Our square dancing class wants to learn the Plus Level this summer, so we are having lessons in my living room, which is just big enough for a square.
And here’s where things are stashed. There are also chairs hidden in the pantry, out of site.
It’s times like these that I have the greatest affection for my little house.
I was quite pleased to participate in the Portland Pride Parade this year, by dancing on the Rosetown Ramblers float. But before we could dance, there was the setup.
Speakers and the box of supplies.
Check out the retro placard and handle on the speakers.
First order of business. Assembling the trailer on which we danced. The trailer itself was easy, the sides folded down and we put in bolts to hold it. But then there was the matter of assembling the cover, which came with no instructions.
Some of the people had assembled before, but for the most part, we just tried things. It was kind of like a free Escape Room.
Eventually things started looking good and people donned some festive crinolines. 
We gathered for a pre-parade photo.
And then we waited for the start.
Our caller was Janienne Alexander, who calls for the Tualatin Timber Squares.
Our successful flag (and shading device)
Other participants also took advantage of the waiting time to take some photos.
I was interested in this young woman’s fanny pack with speakers.
Nordstrom was near us.
Eventually the parade started and we danced. It was fairly overwhelming with the combination of hot, loud (even with earplugs) and also trying to look at the crowds and pay attention to the dancers. It was fun, though.
Near the end of the parade, Joan joined us. She was part of the color guard at the beginning and looped back to catch us.
When I took a break from dancing, I took crowd photos.
And I saw Dave, who is a member of the Rosetown Ramblers, but marched with the leather community.
Tiffany and Eileen finished the parade with smiles. 
I look forward to next year’s parade.
Overall, a movie so bland it couldn’t muster any feelings in me, not of hatred, or love, or of pleasure, or torture. The screenplay seemed to be something created by someone learning how to write screenplays wherein they imitate fun things they liked in other movies. So we have a road trip, a burlesque dancer, sidecar motorcycle pursuit by an oddly matched pair (boy-who-is-friend/father), some attempts at humor and heartstrings, all packaged into an ensemble piece guaranteed to entice established actors due to a short shooting schedule.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home. I think the toenails got painted, so all was not lost
poster from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2927212/ (this movie does not exist on my go-to poster site: IMP Awards. Maybe it was a straight-to-DVD thing?)
The fatal stabbings on the Max were terrible. Girls harassed for their appearance, good people dead, a person who was quite possibly mentally incompetent taken into custody. And don’t forget the guy who robbed the dead guy of his wallet, backpack and wedding ring.
Here’s a follow-up story that is ostensibly good news. The person who stepped in, got stabbed and survived will not have to pay out of pocket injuries incurred while doing the right thing. But this article mostly makes me mad.
“Fletcher briefly choked up as he told [Legacy CEO Dr. George] Brown how much the waiver meant to him and his family.” I’ll bet it did.
As someone (with insurance that my company pays $485/month) who just paid $2,700 for a diagnostic mammogram, I can imagine just how much the medical care Fletcher received cost.
When I read a report of cost of care being waived, I’m happy for the person who receives this charity. But the US needs to move to a system where everyone is covered for everything and no one has to worry about if they can afford what they need to live.
Articles like this remind me of the DJ, visiting Portland from elsewhere, who went to sleep at the Jupiter Hotel, and woke up to a cab driving through the wall of his motel, causing horrific injuries. The cab was driven by a guy who went into a diabetic coma (something that probably would have a good chance of not happening with a functioning healthcare system) and that diabetic coma put a working member of society into our medical system through no fault of his own. His life was changed forever. I’m sure the bills on top of that were crushing.
We need to find a way to cover all people. People who step up in tense situations, people who find automobiles on top of them in their hotel rooms, people who make bad choices and end up with preventable diseases, and people who are just stuck with what they are stuck with due to genetics, chemicals in the environment, what have you. We’re all Americans, and we all deserve care.
This was a four-mile hike starting at Firelane 15. It was a great little Forest Park hike, involving some climbing and some flat parts. The picture below is of the power lines, with the Willamette looking tiny in the background.
Found on this hike: amusing graffiti.
First of all, the most exciting aspect of this show at the Crystal Ballroom was that there were seats! It was Friday, I was tired, and I wasn’t looking forward to standing for several hours. But hark! There were seats. We sat. It was heavenly. 
The opening act played some nice cowboy-style music, as you might guess from their outfits.
This is Bobby Ricotta, Richard Cheese’s keyboardist/pianist and music arranger.
Frank Feta, drummer
Billy Bleu
And Richard Cheese himself. 
“What’s a Richard Cheese show like?” I asked Matt on the way there. He didn’t know. This was round two of our Cosmic Tripster tickets, and Matt picked the concert.
It turned out to be pretty entertaining. Aside from singing lounge covers of pop hits, Richard Cheese also harassed the audience, had a Q&A session with audience members, and recreated the song that was featured in the Lego Batman movie (all five seconds of it.)
Several women expressed a desire to know Richard Cheese carnally, and a stripper from the audience danced on stage. I suspect these things happen at every concert, as they seemed to be taken in stride.
All in all, it was a very good night at the Crystal Ballroom.
This is not my usual route, so I was happy to be passing by before the whole thing was gone. Here is a nice single family house with a good-sized yard located almost at the corner of Rosa Parks & Interstate. It’s right next door to Arbor Lodge Coffee.
What will replace it? Very large single family with no yard? Multi-family with no parking? It’s either one or the other. Portland tear-downs are predictable.
Do you see the name on the building? That’s not an ironically titled restaurant. That’s an actual Bearing Service Company, left over from the time where the Pearl District was filled with blue-collar businesses and warehouses instead of wandering yuppies and tourists. They’ve recently painted this building, so it looks like they plan to stick around.
Look at that Art Deco glass, and the super cool rounded platform entrance, topped by a neon sign. Niiiiiiice!
From peeking through the windows, I know that there’s a tiny customer service space, and then the rest of the building is taken up with shelves of parts. When it’s hot, the large fan they set in the doorway has tipped me off to the fact that they don’t have air conditioning.
See that? That’s the same pattern as my phone cover. It was like when someone walks by wearing a dress you also own. So weird!
I always enjoyed the cheerful 50s-style neon of the sign, as well as the fact that this was a place where I could always go and purchase a piano. But alas, the Immortal Piano is no more. I’m part of the problem, what with my digital keyboard and all.
