Today is my daughter’s birthday. She is 26! She is a beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, lovely person. I miss her every single day.
I don’t get to see her today so instead I am going to have dinner with my parents and we’ll toast her on her special day and bemoan the fact that she doesn’t live closer. I’m going to visit her in early May and I can’t wait.
Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! I love you more than all the rain in the Pacific Northwest; more than all the soybeans in Iowa; more than all the fruitcake in California! You are the best thing about my life.
XOXOXOXOOXOXOX
Love,
Yr mama
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Sandy Boulevard
Dear Readers ~ please accept my apologies for abandoning you for so long! Tempus keeps fugiting, ever faster, and blog posts go unwritten. Sigh. I’ll try to do better!
What prompted me to sit down and put fingers to keyboard is the insanity that the city has undertaken at the complicated intersection of E Burnside, Sandy Boulevard, and 12th. It’s always been difficult and has needed some tweaking, but the tweak is going too far!
First, you have to understand that this intersection is part of the famed “Secret Back Way” to get from close in East side to the southern end of downtown (or, in my case, my place of employment). To throw a wrench into my commute is beyond aggravating. Nobody asked how I felt about this!
Work on the project started some weeks/months ago, but we just figured they were working on the sewer project ~ which seems to happen all over Portland, all the time. We didn’t think anything about it when they installed a concrete divider between the east and west bound lanes of Sandy; that just seemed like a safety precaution. We became slightly suspicious when large lighting/signal poles went up. Before we knew it, the street was blocked off and detour signs steered us away from our accustomed path. We still thought it was temporary. And then we discovered that they were closing Sandy permanently! No!
I’m not sure how this is going to work out long term. On the west bound route, one must now turn right onto Couch, left onto 12th, and then right onto Sandy or Burnside. In the east bound direction, one may turn right onto Burnside or left onto 12th. If we choose the right, we need to go either a couple of blocks up and make a left and work our way back to Sandy, or go up to 20th and turn left. Unfortunately, 20th is usually jam-packed during commute hours. If we choose to turn left at the intersection, we can go up 12th past Benson high school and either turn right on Irving or cross the freeway and take the swooping street behind Lloyd Center and turn right on Multnomah. It’ll take a little getting used to, that’s for sure.
I had planned to do a series of posts about Spring unfolding in the Northwest, but I got sidetracked by daily life. I still have plenty to write about in the floral realm, but there are other topics that beckon as well. Hang in there with me! I’m getting back on track!
What prompted me to sit down and put fingers to keyboard is the insanity that the city has undertaken at the complicated intersection of E Burnside, Sandy Boulevard, and 12th. It’s always been difficult and has needed some tweaking, but the tweak is going too far!
First, you have to understand that this intersection is part of the famed “Secret Back Way” to get from close in East side to the southern end of downtown (or, in my case, my place of employment). To throw a wrench into my commute is beyond aggravating. Nobody asked how I felt about this!
Work on the project started some weeks/months ago, but we just figured they were working on the sewer project ~ which seems to happen all over Portland, all the time. We didn’t think anything about it when they installed a concrete divider between the east and west bound lanes of Sandy; that just seemed like a safety precaution. We became slightly suspicious when large lighting/signal poles went up. Before we knew it, the street was blocked off and detour signs steered us away from our accustomed path. We still thought it was temporary. And then we discovered that they were closing Sandy permanently! No!
I’m not sure how this is going to work out long term. On the west bound route, one must now turn right onto Couch, left onto 12th, and then right onto Sandy or Burnside. In the east bound direction, one may turn right onto Burnside or left onto 12th. If we choose the right, we need to go either a couple of blocks up and make a left and work our way back to Sandy, or go up to 20th and turn left. Unfortunately, 20th is usually jam-packed during commute hours. If we choose to turn left at the intersection, we can go up 12th past Benson high school and either turn right on Irving or cross the freeway and take the swooping street behind Lloyd Center and turn right on Multnomah. It’ll take a little getting used to, that’s for sure.
I had planned to do a series of posts about Spring unfolding in the Northwest, but I got sidetracked by daily life. I still have plenty to write about in the floral realm, but there are other topics that beckon as well. Hang in there with me! I’m getting back on track!
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