November 2023, Feeling grateful at home

December 4, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Here at the end of the month of November, when we express gratitude with family and friends with a traditional meal, I am grateful for so many things!

Thanksgiving – I am grateful that we were eight around the table for Thanksgiving dinner– one of our sons, and our good friends all accounted for this year! No last minute Covid cancellations!

Knitting – I am grateful for my knitting friends, and for my ability to knit! I attended the Sacred Sheep event in Portland – a one day fiber festival, with a few of my knitting friends. I didn’t take many photos, but I did buy the yarn for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit-along that will begin in January. Two lovely skeins from two different indie dyers.

Sheep on parade

New yarn

I have been working away on my Anthology Blues Throw, and my purple Hitchhiker Shawl. I finished one pair of gift socks, and started a new pair. And I acquired yarn for some gift hats, for which the knitting has begun…

Gift socks ready

Yarn for gift hats

One hat finished.

Quilting – Not much, but I have a plan, and a new machine, to help me quilt all my unfinished quilt tops.

Antique machine on display at Montavilla Sewing

New quilting machine

Leaf walks in the neighborhood – The fall colors were so beautiful in the neighborhood this year! I am grateful that the teachers were able to get a better contract and settle their strike after almost a month of uncertainty. I live near two schools that my children attended, and I am glad to see children walking the sidewalks again, instead of seeing teachers standing on the corners with strike signs.

Teacher’s Strike

Maple

Oak

Liquidamber

Gingko and maple

Sidewalk pebble conglomerate

Henry, Ramona and Ribsy in Grant Park

Christmas is coming…

Family adventures – My sons sent me pictures of their travels at the end of the month…

Bethlehem PA Christmas Market

Views from OHSU…

On a crisp fall day, I got to admire the view from the Portland tram as I rode both up and down for various consultations, exams, and treatment related to my Acromegaly. One brain MRI, seven vials of blood, a cortisone challenge test, and my monthly injection…and the results show that my monthly injections continue to keep the relict pituitary tumor from growing, and all other systems are stable. I am grateful for excellent treatment from my team of doctors at OHSU, and for the insurance that keeps my share of the monthly injection cost affordable (original bill is ~$23,000.00/month – (yes, per month!)). I never wanted to be a Zebra, as they call persons with rare diseases in Medical School, but I am grateful that I can live mostly unharmed with this rare condition.

Looking east across the Willamette River – Marquam, Tilikum, and Ross Island Bridges

Looking north toward downtown Portland

Passing the other tram car on its way down while we continue to rise.

Maple trees on the patio near the upper tram platform

And a view farther east to Mt Tabor and Rocky Butte – no Cascade peaks on view today.

When I started writing this, I was feeling grateful that there was a ceasefire and hostages were being released from Gaza, but now they are bombing again. The conflict is a painful gash in the hopes for some kind of peace, and I feel so sad for the people there. I am grateful to be living in a stable place with no fear of being bombed today.

October 2023 adventures…

November 15, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Our five hikes in October ranged from urban Portland, to wilderness areas at Mt St Helens and Indian Heaven, and to our reliable dry trails in the eastern Columbia River Gorge in Washington.

October 1st, Oaks Bottom, Portland

An oft-repeated sunny walk around the Willamette River bottomlands just south of downtown Portland. Not much wildlife today, but there was new artwork on the railroad underpasses since the last time we were here (3.4 miles, 150 feet).

New artwork on the southern railroad underpass

We could hear the screams from upside down people at Oaks Park today.

View of the giant mural and the lake along the bike path.

A few cormorants

New artwork on the northern railroad underpass,

on both sides.

Early fall colors and

reflections in the lake.

The train, and the hills of SW Portland.

October 4, Indian Heaven, WA

We repeated one of my favorite loops in Indian Heaven, from Thomas Lake to Rock Lakes, to the less trodden path through the lakes and high huckleberry meadows along the Old Cascade Crest Trail (6.4 miles, 750 feet).

Colorful foliage from the trailhead on…

Thomas Lake

Heather Lake

Mt St Helens from the viewpoint above Eunice Lake

Mt St Helens

High meadows of huckleberry foliage

Naha Lake

Reflections

More reflections

Bright red foliage

High meadows

A glimpse of Mt Adams through the trees

We arrived at our lunch stop, Rock Lakes.

Rock Lakes

Rock crossing

Reflections

Moss

More red

After lunch we continued a little farther east, then south through the high meadows and unnamed lakes along the Old Cascade Crest Trail – all water reflections and colorful foliage. A delight! These are just a few of the images.

Unnamed lake

Magenta foliage, with a few last huckleberries

Lakes and huckleberry bushes along the trail

South toward Gifford Peak

Looking back at partly burned East Crater

Gradients of color in the foliage

And in the reflective lake water…

Monet water

We also caught a glimpse of Mt Rainier through the trees on our return hike…

Eastern flanks of Mt Rainier, and the Tatoosh Range?

On our drive home, I took this photo as we crossed the Bridge of the Gods. The burned zone in the Gorge is starting to look like fuzzy grey hair on the slopes.

Crossing the Bridge of the Gods, looking toward Oregon.

October 12, June Lake, Mt St Helens, WA

Our only new hike this month. We have been to June Lake before, but this was the first time we continued to the east on the Loowit Trail, the 30 mile loop around Mt St Helens. The mountain top remained covered in clouds all day. We saw fall colors on the slopes below the snow line (6.5 miles, 1200 feet).

Trail map

The first mile through the forest along June Creek is relatively flat.

Glimpse of the cloud-covered mountain from near the trail head

Approaching the lava flow that has dammed the creek to form June Lake. Tiny hiker on the lower left.

June Lake

Lower cascade

Reflections

Fall colors mirrored

More reflections…

More Monet water

Past June Lake, the trail ascends steeply to join the Loowit Trail around the mountain. We went eastward this time, through forested trail, and over the toes of lava flows, ascending to an eventual viewpoint of the mountain.

Lava flow along the trail

A view of the mountain flank

View from our lunch stop, where we waited for sun breaks to illuminate the fall colors.

Huckleberry oranges and reds. The Ape Canyon trail junction is in the notch

Colorful foliage on lava flows… the trail continues through here, but we did not take it today.

Volcano monitoring equipment

Snowy slopes

Mt Adams occasionally appeared behind the clouds to the east.

Mt Adams

We returned back over the lava flows…

Loowit Trail over the Worm Flows

Larch trees glowing golden in the autumn sun.

Some of the trees and plants…

Mushroom

Partridge foot

Mushroom

Old growth trees

Huckleberry foliage

Vine maples

Coral root

Penstemon and pearly everlasting

Bunchberry

A branch of Swift Creek at the base of the Worm Flows

Mt St Helens today, still capped by clouds as we drove away.

Mt St Helens from FR 83

And a lookback comparison of June Lake from previous trips, autumn, summer and winter…

October 12, 2023

July 4, 2019

February 20, 2016

October 17, Labyrinth Trail, WA

Another visit to one of our favorite viewpoints on a dry day in the eastern Columbia River Gorge (4.2 miles, 900 feet).

Up the basalt labyrinth

Oregon grape

Buckwheat, eastern view

Rose hips, ponderosa viewpoint

Lunch near the ponderosa

Return trail; Mt Hood and the oak tree

Oak grove

Columnar basalt mesa

Looking down the labyrinth

Raptor above the cliffs

Greeting one of my oak tree friends on the way down.

October 27, Coyote Wall, WA

A walk with friends up the basalt cliffs and down the dry meadows of the eastern Gorge (5.8 miles, 1230 feet).

Bald eagle above the Columbia River

Dry slopes above Coyote Wall

Looking across to the Oregon side, the orchards of Mosier

Oak trees

Oak leaves

Cloud mirror to the east

Coyote Wall

Looking east toward the Labyrinth

Walking back along Look Lake

Coyote Wall

October 2023 at home

November 12, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Autumn in Portland…knitting progress, colorful trees in the neighborhood, the last of the tomatoes, a few events around town, and Halloween…

Knitting – progress on three projects…

Anthology Blues Throw, in progress

One sock done

Purple Hitchhiker, in progress

Neighborhood- Colors of fall …

Changes in our garden…

The last of the tomatoes, with marigolds…

Roses

Katsura

Sumac and tupelo

A few events around Portland…

An eclipse – We were not quite in line with the full eclipse on October 14th. It was mostly overcast, though I did sense the change in intensity of the sunlight during the event. My nephew took this photo from the outskirts of town during a cloud break…

October 14, 2023

As I sit in my kitchen on sunny mornings, the change in angle of sunlight often compels me to photograph the shadows, the light…

October 30, 2023

Barbara Kingsolver – We went to see the author at the Keller Auditorium in downtown Portland. The event was sold out – over 3000 people attended to hear her speak. She talked mostly about her book Demon Copperhead, how it allowed her to bring her Appalachian story to light, highlighting the twin tragedies of foster care and the opioid crisis, while aligning the plot with Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. She left me with the compelling thought that ‘Hope is a Duty’, however challenging the times.

View from our seats, before the event…

Instagram post the next day

Art Day with a friend: First, the plein air show at the Oregon Society of Artists…

Brooke Borcherding

Then, a viewing of the Meet Me At The Center Installation by Maria T.D. Inocencio at the Armory Mezzanine…

Halloween in the neighborhood…

Hopeful owl jack-o-lantern

Floating witch hats

Ghosts

Witches

Blackbirds

Haunted entry

Neighborhood theater

A friend reanimated our curtain as a ghost…

Other thoughts…

The world is presenting some challenging events – this post by Patty Smith captures the mood…

But I try to counterbalance with positive thoughts…

September 2023 at home…

October 20, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

An ordinary month with lots of flowers. We had a fair amount of home time. The hikes are detailed in the next post.

The knitting:

Hitchhiker scarf, in progress

Slip stitch blanket, finished and ready for winter. It goes well with the Jane Austen quilt.

Ankle socks, ready for someone’s birthday.

The quilting and sewing, and home improvement..

I squared up the top of the Modern Mystery Quilt – next steps are to make the backing, then quilting.

I made a new curtain for the vaulted front window.

We replaced our ailing stove…

The last pot of ratatouille on the “old” stove.

The new induction range, fully installed and ready to train us in a new skill – digital cooking.

Also around the house –

Some beautiful cards…

Among the last of the tomatoes

Hydrangeas beginning their fall journey

Neighborhood walks – colorful flowers…

Sidewalk shadows and cracks…

Early Halloween beginning to creep in…

Ghosts beyond the hummingbird…

In other news of the world – more evidence of climate change; and as I am writing this in October, devastating events in Gaza, in Ukraine, in congress. I try not to obsess, and stay hopeful, but I also feel the need to mention them in this personal chronology…

from Instagram

We went to Art in the Pearl in Downtown Portland over Labor Day weekend. The artists’ creativity and color inspire a sense of hope in me in a time of distress for the world.

Michael Gard

Mark Gates

Dan Cautrell

Pearl District

Rachel Harvey

Lindsey Fox

Scott Swezy

Tom Boatwright

Meia Leisz

Pamela Spika

And the one that came home with us…

The Mountain III, 2022, Claire Christy-Tirado

At home in Portland, August 2023

September 9, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

For me, August is the heart of summer; my birthday season and the season for fresh blueberries, fresh corn, chocolate cake, and a few gifts.

blueberries

birthday asters

Jane Austen themed card

fresh corn

long ago…

This year I planted tall zinnias out front, not knowing how tall they would be. We have the delight of seeing these giant blooms framed in our front window. I will have to remember this for next year!

Neighborhood – I am a person who loves the cracks in the sidewalk: the shadows, the textures, the shapes, randomness and spontaneity. Over the years, I have identified my favorite cracks. Some days new ones stand out as the shadows shift, as the angle of the sun changes, as the seasons turn. Some days my pace is slowed by all the distractions: the light, the shadows, the leaves, the bIooms. I just saw a yard filled with pearly everlasting and purple heather, and then down the street, ripening figs and apples, and bright yellow Rudbeckia; on I go. I stop to read all the poetry posts, and check the little free libraries, some days, finding gems from each that I take with me. My neighborhood is colorful and varied and changes every day; I never get tired of walking here.

pearly everlasting

heather

figs

apples

rudbeckia

Knitting – I finished knitting the Meadowlands Blanket for the Puddletown Knitters Guild service project – to be donated to an organization that helps foster children.

Meadowlands Blanket, made from Lion Brand Mandala Yarn

Quilting – I finished making the blocks, and started piecing the top for the Modern Quilt Studio Summer 2023 Mystery Quiltalong.

All the blocks

Partial quilt top assembly

Supermoon – I went out to photograph the supermoon rising, and instead caught the image of a ufo coming in for a landing on the elementary school roof (wink)…

We also went on a number of hikes in August – see next post…and it seems to be the season for this internet meme as well…

March 2023 – Back in PDX

April 23, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We returned to Portland from New Zealand on the 18th of March. Our daffodil and crocus bulbs that had just started to bloom in February were still blooming because Portland was unusually cold while were gone. Spring flowering trees and bulbs continued to emerge, sprinkling the neighborhood with color.

Camellias

Daffodil

Moon, redbud

Crocus

Viburnum

Cherry

Star magnolia

We took one hike, on March 22nd, at one of our favorite winter season hiking trails, Catherine Creek, WA, and it was the same story out there. I had predicted tons of grass widows while we were gone, but instead, the area had been covered in snow again. By late March, the grass widows were re- or just blooming, and other early spring flowers were out – gold stars, Columbia and pungent desert parsleys, and yellow bells…

Gold stars and grass widows

Pungent desert parsley

Columbia desert parsley

Blue jay

Ent

Grass widows and gold stars, Columbia River, and the orchards of Mosier

Catherine Creek Falls

We made a short visit to the Oregon Historical Society on a rainy morning. I focused on some of the textiles on display.

Knitting: I made just a little progress on a sock while traveling, but then immediately cast on a toddler sweater for the knitting Guild service project when we returned. This is my first ever knit raglan sweater. I used the same Caron Cotton Cake yarn I am using for the Sliding is Fun Blanket, also for the Guild challenge. The blanket will take much longer, and I realized I had way too much yarn, so repurposed some of it into this little sweater.

Flax (Tin Can Knits) toddler sweater

Quilting: I attended an online ColorMixer quilt seminar on the Creative Spark platform this week, and got lots of ideas for future quilts. Next month, I plan to sew the blocks together for my Modern Mystery Quilt that I had made before our New Zealand trip.

Poetic ode to sunlight from a neighborhood Poetry Post:

Early February 2023, hiking, quilting, knitting…

March 5, 2023February 19, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

This post updates my activities for the first part of February…

Knitting: I’ve made progress on two blankets – one for me, and one for the Puddletown Knitters Guild Service Project:

Malabrigo Slip Stitch Blanket

Sliding Is Fun Blanket

I had planned to crochet the guild blanket, and tried my hand at a sample, but I’m not quite ready to commit to such a big crochet project yet. Maybe the next one.

Practice crochet swatch

Quilting: I’ve worked through all the clues on the Modern Mystery Quilt, and pieced the blocks. We were asked not to share the finished look until March 3rd.

Modern Mystery Quilt 2023 tentative layout…

In bloom: Our first crocus emerged from the mostly dormant garden beds on February 9th. Just about the same time as the first grass widows were blooming in the eastern Gorge.

Our first crocus

Hiking: Both hikes were in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, Washington:

Eagles again! Bitterroot-Rowland Trail at Catherine Creek, WA – February 8th:

Lots of water here today – in vernal pools, and oozing out of the grassy slopes. No actual flowers, but plenty of emerging foliage – just waiting for a bit more warmth and sun.

Catherine Creek/Sunflower Hill

Fairy pools

Up the Bitterroot Trail,

The Arch

Mt Hood with fresh snow

Mt Hood close up

Meanwhile, as I was admiring these plants at the edge of Rowland Wall, a juvenile eagle swooped by at eye level.

View west from Rowland Wall

Bald eagle…

circling back,

and around again.

Then the entire eagle family circled its way up Rowland Wall, juveniles and mature adults – perhaps the same flock we saw a couple of weeks ago over Lyle.

Adult bald eagle

The whole family is here.

We continued down the wall, and back to the trailhead, imagining the flowers that will be blooming soon.

Looking back up Rowland Wall.

Another vernal pool. The frogs were really loud, but became instantly silent as we approached.

Crawford Oaks-Vista Trail, Columbia Hills, WA – February 14th

A cold, slightly windy day – fresh snow on the Cascade Peaks. We walked the five mile lower loop and were rewarded with seeing the first grass widows – next week there will be a purple bloom here.

View west from near the trailhead – Mt Hood and Horsethief Butte

Mt Hood

Eightmile Creek Falls was fairly full…

Eightmile Creek Falls

Rainbow and plunge pool

The view from the waterfall to the east across the Columbia River:

We continued up the road, across the creek, then south on the Vista Loop, to our usual stop near the power pylons, where we often see the first flowers blooming, and the first grass widows were just beginning to open in the cold breeze…

grass widow

A few purple buds opening in the grassy slopes

We continued around the loop, to the high point, then back around to the view of Dalles Mountain Ranch. A good walk on a brisk day.

West from the high point

East from the high point

Dalles Mountain Ranch

There will be more hikes in February – in the next post.

January 2023

February 6, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Quiet and cold in Portland this month. I went on four hikes (see next post), met a few times with my knitting group at the local coffee spot, and walked in the neighborhood when it was dry.

Alameda stairs

Moon, January 1, 2023

Knitting:

I thought I was done with knitting gnomes for a while, but then a request came in for a long time friend, so I made one more. I knit myself a new travel mug cosy, and finished my holiday socks. And made progress on my slip stitch blanket.

The last? gnome

Cup cosy

Holiday socks

Slip stitch blanket in progress

Quilting:

I am actually quilting again! I joined the Modern Quilt Studio – Mystery Quilt, as I have learned so much from Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr over the years. I’ve finished the first four clues. I have no idea what the final quilt will look like, but I had fun picking two contrasting palettes of fabric from my existing stash. There will be two more sets of instructions before the big reveal.

Blocks for the first four clues.

Family archeology:

While relearning crochet, I was looking through a collection of my mother’s knitting and sewing books for useful material. These are very outdated craft books that I keep for sentimental reasons. As I was leafing through one of them, a piece of thin note paper covered in my mother’s beautiful cursive handwriting fell out. It is just a notation of a crochet pattern, but my heart filled, and I felt her here with me, advising me in her future, playing the role of a ‘time being’. (Credit to Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being, which I read recently, and which gave me a whole new definition of the expression ‘time being’.)

Sad news: In January, more racist violence shocked us all…as a mother, daughter, sister, friend, member of the human race, my heart is pierced each time.

With reference to Tyre Nichols, Memphis, TN (photo from the internet)

Meanwhile, an anonymous someone in my neighborhood is trying to spread good wishes…

December 2022 Recap

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

What do I want to remember about December? A freak snowstorm the first week. A lot of grey, rainy cold days which I spent counting down to the winter Solstice. I only went on two hikes this month:

12/6/2022 – Catherine Creek, WA –

We drove through the snowy Columbia River Gorge, and found the early snow at Catherine Creek.

Ice on Rowland Lake

Snow covered slopes on the Lower Trail

We saw a fox run up the slope.

Looking across the Columbia River to Oregon.

Catherine Creek Waterfall

Then we walked up to the snow-covered fairy pools,

and looked across to the Arch.

While eating lunch and warming up in the car, the sun came out, so we decided to walk the trail above the Arch.

Bridge over the creek

I saw a few predator birds in the tree tops – a hawk

American kestrel

Looking up toward Sunflower Hill

We turned around at the top of the Arch, not having adequate footwear for deeper snow and ice.

Eastward view

12/13/2022 – Portland Arboretum –

Another day, we found a slightly dry weather window, and took a 2.5 mile walk through part of the Portland Arboretum.

We found the most color in the Holly Garden.

Bare deciduous trees and grey skies.

Mahonia in the Winter Garden

Cedar

Meanwhile…

I took plenty of walks through the neighborhood looking for cheerful holiday decor.

I remember willing the Solstice and longer days to arrive. For a few days each year, the sun is so low, it shines through our front door windows onto the stairwell wall.

Later in the month, the east winds swept through and pounded our neighborhood, blowing down several very tall fir trees, including one across the street that we had been worried about for years. It fell on the neighbor’s house. Fortunately no one was in the room that was crushed at that moment. Then we watched the street drama of tree removal for several days, front row seat from our living room.

December 22nd, tree down

December 23rd – a thin layer of icy snow over everything…

December 26th – first they removed the other standing tree,

Then used a very tall crane to remove the fallen tree.

Rainproofing the roof; reconstruction and repair will take a while….

Elsewhere in the neighborhood:

Over in the park, Henry Huggins lost his shade tree,

and the tall fir to the left of this nutcracker…

blocked this street for a few weeks until it could be removed.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt an any of these local incidents.

What else…one son moved to Philadelphia at the beginning of the month and was not here for the holidays. We began to settle into our next phase of empty nesting, with no sign of any of the kids living here in the near future. We were glad to have our daughter home for the holidays. Luckily, she moved her flight up one day, and missed the travel craziness that happened this year. We were amazed that our other son arrived home from a business trip on a delayed flight from Denver, at 3 am on Christmas morning…for some reason not cancelled. We enjoyed setting up our tree, admiring the ornaments and the memories they bring; lighting Hanukkah candles, baking cookies, having a lovely Christmas dinner with some of our oldest friends.

New ornament from Scotland

Portland Art Museum – 12/28

My daughter and I went with friends to see a few of the current exhibits.

The golden brush strokes on this special exhibit Botticelli painting drew me in.

Very different from the rectangular smudges on this Impressionism work, which I also loved.

The Japanese woodblock prints of Mt Fuji were much more intricate and detailed, also beautiful!

A large retrospective exhibit of the Native American artist, Oscar Howe, was so interesting. His style evolved from representational to fractured, and was very colorful. These paintings are both dancers, with one arm raised, and feathers hanging down. I loved them!

Other December news:

An artist friend gave me a small painting of Mt Hood that we hung in our kitchen adjacent to one of my husbands’ photos of Mt Hood. We love the mountains!