July 29, 2015, I endured the first of six rounds of chemo. Today, I'm around to endure a hot day in Portland. Hallelujah for my health!

I've been reflecting on this anniversary off and on throughout July, 2016. How would it feel to reach the one year mark? To tell you the truth, I still remember well how willingly I walked into the Oncology Center at Kaiser Interstate and turned my body, my well being, my future over to that fine bunch of professionals. I praise the Lord for them and their every effort. I praise the Lord for each of you who prayed for me throughout my battle with cancer and the side effects of the chemicals and processes that got it outta me. Thank you!



While I reflected on the past 365 days, in the back of my mind I wondered what photo or photos to put here today. Then, it came to me. This one with the magnificent reflections in the step van's windshield. I remember how excited I was to see it last week on my morning walk between buses on the way to work. "Wow! Look at that!" I thought as I stopped on the sidewalk diagonally across from where it was parked and got my camera out of the bag I carry it in while out and about. I knew immediately which downtown building lent itself to creating these spectacular reflections, too.



I looked up and took this photo before crossing the street.


This is the side that's reflected in the windshield, the west-facing side of a building that fronts onto SW 5th, a block away from where I stood to take this photo. It's The Standard Insurance Center, 900 SW 5th Avenue.

Found on the Internet, I assume it is all up-to-date:

The Standard Insurance Center, originally the Georgia-Pacific Building, is a 27-story office building in Portland, Oregon. Completed in 1970, it currently serves as part of the headquarters of The Standard, the brand name under which Standard Insurance Company and other subsidiaries of StanCorp Financial Group, Inc., do business. Standard also owns the 16-story Standard Plaza, located two blocks south along 5th Avenue.

The Georgia-Pacific Building was commissioned by Georgia-Pacific and designed by the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). At the time of construction, it was the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world. It was completed in 1970.

When Georgia-Pacific left Portland, the Standard Insurance Company purchased the building, renamed it Standard Insurance Center, and removed all GP signage.

Standing 367 feet (112 m) tall, the tower contains 27 above-ground stories. Valued at $114 million, the structure contains 459,504 square feet (42,689.3 m2) of space. Built of concrete and steel, the tower is considered Modernist in style. One major tenant is the Stoel Rives law firm, which leases the top nine stories at the building. The building’s extensive woodwork provides an elegant reminding of the Georgia-Pacific past along with The Quest, an elaborate sculpture considered Portland’s largest single piece of white sculpted marble.

The Standard believes healthy environments are fundamental to healthy communities by finding creative solutions to operate sustainably. The Standard employs a broad range of practices to contribute to the mantra ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ in its internal operations, in the operation and maintenance of its office buildings, and in the community. The Standard’s corporate sustainability objectives include recycling in the office, energy efficiency in the workplace and using green products and services.



Here's a photo that I took of The Quest in November, 2011. When I walk by it these days, I do not see any of those brown marks that look like cracks in the sculpture.

And here's what I found on Wikipedia about the sculpture:

The Quest, sometimes referred to as Saturday Night at the Y or Three Groins in a Fountain,[1][2] is an outdoor marble sculpture and fountain designed by Count Alexander von Svoboda, located in Portland, Oregon in the United States. The sculpture, carved in Italy from a single 200-ton block of white Pentelic marble quarried in Greece, was commissioned by Georgia-Pacific in 1967 and installed in front of the Standard Insurance Center in 1970. It depicts five nude figures, including three females, one male and one child. According to the artist, the subjects represent man's eternal search for brotherhood and enlightenment.

As of 1990, The Quest was considered Portland's largest single piece of white sculptured marble. The abstract, figurative sculpture was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1994 and underwent minor repairs. It has received mixed reviews. One critic appreciated how its flowing lines contrasted with the "stark" pillars of the adjacent building, and called the marble "impressive". Another writer for The Oregonian wrote of her and others' dislike for the sculpture, saying it serves as a "free sex-education lesson" for schoolchildren.

The Quest was designed by Count Alexander von Svoboda, an Austria-born, Toronto-based sculptor. It was commissioned by Georgia-Pacific in 1967 and installed in front of the Standard Insurance Center (formerly known as the Georgia-Pacific Building) at Southwest 5th Avenue and Southwest Taylor Street in downtown Portland in 1970. The stone sculpture was one of nearly 400 in Georgia-Pacific's private collection, unveiled in Portland with the opening of its world headquarters. Rose Festival princesses presented the work at a formal ceremony. The sculpture was carved in Carrara, Italy, from a single 200-ton block of white Pentelic marble, quarried near Athens. It depicts five "larger than life" nude figures, including three females, one male and one child. The statue is set on a pedestal within a fountain, surrounded by water jets. The figures' forms curve upward, and two of the females have their hands raised, while the third "sleeps in the rear". The male figure appears to float and is reaching up with both hands, while the child figure is located behind the foremost female.

The Quest measures approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) x 10 feet (3.0 m) x 15 feet (4.6 m) and is sited on a concrete or stone base that measures 22 feet (6.7 m) x 10 feet (3.0 m) x 5 feet (1.5 m) and weighs 17 tons. According to the artist, the sculpture is "symbolic of man's eternal search for brotherhood and enlightenment". Michelangelo inspired the work, but von Svoboda took a more "humanistic" approach, and 35 stonemasons assisted with the sculpture's creation, which took two-and-a-half years to complete. von Svoboda's Perpetuity, a hollowed-out cross-section of a redwood log with a bronze "seedling" radiating outward, served as a "companion" sculpture. Originally installed along the Southwest Fourth Avenue side of the building, the work was relocated to the World Forestry Center.

The Smithsonian Institution has categorized The Quest as both abstract and figurative. In 2002, journalist Sallie Tisdale of The Oregonian described the sculpture as a "large tangle of snow-white bodies in a fountain". She wrote that the work is privately owned but in public view, and that it has been around "long enough that no one is quite sure how it got there in the first place". As of 1990, The Quest was considered Portland's largest single piece of white sculptured marble. It was surveyed and considered "well maintained" by the Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in January 1994. Maintenance on the sculpture has included caulking and repairs to the male figure's nose.

The Quest has received mixed reviews. During the unveiling ceremony, there was reportedly a "momentary stunned silence then crescendo of applause duly recorded by local news media". In 1970, one Building Stone News contributor wrote that the sculpture's flowing white lines contrast with the stark vertical pillars of white quartz on the adjacent building's exterior, and called the marble "impressive". In contrast, Tisdale said of the work:

The Quest has been around since 1970, long enough for its provenance and purpose to sink into mystery ... No one seems to like it much, and others actively dislike it. But there it stays, a free sex-education lesson for busloads of suburban schoolchildren, the uncertain limbs forever reaching somewhere or other, for something.

The sculpture has earned the nicknames Saturday Night at the Y and Three Groins in a Fountain. One writer for The Seattle Times, in a piece about differences between Portland and Seattle, referenced the latter nickname as an example of Portland's "kitschier" art. In 2003, Eugene Weekly published a book review that suggested readers should read Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon, a recently published travelogue by Chuck Palahniuk, if they were unfamiliar with "Three Groins in the Fountain". Palahniuk includes the sculpture is his "Portland vocabulary lesson", which includes a list of his definitions for local words.[10] The sculpture has been included in at least one published walking tour of Portland.

The best stamps I ever bought!

Celebrate, y'all! I got an unexpected phone call from Dr. Johnson last night--he's my oncology radiologist. Unexpected because although I'd had a follow-up CT scan on Monday, my appointment with him is not until next Thursday, May 12.

So, I answered the phone thinking, this is it. I'm gonna find out that I need to come back in for more tests. Why else would I get a call a week before the appointment?

Wrong! The news he gave me: No abnormalities revealed on the CT scan; I'm calling to let you know so that you'll have a great weekend; see you next Thursday!

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern. Y'all are the best!

Speaking of the best, I had already asked Lamont and Leland to join me at the Blue Diamond for nachos on Cinco de Mayo, so I was able to give them this good news in person, complete with celebratory toasts, hugs, smiles, pats, you name it.

Oh, I have to tell you that I bought those stamps Monday on my way back to work from the CT scan. I intended to save them for when the Portland Trail Blazers win a game in the NBA playoffs, second round. I believe they fit this situation perfectly!

UPDATE & Throwback Thursday. I took this photo on Friday, July 9, 2004, but that doesn't matter one bit because I'm using it today to show you my little Mama and me at the Bijou Cafe, eating our last meal in Portland on our first visit here to be with my sons. Now, she's gone, they're still here, I'm here, and the three of us are going to my chemotherapy appointment this afternoon.

If not for this woman, I'd be so scared at what I'm going to find out at 2:30 p.m. today.

As it is, knowing the smarts, the strength, and the determination housed in this sweetheart's little body all of her years--and because I am her daughter--I realize that I will come through the chemotherapy consultation  prepared to face what is next, not nearly as scared as I might have been.

My Mama (and my Daddy) taught my brother Howard and me to prepare ourselves mentally for what might be in our future, to rely on the love and support of our family, to see ourselves being successful, or, at the very least, coming out OK on the other side. My parents were not saints; they were hard-working people, trying to raise us the best that they could, by example in home life, work life, extended family life. Howard and I often speak about how we lucked out astronomically with the two of them as our Mama and Daddy. We'll tell that to anyone who will listen, smiling and feeling in awe as we speak, filled with great memories, loaded with impressions of strength and fortitude. Nowadays since he's still in Mississippi and I'm in Oregon, we talk on the phone very often, and I can see in my mind's eye the tilt of his head, the slight smile, the soft shrug of his shoulders, and the glow in his eyes when we're talking about Mama and Daddy, the blessings that they are our parents.

Because my husband LeRoy died when Lamont was seven and Leland was four, my Mama and Daddy and Howard played a huge role in helping to raise those two little boys into the men that they are today, not discounting one single iota of the influence of their Daddy's genes. He was the same kind of person as my parents. Able to see the humor and creativity and love in the people that the world sent our way, able to use inner strength and determination to get through what the world sent our way.

Lamont and Leland will be beside me at 2:30 p.m. today. There in spirit: Mama, Daddy, and LeRoy.

I love that I got to use one of Mama's favorite words in this post today, iota. She, who didn't get past the 9th grade, somehow discovered that iota fit perfectly when one wanted to discuss and extremely small amount. Thank you, Mama.

Breakfast at Wimbledon and an UPDATE

I woke up early and decided to get on up. While Breakfast at Wimbledon played on ESPN, I walked into the kitchen and cooked my own breakfast. First, I put five canned Grand Buttermilk biscuits in the oven. While they baked, I cut leftover steamed broccoli, asparagus, and green beans into smaller pieces, put them in a saute pan and turned on the electric eye. Then I cracked two eggs into a bowl and whipped with a fork. Once the veggies had warmed a bit, I poured the eggs over them and turned down the heat. By the time the biscuits were done and buttered, I had a spoonful of Rose City Pepperheads Mango Madness Pepper Jelly on the plate beside which I placed the scramble and a couple of the biscuits.

I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast.

UPDATE: I have a chemotherapy consultation appointment on July 16 and a radiation consultation appointment on July 21. After those two, I'll know what, when, how much and how long. I will then have to work on dealing with the myriad side effects. Between now and then, I will continue to recover from that second surgery inside of two months, the one done by a robot with Dr. Steiner at the controls. I learned last Wednesday that I have six incisions from that one, not five like I had been thinking. So, with the four from the hysterectomy, I now know what it feels like to have six new holes in your abdomen. I've doing well, getting more active daily, trying to eat right in small amounts. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern.

Necessities I never expected to need, now I'm thankful for having them in my future

The call for this appointment came in this afternoon, two days after getting the pathology report and recommendation to treat my cancer aggressively. Now I have a goal to work toward, finding out what's next for me.



The phone call for this appointment came in not too long after I got home from my doctor appointment on Wednesday. Lamont and I had put away the groceries and he'd gone back to work. I sat down to eat lunch. The phone rang not to many minutes into lunch. Like I said, now I have a goal to work toward.

In order to reach these goals, I feel that I should look online at information that Kaiser provides for cancer patients, to make myself aware of the generalities so that I will be able to ask intelligent questions when I have these two consultations. 

About Radiation therapy, found at kp.org:

Radiation therapy treats cancer by damaging cancer cells' DNA, or genetic code, which causes the cells to die and tumors to shrink. About half of all people with cancer receive radiation therapy, sometimes in combination with other cancer treatments.

Something that's radioactive may be placed in your body near a tumor (brachytherapy), injected into your blood (systemic radiation therapy), or sent into your body by a machine (external beam radiation therapy). The area chosen for treatment usually includes the whole tumor plus a small amount of normal tissue.

The type of radiation therapy you receive depends on the cancer you have, so the side effects vary. For example, radiation to your abdomen can cause skin irritation, swelling, fatigue, as well as a loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which may make it hard to eat well during treatment. Radiation therapy can also cause side effects months or even years after treatment ends, such as:

• memory loss 
• infertility 
• damage to your bowels that causes diarrhea and bleeding 
• fibrosis, or the replacement of normal tissue with scar tissue 
• a second cancer caused by radiation exposure 

Some people find using guided imagery helps them cope with radiation's side effects.

About Chemotherapy, found at kp.org.

Chemotherapy uses drugs that attack fast-growing cells to destroy cancer, stop cancer cells from spreading, or slow the growth of cancer cells.

There are lots of kinds of chemotherapy, and it can be combined with other treatments. It can be given intravenously (through an IV) or as a shot, pill, liquid, or cream you rub on your skin.

Because chemotherapy also kills fast-growing healthy cells, like those in your mouth, digestive tract, and hair follicles, it can cause side effects throughout your body:

• nausea and vomiting
• appetite changes
• bleeding problems
• constipation or diarrhea
• fatigue and memory changes
• fluid retention
• hair loss
• infections
• mouth sores and inflammation
• pain
• sexual side effects

Everyone is different. Some people feel tired, while others feel well enough to keep a normal schedule.

If you're receiving more than one anticancer medication, you may have more side effects, or more intense ones.

Your doctor will talk to you about what kind of medications you'll receive, how often, and things you can do at home if you're having trouble eating.

The rest period in between treatments gives your body time to build healthy new cells.

When I found out the details, I'll let you know so that you can pinpoint your prayers as you've done for me as we've been going through this together. 

Thank you so much for your prayers, love, and concern.

Ira Keller Fountain, downtown Portland

UPDATE: I slept so-so until 1 a.m. and then woke up to deal with allergy-induced phlegm in my throat. After making Twinings English Breakfast hot tea and drinking two cups of it, I settled down to sleep for a few hours, made a pit stop and then went back to sleep for another two and a half hours. At 6:30 a.m., I had breakfast (a small bowl of blueberries picked last Saturday on Sauvie Island, a toasted left over Grands biscuit and one more cup of tea), then at 8:30 a.m. I gave myself the Lovenox shot to ward off blood clots. I have walked the 67-step-L-shaped-loop that makes up my apartment hallway, three times around before I came back in here to rest. Now I'm about to take a nap in the recliner after I have a mid-morning snack of a few bites of sheep cheese, some cherries, blueberries, two Ritz crackers and cleaning out the last bits of Rose City Pepperheads' Mango Madness from the jar.

Since I am not yet able to get out and take new photos, I thought it appropriate to share this one today.



I took this photo on Saturday, June 28, 2008. If I've done my Google-ing correctly, it was a record-setting 100 degrees in Portland on that day. I have no idea if there has been a higher temp on June 28 since then--I couldn't find anything about it quickly and decided to go on with the post so that I could walk the L-shaped loop in my apartment hallway instead.

I wonder how many people have taken advantage of this fountain in the last week? And how many will continue to do so this week. We're in the midst of unusually high temperatures for the month of June, going into July. Right now, through July 4, we're looking at 87 today, 86 Monday and Tuesday, 92 Wednesday, 96 Thursday and Friday, and 98 Saturday. Whew!

About the fountain: Keller Fountain Park is a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon. Originally named Forecourt Fountain or Auditorium Forecourt, the 0.92-acre (0.37 ha) park opened in 1970 across Third Avenue from what was then Civic Auditorium. In 1978, the park was renamed after Ira Keller, head of the Portland Development Commission (PDC) from 1958–1972. Civic Auditorium was renamed as Keller Auditorium in 2000, but is named in honor of Richard B. Keller.

The central feature of the park is the concrete water fountain. Keller Fountain is often noted as a memorable feature of the public landscape in downtown Portland, and in 1999 was awarded a medallion from the American Society of Landscape Architects. The fountain was designed by Angela Danadjieva using inspiration from waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge located east of Portland. While the park is named Keller Fountain Park, the fountain itself is named Ira Keller Fountain. The fountain's pools hold 75,000 US gallons (280,000 l; 62,000 imp gal) of water, while the waterfalls pump 13,000 US gallons (49,000 l; 11,000 imp gal) per minute over the cascade.

HISTORY: Prior to being a park, the block was the location of a popular tavern run by Bud Clark, who was later to become a mayor of Portland. Clark purchased the tavern formerly known as "Dot Tavern" for $1,600, including acquisition of the lease for the building. Clark renamed it the Spatenhaus and it was reopened in October 1962. As the area was already part of the South Auditorium urban renewal area, Clark lost the lease when the PDC acquired the block in May 1967. The firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill was then asked by PDC to draw plans for the park, which foresaw a fountain, a traffic turnaround, and underground parking for 150 cars. Protests were raised however, by Walter Gordon, the architectural adviser to the PDC, and in July 1968 the Lawrence Halprin design firm was commissioned in to design the park, partly due to Gordon's advocacy.

Angela Danadjieva, a designer at Lawrence Halprin & Associates, was charged with the artistic conception. Danadjieva began her career in design with work on Constructivist set designs for the Bulgarian State Film agency. In the early 1960s she defected to Paris and studied at the École des Beaux Arts, and then emigrating to the United States towards the end of the decade. She took her inspiration from a book on waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge, which was given to her by Ira Keller at the design studio. It was built by the Schrader Construction Company for $512,000. A personal observation: I find it totally weird that the designer supposedly took her inspiration from a book on waterfalls instead of driving out into the Gorge and seeing the waterfalls in person. These beautiful sights are about an hour or so away from Portland. I know from personal experience that you are able to see at least three inspiring waterfalls from almost the spot where you park your car. I hope that she actually drove out into the Gorge to take inspiration from their glory and then used the book as a visual reference point while she worked on her design. Just saying.

The plaza was dedicated on June 23, 1970 by Halprin who called for the people of Portland to come together, referring to the Portland State University protests, which had occurred only weeks previously, stating, "I hope this will help us live together as a community, both here and all over this planet Earth." As the water began flowing, Halprin waded into the water, dressed in a jacket and tie. Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, mayor Terry Schrunk, and PDC chairman Ira Keller attended the fountain opening.

In 2003, an article by Randy Gragg in The Oregonian summarized the moment, saying:

[T]he fountain's 1970 unveiling became a local legend. Held in the edgy days following a violent clash between Portland police and antiwar protesters, the dedication took on the mood of a Wild West drama as city officials gathered for speeches at the foot of the fountain and hundreds of youths assembled at the top. When the spigots released the fountain's 13,000-gallon-a-minute flow, however, any tensions quickly dissolved. While the officials politely applauded, the youths jumped in to the rallying cries of "Right on!" "These very straight people have somehow grasped what cities can be all about," Halprin said, turning from dignitaries to revelers to emphasize the democratic spirit underlying his design. "As you play in this garden, please try to remember that we are all in this together."

In 1988, the Portland Water Bureau expressed their surprise at the cost of running the fountain, which at the time was consuming $34,000 in water and $13,000 in electricity each year. Also in 1988, a 26-year-old Vancouver man was drowned when he attempted to swim through a small water pipe and got wedged under a concrete slab. He was taken to the Oregon Health & Science University and was listed in critical condition. According to Portland police, he had been drinking alcohol.

In 1993, all city departments were requested by mayor Vera Katz to identify areas where budgets could be reduced, and the Portland Water Bureau suggested mothballing fountains, including the Keller Fountain. The Oregonian stated "administrator Mike Rosenberger said the fountains were not an essential service, but he conceded that he would probably be taken out and shot before the public allowed him to shut the water off."

Vandalism from "Soaping," putting dish detergent in the fountain, has been common, and the massive amounts of generated foam cause more than $1000 damage, due to the need to drain and clean the fountain. In the first "soaping" incident soap and green dye was placed in the fountain the night before it opened. Another incident happened in September 2002. In 2007, the Portland Water Bureau posted the name and photograph of a 19-year-old who placed dish soap in the fountain and received a misdemeanor criminal mischief. The public shaming of the teen caused the incident to be discussed in many places, including KATU, The Oregonian, The Portland Mercury ("This is what happens when you screw with the Water Bureau"), and The New York Times ("Don't mess with the Portland Water Bureau"). The fountain was soaped at least four times in August, 2007 alone.

From May to late August 1996 the park was closed for a $700,000 refurbishment that included repairs and upgrades to filters and pumps, automated chlorination, restoration of cement, and updating of the lighting system. The fountain was also shut down in 1997 and 1998 for 10 months while the water bureau replaced a 1930s-era pump. The piping was also relined with cross-linked polyethylene in the spring of spring 2000, a costly operation due to the original piping being cast into the concrete.

The Halprin Landscapes Conservancy was formed in 2001 and an article in The New York Times in 2008 stated that Keller was a Portland "ensemble considered to be one of Mr. Halprin's masterpieces."

FEATURES: The park holds 75,000 US gallons (280,000 l; 62,000 imp gal) of water, pumping 13,000 US gallons (49,000 l; 11,000 imp gal) per minute through the waterfalls. While Portland Parks & Recreation maintains the park, in 1988 the Portland Water Bureau assumed responsibility for the fountain.

The park, which is known for its accessibility for allowing visitors to stand at the top of the waterfall, is designed according to construction code to prevent children or adults from falling down the waterfall; the top of the falls are actually 36 inches (910 mm) pockets of water, acting as a safety wall. City officials were worried about liability from falls and had wanted a fence put across the top.

Trees in the park include shore pines. For many years, the park has been home to a popular food cart serving bento. Personal note: I've not been at the park during lunch hours, so I can't say that I've ever seen a food cart of any kind there, even when I've been by on weekends.

EVENTS: In 1987, Tom Grant played a piano solo in the park for a KGW TV public service advertisement. In 1988, a parade and march of The Music Man began at the fountain, walking to Pioneer Courthouse Square with actors John Davidson and Sally Spencer.

In September 2008, the Time-Based Art Festival included the "City Dance of Lawrence and Anna Halprin," held at the fountain. The Oregonian called the performance "a major event and brilliant achievement." The event included music by Morton Subotnick.

RECEPTION: In June 1970, Ada Louise Huxtable said it "may be one of the most important urban spaces since the Renaissance," comparing it to the Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain. An article for The New York Times by Ivan Doig discussed how Portland's "livability" didn't contribute to its "visitability," pointing out that the Forecourt Fountain and lunchtime was "one more moment of Portland's showing some loveliness and then getting back to its self-assured routine of life." The Oregonian wrote that Halprin's parks "changed the way American landscape architects thought about city parks, and it sparked a Portland tradition of great urban plazas and parks." In 2003, New York's Thomas Balsley said, "I love the Lovejoy and Forecourt fountains" when asked what Portland open spaces stood out the most to him.

In 1999, the park was awarded a centennial medallion from the American Society of Landscape Architects in a ceremony with Vera Katz on July 29.

According to Steven Koch of the Halprin Landscapes Conservancy, the parks in Lawrence's Portland Open Space Sequence represent local geography: Source Fountain is above the timberline, Lovejoy Fountain and Pettygrove Park are in the middle, and Keller Fountain represents "the foothills with the roaring falls." A writer in the Oregonian said the fountain "is an abstraction of a mountain waterfall." Local architect Marcy McInelly said "they were the first full realization of a theory about reflecting forces of nature but not mimicking natural forms. People came from all over the world to see them." Bob Gerding, who turned the First Regiment Armory Annex into the LEED Platinum-rated performing arts center, said that in 25 years, "I hope [the Armory is] loved by the city. I hope people love to see plays there or have a meeting there or whatever, that it becomes just a cool thing in the city, like the Keller Fountain."

In 2006, Laurie Olin said the Halprin's Portland sequence was "a huge influence on even becoming a landscape architect. I had gone off to Europe and saw them published there. They had to do with representation and meaning but also had an exuberance. They are landmark pieces. When Ada Louis Huxtable wrote in The New York Times that Forecourt Fountain (in front of Keller Auditorium) was the greatest civic fountain since the Renaissance, I knew she was right. They were also transformative for the field of landscape architecture, not all for the best, because there were a lot of bad copies and wannabes."

In the natural order of things, it's Saturday again. I am thankful and blessed.

Last Saturday, I picked these ripe blueberries and left the others right where they are on the bush so that they would have the chance to ripen. That's the natural order of things.

Right now I'm going through what could be seen as an unnatural order of things:

• March 7 discovering cancer in my body after the appearance of a surprising symptom
• April 24 having a hysterectomy because the diagnosis pointed with certainty at cancer and afterward thinking that the result of said surgery meant it highly unlikely that I would require further treatment, just close monitoring
• May 21 having a baseline CT scan to use in that close monitoring which revealed a blip in expectations
• May 29 being told that the blip meant a needle biopsy and that the results of that could warrant a change in plans
• June 1, after recovering slowly but surely, returning to my job that I thoroughly enjoy, do well, and am appreciated and enjoyed at, where I work with adorable, wonderful, smart, kind human beings who care about not only themselves and their families, but also about our community and its citizens
• June 1 through June 23, striving to eat right and walk more
• June 17 having a needle biopsy to get a closer look at the blip seen on the CT scan
• June 18 getting a call about what turned out to be tissues suspicious for cancer in the blip and agreeing to have an appointment at 2 p.m. the next day with Dr. Steiner and tentatively to have a second operation on June 25, realizing at that very moment that I'd need to spend what I thought would be each of the three days at the beginning of the week before the surgery on Thursday training someone at work to do what I do that no one else does
• June 19 spending two hours engulfed in a whirlwind of information with Dr. Steiner and Lamont during which we discussed so much that I felt like I'd been on a twirly, swirly ride at the state fair, plus finding out that I would not be at work on June 24 because I would be involved with clear liquids and a laxative to get ready for the surgery the next day AND that it looks rather certain that radiation and chemotherapy are also in my future
• June 22 and June 23 sharing with a quick, smart young man at work who paid great attention to everything about the job he will do for me until I return, set for August 10 right now, and realizing that I have nothing to worry about because he will do it well, along with the help of others at work who know parts of the process; we in the admin area support each other wholeheartedly because we realize without a doubt that what we do supports those who directly serve the citizens of our community
• June 24 following all directions to the letter for the pre-op routines, including patting myself all over one hour after I had showered and washed my hair with these man-made tissues saturated with antiseptic to help my skin be as ready as possible to be invaded during surgery and not have on it as the incisions were made something bad for my health
• June 24 and June 25 going without solid food, period, but still managing to enjoy Jell-O and Popsicles and Twinings English Breakfast tea
• June 25 being prepped for surgery by swell women and men, then being rolled into the operating room where I saw the robot and the station where Dr. Steiner would sit to guide the robot through its paces with me--that robot is all arms, y'all, multi-functional arms, no doubt; then eventually looking toward the window of my hospital room and realizing my sons were there in silhouette along with my friend Sharon from work. The best thing, I never even knew that scary-panic-inducing oxygen mask from the hysterectomy was any where near me!
• June 25, at some point late after the surgery and the recovery room, when I had come to enough to ask for them and hold them and eat them, I enjoyed more Popsicles and Jell-o in my room
• June 26, about 2:30 a.m., although who knows for certain since my grasp of time within my memory is skewed right now, learning from my nurse how to use the computerized Order Food link on the touch screen hanging in front of me so that I could order breakfast from the regular diet menu, and a morning snack and lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner (although I call this supper)
• June 26 eating what I could of what I'd chosen
• June 26 being able to get up and go to the bathroom once the catheter had been removed and sit in the chair instead of the bed
• June 26 once I stood up off the bed realizing I'm pretty certain that I now know how folks who've been stabbed in the abdomen must feel the day after having their wounds stitched shut and being so thankful for Ibuprofen 600
• June 26 talking with one of Dr. Steiner's partners who said the main thing now is to get to the point that I can empty my own bladder the way that the Good Lord intended so that I wouldn't have to learn how to self-cath at home! and to recover from the surgery! and to learn at the post-op appointment on July 8 what the pathology reveals and what the plan of action includes, such as radiation and chemotherapy.
• June 26 walking the triangle outside my door which is the convenient shape of the hallway in the surgery patient area; I had a walker with wheels on its two front legs which I held onto, tilted, and rolled in front of me; I didn't like how it vibrated into my hands if I kept the wheel-less back legs on the floor
• June 26 finally drinking enough water to get myself back to normal operation in the bathroom, hallelujah! I don't have to learn how to self-cath!
• June 26 learning from one of the multitude of fabulous nurses that I now for the next 14 days will have to give myself a shot in the stomach to ward off the possibility of deep vein thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism
• June 26 waiting for the wheelchair to take me to the door so that I could go home. 
• June 26 and until July 8, it looks like: Lamont explained to me yesterday, more than once, and Leland just explained to me again that Dr. Steiner said this to the two of them in the consultation room after the surgery was completed: The pathology tests have to be run so that the results will be known once they are complete. It's won't be something that she wants to discuss over the phone, that she wants me in the office with her to go over it, that if an earlier appointment opens up, they will let me know. She'd left markers inside me so that radiation oncology would know where to point whatever, that what she found inside me was somewhat unexpected - it wasn't in or attached to the lymph node as she had expected so this is throwing up flags to her that we should go ahead with radiation and chemo and what was going on with me wasn't following the statistics of normal, whatever that means. I believe that hearing the news straight from Dr. Steiner is best because I can look her in the eye and process what she's telling me.

Yes, that's the unnatural order of things. But, and I truly believe this, woven into it, through its shock, pain, aggravation, are-you-kidding-me moments are the some of the most sublime natural order of things I've witnessed in my entire life.

• My sons Lamont and Leland and their caring, sweet smiles, their loving hearts, their great memories for details, their patience to explain the same thing to me over and over again because I'm confused right now; the way every single day they live the evidence of their monumental Daddy right in front of me.
• My family and friends contacting me by myriad means, letting me know from their hearts how much they love me and care about what's going on with me and how much they are praying for the best possible outcome. 
• Yes, Gunn in Stavanger, Norway, I had surely done at each opportunity what you wrote in your comment on yesterday's post: You must tell your doctors and nurses that you have people ALL OVER THE WORLD who follow you and your blog, and we pray, wish you the best treatment and that they have to do their very best!!
• My awe-inspiring medical professionals whose every desire is for me to have the best outcome possible, be that from surgery, pain pills, walking the hallway, understanding what's going on with my treatment, why I have to do all of these things to myself. Best explanation for all that I'm going through, period, from Naomi, Dr. Steiner's nurse, on June 19 as we wrapped up the pre-op appointment for my second surgery within a two-months-one-day-time-period: We are about getting you the decades that I have coming to you, Lynette.
• My heart and soul have felt every single prayer, every single warm wish, every single bit of love and concern that all of you have for me and what I'm experiencing. And I thank you.

Home!

These are two of the four windows in the largest room in my apartment. I keep the blinds shut most all of the time, especially when it's hot. Portland's having some unusually hot days right now, so they're shut. I now have a window air conditioner unit in a window to the right of these two--thanks to some fantastic friends!



I walked out of my apartment on Thursday, June 25, at about 10:40 a.m. I walked back into it about 9:20 p.m. Friday, June 26.

I'm still in a bit of a blur because of the drugs used to relax me prior to the general anesthesia. I know for sure that I have four incisions glued together because I have a sensitivity to adhesive tape. I know that at least one thing was removed during the robot surgery and has been sent to the lab--I don't have any details and am OK with that. Right now I have a post-op appointment on July 8 at which time the pathology report and a plan to deal with the cancer will be discussed. Dr. Steiner told Lamont and Leland that what's going on with me isn't fitting the statistics, so she recommends an aggressive approach, radiation and chemotherapy--I just don't have any details and am OK with that.

Every single person I'm aware that I came in contact with at Kaiser struck me as capable, professional, kind and caring. Lamont stayed with me until we left the hospital--Leland brought me home and is spending tonight with me. I am blessed.

I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to bed real soon. Thanks again for your prayers, love and concern.

It's all about the details. Just found out that I check in tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. for surgery scheduled at 2:45 p.m. Whew. Am I ever gonna be hungry and looking forward to Popsicles in my hospital room tomorrow night, heh?

Here's one short video for y'all, detailing my diet possibilities the day before surgery. You'll understand what I'm talking about after you watch the next short video.



And here's another one which shows you the details of my diet the day before surgery. The info sheet was provided to me by Naomi, Dr. Steiner's thoroughly excellent nurse, at the end of the office visit last Friday. A kind co-worker of mine drove me to the lab for No. 1 on the list - Type and screen blood test to be done day before surgery at your nearest clinic. Completed thanks to him prior to 7:45 a.m. this morning!

Good news! Not only am I getting ready for surgery, I'm learning how to enjoy my new iPhone6 Plus, the big one! I'm able to use it and will continue to explore it, with the aid of all those young techies in my life--thanks, y'all!

At the store, I took advantage of the low-cost offer to get an LG G Pad 7.0 which is a tablet, my first ever tablet, well, one not made out of paper anyway.

After much effort and self-control on my part, I finally got the tablet to where I can watch NYPD Blue as I eat my lunch at work--it's on Amazon Prime Instant Video; I'm in Season 4, Episode 22, "A Draining Experience," a title appropriate to how my day shall proceed on the clear liquid diet.

Using an Android-system device made me think I'd been invaded by aliens who successfully sucked my brains out through my finger tips! Today I'm taking my brains back! I shall make the tablet work with Facebook and Gmail and Netflix.

UPDATE and a break from The World . . .

UPDATE: Yesterday afternoon Dr. Steiner went over the first pathology report from the needle biopsy and then what our plan would be based on the pathologist's final report which is expected early next week. The final report will reflect what may be learned from a stain being applied to the tissue; they felt this was necessary in order to get a better look.

So, it may definitely not be cancer, it may definitely be cancer, or there may not be a definitive answer either way. If it is not cancer, all of the plan we made will be cancelled and I will be followed closely in two months with a CT scan. If it is cancer or we don't know for sure, I will have surgery to remove the lymph node(s) and any other suspicious tissue--next Thursday, June 25. Dr. Steiner will control the robot's 3-D camera and, as she put it, its little hands. Her nurse Naomi says Dr. Steiner's a champ with that robot!

If I have surgery, I will be off work for six weeks. If it turns out to be cancer for sure, not only from the pathologist report before the surgery but also from the one they will get after they examine the tissues removed during surgery, then I will have radiation and chemotherapy. I don't have any details on that right now. It's a wait-and-see thing, of course.

I so appreciate your prayers, love and concern.

Now for today's break from The World.



My Saturday morning breakfast--a toasted Fred Meyer Crispy English Muffin, some grape tomatoes, and some blueberries. I drank water. After I ate, I sorted some photos from iPhoto into Flickr, put a load in one of the washing machines downstairs, and went for a six-block walk. In a little while, I'll get those clothes out of the dryer and get them put away. Leland called and he and Rachel invited me to go pick blueberries later on today with them, up on Sauvie Island. I've never done that! It sounds exciting; I've already got my sunhat hanging on the door knob and some plastic containers with lids ready, too. I think I'll take my folding lawn chair with me, too.

UPDATE: It ain't the news we wanted. And upside what happened in Charleston, SC, Wednesday night, my news is an eyelash loosened from our eyes by the tears we have shed. While you're praying for me, please, I entreat you, consider praying for all of us to treat each other as the valuable people we each are. Now, for the blog post I already had made for Friday: Size, often it's all in perspective and location. Sometimes, it's just flat out huge. No. 3

UPDATE: The needle biopsy results say that there are fragments of atypical cells like the adenocarcinoma which was the kind of cancer that was in my uterus. So, I have an appointment tomorrow at 2 p.m. with the doctor. Tentatively scheduled to have surgery at a different Kaiser facility where there is a robot which will be used for the surgery to remove lymph nodes. I will know about those two things, the pathology and the plan, after the appointment tomorrow. I will have to be off work for probably five weeks. I will not give up. Thursday at work I felt a consisten energy level throughout the day, a decent energy level. I take that to mean that I am stronger. I know that I have lost weight, I know that I recovered smoothly from the hysterectomy. I intend to do that this time as well. I will not give up. Thank you for your prayers, your love and your concern. Love y'all.



One more close up before the photos that I took of The World's journey north on the Willamette. I couldn't be at the beginning of it and along the river, so I opted to get up very early and ride a bus to somewhere I'd never been, get off, and walk back onto the Broadway Bridge to see what I could see.



Here comes The World. That is a smokestack that you see to the right of the raised Morrison Bridge. The white things sticking up in between the decks are part of The World. I am standing east of center of the Broadway Bridge, zoomed in as far as I can.



In this photo, three bridges are lifted simultaneously. To the far right, that's the Morrison beginning to close. In the center, that's the Burnside Bridge, not quite raised all the way. And to the left, the Steel Bridge looks about half raised.

Come back tomorrow for more photos of The World's exit from Portland on the Willamette River. Thanks!

Lost my mind for a little while this AM, and I didn't even realize that it had gone, well, I realized the first time in a few minutes, but not the second time till I uploaded these photos

I sat on a bench watching people, waiting until time to meet my friend Janessa this morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market. I rode there on the 12 bus. People watching led to photo taking. I had no idea until after I had taken quite a few photos that I didn't have the camera set properly. Therefore this photo that I took to you show you color-coordinated parents and their children is somewhat of a bust because you can't really see the parent in blue with one of his/her children wearing blue, the significant other in red, the other child in red. You can sort of see the man in blue shirt and shoes holding the hand of his son in DayGlo chartreuse shirt and shoes--they're the ones that caused me to notice the others, how they dressed and all. Best laid plans, and all that, for me anyway.



I realized it in time to get this photo a little girl on her scooter--do you call that thing a scooter? She's pushing the crosswalk button. If it's not time, at this particular location the automated voice hollers, "Wait!" and when it's time to cross, a sort of machine-gun-sound starts up. She had been talking animatedly to the woman, so I suspect that's her mom.



The last photos, which I had no idea that I took, well, this is one of three almost identical ones--they're evidence of the second time I lost my mind this AM. I don't know the lady in the black shoes; she's wearing a top my little Mama would've loved. The person holding the Thrive tote bag with the purple straps is my friend Janessa. I loaned it to her so that she could carry some of her purchases in it home to her apartment. She had filled up her backpack. Kaiser Permanente gave me the Thrive bag when I went to their seminar, Thrive with Cancer. They also gave me the pedometer I've been wearing ever since. I've only managed to erase the count twice since May 19, both times when I leaned into the bar at the Blue Diamond, which is where Janessa works. I'm going to ask her to remind me not to lean in like that 'cause both times it happened after work which meant my whole day's worth of steps went up in thin air before I could record it in my One Line A Day, A Five-Year Memory Book. I sort of remembered the count both times, having checked at some point while I sat there talking and laughing and listening to great live music.

All of what I bought is washed and ready to cook Sunday. I'm looking forward to every single bite!