The Northern Oregon Coast, Part 1

When you visit Oregon, you need to drive to the coast.

We started our coast weekend by driving to the most northern Oregon coastal town, Astoria.

At Astoria, you can cross north over the Columbia River on a long and high bridge into Washington. 

 We chose to turn south on Hwy 101. 

...after we enjoyed The.Best fresh caught fish and chips at Bowpicker's.

See that empty spot in the middle of the photo where there are no landmarks?  That's where the Columbia River flows into the Pacific Ocean.

In case you were wondering, yes, the lumber industry is still going strong in the Pacific Northwest.

As you drive south, you will often be hugging the cliff on your left and peering down onto the beach on your right.  And when I say, peering down, I mean down a long way.

Eventually (after a few miles of hair raising cliff hangers), you will arrive in Cannon Beach.

Cannon Beach is the location of Haystack Rock.

I remember playing around Haystack Rock as a child, trying to wade out as far as I could during low tide to maybe reach the rocks in front.

(Unless you drive down to the beach and get out of your car, your photos will inevitably include lines and poles.)

Cannon Beach is a favorite tourist destination for most of the year, and there are many shops and restaurants to visit.  We stopped at an art store because my sister-in-law's niece has a display in the art gallery.  Then we popped in to a candy store and there was a friend from our church in Portland!  What a wonderful surprise to find her there!

And then we arrived at the 'real' beach, Rockaway.

Twin Rocks

at Rockaway Beach

In this somewhat closer up shot, you can spot all the birds perching on top of the rocks.

That was Day One of our Oregon beach adventures.

Come back for more!

June Means Weddings and Holidays

 Yes, I was MIA last week.  I have a good excuse.  It's called vacation.  The Professor and I were traveling in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon, which is my home state where I was born and grew up.  My brother and sister-in-law live there still, as well as many of my extended family.  Also, The Professor and I lived there for more than twelve years during the 1990s and early 2000s.  Therefore, my Friday Fave Fives (the link takes you to our host Susanne's blog) will be filled with recalling all the wonderful memories we made while we were there for the past almost two weeks.

1.  Breakfasts, coffees, dinners with friends who carved out time for us to visit with them.  A beloved prof (and his wife) who taught us so much about English literature and about life.   Friends from our former church there.

2.  The main reason that we chose to visit this month, this week, was because we attended the wedding of my cousin's son.  I loved being there with my family to watch the ceremony on a farm in the Willamette Valley.

3.  A weekend spent at a Pacific Ocean beach town.  My nephew owns a cabin there and offered it to his parents and us for a weekend.

4.  Driving along the coast was one of my favorite things we did.  I am a beach girl and I love the ocean.  I won't do a photo dump of all the pictures I took.  Come back tomorrow for a separate post on that.

A peek straight down onto the beach from a lookout point on Hwy 101.  Yes, we really were that high above the sea.

Foggy days at the Oregon Coast are normal, but it adds to the allure of the sea.

5.  Oregon brings all the memories together for me-- family, school, friends, camping.  And everywhere you look during this season of the year, you find three plants.  Roses (after all, Portland is the City of Roses), Rhododendrons, and Wild Blackberries.  Driving anywhere, you will see all three bushes, all the time.  I love viewing God's creation in flowers and plants.

Rhodies in all the colors!

So. Many. Roses.

In Oregon, blackberries grow everywhere.  Their long sharp thorns serve a good purpose of creating a natural barrier around the edges of properties and along highways.

I am so very thankful for the opportunity we had to travel.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane... soon

 I do know when I'll be back again, though.  This is a trip to visit my brother and sister-in-law and attend a wedding.  Along the way, we will also have opportunity to connect  other family and friends.  And make memories.  And take lots of photos.

But before I leave, I still need to pause and post Friday Fave Fives.  These are things in my life that I am thankful for this week.

1.  Although the bees aren't here yet, our beehive is up and ready.  And the watering station is, too.

2.  The garden is growing.  Tomatoes, basil, bush beans, snap peas.  I've even spotted a few kale and carrot sprouts.

3.  Our housekeeper cleans our home once a month.  She was here yesterday, so we are leaving a clean house.  I enjoy returning to a clean and orderly home after a trip.

4.  We had a family bonfire this week.  The weather was hot, and there was no need for a fire to keep warm.  But we all love fires.  And the grandboys roasted hot dogs.

5.  Our neighbors are the best.  I think we have our own little neighborhood watch.  We tell each other if we will be gone, and the people at home keep watch on our properties.

I hope you are enjoying this first Friday of June!

Expressing My Gratitude

 GRATITUDE IS NOT GRATITUDE UNLESS IT IS EXPRESSED.

quote from Pastor Jim Larson

So let us express our gratitude.

One way to do this is with Friday Fave Fives.  I join other people who want to be grateful for the blessings in their lives (the link takes you to Susanne's website to read more and write your own post)

1, 2, and 3.  Because the invasive Japanese beetles were chewing and destroying the sand cherry bushes in front of our living room windows (and because the bushes grew aggressively tall), we pulled them out.  (we meaning The Professor, Tall Boy and Y)  This week we bought new replacements:  boxwood! (that's #1)  Then, Tall Boy and The Professor put one boxwood in one day after school (#2).  Yesterday, when E and Y were here to grab some moving boxes from us, Y dug three more holes and placed in the rest of the boxwood plants. (#3) Now we have a new look starting in our front garden!

4.  One morning this week, I drove out to my friend's home and walked with her around her property to search for any medicinal plants that might be growing in her woods.  Besides learning what grows wild around here, it was just fun to spend that time with her.

5.  The grandkids' school year is over!  We celebrated by having dinner together at a favorite restaurant, Bombay Garden, where they serve both Greek and Indian food.  And both are delicious.  Congratulations to Tall Boy, Tall Girl and Short(ish) Boy for a job well done!  Congratulations to the moms who got them up every day, fed them and made them do their homework.  And thank you to all the great teachers!  Now let's enjoy the summer.

Some Actual Knitting

 I know that my blog heading states Life and Knitting, and I know that I haven't shared much about knitting lately.  It's not that I have not been knitting.  It's just that I haven't taken photos of my knitting.

But finally, I did a quick photo shoot of a shawl that I recently made.

Details:

    Yarn:  llama and silk blend, handspun by me.

    Pattern:  Raindrops and Roses Shawl by Clara Beauty.  You can find the pattern on Ravelry.  Here is a link:  Raindrops and Roses

    Needles:  size 6US

It took me awhile to knit it, but it took much longer to block it.  I blocked half of it, placing it on the bed in the guest room.  Then I 'forgot about it'.  Until...my grandson was scheduled to stay with us overnight and would be sleeping in that bed.  So I ran upstairs and finished the blocking.

Now I have a beautiful cream colored shawl to sling over my shoulders to give me just that small bit of extra warmth on cool mornings and evenings.

The bottom edge is knitted 'sideways'.

The placement of the 'holes' created by YO, K2Tog really does create roses and raindrops.

YO means yarn over.  K2Tog is knit two (stitches) together.

Heart-filled Week

Happy Friday, dear readers!  It's time for Friday Fave Fives.  Here is how I was blessed here at Willow's Cottage this week.  The link takes you to Susanne's blog where you can read more or join in.

1.  Mother's Day.  Family was here for dinner Sunday evening.  Pasta with tomato sauce or alfredo (made by older daughter).  Salad.  Broccoli.  For dessert, there was ice cream and sorbet for me.  After eating, we sat on the back patio and enjoyed a cherry bonfire.

2.  Both of my boys called me to wish me Happy Mother's Day and we chatted a long time.  My mama's heart was full.

3.  My girls know me well.  When we were at the garden center, I noticed a bird bath and commented how much I liked it.  Guess what?  Yup.  It was my Mom Day gift!  I loved how they surprised me.  Because it is so heavy, Tall Boy and Tall Girl brought the pieces in and 'hid' them in the living room and turned off the lights in there.  Then, at the unveiling, they took me in and turned the lights back on.  Here are the two pieces...we are still choosing the best place as it is actually going to be used (hopefully) by the bees.

Of course, I love the Celtic designs (knitted cables?)

4.  The Professor's gift to me was labor.  He finished prepping the garden beds!  And now I have planted tomatoes, basil, bush beans, climbing cucumbers, parsley and marigolds.  This morning, I added carrots, lettuce and kale seeds.

5.  Short Boy stayed overnight with us one night this week.  When I said goodnight to him, I asked if I could do what his mom always did when he was young--sing the Doxology to him as part of his goodnight ritual.  His response?  I didn't SEE the eye roll, but I heard it in his voice as he informed me that he was really young then.  But I sang it anyway and I could tell he loved it.  You know, when you're thirteen, you have to pretend you don't want it even if you do.   Meema's heart was happy.

My Love Language

"Take me on long walks

and to warm coffee shops."

Or coffee any time.

May Friday Fave Fives, Week Two

Bountifully blessed is the way I would describe my week here at Willow's Cottage.  Some weeks I struggle to find Five Faves; other weeks I work at paring down the multitude of blessings.  Which ever week it is, I am thankful.  Here are five happenings that I chose for Friday Fave Fives (the link takes you to Living to Tell the Story blog to join us)

1.  One piece of siding on our house blew off in a storm months ago.  We have tried multiple times to find someone able and willing to replace it.  Unfortunately, it was the piece at the very tip top of our two story home.  The biggest issue was finding someone with a tall enough ladder to reach that spot.  This week, the father-in-law of our CA extra grandson brought a 35 foot ladder and climbed up there and put that one small piece back up.  We are so thankful for his willingness and ability to help us!

2.  On Saturday afternoon, the daughters drove over and picked me, and we went plant shopping!  AND NOW, my phone isn't talking to my laptop computer, so I can't post some adorable pictures.  The Professor is working on it...)

3.  Monday evening our daughters and the grands joined us here for BYOD (Bring Your Own Dinner) and a bonfire.  The weather was perfect!  I love living so near that we can just say, "Come on over and bring some food."

4.  I have been wanting to get out and hike this spring.  Obviously, my broken ankle has held me back.  But this week, Tall Boy and Short Boy had a Trail Life hike and I was able to tag along with the boys and The Professor.  The trail was very muddy but we persevered and I walked the whole way!

This part of the trail was the 'dry section'.

5.  The garden is s-l-o-w-l-y coming together.  Hopefully, we will be able to plant our starts this weekend as our California 'kids' came and helped us stabilize the corners and sides of the raised beds.  Here's to summer veggies!!