About That Picture Frame

On Friday I teased you with a picture frame I have in my wall unit. It is one I have had for a while. When I lived in Dallas, TX back in the mid-80's there was a place called Olla Padrida. It had a shop where you could get miniature items and so I began a shadow box. Over the years I added to it until I got to a point when I moved back to Portland I saw the need to consolidate. So I took all the stuff off the shadow box and had a picture frame that just seemed perfect for a collage on it. So hang on and enjoy the ride. Here is the frames for reference:From the Aussie sign I picked up in Sydney back in 2000 there is a clap board from a key ring I had as a gimme at an Oscar party in 2001. The fish was a garnish for a cocktail. The clover that is framed was a gift of good luck when I got the job at E&A back in 1998. Well it is working! Dr. Pepper matchbox came from Dallas. The Oregon shape pin was to acknowledge my work in Boy's State. Then heading back is the I "heart" NY and I sure do. An old favorite and then a coin to remember 20th anniversary from Disney World. A bag to commemorate where this whole idea began, Olla Padrida. A glass armadillo, but of course. NEW YORK - what else to be said? A pin from Girl's State when we visited as counselor staff. A swizzle stick from "Top of the Mark" and on to the shopping bag of Neiman-Marcus and a pin from when I saw "Rocky Horror" in 1979. I love snow and thus the sled and a pig for loving pork. then a copy of Trivia Pursuit to honor Janet's 30th birthday when she had an all night party of playing that game.

Now let's start heading back to the right as we have a stein from Expo '86 and a pin I got at a Blazer game back when people still referred to it as "Rip City" and a cocktail pin from Club 33, an exclusive restaurant at Disneyland. The chopstick comes from The Tonga Room which has sadly closed at The Fairmont hotel in San Francisco. An ice skate backs up to a Miss Piggy pin. Oh how I love her! And then we have an Eisenhower Dollar. Tiled a bit is a Rose Festival pin I got when I lived in Portland. There is a series of blocks with my initials of C W S. Another trio are the NYC subway tokens. Oh to remember those days! They no longer are used. Then the Brick pin is from when I bought a brick at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Yes, I am a sucker for a teddy bear. A couple more NY images brings us to the rebound point. The carved man came from Arkansas visit I did with Janet and friend Sue. Hi Mickey and a pin to honor the Bi-centennial. I hung the leprechaun for fun and the Texas pin was for the Sesquicentennial. An icon of lunch places in Portland is now long gone but oh how I loved Sweet Tibbie Dunbar's. A Mardi Gras coin passes off to Statue of Liberty sticker and I "heart" Oregon pin is over the "Hand's Across America" pin from 1985. Jumping over the picture there is an "artificial" rock and that is next to "Sam the Eagle" pin from 1984 Olympics. That ride no longer is at the park.

Below the pin is my boutonniere from Mike & Joyce's wedding over 25 years ago. To the left is a carved boot from Arkansas trip mentioned above and then to the right it a letter press T I really liked. Above that is a bubble gum machine because I liked it and then the pin is from the Oregon Bears, a gay men's group for guys who like other guys who are furry. Below that is a china figure of the Stature of Liberty and behind it is an icon, a phone book. They are fading all too fast. An armadillo is next and my class ring from high school is supporting it. OK, so the rainbow is just for color, but I do love that pig! 7-Up is a hoot that it leads you to the matchbook cover from Six Flags Over Texas and a Christmas wreath is above that and the plane represents all the trips I have taken over the years. Just under the wing is an old St. Christoper's medal.

Now dropping down we have a bit of an oops! It seems that a miniature of the Eiffel Tower has fallen and needs to be repositioned. I'll take care of that when I get home. To the left is a replica of a oil rig and it sits on the steer block. The bee was a pin on a birthday card that I liked it. Up next is "OREGON" in letter press. I was born and raised there and so there you go. Sitting on top of them is a little toy I found somewhere and just liked it of the police woman and little child. Over her shoulder is a baseball mitt to recognize the Portland Beavers. Then back down is a "Benson Bubbler" that can be seen on many corners in Portland that are four head water fountain. And Lumiere - if you have to ask, we have nothing to talk about! Moving along...remember that trip to Arkansas, yup, got the goat there too! Behind it is a pin I got down in NY's Chinatown and love it. The goose is there to fill space.

Just about done, if you can believe it and so let's start with the fish eraser. It is a nod to one hell of a party I hosted in NYC titled "Under the Sea" and it included Fish Jeopardy and I was the host Alex Troutbeck! We also had a performance by Mango Mama and the Pineapple Sisters. Oh my, it was a hell of a good time. And then there is a mini beer can of Lone Star Beer and another Texas favorite is Dr. Pepper. Did you know the original formula had prunes in it? A couple of pins commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Rose Festival in Portland and Hard Rock Cafe from London. The last two items is a pencil sharpener that is also a copy of the Reunion Hyatt Regency in Dallas and to the left is an Austrian Schilling that Mike made into a ring.

Now the white figure is a China completion doll and when I finish I have wished for I will fill in the other eye. On the far left is a match box from La Cage aux Folles, the first musical I saw on Broadway when I moved there in 1987. So there you go!