"I started photographing my domestic world and writing not just about what I had made,
but why I made it, examining the thoughts that accompany creativity and the act of making."
Jane Brocket from The Gentle Art of Domesticity p. 189 UK edition

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Meandering

My youngest son, Tim, visiting from NJ, and I started meandering  from  Vista Point along the Columbia River in Oregon,  where Tim took this photo with the Washington shore pictured behind us.
We meandered by Multnomah Falls, and up Mt. Hood,
and along the Sandy River at Dodge Park,
and then to Blue Lake Park where you can see Joy and Molly splashing,
and where Uncle Tim and Rosie had a serious consultation,
and Uncle Tim gallantly guided Joy balancing on a log.
Meandering around our home after Tim flew back to NJ some of the family picked the first of our crop of apples.
Hayley asked for help learning how to crochet a blanket for her mom.
I knit some dishcloths for my friends, Teresa, Betsy and Taci, and my oldest daughter picked some of her lavender to share with them.
Then I meandered south to Crescent City especially to visit my dear 83 year old friend, Donna, and my wonderful friends in the Windy Weavers group.
Donna and I ate dinner here and played a game of Scrabble, too :)
Right after I left Donna in Crescent City, after a delightful visit with her, she suddenly had a heart attack and then a stroke and died...a shock I am still processing while celebrating her beautiful creative life filled with teaching, playing piano, making and appreciating art, and being a champion Scrabble player who trounced me nearly every time we played.  We shared faith in God, both graduated from San Jose State University and had a loving friendship that made light of the 20 years that separated us in age.  I am so grateful to have known her.
From Crescent City I meandered further south to Sonoma, CA, to pick up my oldest sister, Carolyn, and we then drove north to the high desert land of eastern Oregon.
Just south of Bend, OR, we saw this fabulous sunset at Waldo Lake.
We had hoped to go swimming with Teresa and Dayle in Waldo Lake and see 140 feet down in the clear water, but thunderstorms prevented that :( and Carolyn had a migraine headache so was not able to enjoy the delicious dinner of baked potato, corn on the cob, and filet mignon that Teresa and Dayle fixed for us. I also got to meet and enjoy a visit with Teresa's brother and sister-in-law, and one of her other sisters.
The next day, Carolyn, who felt better, and I meandered further north by the three Sisters Mountains, had lunch in the charming Western themed town of Sisters, OR ,and drove back to my home in Gresham.
We meandered out to eat several times in the next few days, and my youngest daughter, Elisabeth took this interesting photo at Tad's Chicken an' Dumplins along the Sandy River where we had  memorably yummy meals.  Then tomorrow we meander to the Portland, OR, airport PDX, so that my sister can fly home to Sonoma, CA.

Where have you been meandering?

Gracie xx

31 comments:

  1. My goodness you have been busy meandering since We had dinner together! I am so very sorry to hear of your friends sudden passing, but how wonderful that you had such a nice visit together. I wish I had met Tim when he was here...but maybe someday. How fun to visit Teresa and company at Waldo Lake, but too bad your sister was unwell. I'll be near PDX tomorrow too. Mandy and I are planning another outing to IKEA before we head to Spokane sometime this week. So glad you're home safely from your meandering.
    Blessings always sweet Gracie,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Gracie so very sad re your dear friend Donna, but such a wonderful final time you had with her......
    I do love your meandering, special time with Tim and all family members and catching up with Teresa and
    Dayle would have been lovely although not the weather. I am just meandering round the house lol
    Hugs to you from me in Oz xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Gracie! It was fun to see what you have been up to! Your son Tim is so handsome! I am sure you had a wonderful time!!
    Loved each and every single photo!
    Enjoy! XO Kris

    ReplyDelete
  4. So sorry for the loss of your friend Donna. What a great time memory making with your family, some great photos, my favourite was the sunset at Waldo Lake, what a delight.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, Gracie. I am SO very sorry about the loss of your friend Donna! It's hard to lose someone you care for. I pray that God will grant you peace and comfort.
    You HAVE been meandering and at such lovely places too! It's awesome that you were able to share your meanderings with so many people in your life:) LOVE your family photos!!!!
    Blessings,
    Aimee
    PS: My most recent meandering took my youngest son, his daughter and I to visit our daughter and her family in Utah. It was wonderful~

    ReplyDelete
  6. So sorry to hear of the loss of your friend.
    It looks as if you have been making the most of living in such a beautiful place and having family around you, I've been trying to teach my little ones to knit and crochet but they aren't quite there yet. A blanket sounds very adventurous!

    ReplyDelete
  7. So many delightful meanderings, Gracie. Your happy family times are a delight to see, and all your photographs are very beautiful. I was so sorry to read of the sudden death of your dear friend, such a shock for you, yet you had just had a very happy visit together and that must be a comfort. Sending love.
    Helen xox

    ReplyDelete
  8. Enjoyed the photos--especially the one of Multnomah Falls and the shot of Waldo lake. Sorry to hear of your friend's passing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. All of your meandering sounds like so much fun. Lovely to spend so much time with family and friends. I sure got a shock when I read that your friend passed away. May she rest in peace. God bless you all, Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Gracie, what a shock. I'm so glad you were able to see your friend just before she went - and what a blessing to know that you will see her again. I wonder if they play Scrabble in heaven? :)

    This post is like life, where the most serious events are sandwiched in with the daily doings of family and friends. And always there is beauty around us. Your post is full of this beauty! (And what a very handsome son you have.)

    Sending you a hug from Wisconsin.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry about Donna. What a shock that must have been. I'm glad you were able to spend some time with her. It's wonderful to see your son visiting too, it looks like you had a very nice time together. I hope you have a great week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am so, so sorry to hear of your friends passing Gracie.
    As ever, your photos are wonderful....I love going with you on your journeys :)
    Hugs and blessings, Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a terrible shock for you Gracie, but wonderful that you were able to spend such a happy time with her when you visited.
    Your meanderings look wonderful, I always marvel at the lovely places you live in and visit.
    We have been meandering in the woods, always a pleasure, but especially as we are gently heading towards autumn.

    Helenxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gracie, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your good friend. How nice that you were able to spend some time with her before this happened. Please know you are in my thoughts.
    I love your meandering post. You live in a very beautiful part of the county.

    Hugs,
    Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  15. That's a lot of meandering! How lovely to see so many of your friends and family. But so sad that you have lost your old friend x

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh Gracie! I was so shocked to read about your friends death, I completely wasn't expecting that it's so sad :( I'm glad you got to spend time with her though and I'm sure she really really appreciated it. Hope you're okay xxx

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love your meandering Gracie, love seeing your son with you, that is a darling picture and of course his sweet nieces. I am so sorry to hear about your friend, that is such hard news to swallow especially after you were just visiting her. Thank goodness you got that visit in, I am sure it meant so much to her. Love your travels.
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello my dear friend.. I was so sorry to hear of your friend's passing. I am just so glad you got to spend all that cherished time with her at the end! We just loved having you visit us at the lake, I hope spending cozy time with us inside the trailer was a fair alternative to sitting in the sun and swimming. I loved all your meandering and your son is so handsome! I got a giggle out of your granddaughter wanting you to teach her to make a blanket.. that is a very big first project! I spent 5 hours on my blog post today.. egads! Hope to see you soon. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm worth to hear of the loss of your friend. It looks you have been having a lovely time.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hello Gracie, lovely to see a post from you. What a blessing that you got to see Donna when you did. Your son's smile is just like yours! Beautiful photos. My meanderings for the summer are over with as school is back and I'm focusing on helping my daughter with that. My blog is a bit behind in posting about our adventures, so stay tuned for our trip to Arran!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thank you for sharing your delightful meanderings with us - I have a pic of me on that self-same bridge at Multnomah Falls! So sorry to hear of Donna's passing, but how blessed you both were to get that one last time to spend together.
    Lovely pic of you & your son too. Hugs xx

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh! my I'd love to go a wandering to these beautiful , Gracie. I also thoroughly enjoy to see how happy you are with your family around you and in such a wonderful setting. I was so sorry to read of the death of your dear friend, but very fortunate that you had some time together before her passing.
    Many thanks for your mention and I'm so glad you liked the pot. They are very popular with my contacts so I think I'll add a little one to this giveaway. I am counting you in the giveaway of course because it really was ages ago when we did that swap.
    Keep well

    Amanda x

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hello dear Gracie I am so sorry to hear about your friend but how lovely that you had that time together. Your journey sounds wonderful - I have just read Teresa account of your visit. I went to Yorkshire to look after my grandsons, came back and went south and collected my Mum and brought her here for a few days. Then I took her to stay with my brother. I should have 'meandered' to the hospital last Friday for the arthroscopy on my knee but it got canceled at the last minute so I am awaiting a new appointment - the joys of the NHS . Hugs Anne x

    ReplyDelete
  24. How the girls are growing, you have some treasured photographs there. I am sorry for the loss of your friend. xx

    ReplyDelete
  25. Gracie. So sorry to hear about your friend, Donna, passing away. Glad you got to see her before she left for heaven. That is a comfort, though. I enjoyed all your photos of your summer time travels. Looks you have had a good time. I've been running around too. Not had a chance to post cuz I am busy. Take care and my prayers dor you in loss of your friend. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Quite a meander, Gracie. I love each of those places! So sorry to hear of your friend's passing--but what a blessing to have just spent time with her. Aren't you glad you meandered down there when you did?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Very sorry to hear friend Donna passed away. How good that she died quickly .

    Meandering pretty close to home these days ...and cONTENT.
    LOVE YOUR PHOTOS!
    We


    ReplyDelete
  28. Sorry to hear you news, warm thoughts to you. I love seeing your happy family. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  29. Gosh Gracie, I am so sorry to hear of the sudden loss of your dear friend, what a shock. But it looks like you've been having a happy time meandering and spending time with those close to you. Multnomah Falls looks stunning, I'd love to visit there one day. x

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hugs to you, Dear Friend! I'm so sorry to hear of your friend's passing, but so grateful that she is in the presence of God. :) What a wonderful treat to have been able to spend some time with her, and all of your beautiful family!

    ReplyDelete
  31. A beautiful post, but I am so sorry to hear about your friend. Sending you much love XOX

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting me today! I welcome your comments!