Northwest Trip - Drive from Spokane to Seattle, WA

Well, the weather broke and turned sunny the day we left Spokane for Seattle. We did get some very nice views along the backroads we traveled. We did the northern route, and ended up taking the ferry from Seattle to Poulsbo, across the Puget Sound, to Jeff's sister & brother-in-law's place. The above photo was just a little town/village we saw along the way. It almost reminded me of a village that I've read about in my murder mystery books set in the New England area.....except for the mountains, of course!

The above image was taken at a little county park that we stopped at to eat lunch - we ended up doing a little picnic, altho we were just steps from our RV, so I'm not quite sure that truly qualifies as a picnic, but I'm calling it one!

This image was taken in the area around the Grand Coulee Dam. That's a really cool dam, and longer than the Hoover Dam, altho the Hoover Dam is taller. I just love the reflection in the river. What a nice bookmark this would make!

Isn't this a lovely shot of a mountain waterfall? I have a feeling this may be a seasonal waterfall, just for the snow melt-off from the mountain, but who knows? Maybe it's a year 'round thing, since this is the northwest, where rainfall is more plentiful. Notice the lush green around the area, too. It sure is pretty, but I'm not sure that I could pay the price - all those rainy days! Still, lovely to see!

Recap of Recent Trip - In Spokane, WA

Just got back from a trip to the Northwest, visiting Jeff's brother, sister and their families, and doing some sightseeing on the way back home in our RV. These photos were some that I took when we were at his brother, Rick's, and sister-in-law, Barb's place. They have a bird feeder, and I got some cool shots of the birds as they had breakfast! The above photo reminds me of a dance of sorts, and I call it The Dance. The photo below was of some beautiful blooms just below the bird feeder - the tall blooms are lupine, but I forget what the smaller blooms are. I applied a filter that makes the photo look like a painting, just because the image reminded me of one!

The little bird below is a House Finch (per the bird book Rick had), and I just loved this image. I think I'm going to convert it to a return address label!

This last image is another one I liked, just because of catching the bird coming in for a landing on the bird feeder above the House Finch. The days here were cool, damp, and sometimes rainy, but it was great for capturing images of the birds and blooms with very saturated colors!

More to come - the next blog will cover the trip from Spokane (eastern Washington state) to Seattle! Stay tuned!

Marikate's Dream Box

Check out the Dream altered cigar box that I just finished for my niece, Marikate. I really like the way this came out - reminds me of her! The above image is of the top of the box. Her favorite color is silver, so that was the main color used on the box.

Here's a photo of the front and side of the box. I made up some quotes that I think are true about dreams on each side of the box. The front clasp opening is accentuated by some jewelry wire with a few beads. The feet of the box are wooden drawer knobs that I painted.

On the sides and top of the box, I adhered some cool buttons that I've inherited from a friend of mine, Vicki, to use in my creative endeavors. I think they are perfect for this box! As you can see, I did feel the need to add some color, and I found some very nice handmade lilac paper that worked well with the silver. The flowers on the top of the box are spiderwort that used to grow in my garden when I lived back in Illinois! The color just seemed to work well with the paper and this box. Enjoy!!

Unexpected Beauty

Isn't this a lovely little treasure? There are some beautiful little white flowers that bloom every morning when I take our German Shepherd, Miki, out for a walk. They are weeds! What a wonderful unexpected treasure they are. This photo is one that I took the other morning, and I applied an artistic filter to the photo to give it a little more depth and feeling. It is such a delicate looking bloom, it's hard to remember that it's a weed that just sprung up within the last few days! I'm kind of sad, tho, because when we get the area in the front of the house finished next year, I'm sure the weeds will be gone. At least, I'll get to enjoy them this year, and have the photos as a remembrance! Enjoy!

Sunset View from Back Patio

Tonight, when Jeff put Miki out back for a bit, he said he thought the sunset might be pretty tonight. I grabbed my camera and we sat out back for a bit, and were rewarded with this lovely sight. I feel so incredibly lucky and fortunate to be living the life I have right now.

On a separate note, I got the latest issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors yesterday, and as I was relaxing and enjoying the artwork in it, I turned the page....and there was my art work! Wow! I had submitted something a few months ago in response to a readers' challenge, and mine was one of the (relatively) few they published. I'm still excited!

Enjoy this photo and your life!

Home

Isn't the sky just magnificent?? This is "home" to me. It's been a crazy week and a half - visiting Chicago seeing family and friends last weekend, and then a busy, busy week at work, with a friend in town because of what was going on at work. I felt like I was just starting to get back to normal when I looked up and saw this view and this sky. Ahhhh.....home. Yes, I am meant to live here.

Good Morning!

Good morning! I've been meaning to photograph this little deserted cabin along the road not far from our house for a while. Today ended up being the day. I got up just as dawn was arriving, and got there for the wonderful sunrise glow.

I then walked around to the other side of it and took this image with more of the sun warming the walls of the cabin, but still with the cool sky behind it. Kind of a mix of warmth and coolness which perfectly fit the day.

On this wonderful morning, isn't it great just to be alive? Yes!!