Living in a Time Warp

2009 Rose Festival Junior Parade

Sometimes I feel like living in Portland is living in a time warp. It is this strange combination of extreme liberal progressiveness mixed with a good dose of good old fashioned yesteryear. Perhaps it is daily seeing someone in a 1950's (which is back in style) vintage dress riding her upright bike through town or maybe it is that we live in a 100 year old house in a neighborhood with sidewalks or maybe it is that our neighborhood pool only costs $40 for an entire family to join for the summer (and they still serve popcorn and a slushy for $1). Today, it was confirmed, as the Junior Rose Parade marched right through our neighborhood as it has for the past ONE HUNDRED AND TWO YEARS. Eleanor decorated her trike and donned a beautifully made dress of Oma's to hit the neighborhood and see literally thousands of children parade right down our neighborhood streets. The parade began in 1907 -three years before our house was built- and has continued since then as it has become part of Portland's yearly Rose Festival celebrations.
We saw lots of friends and neighbors strolling the streets. Here is Eleanor with one of her best buddies from preschool, Rory.

Eleanor takes to the sidewalk because the streets were closed.


not sure what this chick is about...

the local Waldorf school kids don their stilts. "How do they look so TALL, Mommy?."

Don't look too hard for Rynn. She decided she didn't want me to pick her up early from school to see the parade. This is the first year they haven't canceled public school classes for the parade. Rynn didn't want to miss Japanese "which is the best part of the day, Mommy." Here are some representatives from her school. Maybe next year.

A HUGE origami crane dances above the group from Richmond.