Twenty Cool Toes

Our family and friends spread across the country (and around the world) means distant events influence our lives. This time it's Hurricane Ike that is heading its way toward New Orleans and Aurelia's brother Chris and his g-friend Lisa who live there.

5-day hurricane track as of Sunday Sept. 7.

Chris was scheduled to visit Sylvia this week but he wisely decided to delay the trip until the weather and any possible evacuations have passed. We wish them, and the rest of the east coast, a safe ride.

As small consolation AJ and I took Sylvia outside as much as possible to take advantage of the glorious weather we're having on Oregon. First the two ladies headed into the backyard to lie in the grass. Thumb sucking was enjoyed by the under 28" set.
















As the temp rose, the two had a bit of a snooze under the ornamental pear.









In the afternoon we three selected one of Portland parks for a family outing. We chose Peninsula Park and were soon parking on the eastern edge of this 16 acre, inner city park. The park is split into two halves, one for a formal rose garden (Portland's original-the larger version on the west side being built a few years later) and the other for a community center and athletic fields.

Le Rose Garden

Outdoor "room" made with four trees.

The fountain in the center of the Rose Garden was just the right depth for cooling toes large and small.























With twenty of our thirty toes brought down to manageable temperatures we made our way to the other end of the park where one of Portland's many Hispanic league soccer games was underway. The play was rapid and skillful.










Sylvia grew tired of the game and decided that is was more fun to eat her carrier.

Why yes, that is a Deportivo Cuenca soccer jersey.
Viva La Chronica Roja!

99 in the Shade

By luck or chance principal photography on Megababy finished just before Portland experienced its second heat wave of the summer (temps in the high 90's and low 100's-yes, we are wimpy in Portland when it comes to the heat). Under such conditions there is little to do but make sun tea, hunker down in what shade you can find, and catch a nap.

(that's a lot of fur, sir).

By luck or chance Nana Linda has managed to visit Portland during both heat waves. Despite the heat she and Sylvia have been hanging out, enjoying some new fashions (see hat below), and letting mom and dad head out for a Saturday night date.









The heat made a movie the obvious choice and we spent a few hours in the electric cool watching The Visitor (which should be retitled "How Walter got his Groove Back and Realized that being a Professor with Two Houses is a Far Sight Better than being an Detained Illegal Immigrant from Syria). The movie, despite the under-descriptive title, was enjoyable and I am only slightly bitter that there wasn't a single fisticuff or utlity belt as the new Batman film was sure to have.


The heat abated a bit on Sunday and we took advantage of the cooler temps to take a walk by the Willamette river. The wind across the water added made this walk even more pleasant than usual.

(By the Burnside bridge: Sylvia arms and legs can just be seen
peeking out of her ergo baby carrier).

We stopped off at the Portland Saturday Market where Linda found a very fine hand blown glass vase at a very reasonable price.






From there we headed to our favorite Vietnamese joint, "Got Pho?", and tucked into some fine bowls of Bun. Sylvia passed the time by practicing her new skill, putting everything in her mouth, and trying to eat the menu. (Miguel was faced with the terrible dilemma of choosing between filming cute blog content and preventing his child from ingesting toxic menu sludge. Too bad for you that he chose the latter).



Next Episode: Sylvia goes to the doctor and we get some new stats.

(Bonus pic)

Timber Jim takes a bow

April 17th dawned cool and damp. The air was electric with excitement. The words on everyone's mouth: "Timbers Opening Night." With high spirits and the first of our season tickets clutched in our trembling hands my buddy Jake and I entered the soccer cathedral that is PGE park for the spectacle that is the beautiful game.

As Portland's USL League 1 team, the Timbers have a varied history dating back to the early 70's, much like myself. 2008 finds the Timbers without our star keeper and striker (both stolen by the LA Galaxy) but with Takayuki Suzuki who has played in both the World Cup and UEFA Champions League. (Note: This is when those who find soccer to be less than stimulating often glaze over and begin staring at wall behind me, perhaps finding solace in the cracked plaster beyond). With our newly reinforced roster the Timber's took to the field for the first game of the season against the Puerto Rico Islanders (creative name to be sure). The Timbers looked fit after a month of pre-season training in their traditional green and white.

Suzuki enters stage right.

But the real drama of the night was the farewell to Timber Jim. He has been the team mascot for the past 20 years (with a decade break when the team was defunct) and is an institution. He leads the crowd in cheers and taunts and, this being Portland, cuts a round of a log with his chainsaw every time we score.

TJ and his drum

TJ claps his hands.

TJ hangs from the rafters 80 feet in the air and bangs his drum.

TJ riles up the crowd.

The game started slow and the first half ended 0-0. The second half had some clever play from both sides that culminated in a Timbers' goal. Timber Jim cut his final slab as the crowd chanted and screamed.

The final whistle saw (sports writing is a challenge; it' all been said before) the Timbers victorious and Timber Jim tired but content. His number was retired to the rafters but lifetime season tickets means that the Green and White Army can count on his help for years to come. (Cue swelling music and credits).

Give it up for the Blazers!

Sometimes things time out just right. I was emailing our friend Van who we hadn't seen in a while just as he was about to buy some online tickets for the Portland Trail Blazers v. New York Knickerbockers game. Since the tickets were cheap and the Blazers currently rampant we thought the chance of good entertainment was high. Aurelia had a work dinner engagement so we decided to meet her at The Rose Garden (seen below in all its glowing clamshell glory).

The Rose Garden is a large venue and I inevitably enter from the opposite side as my seat, requiring a very long walk. Van and I made our way, with the aid of brave sherpas and oxygen, to our seats near the arena's summit. The view was actually pretty good and there isn't an obstructed seat in the house.

The actual game was pretty good with the Blazers taking an early lead, squandering it when the put on their second team, and then a big come back at the end that saw the home side win 94-88. Occasionally the game dragged and a technical issue with the shot clock slowed the game down.


There is truth in the old saw that basketball should be a five minute game that starts at 90 points. Both teams plug away for three quarters, often with 10 points between them and usually manage to end pretty close a the final buzzer. Aurelia arrived during the forth quarter meaning she got to enjoy all the drama and missed all the tedium.


PS. Only 8 weeks until the Portland Timbers, our United Soccer League team, takes to the pitch for its first match. I have season tickets (~14 matches) with my buddy Jake and will be there rain or shine (rain being most likely).

Futbol and Waterfalls

One might wonder what futbol and waterfalls have little in common. But here at the dinner table they are connected by my birthday. Lest you think from the pictures of Vancouver that Aurelia is the only one treated well on her birthday here are a few pictures from some of our activities around the 10th of August.
First Aurelia surprised me with a trip on a jet boat down the Willamette river. While the pilot's jokes were predictably tired, the 360 degree spins at 60mph were refreshing. We traversed up river with about thirty fellow travellers visiting a remarkable set of locks still used by boats heading North. (The Willamette is one of the few rivers in the world that flows North. Don't ask me why).


After a few more spins we reached the base of the Willamette falls where the indigenous Portlanders hunted for eel. Now there is a large paper mill with a Piranesian tangle of armatures and rusty catwalks.



We finished with a sprint back to the dock, six more spins, and very wet shirts.

The next day we organized a group of about 15 people to attend an exhibition match between two ancient Mexican futbol rivals: Chivas de Guadalajara and Club America. The former is the team of the pueblo and the latter the team of the city. So this was a grudge match (or Super Clasico) and the fact that the players were old has-beens did not prevent the overwhelmingly Mexican fans from showing the colors and making their allegiances clear. PGE park was packed to near capacity (~15000) and the banner and bugles blared.

A few of the many Chivas fans

As I said, the players were a bit rusty and put on a rather slouchy performance but I think the fans just wanted a slice of home and roared with every goal and screamed at every perceived injustice.

In the end Chivas beat Club America (whom I rooted for as a city slicker with his thumb on the pueblo) 2-0. Poo. Below are a few pictures "borrowed" from the local website Soccer City USA as I got caught up in the game and forgot to take pictures after the starting whistle. As you can see, the players are losing some hair and kinda chubby (not that there's anything wrong with that).

picture from Soccer City USA

picture from Soccer City USA

All and all, an excellent birthday.