Category: All (-ish)

Oregon Humanities Dear Stranger has a quick turn around.

I participated in Oregon Humanities first Dear Stranger project where you write a letter to a stranger (the theme was “me”) send it to Dear Stranger at Oregon Humanities with a SASE. They shuffle the letters and send you one, theoretically from another part of the state.  I got my letter in right before the May 5 deadline, but I was still surprised to find a letter in my mailbox on May 9.  
My letter was not from someone in Oregon, it was from a student in Wisconsin who was writing the letter as part of a college assignment.  She also did not include a return address, so that was unfortunate.  Still, I enjoyed the mail and hope that the person who got my letter will write me back.  I really need more pen pals.  
If you are interested in participating in Dear Stranger in August, sign up for the Oregon Humanities newsletter.

An after school walk

Home from Overlook Park, though Overlook, Arbor Lodge and Kenton neighborhoods.
Swirly parking strip.

Gnarly old trees in Overlook.
TARDIS
Gorgeous yard and cottage.
Precise hedge.
Telephone booth peeking over a hedge.
On the fence in that same yard is the “Poem Booth.”
My favorite secret way to cross a busy street.
Burning bush among the strawberries.
Stairs being overtaken.
Retaining wall overtaken.
A nice swoop and orange trim.
This home does not fit in at all, and is tremendously ugly, but I love it for those two reasons.
In the side yard of the tremendously ugly home are many wood crafted signs.
This bungalow went and grew a big backside in the Omaha woods.
Kind of looks like a dead cat, but was actually a very happy warm cat.

Victorian with a stellar paint job.
Check out the detail on the door.

Can I make it through this alleyway?

It was okay until I found myself completely surrounded by blackberry bushes.
I made it through, though can’t recommend it.

Requiem: dresses.

I think I found this dress at Savers, but I can’t be sure. It’s straight polyester of the late 60s/early 70s variety that is quite thick and sweaty and never breaks down.  The dress is SHORT.  I wore it ironically with bright green fishnet stockings and knee-high boots for “green and gold” spirit day my senior year of high school. I also had my longest false eyelashes on.  You can’t get a sense of scale when it’s laid out on the table like this, but looking at it today, I marveled that I had ever been that small.  It was one of the first dresses I wore when I was starting to get an idea of what powers my body had, if I dressed a certain way.

The label.
This dress was inherited from an Aunt (I can’t remember if it was Pat or Carol.  The length makes me think Aunt Carol had it first because she had the legs, but the lace around the collar makes me think it was Aunt Pat’s.)  It spent many years as a “dress up” dress in the dress up box.  I can remember wearing it when it came to my toes.  But I grew up and it was another high school discovery.  Also quite short.  I love the purple and orange pattern. It’s pretty worn out, which is too bad.

Another brown polyester dress probably bought at the same time that yellow one was.  I don’t ever remember wearing this, but I have a clear memory of H. wearing it, again ironically, for a spirit week dress up day.
Aside from the indestructible nature that comes with polyester, this has a great back zipper and, I discovered as I was searching around for a label, was homemade.
This came from the Salvation Army Thrift store and was my favorite dress for many years as a child.  I had a thing for old fashioned dresses so this was an incredible find.  I wore it for Halloween one year, and then any time I could after that.  Always for dress up.  I even fashioned hoop skirts from the circled bit of plastic that came with the lawn dart set.  This is homemade too, and still gorgeous.  If it was anywhere near fitting, I would have kept it, but someone else will get to be thrilled to find it.

Postcards from China & Finland.

This is from Lu, who wished me a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  This caused confusion on my part as it’s the end of April.  The Chinese postmark says April 21.  When I registered it, I found that Lu sent it at the end of December.  Where did it go for four months?
Fun stamps.  I love the fish one especially.

This is from someone whose name was obscured by the bar code stamp.  She asked me about spring in Oregon and says that it’s 10 degrees in Finland. Google tells me that  is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. She tells me also that fishing season has started which is a good reason to stay outdoors.  She also hopes her choice of card is acceptable and it is, because I adore the two old ladies.  
Fun stamp with this one too!

World Book Night

Have you heard about World Book Night?  Me neither. It’s a night where publishers publish books (list is here) so people can walk around and give them away.  How fun is that?  Powell’s had a kickoff event where Cheryl Strayed, Matthew Dickman, Amanda Coplin, Paul Collins, and Chelsea Cain all talked about a book that had influenced them.
Here’s Cheryl Strayed introducing the night. 
Matthew Dickman told us of his favorite book.  In the manner of all of the speakers, he managed to call out several before he got to the one he was really talking about.  He mentioned Island of the Blue Dolphins, (and I knew right then we were the same age, because that was a big one for me too) then talked about the poems they read in school, which were dense and heady and hard to comprehend.  So it was a watershed moment when he found All My Pretty Ones by Anne Sexton and he could read and understand the poems.  That lead him to Charles Burkowski and then his teacher gave him a copy of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl.  Along with the book came a postcard with Allan Ginsberg standing on a corner in New York with all his poet friends, and Dickman said that where he grew up, guys standing on the corner was a bad thing, and bad things came from guys standing on the corner.  To see a bunch of poets hanging about in such a way and creating art instead of trouble, was something to remember.  And so he read us an excerpt from Howl.
Chelsea Cain bought up her copy of Synonyms and Antonyms. Her mother had given it to her and inscribed a note in the flyleaf.  So we know that it was bought after a viewing of My Friend Flicka.  Cain pointed out that her mother made a habit of inscribing books, which means that now she can never get rid of said books.  Also that this was the first tool she was given as a writer and she used to page through it.  Now she uses a website to find her synonyms, which is a different thing than flipping through a book.  She then read to us from The Mystery of the Glowing Eye, one of the many Nancy Drew Books she read over and over again from first to fifth grade.
Paul Collins brought his copy of Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome.  Despite sharing a last name, too much time has passed between this event and this write-up of the event to remember why he chose that book.
Amanda brought Mouchette by George Bernanos.  She especially liked the version of the New York Review of Books Classics.
Cheryl Strayd brought her copy of Black Beauty that her mother read to her when she was three. (!)  Strayd said that she hasn’t read this book to her children yet, even though they are something like eight and ten years old.  The horrible things that happen to the horse are too much.  However, the book was incredibly influential in beginning the Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals and the writing is beautiful.  Plus, her mother was a horsewoman and always had a horse.
This was an excellent presentation and introduction to World Book Night.  Thanks Powell’s.