Category Archives: Things I like to do

Jul 2 2011

Yesterday at Ft. Vancouver

I spent the day mostly on the patio enjoying the outdoors, planting, feeding squirrels, chatting, and just soaking it in. So glad the warm days of Summer are finally here. I like that Vancouver has what amounts to a “fireworks are legal within reason” zone that spans from the first through the fourth. This really makes sense. People are going to sell them, and people are going to set them off. What not create a window for their use?

I am enjoying being outdoors tremendously. Yesterday, I went to Ft. Vancouver, took the camera, and walked this historic landmark, capturing images that are historically

significant to me.

As many of you know, this is the site of Hudson Bay’s fur trading post back in the days of Ft. Vancouver. As a child, I was always intrigued by this and wanted to see it. Love the picket post surrounding the fort.

It has a proper fort door…I’m sure there’s a better word for it than “fort door.” Sorry. But it’s cool.


They’re ready for business at the headquarters. And here are a few pictures of random things that looked historically cool inside the fort.

Fur traders sea map! So cool, right?!

A real spyglass…

A compass…

A pretty terrific sword…


A candlestick, books about the history of England, and a jug of something…wait, England? Yeah!

See, apparently the English were very busy here…Note the Union Jack on the flag…just saying!

So after touring around inside the fort and feeling very safe, I ventured out to the surrounding area and found some magnificent old Victorian style houses that reminded me of Brunswick, the little English colony that could which is now a bustling city and also where I grew up. My mom lived in a Victorian house. I have many memories of sliding down the bannister along the staircase and going in and out through the huge windows that went from the floor to the ceiling.  These houses have been kept up in immaculate condition. Very impressive.

And I walked up and down lovely sidewalks with ivy, oaks, and old street lamps. It was a perfect Summer day in every sense of the word.

As thoughts go, this country is so worth fighting for. What we enjoy here is incredible. I am continually amazed.

Jun 23 2009

Over the Sniffles, Back to Writing, Indian Heaven, Essential Oils

Okay. My little cold thing is gone. I suspect it’s from being exposed to other humans and their viruses. But it wasn’t so bad. Just a snively, annoying, runny-nose cold with a little loss in stamina. At the pace I have been going lately, it’s probably a good thing to slow down a bit and rest some. I remember having a bizarre dream last night, so things are getting back to normal. I have bizarre dreams, then to remember them means all is normal again. Me. My weird dreams. Remembering them. Life as usual.

Speaking of weird dreams. I haven’t abandoned the Novel-in-Progress. It has been umm… simmering. I read the first chapter at the writers’ conference I attended and asked for feedback which was very helpful. I’m working on it tonight and will post revisions plus more soon. Really, I will.

So I hope to photograph the wildflowers in bloom on Mt. Adams this week. I’m feeling more up to it now, and the weather is improving. It was warmer today but sultry. That muggy, icky feeling with a haze in the air.  Merlin would definitely enjoy the trip, and I would feel  better with his company. I’ll post some photos here when I have them. The Gifford Pinchot is so beautiful, alive, and peaceful in summer! It is an enchantress if ever there was one! I’m really looking forward to my trip. It’s about a half hour up to the next mountain valley. I’m headed to Lookinglass Lake which provides a mirror image of the background in the lake.  I’ll get photos of that, too.

So, for the naturalist out there who like essential oils, this is for you. Small spray bottle + water + lemongrass essential oil (or your choice. Eucalyptus is nice, two)  = great friend in a steamy shower, room air freshener, bed/furniture spray (lavender is nice for this), and steam sauna spray. So absolutely delicious to the senses!! Citronella oil in a light carrier oil like almond (!) or jojoba oil makes a great, natural bug repellent. Almond oil is a great massage oil. Scent it in small batches to massage or moisturize dry skin. Tea tree is nice in shampoo in the summer. It makes your scalp tingle and is also an antiseptic/good in salves like vaseline or bees’ wax/olive oil. Essential oils are nature’s gift to us. Enjoy them!

-Patricia

Mar 26 2009

Writer's Conference, Bremerton, George Shannon, Writing

Hello. I’m finally home after a very long day that started at 4 a.m. Me and six sixth graders went on a road trip to Bremerton, Washington to the Young Writer’s Conference. The kids had sharing for an hour with other kids, then they went to an interactive lecture with George Shannon (Amazing!), went to a workshop with another author on creating books, lunch, another workshop on writing stories, and finally the trip home. What a great time!!

So, George Shannon. He really knows how to work kids! His suggestions were to ask questions that generate lists, recall events from childhood, and so on to generate topics. Then select a topic and consider the options for conflicts.  “Make the character suffer,” he said! He said he likes to ramble when he writes dialogue, so continue to come back to the plot graph.  He has notebooks of nothing but lists and events that are numbered, and he uses these to collect ideas for writing.  Then when he writing, he says that for him, it’s like a puzzle. He selects pieces to create an overall picture that he wants to achieve. Cool. So just some useful writing information that I collected today. I’ll post more about writing from the conference following a good night’s sleep as I’m really wiped out.

G’night, all! Blessings to all creatures great and small. Thank you to the  creator who made us all.

-Patricia

XO

Mar 14 2009

From Road Trip to Tea to Nerd Heaven

So I went on a road trip today. I stopped in my adopted hometown of Olympia, Washington  and visited a few places that make me especially happy. I did some browsing about and came home with additions to my teapot and tea cup collections.  Not only is tea a daily necessity, it’s also a hobby. I have an interesting collection of unique/lovely/unusual tea cups, which I do use by the way, and a colorful collection of teapots as well.  The tea cups in my collection are especially artistically beautiful in their design and craftsmanship. This began when I went to a high tea once many years ago and all of the tea cups were unique. It made an enjoyable moment even better and more interesting.  Teapot collecting goes back even further. I still have my first teapot that served up breakfast tea for twenty something years. I’ve since turned the page and started a new chapter in my book of life but collecting continues.

After the teapot/tea cup collecting adventure, I started home and needed to sleep very badly. So I pulled over in Portland, Oregon, took a nap, and then finished the last part of my road trip home. The nice thing about having a Jeep Grand Cherokee besides the 4X is being able to stop, crawl in the back, grab a blanket, and nap as needed.

I have been in pj’s since arriving home and want to simply relax for the rest of the day.  So I took my little Macbook, a good book to read, and me to bed where I am enjoying the remainder of the evening. Sometimes I need to just unwind. let go. relax.

-Patricia

Jan 27 2009

Balance Restored, Vampire Birthday Party, and Spa Time

Do you know what I like about my Mac laptop?  Everything.  It’s feather light, user -friendly, and waiting for me when I retire to the big fluffy, the cloud I call my bed.  I revel in my goose down featheriness, especially when it’s 6 degrees outside again tonight.  I take it winter is returning.  That’s the weather forecast for tonight which translates into “where’s my long johns.”

Today I battled the forces of darkness and kept them at bay.  Good triumphed over evil, and all is right in the land again.  I restored the natural balance in the unseen world that can only be felt and not seen unless you’re especially good at reading thoughts and physical gestures.  So I think it’s safe to say that I can put my cloak away for the day. Tomorrow’s a half day at the school…then to writing.  I’m closing in on the end  of writing for National Boards and am beginning to get a bit frothy thinking about it.  So close…argh!  This has been a year-long project that will soon be wrapped up.

I am now reading  the second book in the Twilight series, New Moon. Probably the worst thing that can happen to a human at your birthday party when surrounded by vampires….is to cut yourself.  Pannnndemonium!  Great scene!  Some want you instead of the cake.  I’m really enjoying this series.  Great bedtime reading.  My students are loving it as well, boys and girls.  It crosses age and gender.  Crosses…I crack me up.  But these are new age vampires.  They don’t react/hiss/melt/smolder  to crosses or garlic, they don’t have fangs but are venomous, they are super fast, and most have some cool super powers like seeing the future, hearing thoughts, and making people relax.  Highly, highly recommend this series.

I think….I need to go to Bonneville Hot Springs Resort for a little spa time…maybe a little local wine by the fireplace or dinner possibly.   Bonneville Hot Springs Resort is one of the greatest things about this area especially in mid-winter.  It’s about an hour from here and well worth the ride to this secluded Northwest lodge resort in the woods.  Olympic-size mineral pool, mineral hot tub, full service spa, dining, and roaring fireplace in a lodge…yeah…and me.  Okay, it’s getting late, and I simply must read before dreamland to see what happens next.  How can you do anything after a vampire birthday party?!  Sheesh!  But the story continues.

Sweet dreams,

-Patricia

Jan 18 2009

Winter Dreams, Howling Wind, Wi-Fi Cabin in the Woods, and Twilight

After coffee and scones this morning, I succumbed to the lure of my comfy bed and am now journaling from said comfy bed.  Getting up early and staying up just isn’t going to happen this morning.

It’s deep winter, and my thoughts turn to winter dreams, those lucid dreamings and ramblings that curl the edges of my lips into a self-indulgent, whimsical smile snuggled deep in goose down, a quilt, and a plush blanket with satin edgings.  In my bed of winter dreams, my winter dreaming begins as reading in this goose down refuge  and indulging in dreams and fantasy that smell like vanilla. Winter dreaming comes on after winter has lost its novelty, and spring is still a month or so away.  I think it’s a form of hibernation perhaps…but don’t really care and just surrender to the down and indulge in early bed times and reading something that pulls me into another magical world.  There are stacks of books waiting to be read and what better way or time.

The east winds are back and howling in Portland today according to the weather report.  They are predicting up to 75 mph winds there which means must faster winds here as wind picks up speed when blowing up the mountain. It also means power outages here.  It’s not unusual to lose power for several days at a time in the winter here on Mt. Adams, and you adjust or move.  I adjusted.  This isn’t to say that I went all Grizzly Adams.  Quite the contrary.

Deep, compact snow and ice, freezing balls outside, and no electricity.  Could you deal with that?!  In my determination to exist quite comfortably regardless of the conditions, I have and can run a generator for electricity which keeps me internet-connected and running a wireless home network, propane heaters that heat the house quite comfortably without electricity, and a propane cook stove that stands ready to provide a hot meal, coffee, or tea.  So life just goes on while I’m off the grid.  Winter here is so Henry David Thoreau at times…but wouldn’t he be surprised at my high-tech version of “roughing it.”  I would probably get an “Oh my God!” when he saw my posh winter dreams bed and a “you’ve got to be kidding” when he understood wi-fi.   No, this isn’t  your mother’s cabin in the woods.  It’s a haven of peace, tranquility, and creature comfort regardless of weather…with wifi.  It’s a nest well-feathered and not by accident.   After four days without electricity  a few years ago, I resolved to have life go unchanged in the face of power outages, deep snow, and zero-ish degree weather which are the norm here.   With a well thought out system of interconnected power strips for the technology, I can go from grid to generator in less than ten minutes and remain internet connected.  Heating is constantly propane and, well, there will always be stacks of books to read.

I continued  my reading of Twilight last night snuggled under my winter covers.  I absolutely love down and this book.  It’s an amazing winter reading combination!   Anyway, Twilight is really engrossing, creepy, and romantic all in one.  Edward is an everywoman kind of everyman.   At any age, ladies, you’ll heart the chivalrous, forward thinking Edward.  He understands woman-ly nuances.  He gets it.  He understands NOT giving the flirty waitress more attention than you at dinner and keeping his eyes on you when the waitress is being overly attentive to him!  Need I say more.  There are some men who need to read this and learn.  Okay, one in particular that comes to mind.  The setting may be high school in Forks, but the actual story and Edward are so Dove dark chocolate delicious more than that.  Tip of the literary cap to fellow English major and talented author Stephenie Meyer for such a wonderful story and deep, dark, rich characters.  Digressing, I wonder who her inspiration for Edward was in life?  Anyway, the movie is great…the book is greater!  But isn’t that always the way.  It’s an easy read.  I was spirited away to Forks and the rainforest and read half of it the first night.

-Patricia

Jan 17 2009

Writing, Dog Walks, Baking, Coraline, Twilight, and Bed Reading

So I’m settled into a writing project today and am making progress.  Getting focused, getting fanny in seat, and getting on with it are all part of the process sometimes.  But it’s all working together today, so on we go.  I’m no longer fretting over and tracking Neil Gaiman’s road trip out of the frozen tundra of Minnesota with Cabal as they have arrived safely.   I know what driving in blowing snow is like.  It gets intense when you can’t see the lines on the road, and it’s compact snow and ice.  But they have arrived safely and both can convalesce out of the cold. No worries.

Merlin, my Lhasa Apso, has taken me for several walks today.  He loves the outdoors, too.  The air is brisk, and a light snow has fallen off and on all day.  It’s actually quite nice out today…clean, crisp mountain air. The creek a few yards away is running swiftly with bits of ice dangling from crimson-colored branches that are leaning over the water.

So Coraline is premiering on opening night at the Portland International Film Festival.  I’m excited to live close enough to make the drive in an hour and a few minutes.  I have been known to drive ridiculous amounts of miles to attend an author’s reading.  The book is on Harper-Collins web site, and there’s also a movie tie-in version for a reasonable price.  I am so amazed at the whole process of stop-animation.  Ugh!  The time, love of craft, and dedication it takes are not lost on me.  So not only do I get all a- twitter at the idea of the book coming to the screen but also the time and love that went into this movie as well.  Tickets go on sale January 23rd.  No big secret anymore.  I’ll have to work in a trip to Powell’s Bookstore, one of the best parts of living in the the PNW, and Chinese for dinner, (probably General Tso) one of my all time favorite things to eat.   It’s stacking up to be a sparkly all over kind of evening…books, a movie, and Chinese food…so many of my favorite things in one day.  Yes, I spoil me sometimes.

I am currently reading Twight and have already watched the movie.  The book is good bedtime reading, just hard to put down.  I have always been a “lay in a comfy bed and read a good book at night” sort of person.  In high school back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, it all started with reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy this way.  This was in addition to reading after school, in school with any free time, and weekends.  I have always been book nerdy and can remember the books I have read since childhood, but that’s an entry for another day.  Alas, we are who we are.  I love reading fantasy and science fiction in bed.  Sometimes I get the added bonus of dreaming about my reading.  Another bonus for me in Twilight, the book and the movie, is the setting.  As a Washington resident, I have visited the Hoh rainforest (love Washington rainforests!) and beaches (love the beach, too) in that area many times which reveals another thing that I like beside beaches and the Hoh…books with local settings and landmarks in them.  I connect like we’re related…uncanny but cool to relate to a book like this.  Then, as an extra bonus, I have lived in the Columbia Gorge area for the past eight years…moved here to take a job.  The movie was filmed in part in the Portland and Columbia River Gorge area.  The gorgeously tall waterfalls in the movie are Multnohma Falls which are on highway 84 between Hood River, Oregon and Portland, Oregon.  I have hiked that waterfall and taken pictures!  I like to hike, too.  The restaurant where Edward and Bella dance at prom is The View Point Inn high atop a bluff overlooking the Columbia River in the Gorge in the town of Corbett, just outside of Portland.  The Columbia River Gorge divides Washington and Oregon and is chocked full of wonderful things like Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Hot Springs Spa, Skamania Lodge at Stevenson, and lots of places to hike like the Pacific Crest Trail and such.  Anyway, the author, Stephenie Meyer, has a lovely web site.  I especially enjoyed her story of how the Twilight series came to be.  Very inspiring.  I love it when authors let you into their world of process and craft.  The dvd of the movie is now on pre-sale on Amazon.  Yes, I have pre-bought a copy.  There’s no way I’m letting that one simmer.  It will be a wonderful addition to the fantasy section of my home dvd library.  The fact that the dvd libary has sections, like my book library, should say everything.  Which sections are the largest?  Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Adventure! Modestly present…romance, of course, with Sleepless in Seattle as my all time favorite chic flick followed swiftly by the timeless love affair of The Notebook.  Then, Coraline will be on dvd probably in a few months.  I’ll be watching for that one, too.

Okay, there’s writing to do and manuscripts to edit.  Back to it.

-Patricia

Dec 31 2008

Chullo Progress, Power Lines, General Tso, and Teaching

The chullo is coming along nicely.  I knitted for a few hours tonight to relax and get it going.  Good times.  It’s so relaxing making something cool like a  chullo and watching a movie.  Merlin crashed by me in the big, comfy chair having sweet puppy dreams.  I love to listen to him dream.  My chullo is variegated purple with cream, ribbed ear flaps and trim.  It’s looking pretty sweet.  I’ll be sure to post a photo when it’s done. There’s something about lovely, hand-knitted hats and scarves in the winter…and even something more about making them myself the way I want.  Snowing just adds to the mix and makes it even better.  Which brings me to…I never want to knit any other time of year except maybe late fall…It’s a winter-ish thing that I do and do well.

So the electrician and the utility people arrived, and I left.  They had to turn the power off to do the repairs, and, well, I had writing to do.  So I took up residence at Dopio’s in Hood River, worked on my writing for several hours, and then enjoyed a wonderful lunch of General Tso chicken from The Golden Rose.  They do make THE best General Tso I have ever had.  And even better, it’s consistently good.  I have had General Tso many times a year there for at least seven years now, and it’s always superb.  I’ve made it a point to try General Tso at all the Chinese restaurants in the area as an experiment of sorts, but no one came even close to The Golden Rose’s version of General Tso…for what it’s worth. Yes, I’m love Chinese food and am quite good at making a delish chicken teriyaki meal.  Chinese cuisine is just so healthy for you!

And it’s still snowing.  Looks like the snow level is going back up tomorrow.  I’m putting in my request for a little blue sky, balmier temps, and time fora  leisurely walk for a bit of exercise.

As for time well spent, yeah, I have accomplished a lot towards my portfolio for National Board Certification.  I’m beginning to feel like I’m going to make it!  There’s some planning I need to do for the last leg of the journey…three more assignments to plan, carry out, and write up.  Then it’s time to pack up and send it on it’s merry way.  All that’s left is studying for the test at the assessment center which I’ll take this summer.  This gives me ample time to prepare.  What a journey this has been!  It’s not for the faint of heart.  It’s mountain climbing, fellow teachers.  But for those who need those  big challenges in their careers to stay vibrant and making significant gains, it is so worth it.  Once done, I am turning my attention towards writing.

Until later,

-Patricia