Hockey, Lilacs, and Tulips--all for Mother's Day!

What a great weekend we have had.  On Friday night and Saturday night we watched the WHL Western Champions Portland Winterhawks play the Eastern Champions Kootenay Ice at Portland's Rose Garden arena.  Both teams won their conference championship and are now competing in a best of seven series.  Portland won in overtime Friday night, and Kootenay won on Saturday.  On Tuesday and Wednesday the teams will play each other in Kootenay, B.C., then next Friday, the 13th of May, they will meet again in Portland to play at the Rose Garden.  We are going to try and get tickets for that game.  Our 3-week old granddaughter, Sophie, slept contentedly in her mother's arms through both games. 

To celebrate Mother's Day, Tim and Kiersten (and Sophie) took Dave and me out for dinner at Stanford's at Lloyd Center before Saturday's game. 

Today was a mixed weather day--a bit of sun, lots of rain, and some hail.  Dave and I drove 20 miles north on I-5 to Woodland, WA and went to the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens and the Holland America Tulip Festival.  Both the gardens and the festival had been extended for another week because of the wet, gloomy weather in April.

We took a tour of the inside of the Hulda Klager's  house and learned more about her and her lilac gardens.  She was born in 1863 and lived for 97 years. 

This house was built by Hulda Klager's father in 1903.

One of the many lilac bushes

Then, it was on to the Tulip Festival, which was a treat because we thought it had ended on 4-30-11.

These large yellow tulips were my favorites.

Who is this handsome, smiling gentleman?  If it weren't him, I wouldn't be celebrating Mother's Day today!

This picture was taken of the fields across from the festival.  Note the ominous sky over over the hills in the background.

You know I never miss a chance to take a picture of an American flag!

To cap off this fine day, after we got home our younger son, Jonathan, called to wish me a happy Mother's Day.  It's always good to hear from him!

 GO HAWKS!

Celebrating with the Winterhawks!

Thursday was our daughter-in-law's birthday.  To celebrate, Tim and Kiersten invited some people to attend the Portland Winterhawks ice hockey game at the Rose Garden on Friday night.  The night was rainy, the traffic was a mess, so Dave and I allowed plenty of time to drive into the city from Vancouver.

Kiersten and Tim 

Tim and Kiersten have season tickets to the Winterhawks, but Dave and I had only attended one other game several years ago.  What a difference a few years make.  The first time we went there were maybe 2-3000 people there.  This time, the arena was sold out, with almost 11,000 people attending.  The Winterhawks are members of the WHL,which feeds players into the NHL.  The Winterhawks slaughtered their arch-rivals, the Seattle Thunderbirds, 9 to 1. 

Winterhawks logo on the ice

It was "mascot" night, and between periods various mascots from around the city and state provided entertainment on the ice.

Happy 28th birthday, Kiersten and thank you to you and Tim for inviting us to celebrate with you at the Winterhawks game!

Elevated Coffee

Saturday night Dave and I drove into NE Portland to listen to Tim play bass with his band, Cody Weathers and the Men Mama Warned You About.  They play at different venues around the Portland area.  This gig was held at Elevated Coffee on Martin Luther King Boulevard.  That area, which used to be kind of seedy, has been renovated during the last few years and now it’s an up and coming area with coffee shops, restaurants, and comedy clubs. 

The Men:  Tim, Cody, and Evan

A funky old bus parked outside the coffee shop

Restaurant located next to Elevated Coffee

A comedy club across the courtyard

Flame dancer outside the comedy club

Messiah’s Mansion Tour

Tonight Dave drove 80 miles each way to referee his varsity game at White Salmon, WA.  It was a crisp, fall evening.  Cheryl and I walked around the track, as usual, and didn’t have to perform any good deeds this week.

Earlier today, Dave and I toured Messiah's Mansion, a full-scale replica of the wilderness temple built by Moses and the Israelites.  The model was built to fit the description of the plans given by God to Moses after he led the Israelites out of Egypt. 

The exhibit was erected on the grounds of an Adventist school.

The temple replica has been touring the country each year since 2003, and has been in Portland, OR, for nine days.  After Portland, the exhibit moves to Florence, OR, and then on to Oroville, CA, with the last stop of the 2010 tour to be held in Larned, KS.

We arrived a half hour early for the first tour of the day at 1 pm.  There was no admission charge.  We sat in chairs while we waited, and then our group moved from station to station of the exhibit.  We sat in chairs to view each area and stayed in each for about 15 minutes.  The total tour took about 75 minutes.

Entering the exhibit

We learned about each part of the temple, including an overview diorama, the courtyard, the Holy of Holies, and the ark of the covenant.  Each area contained replica symbols of historical temples of old, and we were told about the meanings of the symbols.  The gospel message of Jesus’ death and resurrection was woven into each area. 

I am including the information about each of the stations which I found on the tabernacle website, followed by a photo that I took at each of the five stations.

 

   

The tour was well worth our time, and I’m glad we were able to see this exhibit before it leaves Portland on Sunday. 

Back to the VA

The courtyard outside Portland’s VA Medical Center     

No, nothing is wrong.  Prior to getting the colonoscopy appointment for last Saturday, Dave had scheduled his annual chest x-ray for this afternoon, so today we drove back to the Portland VA Medical Center for the x-ray.  Dave’s lung cancer episode five years ago turned out to be a carcinoid tumor and the result was that one lobe of his lung was removed at that time.  That took care of the tumor and he didn’t need to have radiation or chemotherapy.  

Every year since then Dave goes back for a CT scan and/or x-ray so that his lungs can be checked to make sure that there are no more tumors.   Dave was one of the few people that got lung cancer even though he had never smoked.  (Well, except for one cigarette when he was 12—that was enough for him!)

Dave got an excellent report again this year and was told that he doesn’t need get another x-ray  for two years.  We thank God that Dave’s health continues to be good!

After the VA appointment, we met Tim and Kiersten for dinner at Fuddruckers in Lake Oswego.  Most of the Fuddruckers are out of business, but this one is still operating.  We used to go to Fuddruckers in Riverside, CA, when we lived there, until that one went out of business.  Then we watched one come and then go in Vancouver.  Several restaurants have opened since then at that site in Vancouver, but no one seems to be able to make it there.  Now there’s a new sign advertising that a Mongolian Grill will soon be opening.  I hope it makes it and is open for years to come.

VA Medical Center, Portland, OR

Welcome to new blog follower, Gail Durham.   Check out her blog, Gail and TC's Travels.

Dave has Veteran’s Administration (VA) medical coverage because he served in the Air Force for four years.  The VA has a clinic in Vancouver, but all the major appointments are held at the Portland Medical Center.  We know that place well because Dave had lung cancer surgery there five years ago. 

Dave needed a routine colonoscopy and was told a few weeks ago that the tests were back ordered.  He was surprised to get a phone call a few days ago telling him that the VA had gotten a grant and they were now able to do colonoscopies on Saturdays.  So he made an appointment for today, Saturday, August 14, at 11 am.

Saturday appointments are good, because the Medical Center is less crowded, the parking garage is less crowded, and there’s less traffic on the Portland freeways. 

I took the following panorama photo from inside the dirty windows, so the quality isn’t great.  The Portland VA is located “up on the hill” next to Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU), and in fact, the two hospitals share doctors sometimes.  The top (ninth) floor offered a great view of the Willamette River and one of Portland’s many bridges. 

The results of the procedure were good.  Dave did great, and by 12:30 pm, I was able to drive him home.  We made, at his request, a stop at McDonald’s so he could EAT. 

This sign must have been working because I saw nary a pigeon.  Veterans, yes, pigeons, no!

Amusing Photo

Last evening we celebrated our son, Tim’s, birthday by having dinner with Tim and Kiersten at Pastini Pastaria in Portland.  For those that know Portland, we went to  the Pastini on Broadway near Lloyd Center.  Kiersten and I both ordered the Rigatoni Zuccati which featured roasted butternut squash, wild mushrooms, spinach and rosemary in a light cream sauce. We always enjoy spending time with the two of them. 

I haven’t blogged about Jonathan lately because we were told not to call attention to where he is and what he is doing.  So for those that know, I will just say that he seems to be doing fine.  And for those that don’t know where he is right now (no, he’s not in jail!), he’s still fine.

Our son, Tim, sent us the following amusing picture, which was entitled “Small Aircraft Levels Four Buildings”:

Flowers, Bees. and Thorns

When I visited the Rose Garden last Friday, I tried to take pictures of some of the bees buzzing around the roses.

 

Along with beautiful roses (and bees) come thorns!

And that is a good summary of life, I think—flowers, bees, and thorns—all part of the process!