Some of favorite places and happenings in and around Portland; Oregon; and the Pacific Northwest. Plus some website recommendations. (Who ever coined the term “blogroll” anyway? I’m boycotting this ridiculous word.)
At some point, the categories might get their own pages. But I’m a one-woman publishing company, folks. What you see is what you get.
[Check back--I'll post good more stuff here, soon!]
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Gardening & Plants
Lan Su Chinese Garden www.portlandchinesegarden.org
If you avoid the huge crowds on a really sunny day, or when there’s a big event like Chinese New Year, this is one of the most relaxing places in downtown Portland. Buy a membership–then you can walk in any time for free, and take a guest or two with you. In summer, they open the garden till dusk for members only. It’s spectacular.
Mary’s Garden (plant sales) 503-287-9198
Mary grows the plants she sells from her overflowing NE Portland front yard. She puts out street signs for a 3-day sale once a month (in 2010, June 25-27, 9am-5pm). Or you can call for an appointment on another day. She has lots of unusual alliums, lilies, irises and other perennials, plus dahlias later in the season. Located at 4415 NE Wygant (near the corner of NE 42nd and Prescott. Going north on 42nd, turn right onto Wygant at Delphina’s Bakery.)
Just Us Henshttp://bit.ly/JustHens/
Even the photos on their website show you how much fun it would be to work with these two to turn your yard and garden into a model of PDX-style sustainability. Flora or fauna (i.e., chickens & worms)–they can help with all of it.
I can vouch for their work, because one of them is my neighbor, and her little patch of frontyard farm is amazing.
Growing Gardenswww.growing-gardens.org
Growing Gardens is a Northeast Portland nonprofit that “digs at the root of hunger by building organic home gardens in urban backyards and schools.” To help fund that work, they have events and workshops with experts. The web site also has great advice (the “pdx-tips” link, above).
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Being Green
The Weekly Watering Number Find out my H20 Number
Okay, so your yard still has a patch of green grass that you love, but you don’t like the label
Water Hog. This link takes you to a website that the region’s water suppliers are desperate for you to use this summer. You type in your ZIP code, and up comes a number telling you how much water, in inches, your grass really needs that week, based on recent rainfall, temperature and relative humidity. Overwatering is so over.
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Weird Portland
Dave Knows http://portland.daveknows.org/
Written by a native Portlander who always told his friends what was going on that weekend, and then decided to put a calendar and related info online for everyone else too. If you like beer, pro soccer or basketball, or pinball, Dave Knows is for you.
PDX.fm, an online radio station http://pdx.fm/shows/
My very favorite movie reviewer, Eric D. Snider, has a show on this 
1-year-old Internet radio station. So do a bunch of other very creative and crazy people who do shows with names like “Hike Yeah,” “Knit Happens” and “iPhoneSlutz.” You can listen live on your computer or via mobile-tech, or can download from the archives (unless the show is about music–then they’d get in trouble over copyright & royalties).
Voodoo Doughnut voodoodoughnut.com/locations.php
Yes, your friends back home, and every travel magazine ever written, said you simply MUST visit this piece of Weird Portland, which succeeded by tapping into the human lust for weirdness combined with fat and sugar. But you don’t have to stand in line downtown for an hour to buy a donut coated in Lucky Charms, people!
A rainbow of donuts
Voodoo has a second, less crowded location at 1501 NE Davis St., near where NE Sandy Boulevard and 15th Avenue intersect. The staff is just as alt-PDX weird as at the original location. And there’s free parking! Or ride the #12, #19 or #20 bus for 5 minutes. (PS–Their fritters are fab–but not as good as those at Helen Bernhard’s Bakery, on NE Broadway at 17th Avenue.)
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The Hat Dept., at Macy’s Lloyd Center
From the Macy's collection
Did you know that the Lloyd Center Macy’s (formerly Meier & Frank) is the only Macy’s branch north of Los Angeles that carries an extensive collection of fashion hats?
That’s according to Joyce, who has staffed the department for nearly two decades and knows her hat stuff. If you like hats, it’s definitely worth a visit!
Miscellaneous
Willamette Valley birding guides Download PDFs
Tide Tableshttp://bit.ly/PDXtides
Canoeing is ever-so-much easier if you don’t run aground in that cute little cove. Get the 2010 high and low tides along the Willamette River, courtesy of NOAA.
