raptor cam

Red tail hawk is fixing up the nest.  hope she doesn't get a plastic bag in there this year as she did last year. now i'll need to check it out daily.  all this nesting must mean they are about to start a family!
raptor cam

YES

i'm home.  i'm happy.  and i'm warm!  was just  sure i was going to freeze me hoohahs while up north.  they keep it very cold there and no one seemed to notice but me.  i'm home and i'm warm!!!  back to fabric tomorrow.

more from weekend up-north

love this one of Alex and Kate. hard to believe he's only 11 yrs. old!

the other is of the kit I bought at Madrona... my one and only purchase. the cap is totally adorable and i borrowed DPNs from Kate so i could get started on it! if i'd had more that 4 hours at the fiber market, i could have probably gotten my cc really smokin'. probably a good thing that i'm now staying with the kids so they won't have to go back to the fiber market and Kate and Chris can concentrate on selling lots of fibers. the Woolgatherings booth looks spectacular!

amtraking back to my queendom tomorrow....

at Madrona

Madrona

on the way to Tacoma for the Madrona fiber fest, Linda and i stopped in Centralia for lunch at Old Olympic hotel, one of McMennamin's fine establishments. tho i've never taken a photo in a public (or private for that matter) bathroom, this was an exception. if you can't decide which faucet to use, there is also a small sink with only one faucet. (it wasn't worthy of a photo). the other photo was taken outside an interesting looking store next to the hotel. sad we didn't have time to go in as we were on a mission to get to the fibergastic event in Tacoma. more on that later.
l

plans

tomorrow Linda and i  will drive to Tacoma for the Madrona fiber arts festival, with plans to stop at the McMennamin's Old Oregon Hotel for lunch on the way.  will meet up with Kate and Chris at Madrona...  they have a booth and it sounds like Kate has been on a fiber and yarn dyeing marathon for the past couple of months, so the booth will be well-stocked with gorgeous fiber!  and then i'll go home with them and stay with the kids for the duration of the event.  it seems they have zero interest in hanging out at a fiber show where there aren't even any animals for 4 days... from 8:30a.m. til 6:30pm.  and to be honest, i would have no interest in that either!  so, i'll enjoy hanging out with them!

big commitment here!  i bought the tutorial to make this gorgeous creation... from Katwise (this link is to her Etsy shop and she also has a website)  part of the hugeness is that now i need to buy a serger in order to do it right.  but really... isn't this just wonderful?

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this is another of her creations and i love it... but for me, it's a bit over the top!

dinner out

in honor of valentine's day, which i don't really celebrate since it was ruined for me years ago by the hype and Hallmark, Jim said to me "let's go out for dinner at "out-AZA-blue", which despite the weird name is a really nice place to eat.  the owner, Gabriel, is Sicilian/Lebanese, raised in Brooklyn, NY, and is a fantastic chef and host.  the food is Mediterranean .. and i mean is very good eating!  the restaurant is on Hwy 6 between Banks and the beach, one of those places you have to know where it is to even notice it. but well-worth stopping there!

Jim ordered eggplant parmesan and said it was delicious.  the photo seems to indicate he was saying "what the hell are you doing??  i want to eat!!"  (he doesn't know i posted it.....)

i don't often eat red meat, but carnivore that i am, i ordered the sirloin and was very very happy with it!  it was served topped with mushrooms, onions and olives.. seemed to be caramelized and was totally over the top delicious.  and because i'd rather have white wine than red... no matter what the entree.. i had a really nice Riesling... 2 of them, in fact.  and there is enough dinner left over for a very nice meal tomorrow... mmmm.

so, if any locals are reading this (and how would i know if anyone reads it as there are very few comments ... ahem!, tho thanks Terry and Lorajean.)....anyway, "outAZAblue" on Hwy 6 a  few miles west of Gales Creek is a great place to go for a good meal and nice wine selection.

oh, and happy Hallmark occasion on tuesday ...  and i hope you get chocolates, they taste so much better than roses!

flowers in winter = happy

 i took a little tour around my garden and found some surprises!!  the bronze fennel lived!  and is putting up some fuzzy little shoots.  biggest surprise was a rosebud... wow.. it's mid-february.  not a surprise was the black-spot on the leaves, to be dealt with later.

and volunteer poppies all over the place.  happy happy me!











and ever-faithful primroses.  gotta love something that keeps on coming back with beautiful little blossoms... and requires so little from me!

 hellebore - i really really love this flower.  and happily, not much rain to ruin it and make it all dirty and sluggy.   they don't last very long when cut and brought inside.

and this is my bridge to spring.

for color and inspiration, i've found a real treasure for filling some of those needs - Quilter's Pastiche: Archive and Katwise (her work takes my breath away and inspires me... i think it's my hippie past) (and i'm going to make one of her sweater-coats)

want color?? i'll show you color....

8 blocks toward next quilt!  my back is feeling better = more sewing!!  still having ice time on the sofa several times a day to insure healing.

Maya Angelou

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

~Maya Angelou♥

because i need to whine

i've spent the past week developing a close relationship with an icepack, the sofa and daytime tv... not the way i want to spend my time.  i just don't have enough time for crap like this.  i didn't know that sciatica  could be this painful and debilitating! and i don't know what set it off.   i've had bouts of low back pain since my early 20's and that runaway horse i was on... no, really!  and icepacks and/or one of those back brace elastic belt things always makes life "normal" again.  and the belt is pretty standard accessory for serious gardening.  so, after lots of ice and too much lying around, i'm doing some standing and walking without searing pain down my leg and feeling like my leg is going to give out under me... which if that happened could create a whole nother problem.  the golden years?... my ass!   this afternoon i did some more cutting and planning on the latest quilt project (no sewing)(that involves sitting, which hurts).  ok - now can i have some cheese with that whine?  white stilton with apricot bits would be good.......

p.s. -  daytime tv is AWFUL