Strolling pigs

I was driving in NW Portland last week and passed this. (For anyone local, it's on NW 23rd but I don't remember the cross street.) While I was sitting at a light, I thought about what a pretty building I saw but by the time I had my camera out, the light changed and the people behind me didn't feel like I should have a Kodak moment. But I kept my camera out and this is what I saw at the next red. The focus isn't what I like but at least I got the pigs! I guess they're chained down so they don't fly.

A rose is a rose is a ...

I saw this rose while walking in the neighborhood at lunch today. It's not in a yard but in a small city strip. Does anyone know what kind of rose this is? The city people that I spoke with have no idea. It smelled so fragrant that it must be an heirloom of some kind and I'd love to plant one in my garden. I don't want to pick anything to take to a nursery without permission but I'm not sure how else to convey just what I want. So, if anyone knows the type, please speak up!

New bag

This is the bag Gwendie made from the Amy Butler pattern. She said there are a few corrections but hadn't checked Amy's website to see if they're posted or not. This bag is BIG and will hold just about anything I want to pack along with me. The fabric is a home dec fabric for added strength but it also has a heavy weight interfacing and the lining has fusible fleece applied to it so it stands up on its own fairly well as you can see in the picture. Bags are usually my department - hers are quilts. It's kind of nice to be given one, though.

Everyone's a critic

So, as I said, on Mother's Day, I wrapped L's dress and hat for her to open. She loved opening them but I didn't have her try them on right then, which I probably should have. Much later, apparently too much later when she was quite tired, I asked her to hold it up so I could see if it looked about the right size. Here's her reaction ---



Yep, those are Dad's feet in the picture. You can imagine what preceded this shot. So then I tried to put the hat on her. Hats can be problematic with size and I really, really wanted to know it fit. Here's the reaction to that attempt ---



We'll try this again later.

Wherever we find them . . . . . . .

We get tools to use wherever we find them. I use my small Canon camera quite often as it fits in my purse and is just, well, all around handy. A lot of times, the camera decides on its own that a flash isn't necessary but the bottom edge of a photo is shadowed by my body hanging over whatever I'm shooting. I've taken enough photography classes to know about reflectors. I was in BiMart the other day, looking for flour sack towels, and lookie what I found!


Granted, this is not a very good photo (semi-dark room, flash problem with my setting . . . . . and any other excuse I can think of) and no, it's not for Halloween, but you get the general idea. It makes a great reflector and the best part is it was only $1.99! Now really, how could I pass this up?

Ny neighborhood

We've had a few nice days lately so I decided to walk home at lunchtime last week. I work less than a mile from my home so it's a fairly easy walk. This day was so nice I thought I'd take a few pictures of the neighborhood on my walk. This is my friend Christine's house and she just happened to be out front working in her garden.

Can you make out her gardening hat? I love it and am on a quest to find one with as nice a brim. I may just have to make myself one.

Ric rac flowers

I don't know whose blog this is, but check out this cute tutorial

Happy Mother's Day

I've been busy this weekend. It's been the first really nice weekend we've had this spring. We've had nice days during the week, but I'm at my paying job then, so I had a lot to do in the garden yesterday. I'm still far from finished but I made a small dent, at least in the weed patch in back, and got the lawn mowed. I'll work on the front weeds after work when they're shaded.


We're all going to oldest DD's C* and her family's home for dinner tonight and there were projects I wanted to finish to give people. I've been making a sundress and hat for my granddaughter L* and managed to get the last button sewn on the dress today. Here's a picture of the hat ---



Don't you love it??? There's something about the shape of the brim that just spoke to me.

Here's the dress ---
It's the old standby ruffle instead of a sleeve that ties with a sash style that's been around for years but it never seems to go out of style. The fabric is white with red cherries and green stems. It just looked like the perfect fabric for a little girl's summer dress. I'm going to wrap it in tissue and put a pretty ribbon on it so she has something to open, too, and won't feel left out. She's not yet old enough to understand not getting to share in the fun and loves to open things! She really learned how on her birthday last month.




I'm taking the green salad for dinner tonight and have a fabulous recipe for parsley dressing that I made to go with it. I'll share that later.

Happy Mother's Day - and don't forget to enjoy yourselves!!!

How did it get there?

I love this cookbook! It has my very favorite recipe for biscotti, one that can be changed to many flavors. My favorites are almond and hazelnut. I keep it in the kitchen next to the microwave and it vanished. I looked everywhere I could think of, including where it belonged. I finally found it, mixed in with my quilt books in the other room. I have no idea how it got there.

As you can tell from the sticker, I got it at Costco - still one of my favorite purchases.

Crochet

I made the necklace on the left to go with this fabric. I'd made a sundress from it that my cousin loved so I gifted her with it. I found these beads and decided to make a crocheted necklace to go with the dress. The pendant is up above. I love the purple with the green glass. I'm going to send it to her for her birthday in June.

I'd never tried to crochet with wire before it was amazing to work with. Having the right gauge wire probably made a difference.

Oh really?

I promise not to use this space for a rant very often but I work in downtown Oregon City where they recently did a survey about parking. I think they contacted business owners. Parking is horrendous so I was surprised, to say the least, when I saw this headline.

When I read the article, I found out why they think this. We're just parking in the wrong place! People who are parking on downtown streets near their destinations should, instead, drive several blocks away and park in the residential neighborhood. I guess the answer to the new problem of where the residents should park is easy. They should park downtown where there are now empty spaces.

Later

And here's what it turns into later. These little cameras are amazing.

After

Or is it really before, before it spreads all its seeds?

Photography has been one of my favorite hobbies since I was ten years old and I got my first camera. I've always wanted a micro lens. I still don't have one for my 35 mm but the little camera I keep with me has one. There's no honeybee or ladybug in this picture but I like it anyway. The focus is on the front of the flower. Know what it is? It's a dandelion! They're everywhere right now. There's a park catercorner (which I think should be cattycorner but spell check says no) from my home and the park is full of them. They seem to spread to the whole neighborhood overnight. I love being able to get a picture of something so small to fill the entire frame without cropping.

Sparkling Plenty

We may have rain in the forecast for next weekend but today is beautiful. The sky is blue with wispy clouds way off in the distance. It's the kind of day to put away the turtlenecks and get out the Spring clothes.

This is the neckline of the shirt my daughter M gave me for my birthday last August. It's not the kind of thing I've bought for myself since I was, oh, 19, but I got it out today. Why? Because it sparkles! And it's really fun to wear. I took it off when I got home from shopping (to keep it clean!) and tomorrow I'm wearing to work.