Barb, Susie’s sister, who is visiting and staying in the spare bedroom, has had to correct me multiple times when I get the day of the week wrong. I am on paid time off (PTO) from the shoe company and have lost my framework for the day of the week–work. It has been nice to place Nike IT in the background for these few days (since Thursday afternoon).
The weather, more typical in August in the previous decade, has been blue skies and hot. Yesterday we reached the 90s (32C) with no rain in the forecast and a brief low-cloud day starting this evening that will keep only Monday under 80F (27C). We are not under the dreaded heat dome (we did that in 2020) that is troubling the Western USA and will peek at just crossing 90F on our hottest days. I will continue to water the roses, dawn redwood (which seems to thrive in this weather), and other plants. The apple tree (from the original pioneer farm and likely one of the John Appleseed trees), while lying on its side, is covered with green apples (cider apples) and survived the pruning to make its new truck from a large branch, now, growing straight up. It seems pretty happy to just lie there.
Saturday was an early day for all of us. Barb and I were up around 7AM and enjoyed liberal coffee from the Mr. Coffee’s pot. I had some food as my prescription must be taken with food; Barb just does coffee with 2% milk. We took separate cars while I stopped to refuel Air Volvo ($4.79, f**king oil companies! Remember, there is no sales tax here).
The hole installation process in Beaverton was mostly stopped on the weekend. Hall Boulevard Highway 217 overpass bridge has been broken open for construction. The edge of the bridge cement has been smashed, and the metal bars exposed–not something that is reassuring when driving on the roadway. The bridge will be expanded by one lane to improve the flow to the 217 on-ramp, and the metal bars will be recast into the new concrete for the new lane. Still a bit strange to see!
Susie was still finishing her breakfast when we arrived, Barb arrived before me, and Susie was ready for her next adventure. Michelle Nixon came today and met Barb and was happy to see us. Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, got Susie prepared with sunblock and shoes (Susie’s yellow shoes were too tight, see we changed to her flower design Nikes) and popped Susie into the copilot seat on Air Volvo. Barb was in First Class just behind us. We traveled from 217 to 26 to Portland, and then I parked in the Burnside parking near the Saturday Market. Another car pulled out from a large spot next to the trash bin, so I parked there. I pulled in 1/2 way and unloaded Susie after reassembling the wheelchair from the cargo hold. Once Susie was safe, I pulled in the whole way, scanned the QR code, filled in the information, and paid for parking, even on Saturday.
We crossed the street into the party atmosphere of the Saturday Market with a DJ playing tunes and saw all the tourists in line for or taking photos with the pink Vodoo Donuts boxes. The tourists are usually identifiable as they move in packs, have a pink box, do not have that many (if any) tattoos, and sport more clothing than the locals. It is a hot day, even in the morning; the locals had exposed much skin, often covered in ink, while wearing huge shoes (and no pink boxes). Naked Day in Portland is in August this year–the locals were not nude yet.
The man with some of his art (Barb and I both bought a print)–www.jrslattum.com.
Barb shopped and found items for her kids to take back. Together we explored the slowly heating cityscape of tents and booths selling various edgy handmade or printed items. The smell of pot was only in a few places, and the bongs and other drug items, with the decriminalization of almost everything in Oregon, seemed no longer edgy, were missing, and indeed not central in any display. Instead, food products, soap, and cat toys were more pronounced, with rainbow colors being the most used decore for stands. There was a booth to buy a dart to throw at a picture of Trump and DeSantis, pride project funding booth. Portland has mostly moved much that was radical to the mainstream.
Once we had a few treasures, we headed to Kells and learned we were too early, they open at noon, but they let us in any way (it was getting quite hot). Evan found us there and joined us for lunch. Barb and I had some drinks (Barb a cider and their local red ale). Susie has water with thicker. Barb ordered a burger, and I had shepherd’s pie, and we got Susie some Ensure we brought and mashed potatoes with a touch of gravy. Evan, arriving later, had bangers and mash with an adult beverage.
Once most of the repast mainly was inside us, I paid the bill and headed back to Air Volvo. Susie was wiped out and leaning in her wheelchair. She was like a sack of wet noodles when I moved her into the copilot seat; saying goodbye to Even, we headed back to the hummingbird house.
Without issue, we soon landed at the hummingbird house, and Ansassa deplaned Susie for us. Barb then remained with Susie for the afternoon and early evening while I did chores. The first was to drop off the books for Dondrea and Z (just a few miles from the hummingbird house) that I picked up at Powell’s cheap. I also included one of the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd books I have had for years but now use my Kindle. I have carried the book from Maryland to Oregon, but it is time to let go of stuff (and introduce these rogue characters to others). Next, I got some big binders for papers at Office Depot. I also took a picture of the No Tonic Press note calling for locals to provide stories for an anthology at Powell’s. I might decide to edit a Howard story for that–I have to 1 August to submit–and I thought the current version drags a bit, so it might be better to cut it to fit the 7,000-word limit, just a little side project.
I returned to the Volvo Cave in light Saturday traffic and began more chores after a short rest. I restarted the endless laundry task (I was rewashing a pile of clothing, I think that was a year or more old sitting in a basket) and finally sorted the accumulated papers for May and June. I keep records of every expense (even the receipts I remember to save) and then put them in 3″ binders every six months. If asked, I can produce proof of funds, medical expenses, and hobby expenses should the IRS or other entities need evidence. I did have to run through every transaction in June and found a few to correct. I try to do the assignment of transactions (I have every in-use account feeding into Quicken on my Apple) daily to reduce the workload doing a little each day is easier (and I might remember what the transaction was just a day later).
Sunset at Beaverton Central.
Time flies, and soon it is getting into the evening. Barb and I agreed to meet at the food trucks in Beaverton Central. Barb spent the day with Susie ending with dinner for Susie and, before that, watching M.A.S.H. while Susie rested in bed. Barb parked in the lot while I picked up the parking garage, and we met at the food trucks. I had a Peru-styled rice bowl with beef, and Barb tried a savory crepe. We then had a few beers and watched the sunset from the bar. We moved to another area, and the kids sent a ball into our beers and doused Barb. We finished what was left and headed back to the Volvo Cave. Arriving without issue, we chatted briefly, and Barb stayed awake until nearly 11PM. I had some trouble sleeping, going to bed later, but finally slept at about 1AM.
Thanks for reading.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 