Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland, OR (18-33)

August 15, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

August 6, 2018

One last garden visit with my sister: We spent a morning strolling through this peaceful setting, a haven of tranquility surrounded by bustling Old Town in the heart of Portland. The Lan Su Garden, modeled after 16th century Suzhou-style Chinese gardens, was assembled by Chinese artisans in China and reassembled in Portland in 2000.

The entrance garden sets the tone –

We walked through the portal to the lily ponds beyond.

Blooming water lilies and colorful koi are visually captivating.

Paths through the garden wend through outdoor rooms and intricately carved and ornamented buildings.

bonsai

Calligraphy studio

An art exhibit displayed exotic and ordinary biota fashioned from clay.

In another room, we drew fortune sticks, and then found our numbered fortunes in a drawer.

My hard working teacher sister had number 6. I am lucky to be her sister, and lucky about many other things, so I felt good about pulling number 38.

Another path leads by a waterfall grotto and views of a different kind of blooming lotus:

The paths are made of patterned stone – each stone carefully placed. Some remind me of quilting patterns.

Windows are also patterned beautifully.

We stopped in the tea room for some delicious iced tea and almond cookies.

Tea room

View from the tea room, city rooftops beyond the garden

Back in the entrance way for a parting view, including the dragon fish on the roof.

Afterward, we paid a short visit to nearby Powell’s City of Books – she found a title she was looking for, and I saw this beautifully covered collection of science and math books.

Crafting:

I have turned the heel on my second Cornwall sock and so am racing toward the toe and contemplating what to knit next…

My daughter returned to college in Ohio, leaving me one of her latest creations as a parting gift.

James, the sock monkey

Once again no hike this week – we were trying for Burnt Lake on Friday, but it was sooo hot, and the air still smoky, and many dominoes fell out of place so we abandoned that trip. It might be a good fall hike.

One of the new bowls I bought for my birthday.

Weldon Wagon Road (18-12)

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Weldon Wagon Road trail 3-25-2018 (#12)

Early flowers were out along this trail through the oak woodlands and open slopes in southwest Washington above the White Salmon River near Husum. This was my most elevation gained so far as I recover (4.5 miles/1300 foot rise), and I felt good. Progress!

Lower trail through oak woodlands

Views to the open slopes ahead.

A seat with a view at the halfway point

Last spring, the exposed upper slopes were a bright green and yellow balsam root meadow. Today we saw just one plant blooming along the trail,

and otherwise, the meadows and woodlands were still waking up, sprinkled with grass widows, buttercups, a few prairie stars, toothwort, yellow bells, blue eyed Mary, and Columbia Desert Parsley.

hound’s tongue

lupine foliage

blue-eyed Mary

yellow bells

grass widows and buttercups

yellow parsley

Columbia Desert Parsley

buttercups

Heading down in the afternoon

LOOKBACK: to May 2017 when the balsam root was in bloom-

May 2017

Knitting

Another scrappy tortilla washcloth for the 2018 stack:

I reknit the toes of the socks I finished last week so that the stripes would match.

The reknit toes

Elgol Cross Stitch update

I have been filling in the foreground with shadows and light – mostly pinks:

Cross stitch depicting the view from Elgol on the Isle of Skye.

Blooming in the garden

Tulips opening

Euphorbia

Shadows on a neighborhood stair

Spring creeping in…. (18-10)

March 12, 2018March 12, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Powell Butte Nature Park March 10, 2018 (#9)

Rainy week, sun on the weekend, warming trend. On Friday we hiked up this volcanic butte from the 148th Avenue trailhead. Excellent signage at the top explains the history and function of the butte as the main storage reservoirs of the entire Portland water system.

Water distribution schematic

Display of pipes that deliver our water, framing Silver Star Mountain

Cloudy skies so the Cascade peaks were not in view, but the sun was shining to the north on Silver Star Mountain and friends in Washington.

Silver Star Mountain

Old orchard on the top of Powell Butte

Crows in the orchard

We circled back through Douglas fir and cedar forests. A few early wildflowers were spotted.

Cedar forest

Toothwort

Indian plum

The Elderberry Trail stairs allow a quick descent.

A good close in walk, about 4.2 miles/500 feet.

Quilting:

The Jane Austen quilt is all done except the label and some good photos – hopefully by next week.

In my garden:

hyacinths

Late season snow (18-8)

February 27, 2018 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

More Snow in Portland 2/26/2018

Intermittent snow and rain all week. I went for several long walks in the neighborhood but no hiking adventures.

Quilting Progress:

Stitch in the ditch on the Jane Austen replica quilt. I have finished the center sashing with an off-white 50 wt thread, and am working on the outside diamonds using the same diamond pattern and a navy 50 wt thread. I still haven’t decided what quilting design to use for the center medallion. And I am contemplating the binding choices. I would like to finish this quilt before we (hopefully) see the real Jane Austen quilt in England later this year.

Knitting Finish!

Bound off the Girl in the Neurosurgery Ward shawl (Girl From The Grocery Store by Joji Locatelli), and posted it as a Ravellenics WIPs Dancing project (Ravelry username knitwish).

And another win!

I won a copy of Margaret Goes Modern, a collection of quilting short stories, from the author, Frances O’Roark Dowell! Frances is one of my favorite quilting podcasters and a great storyteller. In her podcast, The Off Kilter Quilt, Frances speaks about her quilts in progress, her writing projects (she is a successful children/young adult author, recently branching into quilt-inspired adult fiction), and her adventures in parenting and other life adventures. I listen to many knitting and quilting podcasts, preferring the homegrown variety where the podcaster shares a bit of their own life, complaints or noncomplaints about the weather, jobs, traffic, etc, along with their creative endeavors. From these podcasts I feel I get some “real” news about life in other parts of the world from the point of view of someone living there. I am looking forward to reading this book!

Beacon Rock, Cooper Mountain, Hats, Flowers (18-6)

February 12, 2018February 12, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

River to Rock Trail, Beacon Rock State Park, WA 2/10/2018 (#5)

From the switchback staircases on Beacon Rock we have looked down to see a dock on the Columbia River.

August 2015

Today we looked up at the ant-sized people climbing the Beacon Rock stairs from the dock. We walked to the dock from the Doetsch Ranch Trailhead. There are great views of Beacon Rock,

Beacon Rock boat dock

Beacon Rock from the boat dock

Beacon Rock, Table Mountain, Aldrich Butte

Stairs and switchbacks

History

and of the burnt trees along the ridge line on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

We had planned to continue up the River to Rock trail toward Beacon Rock, but they remove an all important bridge during the winter.

No bridge.

It is parked across the road.

After completing the loop around the former Doetsch Ranch area, we parked at the upper River to Rock trailhead and walked down to the viewpoints around Riddell Lake.

Riddell Lake

Closest view of the stairs and switchbacks.

Spring plants and natural history – the Missoula Floodwaters were 200 feet above the top of Beacon Rock!

violets

Oregon Grape foliage

Missoula Floods

Although I have been feeling well, like I turned a corner in stamina this week, I was glad to reach the top of the small hill back to the trailhead. Today was not the day to climb Beacon Rock, but it was great get a close view of its columnar structure from a new vantage.

3 miles/200 feet

Lookback: Switchbacks and stairs on the Beacon Rock trail.

November 2013

August 2015

Cooper Mountain Nature Park, OR 2/11/2018 (#6)

We walked the 2.8 mile loop with friends on a clear cold Sunday. Nice to continue stretching my legs, and the 300 feet elevation change was plenty. We enjoyed the view of the Tualatin Hills as we ate our lunch from a well placed bench on the overlook trail. There should be a good wildflower display here come spring.

Cooper Mountain GPS track

Knitting

I finished the second Sonic Six hat, easily winning at yarn chicken, and in good time for Valentines Day.

I cast on and finished a bulky weight Brassica hat, out of Collinette Prism yarn in the Fresco colorway. This is the last of the yarn I bought in Scotland last year.

Flowers in the neighborhood:

My yard:

crocus

primroses return from last year

rosemary

witch hazel

lily seedhead

Down the street:

First cherry trees blooming!

heather

Chinese paper bush

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge (18-5)

February 5, 2018 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge Loop Trail 2/3/2018 (#4)

Continuing to take things slowly this week, we went for a 3 mile walk around Oaks Bottom in southeast Portland. This is an easy trail between the river and the bluff that sees plenty of neighborhood walkers and runners. From the bluff side we could look across the lake and see the west hills and Oaks Amusement Park, with cyclists flying by on the Springwater Corridor.

Details along the Bluff Trail:

Seed fluff

Beaver sign

Tree eye

Ducks

Egret

Berries

Fungi

Reflections

We later walked north on the Springwater Corridor path and looked back across the lake to the famous mausoleum with enormous wildlife mural painted on the side. We saw a few real birds in the water as well as some decoy/art installation blue herons.

Springwater corridor

Heron decoy in foreground

My longest walk so far – getting better all the time.

Meanwhile, I have been knitting

away on the Girl in the Neurosurgery Ward shawl – I have about half of the purple border to go.

I cast on a second Sonic Six hat using the remainder of the Total Eclipse yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts striped with some leftover grey sock yarn to extend the skein for the full hat. Playing yarn chicken with this one.

And I finished the second of a continuing collection of cotton tortilla dishcloths. I gave away most of those I made last year, but still have scraps to use up.

The front yard crocuses were in full bloom today.

A Healing Week (18-3)

January 22, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

1/22/2018

Home for a week now, each day I am more awake, more alert, more me.

Each day I walk a bit more, usually with Sean, at a glacial pace. First to the end of the block, then around the block. On Saturday Dan escorted me a full slow mile around the neighborhood, and on Sunday we visited Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins and Ribsy at Grant Park. I am disappointed not to participate in the Women’s March this year, but have given myself permission to temporarily ignore the outer world as I heal from this event.

Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden, Grant Park

I have been thinking about trust. What is it that allowed me to trust people I’ve met only briefly, including some on the team I never will meet while conscious, to thread some sort of mechanism into my brain and perform this surgery. That is the foundation of civilization, I suppose, that the standards put in place by experts will be upheld, that we all expect to do our best by each other, that we trust.

Knitting

Some time is passed in the evenings with Dan and Sean, watching ‘The Good Place’ and adding several repeats to my Girl in the Neurosurgery Ward shawl. The yarn is Tosh Merino Light in the Mandala and Flashdance colorways.

A mantra for the week from one of my favorite podcasts:

Margaret Quilts

Quilting, Knitting, Hiking

Portland

Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland, OR (18-33)

August 6, 2018

Crafting:

Weldon Wagon Road (18-12)

Weldon Wagon Road trail 3-25-2018 (#12)

Knitting

Elgol Cross Stitch update

Blooming in the garden

Spring creeping in…. (18-10)

Powell Butte Nature Park March 10, 2018 (#9)

Quilting:

In my garden:

Late season snow (18-8)

More Snow in Portland 2/26/2018

Quilting Progress:

Knitting Finish!

And another win!

Beacon Rock, Cooper Mountain, Hats, Flowers (18-6)

River to Rock Trail, Beacon Rock State Park, WA 2/10/2018 (#5)

Cooper Mountain Nature Park, OR 2/11/2018 (#6)

Knitting

Flowers in the neighborhood:

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge (18-5)

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge Loop Trail 2/3/2018 (#4)

Meanwhile, I have been knitting

A Healing Week (18-3)

1/22/2018

Knitting