Multnomah Falls and Hood River

On our way out to Hood River, we made a quick stop at Multnomah Falls. It never fails to amaze.



We then drove the rest of the way to Hood River and enjoyed lunch at the 6th Street Bistro - very good! Now that we were refueled, it was off to drive the "Fruit Loop" a 30+ mile drive through farms and a great view of Mt Hood. We could also see Mt Saint Helens in the opposite direction. We made several stops to try more wine, buy strawberries and cherries and pick our own lavender. Then it was off to try more wine and some great fruit flavored ports.

Portland Int'l Rose Test Garden

After a little rain this morning, we headed out to the Rose Test Garden and were rendered speechless. WOW - it looked like a garden on steriods. Flowers in ever color imaginable, sizes varying from minature to larger than our heads, as well as a beautiful bride and wedding party.





Afterwards we walked over to the Japanese garden, which was a bit anti-climatic after the menagerie of color we had already walked through.


On our way back to the car, I was excited to see these beautiful purple roses. For those of you who remember the wedding, I carried a bouquet of red roses but that was only because these were not available at the time. They are everything I could dream of in a flower :)

Lavi howling

Here is Lavi howling in response to Merlin (the bird). It has taken a while to catch it on video. It is very funny. Not sure if she is telling him to shut up or just flexing her "voice"??

Father's day cards and book

Well, after all the hoopla of the Mother's day books, I had a request for Father's day. This book was created with cardboard and a Bind-it-all machine. I made it to stand up like a flip book. These are just some of my favorite pages.





And here is one of the Father's day cards I made as well.


Have a happy Dad's Day!! I am very excited to see my dad and mom next week for their first real visit to Portland. We have a lot on the agenda...

Strawberry pickin' on Sauvie Island

After much anticipation, I finally made it out to pick some of these highly-regarded Oregon strawberries. It was a beautiful day and I was able to see Sauvie Island for the first time in all of its glory. Not only is it scenic, but they have u-pick berry farms for $1.75 a pound!
Since this was my first berry picking experience, I needed to learn the ropes. After about 5 minutes, I was in my groove. It is still pretty early in the season so there were a lot of not-so-ripe berries, but there were some gems to be found. Here are some photos of the berries and the busy patch.


And the result of all my hardwork


Stay tuned for the resulting strawberry ice cream...yumm!
This was really just a warm up for my favorite berry of all time - the BLUEBERRY! I can't wait for July.

Dinner @ Simpatica

Just wanted to post a link to my latest dining experience with my friends Jen and Beth. Check it out on Jen's website Table Talk Portland. She is a hoot.

Namir's Quest

Here's a few shots of the Num-nut in his quest of finding a comfortable spot. He continues to amaze me. :)