Month: July 2014

A walk to Modern Domestic

My summer schedule has me walking to work on Thursdays, and I am trying to keep to that schedule during vacations, too.  I needed to pick up some Wonder Tape at Modern Domestic, and I combined that errand with a goodly hour’s worth of walking.  As there are many paths to Modern Domestic, my strategy is to set off in the general direction (southeast) and turn onto whatever streets I encounter that look interesting.  Here’s what I saw.
Remember how they took down that house?  Well, I can say I’m sorry it’s gone.  Before it was a boarded up house that bums sat on the steps of now and again.  Now, it’s a foundation and a chimney and a very ugly chain link fence.  I thought they were going to level the lot, but no. This is not an improvement.

However, a local artist has left us some art in the empty fireplace.

Remember that house and lot I loved and had  plans for? Well, now it’s four large houses.  One is still for sale if you are interested.  It’s very close to Fred Meyer, the Lombard Transit center and I-5.  It also has no yard.

However, across the street I was surprised to see this fella popping up on the long-empty cul-de-sac that I thought would never be developed because half of abuts the Fred Meyer parking lot.  I guess that house in front opted not to have a backyard.

Speaking of that house in front, here’s a way to get your sunflowers to behave.  Stick them to the wall with painter’s tape.

I love this neighborhood, and wouldn’t mind buying a house.  Here’s one for $240,000.  (Note that I wouldn’t buy this house because the yard is too small and the house is too big.  But there are some candidates on this street.  I have my eye on them.)

The stealthy I-5 crossing.

Which has been decorated by mirrors and someone has added a decoration to one of the mirrors.

At the other end is this very fun traffic mural.

This kid on the bike kind of weirds me out, but I like him.

Nice wrap around roof and brick detail on this cottage.

Look at this compost bin!

I think this makes it harder to get the compost out of the bin, but it sure is pretty.

Nice art.  Made from bicycle parts.

From the compost bin on down were all part of this place, which is a “transit and bike oriented community in N. Portland.”

Big tree.  Also with tree house.

This sign pulled me over.  Portland Community College is not far from where I stood to take the picture.

Oh real estate agents.  Not only are your ads rife with misspellings (and yet English Majors abound who would proof them quickly and thoroughly) but you also don’t really understand that a home that was built this year can’t be vintage for a good fifty to sixty more years.  

Lovely turrets.

In the yard of the lovely turret house, some concrete swans float among some cloth.

This apartment unit seems to be at the end of its days.  There was a house next door that was also boarded up.  I wondered if the Salvation Army, which owns property adjacent, had purchased the lots.

Across the street from each other we have two classic styles of Portland apartments.  The stacked building in a u-shape.  These tend to be downtown (although my former residence, Rosefriend Apartments, was torn down to build “luxury apartments”) and major thoroughfares like Williams Street, where this one lives.

Across the street is the one story cottage style which are everywhere.

Massive columns caught my eye.

This looks like a good find.

And oh, my lord, it is!  What a gorgeous house that sits about two blocks off MLK.  I have never seen it before, which is strange because I’m not unfamiliar with this neighborhood.

The light was not fabulous so you can’t see what I was getting at, so I will tell you.  I appreciate, since they probably tore down a bunch of houses to build these row houses, that they made them all a little different and used different colors to paint them.

Clad your home in metal?  Why not. This isn’t a home, though, it’s a real estate business.

The organic hippie in me finds these disgusting, and the lover of any food with cheese inside is intrigued.

Kitten!  This kitten was totally a kitten, constantly ADD-ing all over the place.  

Methinks the pots are too small for the plants to come, but perhaps not.

Look past the graffiti to see the mark of a certain caped crusader.

Just so you know, the world cup is happening.  This bar was open before 10am.

And here is my destination.  Where I not only successfully purchased Wonder Tape, I also helped sell something.  A woman popped in, asking if the dress in the window was for sale.  The clerk said, no, it’s an advertisement for a class.  The woman said, alas, she was from out of town.  I said, “you could buy the pattern and have someone make it for you.”  The woman left, but returned about a minute later.  I felt successful.

Laurel finished. And my eye is already on other projects.

This picture makes me think I’m a midgit.  But it’s just a weird hanging height.  I’ll take some pictures wearing said Laurels later.  I can’t believe it took me almost a year to finish this project.  Too many things going on.  But let me say, these dresses are COMFORTABLE!  I really like them a lot, though their length means I have to squat like a lady while at work.

But yeah.  The projects have stacked up.  In addition to materials bought to make another apron (I kind of want to do a new one every summer) I also succumbed to the siren song of knits that Colette patterns has been sounding of late.  The material on the left is so I can make a Moneta of my very own and, if the pattern is as simple and flattering as people say, I may make three more uniform dresses so I can have a new uniform this year.  The material on the right is for curtains for the bedroom window.  I bought them on sale at Lowe’s and I have plans to make them work better than they do now.  

And, of course, I bought material to make a roller shade for the door-with-window in my bedroom ages ago. The colorful fabric is from Ikea.  The border/backing fabric might look familiar to you, it’s the leftover fabric from the uniform project. I’ve layered the two together with a picture of said roller shade so you can get the effect.  The not-quite-blue curtains I purchased at Lowe’s will be integrated with the room by cutting out birds from the excess Ikea fabric (I have enough, I checked) and sewing them on triangles of the uniform fabric and sewing those on the curtains.  I also have plans to run a red ribbon across the curtains, (and possibly on the back of the shade?) to tie it into the red of the comforter.
As you can see, Sentinel is quite excited by this project.

Books read in June 2014

I’m not going to count how many books I read this month.  It was a lot.  It had to do with the fact I front- loaded the picture books for July Librarian Book Group, while reading the picture books for the June meeting in June.  Oh, and also getting completely obsessed with E. Lockheart/Emily Jenkins.  Also, there were a lot of middle readers on the Librarian Book Group list and I found them underwhelming, so I kept putting them down and picking up other things.  Anyway, highlights in each category:

Pictures:
Elizabeth Queen of the Seas
Sparky!
Here Comes the Easter Cat

Middle Readers
I didn’t love any of them.  I didn’t really at all like two of them.

YA
Ruby Oliver Quartet that begins with The Boyfriend List
The Disreputable History of Frankie Laudeau-Banks

Grownup
Mister Posterior and the Genius Child
(yes folks, I just recommended nine books and six of them were by the same author.  Who also wrote a recommended book last month (We Were Liars).  She’s a damn fine writer.

Pictures
Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas
Cox/Floca
Read for Librarian Book Group
I love when books tell me a quirky detail about something I never would have known existed.  This is the tale of a very special member of the Christ Church, New Zealand community.  Incredibly darling illustrations and a great story.  Highly recommended.

Sparky!
Jenny Offill
Read for Librarian Book Group
Hilarious picture book about a girl who picks an unusual pet.  People without access to children should just request this from the library so they can experience five minutes of funny.  Or purchase it, if you would like funny to live in your house.

The Noisy Paint Box
Barb Rosenstock
Read for Librarian Book Group
Picture book of Kandinsky’s life which also discusses his Synesthesia.  Nice story of following your own path.

Josephine
Powell/Robinson
Read for Librarian Book Group
Picture book of Josephine Baker’s life.  I found the text informative and the illustrations sub par.  I would also have liked to see a picture of Josephine Baker in the book itself.

Handle with Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey
Bruns/Harasimowicz
Read for Librarian Book Group
Young reader nonfiction about butterfly wrangling.  Interesting.

Gravity
Jason Chin
Read for Librarian Book Group
Picture book explaining the concept of gravity.  Very bright and vibrant.

Here Comes the Easter Cat
Underwood/Ruedn
Read for Librarian Book Group
Adults with no children in your life!  Grab this and read it, just for the five minutes of funny.  Great illustrations and fun for any person familiar with cats.

The Cosmobiography of Sun-Ra
Raschela
Read for Librarian Book Group
Pleasantly weird.

Number One Sam
Pizzoli
Read for Librarian Book Group
I was underwhelmed by this, but I think it would be great for early readers and I’m all for the message.

Letter Lunch
Gutieriez
Read for Librarian Book Group
This concept was so bizarre to me that I put this away to read again later, thinking I had missed something.  But no.  Children go searching for letters, in the landscape, in the store, so they can…Eat them?  I still don’t really get it, but the illustrations were very pretty.

Middle-Reader
Caminar
Skila Brown
Read for Librarian Book Group
Story of a boy in 1980s Guatemala caught in the crossfire of politics.  Told entirely through poetry.  I wasn’t overly enamored of the poetry, but the story eventually grabbed me.

The Riverman
Aaron Starmer
Read for Librarian Book Group
This had a great opening chapter and then went downhill from there.  I had problems with the plot, with the alternate world, with the characters. Probably good for middle school readers who like semi-creepy science fiction.  There’s a boy main character.

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave
John Boyne
Read for Librarian Book Group
WWI fiction!  I’m a fan!  Solid kid-navigating-adult-situations kind of book with interesting (although completely normal) characters.  Good for middle school and up.

Note.  This title is awesome and I would rather it had been used on a contemporary YA novel.  Just sayin’

The Night Gardener
Jonathan Auxier
Read for Librarian Book Group
I really despised this book because the characters spoke in a completely modern way.  Just because Auxier throws in a “dinna” now and then doesn’t make them sound back in the day of the Irish potato famine.  It also was a slog.  However, I’m not sure young readers would be so picky.  So give it to anyone who likes a strong sister/brother narrative, creepy happenings and mysterious figures.

Also, I hope the publishing world works through this foil book cover thing rather quickly.  Much like Tease I had to be careful how I positioned this while reading because it reflected light back into my eyes in an uncomfortable way.

YA
And We Stay
Jenny Hubbard
Emily, having suffered tragedy at her high school, is now attending a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, home of that other Emily, the dead poet.  Our Emily finds her way through the realities of her existence by writing poems and learning about dead poet Emily.  Having lived in Amherst, I didn’t get a huge sense of place from this novel and I sometimes found the Emily/Emily name thing to be confusing, although this was a satisfying read. Points for including my favorite Dickinson poem, which begins, “This quiet dust..”.  Also, I feel as though the title could have been not so forgettable.

The Boyfriend List
E. Lockheart
Footnotes!  So genius!  Perfect for mapping the mind of a smart and funny teenage girl as well a sneaky way to explain to the reading audience who AC/DC and their ilk is, without stopping the narrative.  I adored this book from the hilarious main character, her loving and somewhat self-absorbed parents, plus the very real female friendships.  The back-and-forth jumping around in time chronology was sometimes hard to follow and I got confused about who the various boys were, but I think that made the experience that much more authentic.  This is YA gold!

The Boy Book
E. Lockheart
I read books 2-4 of the Ruby Oliver Quartet in a very short amount of time.  Thus, it all blends together, making three separate reviews impossible.  Instead, I will highlight what I love about this series in total

  • Ruby Oliver is a very fun character.  She’s full of life, and has an iron will that keeps her going through all of her many troubles, some which she brings on herself, some which are dumped in her lap.
  • Footnotes!  They are the perfect way to capture Ruby’s digressive mind.  E-reader alert!  You might get endnotes, not footnotes.  If you read the actual books you will have the joy of actual footnotes right there on the page. The endnotes are annoying to flip back and forth to.
  • Friendship.  Over the course of the four books, Ruby Oliver’s friends wax and wane in a very realistic way.
  • Parents.  Her parents are hilarious, both overly interested in their only daughter and completely self-involved.
  • Funny sayings.  You too will not be able to think about “Reginald,” “Pod-robots” and many other Ruby-isms without smirking.
  • Movie recommendations.  Ruby Oliver loves movies and many of her footnotes are lists of movies that fit a particular category.

The Treasure Map of Boys
E. Lockheart
I read books 2-4 of the Ruby Oliver Quartet in a very short amount of time.  Thus, it all blends together, making three separate reviews impossible.  Instead, I will highlight what I love about this series in total

  • Ruby Oliver is a very fun character.  She’s full of life, and has an iron will that keeps her going through all of her many troubles, some which she brings on herself, some which are dumped in her lap.
  • Footnotes!  They are the perfect way to capture Ruby’s digressive mind.  E-reader alert!  You might get endnotes, not footnotes.  If you read the actual books you will have the joy of actual footnotes right there on the page. The endnotes are annoying to flip back and forth to.
  • Friendship.  Over the course of the four books, Ruby Oliver’s friends wax and wane in a very realistic way.
  • Parents.  Her parents are hilarious, both overly interested in their only daughter and completely self-involved.
  • Funny sayings.  You too will not be able to think about “Reginald,” “Pod-robots” and many other Ruby-isms without smirking.
  • Movie recommendations.  Ruby Oliver loves movies and many of her footnotes are lists of movies that fit a particular category.

Real Live Boyfriends
E. Lockheart
I read books 2-4 of the Ruby Oliver Quartet in a very short amount of time.  Thus, it all blends together, making three separate reviews impossible.  Instead, I will highlight what I love about this series in total

  • Ruby Oliver is a very fun character.  She’s full of life, and has an iron will that keeps her going through all of her many troubles, some which she brings on herself, some which are dumped in her lap.
  • Footnotes!  They are the perfect way to capture Ruby’s digressive mind.  E-reader alert!  You might get endnotes, not footnotes.  If you read the actual books you will have the joy of actual footnotes right there on the page. The endnotes are annoying to flip back and forth to.
  • Friendship.  Over the course of the four books, Ruby Oliver’s friends wax and wane in a very realistic way.
  • Parents.  Her parents are hilarious, both overly interested in their only daughter and completely self-involved.
  • Funny sayings.  You too will not be able to think about “Reginald,” “Pod-robots” and many other Ruby-isms without smirking.
  • Movie recommendations.  Ruby Oliver loves movies and many of her footnotes are lists of movies that fit a particular category.

My Life Next Door
Huntley Fitzpatrick
Fairly normal teen romance with daughter of uptight trust fund state representative falling for second son of very large family next door.  A goodly amount of interesting wrinkles made this a fun read, though I never doubted what the ending would be.  I also couldn’t help nothing that the author is the mother of a large family and couldn’t help but wonder how many of the snide comments made to the mother of the large family in the book were comments she has experienced herself.

Addendum.  In posting this review I noticed a sequel is in the works and found myself much more excited than this review might indicate. And I think this book is sneaky that way.  It seems to be pretty standard, but in the end it’s compelling.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Laudeau-Banks
E. Lockheart
I’ve put off writing this review because this book hit every one of my “perfect” buttons and the main reason I loved it, I can’t even tell you because it will spoil the plot.  But here are the things I can tell you about.  I love Frankie:  Smart.  Beautiful by way of awkward, so she’s aware of the difference.  Really spot-on writing, both from the adolescent perspective and layered adult commentary, which doesn’t overwhelm the plot.  Various hijinks.  A lot of main character processing and observing.  Fun with words.  Made me want a sequel, while simultaneously hoping that Lockheart never writes a sequel because this book is so perfect as a stand-alone.  When I told the librarians I was obsessed with E. Lockheart’s Ruby Oliver they all squealed that I must read this book.  And they were right.

Grownup
Macbeth
Wm. Shakespeare
Bad dude.  Badder lady.  Looking forward to seeing the stage play.

Mister Posterior and the Genius Child
Emily Jenkins
Who’s on an E. Lockheart/Emily Jenkins kick?  Me!  That’s who!  Told from the perspective of Vanessa, a third grade girl at a private school called Cambridge Harmony, it was so chock full of solid detail and observations it immediately transported me from my summer vacation, right back into the school year that had just ended.  I felt like I was back at work again.  Yet I persisted.  This book was funny, in a “safe for public transportation” way meaning you will smirk, but the guffaws will be kept to a minimum.  I also loved the adults’ reactions to Vanessa’s actions and comments as they tell you much more about what the adults are wrapped up in.  This was a really solid novel.

Postcards from Virginia and Virgina

This one said 3/3 on the back.

This one said 2/3 on the back.
Where was 1/3?  Not in my mailbox today.  
Anyway, a certain regular commenter who currently lives in Virginia sent this to me from Minnesota, where she will soon move.  I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two states, as well as the Thomas Jefferson quotes.