Rhodies in the Park

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After the ubiquitous rhododendrons on the coast, it is a pleasure to see that people in the city have used some creativity in landscaping, but these red rhodies in Cathedral Park looked just right peeking out from between some hardwoods.
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Enjoying a lazy day before going to work tonight.
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Rose

Four Seasons

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When we lived in Miami, it wasn't uncommon for people from back home to wonder if we didn't miss the four distinct seasons. The time I missed it most was autumn, but there was still a distinction, and my biggest gripe with southern Florida was always the unmitigated heat. The Oregon coast was a much more temperate climate, and I had the impression of seasonal change more there.
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It is only this spring, and now summer, that I have realized just how much the seasons have been absent in the last five years. The landscape seems to have changed completely since the trees leafed. I have had my tree guide out indentifying the types of deciduous trees that make up the fantastic avian habitat outside my balcony. And of course, I've had the bird guide out, identifying its inhabitants.
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Today, I sit on the balcony with my kitty friend. She divides her time between lolling in the sun and fantasizing about hunting my feeder birds. I sit in the shade reading or sipping coffee or just
drinking in the fluffy cumulus, the bright blue sky reflected in the river, the oak and locust and maple and ash, the grosbeak and finch and siskin and warbler, and the gentle breeze.
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Rose

Blogging at Work (gasp)

For a moment, I wonder why last week went by so fast, why I feel so tired, and why this weekend at work has been such an emotional whirlwind for me. Then I remember, oh yes, I decided to go back on hormonal birth control.
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I haven't mentioned the subject in a long time, but long-time readers and IRL friends know how much and how long I was obsessed with having a baby and how horrifically painful my periods can be. For years now, I've been staying in bed with the heating pad on the first day of my period and popping the occasional Vicodin and lots and lots of Ibuprofen. Given the fact that I don't appear to be getting pregnant anyway, I finally decided to go back on the pill: the one thing that has been proven to keep me pain-free.
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For at least a year now, I've been growing more and more accustomed to the idea that we won't have children, and made peace with the idea that that's okay for me. So this seemed like a good time to get rid of the pain, a move which it took me a while to become emotionally ready for. It took some effort for me not to be angry that, not only will my reproductive system not reproduce, but it is also a major inconvenience. I call it "worse than useless."
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But that wasn't the point. The reason I started writing this (really transparent and personal for me) post was to talk about a little problem I had at work. Only weariness kept me from writing a frustrated rant yesterday morning about the nurse who made morning report so terrible that I was in tears before it was over with. I composed it in my head on the drive home. I meant to write that if I had to give her report every day, I would quit my job. Then I talked to jc about it and remember that the extra hormones I'm taking are making me emotional.
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The surest cure for a bad night at work is a good night at work, so I was happy to come back to work tonight. I'm even happier now that several people have confirmed that the nurse in question is just a good, old-fashioned Meanie and has been reported for her Meanness on more than one occasion. You see, before I knew that, I perceived her behavior as a personal attack. Now I know better.
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I don't have a dictionary in front of me, but I think you could use the word "maudlin" appropriately to discuss my rambling. I better get back to work.
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Rose

Gingko

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I took this picture of wild gingko growing in a local park a few weeks ago. After working an extra day last weekend, when I really wasn't feeling well anyway, I feel like I could use some of it's reputed energy. I looked at the calendar today only to realize that the whole week had slid by already. I have been busily planning the details of my summer vacation. I'll be meeting Robin and A.E. in Boston for a week on Cape Cod, then heading for Mother and Father's in Pennsylvania, where Mr. Clean and his brood will be visiting.
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I'm also pulling out a summer wardrobe that I have had no need for in the three years since we moved from Miami. We had a record-breaking high of 97 degrees here last week, but it's been overcast and cool since.
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r connors

The White Countess- movie review

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This is the tale of a sad, blind, American diplomat and a sad, exiled Russian countess in 1930's Shanghai. The sets and costumes are fabulous, the music is delightful; and the fine acting makes a relatively simple story into something far more compelling. We found it exceptionally enjoyable and spellbinding throughout. I think this film deserves a place with the classics.
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rc

Under the Bridge

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I went for a stroll in the park under the bridge yesterday. Today was my routine yearly doctor's visit. I got an appointment with the nurse practitioner at a neighborhood practice, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that she was really super. It was a kind of gloomy day, but I'm going to try grilling a flat-iron steak on the deck tonight.
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rc

Mayflowers

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Pink Dogwood are prolific in our neighborhood. In this particular yard tulips and forest hyacinths bloom all around. I can't write anything good. It's my birthday, and I want some junk food.

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Rose

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p.s.- oh, and I'm going to see the Mayflower II this summer.

Shanghaied to Brazil

We took the bus to the Shanghai Tunnel in Old Town. We had trouble finding the place, it's not the greatest part of town. We walked by a dumpster, a street performer with his hat out, and some scaffolding. We finally found the narrow storefront with a few cafe tables on the sidewalk and a long bar inside with old movies playing on a huge flatscreen television. The bartendener wisely recommended a smooth, flavorful Xingu black beer, all the way from Brazil, for me.
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We walked down the metal steps, past the kitchen into the low, dark basement. From 1850 to 1941 as many as 1500 people a year were snatched from bars and dropped through trapdoors into cells in this and other basements to be sold on the waterfront as slave laborers, earning Portland a dangerous reputation as the "Forbidden City".
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We ordered macaroni and cheese. It came in huge bowls, topped by a fortune cookie. The flavor was indescribably and delightfully unlike anything I have ever tasted. I savored every bite of spicy pasta, tempered by diced, fresh tomatoes. The stereo played interesting music, including Koko Taylor's Insane Asylum. When we first sat down, I was doubtful about the mostly empty room and badly worn seat, but I was won over by the time we walked up the steps, back into a city glowing with the setting sun.
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R. Connors

Bolts

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I sorted out the bolts for the new bed this afternoon. I love to see them all lined up in a row. And I look forward to the assembly soon.

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rc

South Park Blocks

Greening

Bigleaf Maple Acer macrophyllum

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I've been watching the bigleaf maples blooming and leafing since we arrived in Portland. Finally the green is covering the hillside across the river. Today I sit on the shady deck in a tank top, a kitty lolling in the sunny patches and birds coming to the feeders and the blossoming madrone. Maybe later I'll do something. Not now.

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rc