Weird Portland Wednesday: Who's Missing?

Portland is such a beautiful town. With Mt Hood as a backdrop and greenery all around, what's not to love? I have a friend in Tennessee who came to visit one Christmas break. It snowed as we drove over the coastal range. It snowed as we came home. The skies were grey and cloudy--our favorite winter weather. She would drink poison that there is no Mt. Hood; it's simply a picture backdrop we use in Photoshop for all pictures of our city. *shrug* you know those Southerners ;)

Like everywhere, we have many pets. Like everywhere we have "crazy cat ladies," fish lovers, those who like them a bit wild. My former neighbor used to love to have ferrets. Nice big cage in the middle of her living room. Dogs galore! We have what every city has in the pet department.

And every city also has missing pet posters stapled up on light posts and taped to walls. Kitty missing, call this number. Dog ran out of the open gate, call this number. Just moved and puppy is lost. Sad and heart-felt posters with pictures of their beloved animals. Portland is no different. 

So why am I even writing about missing pets? Well, perhaps it is the actual pets that we post that are missing that makes us weird. Here are a few examples:

 

And yes, this is one of the things that keeps Portland weird.

And so it goes~~~
peace

Weird Portland Wednesday: Buck Naked Full Moon Ride

 

One of the highlights of Portland summers is how we love to get naked and ride bikes. The Buck Naked Full Moon Ride is one of three planned naked bike rides. It is hosted by PedalPalooza. Of course "Pedalpalooza," right?

This particular ride has been happening for the past 17 years and was held last Friday, July 23. It is protesting (of course we are protesting something) three major issues: oil dependency, body shaming, and the dangers of bicycle riding.

The three events typically coincide with the World Naked Bike Ride, which an international biking protest that is hosted in 73 cities and 20 countries. It has been once again cancelled due to COVID-19.

Portland's World Naked Bike Ride is the largest in the world, drawing over 10,000 riders. Just another proof that we do love to get naked and love to protest. The Buck Naked Full Moon Ride should have no "body shaming" as it brought several hundreds of riders out on a beautiful summer night, all in a variety of dress, frills and body paint. People rode anything from unicycles to triple-tandem bikes.

Yeppers, naked bike riding protests...one more way we keep Portland weird.

And so it goes~~~
peace

What Are Eves All About?

My sons, almost two and four--1973

My sons were born on the same day, two years apart. It was nothing planned, but it happened. I thought it was delightful, but my sons have always expressed that being born on the same day was a PIA because they weren't anything special, like twins. They couldn't claim that bonding that twins seem to have. No, they were just born on the same day. 

They also grumbled they had to share a birthday. Always had to share a birthday. Never were they special on their own special day. I tried to change it up for them by making two cakes, serving their special foods. I even tried to celebrate their birthdays separately--one on the day before and one on the day after the real day. Nothing worked and they both couldn't care less about their birthday.

Genny, Richard, Robert, Ruth--abt 1923

My dad and Aunt Ruth were twins. Their birthday was December 29, 1920. They loved being twins for the most part, especially Aunt Ruth. But there was a blight in their lives.... Every Christmas under the tree was a present for their older sister, their older brother, and one for them. It was addressed as "To Ruth and Richard, Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday!" They were never happy that they had to share a gift with one another AND share it between Christmas and birthdays. Aunt Ruth continued to grumble about this fact until she died at age 99. I told my sons this and they said, "Yeah, but at least they were twins!" *sigh*

Patty and Me--1952

To me, birthdays are delicious. I like to celebrate my birthday for at least a week. I love the specialness of my day, the day I was born :) I like to walk around like I am some special person, flaunting my day, flaunting my being, my birth. I like to have my family over and have a barbecue out on the lawn. I like flowers and balloons and gaiety. 

One blight to my birthday is that it is in the summer, albeit it is summer, the best time of the year. You know, three months of vacation, sun shining until late in the evening, playing Hide-and-Seek-After-Dark. The problem is that I couldn't have my birthday celebrated in my elementary class. You might remember those happy school days when moms would bring cupcakes for the class and in the afternoon we celebrated that kid's special day. And if I had a party--we rarely had parties. One at six years old, one at 10 maybe, one at 16--it wasn't easy to invite the other kids over. Especially since we lived down in the Boondocks.

But I love birthdays. Everyone's birthday! I love the celebration. And sitting here on my Birthday Eve, I am recalling all the years before. Memories of when I was young. Memories of when my kids were young. Memories of about birthdays during a pandemic. 

That's what Eves are all about--memories and laughter and heart-warming biding of time until the true day of celebration.

And so it goes~~~
peace

Weird Portland Wednesday: All the Whoziwhatsits You Could Want

 

Where can you get a vintage cupboard knob just for a few minutes search? What if you needed a certain lamp shade that Target had never heard of before? And what if you wanted to find an old fashioned toilet with matching soap dishes? Of course, you'd come to Portland.

Hippo Hardware is a unique salvage hardware store. It sits smack in the middle of the East Side of town, right on Burnside where the drunks and homeless used to hang, back in the old days before they all moved to other more comfortable (!) spots along the freeways and parks. 

It is a three-story huge corner building that houses all means of treasures for the home. Lights. Light shades. Knobs. Handles. Toilets. Bathtubs. Door plates. Door bells. Keys--lots and lots of keys that might fit your front door. It's a Hardware Museum that is fun to peruse for an hour or so, even if you have nothing to buy. Betcha you find something you just have to have :)

Their website states, "Hippo Hardware is an eclectic building salvage store specializing in hardware, lighting, architecture and plumbing from 1860-1960.  We also offer assorted collectibles, trinkets, whatnots, and whoziwhatsits depending on what we get in.  The spirit of Hippo Hardware is to rejoice in the individual, the unique, and the original."

It all began in 1976 by founders Steven Miller and Stephen Oppenheim. It has grown into a welcoming and well known place to visit and spend some time playing with things. They stated that they "strongly support community projects, teachers, artists, adventurers, dreamers, and one-man-bands." And they do. They support an eclectic group of nonprofits, from NARAL to Union Gospel Mission to local schools and school programs to Imago Theatre. Plus everything in between.

So climb on up the stairs and see what all the fuss is about! After all, we are here for you and busily keeping Portland weird.

And so it goes
peace~~~

Weird Portland Wednesday: How We Stay Cool During a Heatwave

 

Ira Keller Fountain, Downtown Portland

 

Understand that Portland, Oregon rarely gets long-lasting heatwaves. Every year we have like, you know, two or three days of 100+ degrees weather. And then we live in virtual paradise of 75-80 degree summers. A slight breeze in the air. Perfection. 

Most of the state doesn't bother with air conditioning because we pant and gripe and feel strangled for a few days and then it's over. We think, "Well, we survived that. Why pay a huge amount of money for a few days of discomfort?" And then we put it out of our minds until the next year when temps hit 100+ for a few days. 

The last few years we have been having harsh heatwaves, each coming earlier and earlier in the year. We just passed through a horrible record-breaking heatwave. The temperatures hit 115 on Monday--highest temps EVER in the history of Portland. 

Like other cities across the nation, we do have many fountains where people can splash and enjoy a bit of coolness. There are nine Interactive Fountains around the city. Portland Parks used to have splash pools for little kids, but many of them have been shut down years ago. Kids use them for little skateboard pads.  It was probably a problem with infrastructures. There are still a dozen or so around the city.

 

 

 

But the truth is, we are still who we are, being our true selves. We do things like other cities, but we do things that are simply us.

We are still Portland. Still keeping it weird.

And so it goes~~~
peace