Did you know that........................?

• Even if you have the shingles shot, you can get shingles......................  Roger can attest to that, however, the good news is that the event is much milder than you would have without the shot - so, if you're over 60 years of age, you need to get it NOW....
• Vertigo is very common in people over the age of 60 and many just choose to live with it.  I'm not one, so I'm presently taking less medication to raise my blood pressure and I'm taking physical therapy to find a solution.
• Getting a message from a family member to tell me they are coming to visit is priceless.  Our guest facilities are beginning to become popular with the summer season, including Roger's brother who lives in Iran, Roger's daughter in S.F. who will be with us in June and Lori and Pam who are coming over the July 4th period..
• An IPhone camera is one of the most sophisticated instruments available and it's portable and has the capability of multitasking.  If you're curious about the apps that you can use with your camera, let me know because I have a long list of really great choices.
• You can buy lenses for your IPhone that allow for macro, wide angle and telephoto.
• You can order photo reprints from Walgreen, using your phone.  I ordered a few an hour ago and they are ready to pick up.
• Post-a-gram app (Sincerely.com) offers personalized postcards that you can write your personal message and upload a photo from your IPhone camera.  Postage is included and the finished product will be received by your contact in about four days.  I tried it today and included myself in the group to see whether this really works.  If it does, many of you will be the recipients of this great product.
• The next three weeks in Portland are Rose Festival celebrations that include events down at Riverfront (only a few blocks from where we live), a parade, a carnival and dragon boat races. 

Life can sometimes be short - so live today, hug and kiss those that you love - and be thankful.

Mom and Lori (some years earlier)

My special and only granddaughter, Ashley

Roger's son, Brian, and Carolyn, Chris and Rachael

Roger's lovely daughter, Helia

My new grandchildren, Jessica and Ryan

Iraj, a very special man in my new life



Lori and Pam

Gary and me - my first love - 49 years of marriage

Mike and Teresa

May 24th 6 Years Ago............

4 a.m., on a Saturday morning, six years ago.  The years have softened the pain and the memories of happy times are stronger.

Rest in peace, dear one.

Having fun ....

Editing photos on my IPhone ....

This one done with the app, frametastic

Thursday in Portland

We're looking forward to a lovely day.  The swimming pool opens this weekend (heated to 84 degrees) and we've been promised mild and sunny weather for the next week or so.

This morning Allison and I are going to play with our IPhone cameras so I can show her what I learned at last week's camera class.  I still need to practice more and also do an assignment for class.  Here's one that I might use but I also have some beautiful peonies that I'll work with.

A Special Day............

Happy Birthday to my beautiful and accomplished daughter.  Enjoy your special day!

Roger and I send our love to you, Lori................

Multnomah Arts Center and Marco's

Today was the first time that I've taken a class at the Multnomah Arts Center.  It's a two day class that teaches us how to get the most out of our IPhone camera.  I was very surprised at all of the "bells and whistles" that are on an IPhone camera and it was exciting to learn how to make the most out of taking really amazing photos with a phone.  The second class is next Saturday when we get into more detailed instruction.  The art center has classes for all ages and it is a busy place with classes on all forms of art and music.  I've also signed up for a five week class to learn how to better utilize my DSLR so I'm expecting to take some great photos in the coming months..................

To make the day even better, there's a Starbucks across the street and about a dozen unique cafes down the street.  Today, after class, I chose Marco's that features breakfast, brunch and lunch items.  It's in Multnomah Village and the food is delicious!
. 

 

Now I have to research and choose a few apps for my homework assignment from the following list:

• Camera Awesome
• Camera Plus Pro
• VSCO Cam
• Picture Show
• Afterlight
• Slow Shutter Cam
• Tilt Shift Gen
• Dblecam
• Split Pic Pro
• TimeShutter
• Fotor
• Hipstamatic
• ProCam
• PicLab

I'll let you know which ones I like the best.



  

Saturday Market - Old Town Pizza - Brew Cycle - All in one day

Sunday was the perfect day to get outdoors and do some exploring so Allison and I walked to the MAX and took the train to the Saturday Market on Skidmore.  The market is open every Saturday and Sunday between the months of March and December and there must be at least one hundred artisans and craft persons with small shops.  Then there's food/food/food everywhere so it's easy to make this an all-day visit.  After a couple of hours at the market, we got back on MAX and headed for Old Town Pizza.  This is a darling, old and somewhat beat-up place in what might be called "the bad part of town" and we love sitting at the bar and people watching.  Yesterday, being Mother's Day they weren't very busy so we had a leisurely late lunch of pizza, beer and coffee and had lots of time to visit.

While we were sitting there we noticed something unusual out the window and we couldn't believe our eyes.  It was a wooden trolley with about ten people sitting on stools and peddling like they were on a bicycle.  Everyone hopped off and came inside for a brew and that's when the place got lively.  This is a ""bicycle" tour that stops at four brew pubs in downtown Portland.  I think that this was their second stop and they were already having lots of fun.  They spend about one half hour at each place - then they peddle to the next one.  We continue to marvel at all the interesting things that Portland has to offer.

 



Honoring Moms..............

 As I grow older, I appreciate my mom more and more, remembering how she always put me first in her life and loved me, even after she no longer remembered who I was. Towards the end of her life I became "the nice lady who takes care of me".  Here, she's pictured at the age of 80 at a birthday party that we hosted for her friends and family at the Wine & Roses Hotel in Lodi.

The two women's reflections in the background were her two best friends.  I remember that it was a lovely summer day (her birthday was July 20th) and she had a wonderful time being the center of attention.

She was a loving, kind, and sensitive person who is remembered for her gentle-hearted qualities.  

Lovely memories................

Anna Marie Wall Fandrich




Alma was my mother-in-law and she was a very caring woman who dearly loved her family.  She was proud of "her boys" and her accomplished grandchildren and I remember many delicious meals at her home.  This photo was taken in late November at a family gathering where we celebrated her birthday.  Several days later, she suffered a debilitating stroke that forever changed her life.  It was difficult to see her in a comatose state that lasted for many years before her death in 2008.  She died only three months before her youngest son, Gary.
                                                                                                Alma Schneider Friedli

My daughter-in-law, Cindie, wrote a lovely poem for us many years ago.  It reads:

"It is said that the mother-daughter bond
is one of the strongest
and it can never be broken
And that means
Some things don't have to be understood
or solved or perfect.
We just keep on loving each other through life.
No matter what."

Spring Peonies and Pieropan Wine From Italy............

This is my interpretation of a peony found at the Farmer's Market last week. Yes, it was "tweaked" in Photoshop.  I'm having a lot of fun learning how to go "outside of the box", as they say.............

Ann and I had a great time at Mucca last night.  The winemaker was from Verona Italy and we had an empty seat at our table so he was our dinner companion for the evening.  It's hard to believe that we ate:five courses of authentic Italian food accompanied with the appropriate wine with each course.  Yes............ we took a taxi home..............

Little Bella Gets A New Look..............

Finally - Back to a normal routine

The last couple of weeks have been filled with drama in our household.  The last week in April I developed vertigo which increased to the point of not being able to walk unassisted.  Regretfully, vertigo causes nausea and digestive issues so I had no choice but to go to bed and stay there.  I've been in email contact with my physician but tomorrow I have an appointment to find ways to avoid this happening again.  I discovered that Roger makes an excellent nurse so I had wonderful, healthy Persian meals and lots of TLC. 

We had to give our Chris Botti tickets to friends and cancel a movie date and lunch with two other friends so our "social life" was impeded.  Now, I'm looking forward to getting together with friends, again. Tonight is the first time that I'm able to get out so Ann and I are looking forward to a wine maker's dinner at Mucca.  The wine is from Pieropan Winery, a family owned estate in Italy.  Mucca Chef and owner formerly lived in Italy so he prepares authentic recipes from his home region.  It's always an "experience" dining there.



Aurora, our Photoshop tutor comes every Tuesday evening, so my practice task today is to create something artistic out of the above photo. Above is my original photo.

Practice #1

Practice #2

 Practice #3

I'm learning to look at photography from a completely different viewpoint so, now that I'm feeling better, I'm anxious to get outside and take more pictures that I can "play" with.