Arrived Portland - sunshine! 04-30-15

There was a lot of traffic from Eugene north on I-5 and I had to keep my hands on the wheel and my mind on the traffic, so not many pictures.  Also, I tried using the macro feature to take photos of flowers and it messed up the settings on my camera.  I stopped at a rest stop and got out the instruction book, but all I could figure out to do was to reset everything back to the factory defaults.  So, now I will have to start from scratch to get the camera back to where it was.  Might just as well buy a new camera, eh? 

  

It was a bit of a shock to switch from my solitary cruising along the highway to being in downtown Portland with scores of cars, bicycles, pedestrians and traffic signals.  I had to drive around the block a couple times until I could park by the lobby to go inside and check in.  Fortunately the Bell Captain took over my assortment of bags, boxes, baskets and water bottle full of lilac blossoms and delivered them to my room.  When I was parked in the parking structure I just walked into the lobby, took the elevator to the 13th floor and found my room, with everything already inside.  What a way to travel - no luggage  schlepping required. 

This way how I knew my camera was askew!  These are two logging trucks on I-5, heading for the sawmills.  No way to correct the focus.

 

Testing the camera out in the rest stop.

 

But back to factory settings and not what I have become accustomed to.

 

At the Doubletree Hotel in NE Portland.  Mt. Hood is on the horizon about a third of the way from the right.

 

Here is a magnified shot - but it is very hazy on the horizon.  Perhaps tomorrow will be better.

 

And this is the view straight down.  the windows don't open, of course, but there is still a barrier about a foot out from the window.  I am almost directly over the front door of the hotel.

 

We had a "mixer" at 7pm, although it is hard for 200+ people to do much table changing.  But we had a pile of fabric, trims, buttons, glue, markers and scissors on each table and Lyric Kinard led us through a few "fun" exercises, most of which I did not understand.  But I talked to a bunch of people and a bunch more talked to me.  Afterward a buffet of cheese, veggies, fruit, crackers and dessert cakes was served and I made that my dinner.

 

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but hope I find time to fine tune my camera.  I have finished the SQG newsletter and sent it for proofing, so I will have corrections to do tomorrow.  Why can't I see the errors and someone else can?   I'm glad I have good proofreaders to catch my mistakes.

 

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Yreka, CA to Creswell, OR 04-29-15

I didn't drive so far today, instead taking a few breaks to relax and enjoy the scenery.  There are so many images that can only be in my memory that I cannot share with you.  One was a big brown cow in a green field knee deep in grass, nearby were a pair of little brown calves stretched out in the sun.  In the background the deep green of Douglas Fir and a rim of Scotch Broom.  So serene.

 

I drove off I-5 at Ashland so I could visit a quilt shop I liked a lot - QUILTZ - only to discover that it is no longer there.  Sad. 

Ashland is an old town with some old fashioned plants and I noticed these lilac bushes along a side street, so I stopped and asked the man if I could cut a few.  We then had a conversation about how much his grandmother and my mother loved the old fashioned single lilacs.  He said this bush was started from his g'mother's bush. 

 

I cut half a dozen about 10" long stems and put them in a water bottle in my cup holder.

 

The car smells so wonderful.

 

 

I saw a sign "Breadbasket Restaurant" and thought how nice a sandwich would taste.  I decided on a tuna melt, something I haven't eaten for many years, and it was delicious.  I ended up eating it with fork and knife because it was so delightfully juicy.   As I got into my car I looked out through the trees (Ashland is pretty much built on the side of hills) and could see I-5 in the distance.  That is the light colored line about mid picture.  The grey are rooftops and the trees are hophornbeams.

 

Further up the highway I stopped at the Rest Stop at Rogue River State Park and sat in the car checking my mail and calling a few  people.  This elderly lady was walking two little dogs while pushing her walker - one dog would pull one way and the other pulled the other way.  She was making a zigzag path down the parking lot.  When she came back my way I got out of the car and talked to her while I got a little doggy loving.  The shitsu was a little standoffish, but the poodle mix was loving the loving; she was sitting on the seat  of the walker because she was getting tired.  You can just see her little white head below the lady's left arm.  Sometimes when I travel alone I just need some human contact and will talk to a stranger (what would my mother say?).  I have always admired people who can talk to anyone - like my friend Liz and Nancy Ota's husband Mike.  Little old ladies are frequently widows who spend their time alone and are happy to talk to anyone!

 

I'm just south of Eugene, so it is about 100 miles to Portland, so I can surely make it there in time for the 12noon check in. 

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A long, but not exciting day 04-28-15

This is taking you along on parts of today's drive.  About 380 miles through prairie and mountains, from San Juan Bautista to Yreka, CA.  Not an exciting drive, but a cross section of the state via I-5.  These are the best of about 75 images taken while driving.

 

Dry

 

Dry (what do the cattle find to eat?)

 

 Dry - but with the San Luis Reservoir on the far right.

 

On the other side of the road - DRY!

 

On the far side the light part shows where the water used to be.

 

And next to the road the water once came up to the trees in the middle.

 

I'm glad I brought along my festive dice to add a little color.

 

Driving up into the mountains, this is the first view of Mt Shasta which is actually covered with snow!  You see that block dot on the left side of the image, it is directly  above the first view of Shasta.  I put the dot there because most of us can't see the mountain without it.

 

Shasta Lake (reservoir) is really low, the only place you can see it is while going over the bridge and the guard rail is in the way. 

 

When the water is a normal depth there are many houseboats on the lake.

 

 

Not much in the way of wild flowers, no redbud trees which should be out now.

 

About the only color along the highway is Scotch Broom which is not native, but is seen everywhere in the West.

 

 

 

There she is again - it is like playing tag as the road twists and turns.

 

At Dunsmuir turn off  Shasta is in full view.

 

 

 

And here is Black Butte - along with my colorful dice.

 

Not far from the Holiday Inn Express in Yreka is this old Yreka Railroad car.  How interesting that someone has tagged it with my name.  But the really interesting thing is the deer running along, directly under the D and beyond the car.  There were 7 or 8 deer making their way parallel to the road, but I didn't see them until I had taken the picture.and drove out from behind the car.  When I looked at the pictures on my laptop, there he is!

 

A pretty exciting day, eh?

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Monday Browsing 04-27-15

This is my post 2501 - how time flies. 

A Modern quilt design:

http://www.nohatsinthehouse.com/2015/03/inside-addition-oakshott-low-volume.html

Re: Alone time during depression

http://www.everydayhealth.com/custom/major-depression-resource-center/when-want-to-be-alone-video/?xid=aol_eh-gen_1_20150413_&aolcat=HLT&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl23%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D646318

Apple Roses – a dessert https://www.facebook.com/CookingWithManuela/videos/vb.1502510456642757/1712068149020319/?type=2&theater

Re-vamped Textile Museum in Washington, D.C.

http://hyperallergic.com/199482/revamped-textile-museum-in-dc-weaves-together-historic-and-contemporary-fabrics/

Another look at paper piecing:

http://colorgirlquilts.com/2014/05/fabulously-fast-quilting-tip-pp-with.html

Images from museums on the streets of Europe

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/04/outings-project/

 

 

Saving Water 04-26-15

I'm sure you all know that California is in the midst of a drought and everyone is on restricted water use - Mary and Joe included.  Mary always has lots of flowers and deck boxes on her deck, but now she is limited to things that don't require much water.  The deck boxes are gone, they require too much water.  

 

Geraniums do well and this red is Mary's favorite.  The blue in the middle is a copper Puffin on a stake.

This single pink stands out among the reds.

She has three ivy geraniums from Costco in hanging baskets which Joe can enjoy from his hospital bed.

This one is different with little dark red eyes.

And she has tomatoes just coming on.  Hope it is warm enough to ripen them.

And there is a nice crop of lizards.  There were three on the deck when I was photographing, but the largest one ran and hid.  Not photogenic, I guess.

Lemons ripening on the little lemon tree.  I think Mary uses grey water to keep it going.

There was heavy rain on Friday night, so everything is washed clean and shiny.  Another late spring shower would be welcome. 

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On the Road - Day One 04-25-15

I was off early (for me) yesterday and on the 57 Fwy at 9am.  There was a little rain near Gorman and then it sprinkled off and on for several hours.  When I got to Lost Hills I decided to track over to the coast on Hwy 46 (sometimes referred to as the James Dean Hwy because he died when he wrecked his car on this road).  Work has been going on for years to make it safer - two lanes each way with a center divider in some places.  Almost no traffic and the rain stopped somewhere along the way.  I stopped in Pacific Grove for a fabric fix at Back Porch, so I gave some support to the economy; took a look at Monterey Bay, and arrived at Mary's about 5pm.  She made a delicious dinner of loin lamb chops, fresh asparagus and fresh roasted Yukon Gold potatoes.  I also ate the leftovers - so nice to eat home cooked food and Mary is a fabulous cook.   Early to bed, it seemed like a long day, and it is soooo quiet up here in the hills that I slept well. . 

 

After turning onto Hwy 46 I felt like I was out on the prairie with huge schooners of clouds floating overhead. 

The area between I-5 and Hwy 101 is excellent for growing nuts and I drove past miles (literally) of pistachio groves - shown here on the left.

The nuts grow off the branches rather than at the tips of the branches.

And they point upward rather than hanging down.

 

 

The trees are low and I could easily reach the clusters to photograph them.

The leaves are thick and leathery and something has been eating on them, but I couldn't see what kind of bug it is.

More cloud schooners and a lone palm tree that has been planted - not natural to the area.

Then some more very dark clouds and a little spritz of rain.

After feeling (and buying) some fabric I took a little stroll along the Bay where the sun was shining brightly, but a cold wind was blowing.

There is a wide pathway along the water line shared by pedestrians, bicyclers, and pedal cars that are rented nearby.  That is Monterey Bay off to the right.

And here is a view a little further to the right.  It was quite windy, creating white caps.

 

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