A Cemetery Search

In November, our beloved cat went missing. Luckily for you, I wasn't blogging much at the time so you were spared the drama of my family's week of searching for him, only to find out that the poor fellow's dead body had been picked up by Animal Control the first night that he didn't come home. It was a rough week, and I still miss my furry buddy, but the reason I tell you this story is not to make you sad, but to explain why my boys and I were tromping through a nearby cemetery on a sunny November afternoon. Our cat, of course, we didn't find, but we did find some cool stuff.

We've walked through the cemetery before but never noticed this old delapidated garage/shed building. Here's Ben peering inside the closed garage door. There was an old bed in there and some other "treasures."

I had fun playing with filters on these--here's another photo of the shed with the Lomo-ish filter and museum matte. I really love how the filter emphasizes the way the sunlight plays on the brick walls.

This 1906 cemetery also contains a beautiful old Japanese cemetery within its grounds. I don't know much about the history of this cemetery-within-a-cemetery, but I'm so glad this spot outlasted a streak of post-WW2 vandalism to continue as a tribute to this group of Portland's ancestors, as well as the Japanese/American veterans of several U.S. wars.

It's interesting, looking back over these photos with the distance of three months. This walk through the cemetery now seems like a fitting tribute to the small soul we were searching for at the time. While my boys and I peered behind hedges and called for our kitty, our conversations ranged from him and his story, to Portland's history, to ways people remember their loved ones, the temporary nature of life on earth, and the fleeting passage of time.

Blackster may be gone, but he lives on in the many memories like this that our family created over the 7 years that we were lucky enough to have him in our midst.

Thanks for choosing us, little buddy

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy

At the Antique Shop

I haven't posted a Saturday Snapshot in a while (okay, I haven't posted much of anything in a while). Life has kept me busy and away from the land of Worducopia. The upside is, I have lots of photos lined up to share.

This series is from an antique shop I visited during a beach weekend in Washington with friends. I had a lot of fun taking photos inside the shop, but first I had to stop for a portrait of these beautiful great Danes who were patiently waiting for their owner in the parking lot. Clearly these sweethearts are accustomed to posing for photos, don't you think?

The photo below is a jumble of stuff and didn't even crop well, but I love how they set up the space as if the cow were waiting to see the dentist. Or maybe the cow is the dentist? 

Calling all ducks

 I just love these old tins. 

What I'm reading: So many books half-finished, strewn around my house! I need to at least put them in a stack or something and start working my way through them. Then I can add them to the stack of books waiting to review.

More Saturday Snapshots are available at West Metro Mommy

Murals by Happenstance

I had an eye appointment that was inconveniently timed. Our family has one car (my husband commutes to work by bike year round) to serve not only the 3 drivers in our house but also Chris's parents, who are legally blind and (obviously) can't drive. On this particular Monday, we had to juggle my 8:10 eye appointment, my mother-in-law's 9:30 appointment across town, and a late morning appointment that Chris had.

Our solution was for Chris to drop me off, and when my appointment ended I would start walking the 4 miles home. We knew he'd be able to pick me up long before I got all the way home, but a walk through Portland's neighborhoods on a sunny morning sounded much better to me than sitting in a waiting room for an hour.

On my way home, I came across this mural, informally painted on the side of a garage that faces an alley way. This is the uncropped photo that I snapped from my cell phone. I like how the roughness of the photo matches the setting of this modest neighborhood and the mural's theme with the money flying off the tree.

I also came across a mural in progress. I can't find any information about it. The white spots are numbered, clearly waiting to be filled in. I'll go back in a couple of weeks to see if any progress has been made, or if this is an unofficial project destined to be painted over by Portland's graffiti abatement program. I doubt that's the case here in the upscale Alameda neighborhood, an unlikely spot for renegade street artists.

I ended up having a fantastic walk through Portland's diverse neighborhoods, then Chris picked me up and we had just enough time for coffee and fresh doughnuts at the fabulous Pips Original before I had to drop him off at home to prepare for his appointment, before I headed across town to pick up his mom at the end of hers.

Here's another brand new mural I came upon recently. A few months ago, Ben got his ears pierced, and I snapped a photo of this bee mural outside the tattoo/body art/piercing studio. As you can see, it was a little worn, with sections of paint flaking off.

When we went back a couple weeks ago for some follow-up care, we found that the bees had been replaced by pigs! I shot this photo with a smudge filter, straight into the sun for dramatic effect.

Translation: the light was terrible for a photo facing west and I had a smudge on my lens. In other words, this is a really bad photo that no self-respecting photographer would post on the internet. 

I love street art, but even more than that I love coming across it unexpectedly as I go about my day. Even if the lighting and the lens aren't perfect for capturing the moment.
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See more photos, or add your own Saturday Snapshots, at West Metro Mommy.

Seattle snapshots

We took lots of photos of our wonderful trip to Seattle, but most of them are on my husband's computer. For now, I will share a few that were taken on my phone.

We concluded that if we had a kayak we'd just as soon haul it out of the water and portage, rather than hang with the big boats inside the Ballard locks. According to the worker I asked, though, the kayakers who go through the locks are not insane. "We take good care of them,"  he said. Aw.

This was not the most impressive vehicle in America's Car Museum in Tacoma, but it was definitely the funniest.

I didn't take any photos of the fish stall guys tossing fish around in Pike Place Market, but I did snap this shot of the friendly monkfish. 

I'll be writing more about my Seattle adventures when I write up my post for the Pin it and Do it Challenge . . . unless, of course, I fail my own personal Complete-a-Challenge-and-Write-Up-the-Post Challenge (There is no link. This challenge only exists inside my head).

You, too, can post a Saturday Snapshot! For details, or to view more participating photos, see At Home With Books.

Portland Old Town/Chinatown Walking Tour

My boys and I took a guided walking tour of the oldest section of Portland yesterday. We've done several of these over the years, and with every one I learn more about and feel more connected to my chosen hometown.

 This tour started at the Chinese Garden, which is a profoundly amazing place that I highly recommend if you live in or visit in Portland. We didn't pay to go in this time, but Evan took this photo of one of the boulders at the entrance. He's always had a great eye for photography and is actually one of the people who most inspired me to take it up.

We made our way through Old Town--where Portland was originally settled back when it was the Wild West and mostly made up of men under 35 who lived in boarding houses and hotels and spent most of their time working and hanging out in saloons. (Some of the saloons had little troughs at the base of the bar, so the fellows wouldn't have to lose their stool when nature called. Classy, right?) The Merchant Hotel, below, was one of several built by lumber barons during this time.

In the 1890s, this part of town became known as Nihonmachi (Japantown). The Merchant Hotel housed the Japanese-language newspaper and a store that sold Japanese goods (Now there's a pizza place and a Japanese American History Museum).

During World War Two, when everyone of Japanese descent was forced out of their homes and sent to internment camps, these buildings were vacated and eventually re-inhabited, mostly by our Chinese American population. Now it's more of a nightclub hot spot and fairly seedy. Not many people live here anymore. The "China" part of our Chinatown consists of a really cool gate and a few hold-out Chinese restaurants that haven't moved to the outer southeast quadrant. The "Japan" part of Japantown was mostly erased during that tragic portion of our history, though we do have a lovely memorial garden nearby that pays tribute to the Americans who were interned and  who fought for the U.S. during the war.

The gate to Chinatown

I love this close-up of the Fu Dog guarding the gate--sorry that I couldn't keep the raindrops off the camera lens, though. 

Cherry blossoms

I couldn't resist this shot with the graffiti, the Chinese characters of the Chinese Language School, and the billboard stating "Rethink Possible" right next to the two flags, American and Taiwanese.

This last shot shows two fun facts that I learned at lunch at the Hollywood Burger Bar after the tour. See that white bottle to the left of the ketchup? I like malt vinegar and salt on my fries (a remnant from my time living in England), so I'm always happy when restaurants offer it.

I went to shake some on my fries, and...

• Fun fact #1: Malt vinegar and pancake syrup look more similar than you might expect.
• Fun fact #2: Pancake syrup on a french fry tastes exactly as bad as you might expect.

Luckily, I only ruined 3-4 fries before realizing that the viscosity was all wrong for malt vinegar. Quick and observant, that's me.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home With Books. To participate, post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member, and add your link. 

Snapshot: Urban Farming

We live in Portland proper, but with the growing urban homesteading trend, you never know what you might find in the city. Everyone seems to have raised beds with veggies growing in their front yard. I'm hoping to make this happen this summer at my house. So far my progress amounts to:

(a) writing my intentions down on a list of things to do, and
(b) pinning instructions for building raised beds to my Pinterest.

Baby steps.

Chicken coops are a common sight around here, too, even in smaller yards. I'd estimate that about 40% of my friends have chickens in their yard. As tasty as fresh eggs are, I won't be jumping on this particular bandwagon unless scientists come up with a poopless chicken.

The photo below is of one of my favorite yards to walk past in my neighborhood. I like to play "spot the goat" in these folks' double lot. Often they're huddled in their little shelter, or tucked away in the shed under the trees at the back of the property. It's a happy day for me when they come to the fence for a visit.

This girl was in a visiting mood when Ben and I stopped at the fence to do our goat-spotting. She came trotting over to say hello. She had a lot of goat news to tell us (mostly, "Mehhhhh!"), and she let us pet her before smiling for the camera. What a sweetheart.

What I'm reading: I am just about finished (hooray!) with Lavinia, which I'm reading for Tuesday's book club. Evan and I finished The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and have moved on to Wildwood. This book is set in Portland, which makes it extra fun for us, but aside from that it is a really nicely written fantasy adventure story. Evan had told me he was tired of fantasy, but he was delighted when the coyote soldiers appeared in the Impassable Wilderness. Both of these books should qualify for Carl's Once Upon a Time challenge, Wildwood as fantasy, and Lavinia as mythology. I have a fairytale-based book on my pile, so all I need is something that qualifies as folklore and I will have completed Quest the Second. I'm a little stumped on the folklore bit, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.


Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home With Books. To participate, post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member, and add your link. 

Also, new this week! Chris at Stuff as Dreams are Made On has started a weekly Farmer's Market event--posts about gardens and local food can be linked up there.

Wedding Dogs (Book Review)

We all know people who treat their dogs like members of the family. Then there are the human family members who aren't exactly on their best behavior at weddings. So, why not get your dog a fancy outfit and invite him or her to your wedding (or at least the reception)?

Wedding Dogs, by Katie Preston Toepfer and Sam Stall, will give you several reasons "Why not," as newlyweds describe their canine loved ones whining through the service, stealing the flowers, and generally being stressed by the crowd.

But it also offers adorable photos and stories as proof that some dogs, sometimes, can be delightful additions to the party.

Here's how it's done. Awwwww!

Wedding Dogs is beautifully made. Every entry has high-quality photos of the dog/s in all their finery, and the accompanying text describes the wedding and how the dog/s participated--successfully, or . . . interestingly. Some funny stories, and some touching ones. I would have liked a little more back story on each of the dogs and couples. Surely every couple has a story of what about their dog is so special that it was worth the effort to have him/her at the wedding, right? I wanted that story. I am a sucker for the "awwwww" pet moments and I wanted more. I wanted people who aren't necessarily "dog people" to be able to read this book and understand why Wedding Dogs is a thing. That's not what this book is, but it is a lovely celebration of canine companionship. 

The Soundtrack: I Love My Dog, by Cat Stevens.  ("I love my dog as much as I love you. Though you may fade, my dog will always come through.")  I always thought the words to this song were a little odd.

Then again, I didn't have a dog in my wedding party.

Wedding Dogs was sent to Worducopia by Quirk Books. The opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and have not been approved or influenced by the authors or publishers.