Foodie Post

There are so many flavors out there, some are expensive and some can be home made.
It was time to bring out the cheese I made last March. I used too much rennet when I made it so it is kinda chalky/rubbery, but other than that, it tastes great. I'll try again soon.

Then I made pickled onions from onion sets. WOW are they strong! One or two in a soup or casserole and you know they are there. They will settle in next to olives in a ploughman's platter and surprise someone's palate.

Fabric History

I have been cleaning out closets and have found many beautiful pieces of fabric family history. Yes, I knew they were there. They were put away when life was very busy/hard/full. Most of these came from Kansas, but I think one or two came from Eastern Washington family. There is wear on all of these, some more than others. It is time for me to let most of them go.  There is a place in Bellingham that will take vintage fabric and repurpose it. But first I’m giving family a chance.

 This quilt is hand embroidered. It ended up outside at some point and now has some mildew spots. My favorite square was always the black sheep.

 For a while I had this yellow and pink quilt on my bed.

I know this quilt came from Kansas. Dad had it on his bed when he lived in Normandy park. 

This wedding Ring quilt is summer weight.

This is a quilt I think may have been made in Washington.  

Both June and Estella liked to make huckaback towels.

This small tablecloth was created by June.

This was hand painted by June. It is about 18” square. 

The Way I do Travel Journals

Years ago I got a comb binder that I have used so much that I consider it one of my best investments. Each Christmas I make a book to keep track of gifts, stocking stuffers, concerts, menus and all the other details of the season.

But my favorite use is to make travel journals. I love to go back and remember what we did. Have you ever had a hard time remembering which trip had that funny story about...? And what was the address of that shop we didn't get to last time? My old travel journals have all the answers.

Because I can easily redo my comb bound book, I kinda have three versions of any trip journal.
For the first version I make a front itinerary page, then several pages for research on what to do. After that is the to-do-before-we-leave list and a packing list (or two). I decorate pages with washi tape, stickers and stamps. Then a week or so before we leave I make the actual travel version with added pages for journaling. I have started rating the safety talk before the flight, restaurants and bathrooms. I like to keep track of the weather. The travel and final versions also have three pages in the back; one labeled "When We Get Home", one labeled "Best Memories" and one labeled "Next Time" that could include just  that place or any next trip. When we get home I clean out any pages I haven't used, add tickets, maybe pictures or sketches I made and other such. I always take out our last trip journal and any journals for return trip planning.

Disney World 2017

Probably our stand-out vacation last year was to Disney World. We had to burn some timeshare points and there was a place that slept 8 (2 adjoining that slept 4) that we could get and invite the kids to join us. Oh we had fun! We were all going at different speeds with little 18 month old Lincoln on one hand and the single 20-somethings on the other, but we had a lot of time together and some adventures with everyone. One of the best things was that we were there for the Epcot Wine and Food Festival. Good food! We got to ride the People Mover through a broken down Space Mountain.

There was also a memorable lunch at the new Captain's Canteen.

I think that gets us up to the present day.

End of August

End of August a bunch of us got together to honor Roger's sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Blair Ferguson, and scatter their ashes. We met at Wapato Woolies in Greenwater and went up the hill towards Suntop, but it was closed due to local wildfire danger. We found a place and then all went out to dinner sharing old stories all the way.

One Flower on Kauai

We vacationed on Kauai last year too. There was a Bird of Paradise plant right off the ground floor patio. Y'know I can't remember all that we did...ate a lot of great food...drove up Waimea Canyon...went to the art walk. But I painted this flower several times

Central Oregon

Late last spring we got a place with our time share in Redmond, OR near Bend, and invited the kids to join us.  Andrew, Rachael and Lincoln made it for the first few days and Bethany joined us for the last few days with a little overlap. What a beautiful part of the country!

We went to the High Desert Museum (highly recommend) and to all three of the John Day Fossil Bed National Monuments. The above picture is at the Painted Hills. We went to the town of Fossil and... dug for fossils. We got a couple of rocks that kinda look like they have a leaf.

Smith Rock State park is a great place for a hike or a climb.

We plan to go back because there is still so much do.