Pretty Flowers & New Crochet Project

Dear hubby surprised me with a pretty bouquet when we went shopping at Costco the other day.  I wanted share the eye candy pink of this flower with you.  

Our DIL Kristi asked me to crochet a slouchie hat for her and she found the pattern and bought the yarn.  I hope it turns out like she wants and that it fits her right.  We'll see. 

The bouquet has snapdragons, too...

Carnations are so pretty with their serrated edges.

This house plant of mine lived in a darker spot for years and just hung in there - but I moved it over near this window and have watered it more and it's just thriving!  

I'm just taking the day slow.  Hubby did some burning.. I glanced out the window and saw flames 20 feet high.. whoa!  Now it's raining.. I think I'll crochet.  Our bigger grandsons are coming to spend the night so our son and DIL can go out with a friend for his birthday. We'll probably take them out to dinner.  Tomorrow my best friend from 7th grade and her husband are meeting us somewhere for lunch.  They've moved to the Portland area down from Seattle, so we'll be seeing more of them!  

Are you all set for the 4th of July?  We'll be watching our local parade and enjoying the day with family.  Enjoy the weekend!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Sternwheeler & Railroad Trips - Etc.

This having fun is a lot of work. :-)  I thought I'd share a mishmash of photos that I've taken since our return, but my blog was filled with trip photos and sharing.  This photo below is of a wildflower that was planted in the planting beds in front of Multnomah Falls Lodge.  It's a Red Columbine.  I love my new camera, do you see all the fine filaments around the yellow part of the flower?

And my favorite - the Columbia Tiger Lily - I await it's blooming each Spring.  This is on the side of the road on the way to the Falls. 

Below is the graduation picnic celebration for my nephew Josh who just earned his Masters Degree!  Josh is my brother's 2nd oldest son, he's there in the back with the big beads on that his little girl made for him - with his wife, Lisa.  This was last week, just one day after returning from DC.  My sister Roberta on the left, my brother Rob on the right flanked by his 2 beautiful daughter's - Johanna and Jessica.  Johanna's husband Andrew is sitting in the back.  

Then on Father's Day we were invited to our youngest son's house - we watched the boys play all day then my son filled their kiddie pool with warm water and bubbles for a bath! 

A week ago on Thursday I escorted the Friends of Multnomah Falls on a free cruise on the Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge - this is a training trip for our volunteers.  It was a great day.  I actually struck the deal for this "comp" trip for the volunteers for the Friends of Vista House when I was Executive Director (and one of the founders) of the group over 25 years ago!  

Look at the blue sky above the boat! 

I wish you could have felt the mist from the churning paddle wheel at the back of the boat. 

Heading East up the mighty Columbia River at Cascade Locks. 

I love this boat. 

Yesterday I was taken with the wonderful neon green of the moss on our garage roof.  Hubby thinks he should clean it off, but I love the moss. 

A little zoomie on it. 

This morning, up early.. again.. and off to Hood River, 45 miles East from here.  Another comp trip for our volunteers - we boarded the Mt. Hood Railroad and chugged up the hill towards Parkdale, OR.  We stopped in Pine Grove for people to visit a fruit museum and I snapped this shot of Mt. Hood from there.  T'was a shame that there was a little pouf of clouds on the tippy top - but I still like this photo.  We travelled through miles of pear, apple and cherry orchards on the way.

The interior of the vintage rail car that we were in. 

This is the Hood River, bubbling along with melting snow from Mt. Hood. 

The colorful engine - due for a new paint job in a week. 

The lovely park that is to the left of where the engine is in the photo above. 

We bought tickets for our son Shawn and his wife Beth and our 2 older grandsons today and it was neat to have them go with us.  We are tired.  ::whew::  Do you wear yourself out living life to it's fullest?  I need a nap! ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Sitting on George Washington's Porch

Tuesday, our last day in the Washington DC area - up early and off we headed to see more things before our flight at 5:30 pm.  We headed from Maryland to the home of George and Martha Washington, Mt. Vernon.  Fun story... my wonderful younger sister Denise was the navigator for our tour leader, her husband Steve.  He wanted to use the GPS, Denise was more comfortable using her iPhone.. we sat in the back seat and giggled as they "discussed" how to get to Mt. Vernon.  But we made it there!  :-) When you arrive, you first see a restaurant and gift shop, then you walk further and there is a large visitor center where we watched a movie to tell us about George's military career, how me met Martha and of their life at Mt. Vernon.  Then we walked out of there and walked up uphill and wound our way to this beautiful home.  There were pastures with animals in them.  You get your first glimpse of the mansion across a great expanse of lawn called a bowling green. 

 I snapped this photo of a pretty flowering bush with the house in the distance.

Near the entrance to the house is this large vegetable garden on the left with the Slave Quarters behind it, of course there was scaffolding..  :-)  Here is a map of the ESTATE.

Nearing the entrance of the mansion I saw this glorious magnolia in blossom.   

Getting closer to actually entering the mansion that George Washington lived in!  Now, I must regretfully inform you that photography is not allowed inside - as it was also not allowed in the White House - and I was told it is for security reasons.  That just killed me not being able to show you the inside.. wah.

We passed through a wonderful dining room with such wonderful antique things on the table and walls.. the door was open looking out on the front porch and I was able to snap this neat photo of the chairs on the porch and the view of the Potomac River. 

Another snap as we walked across the porch to the next door inside. 

This is the view that was enjoyed by George and Martha.. and now I was seeing it too, and now you are! :-) 

 After the tour of the inside of the house, up and downstairs, you are ushered outside and are invited to sit and rest on the porch, just the neatest thing ever.. hubby walked down the grass and took a shot of this side of the house and my sisters and BILs and I sitting in the chairs resting and enjoying the view.  

This tree on the sloping front yard is an old one believed to be there from when George and Martha lived here, but I cannot find out the type of tree it is, Google failed me on this one.  

When we made our way back to the visitor center I looked more closely at this dollhouse sized reproduction of the Mt. Vernon mansion. I snapped some photos so you could see what is inside, kind of.  Click HERE for a virtual house tour.

The bedroom at the top left is George and Martha's room and where he died of a throat infection.  I must tell you that it was something to stand at the door of that room and realize that it's where the "Father of our Country" lived and died.   

This is a miniature reproduction of the dining room where our tour began. 

The parlour.

This is the Lafayette bedroom. 

This below shows more of the dining room and the beautiful window and paint details.  Just gorgeous. 

And so we left Mt. Vernon - it was my favorite place, second only to our visit to the White House.  We then headed to Virginia to the National Air & Space Museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport.  More giggling at the navigator and driver.  :-)

It was lunch time when we got there, I was hoping for a nice comfortable dining room there, but guess who has the food concession there?  McDONALDS!  So, we stood in line for  almost a half an hour along with 100 other people to order lunch.  As we were snarfing down fries I said.. you know, I only got one airline confirmation on my phone, and it was for you, honey.  He goes.. what???  So, poor hubby takes his iPhone off to find a quiet corner in that monster building to call the airlines and check on my flight.  Poor man, after nearly an hour on the phone talking to people twice as he had to find me and get my credit card to give them.. he found that when booking, I'd clicked on "July" instead of "June" and had no ticket for our flight in just a few hours.  :-(  After wrangling with them he finally got them to move the ticket to that day and there was even an empty seat next to him.. ::whew::  Only 2 of our party looked around the museum, 1 was on the phone and the 3 of us girls did some shopping in the museum store.  I got 4 airplanes for our 4 grandsons.  But here are some shots Dayle got on his iPhone.  :-) 

This is the SR 71 Blackbird airplane.  In the room behind it was the Space Shuttle.

I will not go into detail about the abject misery that is going through security at Washington DC's Dulles Airport.  We were in lines that snaked around forever and it took an age to get through it.  But we got on the plane, even me.. and tried to make the best of the non-stop 5 hour flight.  See the pretty clouds?  :-)  Thank heavens for a magazine and my iPad and iPhone.. I only have one movie on the iPad, so I watched "Tinkerbelle".  Yes, that's how desperate I was.  For dinner on the plane we had Oreos and snack mix.  :-) 

And so.. our wonderful son Shawn picked us up at the airport and brought us home.  What a trip.. glad to be home, though.  There's no place like home.. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed learning and seeing such a historic part of the United States of America.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

B&B, Marine & WW II Memorials & BBQ

Dear readers, I was going to lump our last two days of touring in one post, but it would be too long, so this is the 2nd to the last post.  We awoke in the Bed & Breakfast after the day of touring Gettysburg Battlefield.  The host seated us on the delightful screened porch and brought us our breakfast.  The weather was perfect for dining outside.  

My traveling companions from left, BIL Teddy, Dayle, BIL and tour guide Steve, sisters Denise and Roberta.  Togetherness for a week and we're all still smiling! :-) 

Breakfast was a coffee cake, and a beautifully arranged fruit "flower" of bananas, dates, mandarin oranges, blueberries and a strawberry with a mint leaf.   

The next course was toast, quiche topped with a sliced avocado, creme fraiche and salsa, with 2 sausages sauteed with maple syrup glaze.  :-) 

My favorite part of the B&B was their 12 week old pup, a Jack Russel/Chihuahua mix - a Jack-a-wawa?  How cute is he?  When I held him he nuzzled all over my face and neck, I think he missed his mama!

My one request before we left the charming and historic village of Gettysburg was to visit an antique store.  Steve, our tour leader obliged - that was fun!  It was right in the town center off a middle courtyard/fountain.  My eyes lit up when I found a display of authentic battle relics, and this came home with me.  

And then we headed back to the Washington DC area to visit a few more things.  We arrived at the Marine Memorial where the famous statue resides of the Marines who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi after they took it in the battle of Iwo Jima.  This one was very meaningful to all of us, especially my 2 sisters and I, as our father, Wallace Shaklee, fought in this battle. He went in on the first wave at Iwo Jima on a LST, an amphibious vehicle.  Dad was in a foxhole for weeks and weeks - over 200 of his company went in and only 17 walked out not being killed or wounded.

The story of the men who raised the flag.

The other side of the memorial.  We were all quite disappointed that the American Flag was fouled up in lanyard and was not flying freely.  :-(  

The next stop is the World War II Memorial - which of course is the one Dad fought in.  This bronze medallion is inlaid in the entrance to the memorial.

This is actually one of the more impressive sites with the large fountain and pond.  It's difficult to get a photo without someone else posing in it. :-) 

Each state that participated in this war has it's own monument to it's lost service men and women.  Here is Oregon's. 

Dayle caught this great shot on his iPhone of the flag and the Washington Monument in the distance. 

He also snapped this one of the Lincoln Memorial in the other direction.  The famous Reflecting Pool is between them, but it was empty and under renovation when we were there.. boo hoo. 

Isn't it pretty? 

I walked up the steps here and zoomed in for this shot of the "pointy thing" which Dayle called this all week. :-)

Then we headed out of town to find our hotel in Maryland near my brother's wife's sister's house for a BBQ.  Kudos to my brother Rob for organizing the family reunion trip to WA DC.  He was the one who contacted our Annapolis branch of our father's family to coordinate a "Mini Reunion" - we have a big one every 5 years in Oklahoma - the home of our parents and many relatives.  Anyhoo... so Rob's wife D'Ann's sister Bonnie and BIL Gary live 34 miles from DC and Rob and D'Ann stayed with them all week - they invited us all for a BBQ at their house!  From left, sis Roberta, D'Ann, brother Rob and Bonnie.  Boy did they spoil us with BBQ ribs, teriyaki steak, crab cakes, peel and eat shrimp, fruit salad, potato salad, artisan bread and a fun ice cream bar dessert!  Thanks, Bonnie and Gary!  Gary is a aerospace engineer. :-)

I just had to take a photo of the potato salad that D'Ann made - it's reminiscent of the design my grandmother put on her salad.  It was delish! 

After a fun visit over dinner and afterwards - we got to see fireflies in Bonnie's yard - we headed back to our hotel for our final night of our vacation.  I will finish up the stories and photos in my next post.  Thanks for hanging in there and reading about this! :-)
((hugs)), Teresa :-)