Once more into the breach!

Burt and Laurie invited us over to play games.  They live about a mile away, so we had another pleasant walk in the snow.

Bundled up and ready!

Icicles on the Motel.

A hearty cross country skier and his dog.

This smart car was avoiding ice trapping his windshield wipers.  Smart!

An unmarred driveway.

Steps being engulfed.

Evidence of sledding.

We played Settlers of Catan (and ate delicious grilled cheese and tomato soup).  Then I walked home and Matt stayed to play more games.  He ended up staying the night and most of the next day due to ice.

Sledding

This blurry picture is to point out that we have no sleds, so we are using cardboard.

This blurry picture is a failed attempt to capture Matt coming down the hill.

This picture is of Matt.

Here I am sliding down the hill.

Matt attempts the jump.

We are both covered in snow.

Hark! It's that rare sight:  a snow plow!

There is snow caked on the inside of my pants.

And on the outside.

SNOW!

So exciting at the moment this picture was taken, because the first snow is always a gleeful event.  It was less exciting when I got to school and one of the teachers ended up not being able to come to work because another car hit him (he was fine) and about half the school was tardy because it was difficult to get around.  Why they didn't call at least a two-hour delay, I do not know, but it would have been appreciated.

Trek in the Park

It's the fifth year of Trek in the Park.  That is where a theater company of sorts, Atomic Arts, recreates a full episode from the original Star Trek series.  They play it straight and have gained a huge following over the years.  Atomic Arts has decided this will be the final year of Trek in the Park and so Matt and I attended the final performance of "The Trouble with Tribbles."

We were not alone, as evidenced by the many people just in this picture alone.  The white triangle in the center of the picture below is the stage.
 

The people watching was good.  Nerd-tastic.
 

And more people.
 

By peering through this opening, I could see the stage.
 

Another view of the crowd.  Did I mention it was a cold and rainy day?  It didn't keep very many people away.
 

Here's the opening.  I love the musician's outfits.
 

Spock and Kirk are easily identifiable.
 

Recreating the theme song.
 

It was a stage with props, but they were minimal.
 

One of the fans.
 

Klingons.
 

The tribbles have started to proliferate.
 

And they engulf Captain Kirk.
 

Final scene.
 

A teary thank you from Atomic Arts.
 

This being the final show, they sold the tribbles for $1.00 each.  This was the line for tribbles.  We did not wait in it.
 

Southwest Sunday Parkways.

Portland's Sunday Parkways (where a loop of roads are partially or totally closed to car traffic and the bikes and the walkers come out to enjoy the roads) is in Southwest Portland for the first time.  Matt and I rode from our house in North Portland, stopped at church/Sand in the City and then joined up for a ride.

Headed up Terwilliger, traffic free!
 

Stopping for a banana and a self portrait.
 

In Gabriel Park, Matt did some Zumba.
 

By Maplewood School we stopped for a magic show.  Brian Proctor, the magician putting on the show, was quite good.  He balanced the know-it-all of the kids ("You know, I can hear everything you are saying," he said in response to the running commentary by an eight-year-old: "I know what he's going to do next, he's going to join all the  ropes into one."  The kid shut up and was amazed at what happened next) with jokes for the adults, ("Here's a magic marker," he sniffs it, "I think I know why they call it magic.")

At one point, he asked if anyone had a dollar and, the audience being primarily children, no one did.  I grabbed one and handed it over.  Brian had me write my name on the dollar in sharpie, "Your first felony?" he asked as I was doing it, and then took the dollar from me.  The dollar swiftly changed into a Zambian bill which he gave back to me.  Holding the Zambian bill, we watched as red sponge balls and limes disappeared and appeared in a variety of cups.  For his finale, he carefully cut open an lime and there was my dollar inside the lime.  We were all--adults and children--amazed.
 

So I can recommend Brian Proctor for any of your magic needs.  And if you have no magic needs, then perhaps you can invent some.

At this point, the camera battery died, so there are not more pictures of Sunday Parkways.  Overall, I thought it was a good course.  There were some tight spaces (I wasn't a fan of the two-way bike traffic in a single lane along SW Vermont,) but I was a fan of all the hills.  They kept me busy through the ride.

A walk in Ladd's Addition

We ate our traditional Burgerville meal before seeing our favorite Shakespeare company's latest production. It was still too early for the show, so we took a walk in Ladd's Addition.

Here is a rose garden.  Ladd's Addition is not set up on a grid, but instead has a diagonal street pattern.  There are multiple rose gardens in the neighborhood.
 

The diagonal pattern can be confusing.  My student teaching assignment was at a school in the neighborhood and I used to get turned around when we took the students for walks.  I generally have a good sense of direction, but apparently only for grid-type neighborhoods.  Of course, when SE Harrison St. crosses with SE Harrison St, it's no wonder I get lost.
 

Some of the homes are rather grand.
 

And some are whimsical.
 

Back in the industrial area/neighborhood that NWCTC calls home, I snapped a picture of this urban garden.
 

They were also growing up, too.
 

Instant Portland Happiness

Take about 583,000 people and subject them to rainy, gray weather for months on end.  Then, out of nowhere, pump the temperature into the 80s and send sunny skies.  The result:  instant happiness.

Reading Mockingjay at Kenton Park


Families were out with their BBQ

People were out playing basketball.

There was general lounging.

It was a fabulous day.

Bike Ride to The Grotto

Matt and I rode to the grotto, killing two birds with one stone. We visited a Portland landmark I had not yet seen and we also got a good bike ride in. It was a sunny day (still cold, though) and that made both "birds" more enjoyable.

The fact that this statue is illuminated is pretty cool, given that there is a huge rock face directly behind it and a lot of massive trees on the top of the rock face. There is some careful pruning at work here.

I feel that this sign fails in it's job to inform and suggest because it assumes that people will know which stone is the alter stone. There were a few good candidates, but it wasn't obvious to me. I'm guessing that people who could correctly identify the alter stone probably know not to climb on it.


We bought the tokens for the elevator to the top level.

I find this sign to be more effective. Perhaps the "alter stone" sign could be amended with something like (the big one in the middle) to make it more clear.
It turns out that we could have just jumped the gate. We wouldn't, of course, but we could have.

Matt looking up the rock face, while waiting for the elevator.

This was probably the fanciest elevator I've been on in a long time. It talked to us, too.

Looking down from the top.

There were a few trilliums in bloom.

Matt was excited by the Polish shrine as he has Polish ancestors.

There is a fabulous labyrinth which we both walked and enjoyed. On a hot day, walking the labyrinth would be a good activity, as the trees and shade probably make for a cool, quiet retreat.

View over Portland

Best use of the word "perturbed" ever!

There are Douglas Fir trees everywhere in the Grotto. However, this is the only one to get the sign.

Back from the top, a picture of the place where they hold services.

On the way home, we stopped for lemonade, which was a very good deal, 50 cents for that huge cup of lemonade.

Our attempts to look holy. Matt is very good, I can't hold a holy expression for long.