Carving pumpkins never gets old...

....especially when the packers play the favre-ulous Viqueens!

The Rip City Experience

This past week[end] my car took me to Portland, OR. Through the city and past the volcanoes, it traveled south to the micro-beer haven.

About three hours south we traveled, Taiece and I, to visit her family. I even saw a familiar face- a old roommate, a friend.

Portland was comfortable. It reminded me much more of Milwaukee than does Seattle. It is smaller and less crowded. However I did spend most of my time in the suburb, so my view could be slightly skewed.

A couple highlights of this Milwaukee-Portland dual:

• Portland has a largely known, but almost seemingly cult-like, doughnut place called "Voodoo Doughnuts" HERE is a photo of one. The Bacon-topped pastry was my choice. For you sweets fanatics, this might have been your choice.
• I thought Milwaukee had a good beer selection. Well, Portland is the micro-brew capital, which includes micro-brews, brew pubs, and yes, even the cheap stuff.
• The public transportation option was really nice. Sprawling outward from the epicenter of downtown, this light rail mass transit is fast and easy to use as it runs right on the downtown streets. Why cant Milwaukee pull their heads of out each others butts and get working on something similar?

Last, but CERTAINLY not least was the hot, juicy, flavorful street-cart food I walked into with Collin and Taiece. It's a mini-world of ...world foods that sit on the street corner, each occupying it's own food cart. It looks like this at night.

Portland was fun. A great experience to build upon. It's now time to head back north and continue to discover Seattle's secrets.

Unintentional snowflake

Isn't it astounding? - The game of Scrabble, that is.

Look at this completed board. Every single letter has been strategically placed and fitted together to form a piece of the English language, whether it is a noun, verb, adjective, a preposition. Simply, words that defines our every day.

Oh yes, there is one Greek word that the Scrabble dictionary Ok'd. Whew, that was a nice play.

This board was created last night. It is a snowflake. It is a fingerprint of someone's impact in life. It is a snapshot of minds collaborating.

Because of it's individual, unique, and completely unpredictable sum, I found myself shooting a photo of it before it, yet again, became a random assortment of letters, just waiting to be transformed into new thoughts.

Look at these words. Where, or when, else will you find such a direct connection between all these very thoughts as you do right here on this board?

Isn't that unimaginable?

This is the new home of mattynda

I have switched this blog from Travel Blog. Seeing as though I am not traveling anymore, I thought this was more appropriate, as well as customizable. I will no longer be writing on that website.

The Travel Blog archives for my blog can still be read at:
www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/mattynda