the last six blocks up Burnside, after I stopped at Fred Meyer to get a few things--I shop often because I can't take much home at once, walking.

To tell the truth, I couldn't face the last, steepest block--I cut across the edge of the Walgreens lot, beside the Subway, so that I could walk on a more level surface now that some of the almost knee-deep snow had been packed down and/or melted into slippery slush. So, I don't have a Wednesday photo of the sidewalk, shot with Burnside at my back. Maybe I'll get out on Christmas Day and see what it looks like.

Here's photo emblematic of the attitude I made every effort to keep in the forefront, since it started snowing on Dec. 14--get a grip, Lynette! It's just snow! Exciting, tiring, beautiful at first, dirty at last, truly unreal amounts of snow!


Finally, here is the car parked across from the kitchen window, taken a couple of hours ago. Can you tell that the temperature got above freezing today, just looking at it?


Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Our Happy Holidays' Photo Shoot for Y'all

Flat Stanley and Duncan wish one and all a Merry Christmas, from the comfort of Duncan's pine green rocker.


Now, for the first time, meet two more of our loved ones. First on the left is Purq (pronounced Perk), our purple and turquoise cat. In the middle is Cow-Dog, whose creator repeated this question while fashioning him, "Am I making a cow or a dog?" And, of course, on the right is our well-loved, lucky boy, Flat Stanley himself. The guys are wishing you a Merry Christmas, from all of us here in Portland.



For a bit of levity, I thought I'd share this one with you, too. Duncan, our darling dachshund, couldn't stay still long enough to get a shot with all four of them. He sniffed at Purq and Cow-Dog, upsetting the precarious balance of Flat Stanley's Vespa, and decided it was now time to leave the pillow-filled armchair. I caught him before he could jump!


Let me say that I can't think of a better present for myself than the CDPB and all who post there. It's been an inspiration to me to visit as many cities as possible, to see the evidence of your love for where you live. I believe in what you're doing, for so many, many reasons. Thank you.

Finally, I must say, "Go Beavers! Go Ducks! Go Trail Blazers! (in alphabetical order). And most of all, GO DAWGS! (as in my beloved Mississippi State Bulldogs)."