First Harvest

 Enjoying the small wins when we get them

Cardio

Our life seems driven by a series of doctor visits. Today, it was the cardiologist's turn.

Suncatcher is from TadsaShop on Etsy

As we waited in the exam room for the results of Dale's EKG, I noticed something on the floor. You can see it there between Dale's knee and my shoe.

It appears to be a tiny paper heart.

I tell you, those hearts follow me around. 

(We had a mix of OK news and troubling news. That's part of our life these days, too).

Path of the Stars

Dale and I are sprucing up our home's exterior this year. After laying down a fresh layer of mulch on the yard, and power-washing all the concrete, we moved on to lighting.

We added new post-top solar lights, bringing a soft glow to the fence we share with our neighbor.

Then we added lights lining our driveway and the path to our front door. 

The way the light spreads into stars on the ground is incredibly pretty. 

Just Because

Yesterday our daughter Jodie brought her dad and me this lovely bouquet ...

just because.

Morning Moon

I woke up at 6:30 yesterday morning, an hour before sunrise. Light seeped in beneath the bottom of the curtain and the window sill. 

The Wolf Moon, January's supermoon, greeted me.

Wowza!

Happily, it's not only beautiful Oregon sunsets I get to see through my bedroom window! 

(Perhaps I should store a small tripod in the nightstand for fewer jiggles).

Some Evenings are Like This

For Jodie

Me.
Tonight.

Couch Potato

Tonight's Sunset

 

Ready for Fall

Kit stopped by yesterday to play dress-up with me. Well, dress up the house that is. We put on our creativity hats, pulled out the Autumn and pumpkin decorations, and gussied up the living room and entry way.

These two vignettes are on the mantle. The owl is a new addition this year. I found it at a thrift store a few months ago. He's very expressive!

We raided Abby's toy chest for some colorful blocks to use as pumpkin risers.

We also decorated a few shelves on the bookcase.

Whimsy and humor are a must!

Dale decorated the front porch. It's a masterpiece. I'll try to share that tomorrow.

Today's Another Minor Holiday

Today was Jodie's first ever banana split! I'm fairly sure I haven't had one since the turn of the century. But you know how it goes, it's imperative for us to honor a national holiday together - especially if it involves sweet treats! 

We had a choice of four ice cream flavors.

Three kinds of fruit ... that darn near makes this a salad!

Gooey toppings are necessary.

Jodie's masterpiece:

This was Abby's first ever banana split, too. Very clever to use a circus animal cookie as a spoon.

And a good time was had by all.

Jodie took all these great photos.

Patio Visitor

At the end of July, we had a special visitor. She came into the patio to cool off with Dale and me,

To drink deeply,

And take a shower.

Then she flew to the awning tether and shook out her feathers,

Lifted her face to the sun, and rested.

What a treat!

I almost missed seeing her because her coloring matches our fence and morning glories so well. The camera on my phone did a great job of catching all that movement. Dale got some beautiful photos, too, because he was sitting closer to her.

Points of Light

I adhered marbles

to the knotholes in our old fence.

As the sun sets each evening

the light shines through

gifting us

with colorful points of light.

And when the vines die back this winter? 

They'll be the stars of the show.

Beans & Franks

Yep. Another minor holiday. July 13th was Beans and Franks Day. 

That made the question about what to have for dinner easy.

I haven't had this combo in years. It was a blast from the past.

The fun of celebrating minor holidays is tapping into something just one step out of our ordinary daily activities.

The Simple Life

Each morning after our walks, Dale and I sit on the patio to cool down and enjoy the breeze.

It's a nice morning view. Our wall of Morning Glory vines is filling in nicely. Give it a couple more weeks.

:: chef's kiss ::

Decisions, Decisions

I'm like the old woman who lives in a shoe.

I had so many children crafts, I didn't know what to do.

All the surfaces in my Studio were cluttered up with partially done projects. So I decided to create a little order today. Layer by layer, project by project, I cleared my work surfaces. I put each project in a pile on my bed. Now I can tackle them one at a time.

These are thrifting finds I bought last week. Some are gifts for my granddaughters. Some is geocache swag. I've washed the fabrics. Now everything needs to be put away. 

This box is a card-making kit. I want to make a bunch and send them out to "my ladies" to let them know they've been on my mind.

Here are a couple pen-pal letters started for my Idaho grandkids.

I've done some measuring, so will cut these boxes to size, line them, and work on my "fat quarter project" wherein I sort my fabric, fold each identically, and organize them in boxes that will fit their shelf. This way, finding an appropriate fabric will be much easier than the current toppling stacks. This project is one of my 25 Goals in 2025.

And, of course, I still need to finish my cross-stitch pillow. I haven't worked out all the math yet.

So ... tomorrow? I tackle the first project tomorrow? 

One small problem: where do I sleep tonight?

Follow Our Geotrail! - Part 3

Here are the final photos from our birthday/Mother's Day geocache outing. Geocaching is the ideal sport / game for us!

A surprise along the way ... this gnome lives in a hollow tree.

Cache of the Day - a pirate themed cache! It earned a Favorite Point from me.

Cap'n Pete's Hidden Treasure

This guy hung around in the trees, guarding the treasure chest.

Jodie found a travel bug

And so did I! 

And finally, a heart charm came home with me after I exchanged some swag.

It was a lovely, lovely, lively day outside in nature with two of my favorite people in the world.

Follow Our Geotrail! - Part 2

Here are more photos of our birthday/Mother's Day geocache outing. Oregon is beautiful in the Springtime!

Flowers, flowers everywhere

Beauty blooms around the rust.

Texture on texture. Looks prickly to me.

Watch out for thorns if you want to smell a blackberry bloom.

These tall bright torch lilies (red hot pokers) were blowin' in the breeze.

To photograph the itty bity blooms, I got down on my knees.

CITO (Cache In, Trash Out)

Jodie does her bit to keep cache areas clean. 😇