hood from the north

hood from the north, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

View of Mt Hood from the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. We're driving (so forgive the less than perfect focus) towards the Hood River bridge to cross back into Oregon.

Sunday was gorgeous!

sunday on the porch

sunday on the porch, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Mt Adams as seen from the front porch of the Trout Lake Country Inn Sunday morning.

I could get used to this.

the end of the night

the end of the night, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

one last song on the porch by Dave Clarke.

a hilarious end to the evening at the Inn

Lincoln

Lincoln, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Lincoln Crockett can play the mandolin absolutely beautifully. It's a fine complement to his wonderful voice. I love seeing him play.

dave clarke starts it off

dave clarke starts it off, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Dave is second from the left with Steve on mandolin, Eric on banjo & Wampler on accordion. A fantastic evening in Trout Lake!

12,281 feet up

12,281 feet up, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Mt Adams in the soft evening light as seen from Trout Lake. amazing

tent time was good to me

tent time was good to me, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

I pitched my tent in Wampler's backyard due to an excessive number of house guests. Two sleeping bags (my mummy bag inside an old school flannel bag) kept me cozy as the lows went into the 30's.

Any day I wake up in a tent is a good day.

recovery efforts

recovery efforts, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Many frisbees ended up in the pond. Some where recovered, some will have to wait for summertime swimming to be retrieved.

Great frisbee golf course in Trout Lake, Washington.

herd golfing

herd golfing, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

We ended up with a group of 12 people on the frisbee golf course at Trout Lake! good times!

There was just a little bit of lingering snow left. 2000 feet elevation

mountain man (slightly crazy)

mountain man (slightly crazy), originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Jason lives in Trout Lake in this amazing cabin in the woods and works for the Forest Service. He is one of the reasons I love going to Trout Lake.

sleeping beauty holds her snow

sleeping beauty holds her snow, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Sleeping Beauty (her face in profile on the right side & her body sloping down to the left) as seen from the back porch of the Trout Lake Country Inn. Spring is just getting going up there now. 2000 feet elevation

high speed views

high speed views, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Driving in the Gorge toward the Hood River Bridge on our way to Mt Adams. Moments after I took this I saw a bald eagle flying above the river. Yeah!

taken while traveling 70 mph on the Oregon side looking to the Washington side

co-pilot elaine

co-pilot elaine, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Saturday afternoon in the Gorge on our way up to Mt Adams. The sunroof was very, very nice. I could see the cliffs of the Gorge from the backseat looking up!

Cirque du Soleil (!!!) and Trout Lake heaven

Hello everyone!

I had a really wonderful weekend. Friday night I met up with Elaine, Dave & Gina and we drove to the Delta for dinner. Mmmmm southern food! We had the fried okra appetizer with lots of hot sauce. I thought of my dad of course as he grew up eating lots of okra in North Carolina. My dinner was half a bbq’d chicken in Delta Red sauce, potato cheese casserole & collard greens with pork. So much food, so very good. I always leave with leftovers. We then drove across the river and parked. We had tickets for Cirque du Soleil! There’s not a bad seat in the house though our seats were just a few rows from the stage. It’s really beyond me how to describe what it was like to see this show. It is absolutely incredible what these people can do with their bodies. My hands hurt from clapping, I said “omigod!” countless times, my mouth was agape for ages. It was truly amazing. The men in gold lame suits flipping each other around, the woman on the ring flying above the crowd as she hangs from only her neck with no safety harness, the beautiful men (twins??) performing unbelievable acrobatics while swinging high above the stage, the crazy bendy girl balancing on a single hand while spinning around! It was truly a spectacle! The show let out to traffic fun and we made our way back to Elaine & Gina’s house. Gina and I watched Austin City Limits with Jack Johnson and Rilo Kiley then we all scattered to bed.

Saturday was a beautiful day! Tons of sun and warm already by 9 AM. I packed up my stuff and headed over to Elaine & Gina’s house. We were all running around getting ready to go up to Trout Lake. Elaine came back from the store with insane amounts of flank steak and habaneros. She sliced the meat and I julienned the peppers. I wore plastic baggies on my hands to prevent horrible burning from the insane oils of the hot peppers. Elaine mixed the meat, peppers & onions together in a huge Rubbermaid container and marinated them for several hours in preparation for that night’s potluck feast. We got on the freeway around 12:30. It was a beautiful sunny drive. I could look at the tops of the cliffs in the gorge through the sunroof. I saw a bald eagle flying above the Columbia and grinned. We crossed the Hood River Bridge and had an incredible view of Mt Hood from the Washington side. As we drove up we got fantastic views of huge snowy Mt Adams. At Wampler’s house I set up my little tent in his backyard since a mob scene of house guests was expected.

We went to Jason’s cabin in the woods and then walked to the frisbee golf course. There ended up being 12 people and two dogs on the course so it was a fine example of herd golfing. There were a few patches of snow left but the wild strawberries are growing again and I can’t wait for the meadows to be choking in daisies again. I hit many trees and took lots of pictures. Hunger began overtaking us and we headed back to Wampler’s to begin preparing dinner. Gina & I prepped the salad while Elaine began grilling the habanero steak. Wampler made two pans of cornbread. I laid down in my tent for a bit to nap then I walked down the street for some unobstructed views of Mt Adams. I got back to the house just as dinner was being served. Lincoln & Alicia had arrived from Portland and made gnocchi & marinara. Trout Lakers arrived bringing fresh pineapple and baked eggplant with mozzarella. It was a fantastic meal. Wampler’s house is a great spot for a potluck. After dinner we cleaned up then made our way down the street to the Inn.

The Inn was hosting an Earth Day celebration with tons of music. Dave played along with Wampler on accordion, Steve on mandolin and Eric on banjo. Lincoln also played his mando & guitar and Jimmy played electric guitar. Michael Sean Cummins sang & played his guitar also. I’d never seen so many microphones on the stage before. I counted 10 guitars, banjos & mandolins on stage at one point including a 12 string guitar which Steve can play beautifully!

Out in the back yard there was a big fire going in the fire pit. It was a beautiful place to sit and look at the crazy field of stars hanging above our head. We all drank beers and listened to music and danced and played cards and sat by the fire and talked and talked and talked. Of course I took too many pictures. I’ve been trying to remember to take video too which is always fun. The night ended with Dave singing one last song on the porch (World’s Greatest Lover) but he messed up the punchline and we all heckled him. Terry meanwhile was strangely accosted by a man who kept wanting to know what it was like to be so tall (Terry is 6’8”). “Do you like it? Do you like it?” The world is full of strange people. We traveled the few blocks home and sleeping bags began filling up the floor. I was happy and warm in my tent. I had my mummy bag inside an old-school flannel bag as the lows were supposed to drop into the 30’s. I slept beautifully and was never once cold.

I woke up to sunshine and breeziness. Any day I wake up in my tent is the start of a good day. We drank coffee and sat outside in the sun while the eggbake cooked. By early afternoon we finally motivated to get on the road back to Portland. It was a beautiful, sunny drive back through the gorge. At Elaine’s house I started taking my pictures off the camera. I went in their backyard and sat in the sun with my book for quite awhile. It was in the upper 70’s so I was happy to just be outside. Elaine & Gina came back to sit in the sun and we chatted and had drinks. Gina went to the store and got stuff for dinner. We grilled chicken legs & thighs served with a big Caesar salad. It was very tasty and I’m lucky enough to have it again for my lunch today. I went home after dinner clean-up and unpacked. I listened to music, watched an episode of Six Feet Under and then read my book before going to bed.

So that was my weekend. Please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to!
I hope all is well!

Xoxox,
carolyn

lilac scented sleep

lilac scented sleep, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Glory be! The lilacs have begun blooming in Portland.

picked in my friends' backyard...now on my bedside table

how I love the smell of lilacs

cloud atlas

cloud atlas, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

I've been reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It's unlike any other book I've ever read. And clearly I take too many pictures of clouds...

I stayed up too late Sunday night to finish the book. An excellent novel

gina loves firemen

gina loves firemen, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

gina came back Saturday night from 2 weeks in Costa Rica. We met at our local coffee shop Sunday morning and talked about her trip. We left in a downpour and she giggled at the firemen parked outside.

puffy (pink on white on blue)

puffy (pink on white on blue), originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

a brief but welcome bit of blue sky this rainy Sunday morning

done

done, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

end of the show. late night at the Fez Ballroom to see Kieskagato play

feels

feels, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

larry is into it. Kieskagato on the stage at the Fez Ballroom in Portland

loose

loose, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

late night at the Fez Ballroom to see my friends play music

kieskagato

kieskagato, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

late night at the Fez Ballroom to see my friends play music

showers then sun

showers then sun, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

a rainy, rainy Saturday in Portland with some evening sunbreaks. Rain was still falling on the west side. Taken from Mt Tabor Park

sunbreak!

sunbreak!, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Those of you who don't live in the Pacific Northwest may not be familiar with the term "sunbreak". It rains a lot here in winter (though not at all in summer!). Occasionally the rain stops *briefly*, the sun makes an appearance, we all run outside then it starts raining again. Repeat for 5 months...

Taken during a glorious sunbreak Saturday evening up at Mt Tabor Park.

show off

show off, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

on the floating pier at Sellwood Park on the Willamette River. Downstream is downtown Portland. The geese seemed to be under the mistaken impression that I was there to feed them.

sellwood green

sellwood green, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

The Sellwood Bridge on the Willamette River on a very rainy Saturday morning. I went to go walk on the beach at Sellwood Park but the beach was in the river. The water is high.

winter's last hurrah

Hello everyone!

We retreated back to winter this weekend with cold temperatures and lots of rain. A storm from the Gulf of Alaska was to thank but it's clearing out now and temperatures will rise back up to spring sixties. I'm not feeling very well and will probably be leaving work early so I apologize if this post is less than coherent. I'm not firing on all cylinders and I'm not above speaking in such cliches at the moment. My throat feels like I've been gargling sandpaper which doesn't even make sense but I'm not required to make sense today. On to my weekend...

Friday night I was so excited to stay in. Work has been unusually exhausting the last few weeks. Camille and I had a little music listening party where I played her song after song of stuff that I've been listening to: Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Sondre Lerche and even so oldies like the Blake Babies. It was lovely. She then went out with Jamie for drinks while I stayed in and watched a movie, I Heart Huckabees. I've seen it before but again I found myself falling asleep during it.

Saturday I woke up and ran a bunch of errands. I bought a bunch of supplies at the paper store for making photo cards. I then drove to Sellwood Park. I was hoping to walk on the beach along the river but I discovered the beach was in the river as the water is quite high. I walked out on the floating pier and took a few pictures but the rain was too much so I retreated to my car. I drove over the Sellwood Bridge and stopped at a camera shop. My camera has a speck of dust on the sensor thus every picture I take has had a gray blob in the upper corner. This must be dealt with. So the camera shop is sending it off to be looked at & diagnosed. I'm afraid of what the cost of this will be but I need to get it cleaned. In the interim Elaine has been kind enough to lend me her Canon G5. Sweet!

I went home and made a bunch of photo cards and watched The Unbearable Lightness of Being. As always the book is better but Daniel Day-Lewis was excellent. I read my book for a long time then took a nap. I woke up to something unusual...sunlight shining through the window! I jumped out of bed, grabbed my camera and went up to Mt Tabor to take a few pictures and soak up the bit of light granted by the sunbreak. Despite the sun it was damn cold outside. I went to Elaine's house to get my pictures off the camera and she came home with some yummy chicken salad her parents had made. We chatted and ate in her kitchen then she had to do more work, work, work.

I stopped at home briefly then drove downtown to the Fez Ballroom where my friends band, Kieskagato, was playing. It was also our friend Larry's 31st birthday so it was fun to celebrate with him. The first opening band played forever and ever and ever and had a guitar player who looked like Slash's dorky cousin (the hat, the glasses and horrible hair). The second band, SETI, was unusual with no vocals and only a girl on violin, a guy on drums and a guy on guitar. They sounded pretty good but their songs all sort of sounded the same and were much too long. Finally Kieskagato went on last. They played a bunch of new songs and of course lots that I already know. We danced but Larry & Bridget really tore it up. I called out for the guys to play my favorite song, the one where THREE TRUMPETS are played at once. The bass player responded with "That's so 6 months ago!" Boooooo! I love that song and hope that they really haven't taken it out of their repertoire. They did play lots of songs with 2 trumpets so I can't complain to vehemently. They sounded great and the show was tons of fun. It was late when I got home and I didn't get to sleep until 2:30.

Of course Sunday morning I wake up too early. I shower and read some of the paper then make plans to meet Gina at the Bipartisan Cafe, our local coffee shop. I arrived before her and ordered my food & mocha. I read the paper for awhile then jumped up and hugged Gina when she arrived. She and John had just gotten back the night before from 16 days in Costa Rica! She ordered coffee and a bagel and we sat and talked. She gave me some beautiful jewelry and a wooden bookmark. She told me about the banana pancakes she ate over & over again, about the crazy monkeys in the trees and the huge iguanas everywhere, the huge flying roaches and the beautiful beaches. The went on a canopy tour in the jungle, stayed at a resort with hot spring waterfalls, surfed, lounged in hammocks with beers and books, ate good food, ate bad food, got sunburned and bitten by mosquitoes, picked up shells and smooth rocks from the beaches, snorkled around little islands and went fishing in the ocean! Gina caught a mackerel & a black tuna. They had their hotel prepare the mackerel for them which they ate for dinner that evening! They had a really great trip and did and saw some really amazing stuff.

We went back to her house and Gina & Dave left to go play soccer. I stayed and baked some banana muffins and did laundry. When they came home Gina started showing me some of her amazing pictures. They have tons of great shots along with video & sound recordings. I hear John is really good at putting together slideshows so I'm really looking forward to that. I went home and read my book for awhile until I got a call from Elaine who was at her parents' house where I was being invited over for dinner. I jumped into my car and drove over. Dinner at the Hilberts is not to be missed as both Gary & Dorothy are excellent cooks. We had caesar salad, a huge delicious baked ham with homemade mustard sauce, sweet potatoes with pecans, twice baked potatoes, apple sauce, green bean casserole and warm rolls. It was an excellent meal! Dorothy & Gary told stories about when the traveled around Mexico when they were young. They were married in a hot spring in Mexico! There were great stories and I was so happy to be invited. I was sent home with leftovers even which I will happily have for lunch today. I went home and stayed up much too late finishing my book, Cloud Atlas. It was such an unusual book and I just had to finish it. Probably not the best idea given my wavering health and of course today I feel even worse. bummer. So that was my weekend. Please let me know how you are and what you're up to. I hope all is well!

xoxo,
carolyn

sunday night dinner

sunday night dinner, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Per my request we grilled out veggies: onions, peppers, asparagus and zucchini (dressed in fresh garlic, salt pepper, olive oil & balsamic vinegar) along with our steaks on the grill. Elaine is a excellent grillmaster. She's grilling habanero flank steak as I type this for dinner tonight!

mmmmmmm

a movie and a speck of dust

a movie and a speck of dust, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Our friend, Tom Olsen, had his documentary in the Longbaugh Film Festival. The movie is about Portland gangs and is called "Killingsworth" which is the name of a street that runs through North and Northeast Portland where in the 80's & early 90's there was a lot of gang violence.

Please note (how could you not???) the lovely speck of dust on my sensor. That is not on my lens. I guess I need to take my Canon in to be cleaned. Any recommendations in the Portland area?

bridge of the gods

bridge of the gods, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

standing in the rain by the Bridge of the Gods looking down the Columbia River Gorge. I just love the Gorge in both good weather and bad. Driving back to Portland Saturday morning

sunny day

sunny day, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

the weather man was wrong.

Fog clinging to the cliffs in the Columbia River Gorge while a hawk flies by. Driving back to Portland Saturday morning

trout lake morning

trout lake morning, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

lovely colors amidst the Saturday morning fog in Trout Lake, Washington. Spring has just recently arrived there as the town is on the base of Mt Adams. One of my favorite places on earth.

fireside music

fireside music, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Wampler & Dave playing by the campfire at Amanda & Damon's birthday party/pig roast in Trout Lake, Washington.

It was my first campfire of the year. Yeah! I look forward to many, many more!

the party swells

the party swells, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

at Amanda & Damon's birthday party/pig roast at their cabin in the woods in Trout Lake, Washington. A crowd of about 40-50 people gathered around the campfire, listened to music, played random games, ate lots of pork, drank many a beer and had a fine evening. good stuff!

campfire girls

campfire girls, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Elaine & I sitting around the campfire at Amanda & Damon's birthday party at their cabin in the woods in Trout Lake, Washington. It was amazingly mild out. A great, great night!

pig pie

pig pie, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

well cake actually.

The birthday cake for Amanda & Damon's birthday pig roast party.

two daves and a jimmy

two daves and a jimmy, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

playing music around the campfire at Amanda & Damon's birthday party at their cabin in Trout Lake, Washington

one year and two days

one year and two days, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

The Friday pig roast in Trout Lake was to celebrate Damon's 27th birthday (Thursday) and Amanda's 26th birthday (Saturday). They live in a great cabin in the woods.

cabin party

cabin party, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Amanda & Damon's birthday party at their cabin in Trout Lake, Washington. Nice use of the last bit of snow to pack in the keg. Pig roast for everyone!

pig roastin

pig roastin, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Some friends in Trout Lake had a pig roast at their cabin in the woods to celebrate birthdays. Amanda, on the left, turned 26 today. Pork sandwiches with homemade bbq sauce. so good!

The pig was alive just the day before. fresh!

hideout

hideout, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Mt Adams with his head in the clouds Friday evening. View from Wampler's backyard in Trout Lake, Washington

morning layer

morning layer, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Fog in the valleys approaching Mt Hood as seen from Sunrise Park on my way to work Tuesday morning (April 4th). This is just a few minutes away from the college and I often stop here on my way to & from work get some great pictures of the mountain.

loveliness

my first campfire of the year

Hello everyone!

I had a really wonderful weekend! I left work Friday and drove straight to Trout Lake on Mt Adams. I went to Wampler's house and then we drove over to Amanda & Damon's cabin in the woods. It was Damon's birthday on Thursday & Amanda's on Saturday so they decided to have a Friday pig roast. We arrived and parts of the pig were still cooking over a large bed of coals. Other parts of the pig were done and ready for eating! The pig was alive and kicking just the day before so it was very fresh! Both Amanda & Jimmy had made homemade bbq sauces to go with the pork on yummy yummy sandwiches. Just as it was getting dark Elaine & Dave arrived from Portland. The last of the pig was taken off grate above the coals and the fire built up. People were playing horseshoes & a game called nails. People drinking beers shouldn't be encouraged to toss hammers and catch them! Inside the cabin we lit the candles on the cake and brought it down to the campfire and sang to the birthday couple. The cake was decorated with pigs on it!

We sat around the fire and the guys started playing music. Dave and Jimmy on guitar and Wampler on accordion. It was amazingly mild out and dry dry dry! We really lucked out on the weather. The guys played a bunch of music and people sang along and drank beers and talked. There was a keg packed in the last bit of snow lingering in the area. Everyone ate and drank and gathered around the big fire. Lots of people kept showing up. There is a new batch of Americorps kids working at the Service Academy in Trout Lake so there's a constant influx of new young people in town. Lincoln and Alicia arrived from Portland so Lincoln joined in the music with his mandolin.

The party was tons of fun. Elaine and I sat under the trees strung with lights and talked with Tom for a long time. He recommended some good hiking and camping spots on the Mt Adams for me. He's moving to Bellingham in the fall to go to school so I look forward to getting together with him up there when I visit my sister. It started feeling late so Elaine & Dave and I snuck out and went back to Wampler's house to sleep. Sleeping was rather problematic. Elaine and Dave took the floor as the room upstairs had been promised to Lincoln and Alicia but they ended up staying at the Inn and Wampler stayed at the cabin. So they slept on the floor for nothing. I had the sofa but also woke up uncomfortable and hothothot. There seemed to be no oxygen in the house which made for terrible sleep. I should have just got up and opened the door.

We woke up in the morning to realize no one else had come back to Wampler's. We had plans for frisbee golf on the Trout Lake course but it was raining and Elaine & I were both without waterproof shoes so we nixed that idea. Instead we opted to make a quick getaway back to Portland where we could "lay on things, soft things that work." Then we realized that Dave's guitar needed to be recovered before we could leave town. He had left it at the cabin because Lincoln was playing it around the campfire when we left. We eventually tracked it down at the Inn and then hit the road down the mountain. We crossed the Columbia River into Oregon and stopped in the town of Hood River for some much needed breakfast. The rest of the drive home was exceptionally rainy and I wondered what happened to the weatherman's forecast of a sunny Saturday.

Back in Portland I went to Elaine's to get my pictures off my camera and then went home. I read my book for a long time. I'm reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and it's unlike any other book I've ever read. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting, unusual read. I napped very briefly then woke up and watched some Netflix, made some dinner, listened to a bunch of music, read my book more then went to bed early.

Sunday I woke up and showered then went to Elaine's to change the music on my mp3 player. They were getting ready for round of frisbee golf at Dabney but I opted not to go. I talked on the phone with Greta for a while. She is planning a trip out here in early June with Valentine! Yeah! After getting off the phone I went home and read the paper and made lunch then met Elaine and Dave around 12:30.

We drove to the Laurelhurst Theatre, one of the venues in town hosting the Longbaugh Film Festival. Tom Olsen, the husband of a long time friend of Elaine's had directed a movie that was playing in the festival. It was a documentary about gangs in Portland and one particular leader in the Crips gang. It was called Killingsworth, the name of a street in North & Northeast Portland where gang activity was the most widespread. When the DA began using the RICO act to bring down the gangs it really deflated their strength. Most gang activity now is in the suburbs and is driven by Latino, Asian & Russian gangs. I must say I'm glad I missed the heyday of Portland gangs in the 80's & early 90's as it was pretty ugly. The film was also had a really interesting part about African-American communities in Portland. Many families moved here from the South for jobs during WWII when Portland was a shipbuilding hub for the war effort. There were several African-American communities such as Vanport and Columbia Villa. Vanport, built on a flood plain, was destroyed by a devastating flood caused by a dike break. Another community was destroyed by the construction of the Memorial Coliseum and another by the construction of I5. I found that historical section of the film really fascinating. Tom, the director, was in the audience and stayed afterwards for a little Q&A which was really interesting.

We left the theatre, stopped at Music Millennium up the street so I could buy a copy of the new Flaming Lips cd and then drove back to Elaine & Dave's house. Elaine ran to the grocery store and Dave & I picked up the house. Elaine returned and we began prepping food for dinner. Steaks, baked potatoes & a big salad along with a whole slew of grilled veggies: sweet onions, asparagus, peppers and zucchini all dressed with salt, pepper, fresh garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We hung out on the porch and grilled out and drank beers. Dave & I sorted the cards to prepare for our after dinner card game. Erin and Terry arrived and we all sat down to dinner. The meal was fantastic and so much like summer! Steak and pinot noir is a magical combination!

After dinner we played a great round of Shanghai Rummy and Erin destroyed us all handily in the final rounds. Down & out twice in a row! Unheard of! It was tons of fun. Definitely a great way to spend a Sunday evening! I headed home and read my book for a while before going to bed early.

So that was my weekend! Please let me know how you are and what you're up to. I hope all is well!

xoxoxoxo,
carolyn

primroses are reliable

primroses are reliable, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

early bloomers. These have been flowering since December.

finally weeded the garden on Sunday...satisfying! I like digging in the dirt.

kitchen stool

kitchen stool, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Dave Clarke and friends playing music at the Dublin Pub on Saturday

beltuna

beltuna, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Wampler just got a new accordion. She's beautiful. She came all the way from Minnesota.

safeway style

safeway style, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

nothing says class like a musty limo parked in a grocery store parking lot.

hope

hope, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

Hope sitting with Jason in the back of a musty limo outside the Dublin Pub. I love his hand on her stomach while the rest of him is completely dark.

in a musty limo

in a musty limo, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

when they invited me to the limo I didn't think it was an actual white stretch limo that smelled very musty inside. rather like a basement. bizarre

line up

line up, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

a mandolin, many guitars and a banjo ready to go.

my friend Dave Clarke played at the Dublin Pub. 50something beers on tap. wow! kinda a meat market though...

saturday at the dublin

saturday at the dublin, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

dave clarke played with his friends steve, wampler and eric. good times...

clarke

clarke, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

I arrived at my friend's show at the Dublin Pub Saturday night ready to take a photo of the sign and there he was outside having a smoke.

like the last time he played here...the sign is missing an "E"

Clarke

covered seats

covered seats, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

made us very happy given the rainy rainy night. Erin and Elaine (me in the center) were lucky to not be out in the rain. Erin's husband also came to the game with us.

exhibition game at PGE Park between the Seattle Mariners (major league) & the Portland Beavers (minor league). Mariners won of course 6-1

photo taken by elaine