In the Footsteps of My Farmer Boy

When my wonderful hubby was younger,

he did some crazy things.

One of them was walking across railroad trestles...

something I would NOT ever advise anyone to do!

 

But,

thought I,

what would that be like...
to be so high above the ground?

 

And of course,
being me,

I had to find out--
in a MUCH safer manner though :)

On the Banks-Vernonia State Trail,
Buxton Trestle.
700 glorious feet long,
80 wonderful feet high.

Here is a link to the Oregon State Parks brochure on this great trail:
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/images/pdf/bv.pdf
and another to some Oregon State Park photos and information:
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_145.php?md=pic
(if you scroll down the photos you'll come to a photo of the trestle from below)

Where have you hiked, gone horsebackriding or ridden your bike lately?
If I can, I want to do more outdoor activities this autumn--I find my endurance very low.

Blessings,
Aimee  

On the Cusp of Autumn

This morning we woke up to a beautiful, refreshing drizzle...

another sign that Autumn will be here soon.

I also woke up to the sad fact that I was still unable to upload photos to blogger,

but now -- about 1 1/2 hours later --

I am.

Go figure:)

No matter,

I spent time lost in sweet memories of autumns past--

and came to the conclusion that I am more then ready to let summer go.

So what do you think of when you reflect on the season of autumn?

Is it wrapping yourself in a nice, warm quilt? 

Or perhaps it is something else?

There are so many things that are part of our autumn here in the US

(and perhaps where you are too)

Thanksgiving,

brightly colored leaves,

wisps of fog hanging on the hillsides,

snow falling in the mountains,

a lit fire in the fireplace

and more.

 

Blessings,

Autumn

 

Photos:

the 2012  St. Mary's Quilt + Craft Fair,

Vernonia, OR

(see yesterday's post for contact information)

Wish I was there today:)

Of Quilts, Afghans + Other Handicrafts

This was going to be a post filled with photos of the amazing quilts, afghans and other handicrafts I saw today during my trip to St. Mary's Quilt + Craft Fair in beautiful Vernonia, Oregon...but I cannot get any photos to upload from my computer and I no longer can use the old interface as a backup as I've been forced to do lately...
You will just have to believe me that the church was filled with quilts of every size and color you could imagine, pillows, afghans, dish gardens, table runners and a whole lot more! We truly loved it and, yes, a new quilt found its way home with me as did an adorable baby dress towel (that I would love, love, love to show you because it is the cutest!) ....

Additionally we had a great lunch of beef barley stew (love this stuff), apple pie (yum), a roll and a delectable marinated salad...oh and my friend and I had a lot of fun being waited on by some of the most respectable, cute, attentive kids that we've ever met! They were AMAZING and truly had servant hearts!

 

The fair is going on for a few more days if you want to enjoy time among some gorgeous quilts and more! It is located at St. Mary's Catholic Church. They are located next to the new Vernonia school (SO happy for little Vernonia who has been plagued by two very bad floods) at 960 Missouri Ave. The phone is: (503) 429-8841. Admission is $1 (yes, one dollar).


FYI:
Cell service can be iffy in this mountain valley; depends somewhat on your carrier and a lot--it seems--on your location.

Found a new, amazing way to get to Vernonia today---sometimes getting lost IS a great thing:)

In trying to keep up with my hubby who (foolishly) walked across railroad trestles in his youth, I walked across my FIRST one today...and I didn't crawl:) Of course, the one I walked across had a LOT of safety features and was meant to be walked across. BTW---the views from up top were very, very nice as were the ones on our NEW, preferred route to Vernonia!

And last but not least, we saw the following today: lots of horses (regular and miniatures too), alpacas (love them), dogs (of course), deer (3 does under some apple trees), bison (yep in an idyllic setting too)...no cougars though (BIG sigh of relief) or bear (ditto) during our hikes>

What are you up to?
Blessings,
Aimee

PS: Will post current photos later--if I can. As per my usual disclaimer I have no association with St. Mary's Church except being a repeat visitor. And now---politics:)



 

A Trip into our Past: Brownsville + Beyond

Recently we had a very busy day--
my Farmer Boy and I.

 We made a trip into town,

driving through this bridge on the way there
(perhaps you movie fans recognize it?)
My husband badly needed a haircut and shave
so we stopped in at the local barber first--
I highly recommend him!

Afterwards my hubby accompanied me to my appointment at Jo's--
my favorite beauty shop...
I needed a lot of work done, so he had a long wait
 but I emerged a different woman!

Then it was on to the dressmaker---

to get fitted for a new dress.

I wanted something really nice for the coming autumn church socials.

Wow! This photo makes me look a LOT thinner than my mirror at home does--

my hands and feet look a little strange though.

Our last stop was at the town grocer

where I picked up some staples for the kitchen

and a few other things.

And then we were off,

"over the rivers

and through the woods"...

to our ancestors sweet, Sweet Home

and elsewhere.

 Where have you been lately?

Blessings,
Aimee

Photos:
Bridge into Brownsville
(have you guessed the movie it was in yet?)
Photos 2-5
Linn County Historical Museum,
Brownsville
(see below for more info)
Photo 6
The Gilkey Covered Bridge

Notes:
A very special thank you to the volunteer staff at the Linn County Historical Museum who gave me permission to take photos inside their AWESOME museum! My hubby, who has visited some very fine museums--including those in Washington, DC said it was one of the best he had seen
(I agreed). We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and want to go back to do some research on our Linn County ancestors). Here is their website where you can see some more photos:  http://www.co.linn.or.us/parks/museums/historymuseum.html

In addition to the museum and the historic (and incredibly beautiful) Moyer house,
Brownsville was the location for quite a few scenes in the film Stand By Me...
which was one of the reasons we wanted to go there.

After Brownsville,
we traveled the scenic byway
"Over the Rivers and Through the Woods"
to Crawfordsville
(covered bridge there)
and into Sweet Home where we had to eat at our fav drive-in.
Then up to see two more covered bridges--Hoffman + Gilkey.
It was a great summer trip:)
Here is a link to Brownsville's Chamber of Commerce
with more visitor info:
http://www.historicbrownsville.com/

Last, but certainly not least, I need to thank Becky of
http://grandmabeckyl.blogspot.com/
for arousing my interest in
 seeing historic Brownsville from a post she did quite awhile back--
she and I both share a love of historic places, besides other things:)