currently

It is a gray day.  Clouds have hemmed in the sky and brought a distinct chill.  On this last Tuesday of August I am currently:

Reading:

Beard on Bread by James Beard because what better way to usher in fall than with amazing bread recipes?!  And I so love a good cook book.

The Writing Warrior by Laraine Herring because I'm challenging myself to actually write and apparently that begins with more reading.


Playing:

We've had a few evenings of playing Scattergories which I picked up at the thrift store.


Cooking:

I've just begun a month of planned meals.  Life had pulled me away from menu-planning for awhile and I felt it was time to bring it back.  So I drew up an easy plan (dinners only) with favorite foods and some yummy treats thrown in.  Back on the organized train and feeling good.


Eating:

Today we're having the comfort food classic that my sister introduced me to after I had my first baby: Tater Tot Casserole.  I love putting ketchup on mine!  I'll also make some warm spiced apples to go with.  It's overcast and chilly here so this food is perfect.


Drinking:

San Pellegrino.  I love the blood-orange flavor best.


Doing:

Getting back into the groove of chores and projects.  Today I weeded and ironed and pulled out some fall décor.


Going:

We have time for just one more family day trip before school starts.  We're going to take a ferry ride to an old military fort nearby and probably get rained on and maybe eat cheeseburgers and definitely do lots of exploring.


Thinking:

There is a lot on my mind as my eldest son steps into his senior year.  I've got a whole blog post written on the matter so stay tuned!


Feeling:

Grateful and free.  I took the summer off of work with plans to return with the start of school.  I'm so thankful to be able to extend that time off indefinitely at this point.  I'm looking forward to exploring some interests and being available to my family.


Listening:

Yesterday was a Billie Holiday sort of day.  I've not decided what sort of day today is yet.


Smelling:

Pumpkin candles.  You know it!


Thankful:

For friendships.  I'm a terrible friend.  Really.  I never call.  I don't write letters well.  I'm not a lover of hospitality.  So yeah...terrible.  But despite me, there are still people that love me.  And I'm thankful that they are patient and persistent and gentle.  Even more, I count myself to be so amazingly blessed because these people that love me in spite of me are incredible human beings and I get to know them and they even let me into their hearts!

our grand adventure: the rest

Recap from the previous post:

 

We celebrated our 19th anniversary.  We went to Oklahoma to support our friends as they wed.  We road-tripped home to Washington over the course of four days.  I took pictures.  There, you are all caught up!

 

I don't really have too much more to say about our trip but the pictures are beautiful and it would be a shame to not share them.  We traveled through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  My most favorite was Oregon, perhaps because it is my birth state and no matter how many years pass, it is always HOME.

 

Wyoming was flat and brown.  It is our country's least populated state.  I'm pretty sure that wind turbines probably outnumber humans.  It did have some beautiful areas and I was able to capture them.





 

 

Wyoming

 

 

 

 

Wyoming

 

 

 

Wyoming

 

 

 

Wyoming

 

 

 

Wyoming (or Utah?)

 

 

 

Wyoming (or Utah?)

 

 

 

 

Utah was multifaceted.  There was such beauty on the eastside of the state.  I know that Utah is home to five beautiful national parks and maybe some day I'll have opportunity to explore them. 

 

Utah

 

 

 

Utah

This picture doesn't even look real to me.  If I had not taken it myself I would have thought it was some sort of Claymation.

 

 

 

Utah

This may have been my luckiest shot of the whole trip.  Why?  The bird.

 

 

 

 

Idaho

 

 

 

 

 

Idaho

 

 

Idaho

 

 

 

Idaho

 

 

 

Abandoned cement plant, Oregon

 

 

 

Oregon

 

 

 

 

Oregon

 

 

 

 

Oregon

 

 

 

Pendelton, Oregon

 

 

 

John Day Dam on the Columbia River, Oregon

 

 

 

 

 

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

We took the time to hike to the top of the falls.  It is a winding, one mile climb.

 

 

 

 

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

 

 

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

 

 

Pool at the top of Multnomah Falls

 

 

The calm before the fall

 

 

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

August 10, 2016

 

 

 

 

Not pictured:  Washington.  It is all so familiar that I didn't feel the same awe and wonderment at it's landscape.  Plus there was all sorts of bad traffic and that squelched any remaining bits of creative eye.  But as we crossed the bridge onto our island I rolled down my window and breathed in all that familiar air, the clean smell of the salt water and evergreen trees and my heart sighed as home neared.  After a long trip there is nothing so beautiful as HOME.

 

 

our grand adventure

Last week we celebrated 19 years of marriage.  We were just kids when we got married on a hot Sunday afternoon in August.  Just kids jumping into a grand adventure and from that day forward we grew up and grew together. 

Imagine two saplings planted side by side, their roots weaving together as they grow,  branches stretching, reaching, tangling together.  As they grow they gain strength and support one another through unforgiving storms.  Over time they have grafted themselves together so that what once were two small saplings has become one strong tree.  That is our story.

Over the weekend we were thrilled to be able to witness the wedding of two beautiful people down in Oklahoma.  They have their own beautiful love story and it is a joy to see their lives come together, their grand adventure beginning.

We set out on an airport shuttle from our island and boarded a red-eye flight a few hours later.  Dallas, Texas greeted us with a stunning sunrise before we boarded a smaller plane for Oklahoma City.

This Pacific Northwest girl was like a foreign tourist upon arrival in OKC.  The bugs were humongous!  The humidity felt like a tropical oasis!  The grits with breakfast were a novelty!  The sweet tea and authentic Oklahoma barbeque were amazing!  Cicadas have to be my most favorite part of Oklahoma!  They sound like summer.

The second part of our journey was to drive the bride's car and Uhaul trailer of things home to Washington where she will live with her new husband.  Some folks might groan at the prospect of such an arduous drive but my husband and I were elated to have the opportunity.

We took four days to drive 2,200 miles.  We passed through nine states and saw how beautiful this country of ours really is.  I dare you to drive through sweeping fields of grain and witness the sunrise on purple mountains majesty and not feel impassioned with patriotism.

Our trip was breathtaking.  We had good conversations, good car-karaoke, good miles of silence and all the while beautiful scenery was just outside the window.

 

Could the Oklahoma sky be any bigger?

 

 

 

 

 

Oklahoma wind turbines

Texas afternoon thunderstorm

 

 

 

 

 

Texas pink sunset

 

 

 

Sunrise in Texas

 

New Mexico

 

 

 

 

New Mexico

 

 

 

Denver, Colorado

 

Colorado

 

 

 

Colorado

 

to be continued....