Thanksgiving weekend

We packed so much holiday goodness into the four day weekend. Thursday it started raining at 4am and didn't stop once until late that night. We hoped for a walk in the morning but ended up watching James and the Giant Peach. Luckily Starbucks stays opens on holidays so we went out late morning and had a lattes and cinnamon rolls and people watched for awhile. Oliver wore his turkey hat that he had made at school which was a real conversation starter. Mid afternoon we ate and ate ate and had genuinely had a really nice time over at LD' sisters house. Friday morning we got up early and went downtown for the parade. The marching bands were by far our favorite. We did a little shopping, drank more coffee and then went home. I snuck out to see New Moon, which was completely awesome. Late that afternoon we went up to the zoo for Zoo Lights. When we got there it was dusk and the wolves were howling, very new moon I should add ;) We got right in line for the train and caught the first run out. We huddled under the blanket and saw all the holiday lights. Oliver loved every minute. Saturday I junk shopped with a friend and then the family went out for a hike on the trails Washington Park. Totally exhausted but happy.

It is so rainy here. The ground is like a soaked sponge that needs to be wrung out and every time I walk through the yard it feels as if I will sink into it. I am not sure why I don't take the "long way" around on the pavement :) So it has been raining for what feels like months but we've had some nice strong winds and that has been exciting. But also a little scary. One night I felt certain that with the ground so wet and the wind so strong a tree was bound to fall onto our house. I took these pictures at different times today while out....they really captured the day. I went on a major junk trip today and brought home bags of stuff that needs to be cleaned and readied for photos but for now I wanted to write and think about Thanksgiving coming next week. What are you doing? I am excited to have Oliver home for a few extra days. We may go to the parade downtown on Friday if the rain ever stops. I am going to see New Moon with my friend Stephanie, who introduced me to the books. I'd like to make some pumpkin bread pudding. Pull out the Christmas decorations. Watch Charlie Browns Thanksgiving. Yay for the holidays!

There's a lovely little island just a 20 minute drive from us. It is full of fields, farms, a beach, wild life...we went there to a pumpkin patch last week. Oliver went on a hayride with LD while i was instructed to go for a walk and take pictures. happy to oblige. We ate pie and Oliver thought he wanted corn on the cob, which I don't care for at all and wasn't surprised when he wouldn't eat it :) LD ate it. We still haven't carved our pumpkin and tomorrow is Halloween! Maybe tonight. Work has been busy! My hats are selling well, really well, at the shops. I need to deliver more and can't seem to get the hats finished because it is overwhelming me to pieces. I've had a recurring problem with blogging...somedays I want to do it and most days I think, who really cares?! Does anyone care what I wore or where I went or what I bought? It's funny though because I enjoy reading those same things on others blogs. And it seems I have only had the time for either posting or reading but not both. Ah well....here's a day on the farm:

This is my favorite spot out there. I remember a year and half ago Oliver running up and down that little slope one evening in the summertime.

old trees
looking out from the old trees to the field

A little hidey hole the chickens were running in and out of. Much too short for an adult to walk through but perfect for the littlest people and animals

the chickens were so much fun to watch! There were so many of them!

All the berries have been picked and the vines dried up

I caught my scowl on camera! This is my concentrated I am thinking look which most who don't know me amd some who do take for an angry scowl.

not much

to talk about...just a few pretty autumn pictures. Instead of the bright oranges and reds of the season I've been scouting out subtle and subdued dried leaves ands flowers like these hydrangea petals and the leaves. Loving the sunsets we've seen here the last few weeks. More often than not I don't have my camera along so it was good luck that it was along the other night for this one.

hello october!

it's one of those things...what happened to September? It is mostly a blur but I swear it was only 4 days. So it is October now. I made the first pot of soup of the season last night, a really wonderful creamy broccoli with sharp cheddar, warm rolls and a salad. It's boots and sweaters and today for the first time a rain coat and hat. There was lots of wind which is always nice and exciting. And baths! hot baths, more sleep. We are already talking about wanting a vacation somewhere warm. We thought Hawaii but it just doesn't fit in with things right now. These pictures I took on Saturday at the restaurant where we went out to dinner with LD's parents. A bottle of ketchup exploded all over my shirt and LD's mom thought it was quite possibly the funniest thing in this world. Me, I didn't laugh. I wish I could laugh at myself more though. I hope to decorate the house with Halloween decorations for Oliver this weekend.

honest scrap and beautiful skies

Last week we had several days of skies that looked so different from the Pacific NW skies I am used to. Usually it is a solid wall of grey, blue or blue with some clouds. Finally last Friday morning I had my camera with me and got these puffy white clouds shown above. I love the dark shadows within each one and how they strecth for miles and miles. The other two pictures were taken close by our house later that same day. I'm much more of a sunrise person but with these crazy skies we got a really beautiful sunset that night. There is a ridge that overlooks the river and the rail yards just down the street from our house. I took walk down there to take some pictures and I saw that couple huddled under the patchwork quilt. I liked that quite a bit! On the way home I saw the swifts were still visiting the chimney so I sat awhile and watched them. I read on a blog profile last week the words "nature makes me cry"...I liked that alot. Lastly, the always wonderful Heather tagged my with Honest Scrap. Thanks Heather :) I am to share 10 honest things about myself. So:

1. (ducking my head under my hands right now to prepare for the disdain of everyone) I am not a dog person. At all.

2. I have terrible, really terrible, long term memory. I don't rememeber most of my childhood, just a few bits here and there. My brothers and sister will say "remember when...." and I wonder if I was even there.

3. I spend a lot of time living in my head which I think is the reason for my terrible memory. I am simply not paying attention.

4. I am a really good baker.

5. This week I told Larry my next job might be working for airline so we can get free tickets

6. I have a quick fiery temper

7. I can't hold a grudge, even though I want to sometimes.

8. I like to drive fast and get super impatient with slow pokes

9. I like teen type tv like gossip girl and 90210...I've considered that perhaps I am emotionally stunted.

10. Yesterday I wondered if I was meant to be a parent. Sometimes, alot of times, I feel like I am in way over my head.

Our neighborhood swifts

We had a wonderful surprise last night! I wrote about the Chimney Swifts on little byrd vintage a couple of weeks ago...about the school they return to every year to roost. Last night I had just picked up the phone to call my mom, LD was out front with Oliver and he came running in the door and said the swifts are here! I was a little confused and had no idea what he was talking about but told my mom I'd call her back shortly. Outside, just a few houses away there were hundreds, probably thousands of little birds swirling in the sky, entering a chimney. We had heard a few years ago that there was a chimney here in the neighborhood that had yearly swifts but we had never seen them. I caught them as best as I could but nothing can compare with the site in real life. They fly around in a circle so fast it makes you dizzy and then occasionally one or two will dive into the chimney, as sunset nears more and more and quicker and quicker the birds enter the chimney, chirping all the while. Can you imagine what it must be like to live in that house? I think I would love it.

A weekend walk

The summer weather continues on in our part of the world. Wardrobe wise I am ready to move on! A little tired of summer clothes but I do know that we have months piled on months of grey days, soggy land, and cool temperatures so it is best to enjoy the warmth while it is here. We walked Sunday to our favorite bakery for breakfast and I brought my camera along hoping to catch some hints of autumn. I found some! So many spiders that scare me but whose webs I marvel at and find beauty in, some pears on a dried mossy brick, birds flying in formation, crispy bits of leaves and flowers littering the ground. I found some new feathers to add to my growing collection. I swear, every time I go out for a walk there is a feather waiting to be found. And acorns. I picked them from a low hanging branch and brought a few home. My last fall find is a gorgeous velvet pumpkin, handmade locally. The stem is a real pumpkin stem sewn into beautiful jewel toned velvets. Sometimes when I see handmade stuff that is so well made I almost despair for my own skills and get a pit in my stomach. Has fall arrived at your doorstep?

We woke up to pouring down rain today. Fairly typical for an Oregon holiday weekend. I am not complaining though. It actually feels nice as the temperature is mild and everything is still green and not yet all brown and dead. We went out for breakfast, scones and lattes, then I headed out alone for Saturday morning junking. I found two Halloween costumes for Oliver! He is wearing one as I write this and I do believe he will not want to take it off until after Halloween. Found lots of other stuff too like a medicine cabinet from the 20's with an old and pretty beveled mirror in it and the sweetest glass shelves, a few dresses, some glass and silver, a cashmere scarf, new shoes...all my favorite things.
Most is for the shop, a few things are for me. The 1920's silk dress in the first picture is a true treasure that just arrived in the mail yesterday. I found it on etsy. The picture was blurry and the description stated it needed mending but it was in so much better condition than I thought it would be! And it fits perfectly. I will mend what I can, hopefully without damaging it since it is delicate and then I will wear it with tights and heel and a cashmere cardigan.

Yes! and thank you

I certainly did my share of complaining yesterday :) And now here comes today and it is such a good day. Thank you darlings for your kind and funny words that just lifted me up and out of my "poor me" place. I decided to not shop today which is what I usually do on Tuesday and God knows I love my routines. But a break in routine was on order today so I sent myself down to the basement with a homemade iced mocha made from this mornings left over coffee, my music and my hats. And I made myself start sewing. For some reason I was having major anxiety about making the hats. So I was really surprised when as I started to finish each one I loved them! I've missed working like that down there. It was magic today: alone with my thoughts and plenty of good music, some singing, perhaps even a little dancing. Of course, I love dark and moody lighting so I had to take a few photos. Can you believe I have already started thinking about Christmas? Look at the 3rd or 4th photo down. I have. And a little sneak peek at a couple of the caps I finished up today. The last is made from a vintage Pringle cashmere sweater and it is gloriously soft.

The days playlist:

The Beatles, Carly Simon, Me First and The Gimme Gimme's, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens

I love the lighting in old dark buildings that have lots of windows. The company my husband works for owns pubs and hotels and it seems most of their places have this lighting that I love so much. I always bring my camera along when I know we will be eating at one. This was Friday night at Ringlers, the pub connected to the historic Crystal Ballroom where we will be seeing Modest Mouse in a couple of weeks. I am feeling overwhelmed by a million and one projects I have started and not completed. From painting to cleaning to sewing to grocery lists...Where I once was efficient and tidy I have become the opposite and it to be like it was before. All that and sales are slow with my vintage stuff. I need movement to be motivated and when it stalls I stall. Also stalled on the creative front...pretty much all I've made lately has me holding my head in my hands wanting to cry. So I know I should just step back from it all but my instincts have always led me to push on through which now feels like trying to force the square shape into a circle one. My goal: to be happy with the ways things are, to just let it be. I'll let you know how that goes ;)

Olivers flowers

This summer LD has been taking Oliver out for evening walks or to ride his big wheel. Usually I stay home and do the dinner dishes, grind the coffee beans for our evening and morning coffee, package orders, just get caught up on stuff. Almost every time they arrive home Oliver has brought something with him. I have the hardest time not keeping every single thing that comes through our door by his hands...twigs, smooth round rocks, crumbling leaves, and in this case dandelions. I took a picture of them thinking I could let them go after that but ended up keeping them around of course. Now I realize they are gone and I wonder what happened to them?

A bowl of cereal before bed

Oliver on most nights tries to get an extra meal in right before bed. Mostly we've agreed it is a stall tactic but sometimes we fall for it and let him have a bowl of cereal. So it was last Saturday night. It was then I noticed how much of the light was gone and summer is fading. It seems to happen so quickly - here one day, gone the next. So it was Wheaties by lamplight. I found that old lamp out junking and really liked it. It didn't have a shade and I wanted to use it so I went out and bought a pretty orange-ish hued bulb and left it bare. I kind of like it like this...it reminds me of candlelight.

I used to think the end of summer was a little depressing and I would wish it away and will the fall to hurry up and get here. As most things do, my thoughts on it have switched directions and I love these late summer days. I realized this is when our yard looks its best...all the plants have matured and it looks wonderful out there. Of course there are the tomatoes that we don't grow but that our neighbor does and shares a bountiful amount with us, there are the crickets in the evening, the cool hint in the air at both night and in the early morning. The days are still long but not quite as much and that is ok too. Today we went to a park not far from out house but that I always forget about. I don't know how. It is huge and offers lots of shade plus sun and there is giant and magnificent rose garden that scents the air so sweetly. You don't even have to get close to smell the roses ~ it just scents the air ever so slightly. There is a fountain there that Oliver loves to throw rocks in and I let him even though I don't really think he is suppose to be doing that :) Today I caught our shadows reflection in the fountain. Me with my latte in hand and Oliver looking so tall I can hardly believe it. He's almost my height!

North Portland 6:40am

I haven't done many morning walks this summer. I guess it feels like last summer I went everywhere and took pictures and things just haven't changed enough to go back and rephotograph it all. I planned last night to go out for a run this morning and then procrastinated on going until it was almost too late to go and I had to run the whole time to make it back home in time. I just knew I needed to get out with my camera, my music and the fresh air. I saw all the things I love...lonely benches, stairs leading nowhere, old cars, long summer shadows and the amazing soft morning sunlight that illuminates the city in the most perfect way. The light that is fleeting and not to be found again until the following morning (hopefully). I always set my ipod to shuffle and trust that the songs it chooses are the ones I need to hear. Today i heard: Concrete Blonde, Tori Amos, Springsteen, The National, The Killers, The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, and Evan Dando. I made myself run up the hills that I usually let myself walk up and I swear it nearly killed me! I ran close to home through a neighborhood I used to live in. Although it is so close, only a mile down the road, for me it was a whole different lifetime ago.