When Aimee Dreams...(pt 2)

As I was saying this whole journey started with a dream
(lately I've had dreams about meeting William Shatner -- who I actually did see at a fair one year,
a very sad looking former coworker -- who I hope isn't sad,
my grandson eating heart shaped cookies and my daughter going to get one -- probably related to the fact that I am currently on a diet
and more)
But back to the dream,
the dream with a covered bridge...
and this time (third journey to find this particular bridge) we had success!

Ladies (and possibly gentlemen) may I introduce you to the Free Enterprize bridge...
(this was our third attempt to find it)
and yes we can grow some palm trees and other 'tropical' looking plants in the PNW.

Along the journey we drove this country road...

I LOVE roads like this,

especially on foggy days...

you never know what you'll find.

BTW, my DH 'swears' he saw a Bigfoot one time on a mountain road.

Do you think I should believe him?

 Back to the beach and our posing seagull...
can't get enough of him (or her).

Love...

A path not yet taken...
but one that looks interesting.
I also haven't stayed in a yurt yet.
That's on my unofficial 'bucket' list.

And I leave you with this quiet waterside view.

Have any of your dreams led you on a journey?

Blessings,
Aimee

Notes: central coast and elsewhere, January 2013

When Aimee Dreams... (pt 1)

It all started with a dream...

a dream about a covered bridge

and the fact that one of the bridges on my list of 'to do's' still remained elusive.

But, that dream led to other sites as yet undiscovered by me one foggy day.
My dreams and plans always do:)

And they say dinosaurs are extinct.
This guy says NOT!

Most fish swim in waterways...
but here they swim on walls.
Wood walls.

You gotta love him...
you do, right?
After all he posed SO well:)
I am among those who do love seagulls.

Count the birds;

count the humans.

(Yep, we were outnumbered big time)  

Finally! Ducks were to be found...
NOT in a national wildlife refuge.
And thus ends part one because Aimee has a thousand things to do...

How has your week been?
Blessings,
Aimee

Note:
Yes the post about the wild west is coming if ever my easy going self wins
 the fight with my perfectionist self that is:)
Photos above taken January 2013, central Oregon coast.

Scriptures for Saturday + the New Year

Some people write New Year's Resolutions

(I did for many years and then never followed through with many/most of them).

Some choose a significant or special word as a focus for the year

(a good idea).

 

But for the last few years I have chosen a special scripture...

and this year,

as New Year's Day neared,

the one that I strongly believe God was bringing to mind

was this one.

 

And be not conformed to this world:

but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,

and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:2 KJV
 

I LOVE this verse because it was just what I needed at this point in my life!
 

And then, shortly thereafter, another piece of scripture came along...

I found it when I was looking for a Bible reading plan because of the above verse.

It was also perfect for where I am at,
and I believe God directed me to it also.

 

Remember ye not the former things,

neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth;

shall ye not know it?

I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:18, 19 KJV

 

Ah! LOVE these both:)

Such hope God has brought to me by these scriptures!

Nothing has changed...
we still have major problems with the house,
I still fight fears about the future and other things at times,
my dad still has health issues which require family/friends to be with him 24/7
(although he is doing incredibly well, knows family and friends,
carries on conversations quite easily, and can ambulate with a walker),
and we still face other challenges...some of which I am not free to discuss here.

And yet,
everything has changed!
Since the first of the New Year,
I have been filled with a deep joy and hope.
Bible reading is no longer a duty, but a pleasure...
I am drawn to watch and listen to things that glorify God.
And more and more, I find myself looking to HIM and desiring an even closer walk with the Creator.
So, it's true--God is doing  a NEW thing...
in me:)
He truly is the Prodigal's Father and for that (and many other things) I am grateful.

 

Do you have a special verse for this new year?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Note:

When I quote verses
I almost always,

use the King James Version.

This is mainly for three reasons--

1. It is in the public domain so there is no limit on what I can use,

2. It's so beautifully written--although archaic it is SO poetic,

3) It's widely accepted worldwide.

 

But I totally fell in love with the verses from Isaiah in the NIV

(at home I have both the KJV and NIV in addition to the Jerusalem Bible bought during college)...

I won't quote them here,

but you can find them if you follow this link:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2043:%2018,%2019&version=NIV
LOVED the use of the word 'perceive'...
I wonder how much I miss because I don't perceive what God is doing in my life?

 

BTW, if you're looking for a Bible Reading plan for this new year as I was,
the site above has several.
I am doing the 365 plan
and

will soon be downloading a bible app for my smartphone.

Yea, a smartphone---how did I ever live without one?

:)

Actually quite well...but they do make life a bit easier. 

History Being Made: A Visit to Portland's Sellwood Bridge

Ah, it's late and I am typing this by candlelight so I'll hurry and

 hope I don't make too many errors in the process

(also some fresh blueberries and crab await me-another reason to hurry).

Today was a glorious day--sunny, blue skies, temperature above 32 degrees,

and I had, as usual, been doing some browsing on the Internet when I became intrigued

at what I found there.

A field trip was certainly needed, and off a friend and I went in search of history

(some of it in our past and some of it being made now).

*insert fresh crab and blueberry break here as I couldn't wait...

Definitely on my trip itinerary was a stop to see one of Portland's old bridges that is being replaced.

Now, this bridge and I have a love-hate relationship.

I HATE going over it,

and I love it when I am safely OFF it

(just ask my dear daughter-in-law).

Alas---two other Portland bridges have this same effect on me,

as does the lovely Tacoma Narrows bridge in Washington state.

But we won't talk about that right now...

~

Now as much as I DO hate this bridge,

it IS part of Portland's history (built 1925) and it is being MOVED...

to become a temporary bridge while a new, much wider bridge is being built

where the old one is right now.

~

I felt that this kind of history called for a personal goodbye and visit from me, so off we went.

~

They had closed the bridge at 0500 and were hard at work on it,

separating the main part of the bridge from the west and east accesses to it;

Saturday they will move the truss over and onto the temporary supports.

BTW this is a photo of the Willamette River...

the river that divides the City of Roses.

This photo is taken from west Portland.

On the other side, in SE Portland, is the Sellwood District and

 Oaks Park--

an awesome historical amusement park with a great historical roller skating rink

(love, love, love it there!)

Last time I was over this bridge,

with my dear DIL and tease of a hubby,

I told them it wasn't safe...

today I sent her and my dear daughter a photo to prove my point.

I know, you all agree with me:)

Smartphones can be so handy at times, especially when you 'need' to prove a point.

Although this isn't the best photo

(taken while we driving)

I think you can see the new, temporary supports for the bridge.

I think...

1100 feet of bridge truss being moved...

THIS Saturday.

~

I'd SO love to see it in person,

but this Saturday we're working on a little project of our own...

I guess I'll have to content myself with the fact that I was there on the first day of the bridge's closure

and catch a glimpse of the time lapse video they'll post here the day after the move

http://www.sellwoodbridge.org/?p=bridge-move-and-detour-bridge

**Correction: the above site has a lot of information about the bridge, the move, etc...
but this link will bring you to the actual daily time lapse video:
http://www.sellwoodbridge.org/?p=construction-camera
 

 

Next up---a trip to the OK Corral and Wild, Wild West...sort of:)

 

How was your day?

Blessings,
Aimee

 

Photos taken January 17, 2013

A Year Ago: January 2012

The older I get, the faster time seems to go by.

It hasn't always been that way...

when I was a child time seemed to go much more slowly.

But now that I'm a grandma,

it seems like warm summer days were just yesterday

and that spring bulbs will be here before I know it

(although I am hoping for quite a few more snow events before then).

 

But let's go back in time...

back a year ago to January 2012 and some great memories.

First up-a trip to a historical dam I had been wanting to see for a long time,

a 'hidden' waterfall

and

some very peaceful mountainside and creekside views

(hum, I wonder what this area looks like in snow...)

January 2012 also brought us a visit from our oldest son...

who came bearing gifts--

edible and very, very yummy homemade gifts!

(He is a really good cook--love it when he shares his chef recipes with me)

A year later,

he no longer lives in the Pacific NW...

but he is still cooking --

 albeit under much sunnier, and generally, much warmer southern skies.

~

Along with some snow,

the PNW usually gets a bit of flooding--

some years being much worse than others.

Last January the Willamette Valley really got hit--

as the Willamette River swelled past its banks.

 This was taken in the Salem area--

it was just one of the flooded roads we encountered.

 We also saw a flooded ferry landing, orchards and farm fields.

~

Next up: winter's waterfowl.

Our normally abundant rainfall

and

mostly

(I say mostly because we've had subfreezing conditions for longer than usual this January)

temperate climate, brings a lot of waterfowl to the PNW

and some of the best places to observe them is at the many NWR's

(national wildlife refuges) to be found here.

Last January found a friend and I at Ankeny NWR--near Salem, Oregon.

It was my first visit there but not my last.

Now that I can change camera lenses,

I will be making more visits to our NWR's to get some zoom photos of

dusky Canadian geese, swans and the other waterfowl to be found there.

Visiting our NWR's and other wildlife preserves during the winter

somehow makes the seemingly endless rain and more subdued color palette a little more bearable:)

~

Last,

but definitely NOT least,

January 2012 saw some snowfall...

I am hoping for more in January 2013:)

What are your fav memories from January 2012?

 

Blessings, Aimee

~

House update:

we haven't made a lot of progress the last couple weeks but this coming weekend we start on the family room alcove. I am very, very excited:)

 

In the garden:

blooming camellias,

frozen and somewhat frozen ponds,

some very frozen kiwi that wasn't

snow and ice off and on. 

Can I?

To be or not to be was not the question on my mind this eve...it was whether I could do something I have wanted to do for about a month now. And the answer is yes:)
Blessings, Aimee

Fruitcake French Toast + Memory Lane

On Sunday it hit me...

a sudden desire to cook Fruitcake French Toast.

I had never heard of it before,

but it sounded yummy and very seasonal...

 

A quick search led me to an answer--
yes there was such a thing--
and recipes

(such a wonderful source of knowledge the Internet is--

not all of it believable though).

So Monday morn

I made some,

and the verdict is....

 well the verdict is it is very rich and tasty---very rich being the keyword here.

By the way, does anyone remember the pretty
Churchill Blue Willow,
made in England,
dinnerware you used to be able to get at a certain store
if you spent so much on groceries?
I have a weakness for nice dinnerware...
but not enough storage space to feed this weakness too much:)

And does anyone remember when bread was 19 cents or so,
gasoline was 29 cents/gallon  (or was it 24?)
and a large can of peaches was about the same.

And as long as we're traveling down memory lane...
does anyone else remember when a computer filled a whole room...
and when there were party lines, dial phones
and the one and only family TV was a black and white one?

 Ah---those were the days and yet,
could I really live without Facebook,
a smartphone,
my laptop
and
digital, satellite TV?

YEP:) I could, but these modern conveniences sure do make life easier.

Do you have any childhood memories you treasure?
Blessings,
Aimee

Note:
There are several recipes for the Fruitcake French Toast online.
Be forewarned it is very good (if you like fruitcake),
very, very rich (I served it with some salty meat to offset the sweetness).
The preserves I used on top were cloudberry preserves
(available in Scandinavian shops or very likely your fav IKEA store).
And one more note...
the lighting in my kitchen leaves much to be desired hence the faded look to the plate which is actually quite vibrant and pretty (as was the food). 

Note 2:
Always proofread your posts Aimee...

Monday's Meanderings

I should be cleaning the baker's rack right now

or clearing out the family room alcove

or a hundred other tasks...

but instead here I sit,

watching the changing sky

and listening to my favorite Christian radio station and

thinking of spring.

It doesn't help that my garden is caught between winter and spring---

or that I just cut these roses the other day,

in January,

in the middle of winter!
WINTER--
in the PNW:)

And it didn't help my spring fever/cravings/longing
when I took time to organize my table linens the other day--
well my spring and summer ones.

Lavender, light blue and green, yellow;

flowers,
spring flowers--

argh!

And then, on quite a few days,

one could easily imagine it being spring with the blue skies and sunlight streaming
 through our windows...
well as long as one's furnace is on,
 and one is wearing a sweatshirt or wool sweater.
Or maybe some flannel pj's.

I mean there definitely is beauty in wintertime--
some of it unexpected,

like this artwork God made for me the other day...

from a plastic container I had forgotten about and some windblown greens.

And this winter flowering camellia (sasanqua) which
this year is filled from

 top to bottom with rose colored blooms...
~

But then my cell phone rings
and it is my son

who lives in the south now,

and I see that his temperatures this week are something I can only dream about
 on a summer

or (sometimes) spring day--

and I am back to hoping spring will come soon
with lots of cheerful daffodils and tulips.
Until I hear the forecast for here and start hoping again for some

beautiful winter snow.

 

How about you?

Are you ready for spring or craving more winter's snow?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Note:

THANK you, thank you Blogger for today's blessing of information

and gift:)

Blessings for the New Year

Dear God,
My prayer for this New Year's Day is this...
I pray that You will grant peace, hope and comfort to those who enter 2013 with tears on their faces and deep loss in their hearts.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Original Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7O9OqBd2us
See this website also for more information and videos: http://www.e-water.net

Scenes of the Season: Christmas 2012

Reindeer and tomte/nisse

yummy stollen

An angel music box, tablecloth and...

 a favorite dinnerware pattern from my past -- all connections to my mom whom I miss daily

but especially at this time of the year.

The makings of jul neg...

and an annual Nordic Christmas tree.

and light,

lots and lots of light in this time of sadness (for some)

and darkness.

Light

to remind me of the Light of the World who is Christ Jesus.

Blessings on this late December morn,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Part of my collection of reindeer and tomte/nisse

(two of my fav seasonal things)

Stollen--my first.

(this is from Beaverton Bakery--an awesome bakery located not too far from Portland)

Angel music box, tablecloth

(from my mom)

Friendly Village dinnerware--in several patterns

(also from my mom)

Wheat and Scandinavian ribbon to make jul neg from

Scandinavian straw and painted wood ornaments collected over the years.

Lantern with fresh PNW greens.

St Lucia's Day: A First

Today I had my very first Lucia bun to celebrate St. Lucia's Day

and it was very good!

Actually it was such a LARGE bun that I shared 1/2 with my friend.

 

 

Yum!

 

Next year I will try to make them myself but I was happy to FINALLY find some and

didn't mind the trip to get them at all. After all, I've traveled all the way to Astoria to get fabulous fattigman cookies and Finnish pinwheel pastries,

and I've traveled all the way to Bend to say goodbye to a favorite niece and hug an aspen tree:)

 

Several of my favorite bloggers have posted recipes/info on Lucia buns:

Anne (Sweden)

http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-lucia-day.html

L-Jay (Norway)

http://mylittlenorway.com/2012/12/st-lucia-bun-design/

 

Both of these ladies have AMAZING blogs by the way!

 

Another first--

only slightly related to St. Lucia's Day 2012 is...

I recently did something I told myself I would NEVER do.

Do you know what it was?

 

Advent Blessings

+

Happy St. Lucia's Day

 

Aimee

On November 23rd, at exactly 2214, I am...

STARVING for a BIG bowl of this...

Just talked to her

(and her older brother)...

Thinking of this little one

(and all my grandkids and kids)...

HUNGRY for this (in addition to a BIG bowl of pho)...

Wishing I was HERE...

or perhaps HERE... 

Dreaming of THIS...

(even though one of my SILs won't be happy about that thought)

but also dreaming of sunshine and blue skies...

And DOING this...

except it isn't the middle of summer,

it is definitely NOT dry, warm, sunny and light outside

and it's not nearly as fun to do laundry using my clothes dryer--

but it does work:)

 

What are you up to?

 

 Oh yea--instead of the yummy pho

and equally delicious Irish Stew,

I just had some pretty tasty challah bread with sharp cheddar cheese melted all over it.

 

But I am still hungry...

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

1. Beef Pho at Bambuza Vietnamese Grill

(During one of my son + my "foodie" runs--SO fabulous I could eat it weekly!

We also had some very good spring rolls and Thai Iced Tea-yum!)

Their website should you want to know more...

http://www.bambuza.com/

 

2. DDD at the beach

one of my beautiful granddaughters

 (at the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center)

http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012/06/grandma-truths.html

http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2011/09/of-octopus-starfish-and-marine-life.html

(LOVE that octopus--LOVE this place!)

 

3. Irish Lamb Stew at Kell's

(once a year is NOT enough)

http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012/03/journey-to-wee-bit-of-eire.html

 

4. At Timberline, Mt Hood

(LOVE the beautiful historic lodge there;

love this mountain!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timberline_Lodge

 

5. Woodland Lavender

Beautiful, fragrant lavender...

http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012/07/lavender-festival-music-good.html

LOVE this place!

 

6. Rhododendron Dairy Queen

(awesome staff and chocolate!)

 

8. Drying laundry outside this year

(SO miss these days)

 

A BIG thank you to Bambuza Bistro, Kell's, Woodland Lavender, OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center and Rhodo DQ for their kind permission to take and post photos here...

can hardly wait to visit all of you again:) 

Happy Thanksgiving

From our family to yours...have a blessed Thanksgiving Day!

We plow the fields, and scatter the good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand;
He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above,
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
For all His love.

He only is the Maker of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower, He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey Him, by Him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, His children, He gives our daily bread,

We thank Thee, then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest, our life, our health, and food;
No gifts have we to offer, for all Thy love imparts,
But that which Thou desirest, our humble, thankful hearts.

Thank you God.

Blessings,
Aimee, Farmer Boy + the Furry Ones
~
Notes:
We Plow the Fields.
Lyrics by Matthias Claudius
Translated to English by Jane M. Campbell, 1861
first appearing in A Garland of Songs
by Charles S. Bere, 1862.
Info as found on
Cyber Hymnal™,  http://www.hymntime.com/tch

This song or at least part of it, brings back some great memories of the play Godspell
(later put to film) and time spent living in view of the one of the waterways of the Emerald City.
I've always loved that beautiful city, this play and the lyrics to this song
on which the play's
All Good Gifts song is based.

Other links:
We Plow the Fields (song)
http://hymntime.com/tch/htm/w/e/p/weplowtf.htm
Thanksgiving overview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)
To see some photos associated with the Pilgrims please see posts labeled "Thanksgiving"

Photo:
taken during a road trip with my oldest son, October 2012.

Tuesday Morn + More

The storm has passed (with hurricane force winds on the coast)

and today the weather is expected to be a bit calmer

although still rainy and windy at times.

I still cannot upload to Blogger even when I reduce the photo size

so I hope you won't mind if I post a few photo favorites of mine...

 Our family room flooring is done (except for the finish moulding) and for the most part I am very happy with it! We now have laminate in the kitchen, dining room and family room...this weekend we will do the living room and hallway. I am SO excited to get rid of our wall to wall blue carpet as it had become so worn, stained and smelly! We are moving away from a mainly blue color palette to a more earth toned one.

Our dogs, however, are not too happy with the floor and the other day the biggest one jumping down from the sofa slid quite a few feet, probably adding to this feeling (I felt bad as he is nearly blind and it must have been very scary for him). Since then we have added a area rug and I may add another one.

Recently we harvested some of our kiwi (fuzzy) and apples too.

 I'm hoping that later today I will feel well enough to process them and the ice apples I bought a week ago when we were out and about...

I am SO tired of feeling sick and having pain:(

Thanksgiving will be quiet here --just the DH and I since my oldest moved south.

We will be having turkey (of course),

cranberry streusel sweet potatoes,

haricots verts

(links below on both of these veggie side dishes),

and more.

Before he left we did a Foodie Run in Portland and as soon as I can get them posted I will.

It is always fun to explore new places with him and I will miss that (but mostly I miss him).

 The other day a huge Blue Heron flew over our land--

it was amazing! We also saw some Canadian geese.

I will be happy when the weather improves a bit so we can

visit a National Wildlife Refuge and the Jewel Elk Preserve !

Time to get some breakfast...but first 2 Scandinavian Christmas crafts links I liked :)

 

From Sweden:

http://www.2thenorth.com/2011/11/making-julbock-1.html

This is a 4 part series on how to make a julbock for outdoors Christmas decorating. Many beautiful photos of Sweden on this blog also.

 

From Norway:

http://mylittlenorway.com/2012/11/christmas-heart-basket-cushions/

A "how to" on making Norwegian heart baskets from felt. I have always liked the woven baskets made out of paper but I love these! This blog also has a large amount of posts on Nordic Christmas traditions-including recipes.

~   ~   ~

Thanksgiving Links:

Cranberry Streusel Sweet Potatoes

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cranberry-streusel-sweet-potatoes/3d37ede8-fc5b-4758-97ec-1c15c31958c9

 

Hericots Verts

http://www.wiveswithknives.net/2012/11/08/haricots-verts-hazelnut-and-gorganzola-salad-with-balsamic-vinaigrette/

 

How have you been?

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Clackamette Park, Oregon City

Wine Country area

SE Portland

(love Portland's public art!)

Independence, Oregon

More Wine Country