A Historical Journey in Washington State

It all started in a wooden shipyard in NW Washington state.

Years ago, as we were driving along, trying to get a great photo of my fav Victorian in Port Townsend, we pulled into the shipyard and found to my delight, that not only could I see that home, but there was the most beautiful tall ship I had ever seen in dry dock there!

Now that was before the days of her fame

--in a certain Pirate movie--

and it was only later, that I found out MY ship was THAT ship!

 

This year I just had to go see her again (how could I not?) and I

figured out we could have a little reunion in SW Washington!

 

After a wrong turn--or two--we found out where

the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain were docked

(as we got closer we could see the very tall masts rising up to the sky

and we knew that it was the right place)!

 

Needless to say, I took a lot of photos of both ships from both sides of the river--

and maybe someday another one will appear here.

And maybe, just maybe, I will someday see her sailing with her beautiful sails unfurled

that is one of my dreams:)

Of course, while we were in the area

we happened upon several historical places-

a Roman Catholic Church with gorgeous architecture!

 

 

And then there was this beauty!

I love homes with covered porches-perfect for a summer day

or a showery spring one!

Ahhh!

Love those historical homes:)

Then it was on to visit Vancouver Lake which I had been wanting to see

and after a quick visit we traveled northward to Kalama.

 

Of course there is a story about this place too-

One time, when we were headed south,

I spied a beautiful old church on a hill above the river...and I quickly shot a photo

(because I cannot resist steeples and bell towers).

But when I tried to put a name to the church,

I couldn't remember the name of the town

and there are quite a few churches in this area of Washington!

 

Finally, I tracked the town down by using the business information

that was on a sign in the photo!

Tricky, huh?

And it worked-

for soon I had the name of the church too!

Since we were sort of in that area and since 

I wasn't satisfied with my quick photo from the highway we decided to pay that old church a visit.

She is at the top of a hill,

next to a school.

Isn't she pretty?

 

I never ever get enough of historical churches and have quite a collection of them.

Perhaps one day I will give them a blog to call their own:)

 

 

As I always do, I wonder what life was like when this land was first settled

and much later when this church, a little Roman Catholic one was built.

I also wonder what the inside of this church looks like...

such a curious gal I am.

 

I wish the door was open so I could take a quick peek inside

or maybe just sit and be quiet for awhile.

 

But alas there wasn't enough time to do that,

so we headed down the hill,

where we passed another church

with these beautiful stained glass windows,,,

and, of course,

I had to take a photo or two.

 

Southward along the river we traveled from that little town.

But we'll be back...

because there are always new adventures to take

in my beloved state of Washington!

 

Blessings, Aimee

~

Photos: Spring, 2011.

Lady Washington, one of the ambassador ships of the State of Washington

St James Roman Catholic Church

The Slocum House

St Joseph Roman Catholic Church

a church we passed in the same town

(not sure of the name)

The Columbia River

Farmer Boy Brings Home A Gift

Text message received at 2:46 pm yesterday:

"If you're good I have a present for you."

And my sweet tease of a husband did!

A whole flat of NW grown Hood strawberries

AND 1/2 flat to give away as gifts to other strawberry-lovers :)
I LOVE my Farmer Boy,

I love PNW strawberries,

I love the fact that we had more than enough to eat,

enough leftover to freeze some for treats later

and some to give away too!

~

In other news:

our strawberries are bigger now, but still green:(

Also green--7 little tomatoes on our Early Girl and Sungold plants?

Our third plant just has blossoms still,

but if the weather continues warm and we get some sunshine,

I have BIG expectations for a lot of tomatoes this summer!

BTW, I paid a whole $3 for these tomatoes so I will be

saving a lot of green this summer while I enjoy our own fresh,

sunripened, just off the vine, sweet, juicy tomatoes! YUM!

And my final green for the day-

(we won't count all the grass I mowed or weeds I pulled today as a green),

a few of my carrot seeds have FINALLY sprouted and

I just might get carrots from my garden this year!

Hope springs eternal (forget who said that)

Have a blessed Pentecost,

Aimee

Photo:

I didn't want to stop long enough last night to take a picture of the berries,

so this one from last year will have to do!

Note to PNW gardeners:

Thought you might be interested in receiving a free monthly

gardening newsletter from OSU in your e-mail box.

I have been getting it for quite awhile and really, really like it!

BTW--this month's issue had information on the Spotted Wing Drosophila which damages fruit such as raspberries, strawberries and a lot more. I am definitely interested in learning how to protect our fruit from this new pest! It would make me quite unhappy to see our berries destroyed just when they are ready to eat!

If you think you would like to subscribe to the monthly NW Gardener's eNews,

you can e-mail them at: gardeners-subscribeATlists.oregonstate.edu

Feel free to copy the e-mail address above,

of course

replacing the word AT with the symbol @!

Disclaimer: I am not associated with the school except I subscribe to this newsletter.

Of Wildflowers + Mountainside Gardens: part 2

I am still not home-by that I mean my body is; but my heart isn't.

It is still there-listening to the sounds of nature,

feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and arms,

and embracing the peace I felt there.

It feels good!

How about a few more photos of our peaceful trip?

At one point we crossed this bridge-

it was fun watching the planks move as we crossed:)

In some areas we went through woodlands like this;

in other places we were in a forest--complete with moss, ferns and wildflowers!

Look at all that wonderful moss on the trees--

in the PNW we are experts at growing moss:)

And the native bleeding hearts were beautiful--

I SO want to find a native plant nursery!

A creek we crossed over.

I wonder if there are fish in these waters and if so,

what kind they are?

I wonder if there are any cougars around here?

In Colorado they have signs to warn you that you're in THEIR home!

More bleeding hearts--

And more native vegetation--

I can't remember what my friend called these.

Sorry:)

~

Well it is time for a snack --

I am feeling the need for some good protein after eating so many fresh strawberries!

BTW--has anyone made strawberry bread before?

I've never tried it but it sounds interesting.

Blessings,

Aimee

Of Wildflowers + Mountainside Gardens

My day started in our wildflower/perennial garden.

But the sky was so blue and it was so warm-

it called for a field trip and

I knew exactly where I wanted to go...

It was a place I had found on the Internet that had most of my fav things

mountain views

and trees

creeks

and a waterfall

(I SO should have brought a tripod)

some historical places--one being the very road we were on

(but the rest will have to wait for another post because we never found

one of the places we were looking for)

YEA! Another road trip:)

and color--lots of color!

The amazing, beautiful, wonderful, totally awesome

color of the PNW in spring:)

the yellow of scotchbroom which was all over--

once we found the right road that is

(I, of course, had left my map and carefully written directions--

you guessed it--at home)!

Actually the wrong road was quite beautiful too:)

the purple of native irises

(I am NOT even going to mention the green of the trees, ferns and other vegetation--

this is the western PNW after all and we have had MONTHS of rain!

I will say this is our payoff after suffering through all

those gray, wet, cold days though:)

white blossoms--absolutely gorgeous in person I must say!

This is either a wild astilbe or spirae.

(BTW--please feel free to correct me if I am wrong!)

and...

~

the rest will have to wait till later because I've got to get some sleep :)

Blessings, Aimee

~

Photos: late spring, coastal foothills + mountains

Thank You!

It makes my heart SO very happy when I come to my blog

and see the visitors I have had!

And my one wish for you will always be the same

that you leave here feeling more blessed then when you arrived,

because your very presence here --

whether for a minute

or

for longer

has blessed my day more than I can ever say!

~

And

one thing more...

I just want to say
THANK YOU for visiting!!

Blessings,

Aimee

A special thank you to all my followers too--

appreciate you all very much:)

~

Photos:

Deepwood Estate in springtime, Salem.

Amazing mansion and gardens!

camellia

garden by gazebo

more camellias

(can you tell I LOVE them?)

view from the main gate--mansion and carriage house

the room I love the most!

For more info: http://www.historicdeepwoodestate.org/

Enjoy!

Dolls

I knew my mom had a collection of Josef Original dolls--

both she and grandma kept them on a window sill.

And I knew she had a Raggedy Ann + Andy--

they sat for years on a wooden shelf in their home.

and mom had some other little dolls/figurines too --

but I never knew that she had these!

Here they are taking a nap on the floor while they have their photo taken.

See how peaceful they look...

They must be resting because I hear they have travel plans soon!

~

Life is an adventure--

lately I have been living one at my mom's place:)

Blessings,

Aimee

Early June Garden

I LOVE PNW natives and I try to use them often. Here you can see the salal and kinnikinnick we planted last year--apparently they are very happy here as they have grown quite a bit! You can also see that we use soaker hoses--actually we use a combination of watering methods depending on what we have planted, but soaker hoses do work quite well and in time they will be more camouflaged by the growing vegetation. This is our newest garden--for my mom; it needs LOTS of work:)

One of our newest and last to bloom rhododendrons. This is not the best photo of it, but it is SO pretty! I really wish the blooms of spring would last longer--love this season!

Our blue Japanese irises--by our lower pond. Love this shade of blue:) Speaking of ponds---keep reading and soon you will see something flowering IN our pond:)

Roses, roses everywhere---this is a miniature kind. I love my minis but this year I may have to break down and treat them with a non organic blackspot treatment and that is NOT making me happy at all!

Another view of the Japanese irises. One of this year's projects was to extend the path and bed here; we have now laid the landscape fabric (we use one marked contractor grade) and added garden mulch. We still have to add the flagstones and do finish work. Seems like garden tasks are never done!

And here (drum beating and trumpets sounding)...

our first water lily of the 2011 season:)

Love these guys (or gals) :)

Have a great Tuesday!

Blessings,

Aimee

More From Mom + Dad's

Another day of sorting at my parent's home--

I love these!!

Do you know what they are? I do:)

I think they are really cute and remind me a lot of Port Townsend and Port Gamble, Washington--although I think they predate our time up there by a whole lot of years!

I haven't decided if I should use them at the Tea Party--what do you think?

I could go with a Victorian theme...

of course then it would be tempting to wear some Victorian type clothing:)

I found more tea cups, saucers and these pretty pink bowls/plates over there.

They would work for the party--I love pink!

The four tea cup/saucers hanging (in the picture of the post below) were only the beginning.

I found a lot more in the hutch--more than enough to use for the party...

I was thinking, I don't remember mom using them much--

I intend to display and use them.

Another thing I found today was my baby clothes---that really made me smile!

Most of the little dresses had a little card attached to them (with a diaper pin) explaining a bit about the outfit: where it was first worn, a friend who made it, etc. SO COOL!!

I am totally in LOVE with these shoes BTW--totally!

Another find was cloth napkins (light purple),

crocheted and knitted items,

nice dishtowels, etc.

I particularly loved this apron that was with those things--

it is small (child size),

looks handmade

and unfortunately I don't know anything more about it

except I LOVE it:)

Now I am wondering--

who made it?

who was it made for?

when was it made?

I may never know...

Blessings,

Aimee

A Tea for Mom

My mom loved to have afternoon tea whenever we were at The Harrison or elsewhere in Canada! She also, as you can see, liked to collect and display teacups and saucers (this pic shows a few of them). I will soon be taking some of these home but before I do that, I would like to have a tea in mom's honor there--kind of a celebration of her life!

I have a bit of an idea of what I want to do, having planned several celebrations for a large group of people before at my last job, but (and this is where I hope you will help out) do you have any ideas to make this tea extra special? Decorations? Color themes? Recipes for tea sandwiches you are willing to share? Scones and other desserts? Teas to try? Salads/soups? Other tips? I would LOVE to have your input so feel free to comment--anonymously if you prefer:) Thanks!

I am excited:) Already have never-used special flatware (Kristin, a rosemaling design-from Norway) that I will bring to the tea--very feminine and I am hoping that somewhere in all of mom's stuff I can find pretty napkins, a tablecloth and ???

Blessings,
Aimee

The WORD on Wednesday

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27 KJV

Blessings, Aimee

Here Ye, Here Ye! News From the Garden

Despite the cold and rain,

we have marionberry plants full of white blossoms

(makes me hungry for a berry pie or berry crisp

or berry smoothie or just fresh berries)!

Two varieties of Japanese irises blooming by the upper pond

(the other variety is bluish).

Every year it seems like we have more:)

Some of our roses are in bloom now--

our rose season tends to run from mid/late May through October.

We have one climbing rose, a bed of miniature roses

and some other roses.

I don't tend to buy flowers at the grocery store

because we tend to have something in bloom most of the year:)

More color in the wildflower/perennial beds

(today I spied a newly blooming orange/red Oriental poppy from across the yard--

you just cannot miss their vibrant color!

(I haven't transferred them yet but will later this week)

Raspberry blossoms--

the plants seem to be doing quite well still in their wine barrel home!

And unless there is a new variety of columbine (not!),

this edition of Our Garden sadly reports

that someone has been eating one of my columbines

:(

Blessings on this first day of June, Aimee

A Witness Now

Among the trees, flowering shrubs and manicured lawn they lay,

side by side,

each with their resting place marked

by a grave marker and American flag.

For this is a National Cemetery --

one of many and it is the final resting place for
Veterans of World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam and more recent conflicts.

Comrades in arms;

both those who have passed on full of years

and those who died while in the prime of their life.

The flags -- small and large --

wave in the breeze on the hillsides here;

so many lives--so many stories told and untold.

We come here-

children and other descendants, schoolmates, friends

and parents too.

Veterans and civilians,

some who have not forgotten the ferocity and cost of battle;

others who just feel the need to remember, to witness

this day-

the service and the sacrifice

of the precious souls at rest in this hallowed ground

above the city.

"You're his witness now.

Without a witness, they just disappear."

Blessings to the families of our fallen Veterans today.

May you find peace in the midst of your loss

and may you know we will remember.

Aimee

~

Note: above quote taken from 'Taking Chance', HBO films, 2009. USA.

Photos taken spring 2011, Willamette National Cemetery.