Dear Daughter Doggie Takes A Trip

Hi, everyone!

Mom is very busy now getting ready for tomorrow

so I thought I would make a blog post for her-

I think she will be very excited to know that I have GREAT computer tech skills,

don't you?

Now I have many things I could blog about--

food,

cookies,

naps,

my onery siblings...

but I finally decided to blog about the recent trip my human parents took me on.

I think you'll like that best.

Besides it includes two of my fav subjects-

the beautiful PNW

and

ME!!!

I was very bored that day

and was doing my very best 'poor' doggie impression...

sure enough it worked and mom said I could go!

YIPPEE,

those acting classes are paying off:)

It was a beautiful day

(it wasn't raining for once)

and miles of road passed under our car's tires

and then

we were there!

We passed by beautiful pastures and hillsides,

old barns on hills,

wildflowers,

more wildflowers

and

even more wildflowers!

Yep,

everything looked beautiful

AND

I can tell you,

smelled even better than it looked!

A lot of the best time was spent on gravel roads that went up and down the hillsides,

into forests and by woodlands

over rivers where mom insisted on getting out of our vehicle to take photos..

but I could understand why,

because I really wanted to get out too...

and then it was over

and I was a very, very tired puppy

who was happy mom had brought a fuzzy, soft blanket that day.

Which reminds me it is past midnight here and I need to get to sleep.

After all,

mom and dad just might take me bye-bye tomorrow

or at least a dog can always hope:)

Blessings,

DDD for Mommie Aimee

Last Week Views

I am supposed to be doing laundry, dishes and getting ready to take off for the night,

but instead I am browsing through photos of last week...

and remembering.

A trip to Astoria--

this is the detail on the historical Liberty Theater.

I LOVE old theaters!

Part of the remains of the Peter Iredale

and a local resident. This was taken on the beach at Ft Stevens State Park--

a favorite of mine!

It was beautiful there but very, very windy!

Wildflowers -

we saw lots of these on Sunset Hwy

but even more on Hwy 30 along the lower Columbia River.

I LOVE wildflowers!

Today I saw my first beloved Bachelor Buttons of the summer--

unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me:(

A flock of birds at Ft Stevens--

they weren't the only thing in the sky there:)

More about that at a later time.

At one of my favorite rest areas--who says that a rest area is just for resting?

More at the beautiful seashore...

The Astor Column from the town below.

BTW--if you would like to see more photos of Ft Stevens or Astoria you can use the search feature to find them on my blog; like I said

I LOVE Astoria:)

OK time to go and get ready....

sorry about being so rambling this eve but hope you enjoyed the photos.

Blessings, Aimee

Photos: Northern Oregon coast, summer 2011.

Tea for Two + Nordic Goodies

Last week,

while my beautiful DD + three of my adorable grandkids were here,

we traveled to a little piece of heaven---AKA Astoria, Oregon!

And while we were there, I couldn't resist stopping at my FAVORITE bakery

and stocking up on some of fav Nordic treats!

I can never resist stopping and shopping here because I LOVE this place!!!

Let me give you several reasons why...

all very yummy! Actually this is a photo from sometime ago...

this time I bought a loaf of cardamom bread (that I shall start on tomorrow),

a whole bunch of my all time favorite Finnish pinwheels-

most with prune filling and a few with lemon filling!

AND--

another favorite of mine, fattigman pastries (hope I spelled that correctly)!

Yes, life was very, very sweet here for several days as I munched happily on my Nordic treats!

But alas--all good things have to come to an end

and today I bravely faced an almost empy box

and decided a 'tea' was a fitting ending to my Nordic treat journey:)

And it seemed only fitting to do a tea for two,

because I had been wanting to do that for awhile.

And when it was all done and there were nothing left of my goodies,

I came my usual conclusion: I really need to go back to Astoria very, very soon!

Do any of you have a favorite Nordic or other national treat?

~

Blessings, Aimee

~

Bakery Info: Home Bakery, 2845 Marine Drive, Astoria, Oregon (503) 325-4631

http://www.astoriacinnamontoast.com/

http://www.astoria-usa.com/homebakery.shtml

A very BIG TY to the kind owner who gave me permission

to include info on their bakery here along with photos:)

As per my usual disclaimer, I am in no way associated with this business,

except that I have enjoyed their treats for many years now!

The Farmer Boy

This is my Farmer Boy.

Why do you think he was wearing 'this'

and what is 'it'?

Blessings, Aimee

Answer: it was a blanket and he was wrapped up in it because it was SO constantly windy there at Fort Stevens (the beach with the shipwreck)

that we needed some protection for our eyes to keep them sandfree

and

for our skin to keep from getting even more sunburned!

Of Forest, Coast + Family Vacation

Small change of plans here---

because vacation time with our DD + family is here...

and that means the coast, of course!

you will often find beautiful kites like these flying high in the Lincoln City area--

the colors and shapes are truly amazing!

you will also find my favorite--

the seagull!

and piers-

which you can walk under when it is low tide in the Siletz Bay area

This may have been the first time I walked under this one--

I LOVED the pattern of shadows

More seabirds

and

now a few photos from the forest...

Beautiful!

Amazing!

So which do you like best?

The beach

or

the forest?

And while you are thinking about that...

Happy 4th of July to visitors from the USA

Blessings,

Aimee

My Week in Photos: A Preview

Wouldn't you know it? Lots of pictures to post and no time to do it,

hence this will be a preview of things to come.

This (almost) past week has been busy with trips to help care for my dad, an absolutely horrific night (no pictures, but it turned out OK thanks to some GOOD friends), a trip for strawberries and to see several PNW historic places, wildlife sightings (including here at home), time in the garden, etc.

But as I have already said, I have no time to post a lot, so here are a few photos to

-- hopefully --

whet your appetite for later :)

I call this "surfing heron"---

poor bird he is probably the most photographed heron this week:)

And this? Well I call this a blessing from the Creator, for we saw this baby here today!

And, yes, this doe is probably the most photographed deer this week:)

AND

I have figured out why I am not finding any ripe berries at home this spring...

apparently my wonderful,

formerly strawberry-hating DH

has had a change of heart

re: the absolute wonderfulness (is that a word??)

of our local strawberries

and

has been nibbling on ours:)

I LOVE it!

Sunday Blessings, Aimee

~

Photos:

heron seen on trip to a PNW historic area

a deer seen in our area

The WORD on Wednesday

And Jesus said---"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
Matthew 5:9 KJV

Blessings,

Aimee

Photo:

Old Scotch Church, Oregon-built 1878.

Taken in late February during a trip through the area.

Someday

Someday--

the sky will look like this for more than a day or two

the miniature rose garden will be as beautiful

as the daughter who it is named after--

as if that was even possible!

these raspberries will turn yellow and sweet--

and

these gooseberries will be part of a dessert

these blueberries will be ripe and delicious

(but will never make it into a dessert, because they will

all be eaten by my blueberry lovin' son who

this garden is named after.

That is IF he gets there before his blueberry lovin' mom--me!)

And someday--

my wildflower garden will look more like this one--

but not this summer I am sad to say.

And someday I will stop loving the garden in spring--

NOPE!

Hope you are having a beautiful spring wherever you live:)

Blessings,

Aimee

~

Photos:

Desert King figs

miniature roses, lady's mantle--there is also culinary lavender in this garden

Anne raspberries

gooseberries--we are thinking of adding 1 of the sweeter red varieties too

blueberries

a beautiful wildflower garden I passed earlier this week

a chives blossom

The WORD on Wednesday

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make His face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 KJV

~

May the LORD God,

who created all the beautiful nature that surrounds us,

be with you as you travel through life's journey.

And may He,

who created you and I,

give us peace that will last through all of life's storms.

Blessings this Wednesday morn,

Aimee

~

Photo:

spring 2011, coastal foothills

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