Wednesday, January 24, 2018

January 23, 2018: Portland

Today was a good day.  Tomoko got her driver's license this morning!  I've been practicing with her for the past few weeks.  She made me proud -- she got an A on her first try.  We went to brunch at Elmer's to celebrate.

Now I want to share on the goofiness of Portland:

It rains a lot here, right?  You would think people would park in their garages so they wouldn't have to walk to their cars in the rain.
NO.  The houses are so small that their garages have to hold lots of their possessions.
There was snow and ice on Christmas.  On 12/27 I had to drive to the southeast side of town.  A big piece of snowy ice hit my driver's side window on the freeway.  It blew off a car ahead of me.  That car had a roof full of snow and ice.  The driver cleared his windshield but didn't worry about what would happen to the snow on his roof.  If you're not going to park in your garage, then cover your car with a sheet or be sure to clear the snow before it flies off and hits another car at high rates of speed.  I'm not going to drive on the freeway another time after a freezing spell.

There is a severe lack of parking in Portland.  Cars line both sides of narrow streets.  So many shopping and dining areas have no parking lots.  This impacts where I can go and what I can do in the city.  I have to check google satellite and look at the parking situation before I can decide if I can go somewhere.

The disabled parking places are few and far between.

Giant apartment complexes are built with no parking garages.  Portland wants people to walk, bicycle or take public transportation.  Somebody needs to inform the powers at the bus department of this.  You can't expect to have bad drivers injure pedestrians and then not have the city accessible to those disabled as a result.

It's eight months now since the bus hit me.  The last x-ray showed that my bone has not completely filled in the gaps between the rods holding the bits together.  My surgeon said he'll x-ray me again in 6 weeks.  If the x-ray doesn't look better, I'll have to get another cat scan.  Then maybe have a bone graft.

I'm fighting to get my strength back.  I continue to go to physical therapy twice a week.  I bought my own NuStep machine.  It's a recumbent cross trainer that can only be found in rehab facilities.  So, I can't just go to a gym to work out.

Despite all this I keep busy.  I get to play with my grandchildren.  I go to a book club and a couple meetups that are held in accessible locations.  My sewing room is still not set up so I can't enjoy my hobbies yet.  I left this room last because it's the most complicated one to organize.  I'm still unpacking boxes for that room.  I do too many crafts.  Something will have to go - doll making? miniatures? garment sewing? knitting? drawing & painting? jewelry making? fabric flowers? costume making? locker hooking? flower arranging?  All these activities have tools and supplies that take up space.  I haven't decided yet what to give up.  I keep hoping that somehow I can fit it all into my one hobby room that also houses my NuStep machine.


Tuesday, January 2, 2018

January 2, 2018


Starting the new year right - I got the teeth on the right side of my mouth scaled and cleaned.  In 2 weeks it's the left side's turn.  The hygienist gave me novocaine so I can only have one side done at a time.  I had to find a dentist in Portland.  I went to one about a mile away that had good reviews.  Plus, it was in a cute little house and named Edelweiss Dental.

My last checkup in Houston was great.  Maybe stress caused some gum problems.  Or maybe the dentist just needed more business.  Whatever, I figured it would be a good thing to have done.  Plus my dental insurance ends this month.

This morning I went to another 60+ meetup for coffee.  I wish it started at 10 instead of 9 so traffic wouldn't be a problem.  At least traffic was light this morning.  It's a nice group but the activities seem to be mostly on the southeast side of town. 

So far 2018 is going smoothly - except those yucky ants are making a comeback in my house.