Hippie Days & Other Stuff

In my last post I was given a blog award from my blog friend Lucy at Lucy In The Sky and one of the criteria was to tell 10 things about yourself that others might not know.  One of mine was that I was an "all out hippie chick that lived in Hawaii after I graduated high school".  Some of my blog friends asked for a photo -- and I actually had a hard time finding photos from those days but did find a few.  The one below is me after I returned from Hawaii and flew to Texas to see my boyfriend, Dayle.  He was in Army helicopter flight school.  We went to Mexico for a visit and the shirt I am wearing we bought while down there.  Notice the bell bottom jeans?

The below is a photo after we were married in Lafayette, Louisiana and we rented a house in Milton, LA right on a bayou - we needed a 2nd car and so this is what we got.  Oh how we loved that brand new VW bus!  We drove to Florida several times and camped on the beach there. 

Fast forward.... zip.. to 41 years later and below is our 100 year old farmhouse in Corbett in Spring - it's rather covered by vegetation, isn't it! :-)

On Saturday we went to visit my Dad's grave, we do that every Memorial Day weekend.  As you can see below the bronze plaque is covered with dried grass....

And below is my dear husband cleaning the marker, polishing it with Brasso and spraying a laquer finish on it while I arrange fresh cut lilacs in the vase we had installed.

And below is the final product.

On our way home I asked hubby to go out on the Stark Street Bridge to get a photo of the Sandy River at Dabney Park (which is 5 minutes away from our farmhouse).  This is the river we drive over to go "to town".

Below is a photo of our biggest Rhododendron bush - almost fully bloomed out.  It's about 25 feet tall.

And one of the blooms.. this is my all-time favorite color.

The side of the house, a few of the lilacs and the white azalea and our deck.

My pretty white azalea at it's peak.. they turn brown so fast.

Below is our pink rhodie at the edge of our woods.

Below are our grandsons at a BBQ we had today with our son and his wife and the boys.  Hubby barbecued a rack of ribs and hot dogs too, and we had potato salad and baked beans.  

We were lucky to have some clear skies and sun today, the clouds just don't want to go away.  I hope you all had a nice weekend too.  Thanks for coming to visit!!

((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Patriotism, Wildflowers, Watermelon & More

For my American readers, I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend.  For my readers from other countries - Memorial Day is a US federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War, it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.  We also honor those who are and have served in our military.

Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end.

We will be going to visit my Dad's grave this weekend where hubby will clean the bronze marker with brass polish and soap and water, sweep the dried grass away and put a nice shiny finish on the bronze.  I will arrange a bouquet of flowers from our farm in the bronze vase we had installed.  My Dad was a Marine in World War II in the South Pacific.  His unit of over 200 went in on the first wave to hit the beaches of Iwo Jima  and only 17 were not killed or wounded.

The beaded item above is a pin I designed and created, it's actually fairly small, about 1 1/2 inches tall and 2 inches wide.  This flag was the first flag and the 13 stars represent the first colonies in America. This is popularly called the "Betsy Ross" flag.

Moving on.. I just had to show you how our Cairn Terrier, Buddy, looked after his recent trip to the "beauty salon".  :-)

Above.. I volunteered at Multnomah Falls on Thursday and on the way home I spotted this big patch of wild Larkspur and pulled off the road to get this photo of them.  So pretty!

I was impressed with the canopy of fresh green as I drove along the Historic Columbia River Highway.

Screeeeech.. pull over... take photos of a patch of wild Lupine.  They'll be prettier in a few days when they fill out more.

Hubby found this tiny bird egg lying on the deck, it must have fallen out of the nest in our eaves.  I put it in the tiny bird nest I have in my glass lantern.  Does anyone know what kind of egg this is?  Wren?

Above is a Watermelon hot pad I was inspired to make from my blog friend Kate at The Garden Bell.  She was inspired to make several of these after reading an article in Martha Stewart Living magazine that had several vintage examples of this fun design.  I made one years ago but lost it in one of our moves.  Kate shares the pattern, in case you want to make one, and if you do, do share photos with me!

Last but not least, my sweet blog friend Lucy from Lucy - In The Sky selected me to be a recipient of this blog award.  How sweet is she?  The recipient is supposed to share 10 things about them - so I will do that.  You're also supposed to pass on the award to others, but what I'd rather do is tell you that all the blogs in my "Blog List" are favorites, please click on them and visit them, and tell them I sent you!


Ten Things
1. I met my hubby when I was 14 and a freshman in High School, we married a few months before I turned 21.
2. When I was 6 weeks old our house was rolled over and destroyed by a tornado in Oklahoma and my Dad saved me by shielding me in his arms.
3. I saw The Beatles live in Seattle.
4. I was a full-out hippie chick and lived in Hawaii right after I graduated high school.
5. I love antiques and our 100 year old farmhouse is filled with them.
6. Grandkids are the reward you get for raising kids of your own.
7. I like to be a positive person - negativity is the bane of the world.
8. I love to swim.
9. I love art and crafts.
10.  I lived aboard my sailboat in the San Juan Islands of Washington state and singlehanded the boat on many occasions.

There ya go!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by to visit.  I really do love my peeps that come by and also love your adorable comments!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Flora, Chickens & Crochet Baby Booties

Is there anything more lush and lacy and indicative of Spring than the new fronds of an emerging fern? I planted this one next to our waterfall and pond several years ago and in winter it dies and is gone from sight, and in the Spring little coils of fragile growth emerge and unfurl to become this.  Kate from Garden Bell posted a photo of her gorgeous fern, so I wanted to show her mine. :-)

My white Azalea is almost all opened up.

This is my "White Garden" - I planted my white Lilac next to the white Azalea - I planted it next to the deck on purpose so I could stand on the deck and pull a lilac over and bury my nose in it.  I also thought it would be nice to open the little windows on the garden window and the lilac scent would blow in on the breezes.

We've added a bigger run for the chickens so they have lots of grass and ground to scratch and dig in looking for worms and bugs.. yummy.. Rose, Betsy Ross & Bella are happy chooks.   We had a "situation" with Rose.. she went "broody" and refused to leave her nest, we had to move her to collect the other chicken's eggs and she stopped laying.. of course it was to no avail as we have no rooster.  Hubby kept moving her off the nest.. but back she'd go.. but when he tossed her into the new run with the tall grass she started to get over it.  But she's still not laying.. silly chicken.

A shot from a different angle of the creek and my garden statue.  I got the girl one and hubby got a Chinese soldier one.. I'll have to photograph him and show you sometime.

Here is our Japanese Laceleaf Maple.. it's kind of funny how small it is, the Dwarf Variegated Bamboo towers over it.  I wish the daffodil leaves weren't so annoying after their done blooming. :-)

I recently learned that a friend of mine, Jenna, who lives in Seattle and works for Microsoft and got married a few years ago.. is pregnant with a girl!!  So, I am crocheting a pair of my own design baby booties to send up to them.  I did a new edging, a ruffle... the color in this photo is way too vivid, it's not that neon.  But a fun photo anyway.

I'm off to volunteer at Multnomah Falls today.  I swam yesterday and ran a ton of errands.  The day before I went to get my blood pressure checked and the doctor said it was "phenomenal" - in his words.  So, all is well!!  I guess the swimming has paid off in many ways.

Thanks for visiting and keep those comments coming.. they are what keep a blogger going.. knowing that you aren't just talking to yourself. :-)

((hugs)), Teresa :-)

More Farm Flowers & Bunting

Hi there and thanks for dropping by for a visit.  I've been having *more* fun with the new lens and film in my Hipstamatic App on my iPhone.  Film is "Big UP" and the lens is "Ben Watts".  Below is my first iris to bloom, in front of my pure white azalea.  

Below is just one bloom in a Rhododendron cluster - the flower is cream colored with maroon markings.

Below is my favorite of my Rhododendrons.. but I must apologize as this is an eye-bleeding photo.  But this flower is one reason that magenta is one of my favorite flowers.  The shrub this is on is a whopping 25 feet tall!!

This yellow flower below is naughty, as it's woven itself all through the rhodie above - and I never knew what it was, but finally saw it at a plant nursery we went to last week, and it's a "Double Flowered Kerria".

Below is the one flower we bought at that nursery, Alstroemeria.  My sister grew these with great results so I thought I'd try them.  You see them in floral bouquets a lot.

And finally, I finished my attempt at making my own crocheted "bunting" - or banner or flags, pennants, or whatever.  I don't know where I'm going to use them as this "ain't it".  But I hung them here to show them to you.

Thanks for stopping in.  It's turned out to be a lovely day - I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon, just a blood pressure check.  I hope my swimming 3 times a week for the past few months will be a positive factor.  I hope you have a great week!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Volcano, Portland, Farm & Flowers

I'm enjoying sharing my part of the world with people around the globe.  I recently put a "flag counter" on my blog only 8 days ago and in that week I've had visitors from *51* countries!!  I've had 22,830 pageviews since I started blogging in earnest, just last September, 2010.  Many comments on my blog tell me they never knew how pretty Oregon is. :-)

Yesterday my 2 sisters and I met for lunch at "Skyline Burger", then 2 of us headed on up to visit our mother's resting place at Skyline Memorial.  It was her birthday and she would have turned 90 yesterday.  My older sister, Roberta, and I visited the mausoleum and I thought it would be neat to sing a song for Mom, so I picked a vintage song Mom would love and we sang "You Are My Sunshine" in 2 part harmony.  The echo in there worked to our advantage and we sounded pretty good!  Before you think we're loony, we were the only ones there. :-)

On my way UP to Skyline I noted there was a wonderful view of Mount Saint Helens - our very own volcano, up in Washington, but the view from Oregon is pretty amazing.  My sister Roberta sent me this photo below of her and a school friend canoeing on Spirit Lake in 1957 long before it erupted on May 18, 1980.  Isn't it pretty?  It was a lovely "snow cone" of a mountain.

Below is a photo of the mountain erupting.  I'll never forget when it happened, my mom, sisters, children and I drove down to Roseburg to visit my brother and I was driving home.  I looked north from the freeway I-5 and saw this HUGE cloud that looked different than a cloud - I remembered that geologists had been predicting an eruption, so I said, "Wow, look at that!  I wonder if St. Helen's erupted??"  My sisters said.... noooooooo... so I turned on the radio and sure enough, I was right and it had erupted.  Here is a great video from History.com

We live in the countryside of Corbett, Oregon an estimated 70 miles (as the crow flies) and I'll never forget the amount of volcanic ash that fell on our acreage.  Everyone had to wear face masks when outside and it played havoc on automobile engines.  

This is the photo that I took yesterday - I call it "Old Flat Top" now.  Over the trees you will see the Columbia River, across it is Vancouver, Washington and the mountain beyond.

I have a bad habit of taking photos while I'm driving :-) -- This is beautiful downtown Portland, Oregon, which is bisected by the Willamette River, which makes for a gorgeous view of downtown while on the bridge over the river.

Another shot.  I think hubby and I live in heaven - the Columbia River Gorge is just 20 minutes from this beautiful cosmopolitan city with museums, Portland Opera, world class Zoo, theaters, wonderful restaurants - but it's still clean and pretty and not TOO big.

And here I am, 20 minutes later, driving up the lazy Sandy River Gorge.

I arrived home to find hubby out mowing the pasture on his Kubota tractor, burning yard debris and having a good old time.

This photo shows our two wonderful pear trees that have probably been here for 100 years.  Our farm was one of the older ones in this area and was once a fruit orchard, and we still have apple, pear and plum trees bearing fruit.

This is from the hilltop behind our house looking down on the back of the farmhouse - you can see the chicken house and our garage through the trees.

Now inside and here is my beautiful bouquet of 3 colors of Lilac from our garden - white, lavender and dark purple - and a bouquet of Lily-of-the-Valley I picked - and I cut the lilac too.

I wish you could smell my lilies.  Mmmmm.  In my glass lantern, I still have agates hubby and I found on the beach, some bits of driftwood, 2 fossils and a few bits of sea glass - and a tiny bird nest I found.

When I walk by this bouquet and put my face in the middle of it and let the fragrance wash over me.  When we bought this farm 28 years ago there was just ONE giant and venerable common lavender lilac, now I have 4 lavenders, 2 dark purples and one white.  I need a blue-toned one and a pink toned one.  Years ago I visited the Hulda Klager lilac gardens up in Washington and saw a tri-color bouquet in the farmhouse there and wanted to emulate it.  Success!

And so there you go.  My day yesterday.  I must say I love blogging as before I thought I lived a pretty run-of-the-mill, humdrum life - then when I started recording it and photographing it, it's made me appreciate all that I have around me and things to do..  sooOOOoo much more!!

Again - I want to thank those of you who visit my blog and those who take the time to leave me your adorable and heartfelt comments.  I treasure you!!  ((hugs))  Teresa

Gorge Tour #2 & New Goodies!

Yesterday I led my 2nd tour of the Gorge this month - for the Friends of Multnomah Falls volunteer group.  I'm the president of the FOMF and they hadn't had a bus tour for several years, so I wanted to bring it back.  It's a wonderful way to add personal experience training to those of us who staff the information counter at the Falls.  We boarded the bus at 9 am and headed into the gorge.  Our first stop was the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center at Stevenson, Washington.  We crossed the Columbia River at Cascade Locks on the "Bridge of the Gods". Below we're being greeted by the Executive Director, who also led the tour.  

Below is one of the museum displays of the "First People", our Native American Indians, this beadwork was produced by our local tribes.

Here is a beaded dress.

Below is a magnificent hand hooked wool rug depicting Lewis & Clark, the native peoples, Multnomah Falls, the river and mountains - it's amazingly beautiful.

After an hour in the museum, we boarded the bus and headed up the Washington side of the river on Hwy 14 to Hood River and crossed the Columbia again, and headed to the Historic Columbia Gorge Hotel (where we lunched last time).  Here is a photo of our group being served a wonderful lunch in the lovely dining room.  Simon Benson, a successful lumber baron, built the hotel beside the fabulous cascading waterfall in the 1921.

After a delicious lunch and some time for relaxing and visiting with each other, we headed out the back of the hotel for a tour of the grounds.  I showed this waterfall week before last, but it was a cloudy day, I hope you enjoy the photos this time as it was a sunny day.

Below I coordinated a group photo and the hotel staffer took this photo with my camera. :-)  36 of us were on the tour.

Here is a shot looking down over the waterfall as it cascades down 208 feet - do you see the train tracks at the bottom?  A train went by while we were there, that was fun.

Below is a shot from the wooden bridge over the falls, showing the river (which is brown with all the run-off from the recent heavy rains) and you can see Washington State across the river.

We enjoyed a lovely stroll around the path on the grounds along the creek and then we headed back to the front of the hotel where our tour bus awaited us.

We headed to Panorama Point, driving through the historic downtown Hood River.  The town went through a boom after the windsurfers discovered the constant winds that blow through the gorge.  Now it's a destination for tourists, windsurfers and locals who enjoy the new shops, restaurants and galleries - and brew pubs!  Sorry to say, we did not get a good view of Mt. Hood as the clouds were NOT cooperating and obscured the top portion.  Here is the bottom.. LOL and the beautiful Hood River Valley dotted with old farms and pear and apple orchards.

I turned and shot this photo looking west over the pear orchards below.

When we got home, there were THREE packages sitting by the back door.. below is my order from KnitPicks.. one skein of Chroma one-ply rainbow colored wool blend, and a dozen skeins of "Dishie" cotton.  It's beautiful yarn!

And I got 3 books from Ree Drummond, the "Pioneer Women".  If you haven't visited her blog, you must go there and read her, she's a *HOOT*.  (after you finish reading mine, of course. LOL)

Last and certainly not least... I ordered a Kath Kidston bag and I just LOVE it.  It's going to be so nice for Spring and Summer!  (right now it's stuffed with my new yarn)

Thanks for stopping by to visit.  I must tell you - blogging has really been a wonderful thing for me - as making new friends all over the world has really enriched my life.  For those of you who almost always comment on my posts, **LOVE YOU**, Joanna, Helen, Shanti, Hookin' it, Lily, Melissa, Anne, Julie, Lucy, Betsy, Laura Jane, Meredith, Jane, Regula, Suz, Stitchy, Yael, Denise, Kate, Dorothy, Pammy Sue, Vikki, Erica and MORE.. thank you for taking the time to leave a sweet note.  ((hugs)) Teresa