A walk through Southeast

I had a class at the Attic Institute, so I walked from the Pearl all the way there.  It was a great day for a walk.  Here’s what I saw.
Inappropriate use of an apostrophe. 

The approach to the Burnside Bridge.  When I lived downtown and Matt lived at 29th & Stark, I would walk this bridge often, going between our two places.

Boy playing in the fountain.

Nice chalk graffiti on the bridge.

This establishment which advertised low-cost legal services and did not advertise with words all the plants for sale.  But the display spoke for itself.

Nice tiny little house.

I swung past the shuttered Washington High School, built at a time when they knew how to make high schools look awesome.

Including quotes over the doors. Ahem, Oregon legislature.  Ahem.

I was intrigued by this roof which does not match the Victorian-style house at all.

And then discovered that the tiny building itself is something of interest.

I saw a sign painter plying her trade.

This part of town has some really great facades.

Don’t those columns inspire awe?  The other nice part about the neighborhood is that the lots are small, so you can get very close to these houses.  And the houses get very close to each other.

There was a little bit of painting.  Some craft (the bookshelf) some art (the canvas).

These type of houses, with the hipped roof, are fairly rare in Portland.  When you see them, they are almost always sideways in the lot, like these.

Nice stonework on this church.

There was a farmers market open.

A helpful sign.

An attempt to capture the rose and the colorful bush behind it.

A good paint job begun.  But not finished.

Trees removed.  I bet the light changed dramatically in these houses.

Should you want to purchase a “garden condo” this one is for sale. It’s one bedroom, one bath, 997 square feet.  No parking.  $245,900.  Yeah.  That’s why I don’t live in this neck of the woods.  Sorry people who used to live in complex when it was an apartment.  People with WAY more money than you are eager to move in.

It wouldn’t be a walk on Hawthorne without a picture of the Ecoroof on the Hostel.  

Sewing machine not working?  Why not use a few of them as weights to hold the awning for a food cart.?

The food cart in question.

Don’t forget that “Gift Certificates Always Fit.”

Once upon a time it was the Sunnyside Lodge.

Now?  The Hawthorne Theater.

This sign made me giggle.

What is it that stars get to do?

Recently, three (male) basketball players at the University of Oregon were removed from the team (though they waited until after the playoffs) because they sexually assaulted another UO student.  They maintain it was consensual, the woman says it was not, and the Eugene Police Department declined to prosecute, citing lack of evidence.  Susan Nielsen wrote an opinion piece about the incident. One sentence took my breath away.
Did you catch that? 
 “…treats its athletes like stars and then expresses shock when they behave accordingly.” 
So that’s what stars do?  Rape?
I’d love if we could move rape into something that is assumed will not happen rather than something that is stupidly, insanely, infuriatingly common.

Great Aunt Betty’s Obit.

This is one of my grandmother’s younger sisters.
Elizabeth Jane Whitmore MacDougall
October 15, 1920 – April 8, 2014
Betty was born in Portland to Helen (Hawes) and Raymond Whitmore, the sixth of 15 children.  Betty is survived by her children Dolores (Woods) Veenendaal and Dwayne Woods. 
To Betty, family was life’s most important gift and she loved them all.  She enjoyed family occasions both big and small.
“Grannie” aka “The Great One” was thrilled to welcome her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
Betty was a retired meat wrapper.  She was a skilled seamstress and ceramic painter.  She loved to crochet, a skill she learned from her mother.  She enjoyed gardening and having flowers in her backyard.  She also grew berries to make jam for her great-grandchildren.
Betty’s memorial will be a party serving her favorite foods, chocolate, ice cream, Sprite and coffee.  All family and friends are welcome.

Three sentence movie reviews: The Lego Movie

This was a second viewing for me (a first for Matt) and I found the movie just as funny upon repeat viewing.  We miscalculated, and attended a screening with very many children, which is always informative, learning about the parenting practices of today.  However, everyone settled down once the movie got going and Everything [was] Awesome by the end.

Cost:  $4.00 (McMenamins has finally raised their prices)
Where watched:  Kennedy School.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver12.html

Three sentence movie reviews: Brokedown Palace

I got this movie only because a friend told me that ever since she saw it, she fears that a cockroach has climbed into her ear.  Besides that tidbit, I was pleasantly surprised to find such a solid story of female friendship and tough choices.  It included top-notch acting all around and I highly recommend it.

Cost:  free from library
Where watched: at home

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1999/brokedown_palace.html

PS.  Totally passes the Bechdel test!  So exciting!

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.