10 in 10 for 10 - x 2

Days 3 and 4 rolled into one...

Yesterday I never got out to take my ten. It was raining, pouring, the old man was snoring, and I had a date with some denim and the 'Fraulein' for some stitchery. So today I decided to double the flavor, double the fun and take 20 in 20.

I have to say these are the first I really like. I just focused on color, shape and texture and I think they are pretty ok.

click on the pic for a good look-see

Now for the second 10...

Just don't tell Pony Girl that I went to the park without her.


This is fun, wanna see who else is playing along?
Fledge - flying is easy
Flaming Nora
Handmade - Homegrown
Mad Crafty Mama

I know another one or two who might be joining in soon, I'll keep you posted. Thanks so much to Nancy for putting this into motion!

P.S. I did fix my settings before I went out to take the shots but, I did not touch a thing once I started my photo shoot - nor did I edit after.

Day Tripper

"We're on a road to nowhere..."


With the hustle and bustle of the last couple of weeks, I was feeling the need for an old fashioned Sunday drive. On a whim we packed ourselves into the car and headed out onto the open road. With just a hint of an agenda, "Go West!" We rolled along HWY 18 stopping for breakfast at a long time favorite joint. The best hash browns and freshly baked molasses toast you can imagine. From there we made our way to a new road. New to us I should say, considering the road we took was called Old Woods Road. Winding through coastal dairy country, passing Jerseys, Holsteins, and Guernsey cows on the small farms that dot the verdant green countryside. Many of these dairy farms are part of the Tillamook Dairy Cooperative.



The road brought us to the ocean, which was shining brilliantly under the sun. A bluebird sky and just enough wind to cast our kite into the air.




After our beach frolic, we pulled out the Atlas and looked for another new road to try. It's all part of the adventure you know, to travel the unknown; to discover something hidden; to be in no particular hurry and to really see what lies beyond. Our road took us through the tiny town of Beaver, Oregon. Don't be fooled by it's blink and you've missed it size; it has all the modern conveniences, such as one stop shopping...


We traveled the back roads through the deep dark enchanted woods next to The Nestucca River. We stopped to climb the bank down to the water's edge. Under stands of Maple and dappled sunlight we gazed into crystalline pools and secret waterfalls (oops, left the camera in the car). Little Nova said, "I wish we had our fishing poles." Indeed.

As we cleared the pass we came into the fertile valley of rolling hills and fields of bundled hay. Old barns and horses next to vineyards that grow that fickle beauty the pinot noir grape. Wine country! With a 4 year old aboard we thought it best to save the wine tasting for another trip. Soon, we found ourselves on the familiar road back home.

So, we visited farm, beach, woods, river, wine country and more. All this and we were home by 5:30 pm. With our bodies refreshed and our souls rejuvenated. Man, are we lucky or what? To live here and have the best of everything at our fingertips is a dream. How I love a good old fashioned Sunday drive!

and to you I say...
Go fly a kite!

Growing Up Cloud Gazing

It's harder than it looks.

In keeping with my current quilt craze, I bought myself a new gadget to go with my sewing machine. A free motion quilting foot. I have been wanting to give this a try for a while now. I put together a very small whole cloth quilt (think doll sized) to make my practice run. The style I tried first is called stippling. It's kind of like doodling continuous random squiggles, only on your sewing machine with thread. Seriously, how hard could it be?
Well, it's sort of like rubbing your belly and patting your head while running an obstacle course, or not. Anyway, it's harder than it looks. Let's just say that it is a good thing my daughter was not around to hear some of the choice words that escaped my mouth. This is going to take some practice. It's hard to imagine doing this on a full sized quilt. At one point I realized that my jaw was painfully clenched, my shoulders were super glued to my ears, and it was time for a break. So, I went outside to take a deep breath and do some cloud gazing.


This seemed to help. I finished quilting, quickly attached some binding and threw it in the wash to give it the cool wrinkle look. I will practice more later when my shoulders and back recover. Who knew that sitting at the sewing machine could be so physically strenuous?

Now for something completely different...
I took a good long look at my sweet girl the other day, good gravy she's growing up! In an attempt to take the trike for a spin, it was discovered that it is time to move on to bigger bikes (pink please). So, the classic little red tricycle was loaded up and sent on over to her younger cousin's house. Milestones for sure.


I know, I know...they grow up so fast. It is truly amazing to see this beautiful child change and grow. It is also a little bittersweet. Maybe even harder than it looks.


I took my girl outside for a deep breath and some cloud gazing. It seemed to help.

July in the Garden

Summer love...

This is a photo intensive post, showing off the best bits of the flora here at the cottage. I am coming to realize that the pictures I most enjoy taking, are of the garden. So, breathe deep and stroll through the fruit and flowers.




...and some of the harvest.
Shallots and garlic hanging in the larder.
Baby new potatoes of all sorts.

Jump!

This is the most amazing, beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. It's almost mystical. Check it out.

If gymnastics looked like this I would watch the sport all the time.

By the Bay

Wow. Hard to believe it is June already. I have been taking a break from the computer to spend time with my family and enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having. I even got to take a trip to the coast and get my toes in the sand. Ahh.


If I haven't stopped by to say hi, forgive me. I will try to catch up soon.

In other news, I have received 4 custom orders in the last week and will be busy racing my sewing machine towards the finish line. It's exciting and nerve racking at the same time. My posts here may suffer a bit but, I will have lots to show you in the coming weeks.

Until next time, have a lovely first week of June!

Just Looking

I have been missing for a few days. I am only just found and my words have not yet all come back to me. I will post in pictures I think, they are worth a thousand words, isn't that what they say?

The light has changed.
And the rain is returned.

I was found yesterday, here in the garden.
fernapple blossomvegetable bedsack of potatoesspireablueberry blossomslittle purple flowerfern again