The Course of Fall

There were so many days in a row with only a trace of rain here I almost entitled this post, Parched Portland, but compared to many places even our driest seems moist and cool.  Today the rain is gently falling, the heater is running, and I have my Homespun prayer shawl about me as I type to you.  Last Sunday afternoon we drove around some of the back roads to our house.  We stopped and bought two bouquets of dahlias and daises from a farm stand...perhaps the last we will have this season.  When we got home we walked around the ponds that are just grassy puddles now, although a stream of water is still rippling through the brush.  It was a perfect day to enjoy swinging and strolling and staring at the wondrous sights around us before settling in to the comforts of hearth and home.

Are you having happy autumn days?  I hope so :)  xx from Gracie

Snow Flood Clean Up

Today I discovered that walkers can function

as wheelbarrows . . .

I told my son-in-law the walker was in camouflage

Saturday the family gathered a good portion of

the fallen limbs of trees from the January storms.

Then my oldest daughter's family started a fire in

our campfire circle and decided to

reward all their work with

Somemores . . . mmmmmmm

Hearts and Flowers

Ta Dahhh!!! Can you see the fourteen starched hearts pinned to our mantel?

Each has unique character.  Each was made with joy...

in celebration of life and

 Love.

Spicy carnations have been helping me enjoy January inside,

while I have been learning to make hearts with

Teresa's free, well written pattern.

I bought different colors of thread

to make more hearts for myself

as well as to give away, too,

I hope,

And I am imagining how to make stars, and flowers and

snowflakes!

My day has been full with errands and swimming and shopping

and doing laundry and visiting with my young

friend Amber and her two

little ones...

a good day.

Did you have a good day, too?

The Flood...

Remember yesterday I introduced you to our snow friend in the front yard?

Well today he is leaving us...

And in his wake our driveway seems to be becoming a moat...

and the front pond is getting fuller than we

have ever seen it before!!!

I think we are safe...but will keep alert to possible

actions we need to take while I crochet some more hearts.

<3 <3 <3

How are you in your neck of the woods?



Are You Prepared?

I can't say I wasn't warned.

And I was ready...but surprised when we lost power Tuesday night...

and I prayed for those folks who I trusted were repairing weather damaged things.

Just before 4:00a.m. the power came back on, and when it was light outside,

I saw this...

.

and this,

while my son-in-law ventured out to follow rabbit and coyote tracks around the ponds,

and my oldest daughter and the grand girls

constructed this snow friend,

and I prepared to crochet some more of Teresa Kasner's

hearts...

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3



Celebrating Camelot Snow

Illusion...can be so delightful...

Shelby Dog, who belongs to my oldest daughter's family,

is convinced that the electric * fire * in the fireplace is cozy and warm

 even if I do not have the heat turned on.

Sunday morning  I met my grand girls [ages 2 and 4] in the family room.

They were sitting in the recliner waiting patiently for adults in the household to wake up.

I asked them if they had looked outside, then I whisked open the drapes.

Age 2 grand girl joyously announced, "The snowflakes are here! The snowflakes are here!"

Age 4 grand girl happily agreed, "It's snowing!  It's snowing!"

But it was a Camelot snow barely deep enough to record our footsteps,

or rest upon the film of ice on the pond beyond these trees.

Beautiful...Exciting...Mysterious...

An illusion of a snowstorm,

but worthy of celebration

in front of the hearth

at home.

Mantel, Holly and Handmade Ornaments

Amidst the clutter on our fireplace mantel.

I've arranged six plastic canvas needlepoint candle holders my mom created and gifted us with a number of years ago.  My youngest daughter went scouting around the ponds and found some holly to bring in for us to enjoy.

This tree is near the corner of 282nd and Powell Valley Road in Gresham, OR.  I think it is some sort of Holly tree.  If you use your imagination you can perhaps appreciate that it could be stunning with the sun illuminating its bright red berries...an effect I was unable to capure, but wanted to try to share with you because I have so much enjoyed viewing it over the last few weeks when I have passed it while running errands.

I hope you are enjoying hearth and home and the horticulture around you, too! <3

White Salmon Scrapbook Retreat

The air definitely has enough snap in it to encourage us to bundle up a bit, as my oldest grand girl and her mom did last week ,before going out to rake leaves.

My oldest and youngest daughters enjoyed building crunchy piles of leaves in our back yard.

While  soon after taking their pictures, I enjoyed driving east out of Portland, OR, on I-84, and crossing the mighty Columbia River to White Salmon, WA,

to a lovely cabin hidden in the woods,

along the rapidly running White Salmon River

to join a good group of friends to focus on our various scrapbook projects.  While it may look like we were suffering in some horrible kind of sweat shop, from this picture,  we in fact had a wonderful time putting together well over 100 pages amongst all of us in our albums over the weekend.  And we were comfortable most of the time...

but when we arrived at the cabin on Friday it was 43 degrees outside and inside the cabin.  The woodstove helped us get cosy after awhile and we all took breaks throughout the day to explore the land around us outside.  We were pretty excited to receive a dusting of snow on Saturday morning, and two of the gals actually braved the cold on Saturday night to enjoy soaking in the hot tub.

We headed home on Sunday, enjoying the autumn shades of color along the way, and now over a week later I took this picture of the man- made pond on our property, that is fed from the runoff of a creek.  During the summer the pond becomes a bog, but since we have had showers all week the water level is rising.  I startled a blue heron when I went out for the mail the other day and I have seen some ducks swimming on the far end of the pond, but no one showed up to have me take their picture today.  I think it is pretty funny that we have a politically correct environment that favors both of the mascots of the rival Oregon college football teams, the Ducks and the Beavers.  I will try to get pictures of both our ducks and beavers to share with you.

 What is happening in your neck of the woods?

Fall Planting: Plants and Friendships

A few weeks ago I read an article in a newspaper about it being the right time to plant a second crop in the garden, things like peas and broccoli and lettuce.  We did not do that, but my youngest daughter and I did get some flowering chrysanthemums and plant them in our flower beds.  While wandering through Craft Warehouse I also picked up some things to plant inside.  I  planted wheat grass in these pots on my bedroom windowsill.

I also planted some bamboo in a little clear glass container with blue glass marbles and water to keep it supported.

Wheat grass grows quickly!!!

But the most beautiful crop we planted this fall was welcoming a new friend from Germany who stayed with us a few weeks while attending classes in Portland.  The days flew by and Wednesday our local friend Krista who introduced us to our new friend from Germany, came over to help him cram his possessions back in his suitcase and weigh it before his flight home.

I hope you are enjoying planting and harvesting in this season too where ever you may be!