Non-Consumer Photo Essay — N.E. Portland

by Katy on November 13, 2014 · 23 comments

I try to minimize my driving, so it’s rare that I ever drive across town (or anywhere, really) for a single errand. So when my son needed a ride to school yesterday, I threw in a few extra N.E. Portland stops to take full advantage of the neighborhood.

First I stopped at my father’s house where I returned some tennis rackets I’d borrowed a loooong time ago. I also spent an hour or so visiting with the family and wandering around the 110-year-old house that I grew up in. I ate some toast made from my father’s homemade bread and drank a cup of tea.

The morning light was throwing rainbows through the beveled glass windows, and my father put one of his needlepoint mazes on the ground to catch the colors.

rainbow maze

My boots also got the rainbow treatment:

rainbow boots

This miniature Eames chair up against the books caught my eye as well:

miniature Eames chair

I then drove the short distance over to The Title Wave used library store. I have a gift certificate that I’ve been slowly whittling down over the past couple of years, so I indulged in a fat stack of decor magazines priced at 50¢ apiece:

used magazines

Not an exciting, brag worthy day by any means, (I also took my older son to the credit union where we converted his youth accounts into adult ones) but still a perfectly low key and relaxed kind of day.

Especially when there are magazines to read.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }

Carolyn November 13, 2014 at 9:56 am

My kids’ favorite time of the day is “rainbow time” where the light hits the fixtures just so.

Today, we are having our first real snow, which is just as fun!

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Diane C November 13, 2014 at 10:41 am

Can’t see the photo of the tiny Eames chair. Wah! Loved the rainbows though.

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Katy November 13, 2014 at 12:02 pm

Thanks for letting me know. I’ve fixed it!

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Diane C November 14, 2014 at 10:25 am

So cute! I want to sit in it and read tiny little books, lol.

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michele November 13, 2014 at 11:14 am

I really need to get better at this. Everything is so close that we bike a lot, but we drive a bit more than we should.

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K D November 13, 2014 at 11:22 am

Inquiring minds want to know what your son is doing during his gap year. I have an 18 y/o that probably would have benefited from taking one.

I am able to walk to yoga and one local grocery store. People that see me walking think I walk every where, but that is far from the truth. I do try to batch errands, like you. I have several places to go tomorrow morning, including three different stores at one shopping center.

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Katy November 13, 2014 at 11:59 am

My son took an intensive university class over the summer, as well as doing Crossfit. Right now he’s continuing with the Crossift and working on personal projects. I think he’ll take two university classes during winter term and then maybe travel some during the spring. Also, working on adult life skills.

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K D November 14, 2014 at 9:20 am

It sounds like a good plan. It’s nice to have some time before being catapulted into the crazy work of work.

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Katie November 13, 2014 at 11:45 am

I love beveled glass windows, and the resulting rainbows. Pretty!

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Diane November 13, 2014 at 12:32 pm

Yes to magazines! I miss Bookman’s in Tucson. Here in Austin, even our library has few magazines anymore.

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Renee November 14, 2014 at 12:44 am

Yes! Nothing compares to Bookman’s! I grew up in Tucson, and after college I moved to San Diego. A group of friends roadtripped “home” with me one time for a quick visit – we didn’t have time for any real tourist stuff, but I did make sure we stopped at Bookman’s and at eegee’s. Two of the things I miss most about living there!

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Diane November 14, 2014 at 5:28 am

Me too, Renee!

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JD November 13, 2014 at 12:39 pm

I don’t even really like Eames chairs, but I fell in love with that tiny little fellow. What a little treasure!
I love the rainbows, too. When we built our house, I installed two smallish stained glass panes from a demolished church in our two gable-end windows. I can just gaze at the light coming through them– one faces east and one faces west — at the right time of day and feel so glad that I have them, even after 15 years.

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A. Marie November 13, 2014 at 1:26 pm

I’m old enough to have seen the Disney film of Pollyanna with Hayley Mills; does anyone else remember Pollyanna/Hayley making rainbows on the walls with crystal pendants from some grumpy old geezer’s lamp and making him/her smile? (I’m old enough to be the grumpy old geezer by this time.)

First day with enough snow to stick here in my corner of Upstate NY. Neighbor with more credit cards than brains just put about $50 worth of assorted pumpkins she’d been using for porch decor out on the curb (I know because she left the bar code on one of them). I strolled down, picked the two I thought would yield the most interesting seeds (for roasting) and flesh (for pumpkin soup, etc.), and strolled home again. As Amy Dacyczyn once said, “Z is for Zero, my favorite price!”

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Monica November 14, 2014 at 6:47 am

Love that movie!

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Britta November 14, 2014 at 7:25 am

Pollyanna was my first thought, too!

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Diane C November 14, 2014 at 10:30 am

“more credit cards than brains” Totally borrowing this. Probably won’t be giving it back for a while as it’s so true of a few folks er, relatives I know.

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Joyce November 19, 2015 at 7:40 am

My sister did the same thing with “roadkill” pumpkins. Love it!!! We didn’t have to do that as my husband’s coworker gifted him three.

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kathleen November 13, 2014 at 2:46 pm

I just want to give you a virtual high-five for converting your son’s accounts so promptly. Being in financial administration, I’ve seen people put it off for years…until they reach a point where it is needed, and then there is the slow down of gathering IDs and signatures from ‘children’ who no longer live locally…can be a real headache. A lot of parents have stated to me they don’t want to have accounts changed over (regulations are cutting out that option) for fear that the kids will empty the accounts and blow it…and I have seen it happen. Big congrats to you for setting a stellar frugal example for your kids. 🙂

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Katy November 13, 2014 at 3:23 pm

And here I was feeling like a slacker for waiting until he was 19!

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Lilypad November 13, 2014 at 3:43 pm

Kudos for getting HGTV magazine so cheap—I like it but it’s really not worth what they charge for a subscription, so I pick them up at my Half Price Books if I see them. I love magazines and read one or two a week in addition to the 1 – 3 books per week I read. My secret indulgence is People magazine—my mom’s bee a subscriber for 25 years or so and saves them for me. It’s a pretty strange thing for a frugal hippie chick like me to read but it’s good light entertainment for when my life homeschooling my son with special needs gets too intense!

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Ali November 13, 2014 at 8:00 pm

People magazine is my guilty pleasure. I went to do errands today and batched them all together. Eyebrows waxed, 2 banks and the library. from the library All in a big loop. Bought 3 books from the library’s ongoing book sale for a $5 donation. Loved seeing the gas station had gas for $2.64/gal. I’m sure it’s cheaper at Costco but that would be a long ride across town.

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Monica November 14, 2014 at 6:48 am

My kind of day!

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