travels and stuff

 I had the good fortune of spending 8 fabulous, art-filled days in New Mexico last month with three of my friends.  In the last several weeks, I've been working on a visual journal of sorts; it's mostly my photos along with various bits of paper and postcards picked up along the way.  Working on it has been a joy because it brings back memories of the trip.

 I think Taos was my favorite place but Albuquerque and Santa Fe were also wonderful!

I've had a problem getting things composed here at blogger lately so will put some of my photos up on the next post.

city by the bay

Throngs of tourists. The smells of sourdough bread and steaming crab pots along the wharf. The familiar sight of that famous bridge. Barking sea lions and street musicians. One brief day in San Francisco, my birthday. And I enjoyed every minute.

The Golden Gate is more interesting to see from the water below.

The best name in bread.

Need I say more?

An evening stroll along the wharf.

These boisterous salmon-nabbers seem to be much more welcome here than below the damn on the Columbia River.

Watching the sun set behind Alcatraz from the end of the pier. It's corny, and printed on every other tee-shirt in the City, but....I do love San Francisco.

summer scenes

I didn't want this month to end without adding a few more photos here; a somewhat random sampling of the last week or so, mostly at the coast.

A Bald Eagle!...sitting on the beach near Ocean Park, Washington; seeming to wait for the fisherman to throw something its way.

My favorite Oysterville garden; there are different things blooming at each spring and summer visit. This time the garden was full of Foxglove (digitalis purpurea). Those tall stalks of flowers are really striking.

There were a lot of dogs hanging out at the Saturday Market in Ilwaco; I think Charlie took the prize for "coolest canine".

My friend, Cynthia, shopping for felted goods at the Market.

We picked up some fresh salmon for dinner, which Cynthia cooked perfectly. Yum!!

At home, the new sewing machine was given a first run on a quilt project.

I hope you are enjoying this season.

otter bliss

Ahhhhh, it must be summer yet.

I spent some very enjoyable moments watching the sea otters at the Oregon Coast Aquarium over Memorial Day weekend. Really, it doesn't get any cuter than this. Next time you get out to the coast, don't miss the otters and other wonderful creatures at the aquarium in Newport.

what a week, part two

Just a couple of days after returning home from Olympia, I was off to Tucson to enjoy a visit with Libby, my friend and fellow jewelry artist. The trip was planned to coincide with the Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show events that take place each year in Tucson. Libby guided us through 3 of her favorite bead shows during my short stay. It was a bit of a shopping frenzy, I must admit, mixed together with a load of inspiration.

One of my favorite vendors was Sandra Younger of The Knotty-Do-It-All, a design board that makes knotted cord jewelry much easier to create. Sandra made a bracelet for me using one of the charms I got from the Green Girl Studios booth, and I came home with one of her boards.
I found some nice things at Akonye Kena's booth; some hand-dyed fabric, a couple of bags, and a handmade photo album. This organization partners with young artisans in Africa to provide a venue for selling their goods, including colorful beads made of recycled paper.

A few other little treasures that found their way into my bags.

The time passed all too quickly but it was a great seeing Libby and catching up with her, eating great Mexican food (!!!), and experiencing a little bit of Tucson.