Memorial Day Weekend on the Oregon Coast

Sun, Sand, Bare Feet, What a Treat!

We had an amazing four day weekend on the Oregon Coast.  Took an extra day for Memorial Day weekend and we cruised down the Oregon Coast.  Left Friday night and camped a little south of Newport, Oregon in our Subaru.  Then we moved very slowly down the coast stopping at art galleries and the beach often getting lots of photography practice.  So slowly, it took us six hours to drive the 124 miles to Bandon, Oregon.  We checked out the Wild Animal Safari park and walked, pet, and talked to many little animals. Spent three nights at a nice place where we could see the ocean at all times.  The sun came out a few times and it's been a rare sight for us as it's been raining almost every day since February.  What a joy it was to sit on warm sand in the sun on the coast.  On the way home, we drove the up the coast, took the mountain route through Vernonia and then the back way to Rainier.  We made it all the way home without hitting a major highway once.

We found a cute little natural grocery store and deli in Bandon, Mother's Natural Grocery and Deli.  We stocked up on a few items we like, had a wonderful lunch of vegan enchiladas and bought some freshly made vegetarian lasagna and ravioli for our dinner.  We also enjoyed some fresh vegan apricot pie. We didn't have a kitchen in our room, but we did have a refrigerator and a microwave. We brought a small cutting board and a good knife. Had no problem creating a little kitchen in that hotel room.

There was a community art project in Bandon celebrating the year of the rabbit on the coast.  Paintings submitted by school children and local artists were displayed on the dock.  There were hundreds of awesome paintings all along the walls of the boardwalk. 



One of my favorite stops was at the Art 101 gallery, which exhibits the works of the Washed Ashore Project. 

The Washed Ashore community project aims to educate and create awareness about marine debris and plastic pollution through art.

Community members are working together to clean-up our beaches and process the debris into art supplies to construct giant sculptures of the marine creatures most affected by plastic pollution. This has resulted in thousands of pounds of debris cleaned up from Oregon beaches and an educational touring art exhibit to showcase the sculptures. If I lived close by, I would so be there volunteering and helping with this wonderful project.



This weekend we have summer!  The sun came out to play yesterday and it's expected to stay for a few days, it supposed to get into the 80's this weekend.  That means we'll get more of the garden planted.  We worked for about three hours yesterday getting some more plants in the ground and the corn finished.  We planted some corn seedlings before we left and they made it through the weekend.  I was a little nervous as we had to plant corn three times last year.  Last night I planted three more rows of corn seeds, a few more cucumbers, broccoli, acorn squash, 8 ball zucchinis, and a few more peppers.  I'll have a garden update soon.

Vacation "At Home" with Kaylee

I've been on vacation at home the last week enjoying the company of my six year old granddaughter.  We've made lots of good memories and I have lots of blogging material.  I just haven't had the time to sit down and do it.  I said aloud to my husband, that I was amazed at women who work and have small children to raise.  I even said "How do they do it?"  Oh yeah, I did that,duh!  Guess we just forget very quickly how much energy it takes.

I take a vacation 'at home' thinking I'll have some restful days of not getting up early and racing out of the house each morning.  I think I almost always work harder when I do this than go on a vacation adventure away from home.  I was actually looking forward to getting to work today to do some mind work and not move around so much.  Last week, besides learning how to live with a small child around, I canned and froze 27 lb of cherries, sweet red and Rainier, a flat of strawberries, a flat and a half of raspberries, a flat of blueberries, put away a pint of garlic cloves in olive oil, (the garlic is from the garden), and made some lavender oil for the first time.  All of these grown by local farmers and gardeners.  I picked the lavender myself in Port Angeles and Sequim.  I also put some herbs and onions to dry so I can use them during the cold weather when the garden is sleeping.

We started the vacation adventures on Friday with a few hours sleep, left at three a.m. driving three hours north to pick up our granddaughter.  We had an ETA of 6:00 a.m. so we could see her mom before she went to work.  We made it at 6:30 a.m., then on to the Edmonds Ferry to Kingston, and another hour or so drive to Sequim where we met up with Uncle Bill.  On the way to Sequim we stopped to take a short walk and stretch.  Kaylee was ready with her camera "let's go on a nature walk grandpa."  We were happy to oblige.  We weren't very far on our walk when we realized we were in an old private cemetery.  It was a very beautiful spot.  Very original, no two graves were alike.  This was a very special and beautiful spot. It was also at this place that it occurred to me that we had not been on a weekend trip together that didn't involve going to a penal institution since we were in Sequim in December. I was pointing out to Kaylee how a flower pod spreads it seeds with the help of the wind to plant more flowers in the forest when a sudden gush of love just rushed through me.  I almost lost my breath when I figured out where I was and what I was doing.  What a great way to start the weekend!

After a stop for a late breakfast and stroll through the farmer's market we were off to Port Angeles for a restful three days away from it all.  Our friend's up there have a very nice private spot on a hill overlooking the Straight of Juan de Fuca with plenty of room for Kaylee to run.  They've built a chicken coop and a pen for the rooster since we've been there last.  Kaylee had a great time running around with the chickens and she learned a thing or two about roosters.  He tends to chase children, she learned the word 'aggressive' rather quickly.  They got along well as long as he was in his pen.

Priscilla—"Queen" of Pristine Farms

Some of the younger girls

The older women have their own yard

I had free rein of the kitchen and the garden.  I so love just going up there and staying.  The guys go to the bay and fetch some fresh crab, I brought all the vegetables I had along with supplies I like to have when I cook.  I think the guys we visit, Ken, Allan, and Bill look forward to my strange and healthy way of preparing meals.  I always try to create something new for them to try.  After all, I get to go there and be comfortable in an atmosphere of love and beauty for nothing.  I don't mind cooking for everyone at all, in fact, I love it. I've been cooking with and for Bill and Scott for over 28 years now. We all used to be roommates in California.  Scott and Bill have been friends and brothers for over 45 years now. He is our family and I don't feel like 'company' up there. For those of us who share their love with food, at least I'm learning to do it in a healthy way.

Gotta have my favorite items to cook with

After the four hour drive home Monday, we were at the garden checking out the growth over the weekend.  Wednesday we went to a concert at the Zoo, a band from Africa.  That was something!  The music was good and very lively, but I think we came very close to group child abuse.  Just think, there were probably over 500 small children at the show and none of them got to go see animals.  It was a common question being asked by many short people, including the one we brought, as we left the zoo:  "Mommy, where were the animals, I wanted to see animals" Oops

Thursday night was music again at our local summer concert at the lake.  I was happy to hear Kaylee ask to just stay home this weekend.  We just about did that from Friday to Sunday except for our daily trips to the garden to weed and water. By the way, for those of you wondering what I feed her because we eat mostly vegan, I haven't changed anything because she is here.  She hasn't complained about anything we have offered her except one dish I made a little too spicy.  She has eaten the many raw or cooked fruit and veggies we eat daily and drank our nondairy milk and seems to like it as much as we do. I haven't turned on a television since she's been here either and she hasn't seemed to miss that either. I hope that doesn't change too soon.

Here she is  with a stewed cherry shortcake smile.

Rialto Beach, WA

I've been in Port Angeles, WA in the Olympic National Forest area for a few days.  We had some fun with our granddaughter and friends,  shared some great meals together, and explored some of the great countryside we call home.   We shared a warm family picnic with Allan's family at Rialto Beach. This is a very beautiful beach with natural driftwood sculptures everywhere.   I heard someone call it rugged, wild, and other-worldly.  I think that's a good description.  It was a literal hike through the massive logs.  I often think I should look around for pieces of driftwood to turn into art myself.  But, when I am in the presence of this beauty, I have an overwhelming feeling that it's wrong to disturb what's going on.  It would be like taking a wild animal out of the forest.  I can take pictures though and use them for future inspiration.  I saw so many animal shapes in these logs and I think I may have caught a glimpse of a fairy too.



Kaylee had a great time, climbing the logs and building her sandcastle on the beach with a little help from Allan, who raced the waves to get her bucket of sand just the right amount of sea water. It was a challenge, the tide was coming in pretty steadily. By the time her little sand castle was finished, the ocean took it.

Fun things to do when in Normal

My niece, Stephanie, helped get this center up and running. She worked here as an intern when it was coming together. She showed me one of the most interesting places I wanted to see in Normal.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. 

Margaret Mead

Home & Peace - The Gardens

I am a lucky and grateful woman. I know there is a lot of love in my life. I've done some traveling, bonding, loving, laughing, and even a little crying. I've put a few traveling miles on my body and heart. My sister, my niece, and I meandered through four states together in a few days. A couple of those states we went to twice. We spent at least 700 miles in a car together this last week. We shared a lot of love and saw many wonderful sites. It was a memorable experience but, I am whirling emotionally and physically today. In a good way though, my sister and I get closer to understanding each other every time we see each other. It's not always easy, we have some different opinions about life, as we should. We've lived on different sides of the country for so many years and traveled different paths. This is a learning process. One of my most favorite parts of the experience was getting to know my niece, Stephanie. I didn't get to be with my nieces and nephews when they were children growing up and I feel like I am close with one of them now. I hope we continue joining each others journey from time to time and with less time in between.

I need to rest and be calm and creative. I am glad I don't have to work until Monday. I have a beautiful weekend to relax and decompress from such a long trip. I am so grateful for my life and home. There is so much love and beauty around without going to far to look for it. The sun is shining and I am breathing in the beautiful gardens around us. I just have to walk around my house and yard to find calming beauty. It doesn't take long for me to feel the healing. I noticed I was dancing in the kitchen to some great music this morning. I am going to spend the weekend quiet and calm. A quick run to the farmer's market and the produce stand and our off-site garden are all I want to see this weekend other than my warm home. A bit of turning on the tunes and creating in the kitchen is in order too.

Just a short walk around my home and breathing in all the colorful beauty popping up in the sunshine warmed my heart pretty quickly. The plants in the greenhouses are getting ready for outdoors. My friends gave me "time" for my birthday this year. My husband and Bill repaired the front door which was years overdo. Scott planted the corn starts on my birthday. Rachel worked to find my backyard again. I have not seen my steps in the backyard for a long time. I do remember standing at the top of them last year with a broken leg sad because I couldn't use them. I think I kind of forgot about them. What a wonderful birthday present. Thank you Scott, Bill, & Rachel!

Walk in Love

There is a lot of love in my life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Life is Like

stepping into a boat

which is about to sail

out to sea and sink."

Suzuki Roshe

Family and Going Home

Nice journey this week. We've covered some ground, physically and personally. I leave with a little sadness that I can't see my sister's family on a more regular basis. She does have a beautiful family. She has raised four beautiful humans and continues to support them and love them through their journey. Something we didn't have with our parents. I haven't been in their lives face to face but a few times. Each time they welcome me as if they knew me everyday. Our lifestyles are very different, yet not so different. Last night we enjoyed the evening like a close family.

Denise, Thomas, Marcie, Adrianna, Justine, Stephanie

  We had a nice time together, a taco feed. Haven't talked about food much this week. I made some taco filling with portabello mushrooms, red onions, black olives, and Mexican spices. They found a bakery that made a vegan birthday cake. Not so common in this little Illinois town.

 As always after a good vacation, I am looking forward to my own bed. There is still a bit of this little journey left as we travel 100 miles to Chicago today. It's not over yet.

Marcie's Garden and Playin' in the Kitchen

When I woke up this morning, I decided I should be cooking dinner for all and helping get that garden going as that is what I love to do and I am here to enjoy a little life with my sister's family and well, feeding people is what I enjoy doing.  I voted to stay around the house and just enjoy life together. She does have a very lovely setting. There is a small lake/pond behind her house. I have seen geese fly in to visit every morning. I finally had my camera this morning and the batteries died. Better luck tomorrow. There's also a beaver hut on the bank. I guess every time someone plants a tree in their backyard, it ends up as part of this hut.

 The Beaver's House

Last night they took me to a southern barbecue restaurant. One thing I have to mention is something I thought I would never see in a restaurant. They served Wonder Bread in a basket with barbecue sauce, a red and a white barbecue sauce made with mayonnaise, the red was better, but they sure like their vinegar here. This was a great example of how not to eat. Having never been to the south, I thought I should at least take a peek at some of the local faire. The restaurant was very fun, the people were nice, and the atmosphere very friendly. Loved the rules.

Wonder Bread with Dinner, Hmm?

Back to today, my niece wanted to go to an historic event in downtown Huntsville called, Constitution Village. We did go there, but we did a little food preparation before and after.  I did what I do, I made some beans, some stuffed foccacia bread, and a  vegetable polenta bake. With some guidance my niece made vegan cole slaw, vegan chocolate pecan cookies, and a diary free strawberry cheeze cake with cashew coconut cream. We had a great time together.  She loves to cook and usually does the family Thanksgiving dinner. She's never cooked vegan before and liked everything we made. I left her with all the recipes and hope she calls and asks for more.

Stephanie, Happy Vegan Chef Today

And Marcie got her garden going. Such teamwork! I hope they send me pictures as it grows.

Monday in Tennessee

Yesterday I took a trip to Tennessee with my sister, Marcie, and my niece, Stephanie. We went to "The Farm", a farm community established in 1970 with the goal of establishing a strongly cohesive, outwardly-directed community. Their goal is to have, by action and example, a positive effect on the world. There are many businesses on the farm including their own publishing company. I took home some of their work, some vegetarian cookbooks, a tofu cookery book, a couple spiritual books, and some art. The art is in the way of hand painted greeting cards, my way of collecting art.

It's a complete community with many businesses of their own. Among them is an ecovillage training center that offers internships, conferences and workshops on permaculture, construction based on natural materials, organic gardening, and other sustainable technologies. They have their own school and have been home to two generations. There is a farm midwifery center that has delivered over 3,000 babies since 1970. There are many more businesses: a "Farm Soy Dairy" that began producing tofu and soy milk in 1973, a tempeh lab, a legal office, a yoga studio, and quite a few more. This is a truly self-sustaining community.

I felt very comfortable there as it reminded me so much of the community my husband and I lived in when we met. I spent some time talking to a few of the long term residents. It was a fascinating tour for me. It was also like going back in time.

It was a very beautiful drive out there. What I've seen of Tennessee is very green and spacious.

Tomorrow, it's a road trip to Illinois to see the girls and Thomas. My sister has three lovely daughters, a granddaughter, and a son I haven't seen in about four or five years. Looking forward to spending my birthday with these fun ladies.

Denise, Adrianna, Justine, & Stephanie

Sunday in Alabama

Took a about a four mile hike in the Monte Sano state park with Marcie, Pat, and Stephanie. The trees are wild pecan and walnut. The sun was out and warm and this is just how I love to spend Sundays.  There were lots of plants I have never seen before.

We did come across a produce store with lots of organics and items I want to use to prepare some meals this week. The owner of the store, Garden Cove Produce,  welcomed me to her lovely state. There were some things I don't see in our grocery stores such as lots of okra and as much dandelion greens as there was lettuce. I have seen dandelion greens at the farmer's market or sometimes in the specialty section of the produce section, but not sold in the quantities they do.

I made a raw vegetable salad as I would at home with at least ten different vegetables. I used a few that I had heard aren't eaten by my sister's family, avocado & beets, to name a couple. I didn't mention them in the salad until they were almost done with their second bowl. I love doing that.  I wouldn't feed anyone anything that would cause harm to them, but I do like it when people enjoy foods they thought they wouldn't like. We had a nice meal at a seafood restaurant today, but I did notice there were no vegetables on anyone's plate. Good thing we all ordered some salad. They did serve an interesting dish. My brother in law had a red fish fillet that was coated in crab meat, corn meal, and parmesean cheese before frying. I am not fond of frying, but this looks like an idea to play with for baking fish.

I took a walk around my sister's neighborhood. It's a bit different than a typical neighborhood at home. I do have to giggle a bit, most of these houses look like little mansions. This is the style of most the homes in this community. Bricks are cheap as the red clay is plentiful. Most of the homes are made of brick, lots of brick.

Flexitarian in Nashville

Marcie & Deb
Marty, Bob, & Leslie
1969

While downloading my pictures I've taken so far. I found this on my sister's computer this morning. My Goodness, who are these people? Marcie and Deb in back, (from left to right) Marty, Bob, and Leslie. This is probably 1969 as I remember the dress. It was my ninth grade graduation dress. In the southern California schools we went to high school in tenth grade. This is right before we moved to the bay area. I am really happy my parents made that choice.

Yesterday was a long travel day. It is such a weird feeling to get on a plane at 7:00 a.m., spend only about four and a half hours on a plane and it's late afternoon when I arrive at my destination.

I was pretty hungry when I arrived. My brother in law told me it would be hard to find a vegan or vegetarian restaurant in Nashville. No fear, there's an app for that. It's called Vegan Steven it will tell me all the vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurants and stores within a 50 mile radius. I Found one pretty quickly that was fun. It is called the Calypso. It had Carribean theme and an atmosphere I am quite comfortable in. They had quite a few vegan choices on their menu. There was some great original art painted on the walls too. I think my husband would have enjoyed this place. Everyone enjoyed their meal.

Cuban Black Beans, Corn Salad with Black Eyed Peas, Spiced Yams with Coconut. and Fresh Fruit

 

Yep, Life is Good!

Day 1 of vacation is going great. I feel very relaxed right now. I have about a hour of peace and moving slow until I have to finish packing and get ready for the big road trip and this evening.

Last night we had the opportunity to see Mr. Gil Scott-Heron perform his blues-ology. Blues, stories, poetry, and important messages in each tune. Went with some friends who also enjoyed it as much as we did. I couldn't be sitting between anyone more fun for this event than I was, between my husband and my friend, Rachel, who lives and breathes poetry. Her husband was enjoying himself on the right of her, I could hear him say, "Yeah!" a few times. Bill was with us too. Nice to have had music plans in mind when he came to visit. The last two times we have taken people to see musicians we liked, they didn't like it. Both of those people were much younger than us though. It was kind of like going to see your parents' music, I understood. We like older musicians in small clubs. I like to say we go see people "Who used to be someone." Most of the crowd is usually our age with lots of gray ponytails. A good time was had by all. This song is called Winter in America. I liked it very much.

He looks a little different now. He called it "in disquise."

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning I started with a deep muscle massage. Yep, life is good. Bill and I had a nice leisurely lunch downtown. Something I don't do much of during the week. I always like to enjoy home on vacation too. We went out to the garden and planted four of the artichokes. I hope it's not too early. Artichokes are pretty hearty. They should do all right.

 

Tonight we have a date to do some more relaxation therapy. We are going to do some water tank therapy in Portland. We've been reading about it and thinking of doing this for awhile. It is supposed to relieve stress in your body by being completely weightless for awhile. This relieves any exertion the body is under including gravity which allows other parts of it to have some healing time. I can use all the help I can get these days. It helps with muscular aches and pains as well as depression. Massage in the a.m. and a good meditation in the evening. We don't have far to travel and relax for the rest of the evening with some tea and love. That should get me relaxed and ready for a week of travel. I leave for Tennessee at 7:00 a.m. I am excited about my trip, but also a little nervous of the world I am about to enter for a week. It will be different, but my sister and I do have fun together. I'll try my best to keep you up on my adventures. Better get finished packing now.  Yep, Life is Good!

Peace Friends!