In the deep woods...

Into the deep woods, into the mountains... it's my happy place.



We spent the day in the Cascades above Darrington, north of the Mountain Loop Highway where we spent so much time when we were younger. We don't backpack anymore, but any excuse to get into the mountains... we're there. We'd intended to squeeze a long weekend out of the little time left before leaving on vacation, but car trouble nixed that plan. But we did get a long, beautiful day in the mountains, and that was enough for now.

Catching up...

Last year in August, we took a Viking River cruise. From Budapest to Amsterdam, we spent nearly three weeks on the river or walking through villages and towns, and had an incredible trip.



And although I took a lot of photographs, I never got any of them posted. So this past month, on the rainy days between gardening and quilting, I've been writing and editing photos.

Before I lose any more time, I decided to just get them out there. So if you're interested, take a look at August 2018. the trip starts on August 3, and there's more to come.

Share where you live... self-portrait

This poster in a vacant storefront caught my eye. If you look closely, can you find me?


This is #27 on the @twistedroadstudio summer photography scavenger hunt

Share where you live... water in motion

Water in motion, sprinkler, fountain, etc... get some motion blur 

One day last week, I came to the old part of my town, parked, and walked. There are only a few days left to finish Sarah's summer photography scavenger hunt, and I'm still on the trail of the elusive pay phone. But I knew I'd find other items on my list.

The water fountain park was my first stop. It's across from the public library, so I come past here pretty often. A decade ago, when I got my first digital camera, I ended up here on a 100 degree day, to find the park crowded with kids (and moms). They were having so much fun, I decided to stay and watch. That camera was a Canon ultrazoom, and I loved the range.

This is #10 on the @twistedroadstudio summer photography scavenger hunt

Home grown...

For me, apples will always be the fruit of autumn, in spite of the evidence right before my eyes, in my own orchard.

Apples grow to their full glory in August, the branches bend toward the ground, the deer ramp up their visits, and we start to see coyotes once the ripe fruit begins to fall. The Macintosh ripen first, then the Red Delicious. And if I'm really lucky, the fallen (but still producing) Pippen will also bear fruit.

A good year for apples... if I'd known, I would have thinned the fruit a couple of months ago. But this tree has never borne fruit like this in more than 30 years.

Late summer...

A garden is a grand teacher

It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; 

it teaches industry and thrift; 

above all it teaches entire trust. 
- Gertrude Jekyll 

Share where you live... coffee

Visit your favorite coffee shop, shoot the cup

It felt like a coffee and journal kind of morning, so I headed to town for some alone time, a walk around town to take some pictures, then run errands.


This is #26 on the @twistedroadstudio summer photography scavenger hunt

Share where you live... wooden stairs

Across the street from one of my favorite breakfast spots are two sculptures made from silverware:  a penguin and her chick, and a dragon. They always make me smile, so I crossed the street to get a closer look. And there were the wooden stairs I was looking for.

This is #28 on the @twistedroadstudio summer photography scavenger hunt

Share where you live... sunrise, sunset

The bright apricot sky woke me up this morning. I gathered up my clothes and phone and book and headed into the bathroom, threw open the window, leaned out, and took pictures until the colors began to fade.

Even though our bedroom faces east, it's hard to get good sunrise photos from our house. From one side of the valley to the other, there are lots of trees in the way, which means not much open sky. But I've never tried a photo from the bathroom before.

Chocolate, and more chocolate...

Today we split up our errands. DW took his mom to the dentist, and I gassed up the truck and hit a couple of quilt shops. I have a notion to make nothing but Kim Diehl quilts this year (that is, besides a mystery quilt for my guild, a block exchange, and finishing up 2-3 almost-done quilts). I found what I needed for the KD quilts at my favorite quilt store in Des Moines, and at another shop in my town, I found the perfect batik fabrics for the mystery quilt.

As I walked out I glanced down the street, and spotted my Pilot, which Dave had taken this morning. It was parked outside a fabulous bakery and cafe; I figured my hubby was having lunch with his mom.

So I jaywalked (shhh, don't tell) across this quiet street in the historic part of town, and pushed open the door. They were sitting at a table near the door, and smiled when I pulled out a chair. DW said, "I got you something" and held out a white bakery box. Inside, a gorgeous big piece of chocolate cake.



After dinner, I set the cake out on a favorite square plate from Spode, got out two silver dessert forks, and cut the cake in half. This is the first piece of cake I've had in years... and it was amazing. A thick layer of chocolate mousse sandwiched between two chocolate sponge cakes, covered with chocolate ganache, with toasted almond slices on the outside. Oh, and two raspberries on top. Even my hubbie raved about it, and chocolate is never his first choice for dessert.