It's all apart of life's pageant

Taking Time | Cascade Locks Oregon

Some friends were in town last weekend doing the Twilight movie tour. I had a chance to spend the day with them in the Columbia River Gorge - as you know one of my favorite places in the area! Each time I get a chance to go with friends I try to really take in certain parts that most of the time I am rushing through. This time I really wanted to spend some time at the Bridge of the Gods. This bridge spans the Columbia River connecting Oregon & Washington. 

I tell everyone this - but I think the Bridge of the Gods has some of THE nicest toll booth people! Always friendly and you can count on seasonal decorations through out the year.

Besides the bridge and the nice people this is the real hidden gem...

This is a mural painted by Larry Kangas - it depicts the legend, wildlife and historical events of the gorge.


Fortunately this mural won't be torn down anytime soon since it is painted on the base of the bridge [I guess the Port could paint over it] so if you are in the area be sure to check it out. Many of Kangas's murals in the Portland area have either been torn down or painted over.

One shot for my friends...

Columbia River Gorge

Had the opportunity last Saturday to get away and show a friend the beautiful Gorge. I am so glad that she brought the sunshine with her!

 

Had to take her to the ViewPoint Inn and tell her about Twilight...

Old bridges on the old hwy...  

Hiking in on short trails to find lots and lots of water...
Enjoying days like this remind me why we live in the Pacific NW!

Manual Mode

I must get into M mode on my SLR. End of story, must, must, must. I am great in P mode (who isn't?) and dabble in AV and TV mode. So over the next several days my head will be buried into the content from this class (took it last session, but didn't finish) and this book: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) I had a shoot last week and I was frustrated with over exposure...gotta be on M to control that and other things!

What happens though when you are forcing yourself to do this on what used to be your handy camera?? You pick up point shoot! HA! I have this camera: Canon PowerShot SD880IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) Not sure why Amazon has it listed for $999 though, that is more than double the price I bought it for last year. But I am loving this little camera right now - I have it in P mode and I can just shoot what ever when ever. Can you tell that I am fighting this whole manual mode thing??

I had a quick trip into Portland today - love downtown/Pearl area. I was inspired/reminded by this gal to bring along my camera and take the every day pictures...

 

 

 

 

I think that the Portland area really blooms this time of year - September & October happen to be some of my favorite months in the NW.

Back to the books - enjoy life!

HOT!

Going to get out of this heat for the week. At least once in the summer, the Pacific NW gets into the triple digits! Amos and Jesse are coming along and hubby and Selby are keeping down the fort. Hoping to get some great doggie photos at the coast!

Stay cool and enjoy life!

Creative Juices flowing!

Friday and Saturday I had an opportunity to 'get away' and just take two incredible classes from Lisa Kaus. It was a perfect getaway because I didn't have to actually fly anywhere since Lisa lives close by in Portland, OR. It was two days I was immersed in creative fun but getting to sleep in my own bed! I didn't answer my cell phone, office phone or emails - absolutely in heaven.

The first class was called Gridlocked and she taught us her entire process and techniques of how she designs her pieces. I was amazed on how much information there was. I was just so excited to back working with art supplies - graphite pencils, acrylics, water color crayons, gesso, bees wax, etc. The mediums I LOVED in art school combined with found objects! Here is the finished project

This project really means a lot to me since I used a lot of found objects from Dottie's stash. She was a talented collage artist so I think she would have appreciated me tackling this project! One of my big takeaways from this class is that someone can teach you the process and the how to's but what they can't teach you is the creativity. That comes from you and only you. I am really looking forward to doing another one of these boards for a good friends birthday present!

Dozer Days

Last weekend we had a chance to spend some time with good friends and attend Dozer Days. This was our first time and it was a little boys (and big boys) playground! I had no idea how many people would attend and apparently in years past around 15,000 are in attendance - WOW!

So what exactly IS Dozer Days? It is an event that is organized by the Nutter Foundation here in Vancouver, WA that allows young kids to run the big construction machinery, supervised of course. The money raised from the event goes to the local Parks Foundation and the children of our community.

The best way we could describe it was a small scale Disneyland but the lines were for taking your turn at driving/running the equipment! We loved seeing all the expressions on the kids faces while they were digging with these large backhoes - eyes as big as saucers and the concentration was intense.

Love Seattle!

We had a great time at the CKC Seattle event this past weekend. Packed schedule but good times! We started our day at the Cocoa Daisy booth. If you were able to attend this event and stopped by the booth there were great deals to be had. Tricia definitely wanted to go home with the minimum amount inventory, so it was a win win situation. Stacy's kit sold out at the show but Tricia is going to be taking a wait list - Stacy's free class will be launching in about two weeks and some of you may want the full kit. Of course you can do the project without the kit by using your stash!

On the way home on Sunday, Sara and I made a stop at Pike's Place Market. We enjoyed all the sights and sounds that place has to offer plus some good chowder with a grilled halibut sandwich.

Busy week - no music Tuesday

We have so much going on this weekend - not sure if it's poor planning or we just needed to do these things right now. This is a long post with pictures...

But first let's just start with last weekend - both Kayce and I had a great time at the Come Play in Eugene event. This gal is the hostess with the MOST. Gorgeous house and just a welcoming spirit. 

Here are a few shots that I took from her studio:

And Tricia was there with goodies from Cocoa Daisy, Emily of course is a wonderful treat - so cute! and I spent most of the time looking through Ali's new book. This is on my top ten list! Here is our group shot from Saturday:

The next day we woke up before DAWN (it was dark out) and headed north to the Coburg Antique Fair. Both Kayce and I found some treasures and did a pretty good job filling up the Mini. Here's a picture of some of my finds...

Fastest Wiener on the Coast

Yes, Amos has done it again! 1st place in the Rockaway, Oregon Dachshund race. It was a great 4th of July celebration and what a great way to celebrate his 6th birthday. Amos is the black and gray one on the left...

We had a relaxing weekend with friends - filled with good food, laughing and finally finishing the Twilight book! This was actually my first time spending the 4th of July at the Oregon coast - we usually stay home or go to Hood River, Oregon. Well little Rockaway did not disappoint! The parade was fun with our good friends and their grandkids participating...

I have to say that most small towns really know how to put on a firework show too. Put away the camera to enjoy the evening so no firework pics this year. On a side note, our dogs LOVE fireworks - not kidding. Selby actually likes to chase them, which is a serious problem! The other two will sit and watch them, sometimes I wonder what they are saying. Thanks for stopping by!

Cocoa Daisy Night

Last Thursday I took a last minute trip down to Eugene, Oregon for a crafting night with these gals. It is about a two hour drive from my house - but I was ready to get away from my computer! I just wanted to do something fun. Hubby was out of town and the weather was actually beautiful for a drive south. Plus I invited Amber (the ribbon jar), who I have wanted to meet for some time.

The night was hosted by the amazing Jill - her house is gorgeous and no detail left undone. I, of course brought my camera but was too busy talking and crafting to take pictures. So the pictures I do have are not very good and I need to learn how to take better ones in low light or get one of these.

Tricia of Cocoa Daisy brought the crafty goodies and Ali provided the idea. I would recommend that you go to Tricia's site right now and purchase this kit. All of us who went to this event have put the project on our blogs so I am sure it is going to sell out! I have always enjoyed Cocoa Daisy kits - they are well put together and the 'education' behind it is so good. And I was introduced to a product that I have never seen before: Hambly Clearly Heavy overlays. And Ali showed us how to use the KI Memories lace paper!  Below are pictures of my completed album (yes, I have completed an album!) and go to Ali's to download the directions and check out Amber's.

I skipped the stitching because I was too lazy to bring out the sewing machine