To Burbank and Back on WIP Wednesday

My oldest sister, Carolyn lives in CA's  northern San Francisco Bay area. My older sister, Margaret, now lives in Burbank, CA, one of the hubs for media production work.  Margaret's oldest daughter, Heather, and her husband are both employed in recording sound for TV productions.

Carolyn and I drove from Sonoma south to Burbank last Thursday to vist Margaret and her family over the weekend. While we were there Heather took us to the recording studio where she works.  It was fascinating to watch her match sounds with actions through various computers! [My blog-techie skills pale in comparison :-)]

The drive from Sonoma to Burbank on Thursday,  and back on Monday, took us through dry land that is enlivened through an irrigation system that is embattled in arguments over who gets water rights.  We saw some orchards that were like eerie waves of dried driftwood.  But mostly we saw mile after mile of green vineyards, and thriving orchards of pistachios, mandarins, and more.

We saw the windmill farms in Altamont Pass, and a mothball fleet of retired ships from WWII in Suisun Bay, before we made it back to Sonoma where we are resting, and I have crocheted more rows on my shawl and started knitting another dishcloth.

Maybe I will get some more stitching done while I am here with Carolyn for two more weeks, then we plan to drive back to OR and Carolyn will stay with me for another two weeks.  Woohoo!!!

What's new with you ?

xx
Gracie :-)

Tea with Teresa

This afternoon I had the most wonderful time with my blog friend,

Teresa Kasner!

She has already posted about our time together
so I hope you will tap on her name
and visit her beautiful blog
to view pictures and details :)

Every time we have gotten together
I am so excited because
we share many common interests,
perhaps chief among them,
our appreciation for the beauty around us,
and living in this time.

We met at Chariteas in Sandy, OR.
We enjoyed tea,
and Teresa got some good pictures
of her High Tea goodies
while I was so busy talking
and enjoying the salmon salad and
the slice of gluten free chocolate cake
I ordered, I only took one picture,
but I love it.

Teresa is a delightful, talented woman.
She found a great hat to wear
and note the gorgeous scarf
she is crocheting,
[and the pretty bag Teresa won from
Shari's Handmade Crochet Gifts.]

After leaving Charitea's we tried to get a picture of 

Mount Hood , but fluffy white clouds got in our way.

So we headed to my house where Teresa

with the patience of a saint, 

introduced me to all sorts of amazing

things one can do on a MacBook Pro,

[when one learns how :)]

At the very least, I hope you 

get to know and enjoy Teresa through her blog, 

and view,and appreciate,  

her painting and jewelry

she has available for purchase.

...And I hope at least some of you have the opportunity to spend time

with Teresa as I have; I am certain you will

have great fun and be blessed as I have been.

Have you been having a happy day, too?

I hope so!

xxx from Gracie

Travelogue

Amazingly my photos have traveled from an iPhone 4S

to the iCloud

then to a MacBook Pro...

***WOW***

but learning how to pry them from the MacBook Pro

to share them with you on Blogger

is challenging me today...

...now how did I do it a few days ago =)

ahhhhhhh, yes.

Here are some photos from my trip south, from Portland, OR, to northern CA and back...

Viewing  the Umpqua River Lighthouse south of Florence

 is becoming a tradition for me when I drive the coastal route.

then stopping at the Veterans Memorial

and marveling at the huge sand dunes that are a part 

of the Oregon Dunes National Park area.

South of there I had to stop for road work and had time to

snap some photos of the placid blue Pacific Ocean.

I arrived in Crescent City, CA, just in time to have tea with these

lovely ladies, Windy Weavers =) who I enjoyed meeting

with nearly every Friday afternoon for 7 years while we chatted, and crafted various fiber arts projects.

I never tire of being near the sea and enjoyed this view especially.

The large rock island is called Castle Rock.

Many years ago a shepherd would herd his flock of sheep out into the

water at low tide and have them swim to the island in the spring to have

the flock graze there for the summer.

Sea lions laze on the lower rocks of the island and we could sometimes

hear their funny "orffing" conversations at night when we lay in bed with our window open.

In February thousands of Aleutian Geese land on the island to sleep at night, but every morning

for several weeks they take off in huge Vs across the sky and land in nearby pastures to feast

and store up enough energy so that they can eventually make it back to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

North Beach

Crescent City Lighthouse

One of the redwood groves and some ferns in the Jedediah Smith

State Park

The weekend passed swiftly and we headed back north to  Portland, OR on Monday.

Then on Tuesday and Wednesday visited some of our favorite local spots...

Chanticleer Point at the Women's Forum along the Columbia river...

an artist's view 

and the following photos are of my journal pages from last week,

 Kate's Challenge

to track reasons we have found to be cheerful =)

How has  your week been?

Hugs from Gracie <3

Apple Picking. =)

My dad bought a ticket to the moon from a comic book
when he was a kid in the early 1900's.
Out of high school he sold sets of books,
The Harvard Classics.
For a time he supervised the running
of a huge drum carder in a New England woolen mill.
During my childhood he worked as a Research Supervisor
on a poultry farm.

Over the last month my little laptop computer
began to suffer delusions.
Even though Norton Security insists my laptop is virus free,
I have grave doubts.
In the midst of randomly flashing blue screens at me,
it started broadcasting bits of commercials to me.
It refused to talk to my printer.
Then one day it chose to broadcast Paula Dean and her sons
talking about cooking something.
I quipped to family members and friends that PD & Sons
were probably
discussing cooking my goose/laptop.

Is it any wonder that at this point I chose to follow
in the curious, adventurous footsteps
of my father?
While I did not purchase a ticket to the moon,
I did pick and order a MacBook Pro Apple Computer.

My blogging buddy, Teresa Kasner and her dear husband, Dayle,
invited me to meet them at the MacPac store.
I asked Dayle to act as a voice of reason for me,
which he nobly did :)

In the midst of the disasters and discord of life
when some suffer disproportionately more than others,
I am grateful to have the opportunity to stretch and grow creatively,
as I type to you about what I am learning about
forming fibers, and fabrics,
loving God, my family members, friends, neighbors and my enemies,
and fashioning colors to celebrate the beauty I see around me.

What have you been picking to do?

Hugs to you from Gracie <3