Leland took these photos on Saturday while I picked blueberries.

There I sit in my folding lawn chair, picking blueberries at Bella Organic on Saturday. I'm so glad that I thought to take that chair outside my building so that Leland could put it in the trunk of his car for the ride to Sauvie Island. Then he and/or Rachel carried it for me. I am so blessed. Thanks, you two!



I really like this photo that Leland took! Such a unique perspective!

Sunshine, shade, a breeze, blueberries and two special people equal a great outing on Sauvie Island

I brought up the rear as we walked from the store at Bella Organic on Sauvie Island, north of Portland, towards the blueberry U-Pick site. Rachel carried the two buckets we picked up at the store. Leland carried my folding lawn chair and the tote bag with our empty, lidded containers inside it. All of us wore straw hats and thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine. We walked all the way to the dark green trees as instructed and then turned right to cross the public road. It was not a short walk to where we were told we could pick blueberries, but it was not such a long one that I asked myself just what am I getting into here. Plus, I knew that chair would give me a rest, much like the benches where I walk in my neighborhood and at work. I am blessed.



We crossed the public road as instructed and headed for the bushes to the right of the private road--the young man had said we should pick from rows between orange cones and then pointed out that the farther you walked, the less picked over the bushes would likely be. Leland felt as if his hat would blow right off his head when we were out of the cover cover those tall trees had provided. So, Rachel's helping out with her one empty hand as Leland attempts to tighten the strap beneath his chin with his one empty hand. Team work! When I had put my hat on after we got out of the car, I tightened the strap up to my chin, and I also pulled the hat down onto my head so that it fit tightly across my forehead. Still, as we crossed that public road, I felt the front brim fly straight up, but the hat didn't budge. Whew!



Once Leland's hat felt secure, we walked down the road, then into the grass to take a look at the blueberry bushes and available shade for me and my chair. We made it not all the way down to the end of the orange cones but to a fine place for me and my chair. I rested, took a few photos, then decided to pick some blueberries. Soon, I realized as loaded as the bushes were, I could take my chair with me and pick while seated in the sunshine. It was quite comfortable, y'all. I had a blast!



Leland took a few photos, then started picking into one of the buckets. I enjoyed hearing the plop of each berry as it hit the bottom of that plastic bucket.



Leland gave me a thumbs up when he looked up from picking. Love it! And that T-shirt he's wearing. It's from where he works, Ascentec Engineering. They had a get-together on May 4, May the 4th Be With You, in honor of something they're working on about liquid hydrogen and space travel. Don't ask me for details 'cause it's beyond my frame of reference, much less remembering. Oh, and you can see that he's already loosened the strap of his hat--light breeze among the rows of bushes, nothing that would blow your hat off your head.



Some of the berries I photographed while sitting in my chair, down the row, then I picked them and put them in that same red bucket Leland had been using. He got a Nancy's Yogurt container out of the tote bag that I had bought last October in Pitlochry, Scotland, and used it so that I would have the bucket with a handle.



Here comes Rachel. It's time for us to pool our berries and head for the store to purchase them. One more errand to accomplish on the way back to my apartment, then the two of them would head to some friends to grill. It was a splendid outing! I'm very happy they asked me to go along, especially since there is the very real possibility that by next Saturday I could be back at square one with my being able to walk very far at the time, if I have that surgery on Thursday. Plus, the weather is predicted to be very hot this week and beyond. One more reason to hope that I don't have cancer and that I therefore don't need that surgery--I'll be in the A/C at work this week when it's 80 to 90 degrees, and the week after when it starts out at 98 degrees on Monday and Tuesday. No matter what, I shall endure, even the predicted 97 next Saturday and the 103 a week from today. I have plenty of fans, lots of windows, and easily hung ways to keep the sunshine out.

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!

Size, often it's all in perspective and location. Sometimes, it's just flat out huge. No. 2

Here's an even closer view of The World, taken as I stopped for a look from the sidewalk alongside the river. That is the Morrison Bridge in the background.



Leaves no doubt as to the name of the ship.



How many feet above my head is the deck? I don't know, but it looks pretty high up to me.



That's not a bottle of booze he's holding. It's plant refurbishment time while The World docked in Portland. Busy, busy times, I imagine for lots of those 270 crew members on board, whenever the ship is in a port.



A life boat.



Looking up at the decks with their balconies.



Wonder how large those letter are?



As I walked back towards the Hawthorne Bridge so that I could make my way back to work, I turned back for one more photo, this one showing the Portland Spirit and The World, both docked at the seawall. Also, you can see people in this photo, which gives you an even better idea of the difference in size of the two ships.

Size, often it's all in perspective and location. Sometimes, it's just flat out huge. No. 1

The World docked on the west side of the Willamette River. I took these photos on June 16, 2009, when I walked across the Hawthorne Bridge on my lunch hour. I had seen the TV news story about the ship and knew that I'd be a total fool to miss the chance to see it for myself. The Portland Spirit, a local river cruise boat, is docked to the left of The World. And beyond the center of The World, you can see the 30-story Big Pink--it is about a mile away, walking.

Found this quote in the June 17 Oregonian, made by an acquaintance of mine, as well as a bit of interesting info about the ship:

"It's something I have to go take my camera and get a look at," said Dan Haneckow, a ship enthusiast from North Portland. "You just don't see very many big ships below the Steel Bridge anymore."

Haneckow was talking about the 665-foot ship described as a floating luxury condominium complex, which boasts a variety of restaurants, two pools, a tennis court and a running track, among other amenities. The ship's 140 residents and crew of about 270 are touring the Portland area and seeing sights such as Multnomah Falls and Mount St. Helens.

They're also leaving behind some cash. Travel experts predict the ship's stop might inject some extra life into the local economy. While the exact economic impact of the Portland stop was unclear Wednesday, the industry standard for spending by cruise ship passengers is $125 a couple per day.

Bruce Connor, vice president of Sundial Travel & Cruise Center, which helped arrange the local itinerary, said the passengers could easily spend three times that.



Well, you can certainly tell that is is a close-up shot, can't you?



Here's another look with three of the four bridges which had to lift for The World to dock here and which will have to lift when it turns and heads down river, north to the Columbia, and then west to the Pacific. The closest bridge is the Morrison Bridge, the two bridge supports you see through the Morrison Bridge are part of the Burnside Bridge, and the black two towers in the distance are part of the Steel Bridge. The bridge not visible here is the Broadway Bridge. There is a westward bend in the river which, at this perspective, situates the Broadway Bridge to the left of the Steel Bridge. The tiny bright blue boat is a Willamette Jetboat, one that people pay to ride on, see the sights, get all wet. All that motion, turning, speed--not for me.



I took this photo from the 5th floor rooftop garden of my work building which is on the east side of the Willamette River. Remember, The World is docked on the west side of the river; my work building is five city blocks from the river--I don't know the distance in feet.



Here's that jet boat, speeding away after providing its passengers with a close up look at The World. They must've felt like flies on an elephant, size-wise.

Come back tomorrow for some photos I took as I walked alongside the sea wall, right beside The World. And the next day for photos which I got up very early to take on my way to work, well out of my way to work but on purpose. You'll understand when you see them.

October 28, 2007 - little did I know that I'd live within walking distance of this intersection by the end of January, 2011

I cannot even remember why I was at this intersection on that particular day. I had to have been in a car, stopped at the traffic signal to get this perspective which I am really enjoying. Nowadays, Monday through Friday if I've been to work and am going straight home afterwards, I walk across NE 20th Avenue at this intersection with NE Sandy Blvd. which is the wide street on the left side of the photo. My apartment building is nearby.

The Blue Diamond PDX is in this building, right behind the Halo Salon. It's sign is just visible through the tree trunks on the left, mostly between the second and third tree trunks. On days when I'm exhausted, I walk on the sidewalk to the right because a doorway to my building is closer if I take that edge of the triangle. On days when I've still got plenty of energy, I walk on the sidewalk to the left. If I'm going to the Blue Diamond before I go home, either sidewalk works--the front door is on the left beneath the sign, the back door through the kitchen is on the right. I am blessed to live in this neighborhood. The Blue Diamond is one of the reasons I say that. By the way, when I took this photo, Bev and Steve didn't own it, but Janessa worked there. Small world, for real.

How'd they do that? Back in the day. It's not in the parking lot any more.

First thing, you notice the giant A-OK at the top of the wrist, the hand, made with the finger and thumb.

Then, you notice the parked car. It's difficult for me to parallel park on what I consider to be the wrong side of the road, the driver's side of the road, as in the driver sits in the left-hand front seat. I can do it. I have done it when necessary. However, never under such circumstances.

So, I can understand, visualize even, the parking of the car. What I'd really like to know is how did they put the giant hand there. And where did it end up after being removed from there, a parking lot diagonally across from the Greyhound Bus Station?