It's been cold, even threatened freezing rain last week.

Here I am, wearing both of my Dale Earnhardt Jr. hats that I got down in Miami--one is a tight-fitting knit cap--the other is an adjustable baseball cap. When it's blustery on the way home, I put both of them on. They keep me warm and keep the hood of my forest green Helly Hansen raincoat out of my eyes. Underneath that coat I have on a black raincoat (it's longer than the green one which makes a great deal of difference when it's raining and blowing), a long-sleeved cardigan, and my regular office-type outfit. On my boots I have my brand-spanking-new Yaktrax Walkers which, according to the package, provide ice and now traction. They're easy on/off, allow you to walk naturally, have not spike, don't weigh much, and help reduce falls & injuries--at least that's what the package reads. In tiny print on the back of the package, it says "Warning: Although YakTrax may aid in walking on ice and packed snow, Yaktrax will not eliminate the inherent risks of such conditions. When wearing YakTrax, always exercise caution and reasonable care."

You shoulda seen me when I put them on for the first time--y'all know I have motion sickness! Just kidding, I felt a bit weired at first but soon walked just fine in the apartment. Going to the bus, getting on and off the bus and walking into the office went great, too, but I have to admit that there was no ice anywhere. Thank goodness. I did get quite a rise out of one of my fellow employees. She didn't exactly fall down laughing, but she couldn't stop saying, "You got chains for your shoes!"

Don't Mama and Duncan make a stylish pair, all dressed up warmly and about to go out for their afternoon walk? Too cute. Needless to say, Duncan does not like the rain or the cold wind or any combination of the two. Of course, he is 13 now, so he's entitled, don't you think? My sweet Aunt Baker came across that coat and thought it looked perfect for Mama. She wears it some of the time and her Helly Hansen (like mine except that it's light blue) other times, especially when it's pouring, just in case Duncan decides he's waited as long as he can.

Feast your eyes on these golden ginkgos

A few weeks ago, on a clear and cold Saturday, I finally had the chance to stop and take these photos of a part of Portland's Park Blocks, a series of parks that traverse downtown. Every day I'd see them from the bus as we circled the elk statue and think "Oh, I've got to take pictures of these," such was the impact of the dark tree trunks and the softly golden leaves.

Daily, I pray no matter how many years God gives me here in Portland that I never become complacent or indifferent or bored with it all. The city fascinates me. I cannot imagine being anywhere else. To paraphrase Sally Field when she accepted her Oscar: "I live here, I really live here!"

As for y'all, you know me. If one fall photo is good, then more is better. You can pick which one you like the best.

The Christmas tree in Portland's living room.

Last Friday after work I noticed a change in the demographics of those on the #14 Hawthorne bus, the one I catch on the corner beside my building. Families with little children. It took me over the bridge and through a few blocks before I realized these folks were on the way to Pioneer Courthouse Square for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Since it was not raining or even drizzling, I called Mama and told her I was going to stop off for it, too.

After walking a couple of blocks, I joined thousands packed side-by-side, waiting for that magical moment when the 75-foot tall Douglas fir changed from just another tall tree into a sparkling cone of glowing lights. Young women dressed like elves handed out candy canes while a favorite local singer, Linda Hornbuckle, wrapped her blues, soul, gospel voice around traditional Christmas music. By 6:11 p.m., right on schedule for the live TV coverage, the lights flashed on at the end of the communal countdown.

Lots of people stayed to mingle, like they often do at the most visited site in Oregon's most visited city. It's easy to see why Pioneer Square is known as Portland's living room since the brick steps that ring it make perfect places to sit and talk or read or people watch.

I headed for my bus and home, more determined than ever to get Mama and me a tree of our own. And to return to Pioneer Square, perhaps for Tuba Christmas on Dec. 9 and/or It's a Kazoo Christmas on Dec. 16. Sounds like great fun to me.

Oh, here's a link to a live camera on the square--the tents surrounding the tree are for this weekend's Holiday Ale Festival. Hey, maybe I should make that one, too. Afterall, I can ride the bus there and back, for free.
http://www.kgw.com/live/livecams_external/pioneersquare.jpg

The final photos.

The first photo is a restart after a caution. The next photo is earlier, in the garage, when we got to meet 2004 Nextal champ Kurt Busch. He didn't do so well this year, but it was neat to get to meet him. Leland said to me as we walked off, "Do all NASCAR drivers have soft hands?" The next photo shows cars leaving the pits, after getting gas, tires, you name it. Junior led the race some of the time--that's the next shot. And finally, I got to see a replacement front end for Junior's car being rolled along to his garage area. Neat.

More fun and festivities before the race.

Jets flew overhead. A UPS man delivered the green flag to start the race. Trucks towed a giant American flag around the entire track. And that's a view of the only campground I saw at the track--not much compared to Talladega, now is it? You can tell how close we were to the end of the grandstand in turn no. 1. We could see the entire track from there.

Golden Knights Black Team, part of the pre-race festivities, NASCAR Nextel Cup Ford 400 Championship, Nov. 19

I promise, I tried several times to upload these doggone pictures in the correct sequence, but it just wouldn't do it for me. Y'all know that the one of the man landing comes last! The second one I actually took first, as they had dropped away from the plane and activated the smoke. The bottom picture came next, as the announcer talked about their corkscrews, followed by that bit of a closeup--y'all know I've been pining for a camera with a bigger zoom! And that guy on the ground is actually the last one of the group to land. It was pretty impressive.

NASCAR Nextel Garage, Sunday, Nov. 19

The top photo shows Joe Nemechek who drives the Army car. Here he's signing autographs after answering soldiers' questions in the garage area.

Here's Jeff Gordon's car in the garage and his gas cans, all lined up in front of his hauler. Did you know that the cars go into the top of the hauler and that the drivers bring two cars to each race track? Marie told us that on our tour on Saturday. This picture was taken on Sunday before the big race, the last one of this season.

The Lowes car is Jimmie Johnson's. He won the 2006 championship.

One of Kyle Busch's crew guys worked and measured for quite a while underneath the back end of the car. Those NASCAR inspectors are tough.

We're tired, happy and flying home to Portland today.

Leland got some sun! This is Saturday night on our teensy balcony. He's pointing at the Improv sign.

That's Juan Pablo Montoya on fire with 14 laps to go in the Ford 400. We could smell it burning! He got out right quick, let me tell you. NASCAR safety features are amazing.

The wind blasted me as we waited for our car to come on Sunday morning. Thank goodness it didn't blow like that all day cause we were out in it for hours and hours.

Saturday's garage tour, practice and race.

During the Busch race, this car had an oil fire; I think it's Reed Sorenson. He got out OK.

During Cup practice, the track was closed for a few minutes--I cannot remember why. This is Junior pulled up beside Tony Stewart, waiting to find out if they would be allowed to resume. Moments later, all the cars started their loud, rumbling, vibrating engines and took off again.

Part of one of Junior's Busch pit stops--it's amazing how quick they happen under the watchful eye of the NASCAR official.

This guy took a safe nap for hours and hours--I forgot to look for whenever he finally sat up to see if he was so stiff he couldn't move!

That's another shot of a pit stop.

Leland and I stood in front of Mark Martin's car in the garage. The loud motor vibrated the air so much that Leland felt the disks on the chain around his neck vibrate! He was amazed; I was in race-fan heaven.

Next it's us at Victory Lane, us in front of Junior's car hauler, me beside Junior's tractor that pulls the car hauler, and finally, me with Rutledge from "Race Day" on the Speed Channel. Love it.

What a great day we had.