“What is a Super Moon?”, you ask.  Well, it is the night of the full moon when the moon is nearest the earth and the brightest that it will be all year-long.

So be sure to head outside on Saturday night and look to the East – low on the horizon - at 8:24 pm PDT (11:24 pm EDT).

Then the wind blows and some of the petite pink petals flutter to the ground.  My freshly mowed lawn looks like it has pink snow on it!  When I open the front door to walk to the mailbox, I am overcome with the soft,sensual scent of these beautiful blossoms.  It just smells so good outside!!! I take a deep breath and then another one and then decide I need to share this experience with my readers.

And just in time for May Day!

The Amazing Race is having an open casting call (tryouts, interviews, whatever you want to call it) here in the Portland area this Sunday in Beaverton.

Sunday, May 20 10am-3pm

Big Al’s Progress Ridge Town Square 14950 SW BARROWS RD. BEAVERTON, OREGON

www.ILoveBigAls.com       www.koinlocal6.com       For important information, rules, guidelines and FAQ’s, email amazingrace@koin.com.

http://www.theamazingracecasting.com/opencastingcalls

http://www.ilovebigals.com/promo-loader.aspx?link=promos/AmazingRace.html&sitename=beaverton

• Sunday, May 20, 2012 | 10am-3pm Doors open at 10; casting calls begin at 10:30
• Big Al’s @Progress Ridge TownSquare | 14950 SW Barrows Road, Beaverton, OR.  Take 217 to West (215) Shoalls Ferry Road to Barrows Rd.

In February 2011, KOIN Local 6 held a Casting Call for The Amazing Race at Stanford’s Restaurant  in Lake Oswego. We’re told it was a great event with more than 700 teams vying for a chance to appear in front of the CBS cameras! Because of the turnout, KOIN learned that in order to accommodate the huge turnout that The Amazing Race Casting Calls attract,they needed a bigger venue…

So, this year Big Al’s partnered with KOIN Local 6 to bring The Amazing Race Casting Call to Big Al’s! Most TV casting calls require hopefuls to stand in long lines for hours on end, sometimes camping       out overnight on cold, hard sidewalks. NOT THIS ONE! No camping out or standing in line overnight is ecessary  or actually even permitted!

Big Al’s will open their doors at 10am and every aspiring team will be issued a numbered ticket. Instead of standing in line, teams can hang out inside and enjoy all the fun & games Big Al’s has to offer!  Beginning at 10:30am, we will begin calling numbers AT RANDOM. When teams hear their number announced over the public address system, they will claim their Amazing Invitation, report to the Staging area, and excitedly wait to be called for their audition. Once inside, KOIN Local 6 cameras will roll and teams will have ONE MINUTE to make a memorable impression to Amazing Race Casting Producers!

Visit The Amazing Race Casting Call with KOIN Local 6 FAQ page for more information. Or email our friends  at KOIN Local 6 at AmazingRace@KOIN.com and they’ll send you everything you MUST have!

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=United_States&region=Oregon&city=Portland

The second column is the number of minutes the ISS will be visable; the third column is the maximum elevation;  the fourth column is where you should look as it comes into view; the last column is where it will exit your view.

In other words, the first sighting will begin at 9:26pm;  last 3 minutes; will be no higher than 53 degrees; will ‘pop’ into view at 33 degrees in the NW sky; will exit your view at 26 degrees E.  It might be helpful to remember that 90 degrees would be straight up.

Have fun!!!

Some Suggestions:

Stop using the plastic bags at the grocery store ~ take you own reusable bags ~ many are now washable.

Consolidate your driving, or try walking to one place to which you would normally drive.

Use reusable coffee mugs instead of paper ones.

Use reusable water bottles.  Stop buying cases of bottled water at Costco and instead purchase a Zero Water or Britta filter and fill your own reusable (BPA free) containers.

These are just a few suggestions…

Try making one small change this year…..

Help out our Beautiful Earth!!!

Happy Earth Day!

It is freezing and raining and some  plces in the city even had snow this morning!!

UGH!

BUT…. I HATE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME……

Actually I hate the changing of the clocks… I don’t care what time we are on… couldn’t we PLEASE just leave it alone????!!!!!

Choose one time and leave it there all the time…..

Can we start a congressional petition or something to change this twice yearly (bi-annual) schedule disruption?????

Then head to the Westfield Vancouver Shopping Center on Saturday, March 10, 2012.  Get there early!!!!! You can sleep next week!

I cannot vacuum, cannot do laundry, cannot chop/prepare foods, cannot wash dishes, and I cannot wear any tight clothes. There are  also food restrictions:  no tomatoes, no citrus, no spicy foods.  So my days prior to the infusion are busy with house cleaning and shopping and meal prep.  I also cannot do any crocheting and so I have a supply of interesting travelogues to watch! And for two days after the infusion, I have to soak my hands and feet in ice water to prevent the blistering side-effects!  So no typing!

I had minimal side effects from the last dose, so prayers for the same again this time.

If you are in the Portland area, there is a store at Washington Square Mall. www.SOMA.com

It has been a full six months since I received the drug, DOXIL.  I had to go on another  chemo (which doesn’t work as well for me).  Then, out of the blue, I received one dose of the DOXIL which I had the end of January.  In three days I am supposed to go and get a second dose, but it is unclear if the drugs have arrived yet.  So I don’t know if I’ll get the DOXIL or not!

Then this morning the FDA announced easing up on restrictions so that the drug can be imported into the US from foreign manufactures without the rigorous FDA testing route.  This is the same drug, but it has a different name — LIPODOX.

Doxil is the name for the generic drug of doxorubicin liposomal.

Ben Venue is the sole contract manufacturer of Doxil for Janssen which is a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson. Janssen holds the patent in Doxil.

It is my understanding that there are manufacturing problems which have resulted in the nationwide Doxil shortage.

Ignite Portland 10 is upon us!  On Thursday evening of February 9th we will be congregating at the Bagdad Theater for some great company and stellar talks.  Admission is free, of course, and you won’t want to miss this one!

If this is your first IgnitePDX or even your tenth (whoo! double digits!), we’re sure you will still want some guidelines for how to make it a great night:

• Doors Open at 5:00 PM for those with OFB donations.  We are partnering this year with the Oregon Food Bank to get some donations out to those in need.  Bring a can or two and get in early!
• Doors Open at 5:45 PM for everyone else – as usual, No Ticket Needed. As of IP7, we’ve done away with the ticket system. Too complicated. Just come on down, and we’ll let people in until the Fire Marshall says we can’t anymore.
• Overflow next door at Back Stage. If you’d rather take in the proceedings in the Back Stage bar environment next door to the Bagdad, we’ll be showing the talks on the big projection screen there.
• Live Video Stream. As has become tradition, we’ll have a live video stream of the night’s proceedings. Come back here to IgnitePortland.com on the night of and you’ll see a stream where you can watch LIVE and hang out in the chat with the other cool kids who are watching. This is for our friends who couldn’t make it in person to the Bagdad, and for any Ignite PDX fans out of town.
• Please, No Seat Saving. We know you’re excited to watch the show with all your friends. And maybe they couldn’t make it down as early as you did. But it’s not fair for one person to squat on a whole bunch of seats with coats, etc. so their friends can saunter in late. Please don’t be a jerk about this. We’ll have ushers milling about to help you remember. We want everyone to have a fair chance at getting a good seat. It’s fine to hold a seat for yourself, so you can get up and order drinks/food, but if your friends come a little later, they’ll have to find their own seats. It’s only fair. Thanks for understanding.
• Keep the Beer/Food Lines Moving. One of the awesome things about the Badgad Theater is you can your favorite beverage with a slice of pizza, a burger, or some cajun tots in the lobby, and have ‘em bring it right to you inside the theater! Please do order as much food and drink as you’d like. Just try to keep the lines moving smoothly. Doors open at 5:00 PM, but the show doesn’t start until 7PM. The smart patrons will get themselves some food before the show at a nearby restaurant (hint hint).

I entered the tire inflation bay at the tire store and the attendant was right there waiting for me.  When I mentioned the tire he said that yes it looked low.  Well!!! It was down to 13 pounds of pressure from 35!   I would say it was low!  I sent a blessing to the gas station attendant because I would not have noticed it for many more days.  And I probably would have had a flat tire in my garage one morning! Anyway the tire attendant wanted to fix the tire right then and there.  I didn’t want to get out of the car and I really didn’t feel like waiting in the waiting room for any length of time at all.  I told him I just had chemo and didn’t really feel well and he said that it would take 10 minutes, 15 at the most and I could stay in my car.

What a salesman he was.  Humnmmmm ….  10 minutes (I bet it will be at least 15) and Mercedes and I can relax in the car without breathing in the obnoxious tire fumes that permeate the waiting room. And the tire will be fixed and safe and I will not have to make another special trip over to the tire store.  I said Ok and reclined my car seat for a little rest and he got to work.  I noticed the time as I turned off the engine; it was 4:02 pm.  He hustled and bustled around and it was obvious that he knew exactly what he was doing and I felt that I was in good hands with this young tire employee.  I closed my eyes for a few minutes then decided to make a short phone call.  Soon I noticed that he was about ready to put the tire back on my car.  I wonder what time it is?  4:10 pm!  It took him another few minutes to balance and reinstall the tire and tighten up all of the lug nuts.  4:12 pm. Exactly!!!

He had the cutest smile when I told him it took exactly 10 minutes!!!  And now he has a 10 minute story to tell for the rest of his life!

Tonight, Jan 23, 2012 is the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Midnight will usher in the Year of the Dragon;  it is a celebration that lasts for 15 days culminating with the Lantern Festival. Maybe we should all go out for Chinese food!!!!

Well, the reporter did as well as Portland Firefly :

Reductive:

Merry Christmas and may you all have all of the Blessings and Joys of this Holy time of year.

Check out how to catch all the action.

Whew!  Looks like we dodged the bullet on that one!

Mercedes Frog Dog by Pdxfirefly

When is a dog a frog?  On Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all you ghosts and goblins out there!   The sun will set about 5:00 pm so your little ones can go out trick-or-treating nice and early and still get to bed by 8:00 pm! (Yeah sure!) Hey! Don’t eat all their candy while they are sleeping!

When I arrived, there was no one else in the lobby and no one using the self-service machine.  Well, the machine was very slow and I was having trouble with the transaction.  A man arrived and stood behind me.  I wanted to have tracking on this package, but that didn’t come up as an option.  Meanwhile the man behind me starts making rude comments.  He continued making rude comments, bullying me the entire time I was trying to finish mailing my package.

He was wearing an US Marines baseball cap and due to the size of his paunch, my impression is that it has been several years since he was in that  branch of the military service.  Now you all know Portland Firefly is very patriotic and I greatly respect and honor the sacrifices that military families have made for our country.  BUT…. that does not give  anyone a sense of entitlement to be mean and rude to anyone just because he had to wait a few minutes for his turn.

I am not used to dealing with bullies, so it was several minutes (in fact I was on my way home) before I recognized his bad behavior as bullying.  How I feel for children who are bullied at school!

October 26th!

Christmas is just two short months away!