How to use Google Reader

Do you ever log onto the computer, open up the internet, look at your favorites list and think, “I wonder if anyone has posted something new on their blog? But, I don’t want to go through and check every single one! I wish there was a way to see just the updated ones…” Well, there is a way! It’s called Google Reader.

Oh, one thing before we get started. I’m using Google Chrome, and I suggest that you do as well. All of these directions are for Google Chrome.

Do you have a Gmail account? Get one. Just go to Google and create an account. It’s easy and if you don’t know how, call me and I’ll walk you through it. Once you have your account, open up Gmail. Under the very top toolbar, there is a space with various Google applications; Calendar, Web, etc. One of these is Reader. Go ahead and click on it! It opens up a new window.

On the new screen, right under the colorful “Google reader” in the upper left corner, there is a button that says, “Add a subscription.” When you click on it, it opens a box where you type in the url (address) of the blog you want to follow. You can follow blogs from blogspot or wordpress, or any other blog host. If the blogspot blogs you read have a ‘follow’ button, clicking on that will automatically put that blog in your reader.

Now that you have a blog or two entered into your reader, close it up. Tomorrow when you do your daily email check, click on Reader in the top tool bar. It pops open and if there is a new post on one of the blogs that you follow, it will open in the reader window. You can either read the post there, or click on the name of the blog and it will take you there – convenient for commenting!

Google reader can do many other things, but this is a handy tool for quickly browsing fresh content on the blogs you love… like mine!

I swear I thought I saw...

a squirrel riding a raft down the Willamette River yesterday. A little raft, just a squirrel sized raft. No paddle, no sail, just a couple of pieces of wood lashed together.

I wonder; where was he going?

September is Bike Commute Challenge!

I participated last year, but this year I am committed to riding 100% of the month. I rode about half of July and all but one day in August, and so far I have ridden every work day in September. I was wavering one morning last week when the rain was pouring down but one of my coworkers texted me and asked if she could ride with me. What could I say? “Meet me at Multnomah and 16th.” And off we went into the watery world of the Pacific Northwest.

Here are just a few observations from my ride.

I don’t wear makeup and it’s a good thing. The morning of the downpour I reached up to wipe the streaming rain off my chin and could feel the moisturizer running down my neck.

It’s good to wear contacts in the rain. Without windshield wipers for your glasses, it’s a pretty blurry ride.

Men don’t have enough opportunities to wear skin-tight clothing. The fully outfitted, spandex-clad gear heads make up a large part of the biking public around here. I have noticed that men particularly like to wear those full-on bike outfits; you know the ones, with the sport logo jerseys and the skin-tight pants. When they are walking their bikes through a pedestrian area, they can often be seen stroking their legs and prancing just a little. I believe that they like the feel of their legs encased in smooth, clingy fabric. If men were ‘allowed’ to wear clingy fabrics in their every day lives, they would be more likely to bike in ordinary clothes.

I love my bike. Love, love, love my bike. LOVE. MY. BIKE!




My bike is the most elegant thing I own. I don’t wear elegant clothes; I don’t drive an elegant car… when you look at me you are more likely to think ‘practical’ rather than elegant. But my bike, ahh, she is lovely. I’ve named her Helen M*rren because she is elegant, beautiful and tough (and sessy!). She is a Trek Allant, the green women’s version. She has two full fenders, which are essential in this climate. She came with a frame for a front basket and I have found one that suits her just right. My mom is going to give me her collapsible rear baskets but I am hesitating to put them on because I don’t want to mar her beauty. I will put them on eventually though. It’s that practical side of me coming out.

I feel strong when I stand up and pedal. I feel strong and young(ish) and urban. I thought it would be terrifying to ride in downtown traffic but it is not. I feel quite capable and savvy wheeling through the city streets.

I love going fast and taking a corner leaning into the angle. Well, as long as there is not too much gravel on the street.

I wear my helmet all the time, even though I would really rather not.

I don’t think I have lost any weight, dang it, but my thighs are definitely thinner. Those little pouchy saddlebags on the sides are dwindling.

I am kind of a slow rider; I rarely pass anyone. But that’s ok with me. I’m not training for the Tour d’France.

Idiots

We spent a pleasant hour this morning counter-protesting the idiots from Westb*ro Baptist Church. They were picketing at Grant high school and I'm not taking that lying down. What a bunch of lunatics! All they've done is mobilize the sane people to take a stand against them. And, just before Pride!

My camera is misbehaving lately, so I only have a blurry phone picture. I'm gonna look for some pictures online, because Portland can be pretty colorful when it comes to gay protests.



That's me with the sign saying, "Don't be a HATER".

April 19

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

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!

From the Northern reaches of the Realm

I drive out to the St John’s neighborhood three times a week and am pretty familiar with the goings on along my route. Well, I try to pay attention to my surroundings anyway. So, Saturday, as I drove through the Overlook neighborhood, I noticed that the long established tavern on the corner of Greeley and Killingsworth had changed its name. For as long as I can remember it has been Yorgo’s. How could one not remember that name?! It’s just different enough that it sticks in the brain. I invented a big Greek family to run the place, because whether or not the name is Greek, it sounded like Greek to me.

Last year Oregon passed a law requiring bars and taverns to be smoke free. That meant that all the bars and taverns that had diehard smoker clientele built little covered patios for their patrons. This happened at Yorgo’s, like everywhere else, but it seems to have been the beginning of the end. They only finished that patio a couple of months ago, and now, BOOM. New name!

And, how’s this for uninspired: Greeley Avenue Bar and Grill. The thing that’s funny to me about the name is that the tavern is actually on Killingsworth rather than Greeley… but no one wants to saddle their place with a name that is synonymous with the ghetto. Lots of bad stuff has gone down on Killingsworth over the years, and even though this is in a completely different neighborhood, the folks in charge of picking a name went with the safer choice. And who can blame them?

There has been a fair bit of gentrification in this neighborhood over the last few years. Believe me when I say that the sushi place would never have lasted a decade ago. But, the US headquarters for Adidas are down the street and that has to bring lots of lunch money to the hood. A girl that my daughter went to high school with lives directly behind the former Yorgo’s. Their family has been in that house for years. I wonder whether they like the changes or not.