Yes, I live near the coast and yet I go weeks and sometimes months without seeing the ocean.  Technically it's the sound but we have many of the same sea life here as in Oregon.  And yet, for that one week we spend in Cannon Beach, I get out daily to walk or run or just sit at the beach in the morning.  I take that time to really observe the life around me. I sink my toes into the often cold wet sand, hike up my pants and while both myself and my camera wear rain jackets I explore this little beach along the northern coast of Oregon. There are sea anemones, seagulls, barnacles, muscles, puffins, pelicans, sand pipers, starfish, sand dollars, crab, and so much more. Its like a treasure each morning to see what life is there. It often is a time of quiet reflection and observation. It is my happy time. 

My camera bumped on my thigh as I quickly made my way down the street. The street lights flickered on and the outdoor lights of the businesses and hotels were already lighted. I knew I didn't have much time but it wasn't far. Looking up at the sky, the colors started quietly as pastels and it was as if a brush was crossing the sky with more and more vibrant watercolors. The oranges and pinks becoming increasingly darker. The water normally a greenish blue started to take on darker purples and with hints of orange, yellow and pinks. Everything else became darker and black as the sun slowly slipped into the ocean at the edge of the world. The show was over as quickly as it started. The only light left were the electric ones that showed me my way home.

There are things that work out and sometimes things don't.  We took the top down in my car and headed out on a beautiful summer day to Whidbey Island. There is something about an island, a convertible, blue sky that just calls to me.  We parked on this the mainland side of the bridge and hiked down to the water.  The trail led us over a ridge and then around it until we came to a secluded beach where we could lay out and enjoy the view. What really got me though was that I thought I brought an extra battery but I didn't and these four photos was all I got. 

A beater of a boat, a gorgeous day, a large lake and a teenager that wants to wake board. All ingredients needed for a summer day on the lake. Our first outing for the summer. We needed to test the boat to make sure that it all runs, a bit rough but it started. Agate Bay is our favorite wake board and ski spot. The water tends to be calmer there and the lighting is phenomenal. We had purchased a newer board at the end of summer and that needed to be tested as well. We rounded the corner, pulled out the rope, attached it to the back, and grabbed the wake board. These days my job is spotter and photographer. Lona, putting on the life jacket sat at the end of the boat dangling her legs in the water. She strapped on the board, taking a deep breath, slowly slipped into the cold water. We threw her the rope, pointed the boat in the correct direction and waited for he to call out. As soon as John heard, "Hit it", he punched the throttle and she popped right up. A turn or two and she was right back crossing the wake looking comfortable and confident on the board.  We went around and around until she was tired and was ready for a break. Cutting the engine, we drifted while we snacked, talked and swam in the lake. It was time for another go and the engine didn't work.  We looked under the hood, checking all the the usual stuff and realized there wasn't oil in there. That left us on the lake without a way to get to shore. We called our neighbor but their boat was in the shop. We called the dispatch but was informed that they were out on a different lake. Then we called a soccer teammate who lives on the lake. They came to our rescue towing our boat to Blodel-Donovan take out. We hauled it out of the water hoping that it would e an easy fix. And it was. It was just that the oil plug had rattled loose and fallen into the bottom of the boat where it and all of the oil collected. Taking care of that problem, we could confidently put our boat back into the lake. This is only the third or fourth time needed to be towed in.  The life of a boat owner.

Blueberry scones, croissants, chocolate and plain, cardamon spiced plum ice cream, strawberry tarts and more have been coming out of my kitchen for the sole purpose of having something to photograph. I purchased a book a book about french pastries called Baking Like a French Pastry Chef. Then there is the British Baking Show that turns out one amazing dessert after another. All this has me going to the kitchen, throwing flour around, mixing, rolling, pounding, cutting, and baking.  All so that I can have a subject to photograph. I want to make a cookbook that has family favorites not to sell but for my kids.  I realize that they will develop their own tastes and preferences and their spouses will have opinions as well. However, there maybe something that they may want to recreate as well. 

So this girl turned 17. Her choice of restaurants was Lux Thai with the family and her boyfriend and his mother.  Birthday tradition.
In the 17 years I've seen her do some amazing things such as work hard.  She started at age 11 being a soccer referee. Then became a hostess at a restaurant when she was 16.  Work her way to making salads and then QC and running food out to customers. I've seen her play soccer and dance. She has an amazing ability to be social no matter where she is or if she speaks the language. She can be stubborn but also determined. I am excited to see what she does in her life.

One of my favorite things is patio lights.  I like how they just brighten things up especially in the winter.  They just seem magical.  A few years ago John bought me patio lights and I have strung them up different ways in the back yard.  This summer, John decided that we should have a permanent structure to hang them on.  My original thought was to reuse the trampoline poles and place them in large garden pots and so I just jammed them in there but they were too low and the poles were angled due to the tension from the string of lights.  While John's mom was visiting, John had a few days off and we started talking about this project.  It grew and grew and grew.  Pretty soon we looking at building a large arbor that went across the back of the patio.  I wanted nice wood and to have it built with some style.  I started pinning different things that I liked.  John started pricing out wood and then started calculating costs.  Not to mention the time it would take.  Meanwhile, I kept the string of lights on the reposed trampoline poles.  Well, the cost finally snowballed so high and the time it was going to take was probably all summer that we looked at each other and threw in the towel.  Back to the drawing board we went.  One of the things I like is stone, stone walls, stone walkways, stone planters.  I love it when moss grows all over and makes it look like its been there for generations. We went back to my original idea but decided to put stone pavers flush with the ground so it would be easier to mow.  We then had a hole drilled through the pavers so that we could sink metal rods into the ground to provide stability to the poles.  We placed the pavers in the grass and measured the distance across and made sure it was a straight even line.  We dug out the grass, reused it to sod an area in the lawn that needed help, place sand down and then leveled the paver.  Next we drilled holes in the center of the pots which we purchased for a ridiculous cheap price from Costco so that they would all be the same.  After placing the pots in the center of the paver so that the holes lined up, we place conduit pipe in the ground by hammer it at least two feet deep.  The conduit pipe had to be smaller that the trampoline poles so that the poles would fit over the pipe.  However we ran into a problem being that the poles were then too low again.  So my brilliant husband came up with the idea of using pvc pipe as spacers which worked wonders.  It gave the height that we wanted and still allowed us to have the conduit as reinforcement.  Finally we sanded and spray painted the poles black so that there wasn't any rust of peeling paint, placed them in the pot and filled the pot with potting soil.  The last step was to buy plants and fill the pots.  I decided to stick with a white and green color scheme with a hint of red accents.  There were both annuals and perennials in the pot.  Final step was to string the lights.  Instead of the $5000 plus for an arbor, we have patio lights for less than $200.  And I love it.

This was Princess Buttercup. From the day Lona picked her up, she loved her guinea pig.  Her name was Buttercup but we added Princess mostly because of the Princess Bride movie.  When she was little, Lona would curl up with her guinea pig and they would both fall asleep, Buttercup on her side nestled against Lona.  They would go outside together and Buttercup would devour grass often hoping all over not content to stay in one spot.  She was daring of the two guinea pigs and often got her way. One day, I walked by the guinea pigs' cage and Buttercup was on her side which wasn't unusual.  However she didn't jump up when I opened the cage and sadly she had passed away.