Tag: Lori Greer in Portland

Hello from Portland

Portland is peaceful and safe.

Just this morning at my gym, an older woman told me about being downtown for a concert and later walking several blocks to the parking garage for her car around 10:00 P.M.

There are many wonderful things to do downtown – the art museum, the historical society, the riverfront, and fantastic restaurants. Our downtown is beautiful with tree-lined streets, art installations, beautiful buildings and parks. As a grandmother, I take public transportation, I walk around downtown, visit restaurants, bakeries and shops.

I love and appreciate our downtown and bristle at untrue “news” reports that chaos and violence are running rampant.

Besides a peaceful city, the troops that arrive will enjoy a beautiful city, fantastic food and friendly people.

Sounds like a vacation for them.

The rest of us, the people of Portland will stay calm and carry on!

A broken pane

I was in my bedroom at my son’s house when I heard a crash followed by loud sobbing.

I ran to the living room to learn that my exuberant granddaughter had crashed into the glass front door while doing a backflip.

Backflips, round-offs, headstands…all par for the course for this enthusiastic gymnast. 

There was plenty of space for her to practice in the front room as long as she left herself enough clearance for landing.  

She was lucky that she wasn’t hurt. 

Thank goodness that my son can handle household repairs.

He sighed, brought out his tools and got on with it.

While replacing the glass pane, they discussed the incident.

He was kind and understanding while underscoring the importance of being careful. 

She learned a lot that day to include how to remove and replace a door pane.  

Thinking things over, I wondered if my son recalled breaking one of my good plates when he was little. I hope that I showed him the same grace.

Tall Tales

I am spending Thanksgiving with my son and his 8-year old daughter.

It is lovely.  My son takes care of everything.

I still find lots to keep busy but at a slower pace. 

Leisurely coffee in the morning, a peaceful walk.

Listening to my 8-year old granddaughter relate stories that are on the edge. 

She tells them with such conviction that it is hard to remember that they are fiction.

For example, while visiting me this summer she insisted that her Dad and she were flying from Alabama to go trick or treating in New York City.   Believe it or not, her boyfriend and his family were going to meet them in New York City!

I did not believe it but she was so insistent that I thought, “Well, maybe.”   

I mean, who can argue with a verbal and insistent 8-year old?

When her Dad arrived to take her home, he chuckled that I would even consider that the story was true. 

Silly Oma, believing this tall tale!

Home Alone When Girls Are Prey

She knew better but felt she had no choice.

Her mother was at work.

She was home with her two brothers, one older at nine, one younger at five.

The man at the door kept knocking. 

Continue reading “Home Alone When Girls Are Prey” →

November 9, 2024

I must calm down.

I am not sleeping well.

I am stress eating.

I am on edge waiting for the next shoe to drop.

I am walking, working, exercising, talking with family and friends.

Playing with my sweet dog.

All of these help to pass the time and keep me centered.

But nothing gives me a sense of well-being and optimism.

November 6, 2024

“Each morning comes along and you assume it will be similar enough to the previous one – that you will be safe, that your family will be alive, that you will be together, but life will remain mostly as it was. Then a moment arrives and everything changes.”
Cloud Cuckoo Land, pg 64, a novel by Anthony Doerr

Jumping Jacks?

Do you remember jumping jacks?

I did them in elementary school with my classmate, especially on rainy days when we could not go outside to play.

As an adult, I did them now and then in aerobic classes but they fell out of my repertoire. Until now.

With the onset of rain, rain and more rain, I switched to more indoor activities instead of walking as much. I still walk in the rain but with a dog on slippery sidewalks…not my favorite!

I walk up and down my stairs as a matter of course throughout the day and try to set aside time to walk steadily for five minutes or so. I listen to a favorite song while I walk slowly up and backwards down the stairs. My dog Riley is normally good about sitting watching me.

Enter my new smart watch which indicated that I am not getting my heart rate up high enough. So, I decided to add jumping jacks to my daily activities.

Wow, talk about exhausting! I managed to squeeze out a pitiful ten, not the best form, but my heart was pumping.

Now the challenge is to do ten measly jumping jacks quickly and robustly.

Is it worth it? I hope so.

I will let you know!

Google Surprise

I had a $200 credit from Google that could be redeemed only in the online Google Store.

Google is huge, huge company.

My last encounter with their hierarchy took days of calling before I spoke with a person who resolved my problem quickly and efficiently.

Still smarting from that experience, I dreaded starting the process, but $200 is $200.

So, I decided today was the day to contact their support division. I was prepared to call day after day until I reached someone who could help me.

I was flabbergasted when I reached someone within a relatively short period of time.

Like magic my problem was resolved and my $200 credit was spent.

In a few days, I will receive a smart watch. I chose this because of the fall detection feature.

I fell a few weeks ago and hit my head on my kitchen counter.

All of this was caught on my security camera. My feet were in the air and the sound of whimpering was pitiful.

More pitiful was the reason I fell…tripping over a rake in my kitchen!

Of course, it could have been a mop, broom or even the vacuum cleaner.

Maybe I should not sweep, mop or vacuum my floors or rake the leaves in the front yard?

Seriously, this was a wake up call that I needed a plan in case I fell and could not get up.

I will let you know how life is with my new smart watch.

TV drama 2.0

It finally dawned on me that what really upset me about the broken TV was dealing with customer service people either on the phone or thru the “chat” feature online, not face to face.

I longed to call Joe’s Appliance and have a serviceman with the store logo embroidered on his shirt come and fix the problem.

That was not to be in this time of large corporations, 800 numbers, confusing lingo, etc.

I repackaged the TV and returned it to Costco.

To their credit, the return was pretty easy. They confirmed that the serial numbers matched, issued a refund and I was good to go.

I was hesitant to buy another TV fearing that it too might be defective

I took a chance and within a short while my new TV was operational.

I don’t understand all of the “smart” features but at least I can tune into yoga and other exercise programs.

The previous TV was almost ten years old when it expired.

Crossing my fingers for this one to last ten years.

For now, a happy ending.

It’s our turn

 It’s our turn.  

A heat wave has settled over the Portland area.

Gone are our coolish days and nights.  

Until yesterday, the weather has been so pleasant that I have not needed my central air conditioning system.  For a home built in 2010, my system, while better than nothing, is inadequate. I considered a mini split system but was discouraged by the $7000 cost.

In the meantime, I have cellular shades, shutters, awnings, darkening shades and fans to keep me and the house as cool as possible.   

Rather than fret, I am changing my behavior.  

  • Up early to shop, walk the dog and water my plants.
  • Never using my oven. 
  • Air drying my clothes.  
  • Eating salads, fresh fruit and gallons of gazpacho.   
  • Drinking lots of water. 

Still, I am plagued by an uneasy feeling, anxiety really, as I contemplate the changing weather patterns and especially the plight of the poor all over the world who have fewer choices.