Everything For The Home Sewer…

…that was the tag line on the brochure I found in the hotel lobby.  I showed it to Russ and since it was on the way home, he was very enthusiastic about stopping there.  He was prattling on about Annie and Roxanne and how excited they would be if they could go with us.  I couldn’t figure out what he was so hyped up about until we walked into the store and he looked around and said, “There’s not a composting toilet in sight.”  Russ..."Sewer" does NOT rhyme with "newer"...at least in this store.  Sorry, Roxanne, we'll keep looking!

Yes, it was a fabric store.  Fabric Depot claims to be the largest fabric story in America, with 1 1/2 acres of fabric.  It didn’t seem quite that large to me but I don’t think we explored all the back rooms.  It is BIG though and there is LOTS to see.


 







Russ found a plaque he wanted me to get – just one of hundreds to choose from.  It says, “Housework won’t kill you but why take a chance?”  My sentiments exactly.


This one fits Russ perfectly.  “Treasure all that is old, Old friends, Old times, Old wine.”  I think they should have added “Old men!”



I had no idea there were so many BUTTONS in the world – or that you could spend $$$ on ONE button.  Remember that game, “Button, button, who’s got the button?”  Oops, giving my age away again!!










There are fabrics of every theme…music, vintage, cats, dogs, farm animals, John Deere, just to name a few.  It is just unbelievable.




I loved this one from the “Pickles” comic.  They even had Maxine fabric!



And plenty of Fat Quarters!!




Every ribbon, trim, applique, thread, elastic or any other notion that you could possibly want is HERE.










Russ is somewhat of an anomaly among husbands as he actually enjoys walking around these types of stores.  The colors are a feast for the eyes and cannot help but lift your spirits.  And Russ even found a book he liked.  He thought it was specifically referring to our motorhome.



No, Russ, put the book back.

The quilts they had hanging for the walls were amazing.












So for all you quilters and other sewers (remember, rhymes with “lowers”), if you are in the Portland area, this is a must stop.  Say, Paulette, aren’t you and Rick going home up I-5?  Right on the way!!!











By the way, most of their inventory is available online and if you sign up for their email newsletter, you get an additional 10% off on your first order (and NO I don’t get anything for the commercial!!).  Happy sewing everyone.



Let’s go shopping!!

Gorging on Sunshine

The day was bright with sunshine and warmth (comparatively speaking!) when we set out to drive the Historic Columbia River Highway.  The entire Columbia River Gorge is home to some of the most magnificent scenery in Oregon.  The new highway, I-84, goes for miles with the Columbia River on one side and ragged cliffs on the other.  We were high above I-84 on the old Highway 30, a twisty, turny scenic route dating back to the 1920s.

We started at exit 22 off the I-84 and stayed on the old highway to exit 35. The first few miles from exit 22 are very steep and twisty and I would not recommend taking a motorhome on this part.

 

Our first stop is Chanticleer Point where the Women's Forum Overlook provides sweeping views of the river and surrounding mountain.  It is also the place to be if you want a photo of Crown Point and the Vista House (see yellow arrow).  Crown Point is only accessible from the old highway and that was the next stop on our journey.



The view from Crown Point is equally impressive.  Far below you can see the river and the I-84 interstate highway.  The Vista House was closed for the season but was still an impressive structure.




 Yours truly checking out the view from the Vista House parking lot.







The highway and the river are far below our vantage point.





The road winds around the mountains, with stunning views around each curve.  The road itself is a joy, even though it is narrow and twisty.


There are numerous waterfalls along this route, many of them small, unnamed demonstrations of the melting snow above.  We purposely did not take any photos of the most famous of these waterfalls, Multnomah Falls.  We could not do it justice and there are lots better photos than mine out there.

We stopped at some of the falls.  There are trails at every stop, from short .2 miles walks to more strenuous hikes to the top of some of the falls.  If you are a hiker, you would never be bored here.  Wahkeena Falls was a great stop.



A little farther along we stopped at Horsetail Falls. Russ couldn’t resist snapping these shots of a noisy crow on the parking lot sign.



This was what we saw through the dirty windshield as we sat in the car and enjoyed our sandwiches.  Pretty hard to take!!


Here’s a short video of Horsetail Falls.


We made a couple more quick stops and then it was back on the main highway for our trip back to town.  This was a great way to spend several hours and we did not have time to make all the stops we wanted to.  We will definitely drive this highway again and enjoy this bit of Oregon history and beauty.  Well worth the time.

A Bevy of Swans

Can you believe I looked that up to see what a group of swans is called?  In flight they are called a wedge, but we didn’t see them flying, we saw them grazing.  We were looking for the bison known to inhabit these fields near our house in Eugene, OR, but the bison were in a back pasture way too far off to get a picture.  Then we looked on the other side of the road and saw the swans.  There was no place to pull over, but there was also no traffic, so we stopped in the middle of the road and took a few shots.



At first we were all excited because we thought they were Trumpeter Swans.  But on closer inspection, we found they are Tundra Swans.  In some of the pictures the yellow spot on the bill under the eye is visible, and that identifies them as Tundra Swans.  They don’t all have the yellow mark but no Trumpeter Swans are so marked.  Also, these swans are smaller than trumpeters but we were far enough away that it was difficult to determine the size.  At any rate, we enjoyed seeing them.



Judy or John S., please tell me if I have made any mistakes here.  I have SO MUCH to learn.


Across the road from the swans we saw this bad boy doing his job of keeping predators away from the sheep.



Handsome fella, eh?



There was just too much sunshine to stay indoors today, so our drive in the country was a welcome interlude.  Last night the weather report said rain today but it has been absolutely gorgeous.  Today the weather forecast show nothing but rain, wind, and more snow in the foothills and above for the next ten days.  Maybe that forecast will be wrong too.

I was going to blog about our drive on the old Columbia River Gorge Highway, but today was so enjoyable, I just had to put that off for another day.  We don’t have to go far in Eugene to see some wonderful sights.   If it rains tomorrow, I will have plenty of time to write about our trip.

I leave you with this shot of a budding tree that I took when we stopped at the lake for a doggy walk.  The color of the bud against the color of the sky was pretty amazing.



Just a quick shout-out to my grand nephew in Texas on the birth today of his 9 lb. 1 oz. baby boy, Brendon.  Congrats Brian and Crystal on your new little bundle of joy.

And the Winner Is…..

Just BS…or Bob and Sue as they are known in Blogville.  Thank you all for expressing an interest in the book.  Wish I had about a dozen to give away but maybe this one will make the rounds.  Congratulations Sue and Bob.  If you send me an email with your mailing information, I will get this off to you in the next couple of days.  My email is grandma_kr (at symbol) yahoo dot com.  You should be able to get it from my profile anyway. 


We have been in Portland for most of three days so I am behind on my blog reading and writing.  We attended two middle school concerts which were great fun, we drove the old Historic Columbia Gorge Hwy., and we visited a store that advertises that it covers 1/2 acre. Yes, it was big.  And on the way home, we drove through a fairly new RV Park in Harrisburg, the Riverbend Resort.   Stay tuned for the next couple of days as I try and get caught up on these adventures.


On our first day in Portland we had lunch with Betty from Joe and Betty’s Adventures.  Unfortunately, Joe had to work so we will have to meet him next time.  We went to Tebo’s in Gladstone and it was really fun and good food.   would recommend Tebo’s if you are ever in the Oregon City/Gladstone area. (I call it all “Portland” up north but it really is a collection of smaller cities and towns all jumbled together.) 


Betty was so thoughtful and brought us some “Duck Tape” for Russ and a Duck notepad and pen for me PLUS a cute little decorated basket.  She knows we are big Duck fans and we were so pleased with our treasures.





Like so many have said before, it’s always fun meeting fellow bloggers.  Just seems to be a connection there.  We had a wonderful visit and look forward to meeting Joe in the future.




Well, that’s all folks.  I’m pooped tonight so will leave the trip blogging for another day.  Again, congratulations to Sue and Bob, the winners of the book, The Art of Racing in the Rain.  Be sure and get your info to me so I can get it mailed off to you.

Free Book to Give Away

About a week ago, Donna (of Sam and…) sent me a book she thought I would enjoy.  She had received the book from a friend and was told to pass it along.  I was the lucky recipient.  Thank you so much Donna W.


I wasn’t sure I would like this book. It is a work of fiction written from the dog, Enzo’s, point of view.  I generally find books voiced by an animal to be contrived or way too cutesy.  This book proved to be the exception to the rule.


The book is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.  You can read a bit of it by clicking the link to Amazon above.


I had a hard time reading the first chapter of the book as it begins with Enzo describing his condition of old age.  I could see my Rusty in that description and it made my eyes wet.  But as the story goes on, you can see it is about love, loss, family, perseverance, and eventually, triumph. 


This book grabbed my heart and held on and squeezed it for every emotion  I have ever felt.  I had to look back at the opening several times to remind myself that this was a work of fiction.  The author must have experienced love and loss and triumph in his life to be able to write so eloquently of these emotions, and make it so believable from a dog’s point of view.   So well written, so poignant, yet so full of hope and triumph.


So, I would like to pass this book on to someone else who might enjoy it.  You don’t even have to own a dog to get something from this book.  If you would like to have the book, leave a comment and I will draw a name on Thursday when we get back from Portland.  Then when you are done, you can pass it on to someone else.  Kick back, relax in that lounge chair with a glass of lemonade, and enjoy the ride.  This is a GREAT read.

“News and Sews”–now why doesn’t that rhyme? English is a funny language!!

So I need to put something up today so that Pig Post will not be the first thing to pop-up when my blog is opened!!  I did miss a bet though in not telling the story of Russ and the "Pastor and The Pig in a Box"!  No pictures of that incident but you can ask Russ next time you see him!!  So with nothing going on today, I will just do a miscellany of thoughts.  Oh, we are meeting some fellow bloggers this coming Tuesday – can hardly wait.  Stay tuned for updates later in the week!

You remember a few days ago I wrote about my sister Laila and her husband Brian for Brian’s birthday.  Well, today she tells me they are going to be FAMOUS!  Oh yes, we will have to beat the paparazzi off with a stick!  Brian and Laila are huge Duck fans and go to almost every game of every sport.  Yesterday they were at a baseball game and were interviewed by the local news.  It’s a really cute story and I’m proud of them for making the news.  You can see it if you click on the link.  I couldn’t legally upload the video to You Tube so the link will have to do it.  Click on the video to play it after you open the link.  BTW, I made that very handsome hat that Brian is wearing!!

And speaking of making things, all you sewers out there, I need a bit of help.  I know I should know this by now, but I am only a hobby sewer.  I do it for a while and then I go do something else and I never have gotten good at it (or anything else for that matter).  Anyway, I like to make doll clothes.  They’re fairly quick, don’t take a lot of fabric, and the ultimate wearers of these garments are not picky!

I have lots of little scraps of fabric, lace, miscellaneous buttons and trims, you know, all the left overs.  So I have been using up what I have on hand and intermittently sewing up these dolls clothes during the last couple of months.  I have a question about this one.  I did some decorative stitching along the edges of the sleeves and the hem.  Then, I trimmed along that stitching on the sleeves but don’t know if that is what I am really supposed to do.  Before I ruin the hem by trimming, can someone tell me if that is the right way to do it, or does it even matter?  At my age, I should know this but in all honesty, that is the first time since I have had my machine that I have used this stitch!!  Let’s see, the machine is only about 25 years old or so!!

  














So, to trim or not to trim, that is the question???


Just cuz I’m somewhat proud of my efforts (imperfect as they may be) here are the other dresses I made.  Used up some scraps, you betcha!!  Of course my granddaughters don’t really play with their 18” dolls anymore, but maybe they will put these away and save them for their children.



  

















This dress (on the right) is made from two fat quarters that my hubby bought for me around Christmastime.  There is just enough fabric to make this dress.




And that’s all she wrote…

National PIG Day–I didn’t know!!!

Just read a post from the Dixon’s that today is National Pig Day.  In honor of that I have been double dog-dared by my dear husband Russ to share  a video I made quite a few years ago.  WARNING – there is a whole pig ready for roasting in one scene so if that makes you squeamish don’t watch the video or at least not that part.

Here’s the backstory to the pig scenes.  My sister was living in Hawaii at the time and she would come visit in the summer.  One year we decided to have a family reunion/luau, complete with roast pig.  We had to pick up the pig the night before and with no place to store it, we put it in the bathtub and covered it with ice and blankets.  Getting it in the tub was easy – getting it out was a real problem (but that’s another whole story).  Anyway, my sister somehow talked me into taking the place of the pig after it was finally removed from the tub, and that's why I am now the butt of all family pig jokes.  This is the same sister you see in the opening sequence of this video and the one who did all the planking in Reno.  Insanity runs in the family and we embrace it!!

The video opens with Red doing his Richard Simmons impression and my sister and I and her son Scott providing his subjects.  It goes downhill from there!  We were wearing padding at the time – now no padding would be necessary.

In another scene you will see my two sisters dancing around and being silly.  They were singing “Goodness, Gracious Great Balls of Fire.  You’ll know it when you see it!!

The little dog is my sweet little Gidget who has been gone from me for almost 13 years now.  She was a silly one.

This video will only remain up for a day or two, unless my sisters kill me today!  Don’t worry other sisters, no one knows who you are and I won’t tell!!  The video ends with a snorting contest!   So Happy Pig Day and enjoy a laugh at my expense.