Tag: fun

Second Catio

Here was the Backyard Oasis, which also had the cat perched happily in it.  He (or she?) seemed pleased that  so many people were stopping by to admire.
 
The cat is that white blob in the center of the picture.  There are apparently three more cats who were not around to be viewed.
 
The couple who had this built recommend galvanized wire.  They had to paint the ungalvanized wire when it rusted.  I also liked the big access points/doors.
 
Detail of roof.
 

First stop on the Catio Tour

What is the Catio Tour?  Why it is a showcase of Portland-area cat patios, of course.  The Catio Tour is sponsored by the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon and the Audubon Society of Portland.  For a five-dollar donation, the MAunts and I drove around to six Catios on the west side of Portland.

Our first stop:  The Skybridge Hideaway that just happens to be near Aunt Pat’s house.

From the street you can see the overlook so the cats can see what goes on outside the fence.
 

The cats access their catio from the owners’ bedroom.
 
Detail to see how the connection to the window was made.
 
More detail.
 
From the window the cats walk along the side of the house to this enclosure, which also contains their litter box.
 
They can climb from the large enclosure to bridge to their street view hideaway.
 
Which has a door so their owners can access that area.
 
Detail of one of the perches, plus construction technique and type of fencing.
 
A ton of perches.
 
Corner seat detail.

The docent told us the owners were surprised at how active the cats were at night once they were allowed out in their catio.

Pendulum Aerial Arts

To begin my vacation, I attended a free performance of Pendulum Aerial Arts. They were breathtaking.

Here’s the rope girl.
 

This was a great hula hoop routine.
 
I think my favorite is the length of fabric.
 
The guy did the hoop.
 
Four of them did a floor routine where they did a lot of amazing balancing.

This was a very good way to begin my vacation.

The Lorax Setup.

Kelly and I arrived at the park in Vancouver, Washington ready to see the Lorax.  We were early so we claimed a seat in the front and got to witness the trouble with the inflatable movie screen.

The wind was a problem.  It wasn’t big and gusty, just a persistent blowing that blew that screen right over.  They tried to raise it a few times and then called for backup in the form of stakes.
 

When the stakes arrived, up it went again.
 
And employees held steady.
 
And pulled.
 
And tugged.
 
And stood patiently while stakes were pounded into the ground.
 
Like what is happening here.
 
Some support?  Or just looking busy while chatting?
 
There was a lot of standing and waiting.
 
And phoning.
 
And waiting.
 
The mom said, “Okay 1-2-3 open your eyes” and the kids eyes flashed open for a second while she snapped the picture.
 
Still waiting. (Tom Petty says, “The waiting is the hardest part.”)
 
But that waiting ends eventually.
 
A band of caution tape to keep everyone safe.
 
And a tie off.
 
Go City of Vancouver!
 
An announcement about how it will all work.
 
More tying off.
 
These were darling.  This outing marks the first time I’ve seen the fold-y chairs with sun shades.
 
 All that hard work means kinks in the back.  Luckily, someone can do something about that.
 
Success! 
 

Pike Schemes found some good postcards.

I sent postcards when I was in Boise, but Pike Schemes found theirs in a different location than I did.  Two arrived today.

Get it?

(Um, in retrospect, you might not get it if you are not familiar with the touchy nature the natives of Idaho’s capital city feel about the pronunciation of their city name.   But for those of us in the know, it’s funny.)

Signs!

I love that the Boise Rescue Mission has a neon sign.  It’s one of the things I never found odd while living there, but seems strange now.

(prompt) ends. Broadsheet Published.

For the past 10 weeks I’ve been taking a writing class called (prompt) given by Write Around Portland.  It’s been a fabulous experience and this night was no different.  Tonight we got our broadsheets, which feature work by everyone in the class.

I was quite happy with my (prompt) experience and in the future I will publish a few of the pieces I wrote during the class on the blog.  In the meantime, thanks to Write Around Portland, my fellow class participants and especially Matt Blair, our instructor.

Crazy Hair Day.

She’s pretty much the winner of crazy hair day. (not that we ever have “winners” at my school).
Might I remind you the K/1 classes are studying birds?

I twisted my hair up into 12 individual twists making nobs on my head. But I forgot to take a picture. I was a bit horrified when–despite the lack of product and my completely dry hair–I had a huge head of hair when I pulled them out at the end of my day. My hair likes to follow orders.

Saying goodbye to the chicks.

 Today is the last day the chicks will be at school, they are going to live on a farm.
 
We have been teasing the teacher about animals living “on a farm” but it appears that it is a farm where they will not become chicken dinner.
 
They’ve grown up so fast.
 
Getting their real feathers.
 
One of them really likes to perch on things.
 
I tried to get the rest of them to do that too, but they weren’t ready.
 
Have fun with your new life, chicks.
 
The children named them, so you can see how incredibly creative they were.
 

Laurie Notaro

Kelly and I wandered down to Powell’s for our third Laurie Notaro reading.  She was funny as ever, in her hilariously charming over-sharing way. If you are looking for a bit of a pick-me-up any of her books of essays will do.

ps.  The gallery installation behind her was incredible.  A whole heap of author portraits done by two artists. I especially loved the style of Allison Bruns (the top one pictured here).  She was great at capturing expression.

More pictures of the exhibit.
http://powells.tumblr.com/post/51569909347/travelingbookgirl-powells-city-of-books