Goody Gumdrop

Suncadia

I went to a conference last Wednesday through Friday in Cle Elum, Washington.  I had never been over Snoqualmie pass before.  I love driving through mountains.  The conference was being held at the Suncadia Resort, and it was so fabulous.  The resort is essentially brand new but had all the charm of Timberline Lodge.  Well, it was more like a luxurious version of Timberline.  They had done a pretty nice job of tastefully capturing the wood and stone lodge feel.  The lobby and restaurants don't have the wow factor of the high hexagonal ceilings and huge timbers at Timberline, but I have heard the rooms are pretty rustic and basic.  I was mostly just impressed with the size and quality of our bathroom at Suncadia.

And the views!  The Lodge is essentially up on a cliff.  There was a whole maze of walking trails within the resort that I did not get to explore, because I did not make it out of bed at 6:15am for the Unoffical Fun Run. Almost the entire time I was there was scheduled with conference activities. There is also a spa which was recently featured in Sunset magazine.  It apparently has a man-made hot spring rocky river to soak in after your spa services, and according to Sunset it is difficult to tell it is artificial.  I was tempted to skip some sessions to check out this Spa, but not so tempted by the $150-200 fee for most services.  They also have a family swim center with both indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, and with 2 big water slides.  It really looks like a fun resort to explore with the family.  I hope I make it back someday!  During the summer time they have golfing, fishing, hiking and bicycle rentals.  I could easily see being entertained for a long weekend.

 
The morning view from the lobby.  I had to step out and take a few pictures.

It was probably 27 degrees at this point.

The Lodge sort of wraps around the top of the cliff, overlooking this valley.  I'm assuming the Cle Elum river is down there somewhere.

 Me, conference-ready, by the fireplace in the Lodge.  Note the black ribbon attached to my nametag for 'Past Recipient of Bent Black Banana Award.'  It is one of the most esteemed awards (not) for this group -- basically awarded for the most embarassing moment at the conference each year. 

The lobby and conference meeting area were both decorated with quilts as wall hangings.  Lovely muted colors.

The hotel room I shared with a friend was very lovely.  It was your typical 2-queen room with a bathroom and we thought it was pretty spacious, as far as those types of rooms go. It even had a private fenced little patio with two chairs and a table. The gate opened to one of the walking trails.  The bathroom was twice as big as the bathroom at our house, and had a huge granite vanity. We were feeling pretty stoked until we discovered that a large portion of conference attendees had been upgraded to condo-style rooms with a separate bedroom, a full-sized kitchen including a washer and dryer (!), fireplace and giant soaking tubs.  One friend told me she was taking a bath each night because the tub was just so awesome.  And another told me she was so chilled she had to go warm up by her fireplace.  I said, 'fireplace?'  Yeah.  Well....I can't imagine how much those rooms cost, but with a family....they would be perfect!

I didn't leave the hotel until the end of the conference.  We did a quick swing through the town of Rosyln, which is right next to the resort.  Rosyln is the town where Northern Exposure was filmed in the 90s.

Do I look like a moose?

 I thought so.

Cute town!  Very wild west.

Slightly snowing over the pass.

Hellish Tacoma/Olympia traffic and then that pretty cloud turned into hellish downpour driving.  But I made it home!  I was so happy to see my boys (and Mom!).

The Dirt Baby

Isaac made a dirt baby on his pumpkin patch field trip and it is a source of great amusement in our house right now.  It started out looking like a potato with eyes.  I took this picture a day after giving the little guy some water.

This was the state of his hair development on Saturday:

His hair is now even longer and wilder. (He is also developing a hairy butt from the roots growing out the bottom.  Ahem.  VERY FUNNY. I have not pointed this out to the kids.)  

I'll have to post an updated Dirt Baby shot when I get back from the conference.  I'm heading out of town for the next 3 days so my attempts at daily posting will resume when I return!
 
 

November is here.

It is National Blog Posting Month (or NaBloPoMo).  I'm not sure I can post daily - I don't think I have that much to say.  (Well, and, uh...it is the 2nd already!)  But if I post more than my usual one post a month, I guess that would be progress.

Today's will be quick.  I just wanted to share my favorite Halloween picture.  Halloween with kids is just so much fun.  Especially young kids.  Ebin was just amazed.  After every house he exclaimed 'I got candy!'  Isaac had been chomping at the bit to go trick or treating since about 11 am.  We made the rounds to some houses in Duane's neighborhood, and it was much like ours.  Probably 4 houses on each block had lights on with candy.  And we only saw TWO other groups of kids.  It's a bit sad, but our kids don't know the difference.  The people who are handing out candy are very sweet.  We even saw a racoon and shone the flashlight on him after he ran up a tree to show the kids that he was in costume too!

We weren't home to light our jack-o-lanterns or hand out our candy, so after I got home with the kids I brought them inside to light candles and find some pajamas.  It was a great way to end the day.

The Rains are Here

These are the dark gray days where I wish we had a fireplace and didn't have to go anywhere.  It's gloomy.  It fits my mood.  We are sadly getting ready to move out of our house.  I'll be moving out of my office too.  I've been going through boxes in the basement and purging the things we don't need.  It is sort of like unpacking after we've been here for 5 years.  What a trip down memory lane. I am so sentimental. I've found some funny love letters and hilarious pictures.  I feel like we are resetting the clock back to the just-out-of-college days, and they weren't bad times.  We need to simplify our life (and expenses).  It's liberating and depressing at the same time.

I bought a new camera to replace the one I broke (and to take pictures of things to post on craigslist).  It is the bottom-of-the-line Sony cybershot.  $129 and I'm very impressed!  Not a bad little point and shoot.   

Straight out of the box, trying it out.

 
The little gnome house garage.  (too grainy)

I took pictures of the finished laundry room as well (with the junk in it).

 It is light and bright.

 

It will fit a stackable washer and dryer right here.  We had planned to get a stainless Ikea portable kitchen cabinet for a folding table and storage next to it.  Now the next owners will have to decide what they want to do with it. 

A sad Douglas.  He did all the work.  I only painted the walls and ceiling.  I should have painted that door.  I still need to paint the inside of the door jam, along with touch-up paint all over the entire house.  It is amazing how scuffed everything gets.

In between decluttering I've been sewing Isaac's vintage cowboy quilt top together.  After Doug had a 'why are you sewing right now????' moment I've been stealthily sewing it together. Ha! Four more very long seams and the top will be done!  I am so excited.  I'm planning to have someone with a Gammill long-arm quilting machine do the quilting.  I can't handle a queen size quilt on my machine.

Thanks for all the feedback on the skirt pocket.  That was fun.  I have left the pocket off but I think Rebekah was right that moms always need pockets.  I'll probably add a smaller, plain pocket.  The flower one was just too big.

I hear a little gnome stirring upstairs.....

The Biker Wrap Skirt

I bought this Stitch magazine a few months ago.  I love that pillow on the front.

(Photo courtesy of the Quilting Arts website.)

I finally sewed up the Biker Wrap Skirt this weekend.  The skirt in the magazine:

(Photo courtesy of the Quilting Arts website.)

My skirt:

It was a bad photo of the features of my head.  I had to crop! 

I used a linen with brown and blue threads.  Very crinkly.  I am curious to see how it washes up.  It will be wrinkle city.  I'm also curious to see what happens to the hem edging.  I don't have a serger so it is only finished with a zig-zag stitch.  The waistband is an Amy Butler fabric I've had for a while.  I was kind of going for the purposeful clash look.

The pattern has a few issues (if you are indeed hoping it will turn out like the picture).  I did figure out that all six pieces of the waistband needed to be in the contrasting fabric if you didn't just want the inside to contrast.  The pattern piece says to cut three of each, but the tiny print gave the option.  The sizing was also wonky.  I have a big waist and according to the directions I needed an XL.  It is really too big but at least it's a wrap skirt so it still works.  The thing that did not work was the lack of a place to slip one of the ties through.  I wondered about this as I was sewing but just followed along.  You could just twist it out and tie the two together but that doesn't make use of the belt loops so painstakingly included.  Plus the ties appeared to need to be tied in the back, and I wanted them to tie on the side like the picture.  To fix it I cut a slit in the waistband for one strap to go through.  I finished it like a giant buttonhole with some zig-zagging.  Then I tied the straps on the side and cut off about 10" to shorten one of the straps.  I don't sew a lot of clothes for myself because I'm always worried I won't like how they fit.  I'm pretty picky in stores when trying clothes on (isn't everyone?).  But I am happy with how this one turned out!  It's comfortable and swishy.

My big debate however is whether or not to sew on the pocket!  I wasn't keen on the bike design so I used another flower applique design given in the magazine.  The edges of the flower will fray with washing.  I like how the flower turned out, but I just don't think I want it on the skirt.  Plain and simple seems good enough.  Opinions?

Unfortunately I dropped my camera yesterday and I think it is now on it's last leg.  The lens comes out looking like the leaning tower of pisa and the pictures seem to have an ethereal glow.  Oh well, you'll get the gist of it (all 4 readers).  Whattaya think?  Pocket or no?  I think it might be a bit cheesy.

Pocket or no? 

Winterized

Sunday was the LAST sunny and warm day of the year (80 degrees).  I'm a sun lover.  I'm still not sure I'm cut out for this Portland thing, even though I've been here for 11 years.  I enjoy the signs of fall approaching, but there's an undercurrent of dread.  At least I have fuzzy sweaters and jeans to look forward to!

Sunday we went to the zoo to soak up some sun and see the new Serengeti exhibit.  I was super shocked when Doug suggested this activity, knowing it would be insanely crowded.  He later let on that he needed to go see if they had framed in the building for the Red Ape Exhibit.  Uh-huh.  Then it made more sense (I mean, football was on tv!).  They're doing the sheet metal on the job.  (The usual course of events is for the general contractor to call and freak out about getting the sheet metal guys on-site, and then when they go look, they aren't even ready for them.)  The zoo was so crowded that parking was full and we ended up parking downtown and taking the Max.  The kids love the train.

Sunday afternoon we winterized the yard.  We picked up all the toys and scrubbed the dirt (and paint) off all the Tonka trucks.  We also put away the wicker patio set, although I'm surprised Doug didn't want to leave it outside in hopes it would be ruined.  The yard looked so neat and tidy!  I also replanted the window box with pansies and mums for the coming season.  If I had really been thinking I would have stuck some bulbs in too.

Did I ever blog about my window box?  I don't think I did.  Doug made it for my Mother's Day gift this year.  Instead of paying $50 to buy a ready-made window box, he and our neighbor Chad spent hours making this one.  They thought it would take an hour but he didn't come home until 9 or so.  He thought I was onto his plan but I was completely clueless (as usual). 

Silly Dougie.

I never got a close picture of it planted with the summer flowers.  Doug filled it with lobelia, a geranium, two sweet potato vines, and snapdragons before he gave it to me.  We watered diligently and it looked great until  we went out of town for 2 weeks in August.  For the last month it has looked like a box of dead lobelia.  Charming!

This shot of the back door prompted me to look back through photos.  Originally this was a covered (walk-through) porch.  I know I've posted most of these before but I don't think I showed the original porch. 

The seller had built a small deck out of mostly pressure-treated wood.  I think I have blogged the progress pictures before.  The tear-out of the deck and all the broken concrete underneath it happened when I was pregnant in 2007.  Then it looked like this for a while:

A very long while.  I would call this the Summer of the Pain in the Ass.  We could only access the back yard through the basement door or the front door.  This wasn't all that convenient with a one month old and a 3 year old who liked to play outside a lot.  Plus he couldn't go outside by himself because we only had a picket fence.  But we had a newborn and no money (or time).  So it looked like this until about February 2008 when I started freaking out.

I convinced Doug that gaining access to the back yard would be the best money ever spent and we hired someone to bring in some fill dirt, build a new deck, build a flagstone patio, and put tall fences with gates that kids couldn't open on both sides of the house.  It WAS the best money we've ever spent on the house.  It cost a little more than the roof, but man a roof is so boring!  With the deck in place Doug started working on the laundry room. 

It looked like this for almost a year.  Sexy!  But it was at least weather tight at that point.

Very bare.  The inside was the plywood junk room for a long time.  We were pretty unmotivated to finish it, and I was more interested in planting stuff in the backyard.  We finally gained motivation when we decided to have the Star Wars birthday party for the kids and PEOPLE would be coming over.  We didn't want everyone to have to walk through the crackhead laundry room with exposed wires.  Chad helped Doug drywall the inside.  We decided on marmoleum tiles for the flooring (cheap!).  I picked paint colors (fun!).  It all came together quickly in the end.  Hmmm.  I wish I had a picture of the inside.  It's more lovely than I had hoped.

Here's a shot of the finished product with the sweet window box.  Kind of tiny and hard to see.  But looking much better eh??

Ahh...I loved those peonies and the lupine last May.  The peonies didn't bloom last year.  Everything is filling in nicely.  Two weekends ago our neighbor pressure-washed the whole deck and he and Doug stained the entire thing for the first time.  It looks so much better and is beading up like a _____ .  I like mo-freaker.  Bring on the rain!!!

I think the best thing about the slowest remodeling projects is being able to appreciate the finished product more DEEPLY.  Our new plan is possibly putting in a bathroom upstairs.  Am I really ready for 2 more years of loose plaster?  The one bathroom situation is the biggest motivator for moving.  Moving seems easier than remodeling sometimes. 

 

Next up:  my new skirt and my internal debate about attaching the pocket, or not.  I'll try to take a picture of the pocket tonight.

 

 

 

So Long Summer!

Tomorrow is the official end of summer for us.  Isaac starts kindergarten!  Ebin starts daycare on Monday and we will begin a whole new chapter in life.  The chilly chilly mornings already mean that I can't ignore the sad end of summer.....my favorite season.  We had so much fun!  Well, except for a lot of time spent working.  I am happy about that though in this economy.  In between working we went to California twice and boooy was I having a crisis about moving back.  It is so tempting sometimes.

Our July trip was to the Bay Area with two huge suitcases of noise monitoring equipment.  I did 3 days of noise monitoring for a facility siting study in Ukiah.  I'd never spent time in Ukiah and I liked it so much more than I expected.  I took the kids with me and Grandma Karen drove up to be our driver and babysitter.  We spent more time visiting friends than I actually did working (shhh!).  We saw Cheri and Alex and their little girl Vivienne in El Sobrante. It was my first time meeting Baby V and she's already over a year old!  We visited Auntie Tamara in South San Francisco.  Her cat Ted was not very fond of the boys.  We drove up to Ukiah and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express for a couple of nights.  It was 102 each day we were there, and the kids loved the pool.  Isaac learned how to dog paddle (with a floatie on).  We drove to Fort Bragg on the last day to escape the heat, and Ebin finally conquered his fear of walking on sand.  We stayed a night in Bodega Bay with Dagan, and we went back to San Francisco for one final day.

Here are some of my favorite shots.

 

Playing with Ruby in Cheri's back yard.

 

Vivienne watching the action.  From the dog bowl.

 

Riding the miniature steam train at Tilden Park above Berkeley.  The boys loved it and the bay views were stunning.  I should have stopped and taken pictures on the way back down.

 

Aunty Tamara checking out the model of Golden Gate Park at the Beach Chalet with Isaac.  One of the main things we couldn't squeeze into the trip was a visit to the California Academy of Sciences.  Next time!

Grandma Karen with the boys.  I think this was the only time we wore sweatshirts on the whole trip.

 

I can never get enough of San Francisco.  (Neither can millions of other people. Hah.)

 

What I do.

 

A completely awesome playground in Ukiah.

 

The kids enjoying the sand in Fort Bragg.  I hadn't been there since New Years of 1993/94 I don't think.  The road was just as windy as I remembered.  The fog lifted about 4 miles inland but it was nice to get out of the heat.  That day we also visited the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, but I didn't take any pictures. 

 

Bodega Bay.  Can I just move here please?  I stayed here a couple of times in high school at a friend's mom's house on this golf course.  I never in a million years thought I'd be back.  And I want to go back again!  Soon.

 

Sailboat races on the Bay.

 

And here's a VERY happy me after a whirlwind tour of the Renegade Craft Fair at the Fort Mason Center in the marina.

 

We had a quick get together with Deb and Val at Dolores Park before we ran off to catch our plane.  We just HAD to meet baby Noah though.  Mr. Cute.

Then it was home and work work work for two weeks before our real vacation.  We flew to Reno and drove to Bishop.  We relaxed at the cabin for a few days before heading to Bakersfield and then to LA for my cousin Marisa's wedding.  I've already put too many pictures on Facebook so I think I'll leave it at this:

Relaxin' on Lake Sabrina with the hubby and kids.  So nice.  (This was before we ran out of gas.)

And one picture from my mom's camera.

This is the ATV we "borrowed" for the weekend.  It's been abandoned for months and months as part of a foreclosure.  The sheriff has yet to pick it up.

And my favorite picture from my dad's camera.  Ebin was like a flying squirrel jumping into the pool.

 

Oh and my favorite picture of Isaac.  Can't you just tell this is a better camera?  It's so clear.

 

Good times.  I can't wait to go visit again.  We love all the Grandparents and good food in Bakersfield!

Where I am and Where I Wish I Were

I'm in my supposedly air-conditioned office but for some reason the thermostat is set on 68 and the temperature in here is 76 and creeping higher.  No amount of punching on the keypad seems to be making any fans kick on.  I guess that means it's time to call the landlord.  It's also time to head home to the WAAAY hotter house.  I'll be swinging by Zupan's to get some deli salads for dinner.  We won't be cooking for the remainder of the week and we're out of propane.  It's too hot to take the tank in.  It's too hot to do anything!  I dread Portland heatwaves like this.

I really, really wish I were at this swimming hole taking a dip.  We visited this spot on July 5th, when the temps had dipped down some from the very hot 4th.

 

This is Mill Creek Park.  It's a ways out there and I'm not sure if it is in Marion or Yamhill County.  It's a beautiful little canyon with deep pools.  The water was too chilly for me, but I would definitely take a dip right now.  DEFINITELY.

 

 

 

Brian and Doug looking for Brian's wedding ring.  Nope, didn't find it.

Ahh...to be there right now.  I'd get in.  And I hate cold water!

Craft-fair-aholic

I have many blog posts mentally queued up about a great swimming hole, a road trip with kids in tow through northern California, and an awesome visit to the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco.  I am not 'letting' myself blog though until I write two reports (air quality and noise) for the project that was the reason for said trip to northern California.

I just read about another groovy-sounding craft fair happening tomorrow:

The Summer Social

Ooooh I might have to go!  Technically that would be cheating.  Doug took the boys off camping for the weekend and I have stayed behind to write my reports.  But a gal will need a break right?

I've just now managed to write the first paragraph of the first report.  Why is it always so difficult to get started?

One Mutha of a Photo Recap

July 6th?  Already?

June was fun.  Here are the photo highlights.

 

A cloudy, but fun, camping trip at Detroit Lake.  It started off with a drive through a thunderstorm bordering on tornado that I will never forget.  Now I can say I have actually seen a huge tree blow over.

 

Paper plate painting to make:

 

paper plate dinosaurs!!  RAWR

 

Strawberry picking in Hillsboro.

 

I wish I could capture the way Ebin says 'tractor.'

 

Fun and silliness at a Beavers vs. Fresno baseball game.

 

 

Auntie Tamara and her boyfriend came up to visit for a weekend.  We went up to Multnomah Falls and tried the hike to the top.  They have these lovely little signs that say '3 of 11 switchbacks.'  I think the kids made it to the 5th switchback at 3/4 mile up the trail.  Tammy and Brian made it to the top and took pictures so we could see what we were missing.  We hadn't been in about a decade and the trail to the top was washed out back then.

 

Breathtaking as always.

 

The mesmerizing mist.

 

A nice little hidey hole!

 

After dinner downtown we happened upon an urban waterfall.  Also beautiful.

 

On the sunday of Tammy and Brian's trip we had an awesome Father's DAy brunch at the Veritable Quandry and went up to the Rose garden to digest.  11 years in Portland and Doug and I had never seen it!!  Roses as far as the eye could see.

 

 

The fragrance was amazing in spots.

 

I love giant blue rippley hostas too.

 

Oh wait, I think this is my favorite one.

 

After the little hike at Multnomah Falls, I looked for some short easy hikes on Mt. Hood.  This was Lower Zig-Zag falls.  The hike was a little too easy and took all of 10 minutes.  We drove up to Trillium Lake and Frog Lake.  We're planning to camp at Frog Lake later this month.  The reservable sites are all booked up so we'll be taking our chances on the walk-up sites.  Frog Lake has the dry pine scent as opposed to the mossy forest scent.

 

So June.  Lots of fresh air.  Loads of perfect 80 degree days.  Not a lot of time for sewing.  I bought a Stitch magazine and need to procure some linen for a couple of the projects.  I also need to sew a giant bag (and I mean GIANT) for all thesummer supplies I seem to pack up on a daily basis.  Swim trunks, towels, sunblock, water, snacks, diapers, dry clothes, wallet, phone, etc.  I look like a bag lady leaving the house.  I've taken to just carrying swim supplies around (in the car or bike) because most of the Portland parks have fountains or wading pools operating on warm days.  I love summer!!