EKjourney Backup

I came upon a mustard field in bloom when I ran errands this evening.  I photographed it around 3:00 or so in the afternoon and it was lovely but I stopped by on my return trip, around 6:30, and the lighting was so much more brilliant.

This morning, we decided to skip the "things to do" and head out to the Santiam Foothills behind Silverton for a short hike. Driving up into the mountains At the trail head Skunk cabbages are really quite amazing Not sure what this vicious stick is. Upper Butte Creek Falls: Fishing rocks out of the creek The trillium are just starting to bloom Little creeks This may be my favorite picture - I love the sunlit trees and the gentle rapids Phil opted not to take water so he could filter our own

This week is drawing to a close but I have been so thankful for it.  I was able to get a meal plan for the month experimenting with crockpot freezer meals, catch up on a massive pile of laundry, and rearrange the house to accommodate our new homeschooling program:  piano lessons.  With Phil's schedule this week and having the children with him, I also experienced some much appreciated quiet work time.  It felt a bit like a vacation! We moved the love seat into the playroom (and took down the computer "lab" that wasn't getting much use).  It feels cozy and homey. The piano replaced the love seat and is now in a central location so I can help with and monitor lessons.   We added a shelf to the corner and I am so happy to see some trinkets and decor items come out of storage.   Love this little lamp on this little table.  Perfect! I still need to play around with the shelf decorating but I am really enjoying the orange lamp where it is.  Phil is...

The plum tree is covered with little white blossoms. The sheep at my parent's little farm had their babies. Rainy days make for lush green grass. I am finding snippets of time (sometimes even large snippets, thanks to Phil) to refine skills and practice on art collages.  I am thinking this will be some thing like photography for me....I may have to make several collages (just like I need to often take tons of pictures) to find that one gem that really "worked".   Making details with freehand quilting. Freehand machine quilting "sketching". Working on dimensions. Layering. None of these pieces are done.  I have them on corkboard.  I tend to get stuck adding the little details at the end that bring the piece together. I get to live HERE!  This is driving home from the grocery store. This week has been very nice.  It is the public school system Spring Break but Phil has worked odd hours and watched the children a lot so I had time to get some household organiz...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  The children love it when I make a big deal out of the holidays and plan fun activities.  It always sneaks up on me so true to form, Monday afternoon, I was searching pinterest for school ideas and recipes.  Tuesday morning, I was cutting and laminating and decorating before the children got up.   Incidentally, do you like the brown shelf?  When we were coming back from church on Sunday, I saw it on the side of the road with a free sign attached to it.  Phil wondered where on earth we could possible fit one more thing (such silly questions, those are the kind of things we should think of later LOL)....but we found room.  I made this framed picture and tin can cover a few years ago (along with the garland in the upper pictures). Kelly Green! The Kelly 5 School activities Shamrock math Always fun when you have a worksheet with a spinner (pencil and paper clip) Scavenger hunt for things that are green. Science experiments Rainb...