Under a Red Roof

Guest Blogger G: “Rose Colored Glasses”

July 24, 2009 in Admiring, Being, Giving, Learning, Loving, Receiving, Thinking by Colleen | 2 comments

Mount Hood is always a good photo to play with

Colleen and I are often “accused” of having rose colored glasses on. It used to be something I felt guilty for, as if I didn’t have a grasp on reality. I now view this ‘trait’ as something to embrace since there are many events in life beyond my control. Sometimes the only thing I do have the ability to shape is my view. Colleen is fond of saying “I’m not driving this bus”, and I agree.

A shift in perspective can be a powerful thing. As I look back over the past year and a half, it has been a little bit of a roller coaster and I thought I would share some of my hospital reflecting…

Colleen’s Surgery

This was a fairly serious body change for Colleen and obviously at the forefront of our lives at the moment. With the amount of endometriosis, it is probably one of the more invasive hysterectomies that a person can have. (Actually, the hysterectomy was a small part of the procedure. Think trying to free up taffy growing inside you that has been twisting your organs for 20+ years.)

With glasses: I have a lot of hope that Colleen will feel a good sense of freedom from the abdominal issues that she has suffered with. After all, the whole point is of all this is to make things better than they are now. I’m hopeful she will enjoy her time in Colorado without having to worry about serious cramping and pain this September. From a “me” perspective, the event has been a great chance to be able to help someone I love who can’t help herself. It is a great gift to be able to make a difference in her recovery and feel that much closer to her.

Job Changing/Economic “crisis”

I have changed positions three times in the last year, gone from having a large chunk of vacation to having to fight to get a chance to help Colleen for a day or two, and taken a fairly significant financial hit.

With glasses:I now work for a functional company with people I enjoy being around. My commute is smaller. I am not making as much and not as able to save as much, but a good portion of the 401k savings went up in smoke anyway! My work is much more varied now and I really enjoy this variety. My boss and colleagues are pleasant and I feel a strong desire to truly help the company I work for grow and improve. I find myself very content and intrigued with the possibilities that the future holds.

It is certainly not always easy to find a positive perspective on perceived ‘bad’ situations but I have enjoyed the challenge and awareness that comes from the search.

I think I will put my glasses on now and rest near my lovely wife as she does some healing…

Tags: Endometriosis

Old and New

July 15, 2009 in Admiring, Learning, Remembering by Colleen | 1 comment

Ahh, another deeply satisfying Facebook reunion. I’ve known Gretchen since elementary school, and for anyone interested in the math – that’s more than thirty years! She came into town on Monday for a business trip, and we were lucky enough to eat lunch and spend the afternoon together. It was a whirlwind of Porque Non?!, VooDoo Donuts, and Northwest 23rd, including the least welcoming greeting from a fella who’d had one too many, or perhaps, not quite enough.

I’ll admit that I was a little nervous about our visit. Gretchen and I had always been on the periphery of each other’s lives. We knew the same people, but ran in different circles – she was a cheerleader, played softball, and sang in choir. I wasn’t terribly athletic, only sang in the car, and had, let’s just say, slightly less mainstream pursuits. What might we talk about besides the weather and beautiful Portland, Oregon?

I turns out, a lot, and the conversation came so easily, too. In fact, we talked (and laughed) so much that my throat is still sore. Of course we reminisced about all the people from school, but the highlight, at least for me, was really learning about Gretchen as a person. She’s had her share of heartaches in the years since high school, but in no way have they diminished her intelligence, empathy, caring, or passion for life. I had always thought she was pretty, but now, I know she’s beautiful, inside and out. I’m really looking forward to our next thirty years of friendship!

Portland City Walks: No. 12

June 22, 2009 in Exploring, Learning, Reading by Colleen | 2 comments

Happy Monday Gentle Readers!

As I am having some technical difficulties (me being not as tech savvy as the hubster), the post I originally intended to publish today got put on the back burner, so here are the highlights from our first Portland City Walks adventure. It really showcases some of the marvelous diversity in landscape and architecture here in the City of Roses.

These wonderful sherbet colored Victorian row houses are not actually on the walking tour, but I have been wanting to photograph them for a long time. They’re on Everett, just west of I-405. Don’t you want a bowl of ice cream now or maybe a handful of Easter candies? Yum!

A rather stately home with a perfectly manicured front garden. Back when I was taking ages to decide on paint colors for our house, I considered this combination. Though I chose differently, I think it is quite handsome.

As I mentioned in this post, it is such a treat to learn something new about the city that is our home. We were delighted to walk through the densely packed residences without an actual street to separate them, just a fantastic collection of of shaded and sunny pathways.

This timber bamboo, probably fifty feet tall, is a wonderfully modern surprise, especially among all the grand 100 year old houses. It makes a subtle gonging in the breeze.

This is on the front door of a house with scarcely a sidewalk in front of it. With the close proximity, I can see how tempting it would be for a passerby to want to peek in and the reason for such an elaborate “peep hole” to discourage it. I think they may have used an old heat register, which is quite clever, don’t you think?

The Vista Avenue Bridge – lovely streetlamps illuminate it, ancient spikes decorate it, and grand trees shade the entrances.

Oh goodness, isn’t this straight out of The Secret Garden? One of my favorite books of childhood, I read it over and over again, along with Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. I loved imagining the beautiful worlds, their flower filled and candy coated goodness.

Can you imagine having such a grand entrance to your home? I think I’d want to dress up all the time and answer the door in gloves up to my elbows – so fancy!

Wires, wires, and more wires, along with the Fremont Bridge and the snowy glow of Mount Saint Helen’s. A great view!

That’s all folks, time to ride home…

Tags: Oregon, Portland

My Junk is No Good

June 4, 2009 in Being, Learning by Colleen | 9 comments

I don’t really know where to begin with this post, as it is not a garden variety topic. It is kind of serious, a little bit sad, a little bit funny, and exciting too. I’m just going to jump right in.

The truth is, I have suffered, and quite silently, most of the time, from pretty excruciating menstrual pain for more years than I care to remember. If that weren’t bad enough, as I got older, the duration of the pain became increasingly longer and l o n g e r until I was in pain more days than not. The real coup de grace came about six months ago, however, as I entered a new and not so terrific permanent state of pain. Like Karl Malden and American Express, I never leave home without it, no matter how badly I would prefer otherwise. Sometimes it is bearable, and I can be my usual cheery and silly self. Other times, I swear I know what it feels like to be violently stabbed, have my flesh slowly pierced with hundreds of tiny nails, or to sit for hours on a railroad spike, no matter how many ibuprofen or glasses of whiskey I consume.

After more than ten years of small successes combined with big setbacks to combat the pain, I decided it was time to pull out the big guns to get to the heart of the problem (I can be a s l o w learner). An MRI was ordered, and I dutifully went this past Monday. The diagnosis I expected was endometriosis, what I got was far more grand. As my doctor said, “You hit the jackpot: fluid filled fallopian tubes (bilateral hydrosalpinges), hyper engorged ovaries (bilateral endometriomas), a faulty uterus (adenomyosis with a large adenomyoma), as well as pelvic adhesions (no fancy term needed). It’s no wonder you hurt so much. For most women, one of these can cause horrendous pain, and you’ve got them all.” Ouch indeed. For some reason, the first words out of my mouth in response were, “So my junk is no good?” A bit bewildered, she said, “Yeah, your junk is no good.”

After a good laugh at my word choice, followed by a few tears and a couple tissues, we got down to business. Without question, I will need surgery. This will happen some time in July, as my doctor is quite booked up at the moment. The parts I need most will be salvaged as best as they can, and I will come out of it a period-free, and, fingers crossed, pain-free woman. Those last bits are the exciting part.

Additionally, the irony of my bad junk is not lost on me, the woman who has never wanted children. Did I send or receive some sort of message as an eight-year-old? An interesting question, one for the ages.

Tags: Endometriosis

Birding

April 24, 2009 in Learning, Reading, Spotlighting by Colleen | 1 comment

Remember when I told you that I liked to feed the birds in our backyard? Well, I think it is safe to conclude that I’ve taken my love for all things avian to a new level, as in I think I can officially call myself a birder. Since I first wrote about my fine feathered friends, I must say that my interest and awareness has only increased, finding my eyes peering through the binoculars (or “bins” as the veterans say) more and more.

However, what gave the stamp in my passport, so to speak, was participating in my very first Bird Song Walk this past Wednesday morning, organized by the Portland chapter of the National Audubon Society. We met at Mt. Tabor at 7:00, walking hither and yon through the park listening to and observing many a beautiful winged creature. An added bonus – the trilliums were in bloom!

Apparently it was a banner day, as we saw: a Merlin, two Red Tailed Hawks, Spotted Towhees, Orange Crowned Warblers, Creepers, Bush tits, Hummingbirds, Stellar Jays (six or seven enjoying a coffee klatch!), Flickers, Thrushes, Crossbills, House Finches, Goldfinches (American and Lesser), Sparrows, Nut Hatches, Pine Siskins, and more that I cannot recall at the moment. I remained in awe and occasionally on the verge of tears throughout the walk. That I was in my own neighborhood (a mere fifteen minute walk), among so many beautiful birds and people with such great knowledge (not to mention ears and eyes) was quite humbling.

Apparently, the Merlin was our greatest “get,” as many of the veterans had never actually seen one live and in person. It was beautiful and incredibly swift – gone in 60 milliseconds! One of the hawk sitings was rather cool, too. It was perched on a lamp post near one of the reservoirs, and remained there for the full five minutes we observed it. Once, as I was watching, I swear our eyes locked through the binoculars. I felt a wonderful sense of communion.

When I arrived home, I immediately turned to my Birds of the Willamette Valley Region to learn more about each species I hadn’t known before. Normally I am not one to make such statements, but the book is a must have for Portlanders observing the myriad feathered creatures here in the city, as there is no need to search through page after page of North American birds that may or may not inhabit or migrate through the region. Additionally, each bird is very well photographed, so there is relatively little guess work. I highly recommend it.

Who knows, maybe I’ve piqued your interest enough to see you at next Wednesday’s walk! See you soon…