Motel decor 08-17-19

I frequently take pictures in motels; the art, the carpet, the strange lamps, and the inadequate bathrooms.  But then I hesitate to post the images with my sometimes caustic remarks.  Sometimes, however, the art is rather nice as in the HIE in Salmon Creek, WA, just north of the Oregon border. 

This might be print of a serigraph, I'm not sure.  But it is downtown Portland and the Willamette River  (will am' it).  And I believe the bridge is called the Steel Bridge, the center span lifts straight up for boats to go through. 

This is a lovely pastel view of Portland by the same artist, but the bridge shown is the St. John's Bridge which is quite a way down river from downtown.  Artist's freedom, I suppose. 

It is always nice to have restful décor in a motel room.  Unlike this one at the HIE in San Luis Obispo in June 2018.  Hard to sleep even in the pitch dark.

#   #   #

Getting ready for a road trip 04-20-15

I'll be on the road again for the next few weeks.  First to San Juan Bautista, then to Portland for the Studio Art Quilt Associates conference, followed by a visit to upstate Washington to visit Mabel, Mac, Reynola and Suzanne.  Then I will need to hightail it home to be at the SQG May meeting. 

I'm looking forward to visiting friends along the way and enjoying the TREES that I miss so much in SCalifornia.  I will try to blog every day and share my travels with you, but don't  worry if I miss a post now and then, I get very tired these days and need to limit the distance I drive in one stretch. 

 

Near Mt Shasta  June 5, 2009

#   #   #



Road Trip - Mt. Hood came out 05-01-13

It was a wonderful day and the weather was perfect - look at that cloudless, BLUE sky!
Terry Grant had invited Gerrie Congdon, June Underwood and me to her house for lunch and some Show&Tell.  Unfortunately, June was not feeling well and couldn't make it; instead we were joined by Terry's daughter on a day off from teaching 6th graders.  A lovely salad and homemade bread which was very, very good.  Maybe I'll try bread making again, it has been decades since I did.  Terry showed me her studio, which is even more impressive than the pictures she has posted on her blog and she has work in progress up on her design wall.  She does such great work and I am always interested in how artists go about creating. 

Too soon it was time to leave and I took the route to I-5 that Terry told me about, it was a snap.  I stopped in Sherwood to mail a package and when I was closer to I-5 Mt. Hood popped out of the trees.  And then I couldn't get a good view between trees and trucks and hills, so from I-5 I drove NE on I-205 to the view point I stopped at going north.  I knew I would have an excellent view of "my" mountain from there.  It is miles out of the way I needed to go to head home, but it seemed important to have just a few more pictures. .


My first view before she hid behind trees, trucks and hills.
 

Here is another bit of history from the signs at the view point.  I am surprised that Portland had electric power in 1889.
 

There is the mountain towering in the distance and Willamette Falls at Oregon City in foreground.
 

Not Niagara, but impressive all the same.
 

Pulling the image closer.
 

And even closer.  I am very fond of this mountain which we could see from our front yard when I was growing up.  The movie "The Shining" was filmed on location at Timberline Lodge located on the slope of Mt. Hood.   Nothing to do with anything - just a factoid!

I am in Grants Pass tonight and will drive south tomorrow until I feel I need to stop for the night.  Maybe in the Sacramento area.

Sisters 08-06-10

I was looking through some pictures on Picasa, thinking what I should delete, if anything. When I first started doing photos on the computer I saved everything, but over the years I have learned what to dump and what to retouch and keep. Today I came across this picture of my sister (now 75) and me. I never hear from her and rarely see her - maybe every three or four years if I drive up to Oregon. The only time I know of that she visited SCalifornia as an adult was in about 1958 - she didn't inherit a wandering foot as I did. Our maternal grandfather was a wanderer.

This was Aug 17, 2004, when I was driving to Cheyenne, Wyo, via Seattle (for APNQ), Portland (to see family), and then east through the Columbia Gorge. I took Ellamarie, my sister, her daughter and two grandchildren out to lunch at a place of their choosing. People say we resemble each other, but I don't see it. She has the blue eyes, up-tipped nose and slender frame of our father's family, and I have the hulking physique of our maternal ancestors. This was before I had my eyelids lifted so that I could actually see out of my eyes when I looked down!

I saw Ellamarie when I went up to see Aunt Dorothy last November - she looked about the same as she does in this picture - maybe a little grey hair now. Both our maternal grandmother at 85 and mother at 65 had very little grey hair, whereas everyone on the paternal side developed grey hair in their 30s. Guess neither of us has the grey-hair gene.

A Portland Memory 12-10-09

Growing up in Portland in the 40s and 50s I suppose I thought that all cities had public drinking fountains. I remember being surprised as a teenager that it was not so. This fountain is in the Milwaukee district (right outside a Starbucks) and may be one of the originals. The water was very tasty, I'm not sure I would drink water from a fountain in any old city - but it seems natural in Portland.

I brought one thing back from my recent visit - a cold! It started with a sniffle on the drive home and gradually turned into a full blown head cold. So far it has not turned into bronchitis and I am hopeful it won't. I saw Dr. Debin yesterday morning for a regular med check - she examined me and said that what I have is not contagious at this time. I hope that holds true for today because I went to the Book Group dinner (just once a year at Xmas time) and would hate to think I exposed them all to this misery. And I am miserable - cough, sneeze, snort, choke, blow, drip.... well, we are all familiar with the symptoms. I am trying to rest in bed, drink lots of fluids, keep warm and all that stuff. Hope I am feeling better tomorrow so I can work on some pictures in Picasa. And maybe do my laundry!

Autumn Views 11-29 ~ 12-02-09

I guess I am even more tired than I thought!! I have put the following four pictures in reverse order - toooo tired to start over. Guess it doesn't really matter much.

Pollarded maple trees in East Moreland section of Portland. 12-02-09

Unidentified trees along I-5 south of Portland 12-01-09

Unidentified trees along I-5 south of Portland 12-01-09. Why does this one tree hang on to it's leaves when all the others are bare?

View from my room at the Holiday Inn Express in Roseburg, OR 11-30-09 All of the rooms in this motel have a view over the river. Notice the fog in the background - I sort of stalled a bit so that it would have a chance to lift. I really hate to drive in the fog - stress to the max.

Trip north on I-5 Arrived in Portland 12-01-09

Guess I have gotten behind on my posts, or maybe just confused about the dates! And tonight I am just too tired to caption pictures and write a post. So, here are two pictures of my favorite mountain, which I have not seen much of in my last few visits to Portland.

These pictures were taken at a "Vista Point" on I-205 which diverts from I-5 south of town and goes east and then north to cross the Columbia and then rejoin I-5 in Washington State. Since all my family lives in the SE part of Portland I usually take this route. From the "Vista Point" there is a great view of Mt. Hood (when there is no fog, rain or thick low clouds). In the picture above you can also see Oregon City on the other side of the Willamette River and in the foreground Willamette Falls. Oregon City has many claims to early fame, including being the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains, and there are many interesting historical sites preserved and open to the public.

Here is a long lens photo of Mt. Hood - it will always be the perfect mountain in my heart. I also saw Mt. St. Helens off in the distance and it took me a few minutes to figure out which mountain I was seeing - since it blew it's top it is no longer the shape I remember from my childhood.

I did visit my Aunt Dorothy today. She is coming to the end of her 84 years. The hospice worker (they are called angels, which doesn't appeal to me - I'd rather wait until I leave this earthly coil to meet any angels) was there and I asked her if Dorothy was deteriorating rapidly and she said yes. Dorothy is still able to stand up and change clothes and go to the bathroom with assistance and her mind seems just as sharp as always. She talks very slow and quietly, so I had to concentrate to catch what she was saying. She has lost a great deal of weight since I saw her last, I have never seen her so thin. I will go back to visit some more in the morning.

I hope this post makes sense, I gotta quit and get to bed.

The day after Thanksgiving 11-27-09

It was a lovely Thanksgiving, I'm so glad that the Bednar's asked me to join them. The meal was delicious and the ambiance lent itself to leisure conversation. Thank you, Carol and Dick.

Carol Bednar (in the foreground her gurgling Derby pitcher - cute!)

Dick Bednar

Del Thomas - who always forgets to change her glasses when she is indoors!

The yummy apple crisp with vanilla frozen yogurt.

Being the perfect hostess, Carol sent home a bag of leftovers! So, I could have a turkey sandwich with homemade gravy and cranberry sauce today.

I plan on leaving to drive north on Sunday morning and go as far as I can before finding some place to spend the night. I'll try to keep you posted.

Maybe a break from blogging 11-23-09

I had an e-mail this evening from one of my cousins telling me that my Aunt Dorothy is in hospice care and has been given a month or so to live. If I can possibly arrange it I will go up to Portland, OR., to see her sometime in the next few weeks. I will have to figure out how to make the trip - not sure I am up to the thousand mile drive. I'll keep you advised. Del

# # #

Raspberry Love 07-16-08

I do love raspberries. I had intended to post this earlier in the month because the photos were taken in Portland, OR, July 9, 2005. But I needed to locate this poem - it is so apt.

Raspberry Love by Monroe Sprawl

If ever I dies an’ yo ain’t certain I’s dead,
Just butter some biscuit an’ new made bread
An’ spread ‘em all over with raspberry jam,
Then step mighty sofly to whar I am
An’ move dem vittles above my head, --
If my mouf don’t open I’m certainly dead.

I moved to California in 1957 and for many years I drove back up to Portland about every other year to visit family. My mother always accused me of being there for the raspberries, rather than to see the family. I wasn't, but it was certainly a great bonus. It had been a long time since I had enjoyed fresh off the canes Oregon raspberries, so when I went through on a road trip in July 2005, I ate all I could. I still dream of them. Imagine four raspberries large enough to fill my palm - heaven!