Out and About

Mr.J and I walked Hawthorne area this week. The walk began at Mt. Tabor Park and then down to the Hawthorn area. Mr.J thinks we ought to tootle on over there every week to climb the stairs. I'm not quite so enthused!

The fields were in bloom. Sweetpeas and Queen Anne's Lace dotted the hillside. 

One of Portland's famous uncovered water reservoirs, #6. Great view of the city.

We passed by the Western Seminary. The doors and windows were wide open to let a little air in.
 Woo-wee...hot day! 

The long, hot road before us. 

The flowers were often lovely along our route through residential area.

We wandered past coffee shops, restaurants and lots of vintage stores.

 Hawthorne Vintage was one we went into. I found a pink and black silk scarf with a mid-century modern vibe. Mr.J gravitated towards an aggressive sounding turquoise timer. We ended up at Ben and Jerry's for a cool off with ice cream before hiking back up the hill where we left the car.
It was a fine way to spend the day with my favorite guy!

Glamping with Hubs

We decided to head up to the Santiam Pass area in our beautiful state of Oregon. We packed La Dee Dah with our clothes and a few other important things like s'more supplies and wienies to roast. It seemed so easy this time since I have most of the trailer goods in a couple of plastic containers or in the La Dee Dah's cupboards. It was a matter of carrying them out to the trailer and storing them on the bunk. Then stocking the fridge and the "pantry", the storage box to the right of the kitchenette. We had a quick discussion about taking the bikes, but in the end decided not to. We were really going to spend most of the time fishing and hiking.  Packed and off we went!

Several hours later we arrived at Coldwater Creek Camp. The camp site was beautiful, but very uneven. Try as we might we couldn't level La Dee Dah. There was also  a drop off right out the front door. So no awning either. No problem. We're in the shade mostly anyway. Now aren't we easy going!  
No worries and those wienies were calling our names.

The table is ready with my rooster tablecloth from Portugal.

Clear Lake at Coldwater Cove Campground

The lake looked clear and sparkling. The plan was to rent a row boat and try our luck fishing the next day. 

That gave me a little time for reading before bedtime. I'm usually a late into bed and early up gal, but that night we turned in early.

The following morning we rented the boat and spent the day fishing. I love my new pole! Did I or hubs catch anything....nada. But we were determined to try again!

A view in the evening as we row back to our camp.
The next day we decided to hike around the lake in the morning and have lunch at the lodge located at one end of the lake. It didn't look far. Ha, ha! The trail ended up circling around behind the lodge. So it was a bit further than it appeared. The trail was really lovely. It wound through lava beds and forest with wonderful views of the lake too. 

Yes, that really is the trail people! A bit rough in places. We met some guys on bikes and warned them.

That's Clear Lake alright!

We crossed several bridges over the McKenzie River.

A waterfall too!

I was surprised to see so many wildflowers along the trail.

The lodge from the back as we followed the trail winding behind. Those are the Three Sisters just over the tops of the trees.

We had a terrific time at Coldwater Campground! Even though we didn't catch fish. There were others fishing too and we only saw one fish caught. The camping spots are pleasant, but not the best for trailers, even as small as ours. We checked out other sites and the asphalt pads were not deep or wide, nor level. There are no hook ups. Water has to be pumped and the toilets are vault. The trails were fabulous. We only hiked the trail around the lake. There are more trails close by. The lodge has ice and serves breakfast and cafe type lunch sandwiches. I had a hamburger and it was good. So if you are looking for rustic, quiet, and beautiful, this could be your spot. Would we go there again? Sure!!

Lovely Sunday Hats

Do you remember wearing a hat to church on Sunday?  I do. I've always loved hats. I wouldn't say I wear them frequently, but there are occasions when you'll see a hat on my head.  Mostly to protect myself from sun or rain. Really though, my favorites are dress hats.  I just don't find the occasion to wear them often. I own a few that I've had for years and others I've been given. Most have moved into the vintage category. What is this leading up to?  Well, a blog called The Hometown Victory Girls  are having readers post pictures of themselves in their hats every Sunday throughout the summer on their Facebook page. I thought it would give me and maybe you, an opportunity to dust off the old chapeau and let everyone enjoy those hidden gems.

Here I am in a hat I bought at an antique mall not long ago. Of course, I had to add a few props for fun!  

Post your photo at http://hometownvictorygirls.blogspot.com/.

I hope to see your hat soon!

The Glamping Weekend Schedule.....wonderful events by Shirley

I know some gals are interested in attending a glamping weekend. If you have none in your area, plan your own! I absolutely can't claim to have come up with our fabulous schedule. I think most of this plan was thunk up by our fearless leader, Shirley. I don't think she would mind me passing on a bit about our terrific week end. Believe me, the days were packed full of events and activities. You really would not have to do all of this to have a wonderful time. But it will give you some ideas.
Early on in the planning Shirley emailed all of us attending to volunteer to host and help with the events. We had a hostess and at least one helper for each. They should be responsible for that event. Be sure and spread the work around.
In addition to the following events in bold, we had a wine tasting sponsored by a local winery and a charity event featuring wine glass decorating hosted at a camp site.

The Wine-A-Bago arrives!

 

 
Friday Evening-Meet and Greet at the community hall. Name tags were handed out and fees collected. Pre-ordered Tee shirts handed out. 
Bunco in Jammies - 8:00-10:00
Saturday-Brunch Potluck-10:00  Steel Cut Oat Apple Oatmeal, bagels and cream cheese provided. Then everyone brought a huge variety of brunch food. We definitely did not starve!
Trailer Tours 1:00-3:00 Believe it or not, we needed more time! We had a lot of trailers to view.
Make and Take craft-4:00-6:00 Paper bag photo book...very cute!
Trash to Treasure-4:00-6:00 Sale of vintage and homemade items.
Death by Chocolate Dessert Bar- 7:30-9:30 Bring a chair, gooey, yummy, chocolate dessert (or keep it simple and bring a favorite bought dessert) and wear your glampiest get-up. Group photo time.

Sunday-Group Hug  11:00 Say good bye 

I hope this inspires you to try your own glamping days filled with the things you enjoy.

More Glamping Goodness...Death by Chocolate

People, I have to begin with a big thanks to the gals at Site W6. They did a fantastic job of hosting Death by Chocolate! 

That's me ready to cut my Whoopie Pie cake . Ah...so that was what was in the picnic basket! I have to say, when I found the recipe, I knew that was the recipe for the ooey , gooey chocolate dessert needed for this special event.. It is a really decadent chocolate cake with a marshmallow fluff and butter filling. The frosting is ganache made from heavy cream and dark chocolate. I'm not much of a cake eater, but it was delish!

 

I managed to nearly knock down everything with the crinoline. Good strategy for keeping everyone else away from the food! Isn't that a dream table, people!! Gals brought just about every chocolate treat anyone could imagine. Unfortunately, I have to limit chocolate intake. Sadness....the caffeine ya' know. But I did get a bit of Cathy's lush orange chocolate tort!  Yum! By the way, we also had some killer drinks that began with......chocolate martinis! Yay!

Terri and Barb keepin' the peace. 

Glamorous Cathy in vintage regalia. Love that pink!

Glamping gals having fun!

Karen (left) hanging out.

Shirley, our wonderful leader, lookin' groovy.

We all had such a terrific time!
 Thanks to Sara for use of her photos (forgot my camera). I regret not having a picture of  her with the coconut bra and grass skirt. What a hoot!