Recent Journeys: Of Goats + Irish Magic

This past week was full of adventures spent with someone very dear to me...

Here are some photos from one of those adventures:)

 

 

After a yummy Dutch Baby pancake for breakfast

(eaten by a sunny window overlooking some pieris in BLOOM),

we had some time to kill before lunch at Kell's...

so we tracked down a historic house that is soon to be demolished

(more on that in another post),

and

after a bit of trial and error,

we tracked down some very famous goats...

well, famous here in NW Oregon that is!

 

 

These are the Belmont Goats and you can meet them here:

http://thebelmontgoats.org/

Very soon they will be moving to a new place in the Lents area of Portland. 

Aren't they simply adorable?

I definitely think so!

 I wish them very well in their new home--
happy grazing guys!
 

 

And then we were on to Kell's

(http://www.kellsirish.com/portland/),

where we celebrated a very early St. Patrick's Day.

Mmm!

After lunch, these two quarters and a dollar bill

 joined a lot of other dollar bills and quarters

already on the ceiling.

 All of this money will be collected soon

and given to charity.

(I LOVE that)

 

 

I know, I know...

you are asking yourself

"How does the money get UP there?"

and,

 I am most positive you are also asking yourself,  

"How does the money stay UP there?"

 

Well, I will tell you the secret

 if you promise never, ever to reveal it to anyone... 

promise???

 

OK, I think I can trust you.

 

The secret...

 

according to our wonderful Kell's waitress that is

(and she is an expert on such things)

 is a little thing called

"Irish magic".

 

All I can say is Irish magic must be a very powerful thing because no money

 showered down on us while we were there...

 

 

Here is my very yummy meal of Irish lamb stew and soda bread!

Mmm! Makes me hungry just looking at it again...

and I just scarfed down a smoothie not that many hours ago.

I also had a bite of their most yummy Shepherd's Pie...

sooo good!

Makes it hard to decide what to cook for St. Patrick's Day when there are all these yummy choices!

 

 

Portland is known for many things...

rain,

gray skies,

Portlandia,

Grimm

and...

bicyclists

(actually it is known for many other things, but I don't want this post to be TOO long) 

 

 

OK--I feel the need for another cute goat photo here...

 

Can you tell I really LOVE goats?

I wish I had brought my bigger camera though

(some how I couldn't see myself lugging it through the streets of downtown Portland though)

 

 

One last photo for today...

got to get some sleep you know:)

 

Have a great week!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Valentine's Week: Aimee's 'Heart' Trail

About a month ago,

 Linda of Linda Len's posted photos of her hike to the Christmas Ornament trail.

From the moment I saw it, I was captivated by the idea and wanted to recreate it at home--

in our not so hidden woodland.

Yesterday, with snow still on the ground (yippee!)

 and some raindrops falling, a friend and I set up the beginnings of what will be--

I hope--

a magical place for my granddaughters to visit.

 

 

Red hearts...

 

white lace...

 

heart bead necklaces for two little ladies.

 

 

 

Valentine's Day cookie cutters

(Mmm...makes me hungry for sugar cookies)

and some glass ornaments still to come

(after the wind settles down a bit).

 

Lacey bow on a Japanese maple.

 

And, of course, the garden had some pre-existing 'ornaments' of its own.

This plant--a Scarlett O'Hara pieris looks perfectly suited for the Day of Love

 

 

Not the best photo---

but I included it anyway because of a scary incident yesterday.

In the morning, one of our three dogs all of a sudden came up missing;

no where to be found.

Farmer Boy who always goes out with our dogs unless I do,

called and started to search the property while I prayed

(the last time this happened we believe our dog saw a coyote or mountain lion--

that time dear dog didn't bark either in response to our calls;

we finally found him cowering under our deck.)

This time dear dog, who is pretty well blind, was in our upper pond.

Fortunately the pond was so full of dense plant growth and such that he didn't sink.

Scary--for him and us.

Tonight I am very grateful for answered prayer:)

 

Time for bed now--

busy, busy week ahead with a Small One set for a weekend visit.

Wishing you all a very blessed and most lovely Valentine's Week!

Blessings,

Aimee

 ~

Another GREAT idea for Valentine's Day can be found on

the site of another blogger friend, Teresa.

Teresa lives in the incredible Columbia River Gorge region of Oregon

and is extremely talented in all sorts of crafts!

 On her site she has made available a free pattern

 for Scandinavian crocheted hearts.

Take a look--

I KNOW you will love them as much as I do!

Perhaps next year, after some practice, you will even find some of them

making an appearance on my Heart Trail:)

Visitors From the Past

 Long, long ago there was this wonderful place on the Oregon Coast known as Pixie Kitchen. It was a magical place with funny, very special full length mirrors, good food (loved their buffet) and pixies! We went there often and those memories of my childhood are truly sweet...

Flash forward many years...

We are still sorting through my mother's things--well mostly my sibling it. At some point I had sorted boxes too and decided I just couldn't keep everything. I took photos of a few special items and let them go; other things -- like the Friendly Village dinnerware and teacup collection I took home. Months passed after saying 'no' to some items and I began to regret with each month letting the ceramic pixies and elves go. Surely they were in a Goodwill store by now; surely they had to be. I asked my sibling and was told there might be a chance...I did not hold out much hope.

 

And then the week before our snow blessing happened and on a very cold day, a box arrived via special delivery (my sibling and dad). I was VERY excited:)

 

 

We treat our wee ones well here as you can see...

the elves outside playing in their 'native' habitat.

They didn't understand why I brought them in so fast.

But really, would I be a responsible Elf Mom if I left them outside in the cold,

without mittens and ear muffs?
 

 

Also inside the box was this little guy.

I love the little ladybug and red shoes--

so stylish and so, so cute!

It also makes me think forward to spring and summer when our ladybugs will be visiting us again!

 

One thing I am not sure of is whether this is a little girl pixie or a little boy?

What do you think?

 

 

The pixies also got to have some fun outside in the snow.

I don't think they enjoyed it as much as their friends the elves.

So what have you been up to?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

 

If you would like to know more about the magical place that was
Pixie Kitchen
(and a bit about Pixieland too),
please see these links:
http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/pixieland.html
http://www.romantic-oregon-coast.com/pixie-kitchen.html

Snow Garden 2014

 

As I sit here, the wind is blowing like crazy and the skies appear

 to be a lighter shade of gray then earlier today.

The snow has stopped--for the moment--and everywhere I look there is such incredible beauty!

I LOVE this kind of snow--dry, powdery, gorgeous--and all I would wish for now is two things:

NO freezing rain AND a bit of blue sky.

Well, I guess, three things...I hope (and pray) that our electricity stays on.

And now, a few photos -

some taken through our, badly in need of spring cleaning, windows

and

some taken outside with an older camera

(was a bit nervous to use the newer one in these conditions).

 

 

Aimee's kind of snow angel:)

 

 

Snow lantern--still with the wrong top:)

 

Cool, really cool, garden seating

(and you thought I was going to say snow bench, didn't you?)

:)

 

 

Snow lady

 

Snow, snow and more snow

(the birds are NOT as happy as they were yesterday)

 

Stay safe this weekend...

stay safe and keep warm.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

A Mystery (Or Not)

Some photos don't tell the whole story...

 

 

They may leave you wanting to know more...

 

 

And more shall be revealed in time dear visitors.

But first...

 

 

The talk of the beach...

Do you see him?

There were two sharing the same tree.

This was yet another time I wished for a better zoom!

Still it was quite exciting:)

 

I LOVE it when the ocean is blue...

 

Ah...

nothing like the sea on a sunny day in January.

Unfortunately north of here near Arch Cape there is a wildfire

and we are in a drought situation...

in winter when we usually have our fill of rain--

and snow in the mountains.

 

 

 

I missed this little arch first time around...

amazing how a few steps one way or another changes things.

 

 

But back to the beginning...

here's another photo of 'those' things pictured at the start of this post.

 

Now do you know what they are and what happened decades ago?

 

Perhaps this video will help.

Either way, I think you'll enjoy it--

I find our history fascinating...

such a wonderful world we live in!

 

 

 Have a great weekend!

Do you have plans?

I do...

but if I don't get some more tasks done today,

 my plans won't become a reality.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

The above video can also be accessed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYG2EuV_yfs

Video produced by Michael Durham.

 

Photos:

Neskowin Beach

January 2014

 

 

 

Treasures at the Seashore

This weekend was glorious!

Blue skies lifted our spirits;

sunshine warmed our bodies.

And beach treasures enriched our day....

 

 

I found this on our first day...

a treasure to decorate my granddaughter's sandcastles.

The amazing thing?

It was still there on the second day!

 

A coastal 'wishbone'--

how could we resist not making a wish?

One guess as to whose wish is coming true?

(of course love would have wished for her wish to come true)

 

Love the detail...

 

Beautiful!

 

One of my favorite views looking out towards Cascade Head

(and to your right is Proposal Rock).

Not seen is the gorgeous long stretch of beach north of this rock.  

LOVE this place!

 

 

Not too far away is another beach--Cape Kiwanda.

Cape Kiwanda is the southernmost of the 'Three Capes'

and home of the Dory Fleet.

It is truly a gorgeous beach

(especially with the right lighting which is NOT midday when we were there--LOL).

I like it best during the week when the crowds thin

and the 'natives' abound:)

Here is a post I made a few years ago at this beach

(if you're a gull fan, you might like it)

 

And of course, one of our family treasures...

in case it isn't obvious,

she is running towards her 'treasure'--

Papa:)

 

Well since sunlight is streaming through my windows and blue skies are overhead,

it's time for me to find some more treasures (tempting)

or maybe just get some tasks done!

 

BTW, has anyone seen Disney's 'Frozen'?

Went to see it this last weekend with Small One.

There I devoured a whole lot of buttered popcorn (YUM),

loved the Nordic elements of the movie (fjords, trolls, crafts, etc.)

and the really nice musical soundtrack,

fought back tears at the end of the film 

(yes, really. I think I am in my second childhood--LOL)...

and had an all together amazing time!

 

But now, two days later,

I can't seem to get Elsa's song "Let It Go" out of my mind

(above link to Disney Animation video on You Tube).

Oh well, at least it replaces last week's reoccurring song

:)

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

North Oregon Coast, Mid January 2014

Indulging Myself (Fluffy White Puppy Video)

I hope you'll indulge me for about 3 1/2 minutes...this video of an American Eskimo in Alaska brought back some awesome memories of my own pup, and it contains a few of my favorite things (fluffy white puppy, gorgeous snow capped mountains, pup in snow, a catchy tune, nice 'scrapbook' video format and more). Hope you enjoy it...



Love it!
May you smile for a long, long time my baby:)

Blessings,
Aimee

You can also find the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q76vrC58Ko
By TheAlaskanEskimo


Here are a few more photos of my little Eskie:

 

 

Stormy Weather -- Must be Time for a Roadtrip

For most people, stormy weather means staying home and safe. But for us--or at least for my DH-- it means it must be the perfect time for a road trip in the mountains. a

And since I am DH's DW, and since I have been known to do a few (somewhat) semi-daring things in my life (like walking on frozen ponds and attempting to walk on semi frozen creeks), well off to the mountains we went. Fortunately we lucked out and our road trip was 'between' the two bad parts of our storm.

Here are a few photos from one part of our trip today.

 

On the hilltop -- upper Nehalem Valley

Well there we checked out the camping sites...

I can HARDLY wait till camping season begins--our RV looks SO lonely without company:)

 

 

DDD (in this case dear daughter dog) saying to herself--

"Are you crazy mom? There's a storm going on you know!".

 

And the photo missing here...

me with my long hair blowing straight UP because of the wind...

(we found out later they had issued a warning for cold funnel clouds

 in addition to the high wind warnings)

 

One of the lakes I love to visit when I am in need of seeing some ducks...

this used to be a millpond, but the city of Vernonia has turned it into a park with hiking trails and such. So peaceful here--on the Banks-Vernonia State Trail

(which also runs through a state park and over an old railroad trestle).

Here are some (sunnier) photos of the trail in the trestle area:

http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012/09/in-footsteps-of-my-farmer-boy.html

 

Of course there is ONE trestle you DON'T want to go over because it kind of ends halfway over.

I couldn't get a good photo of that one today...

but it is fascinating to see! It was damaged in the mid 1980s by a fire.

Here is an earlier photo of it from Highway 47 which travels under it.

 

 

You can't really see the destroyed section in this photo, but it would be to your left.

If you are driving through you can't miss it.

 

 

Wonder what they're thinking?

What do ducks think in stormy weather?

 

 

I love this photo for two reasons--

first, the one duck has the cutest backside (LOL)

and secondly,

what beautiful coloring on the brown duck!

 Don't you think so?

 

Well we've come to the end of another week and 'the end' of my tale!

 

Have a blessed Sunday. I hear we're going to have some sunnier weather later this week:)

Maybe time for another road trip???

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

A Little Knowledge Can Indeed Be A Very Dangerous Thing :)

The saying goes that "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing"... well I could not agree with that more right now! But the good news is that after weeks of dealing with an update issue which made my computer run like molasses in sub zero weather (no kidding)....and then, foolishly, once that issue was solved, pressing a button under settings while attempting to solve an issue in blogger (which then made my blogger dashboard inaccessible)...well the solution to that problem has now, obviously, been found and I am back. You gotta love the Internet and all the new 'challenges' it brings to our lives:)

Let me first start off by apologizing for those who have left comments this past week. I am SO  sorry I was unable to post or respond to them--but as you can see, they are now posted and I will try to reply to them ASAP. Thank you, thank you for your patience!

Well on to reading your comments---a 'task' that seems MUCH more like a blessing than a task:)
Blessings,
Aimee