The Parade

It was grand!

Our Slug Queen

Today is the parade for the Eugene Celebration beginning at 9:30 am. Our slug queen, Slugritha fatifa, will be pleased that it rained in the night. I got her photo at the Jacob's Gallery on Thursday. She is a great queen.

Art and the Artist

The reception for the artists whose work was jurored into the Mayor's Art Show was this afternoon. The lobby of the Hult Center was crowded with people. Awards were announced, the ribbon was cut for the opening of the Jacobs Gallery by the Mayor and people crowded in to see the art. I listened to some people looking at Linn's ink drawing exclaim how much they liked it. His work is original and shows the energy of the dancers. He had set a price on it of $50 and it sold before the exhibit opened. Several other people have ordered prints from him and they want to see more of his work. I'm sorry the photo doesn't do justice to the work. The gallery was crowded and I had to snap it quickly. Perhaps I can try again.

SAMEEG

This is the Saturday Morning Exercise and Eating Group in the 5th Street Market where they go for the eating and coffee phase of the gathering. This group exists thanks to Don England who formed it some years ago. They meet at an assigned running spot at 8:30 on Saturday mornings, run (or walk) for 20 minutes out and then 20 minutes back to the start, then convene for the social time.

We will miss this coming Saturday with them as it is the Eugene Celebration and we always go to the parade, an event so uniquely Eugene.

Along the bike path near Valley River Mall

Seeing pond turtles on a log and herons in this area gives one pause to stop and wonder. There are blue herons and sometimes the smaller green herons.

Waldo Lake

The hiking trail through the trees along the lake is level and pleasant. There were a few mesquitoes but they weren't a problem to us. We ate our lunch on a sandy beach.

Rob checks my blog

We dropped by Rob and Cheryl's on our way to Winco for groceries. I left Linn there to visit with Rob who is recovering nicely from his surgery while I picked up the various flavors of yogurt that Linn wanted and some other essentials. Cheryl gave us some vine ripened tomatoes that are wonderful. We are feasting on tomatoes in season as we don't like to get the cardboard-tasting replicas that come to the stores in winter.

The Mayor's Art Show

This isn't the picture Linn entered in the Mayor's Art Show but it is similar. I'll get a better picture once his artwork is hung in the Jacob's Gallery at the Hult Center. Sorry about the glare. Many people enter the competition but only a few are chosen. Linn's work has been chosen. It will be in the gallery beginning September 7th, ending October 26th.

The Mayor's Art Show is held along with the Eugene Celebration in September. This is a celebratory event happening next weekend. We especially enjoy the parade on Saturday Morning which is always typically 'Eugene.' Anyone who wants to can be in the parade. A Slug Queen is selected to reign.

Rock, Water, Sun and Shadow

'Beside me singing in the Wilderness,
Ah, Wilderness were paradise enow.'
-----Omar Khayyam

Whose boots are these?

Abandoned in an alley sans shoelaces. They still have some wear in them.

This President of Iran, Ahmadinejad

I have been able to view Ahmadinejad twice on TV, once in an interview with Mike Wallace and then again in part of a speech that was rebroadcast on c-span. From hearing him speak I can't feel that he is an evil man, on the contrary he seems to have a lively mind and is articulate and reasonable. What he has said about Israel is alarming but may be understandable from an Arab point of view. The following is an excerpt from Wikipedia about this man. His attitude toward women is interesting. Could he be a friend to women in the Arab world?

Women's rights
On 24 April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that a ruling which prevented women from watching men playing sports in stadiums would soon be reversed. [17][18] A state television announcer reported that Ahmadinejad "ordered the head of the sports organisation to provide facilities in the stadiums to watch national matches." Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying: "The best stands should be allocated to women and families in the stadiums in which national and important matches are being held." Two days earlier, Ahmadinejad had objected to punishment of women appearing in stadiums without proper hijab. His remarks angered some supporters

The Deep Forest

In old growth the mystery of life on earth hangs like the moss on the branches. We are small and yet we belong here. The silence says more than words do. In the old growth forests we have walked through in the past few Sundays I like to listen but not to talk. I appreciate a companion who doesn't need to talk and can just listen to the sounds around us, maybe a slight breeze in the branches, a trickling stream, a bird high up, footfalls on the path and our breathing as we climb in elevation.

At the hospital

We watched this screen for patient 45528 for 2 1/2 hours until the message changed colors to closing and then recovery. The surgery was successful and the patient who is Linn's brother, Robert, is doing well with hemmoroids gone, leaving a pain in the butte that will go away, too, eventally.

Goodman Creek Trail

This Old Growth hike was not so far away as the others we have taken recently. At the waterfall we missed seeing the swimming pond as some children were in the cold water swimming nude and we didn't want to surprise them by popping out of the trees. We heard the voices and went on to the log bridge where we ate our dessert of little pecan pies by the water. On the way up the trail Linn stopped to adjust his shoe.

The Hands of an Artist

Libby Masarie is one of the most creative people we know and her hands show it. I had a walk with her this morning in a West Eugene neighborhood where we passed this lovely fall garden.

A couple of good blogs

These seem like intelligent sources to me:

http://www.firedoglake.com/

http://scienceblogs.com/channel/about.php


I can't do links yet. I'll keep trying.

That Bless'ed Element

Swimming at the club is a routine we feel fortunate to have. Some mornings we are the only ones there at 5:30.

From the library computer

This is interesting to me as the screen is different. I guess Macs are limited on blogspot.com. I have been trying to add links but to no avail so far. I'll try adding a url. How about the Huffington Post? I enjoy Ariana and find she has an informative blog.

The road ahead

This one looks inviting.

Construction Site

At Valley River Mall the Mongomery Wards Building was torn down and a gigantic structure is going up that will house a movie multi-complex. I wonder how it will fare. The shops at the Mall seem less and less interesting to me. There seem to be a lot of weird fashions that cater to teen-agers. The clothes coming in from China, Taiwan, South Korea, Malayasia, and other parts of the world don't seem well made and are without style. This could mean I am old and not with it. Everything changes. Nothing remains the same. That's the way the world is.