Capturing the Story: 5 Photographs that Tell a Story

I don't suppose I am doing this for you as much as for myself. The joy of taking pictures is one of my great loves. Being able to capture what I see with my minds eye and then bring it to my computer to make the image my very own is very satisfying. Adding my lovely iPhone camera to the mix and my life is perfect. Here are 5 images that tell a story.

Maddie just completed her horse show
which she absolutely loved...all of the pictures afterwards? Well not really!

Outside our favorite Mexican restaurant...a driving dog waiting for carry out?

Playing Scrabble with my daughter is not quite as modern as it could be.  The unabridged dictionary was her late mother-in-laws. We sat and played until the stars shone and the crickets sang.  It is one of my favorite memories. (iPhone)

He was walking on the sand near Cannon Beach, Oregon. His paraphernalia included a CD player, giant earphone, an umbrella and a spring in his step.  All he wanted was to "find a pretty lady to dance with". Oh, and he was nearing 90 years of age.

When to walk to the edge of Bald Peak State Park near Hillsboro, Oregon, you are treated to a view of the gorgeous Willamette Valley facing west.  On this fall afternoon the valley was shrouded in mist and the fall leaves glistened in the late afternoon sun. can't you smell fall in the air?

My youngest son had just graduated with his masters degree and we all gathered to celebrate. His baby loves her aunt a lot. She wanted to be just a little closer to Auntie so she grabbed her earrings...perfect kissing handles I think. (iPhone)

Thanksgiving Colors: Where do you feel at home?

At one time I owned a blog called Always at Home. At the time my husband and I were searching for our place in a world without a job.  We were retired and, like so many other newly retired people, we felt a need to search the world for something different, more exciting and......? I began writing the blog because, no matter where we went or what we saw, I felt very at home. I could imagine a house or an apartment with us living contentedly. I was Always at Home.

Then someone asked me why my husband and I didn't move to Spain and live. We loved the country, culture and pace of life there. Something inside my heart gave me the answer I had been seeking for several years. See, it didn't really matter where we lived; we would simply set about recreating the life we loved right where we were. I would find the friends and colors I loved...the ones I have here in the USA. 

Fences of Crosses, Chimayo Sanctuario, New Mexico

My Oregon home after sunset!

We have settled down...we are no longer retired teenagers. We have matured and mellowed. Here are some images of my favorite colors.  No matter where I go, I will seek them out. I love fall, decorate my house year around in fall colors and even dress in the glorious golds, blacks, reds and yellows. 

Here are a few pictures I took this fall as we traveled. I hope you like them. 

Golden Dawn over the Columbia River, Oregon

Oregon Willamette Valley back road overlooking the fields below.

Santa Fe Sunflower...one of the last in bloom. 

Golden leaves on the ground near Georgia O'keefe's Ghost Ranch

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Presidio Area restaurant, Tucson, AZ

Oregon Wine Country: @Portlandia, Wine and Photographs

September and October are the perfect time of year here in the Portland PDX area. We usually have warm days and sparkling sunshine. My husband and I look forward to fall. We often take a drive out through the wonder emerging wine country located SW of downtown Portland. There is a tour route with signs that will lead you around but better yet, there is a smartphone App called Oregon Wine to keep you on the right roads. If you love stunning scenery, good wine and trendy small communities, this is the place for you.

Our back road drive took us to a small winery called A Blooming Hill Vineyard and Winery located off of Blooming Hill Road near Hillsboro, Oregon. It was there we found a beautiful view of Mt. Hood, a patio in the sun and some amazing unique wines. 

View A Blooming Hill Vineyard in a larger map

In many cases the winery and the experience they offer is what makes the day memorable. In this case we particularly enjoyed the fact that the winery was low key. There is nothing pretentious about the home where the tasting room is located and the patio is lovely but simple. It offered the perfect casual Portland wine tasting experience.

This winery is one of those quirky places that make PDX so interesting. It turns out Blooming Hill makes the wine of choice for Portlandia (TV series based on all that is weird about Portland).  This is the story Holly Witte emailed me. Holly owns the wine along with her husband:

The people from Portlandia called us and asked if we would donate wine for their guest stars, which we did, of course.  Then, one night, we started getting texts from wine club members that they saw it being poured on Portlandia!  I followed up and found out that they liked the wine so decided to use it on air. That was exciting.  This year, they told me they are thinking about a skit around the wine and, of course, we were happy to donate more to them!  We'll see what they do with it.

So in turns out Portlandia like free stuff. I wonder if their guest stars work for free just to become a part of that wacky experience. I suppose not.

Let me say right now the Portlandia TV series is one of the things that Keeps Portland Weird but Blooming Hill Wine is not. It is extraordinary. They grow all their own grapes and make the wines on the estate. Their Pinot Noirs are bright and perfect. They lay claim to a Pinot Noir that is a double gold medal winner...yes, that is one better than a gold medal. They are selling the award winning Pinot Noir for $20. 

We loved their Pinot Gris especially and bought a bottle to take to Arizona with us. Their Mingle Wine was interesting and inexpensive. It is made from a mingling of several types of grapes and is perfect for making Mimosas when mixed with orange juice. The winemaker told us he and his wife make a drink they have dubbed Minglemosas for breakfast on weekends. 

I have just added Portlandia's connection to A Blooming Hill Vineyard and Winery to my list of things I will talk about when Portland comes up in the conversation next time.

McMinnville, Oregon

Rooftop Restaurant at McMenamins Oregon Hotel
McMinnville Or. (iPhone photo)

We have our very own version of California wine country here in Oregon...right down to a St. Helena clone.  Honestly, our McMinnville so incredible. It is located south of Portland on Oregon Highway 99. Good shopping, beautiful restaurants and a lovely olive oil/vinegar shop. McMinnville is home to Linfield College so the community reflects a college towns youthful feel while still being trendy and upscale. We had not been there for several years and I was just blown away! It just gets better and better 

  

We had lunch on the rooftop of the old Hotel Oregon. The hotel was restored by the McMenamins Brewpub group and is a destination on its own.

  

Here are a few pictures I took with my camera and my iPhone. Enjoy!

Mt. Hood as seen from A Blooming Hill Vineyard and Winery

Late Harvest Grapes

Fall Colors at Bald Peak State Park

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Sunday Comics...the New York Times, Howling Roadrunners and other stuff!

In the New York Times:
At the very top of page this morning there was an article about Arizona, restrictive covenants in neighborhoods and grass.  It seems that here in Arizona where water is at a premium, if you own a home with a lawn, you have to keep it green!  There is no choice according to the NYTimes article:

Homeowners’ associations in this arid region typically have rules requiring residents to maintain either desert landscaping or green grass, with brown lawns not an option.

     I have had experience with all the rules that living in a "modern" community involve. The community I live in back in Oregon has rules for everything.  I am sure the color of our lawn is important to them.  But back in Oregon it rains a lot so water is not a huge problem. In the past, homeowners in the Willamette Valley have let their lawns go brown in the summer when the rains decreased. They would keep it mowed very short so when the lawns catch on fire, the house does not burn down. Believe it or not that has happened. But I cannot imagine that the aesthetic of a modern community would allow that now. We have come to think of aesthetics first. Saving resources is not high on the list.
     But Arizona???  Really????  Wouldn't a lawn that is mowed very short be okay brown during a time when the temperature went over 100 day after day?  Obviously not. Well anyway, it seems that people have gotten creative.  One guy has even started a business painting lawns. It would cost the home owner about $200 every three month. I don't know how much water would cost but I am assuming it would be a lot.
     You knew this was coming...here is what I think.  I think we need to lighten up a bit.

Roadrunner on the golf course.

In our front yard.

Hummingbirds at a feeder.

     The humming bird is back in the tiny nest she built on a string of lights under our carport last year.  I always wonder how she remembers where we live?  I was tempted to take the light down earlier this year...those aesthetics you know.  Now I know we will keep them up until she never comes back again. This year we are hoping that the eggs hatch and we can see at least a little bit of the babies. Last year, the babies hatched on the morning we left.  Our friend had to refill the feeder until they flew away. I love our feisty little humming birds.
     The Roadrunner gave us a start the other day. It sat on the fence around the tennis court and made a sound like a trapped dog. We got up and went outside to see if a dog was hurt in Pantano Wash.  No dog. It was a Roadrunner with his neck stretched out to it's maximum length howling like a wounded Rottweiler! I did not know they could do that! Maybe he swallowed Wiley Coyote.

On the web.
     Ari Cohen at AdvanceStyle posted an interview with a 80+ year old blogger from the UK the other day.  He said this about her:

Rita Marcus, a blogger in her 80s, proves you are never too old to learn about new technology. I met Rita while in London for my project with Selfridges last Summer. She told me about her wonderful blog VeryOldGrandmother.com and I have been a fan ever since.

     I am adding her to my bloglist.  I know her name says she is a very old grandmother but from where I stand she is looking younger by the day.  Stop by Advanced Style to read the interview and then visit this talented woman at her blog soon.
     ApartmentTherapy.com is have their 7th Annual Smallest Coolest Home Contest.  I found the one I liked and voted it  up.  It is a 350 square foot 5 floor walkup with left over furniture and big windows.  Wander on over that way and cast your ballot.  You will need to sign up for the website but is it a breeze.

Sunday night deadline.
     My dead line is passing so I will post this now.  Follow me on the Google Follow button.  Leave a comment so I can visit your blog soon.  Go over to BlogCritics where you will find more of my writing. (Article first published as Knowledge vs Opinion Are we so Opinionated Because we are Stupid or Just not Informed! on Blogcritics.) Thank you for coming by.

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More Gift Ideas: Wine Club Membership + Ice Wine

The Perfect Gifts for Friends, Clientes, Wine Geeks

A Wine Club Experience
Have you ever belonged to a Wine Club?  We did several years ago and it was wonderful experience.  If we were to do it now we would do things a lot differently.  Many of the wines were very young.  Now we would store those wines for a few years before we began tasting.  It was the mistake made by us because we were inexperienced.

Still I would recommend it as a gift for your wine lover friend, family or even a cliente of your business.  Our favorite wine maker in the Willamette Valley is Cana's Feast.  They have a club called the Cellar Club.  It is so popular that, in many cases, their wines are reserved for the club member's only.  We found that out when we stopped to buy a bottle of their Bordeaux Style wine to be drunk for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  We were politely told no...but if we had been a member, the wine would have been made available.

In the last few years wine club memberships have become more and more popular.  So when you find a wine maker that never disappoints, you should take a look at the club membership and how it might work for you.

A New Wine Tasting Experience...Ice Wine
If you haven't tasted Ice Wine as an after dinner drink, you are missing a treat. A good true ice wine is sweet and satisfying when used as a dessert.  I love it.

We first saw ice wine in the Napa Valley.  In those regions where the frost comes very late in the fall, ice wine is very rare and therefore very valuable.  We were not offered a taste of ice wine but the wine tasting rooms had the bottles on the shelf beckoning us to purchase.  The prices are around $50.00 for a 375 ml bottle online today.

Joseph Phelps Eisrebe Ice Wine 2007 375ml $49.94

The price is driven up because wine makers further south gambled a plot of grapes in hopes that the grapes will freeze and not turn to mold or raisins!  The frozen grapes are sweeter and more intense...but the output from a frozen grape is also much lower than it's fresh predecessor long in the barrels aging.    As a result, you don't get to taste it in California.  Those producers of true ice wine are not only taking the rist of loosing acres of producing grapes but they are also getting less juice from the grapes.  It is a very expense test of nerves...or at least it used to be.

However, we are finding now that the vintners can freeze the grapes (cryoextractions) and come up with a factory standard ice wine.   Winemaker Magazine had this to say about cryoextraction:

Some would say that mechanical freezing (also called cryoextraction) provides a more reliable and accurate extraction of grape essence. Further, southern grapes are naturally endowed with more sugar and can have their low acidity enhanced with the judicious application of tartaric acid. On the other hand, true icewine producers would argue that cryoextraction does not duplicate the effects of the longer hangtime, exposure to the elements and loss of juices that naturally frozen grapes experience.

Where is the romance in that?  I liked it better the other way...it is just so wonderfully natural. I was glad to find that there were others that thought true ice wine might be better...and not because of romance.

As you travel north, the greater the likelihood that the grapes which freeze on the vine at a standard 18 degrees fahrenheit and become useful in the making of true ice wine. This happens every year in the Okanagan Valley in Canada.  The ice wine from that region should be less expensive.  If you were to visit the area, you will be allowed to taste to your hearts content. They are assured a freeze early and can bank on their true ice wine.

We were in the Okanagan Valley for a golfing trip a few years ago.  I remember noticing the ice wine bottles and asked if we could taste.  To my delight we were offered a variety of wines to taste.  I thought it was a wine miracle.

We have a bottle of 2004 Ste. Chapelle Ice Wine Riesling Idaho that we received as gift.  We have had it in the wine cache for about 3 years now.  That is the lovely thing about this kind of wine.  You can open a bottle, have an after dinner taste, re-close the bottle to be sipped again at a later time.  It will be good on the shelf for up to 4 years.

Santa is Coming
I know it is less than a week until Christmas but there is still time...I have not done one bit of shopping so I know. We will be back on Oregon tomorrow so we will shop there...no sales tax!!! I will buy wine  at our local wine shop.  I will also be looking at wine club memberships...I think that they would be a perfect Christmas gift.

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