List of chores

Before Little Fox went out to "find himself" he left me a list of things to do.

1) Update the blog weekly

2) Make coffee for the humans daily

3)Water the garden

4) Collect the mail 

This seems like a lot of work, am I up for it? 

Job 1: Updating the blog.  So far so good, my posts have been happening on a somewhat regular basis.  Little Fox will be happy.

I wish I learned to how to touch type back in high school.

Job 2: Making coffee.  I can't believe that LF does this daily for the humans.  I did this one day and told the humans that this is THEIR responsibility until LF gets back.  

Should this coffee be hot?

Job 3: Water the garden.  This is a tough one for stuffies as our fur doesn't do well when wet.  First stop is the tomatoes.  They had a tough start this year but they are making progress.  This looks like the setting of an archaeological site for a certain little fox I know.

This year we found a little volunteer tomato.  It has some flowers but no fruit yet. 

Go little guy go. 

This pepper could use some help. 

The little sunflower type of plant is doing well.  I wonder what this plant is called?

Job 4: The mail.  So far I have paid bills.  I know how Uncle Tibbs must feel when the letter carrier shows up and delivers the mail.  Bills, advertisements, and other junk.

Oh, what is this?  A post card.....from someone in Vancouver, BC.  I bet you it's from Sandy!!!!!!  Looks like he is enjoying his time on holiday in Vancouver.  Lot's of iced hot chocolate (isn't that just chocolate milk?) and probably some time hanging out with Otto.

 Ooh, another card from Badlands National Park.  Ok, this receiving mail thing is kind of cool.

The best part of having chores is finishing them. It's time to break open the iced tea and relax on a comfy piece of furniture. 

Adjo!

Exploring the 1950s.

Last week as I was exploring around the park I found some cool things.  I learned there were pioneer barbers and I also learned about some of the statuary from the 1950s.  I decided to take a walk and try to find some more 40s, 50, and 60s artwork.

Historian's would say this little motel is a "mid century jewell" while I look at it and say "Yup from the 50s".
Of course in the 50s they didn't have a light rail track in the middle of the street as we do now.

Nice day, eh?

Up next on my 1950s tour is the Palms, no not the fancy place in Vegas.  I will say they have a cool sign.

I wasn't there at night but I did find a picture of it lit up.  Pretty cool. 

According to a blog I read about it the owner is really nice and is thinking of adding more neon monkeys to the sign.  That's my kind of motel owner.  Perhaps a neon fox would add a touch of class to the sign?

I found also found this sign today on my excursions. Looks like it's from the same era.

All this running around has made me hungry.  I didn't bring any Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches so I should probably go out and eat.  Ah, this place looks perfect!

I wonder if they have chicken?

An exploration in the park.

Halla,
Ahh, Summertime......nice weather, lots of BBQs and concerts in the park. I am just relaxing and waiting for the band to start up. Tonight's schedule is a Tom Petty Tribute Band called Petty Fever.

Oooh, the show is starting.  I need to get a better view. 

Even though that was a good view it would not be sustainable for the entire concert.  I had to move my chair to get a clearer view of the stage.  Do you see the lead singer on the stage in red?

During intermission I decided to explore the park.  Oh, what do we have here? Looks like and A & W Burger Family.  Yes, that's Mama Burger, Papa Burger, Teen Burger (he's the one with the T on his shirt) and Baby Burger.  Each one is holding a frosty glass of A & W Root Beer.  

This burger family was housed at the A & W Burger stand in town.  When the stand closed and turned into a Papa Murphy's take and bake pizza franchise the family starting holding pizzas instead of burgers.  

In the 1970s the teen disappeared and the current teen burger is a replacement.  Rumor has it that the original teen was stolen and dropped in a local lake (which is also the cities water supply, go figure).

This art installation has inspired me to explore some other mid-century modern (i.e. 40s, 50s, and 60s) art around town.

I digress.  As I was walking around the park I found an old bell from Uncle George?  Who is Uncle George you ask?  Well, he was a pioneer barber (who knew) and he raised money to buy this bell to alert volunteer firefighters in the 1900s.  

On the bell it says it was forged in Hillsboro O.  One would assume at first glance that it was referring to Hillsboro, Oregon, but in fact it was referring to Hillsboro, Ohio. 

What a great way to spend intermission.  Back to Petty Fever to enjoy the rest of the concert.  

Urban Exploration with Drunk Fox.

Hej kompisar,

I woke up today and the first two words to come out of my mouth were urban utforska or urban exploring for my non-Swedish speaking friends.

I don’t live in Portland but I live close to it. Portland is known for many things but one of them is a dedicated bike culture.  There are bike routes everywhere.  In 2012 the office of transportation decided to spice up the bike lanes by painting flags of the City of Portland on certain routes.

Do you see the flag?

As mentioned, the flags were painted on in 2012 and it’s now 2017 so the flags are fading.  I found a couple around town.

This bike lane flag could use a "touch up" paint job. 

I got braver when I was looking for the second flag.  That’s me sitting in a bike lane in NE Portland.  I hope no bikes zoom by (or cars for that matter).

The neighborhood where these flags were painted is called Lloyd District.  In the 1950s a developer started buying all the houses in this neighborhood.  Then the developer let them fall into disrepair.  When the other residents of the neighborhood wanted to move and there was only one person interested in buying….that’s right the developer.  Eventually, the developer owned all the houses, tore them down and built the largest mall in the world (at the time, 1960) and it was dedicated by Vice President Richard Nixon. 

I know they do it but why would you build an open air mall in Portland Oregon? 

The mall has a great parking structure and I am hoping to get some photos on top of the parking structure.  I bet there are some good views if I can climb to the top of this structure. 

Made it to the top but not the view I was hoping for.  Let's see if I can find a better location. 

Oooh, a better location. If you look closely you might be able to see the tower of the Oregon Convention Center in the background.

All this exploring has made me hungry.  I can’t find a place that will make a good PB & J sandwich but I did find a food cart that looks beary interesting.  They sell Doner Kebabs and I am up for anything.

Now that I am getting the hang of this "blogging" thing what will I do next?