To Occupy my Time – Page 137

Zucchini and, oh yes, green beans.

I went to check on the zucchini, having somewhat forgotten about it, and discovered a very large tromboncino specimen. I also was reminded I had planted some green beans. And that’s great, because I love fresh green beans.

More hiking in the Gorge: Horsetail Falls

At the beginning.

The eponymous falls.

Thanks to this interpretative sign, I now know the different types of waterfalls. From left to right: Horsetail Waterfalls, Plunge Waterfalls, Segmented Waterfalls.

Would you like a photo of some lichen?

Matt stands under the 80 foot Ponytail Falls. Of note, this picture took much waving of hands (I was quite far away) and several photos taken because the water kept blurring.

Like in this example.

Better.

Looking through the falls.

Pretty green hanging ferns.

Poor Glenn. If he was still alive we would more-or-less be the same age. The article from the Oregonian said he and his friend were hiking when this happened.

Downed tree or shaggy wizard?

More falls.

Tall bridge! With interesting anti-flag sticker I didn’t notice when I took the picture.

Blurry picture, but very cool tree growing out of a nurse log. I love how long the roots are.

Guess what this group of falls is called? Just guess!

Did you guess Triple Falls? You are right!

Some cairns.

Timer photo shot.

This is the mouth of the Oneonta Gorge. People were hiking back into it.

Tunnel! This was once part of the Columbia River Gorge Highway. Imagine driving your Model T through this tunnel! The interpretative sign told me that this was a difficult tunnel to make due to how the rock disintegrated easily. If memory serves, they solved this problem by reinforcing everything with concrete and that made it all good. Guess what explains this better than me? The internet! You can read about construction by going here. Scroll down to Design and Desription to find a better explanation.

Lots of rock. Which I now have been reminded is basalt rock. Also known as “dice” rock. Me and geology. We don’t get along so well.

This was yet another good Gorge hike.

Saturday morning walk to MLK

We had Friday off from work because we had a work retreat on Saturday. It was at the Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg and there was carpooling involved. I needed to get to a meeting spot on MLK and decided that this morning was a good time for a longer walk. Here’s what I saw along the way.

Once upon a time, this lot had a blue house on it. I took a picture of that house (but didn’t tag it properly and now I can’t find it. I also have a view from the alley of the initial stages. Now it has eight townhouses. From an infill perspective, I very much like this development. Why? Each unit has a parking space. Also I think they look like small places. Better to have one house torn down and replaced with eight small homes than one huge one. I haven’t been successful in finding a listing, possibly because these have already all sold, and attempts to spy through windows failed because people live there. But I would like to see the inside of one of these units.

I think the sudden designation of a street is a little bit of overkill, though.

I’ve admired this house for some years now. Full basement, okay sized yard, nice mid-century design.

Once upon a time North Portland had a convent. (Maybe more than one, what do I know?) And then the convent closed and eventually the land surrounding it was plotted into owner-occupied and rental housing. But you can still see the original building. And people still live in it.

What do you suppose happened to the statuary that was in this alcove?

Brand new alleyway! New to me, at least.

Interesting design here.

This elm tree is not long for this world.

Another alleyway, this one with contrails. And power lines.

Good bones on this house. It needs some love, though.

Dead car wash.

Dead building. But such excellent mid-century design. I think it could still come back.

When I moved to Boston, one of the markers that I lived in a big city was the presence of the Boys & Girls clubs everywhere. I knew about them from commercials featuring famous people who once hung out at them. Like this one. Which is from 2011, and thus not very old. But watch it and see if you don’t get all teary. Also I feel like Denzel Washington has done voicework for Boys & Girls clubs for many many years. Ha! The internet confirms my belief. You can even watch his first ad from 1993. Prepare to get all teary. Or, as we called it back then (due to Saturday Night Live): verkelmpt.

And Portland has it’s own Boys and Girls club. But just one location. We’re not that big of a city.

Learning to machine monogram for baby blankets-to-be

I made a baby blanket last summer and I hand-monogrammed it using satin stitch and guess what? I’m not doing that again. It takes too long, plus I’m guessing most of the monogram has frayed away by this point. But I love a good monogram. So it’s time to learn to machine monogram. Because I’ve got two baby blankets to make.

I decided to practice on a sheet. I found the style of letter I wanted, printed it very big, cut it out and then used tracing paper to transfer the outline to the sheet. You can also see in this picture I was listening to a podcast via my Bluetooth speaker, I was planning a hike (blue book) and there was something going on with those light bulbs.

I bought some backing, which is sitting on the table in the above picture, right next to the phone, and it worked like a charm. I also googled to find the proper kind of thread to use for machine monogramming. It’s a different kind than for all-purpose sewing. As you can see, there are some shaky places, but overall it turned out okay. You can also see the short line of stitches I made along the edge when I wasn’t quite sure what stitch width and length I should use.

Confident (enough) in my skills, I monogrammed the two pieces of material. Again, not the best job, but livable.

“But wait!” I hear you wondering. “What if the people you are making the blankets for see this post? Won’t the surprise be ruined?” This is the plus of having a blog with very few readers. Neither recipient of a blanket reads this blog, thus the secret is safe with us.

Buoyed by that success I continued on with sewing the blanket for baby J and made it through all the steps but the tacking of the binding, which will be done while watching movies.

I’m pretty excited about how good this project looks. (And thanks to friend Julie who wandered the fabric store for a very long time until we found exactly the right front/back combo.)

Possessiveness and Bike Staples

Apparently the Hawthorne Wellness Center can’t share their bike parking. I find this weird and kind of offensive. As you can see, there isn’t a ton of demand, especially considering there are six bike staples in the next parking lot over.

I have never been to Pacific City before

After hiking, we went to find food. We found it in Pacific City, where we did not wait 90 minutes for a table at the Pelican Brewery, but instead walked across the street to the pizza place (where they called your order number over a microphone!) and had no wait at all.

Having eaten, we headed down to put our toes in the surf. Walking over the bluff, I gasped, because what did I spy on the beach? Cars! Many, many cars!

I rarely see cars on Oregon beaches and certainly not in these vast quantities.

Cars on the beach! Crazy!

Cascade Head Hike for Kelly’s Birthday

It’s Kelly’s birthday and she wants to go to hike Cascade Head. So off we go in Heidi and Kevin’s Car.

There was a stowaway who climbed aboard for the trip.

Kevin got to drive. Thanks Kevin!

From the car, pictures of some trees.

At the informational sign.

Kevin had to be coaxed into posing.

Our first glimpse of the ocean.

Long way to fall.

Heidi made birthday cupcakes! The birthday girl samples hers.

Our view while we snacked.

Cascade Head makes for a good birthday hike!

Mike Birbiglia Q&A at Cinema 21

And after we watched Don’t Think Twice, we got to hear the writer/director chat!

Tickets! (Or: a piece of paper that is standing in for tickets.)

The conversation with Mike Birbiglia was facilitated by a woman who is a local in the Improv scene. In other news, I’m quite happy with this photo, because it accidentally captures a moment in the credits that is a callback to a funny bit in the movie. (Thank youuuuuuu).

Mike Birbiglia does not stay still for long. I have about ten photos with some part of him blurry. This was my best shot.

The theater guy (if memory serves, his name is Tom) was quite still, and it was easier to get a photo.

And here is where Mr. Birbiglia became distracted by an audience member’s shirt with Laser Cats on it and had to take a photo.

Things I learned from the chat/Q&A:

If we liked the movie, we should tell our friends because, “You’re the advertising budget.” (I did like it. You should see it.)
Mike Birbiglia’s favorite thing about Improv is that it has the potential to be the best thing you’ve ever seen, or the potential to not be so good. But either way, you’ve only spent five bucks.
“You don’t get a body like this [points at his average, american-style body] without a some work!” Apparently said work takes place on the treadmill, sometimes while Facetiming with your child.
The Improv scenes in the movie were scripted, but inspired by real-life Improv.
The “stage” at Cinema 21–which caused Birbiglia to question how little you need to be a stage–is referred to by staff as a “riser”
There was an Improv festival happening in Portland that very weekend.
Worst advice about Improv Mike Birbiglia has ever received: Don’t ever try to link Improv with fame or fortune. Because it’s not about how many likes you get, it’s about connection.
Suicide Squad also opened the same weekend and was rated PG-13, despite much killing. Don’t Think Twice was rated R for pot smoking. Values and beliefs?
There was a guy recording the talk. Mild heckling by Mr. Birbiglia did not bring an end to recording. Officially calling it out finally did. “You know, you really can’t do that. And also. Be here now.”
Comedy and Improv are two art forms are different: comedy is a solitary venture, driving across the country on your own and doing shows. Improv is about working collaboratively.