Saturday Portland’s Market

I rose about 8, as I had written the blog the night before. I found the last baked good I bought for breakfast, an almond croissant, and made coffee, liberal, in the French Press. I read the news and updated Quicken with the new transactions. I keep an eye on all the accounts (except for the 401K) by downloading transactions from all the accounts into Quicken. This gives me a clear-eyed view of my finances and allows me to immediately spot any hacks.

With some spare time, I got out the tiny brush, the Pycho, and painted the tiny coaling lids on SMS Derfflinger 1916 XF-19 Sky Grey. The paint was scraped from the etched brass pieces when I cut them from the fret and applied them to the deck. I always wash and use primer paint on etched brass parts, but often, the paint is scrapped when cutting and folding.

I clean up and dress and find a text from Misha. They are heading out. I was thinking 11, but they started sooner. I board Air Volvo and soon head to Portland’s Saturday Market. Traffic is light, but more than one would expect for a weekend. I soon cross NW Portland to Burnside Street to a small lot for paid parking (about $11 for the day) just across from Voodoo Donuts in Skidmore—a very sketching area at night.

Misha, Hope, and their daughters Anneliese and Lorelei were on a bus from the science center OMSI. They had parked the car there, as it was planned to be the last stop for the day. They had a flight back to Boston at 11 at PDX. I met them as they got off the bus at NW Burnside and NW 2nd Street.

The Saturday market was in full swing but smaller than the last time I saw it. The vendors are required to make the things they sell, but the definition of “make” is quite liberal (with T-shirts and art prints included). The freeze-dried candy became a must-have. I also bought the girls a stuffed animal mushroom and a laser-cut wood and glass light catcher. Hope found some new carrying bags made from hemp.

Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House was selected for lunch and rated well for no-gluten options. That meant walking back across the park again and right by Powell’s. We placed all the bags in Air Volvo to lighten the load before heading up the hill. While walking, we saw that there was a cycling race in Portland today. Bikes were on closed roads with barriers going very fast. A person we did not know spoke at one of the crosswalks about their recent release from a mental institute and how they would have a talking-to with someone. We made supportive noises and headed our way and they went another way.

At Deschutes, we were quickly given a table, but that was the end of ‘quick’ responses. Service was slow, with our waiter having too many tables and circling through them with what looked like great caution. While slow, the food was well received, and the adult beverages—I had a beer made from rice—were exceptional.

We walked through the park again to return to Air Volvo. I discovered that my phone was still at Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House. We boarded Air Volvo, squeezing in, and I soon parked in a space for trucks, ran in, and got my phone back. Excellent.

We then crossed NW Portland to bridges over the Willamette River and soon stopped at Guardian Games, only minutes from OMSI. We just did a quick walk-through and soon returned to Air Volvo and then to OMSI. We unloaded there, and I received a bounty of an unneeded car seat and some food items they no longer needed. We said our goodbyes, and the last I saw of Misha and their family was when they disappeared in OMSI as Air Volvo took me home. Later, I got a text that they were at the airport and at home in Boston on Sunday morning.

I was tired and rested for the rest of Saturday. I watched more of the Sandman episodes while eating leftover Chinese-style food I made. I reached the end of the series. While dark and strange, I really enjoyed it again (my third time watching it) and look forward to the series season two starting at the end of August.

I returned to SMS Derfflinger 1916 and started on the plastic parts. I removed the casement guns from the frets and located the replacement barrens in brass. Casement guns were leftovers from older ship designs (popular in the late 1800s) and disappeared soon in newer ships. The casements were placed near the deck level and pointed out of the side of a ship, often becoming unusable in moderate seas (the water floods them)–the barrels looking like straws to drink seawater. The Imperial German Navy was conservative and was slow to change to the newer designs, but built better armored and safer ships though slower and lighter armed than British designs. American designs from the early 1900s were between the two extremes.

It is always strange when you prepare so many parts, put a large part into the model, and move the model to another stage of the build. It seems that suddenly, after hours and hours of tiny parts, painting, and folding brass, you leap forward. Often, a model finishes before I realize that I am done.

I read more of The Orchid Thief and soon went to bed early after a shower. Before, I was nodding off watching the Sandman episodes, but when I tried to sleep in the chair, nothing happened. I closed my eyes and blinked, and it was two hours later, and proof of hydration was required. I went back to sleep and woke later after sunrise.

Aside: I read about orchids, and many growers have lost their plants to drought, poisoned plant food, and hurricanes. Whole lines of orchid hybrids were lost. I have started to see this in roses, as old roses and many miniature rose choices are disappearing from the market. Folks are buying them less often, and thus, there are fewer folks growing them. For example, the David Austin rose, Herbist, a wonderful plant, is not available anywhere (and my version is on its own roots).

Thanks for reading!