trillium mama

summery goodness: day 2

For my second installment of "summery goodness", I chose playing at the beach. I was once told by an acquaintance that our beach is not actually a "beach",but rather a "coast". Even though it is always quite cool on our coastline, we still dip our feet in the water, and dive our toes into the warm sand. I think this constitutes a beach. I really don't want to be basking in 100 degree sun in a bikini next to 200 other people doing the same thing-really.

To me, flying kites, exploring tide pools, building sand castles, tossing the Frisbee, and searching for shell and beach glass are essential summer activities. We are lucky enough to live within a few hours of the beach, and just got back from a delightful week at Neskowin, one of our all time favorites.

So, we were able to do all of the things that make playing on the beach summery goodness. I hope you all get a chance to dip your toes in the salty water this summer as well. 

p.s. I have reduced my summery goodness posts from 20 to 10. I have realized that there simply is not enough summer left for me, the slow blogger, to do 20!

farewell...for a bit

Well, we're back from the Art Fair, where my babywearing group sponsored a nursing/baby changing booth. It was a lot of fun, and work, but worth it. Now the family and I are off for a few days at the coast. Have a good work week, and I'll update the blog with photos and stories when we return.

Auf Wiedersehen

county fair

Oh the county fair brings back such good memories for me. I was a 4-H geek for many years, and looked forward to the fair every year. We almost exclusively visit the fair to see the animals, lemonade and hand dipped corn dog are just a bonus. Squealing pigs, mooing cows, and goats licking your hand are the essence of the county fair. In addition to all of the usual critters, we also got to watch a flyball dog competition, which was really fun. Those dogs can move-even the little ones! I am also proud to say that a fellow BYCmember and friend won champion and first place ribbons with his hen Bertha-yay Luke!

Without further hesitation, here are some county fair photos to get you in the mood to visit your local fair.

a camping we will go

a camping we will go!

a camping we will go!

hi-ho the dairy-o,

a camping we will go!

Every time I prepare to go camping, I get that song in my head. I don't know why, I just do. Thoughts of smores and river walking swirl through my head, and I can't wait to smell the campfire and slumber in a tent.

We are lucky to have many amazing spots to camp within 2 hours of our home. Every summer we venture to the Metolius River for a little R & R. I know of no other place quite like it, and I was lucky enough to call the village of Camp Sherman home during my high school years. It is my home river, and I will always love it dearly.

We had a bit of a discovery this year-we only like to camp in areas where there are other campers. My husband has always resisted this idea, but after a spooky few hours and a midnight trip to a hotel, we both agreed that it's better to deal with other campers than not to sleep at all.

The funny thing is that I called this hotel at 11:45pm and asked if there were any rooms available. The very sweet man said yes, one. I felt like it was fate! I cringed a bit and asked how much-he replied that it was the nicest room in the hotel-more cringing and closing of eyes. He ended up giving it to us for 50% off since it was so late, whew. Andy and I both agreed that it was the nicest room we'd ever stayed in-too bad we weren't there longer to enjoy it!

The next morning, full of breakfast, showered and refreshed, we headed back to the Metolius. We settled on a campsite away from the river but with a good view. We unpacked our supplies, which was interesting because of the midnight, rushed packing job from the night before.

As soon as the tent was up, Ava and I settled in for a rest. We gazed at the towering ponderosa pines, listening to their soft rushing sounds in the wind.

The next day we took a short drive to Suttle Lake for a little lake hike and fishing. It proved to be very difficult to keep the 2 year old fishing for more than 5 minutes, so Ava and I found a place to take a dip instead.

The other highlights of our trip were hiking down to Wizard Falls fish hatchery to see the fish. It was an oddly slow day there with not many visitors. Reminded me of when I was young and visited there, before the Metolius graced the pages Sunset magazine among others. We also had fun feeding the chipmunks-I know, it's not PC to feed "wild" animals, but they were so tame they were almost like flies.

It was a peaceful and relaxing trip, and I look forward to our next camping adventure!

fabric and a whole lot more

Well, it's official, I am going to be working very part time for a super new fabric shoppe/swing lounge right here in my bitty home town. To start things off right, I joined my new boss Celia at the International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon. I had a blast looking at all of the wonderful fabrics, and meeting some the best women in the fabric/pattern/crafty design world.

I was thrilled to first meet Sandi Henderson who has some of the most adorable patterns and fabrics. She was very mellow, and her husband was charming and funny. Here is a quick photo with my phone-not the best I know, but it was my spy cam. There is Sandi, her lovely fabrics, and Celia pondering which patterns to order for the shop-we ordered them all, of course!

I also chatted for a second with Heather Bailey, who was as cute in person as she is on paper. The fabrics were all to die for, and I was able to see some things that aren't out yet. Oliver and S had the best booth, with paper dolls to take home to the little ones (or for yourself). Their new Fall line was shown in all of it's splendid cuteness-and it will be offered in sizes up to 8!

I can't remember all of my favorites, but I certainly loved the refreshingly adorable Anna Maria Horner. As many of you know, her fabrics are to die for, and she was very, very sweet-a favorite among my party.

Finally, we were sure to stop at the Seven Islands booth-Celia about passed out from the amazing prints they had. It took everything I had not to buy ten bolts of Japanese goodness, including Echino which I have long loved. I'll leave you with a photo of the Echino display-sorry it's blurry, a lady bumped me as I was snapping it. You can get the idea though.

And the winner is......

California! That's right, we have decided to do a road trip along the Northern California coastline this summer. I know, summer is months away, and we won't be going until the end of summer, but it is something to look forward to.

As you can see from the new books we are reading, the research has begun! I am already searching for interesting spots to stop, places to get yummy food for cheap, and the best parks to visit. Where is Rachel Ray when I need her?! Although we would need to spend like $40 a day for all three of us-guess we'd better pack the pb&j!

Last summer we just dipped into California to visit the Redwoods and build a sandcastle. I was in love with the warm breezy beaches, and have been longing to go back ever since. Our Northern Oregon coasts are just not warm and breezy...they are cool and windy at best. If I close my eyes, I can almost feel the California sun beaming down on my shoulders. Ok back to reality-it's super cold and hailing right now. Brrr.