my homemade goods

I just started an Etsy site where I will post the jewelry, friendship bracelets, quilts and fabric satchels that I have made (and those I have yet to make). Go to the Etsy site and see "henrysgarden" (http://henrysgarden.etsy.com). But not yet! - haven't posted anything yet. Need to take photos and get it up and running. Make sure to look for goodies for the holidays!

...and remember to enjoy this incredible (almost) fall day!

bringing summer to a close

Just returned from a wonderful family vacation in Lake Tahoe - perfect way to wrap up summer! We got a week at a lakefront house in Kings Beach, north shore Tahoe, at a Growing Gardens auction almost two years ago. Growing Gardens is a wonderful local non-profit that works to alleviate hunger by helping families and schools grow and preserve their own food. We delayed staying at the house because of scheduling challenges - it was definitely worth the wait!

We drove down and back different routes - seeing parts of Oregon and California that I've never seen. It was fun to make the drive part of the journey - then you're not rushed. My wonderful niece, Ariane (pictured above sitting in my kayak), rode with me the whole way down - lots of fun. We all had such a relaxing time - makes you remember to spend time doing the important things: being with family and friends. We played peewee golf (where I won - yes!) and ping pong, rode bikes, kayaked from the beach at the house, took walks, went to Sand Harbor (beautiful sandy beach with huge rocks on the Nevada side), ate wonderful food, drank great wine, read lots, watched movies, sunned ourselves like lizards and relaaaxxxxed.

The trip was even more special because we spent the summers of our youth at our family cabin on the lake in Kings Beach. Our father, with his father and brothers, built two houses on the lake. Right after the last day of school, our mother would put the four of us in the station wagon - my brother Pat, sister Ann and our dog Chris (short for Chris Cringle - a beagle we got at Christmas) - and go up to the cabin. We spent the whole summer there - family and friends would come up to stay. Great memories.

And this house was right down the street from our cabin! All week, my sister and I reminisced about summers on the lake. Interesting how memories come back. The only missing piece was having my brother and his family - Pat, Cathleen, Emily, Jensen and Marin - there. We would love to go again next summer and have the whole family there. Hope to make it happen!

...time to get ready for fall!

Lake Tahoe

Early Monday morning, we leave for Lake Tahoe! Can't wait - it's going to be a great vacation.

A little over a year ago, we were at an auction for Growing Gardens. Growing Gardens is a local, non-profit organization that helps low income people grow their own food - great group of people. My friends know to invite me to these auctions. Put a paddle in one hand and a glass of wine in the other and I'm a danger to myself ! - but it always benefits the organization.

At this auction, we got a week at a huge beautiful house on the lake in Kings Beach. Kings Beach is on the north shore near the Nevada border. It is going to be so special because growing up, we spent our summers at our cabin in Kings Beach. Our father, with his father and brothers, built two cabins right on the lake. There was a big house and a little house, with our own beach and pier. At the beginning of summer when school was out, mom would throw my brother, sister, our beagle Chris and me in the car and away we'd go. We'd spend the whole summer there - family and friends would come up throughout the summer. Incredible memories. This trip will definitely be a trip down memory lane. The vacation house is on the same street as our house - Brockway Vista Avenue.

So, have to get my bike rack on top of my car. Will take my kayak and bike. Can put the kayak in right at the house. There are bike trails all around the lake and along the Truckee River. It's going to be fun!!

... remember to make the most of your day!

fit again!

A good friend, Rick, sent a disc of photos and a video to me. I received them yesterday. The photos were taken in 1997 at this time of year. The photos were taken on trips that Rick and I took when we were dating. The video was taken on a trip to Northern California to see my family. I've only looked at a short portion of the video - look forward to finishing it today.

The photos arrived at my doorstep at an opportune time. Right now, I'm focusing on eating mostly protein and vegetables with a little fruit and starch, and exercising more - the goal is to be healthier and more fit. So, getting the photos of me when I was more fit really help. They were taken only 12 years ago but I look different. More importantly, I know I felt different - better.

At the time, I had just returned from a week's vacation at a Club Mediterranean at Sonora Bay, Mexico. Club Med's were big back then - the first all-inclusive vacation spots. They all had a different focus - some for families, some for singles - focusing on particular outdoor activities (golf, tennis, aquatics). Since I had played tennis over the years and thought I would enjoy and benefit from a week of tennis instruction and play, I decided on the Sonora Bay club. It was a blast! I had lessons all week and at the end of the week (and on my 40th birthday), I played in a tournament. I won my first match! I was thrilled - what a great birthday present. I remember it was so hot my face was like a tomato (when I got off the plane, it was 118 degrees; the next day it was 120 and I stopped paying attention to the temperature. It was dry so it was tolerable). And I got creamed in the second match. I didn't feel so bad because I was beat by a woman who's work it was to play tennis.

So, this is my target mental image of myself. I'm signing up for tennis classes at PCC for the fall. Let's see if I can get my game back! Oh, and that's Clo, the Clover Dairy Cow, at the Sausalito Arts Festival. A good buddy of mine!

... enjoy the cooler day!

happy dog!

Now that's a happy dog! Took Henry to Thousand Acres today. A fabulous park at the confluence of the Columbia and Sandy Rivers. You can have dogs off leash legally, which is a treat. I walk Henry to the Sandy then to the confluence. He loves to swim, retrieve sticks and balls from the river and just hang out in the water. And it's a nice walk for me. People are very friendly there and you run into nice dogs.

...great way to spend the morning!

vegies from my garden

I'm growing my own vegies for the first time in years. It is so much fun to go out in the backyard and pick some for my meal. It's also fun to give them away. Because we had so much snow and ice over the winter, I lost some plants in the backyard. So, I just planted some squash, pickling and lemon cucumbers, and lots of tomatoes in areas where the plants had died. They are growing like crazy! I actually have to trim the plants back.

It reminds me of riding on the train during my recent trip to Italy (spring '09 trip - vegies in photo are in a bowl I bought from a lovely gentleman in Deruta, Italy - fabulous ceramics there). The rail lines go along the rear of homes where, in spaces of all shapes and sizes, people were getting the soil ready for planting. Many yards also had chickens. It was lovely to look at.

So many people are growing their own vegetables in Portland. Wherever you look - in all types of neighborhoods - vegetables are being grown in available space. Yesterday I walked by a house that hadn't picked their sweet, orange cherry tomatoes - there were tons on the plants. It's just criminal! I wanted to go up to the door and ask if I could pick them. I'd give them away - just so they don't rot on the vine.

...enjoy the sunshine!

it's been a while

It's been a few days since I've written in the blog. I originally intended to write what I am interested in, what I'm doing, etc. But that didn't seem very interesting so I paused. But (again), that's my life! - interesting or not. So here goes.

Went kayaking yesterday at Trillium Lake. Amazing little lake at the base of Mt. Hood. Got there early and there were only a couple of fisherman on the lake and one boy in his canoe. The lake was so smooth is was like glass. There was a clear reflection of the mountain on the lake. Kayaked a while, then found a perfect spot at the water's edge to eat a nice lunch I prepared and read. Then took at walk around part of the lake and swam for a bit. Talked to some nice people. Everyone was enjoying the day.

The boy in the canoe was really nice. We were paddling relatively close and he asked if I'd been up to a particular end of the lake. I said I hadn't because of all the grass growth and lillipads. He told me how to get around the plant growth to go up into this cool area. Very refreshing to chat with a young man that wanted to help an old lady find a fun part of the lake!

I've been to the lake once before. A couple of years ago, I bought my sister, Ann, a pair of snowshoes for Christmas. I bought myself a pair as well - so we could go snowshoeing together. We went to Trillium to snowshoe - but took a wrong turn and never found the lake! Didn't matter though - still had a great day in the beautiful Oregon snow. Now I know which way to go - hope to go again this winter.

I might go kayaking again on Friday. Must enjoy the remaining days of summer! Will be fun finding another spot to put in.

... make it a great day!

it's early

It's early and I've been up for a while. Had a great night's sleep, as I have for the last few nights. I've been taking good care of myself - eating fresh local food, exercising, reading, getting lots done - makes me sleep well and feel good!

Have seen two good movies the last two nights - Summer Hours and Away We Go. Summer Hours is a lovely French film with Juliette Binoche. It's about what a family goes through after their mother dies and they deal with the family summer home in the French countryside. And loved Away We Go. Such a sweet story about a youngish couple seeking their roots. Also saw Julie & Julia last week. Seeing that movie is part of the reason I wanted to start the blog. I've thought about starting one for some time and seeing Julie start one in the movie made me look into it more. Julie on the other hand had something to write about - preparing all of the recipes in Julia's book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I'm just writing about my life - not sure how interesting that is.

After seeing Julie & Julia, I got my copy of Mastering down from the cookbook shelf. It's now staring back at me from my kitchen counter. I've looked through it and am threatening to make a recipe. I'll do an easy one (if there is such a thing) over the weekend. Will be fun. Then I'll write about it.

Off to take Henry for our morning walk. It's a beautiful, calm, clear, temperate morning in Portland - perfect.

...remember to make it a great day!

Good afternoon,

Well, it's the afternoon of the first day of my blog. And it's day two of my new food plan. Focusing on eating what I love - local fruit and vegies from the farmers' market, and select sustainable protein (not red meat).

In the Portland Metro area, we have so many wonderful farmers' markets to choose from. My favorite is the Saturday market at PSU. Every Saturday is like a community event there - incredible local organic produce, fab food carts, live music, cooking demonstrations, beautiful flowers and plants, people selling what they make, etc. We go every Saturday and buy food for the week. We also get breakfast at one of the carts (Tastebud is a favorite) and listen to the music. Fun weekly family event. It's fun to go to other markets as well - fun to check out what they have, go to different neighborhoods and support the different vendors.

Well, I can't put it off any longer. Time to organize my office. I moved the furniture around so I look out into the backyard - lovely view (if I do say so myself). But the view of the room isn't so great - must move boxes! I actually love getting organized - good feeling - I'm odd that way.

...and remember to make it a great day!

Good Morning,

My name is Jane. My dog's name is Henry. Here is a photo of him with his hiking shoes on. I bought them for him last summer before we went on a hiking trip in the Cascades here in the Northwest - there are parks there with volcanic rock that can cut dogs' pads. He adjusted to his new red shoes quite well.

This is the first day of my new blog. I have been interested in writing a blog for some time - so here we go. I will write about life in the Northwest and the many topics that interest me. The purpose of the blog is to just have fun and share information and photos with my friends in the blogosphere.

But for now, time to take Henry on his walk (it's actually my walk too). We walk through the Alameda neighborhood for 4.5 miles - along the ridge, through parks - looking at beautiful homes and gardens. What a way to start the day!

...make the most of your day!