Et cetera
Archive for June 2010
Letterpress at the IPRC
Every month or so I teach beginning letterpress at the IPRC, a non-profit center for self-publishers and printers. Now that I finally have a camera I was able to take a few photos. This class was especially unique because a couple from Australia had signed up for the class during their 4 day visit to Portland.
A Trip by Model T on the Oregon Trunk Railway
For my birthday my Dad bought tickets for a Model T tour of Central Oregon’s Trunk Railway. The Jefferson County Historical Society organizes a Model T trip each year as a fundraiser and this year it was led by Jerry Ramsey. June is a tempestuous time in Central Oregon weather, but luckily there were clear skies and minimal Model T breakdowns during our daylong adventure.
Man sitting on the rails on the Oregon Trunk Railway running beside the Deschutes River near Warm Springs, 1915. From the Oregon State Archives.
I had gotten a new camera for my birthday earlier that morning, so I took lots of pictures…
Gravy Gone Bad
Microwave mishaps don’t always involve a stack of CD’s, a ball of tinfoil, or a cow stuck in the stairwell. Sometimes they just involve a vintage pyrex dish and some over-ambitious gravy. Hey, it’s Monday and my mind is in a pork-induced haze from my mother force feeding me pork ribs all weekend long.
Who knew that 0:45 was 0:15 too much for a small bowl of liquid pork fat?
Mr. Rankin’s Foolproof Bird Guide
Since you now know about my friend Mark’s wily ways, you’ll understand the motivation behind my Father’s Day present this year. Like every other dutiful 7-year-old daughter, I drew my Dad a picture.
My Dad is retired and one of his joys is to watch birds from our Central Oregon home. A bird book and binoculars are always perched at the living room bay windows which look out on no less than 3 bird feeders and a bird bath.
When Mark discovered Mr. Rankin’s love of bird watching, it took him about .00017 seconds to find a way to torment him with the very thing he enjoyed. While standing at the window Mark would shout “Wow, check out those birds!” to the effect of Mr. Rankin scrambling to the window to see whatever winged creatures were available. Of course, there was never a bird in sight as Mark stood by and took pleasure in my Dad’s gutted reaction to the bleak, birdless landscape.
So, for Father’s Day this year I made my Dad a foolproof digital bird guide, so no matter what Mark does, my Dad can always have some birds to watch. Happy Father’s Day Dad!
A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
Ever since I participated in the Ben Franklin Print Exchange with local Portland letterpress artists last fall I can’t keep Poor Richard’s Almanac proverbs from popping into my head. When a recent discussion about my thriftiness started getting long in the tooth, my mind wandered into this interpretation of “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned”. File this under “30-second-designs” for time thrifts.
Remember When We Ran Through Sprinklers?
Eighty-Five was a good year for sprinklers. The kind that go back and forth and form tunnels for dashing through, the kind that spray wildly in every direction, and the kind at the park that can be a hit or miss depending on how fast you run. Summer, where are you?
Diagrammed: Mustache on a Finger on a Stick
Check out the full process of raising my hip factor via a mustache-on-a-finger-on-a-stick.
Stop Time With A Penfelt Watch
On the first real day of summer in Portland you just want to stop time, because before you know it summer will have flown by and you’ll be stuck again with the rain and your bottle of vitamin D chewables. Luckily, Portland maker LeBrie Rich feels the same, and made this felt watch for just such occasions. See more of her stuff on Etsy at Penfelt.
A Unicycle Family
It’s not often that you find something that surprises you (in a good way) while searching for stock photos. So when I came across this picture of a family unicycling together, I couldn’t keep it to myself.
Getty Images #tlp918722
