Home, Sweet Home
What's New
Back to Postcard Index
Subject: Postcard from Portland
Dear Family and Friends,
September is a silhouette soaked in tears and now the ides of October
have slipped past - and I've still not found the time or energy to keep
you current on the circumstances surrounding and permeating our lives.
We want you to know how very much the notes, cards and phone calls from
you have meant to us. It has been a sedative for our aching hearts. Bill
has been gone just over a month now. It still doesn't seem real. We wish
it weren't real. But it is, and we have to accept it and move on. I know
that's what Bill wanted and expected.
The memorial service was overwhelming. The Community United Methodist
Church was filled nearly to capacity with relatives, friends, neighbors
and coworkers who had come to pay tribute to Bill's life. I've excerpted
parts of the service and placed them on a web page to honor Bill's
memory. You can find it at:
http://www.herring.org/billwolz.html
It was heartwarming to see how many lives he had touched during his
all-too-short time with us. Many people shared personal moments with us;
some were simply too choked up to be able to voice them. I think Bill
would have been considerably embarrassed by it all.
Priscilla and Liz are doing as well as could be expected. We are all
endeavoring to not let our grief overshadow the miracle of life which
will soon transform our existence. Liz and I have been busy making ready
to be parents. We have completed the six-week long childbirth class.
Madronna, the midwife who taught the class, has assisted in 496 births.
She is an Earth Mother whose roots are firmly planted in the 60's, but
whose knowledge is totally current. Liz has made substantial changes to
her birth plan based on what we learned in that class. We also took an
infant care class which was taught by a pediatric nurse. In addition to
learning what apparent anomalies are normal and dissipate in the first
day or so, we were instructed on what symptoms are truly a cause for
alarm. And of course, we got to practice swaddling and diapering dolls.
Last night we took the tour of the maternity ward at St. Vincent's,
where Lil' "E" will make her grand entrance. They do box office business
in the baby department, accounting for the most births in the Pacific
Northwest. The labor and delivery suites are more like a hotel than a
hospital. All the amenities of home and emergency medical services right
at hand. We are now pre-registered and counting the days. Liz will be 37
weeks tomorrow. Her OB says everything looks totally normal. Although
there's no indication that Liz might be early, neither is there any
guarantee that Lil' "E" will wait another three weeks. She could decide
to make her appearance any time now, and it would be considered full
term. So we're being good scouts - we've prepared! Two days ago I
purchased the car seat/stroller system Liz and I had researched. The
nursery is furnished (crib, bassinet, changing table and chest of
drawers). Last weekend we put up the border in the nursery. With
assistance from our neighbors, Joe and Leah, it came out perfectly - all
the corners and the one seam (which we can't find now) line up so that
no breaks in the pattern are to be seen. We wanted to treat them to
dinner by way of thanking them for their help - but they insisted on
taking _us_ out! We had a wonderful meal at the Newport Bay restaurant
which floats on a pier on the Willamette in downtown Portland. We
relished the food, the company and opportunity to dine out without
dealing with children or worrying about how they are.
And speaking of dining out, before I forget, I must mention L'Auberge.
Liz picked this gem out of the Entertainment Book as the place where she
wanted to celebrate our 3rd Wedding Anniversary last month. It's
Portland's answer to Pascal - the exquisite French restaurant in Orange
County where I proposed marriage and where we celebrated every
anniversary while we lived in California. L'Auberge is located in NW
Portland in the area `us' locals call trendy-third (23rd) Street. All
during dinner, I noticed a gentlemen distinguished by a profound goatee,
possessed with the grace of a butterfly and the exactness of a
hummingbird; flitting here and hovering there, honing all to perfection
without ever alighting or making his presence felt. After we had
completed our feast, I asked our server if that was the owner. He
confirmed what I already knew, and asked if we wanted to speak with him.
I told him I did. The owner came over and asked how he could help, and I
said sternly, "I have a complaint!" The owner's puzzled look
disintegrated to anguish before I could add, "Why didn't you tell me
about this place sooner? This meal was an absolute endorphin release!"
His angst melted into a broad smile, and he replied, "Now *that's* the
kind of complaint I *like* to hear!" I know where Liz and I will be
dining out in Portland from now on whenever we have a special occasion
to commemorate.
I have been extremely busy at work, trying to put the wraps on my
current project before I take ten (paid!) weeks of parental leave. I've
completed coding and am assisting with the testing and documentation.
When my pager goes off, I'll be dropping everything! We should hopefully
be in Pilot Test before that happens.
What little time Liz and I could spend at home in September was filled
with home and garden. We planted over two dozen irises and thirty
tulips. I waterproofed our deck - a considerable undertaking which I'll
happily pay someone else to do next time. These tasks, as well as the
necessary mowing and weeding, were sandwiched between the gathering
clouds and occasional storms that mark the return of autumn and the
onset of leaden inclemency. But the metamorphosis never ceases to amaze
and fascinate me. In September we were treated to sunrises and sunsets
that painted the sky in luminous coats of marmalade and Dianthus. One
morning we were gently awakened by an approaching thunderstorm that
announced itself not with sharp, heart stabbing claps; but with slow
motion crescendos that crept into one's consciousness. It was as if Zeus
was knocking boxes off the warehouse shelves. And everywhere there is a
finale of color - from the frequent rainbows to the deciduous denizens
that are no longer camouflaged in the midst of the forest of firs.
And with those bright excogitations, we'll bid you adieu until the next
PfP - which may double as a birth announcement!
we love and miss you all,
Sandy, Liz and lil' E_Max
_________________________________________________________________
CLIMATIC SUMMARY FOR PORTLAND OREGON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
346 AM PDT WED OCT 01 1997
...TEMPERATURE...
HIGH YESTERDAY... 67
LOW YESTERDAY... 60
MEAN TEMP........ 64 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL... 5
NORMAL HIGH FOR TODAY... 70
NORMAL LOW FOR TODAY... 48
RECORD HIGH FOR TODAY... 92 SET IN 1987
RECORD LOW FOR TODAY... 33 SET IN 1950
...DEGREE DAY DATA...
HEATING
YESTERDAY... 1 DEPARTURE... -5
MONTH....... 42 DEPARTURE... -60
SEASON...... 49 DEPARTURE... -116
COOLING
YESTERDAY... 0 DEPARTURE... 0
MONTH....... 75 DEPARTURE... 24
SEASON...... 472 DEPARTURE... 101
...PRECIPITATION...
YESTERDAY............. 0.16
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH... 1.98
NORMAL MONTH TO DATE.. 1.75
TOTAL FOR THE YEAR.... 30.49 TOTAL SINCE OCT 1... 58.95
NORMAL YEAR TO DATE... 22.16 NORMAL FROM OCT 1... 36.30
...WIND DATA IN MPH...
AVERAGE WIND SPEED YESTERDAY... 7.2
FASTEST 2-MIN WIND YESTERDAY... 16 FROM 200 DEGREES
PEAK WIND GUST YESTERDAY....... 21 FROM 160 DEGREES
...ASTRONOMICAL DATA...
SUNRISE TODAY...709 AM PDT
SUNSET TODAY...652 PM PDT
SUNRISE TOMORROW...710 AM PDT
SUNSET TOMORROW...650 PM PDT
===============================================================================
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
1000 AM PST WED OCT 01 1997
...RECORD WATER YEAR 1996-97...
THE WATER YEAR 1996-97 WENT INTO THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE WETTEST EVER FOR
MANY LOCATION ACROSS WESTERN OREGON. FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE WATER YEAR
1996-97 TOTALS...PREVIOUS RECORD...CLIMATIC NORMALS AND THE PERIOD OF
RECORD FOR SEVERAL LOCATIONS IN NORTHWESTERN OREGON.
LOCATION 1996-97 NORMAL PREVIOUS RECORD PERIOD OF
(inches) (inches) (inches) RECORD
ASTORIA 101.19 66.40 96.82 IN 1954-55 1953-OCT 97
EUGENE 79.50 49.37 74.18 IN 1973-74 1890-OCT 97
SALEM 61.27 39.16 58.48 IN 1973-74 1892-OCT 97
PORTLAND 58.95 36.30 55.31 IN 1995-96 1941-OCT 97
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
440 AM PST WED OCT 01 1997
...ASTORIA SHATTERS SEPTEMBER RAINFALL...
RAINFALL YESTERDAY PUSHED ASTORIA INTO THE RECORD BOOKS WITH A NEW
MONTHLY RAINFALL RECORD FOR SEPTEMBER.
**** SEPT 1997 ..... WITH 7.27 INCHES ****
PREVIOUS RECORD
SEPT 1978 ..... WITH 6.93 INCHES
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
300 PM PDT WED OCT 1 1997
...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE TIED AT THE PENDLETON AIRPORT
WEDNESDAY OCT 1ST....
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE PENDLETON AIRPORT FOR OCT. 1ST OF
90 WAS TIED TODAY AT 3PM. THE OLD RECORD WAS SET IN 1975.
--
Sandy & Liz Herring Tigard, Oregon Peck of Pickled Pisces
webfeet@herring.org bigfish@sns-access.com http://www.herring.org/
And that's the news from Portland
where everything is green, rolling stones gather moss,
and the rainfall is always above average.
Most Recent Update: Friday, 12-Sep-2008 14:39:40 PDT
guestbook
or email comments or problem reports to
Webmaster
Home, Sweet Home
What's New
Back to Postcard Index
If you are harvesting email addresses, I know shnorrer.03/Dec/2008:14:32:49/pfp_9710.html@herring.org and the gummint would be delighted to hear from you.