Summer Day with My Sweetie

We had the most awesome day Friday.  It started out very early for me.  I went to work at 5:30 a.m.  so I could take a half day off to go out to Sauve's Island to get our peaches this year.  I am fortunate to be able to do that sometimes. Scott's business was closed for the weekend and he had the time off. The temperature was supposed to get up to 100º or more.  We don't have days like that very often, glad to be able to take advantage of it. We were fortunate to be able to enjoy this summer day while it was here.  Lucky thing too, Saturday and Sunday were both cloudy days.  We slowly meandered our way to Sauve's Island stopping a few times to hike around and take some photos along the way.  It did get up to 105º at one point, but we didn't notice it so much as we found plenty of places to grab some shade.

When we got out to the Island the sun was at it's highest, we stopped to take some photos of some very impressive cabbage and took advantage of the sprinklers.

In the 23 years we've lived in the pacific northwest, this is only the second time we've explored Sauve's Island.  There were some beautiful and creative farms.  I especially enjoyed the farm with all the old trucks turned into planters.  There was a blue one, a red one, a yellow one, and a white one.  There was other old farm equipment with gorgeous flowers everywhere you looked.

We found an organic farm, Bella Organic Farm and ordered our peaches before we arrived.  They had ten boxes of fresh picked peaches waiting for us.  That's 200 pounds, eighty for me, eighty for Rachel, and forty for Ruth. We'll can about half of them, freeze some, and dehydrate some.  I like peach cobbler in November. We picked up some other items in the farm store and explored the grounds.  They've got a HUGE corn maze.  The friendly woman at the store gave us tickets for their Blackberry Bluegrass and Country Harvest Festival on Labor Day weekend.  It looks like fun, we do like outdoor music festivals.  They've got a pretty impressive corn maze as well as a hay maze for the kid's.  We saw one of the employee's making many scarecrows and dressing them up for the big opening of the corn maze. I think it might be a good trip with Kaylee.

We ended the day out at Willow Grove delivering the two boxes of peaches Ruth & Mike wanted for their CSA shares this weekend.  We stopped at the beach to take in just a little bit more sunshine. 

And those peaches... were canned the very next day.

Keep moving forward

I didn't have such a successful morning yesterday.  It started OK. I got up early and finished pressing and snipping the last 20 tote bags made. I gathered my supplies and headed over to the farmer's market to sit in my friend's stall and sell them.  We set up the rack with a couple bags and showed it to he farmer's market board.  Unfortunately the market has rules about selling the fundraising items.  I understand that, I guess.  The money made at the market really should go to the farmers and not a national organization.  I packed it up and I'll try the Bridge Market today.  Christy has a produce booth along with plants and offered to share some of her space.  Hopefully I can stay a little while this time.

After leaving the farmer's market, I headed over to Rachel's baby shower.  At least I'm on-time, I thought.  The party starts at noon and I said I might be late due to the market.  I got to the house on the street with the balloons in front.  There was a party at this house, but it was a child's birthday party. Ah heck, not only is the party at the house across the street, it is Sunday, not Saturday.  I was a little early.  Oh well, went home and packed up and had a great afternoon in the garden.

About the Tote Bags

Michele read an article last year about how to make a tote bag out of a tee shirt.  She shared it with Donna and I and thought maybe we could use this idea for a Relay for Life fundraiser.  Looked pretty fun to me.  There were a lot of shirts no one ever used for past Relay events. The director of the local event even found us some more shirts to use from other counties. Donna and Michele snipped out the collars and sleeves of the shirts and I sewed them into shopping bags.  The white bags needed some personality so I took them over to my friend's art studio in Rainier, Oregon and she turned them into what I think are the coolest shopping bags in Longview.  These shirts are now useful tote bags good for groceries, gym clothes, or beach bags.  We're selling them for $10 each and the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Wearing My Veggies ~ My Garden Fresh Tattoo

I have or should say "had" an old tattoo, A faded rose from days gone by. I've had getting it covered or re-worked on my list of things to do before I retire.  Why that list, because what I've been thinking about getting will cost more than I will be able to afford once I'm self employed, hopefully teaching and sharing my love of vegan cooking with others.

 I love art and I've seen some lovely tattoos on women.   My friend who owns a couple restaurants had a "Rosie the Riveter" portrait on her upper back with pies and cakes piled all around Rosie's waist.  I was pretty inspired.  Of course, I don't want to copy someone's art, so I just stuck it in the back of my mind and pondered what I'd do when I finally got it done.  I once saw a woman who had a typewriter tattooed across her arm, she told me she's a writer.  Sometimes, I like to go to the face painter's booths at music festivals and have a large bouquet painted on for the day. This last summer while walking the Alberta "Last Thursday" art walk in Portland, I saw a woman with a bouquet of fresh vegetables on her upper arm.  I loved it and found my inspiration.  I asked her if I could take a picture of her tattoo.

I pass a sign on my way to the Payton's produce store weekly.  "We Fix Old Tattoos and Make 'em New"  I often think about going in there and talking to them and one day it happened.  Felicia had just gotten a lovely vine of flowers with all her children's names around the leaves and she introduced me to the artist, Jason Hanks.  I showed him my faded rose and suggested he make it into a cabbage and maybe add a vegetable or two.  I showed him the picture of the woman in Portland and told him I wanted something similar.  We made an appointment to design it, we started looking at my pictures from the garden, he got to drawing, and pretty soon I ended up with an original still life.  One of the best parts is that he used pictures from my own photo galleries for some of the models.  When it came time to color the golden beet up front I brought in some fresh organic golden beets.  It took about nine hours, three sittings over three months.  It's a bit bigger, OK, a whole lot bigger, than I imagined, but I do love it and so does my husband.


The sad part, I live in the Pacific Northwest and won't be able to show it off, but a few weeks a year.  It'll be under sweater for quite a few months.

When I showed it to Chef Al at the Compassionate Thanksgiving, he said, "You can grow your vegetables, you can cook and eat your vegetables, now you can wear your vegetables!"  I like wearing my vegetables, inside and out.

Art Crawl in Portland Saturday Night

Went to play in Portland Saturday night, one of our favorite playgrounds. After an unusually pleasant visit with our son in St. Helens, Oregon, Saturday afternoon, we wandered to Portland towards our final destination, The Alberta Rose Theater for an eight o'clock show.  We stopped at a cute little vegetarian grocery store called Cherry Sprout Produce. We've wanted to stop in many times, but hadn't found the time yet.  Since we were pretty early we stopped in and picked up some wonderful produce as well as a couple seedlings for the garden, a couple fava bean plants, jerusalem artichokes, and some spicy herb blends for herb hill. We found the theater, parked the car, and took a walk in search of food for our camera as well as our bellies.  We stopped in a a Thai restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful vegan meal. Then we wandered around enjoying the paintings, sculptures, and wonderful creations all around us. I do love this part of Portland, it's so full of art everywhere you look.  There was a life size piñata type sculpture of a mermaid on top of one of the coolers of the Cherry Sprout.  A creation of one of the nearby artists.

We met this lovely lady, Laura Stokes, on our Baja Beach Daze trip in 2009.   She was one of the people who got on in San Francisco,  we spent ten wonderful days traveling through California and most of Baja. We spent five days camping at a private beach on the Sea of Cortez, a little north of La Paz. She and her partner travel the world performing their art. We've been looking forward to seeing her performance for sometime.

Last night we finally had the pleasure of seeing this awesome show.  Not one person left that theater wishing they had done something else last night.  The theater was full and there was an enthusiastic standing ovation at the end. There were no words spoken during this performance,  but strong messages about ourselves in this busy, stressful world came through quite clear. Laura and her partner are absolutely impressive as they demonstrated the ability to control every muscle in their bodies.  This is an event I highly recommend if the The Ricochet Project comes to a city near you.  They've been in Seattle a couple times in the past two years, but we haven't been able to make it. Check out this trailer for a sample of some of her expressive art.

I added a little art to our house this weekend too.  My friend Melanie of Oregon Grape Stitch just finished a pair of brightly colored curtains I just couldn't leave hanging in her store.  They made a quick appearance as tablecloths at the potluck, then  we hung them where Kaylee sleeps, she's going to love them.  She also likes the rainbow colors like her grandma.  The room I hung them in is lit by the sunshine in the morning.  At at certain time, it's usually too bright.  The colors in these curtains filtered the sun and brought in the light in a different way. When I came in this morning, I was greeted by a bright, cheery room.

Halloween

I am starting to realize what a family holiday Halloween really is.  I miss my sons and all the preparation of designing our costumes and gathering the supplies.  When I was young Halloween was one of the biggest days of our lives.  Since our family was so large, the collection of decorations and costumes grew every year.  I think it was some of the most fun my siblings and I had together. We were usually one of the most popular Halloween haunts on the block.  I remember the neighborhood kids anxiously looking forward to seeing what we came up with each year.  Our mother would dress up every year scaring some trick-or-treater's just about past the next house. It's always been one of my favorites, it's been a big deal and a lot of fun with my own children.  I know both of my sons are thinking about me today.

HALLOWE'EN
 

Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite
All are on their rounds to-night,-
 In the wan moon's silver ray
 Thrives their helter-skelter play.

Fond of cellar, barn,or stack,
True unto the almanac,
They present to credulous eyes
Strange hobgoblin mysteries.

Cabbage-stomps-straws wet with dew-
Apple-skins, and chestnuts too,
 And a mirror for some lass,
Show what wonders come to pass.

Doors they move, and gates they hide,
Mischiefs that on moon-beams ride
Are their deeds, and, by their spells,
 Love records its oracles.

Don't we all, of long ago,
By the ruddy fireplace glow,
In the kitchen and the hall,
Those queer, coofllke pranks recall?

Eery shadows were they then-
But to-night they come again;
Were we once more but sixteen,
Precious would be Halloween.

-Joel Benton

“At first cock-crow the ghosts must go, back to their quiet graves below.” ~ Theodosia Garrison

I'm a Gardener Today

Get to have a day of my own today. Starting the day a little slower than usual, sipping my coffee and listening to music. Enjoying a little extra time with my sweetie in the morning. I get to go out and do some work in the garden today.  I'm putting some bigger tools in the car than usual and getting some real work done out there.  I've been waiting for the sun to shine so I can get out there.

We've had a break in the pace at work and the sun has been shining. The weather reports say this could be the last day in the 70's for quite some time. I am fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of it to love my garden a bit today. Since the sun goes down a little earlier, we haven't been able to spend as much time out there. Many chances I've gotten on the weekends, the weather has been wet. There is much to be done. There's still lots of vegetables to be harvested, weeds to pull, and potatoes to be dug up. I can plant my garlic today and get some of the tomatoes and peppers that haven't ripened uprooted so they will ripen indoors. I'm very excited to be outside today. I do so love playing in the dirt. 

Scarecrows in St. Helen's

I do love all the seasons.  Although I do like the warmth of spring and summer, fall is one of my favorites. The cool fall breezes seem to blow out the bad air and give everything a renewed feeling.  The sun is shining in the mornings and the fall colors are radiant.  We're going out to the pumpkin patch in Willow Grove to get Kaylee her pumpkin and mess around with all the little animals on the farm.  I'll be sure to post some photos of our prize pumpkin she brings home and what it looks like after we've done a little sculpting.

Went to St. Helen's, OR this week to do some business.  This is Halloweentown.  There were scarecrows all over town.  Isabelle fits right in with this crowd.

Michael Franti - Hey World Don't Give Up

I've been moving through life at a fast pace lately.  It's a busy time of year at work and at home.  I'm a little behind with my blog. I haven't felt much like sitting at a computer and blogging when I get home from work the last couple of weeks. There's also been quite a bit to get done in the evenings.  The garden still needs lots of love and time and I've also been preserving all the produce I can while it's in season.  The last two weeks we have canned rhubarb, peaches, homemade sauerkraut, and pears. We just received a large bag of apples.  Applesauce and maybe some apple butter to prepare soon.  Life should slow down a little soon, if I let it.

I guess it's officially fall and it will be colder soon.  I'm already reaching for the socks in the morning instead of sandals.  It's a lot of work, but joyful work, and I am happy with the fruits, vegetables, and herbs we have ready for the winter. I did remember I wanted to share this wonderful video.  I had the opportunity to dance, sweat, sing, and share some love with my sweetie enjoying this man's music last Saturday night.

Enjoy!

Harvest Moon - Autumn Equinox at Once, a Rare and Beautiful Occurence

Super Harvest Moon

The moon was especially beautiful last night.

The Harvest Moon gets its name from agriculture. In the days before electric lights, farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset. It was the only way they could gather their ripening crops in time for market. The full Moon closest to the autumnal equinox became "the Harvest Moon," and it was always a welcome sight.

Early August in the Garden

Just a little peek at the garden. She's blooming everywhere. There are beautiful herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables popping up everywhere. It's a lovely place to be with or without the sun.  Isabelle has a few friends in the garden now too.  I've included a couple of them, another scarecrow-ess named Betsy and her owl. 






The very pretty shiny object in the garden is a hand made sunburst made out of polished steel by one of our local artists. It is a gift from my friend and sister, Rhonda. I had to stop by the garden and let it shine in the sun for a few moments on the way home.

Natural Order by Ma Muse

We had the pleasure of listening to Ma Muse live Tuesday night in Portland.  These versatile musicians demonstrate the message that some people are born to sing.  Their music is warm, uplifting, and spiritual.  I am sorry I couldn't schedule a house concert in my backyard garden.  That would have been quite a treat, maybe on their next journey to the northwest.

Many thanks to my friend Glenn Smith for introducing me to their lovely music.

Enjoy

A Pearl in the City

We drove our granddaughter home, north of Seattle, Saturday.  It can be a long day, three and a half hours one way.  Both of us have back issues and need to stop at least every hour, sometimes more after a few hours of driving.  It takes us about nine hours or more to do the round trip.   We like to make some fun out of it and try to take little exploratory stops off the freeway at least once.  One of our stops was right off the highway in downtown Tacoma.  We wandered around a little bit and had an early dinner at a nice little vegan cafe.  It was late Saturday afternoon and downtown was very quiet.  There was no traffic and we had lots of room to roam and look around.  We came across a little community garden.  This was a very creative little spot.  The wall mural is right around the corner from the garden.  

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.

Joy

I love it that the cabbage look like big roses. :-)

I'm waiting anxiously like an excited little kid for my husband to come home in a few minutes so we can get out to the garden.  We didn't go yesterday and it is so funny that I miss it in only one day.  I have lots on my mind today and have wondering what I'd have to blog about.  When I realized the joy I just felt knowing that my best friend will be here soon and we can go do what we love, I figured out what to write about.  Joy!

I've posted this song before, but it is a song that makes me feel happy.  The people on the stage and in the crowd are our friends and family. Check out Mark Binyon on the piano. Whew!  We have danced many a night indoors and out to their music. Pescadero is where we had a son and began our life together. I am the girl at the local restaurantè in the song. It's the only country song they play and it's hard to get them to do it anymore.

Enjoy the day!

Isabelle's Makeover

We all go through stages of growth before we get beautiful.  We all start out beautiful, but some of us take a little change to realize we are beautiful from the inside out.

My very creative friend, Rachel, made Isabelle some arms, gave her a beautiful pink boa and made some other womanly enhancements.  She's also brought some love and warmth to our garden, and our lives, as she does everywhere she is. The sun is finally shining and Isabelle has many growing plants to watch over.

Holidays are a Good Thing

Friday off and I get to leisurely get ready for the day.  We have some nice plans for the weekend.  Nothing too stressful or far away. Tonight we will be enjoying music outdoors with friends at the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland.  I am looking forward to it this year, as always, but this year is a little more speical as I couldn't go last year due to my broken ankle.  I friend of mine offered to carry me, I declined that offer.

They all have to work today, so I'll make sure to have something ready for dinner when they arrive.  I'm going to start some dough to rise and visit the local produce stand for some additions for a Vegetarian Pizza.  I picked up some of the best strawberries in the area yesterday from Crawford Berries 'n Cream. I am thinking of adding a fresh strawberry pie to tonight's menu.  That should be a nice summer surprise. 

Early tomorrow we might check out some of the fourth of July festivities at the local lake.  A cardboard boat rigatta was started last year and it looked like it was great fun.  I am hoping to check out some artistic seaworthy creations and get some photos.  As for the rest of the holiday, we might visit the Blues Festival once more time, but other than that, it's gardening and relaxing.

Speaking of the garden, Isabelle has a friend now.  I am encouraging more gardeners to put up a funny scarecrow.  We had so much rain, the garden isn't as tall as it usually is at this time of the year.  There are about 120 gardens in the community plot.  I think it would be fun to turn it into a little sculpture park.

Isabelle's Friends

Happy Birthday Isabelle

I think it's finally summer.  At least it feels like it today again.  It was lively out at the community garden today.  Lots of plants are reaching for the sun and growing.  There were many families and gardeners working together in the peaceful field.  I am so looking forward to the changes in the garden in the next few weeks.  It won't take long for the whole place to transform into a tall field of many colors.

I finished my garden surprise.  She's not your typical scarecrow.  I planted a garden princess.   Her name is Isabelle and she'll keep an eye on the garden, but unfortunately she'll probably make friends with the birds instead of scare them.  That's OK, she makes me smile.

What a day, glorious! By Ma Muse

I found these beautiful musicians via a friend of mine from Santa Cruz.  These women are riding bicycles from Shasta to BC this summer sharing their music along the way.  Hoping to catch their music in Portland.

MaMuse: (Ma as in Mamma; Muse as in the one who inspires) "Beautiful Harmonies woven into a tapestry of strings and stillness."

    The songs of MaMuse are love poems to the Earth. They also speak to the depths of one's own inner terrain.   MaMusic stirs the heart through deep soul felt lyrics and sparse supportive instrumentation. Sarah and Karisha together create original music that breathes. Tight vocal harmonies ring out a Capella or blend with upright bass, mandolin, guitar, flute, light percussion and finger snaps to deliver the gift of  joyful truth telling.

    The encouragement and support of their hometown Chico, California community (MaMuse has received awards two years in a row from local voting music enthusiasts for Best New Act, Best Folk Act and Best Local Act) has provided the strength for the "rootsy female wonder duo" of MaMuse to make her way out into the world, touring regions across the country as well as establishing a strong presence through the Bay Area and Northern California. 

    Celebrating her second year of Being and sharing, MaMuse delights in this year's 2010 Spring and Summer invitations: Chico Bicycle Music Festival, Davis Whole Earth Festival, California World Music Festival, Esalen International Arts Festival, Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, Mystic Family Garden Party and the American River Music Festival. 

   Beginning July 31st, MaMuse will set out with a small support of friends to promote their second full-length album Strange and Wonderful. The tour will begin in Shasta, CA and meander northward through Oregon and Washington. In Seattle, MaMuse will continue their adventurous Northwest tour by bicycle, ferrying across the Puget Sound and sharing their music through the San Juan Islands. Bicylces support the journey for MaMuse whenever possible, as they have pedaled their bodies and instruments from their homes in Chico to the World Music Festival (Grass Valley, CA), the Whole Earth Festival (Davis, CA) and the Bicycle Music Festival (San Francisco, CA). 

    The essence of MaMuse is rooted in the transparency of a journey shared by two women who feel a lot and dare to express their experiences through song and story. "As a community we are all strengthened when even one of us discovers his or her voice and dares to share. We dare you to sing with us. We dare you to discover your own song." (Karisha)   

"MaMuse is what a meadow would sound like if she could sing." She can be found singing on the inter web meadow at : www.mamuse.org

 MaMuse has released two albums to date: 2008 debut album, All the Way and May 2010 new born, Strange and Wonderful. Both are available for purchase online through her website or Cd Baby. 

"Oh what a day, GLorious!"

What About Me - Quicksilver Messenger Service (1970)

Written 40 Years ago and relevant today.

Technical Difficulties, Strawberries, and Art

I've been down a week, well my PC has anyway.  The modem quit working and we learned to live without the internet.  Strange how we felt cut off from the outside world a little bit not having this little electronic box for a week.  You'd think I'd get enough of the computer at work, but that's mainly spreadsheets. 

A week ago Saturday was a pretty special day for me.  The sun was shining and warm and the first strawberries of the season showed up at the farmer's market.   It's been so rainy here this spring, I was wondering if the strawberries would show up at the farmer's market this month.  June is strawberry season here, most years.  I usually have fifty pounds or more in my freezer before the end of the season.  I've been pretty good about not buying strawberries out of season.   We ran out of them in January this year.  I picked up some Nasturtiums, Marigolds, Purple African Daisies, and some blue potato starts for the garden too.   I got a "great pumpkin" plant for our yard at home.   It's one of those that should grow to 100 pounds or more, this should be fun to watch.   Not sure what I will do with it, but if we get one that size, I do know someone who likes to sculpt them and does it well.  The sun came out for both days of the weekend and I spent a lot of time in the garden.  My knees were dirty most of the weekend.

There was also a little flea market in town, The Spring Fling.   I found a painting that just had to go home with me.   The woman who sold it to me knew the artist, but didn't tell me the name of it.   At my house it shall be "Women on Market Day."   It tells so many stories.  The frame is a little warped, but it's in great condition. Hand painted and it was only $7.