Scene in Oregon

Nothing quite so iconic as a red barn in the country.

Add in a dramatic Oregon sky, and ... wow.

#passengerseatphotography

Happy Birthday, My Love!

Look who turned 62 today!

Dale's the best man I know and my very favorite partner of 30+ years. I'm beyond grateful for him.

As part of our celebration, I made a 6-inch white cake covered in fluffy white icing with raspberries on top. In addition, I made a dozen cupcakes to freeze and enjoy later on.

Ssssshhhhhhhhh! Don't tell him, but there's a surprise inside. It's reminiscent of our wedding cake.

Calla Lily

 Happy Mother's Day to my sister moms!

Have a Coke

 Last year, as part of my 20 Goals in 2020, Dale and I got in the habit of celebrating minor holidays. We more-or-less forgot about that simple pleasure until today.

Dale noticed it's Have A Coke Day. That is totally do-able! So here ya go!

Have a Coke, and a smile.

Poppies!

The second wave of Spring flowers is upon us. All over town, the curbside daffodils are gone, replaced with bright orange poppies.

Perhaps I'll plant some in our front yard so we can join in the the explosion of color next year.

#flowersforfriday

Throwback Thursday: A Hearty Bellylaugh

Throwing back to August 2013 when I found these books side-by-side at the grocery store.

#throwbackthursday

Pop Art Puzzle

I put this happy puzzle together back in March during my puzzle-making spree. I love its bright, brilliant colors.

I picked up this 350 piece puzzle at Dollar Tree. The puzzle is by Cra-Z-Art. The cardboard is thinner and stiffer than most of the one dollar puzzles I have in my collection.

Here's a close-up of each image. Cherries

Cactus

Lips

Eye

Guitar

Try It Too-sday: Sweetlips

Daughter Jeanne is two weeks past her second vaccination dose. She came by to play since we can be maskless together in person. First we made cookies. Then had some lunch with her dad. She helped me with some shopping. And we found a geocache together.

We spent the rest of the time recreating an image for #tryittoosday.

Like most of the others I've attempted, mimicking someone else's photo takes more brain power than I imagined. Each time I think I'm choosing a simple image to re-make, but I find myself back in the weeds. I was very happy to have Jeanne's help with this. She is a whiz with photo editing, and teaches me new tricks every session.

Here's our version of the leaf-that-would-be-lips:

Here's the original image I saved in August 2013. I don't know who the original photographer is, but I love their point of view:

I tend to get lost in the details. Jeanne pulled me back to solid ground. I'm heartened that we get to spend time together in person again!

Eventide

Peaceful

#passengerseatphotography

Weather Vane

Spotted on a twilight drive

Delicate Blooms

This bush which I encountered on my Red on Red day 

has come into bloom. The berry-shaped red buds have popped open

into petite pink star-shaped flowers.

Added later: A friend of mine identified this a Purple Chokeberry

Forest Full of Flowers

After our daughter Jodie got off work, she gave me a call and asked if I'd like to go for a walk with her at her favorite park. She led me to a wooded part of Doris Ranch I'd never seen before. I was looking forward to taking my "big girl camera" out for an expedition. My first attempt was to photograph a deep purple lilac. But ... nope. My camera battery was completely dead.

No problem. I'll use my phone's camera. Nope. I'd left my phone in my car at her house. So after having a little "stomp-around" in my head, I switched gears. After all, after months and months, I got to spend one-on-one maskless time with Jodie in nature!

Fawn Lily

It was so lovely. The tall trees formed a canopy over the garden of wildflowers in full Spring bloom. There was a gentle rain, but on the narrow dirt path, we were protected from the mist by our tall wooded friends.

False Solomon's Seal

Jodie was able to name many of the plants, and to take a lot of gorgeous photos with her phone's camera. It was such a delightful way to spend the late Friday afternoon, especially because I'd had a fairly anxious week (involving contentious emails with a financial institution, a bad Yelp review, a low-grade fever for an entire day, a difficult doctor appointment, and rats under our house).

Camas

For a few hours, I had beautiful company, and gorgeous surroundings.

Checker Lily

'twas an excellent way to end a month.

Throwback Thursday: Rock Flower Portrait

Three years ago, when living in Idaho, I took a walk down to the Spokane River. I created little art pieces along the way with bits of nature I found on my path.

The river was running low, and I was able to walk along the gravel that is usually covered by water. I gathered some river rocks and a stick from the nearby pine trees, and created a flower portrait.

I adore how looking at a photo I took can evoke such lovely memories and feelings of well-being.

The Spectrum and the Spark

God meets Man

Like a comet streaking to earth

Brilliance in the midst of gloom.

More Passenger Seat Photography

Fireside Companions

I pulled out a 300 piece puzzle last week. This is another illustration by Charles Wysocki.

This Americana scene depicts a traveling library (book store?) coming to town. The residents popped outside on this stormy, windy day to take advantage of the occasion.

Here are some of the details:

The mobile library with neighbors waiting in line.

Finding a spot in the grass, under a tree, to rest with your pup and read.

Or taking a spot on the grass in the strong breeze.

I love the name of this shop, "Loafers and Dreamers." Sounds like a place I'd like to visit. What do you think the building holds? A hotel? A pub? A gift shop? A restaurant?

I think you've find me here most often: Puzzle Hall.

What do you think? Itchy underwear made of wool, all the way from Boston. My, that's a dapper gentleman at the helm!

Under the Stormy Sky

 More passenger seat photography

Supercell

So, this may not technically be a supercell because it was not rotating and the rain from it was fairly gentle. But it was huge -- miles and miles across -- and had the typical shape. It may have been two or three layers of clouds stacked on top of each other. It looked like a gigantic column of clouds with a big mushroom head on top.

Eye-popping!

#passengerseatphotography

Slideback Saturday

 I love this old photo of myself. Little Mimi.

Classic 50s wallpaper in our dining room.

Short bangs cut by Mom.

Crooked teeth.

"Poor boy" knit shirt.

Mondo booster seat. (I used to hide peas underneath it).

And the grin...

In that moment, I was a happy kid.

#slidebacksaturday

I Want to Live!

Once there was a tree ...

who lived in a small dark corner of a front yard. The tree wanted to grow big and tall, but the trunk had been irreparably damaged before these owners moved in. 

Besides, the corner between the fences was too small. The branches started inching into the neighbor's yard to gather more light. And it patted the windows by their stairwell. The tree grew taller still, and climbed on the porch roof.

The owners said, "Uh, no. Good try, but no." 

For six months, the owners lopped off one branch at a time, cut the branches into small pieces, and put the bits in the "yard waste" container every two weeks, for the owners had no pickup truck to haul it whole to the dump.

Then came the winter rains. No more lopping. The tree waited. Moss covered the trunk.

In the Spring, the tree gave one last plea for its life.

"I want to live!"

#cornerofmyhome

My apologies to Shel Silverstein and The Giving Tree.

Bug-Eyed

 I found this painted rock literally in the middle of the street while I was on my afternoon walk last week.

So cute, eh?

But then ... #everythingsbetterwithgooglyeyes