Middle Part of Our 3 Week Trip: PORTLAND!

When we got to Portland, it was Friday night, August 25th.  We had enjoyed the previous week's travel, but we were also looking forward to being in one place for longer than a night or two.  But most of all, we wanted to spend some time with Daughter Donna, my husband's adult child whom we did not yet see this summer {if you've been keeping tally, you'll remember we saw all four other kids and grandkids either at their homes in Mississippi or Florida, or they came and spent time with us in Starkville, Mississippi sometime during May to August}.

We greatly enjoyed our visit, complete with me dabbling my toes in the concrete pool and later in the evening, enjoying the home theater experience as we watched the much touted Mayweather and McGregor fight.  I haven't watched boxing in a very long time, like never.  But I surprisingly enjoyed the fight.  Including the various commentary, provided by both the on~air ringside professionals and the in~basement nonprofessionals.  Some of it was quite humorous.  Indeed.

Jerry and I ate out a few times that week, mostly either Mexican or Vietnamese, with some Middle Eastern thrown in for variety.  I'd tried quite a few new dishes, including Poc Chuc, which is a dish from the Yucatan, in southeastern Mexico.  It was pork that had been marinaded in a citrus base, grilled, cut into nice sized chunks, served over rice, with beans and cheese.  The best part of the dish were these pickled purple onions that were very citrusy.  So good.

On Sunday, the 27th, I met with Colby Pfister of Infinity Tattoo on Lombard.  Generally speaking, it's a good idea to visit the shop and meet the artist, so the two of you can discuss the work you want and whether that person wants to do it, when they might be able to fit you into their schedule, and how much it might cost and what sort of time frame it might take to complete.  They often draw up the piece based on your descriptions and you can decide if that works for you.  It's called a consultation and most artists prefer to do it in person.

However, I knew that I was going to be in Portland for about a week, that most artists' schedules book up ahead of time, and that I wanted to have this tattoo done earlier in the week, so I had some time to start the healing process before we got back on the road, traveling through the dusty desert.  I had contacted several artists in the Portland area about six weeks before I planned to be there, described what I had in mind, and we went from there.  Colby set up the appointment and drew up the center piece, the three blooming flowers {carnation, chrysanthemum, and marigold}.  I'd given him a deposit so that he didn't invest the time into the design when he didn't really know if I'd show, as we'd never met, let alone worked together before.

I was a tad late {this never gives a good impression, so I advise against this}, because I had shown up way early, before the shop was open and went next door to kill some time.  The pedicure took more time than I thought, so I was about twenty minutes late, which I apologized immediately upon arrival for.  We got to work right away, discussing a few things like the vinework for the necklace, which he drew on me after he transferred the stencil of flowers onto my chest.  Then I perched in the chair and he fired up his machine and away we went.

There are many impressive things to say about Colby and the piece he did for me, including his method of tattooing.  I have had a few folks work on me over the years and never had I had anyone with a technique quite like his.  The biggest difference for me was that he dabs instead of wipes.  Wiping excess ink {and beads of blood, perhaps} tends to smear the ink and stretch the skin as well as fatiguing the muscles, especially in delicate areas like the upper chest and neck.  Dabbing doesn't irritate the skin as much and seems to actually use less repeated cleaning of the area, at least that's what it felt like to me.  I had never ever even thought of dabbing up excess ink and clearing the area instead of wiping it.  Due to the placement, it's not as tho I could really watch much of what he was doing most of the time, so I couldn't be sure, but it seemed like he was able to adjust his technique so that he had less ink to clean up anyway.

If you've ever had work done on your chest or neck, you might have noticed that you probably have more plasma seepage than a comparable piece on a less sensitive area like your arm or leg.  Since I have had a bit of experience with various locations as well as artists' work, I was not overly alarmed.  But I am very glad that I was able to get the above picture the following day, after I'd cleaned up the area but before it began to slough and shed.  You can see some bruising and swelling, pink, red, and purple areas; again, because it's a fairly delicate and sensitive area.  I can only imagine how much more irritated the area would have been if it had been wiped repeatedly.

I am hugely pleased and would ask Colby to work on me again if I were in the area and in the market for another tattoo.  I love the design, I appreciated his style and technique, and it was a rather enjoyable session.  I'm glad that the shop was a bit slower than usual, so there were not many interruptions; because even with the steady pace we kept, it was over six hours from start to finish.  Well worth it tho, wouldn't you say?

I also got together with a friend of mine from college, some 25 years ago.  It was great catching up with her and spending the evening over a good meal.  It seems like a life time or two has gone by since we first met, so many changes, relationships, births, deaths, etc.  It was a good time to look back on our own lives and decisions too.  The most satisfying part is that we are both good with where we are in our lives, and that's an awesome place to be.

Jerry and I took the bus and the tram several times over the week.  We revisited one of our favorite places:  Powell's City of Books.  A store so large and varied, ya need a map.

Jerry knew exactly where he wanted to go, so he wasted no time making his way to the gold room, on the first level, where the sci~fi, fantasy, mystery, horror, thrillers, and graphic novels are.  The room right next to it is painted in a coffee hue, which is appropriate, since that is the cafe.  I settled in with the few books I'd selected from the pearl area, on the third floor, on knitting and crochet.  My bergamot tea was perfect, as was the peanut butter cookie.  The woman across the table and I struck up a conversation as I was admiring her belt, a wide leather holster she wore low on her hips, with a pouch on either side, one flap was shaped into a leaf while the other was a rose bud.  The pockets were large enough to carry all her essentials, she'd said.  She had taken it off and spread it on the table so I could take a few pix, but my photo skills leave lots to be desired.

Also while in Portland, Jerry and I met with Donna and went out on the Spirit of Portland, a two hour river boat cruise.  There was a Tom Petty tribute band {Petty Fever}, food, drinks, and a few tour groups involved.  Lots of fun!  The people watching alone was rather humorous and I truly hope that I am as energetic as some of those dancing fools when I'm their age.  Tho, come to think of it, I already am some of their age and haven't got nearly that amount of energy.  The tribute band even had at least one tribute groupie.  It was our last afternoon in the area, as we left the next morning to continue our trip, turning southwest to the coast and following it down thru the redwoods.  More on that part of the trip, our third week, coming up!