Winter, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
I like this one. Simple and pretty plain though it might be, it says it all about a lovely winter day. Crisp blue sky, trees with no leaves, and a bird flying above.
Eagles, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Hard to see them really, and man was I wishing for a better telephoto lens, but there’s a bald eagle in this shot, among other birds. One, I think, might be another eagle.
Little McNary Lake, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
I took this yesterday on Sauvie Island while we were roaming about. I think it’s Little McNary Lake. Not completely sure, but mostly sure.
Ready to Dock, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
We’ve had a spectacular President’s Day weekend. It’s the first full weekend where we didn’t have a rental to work on. Woo Hoo! It’s been lovely.
Saturday we stayed home, relaxed, surfed the net, read, watched some Seinfeld, and were pretty mellow.
Yesterday we, including Kev and the pups, went to Sauvie Island to just drive around and explore. Kev drove, we had the ipod plugged in, and we made a few stops to wander, take photographs, and just check out various parts of the island. It was gorgeous out. One of those winter days that teases about the approach of Spring and warmer weather. We saw some cool birds, including a Bald Eagle, and found a few really wonderful places for future hikes (when they open in April after the wildlife birding season is over). We’re excited to go back and explore. We also found a great place to put our kayak in the water. I think loads of good times are to be had this coming summer on Sauvie Island.
Today Karen and I wandered around the city a bit doing some errands, having breakfast out (always a lovely thing to do), visiting family, walking the dogs a little, and shopping for baby gifts. So nice. We just went where we felt like going, did what we felt like doing. Wonderful.
This shot, taken yesterday, is from out sojourn around the island. I’m going to post a few shots from the day yesterday. It was just beautiful out.
Brown Eyed Soul, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
This is a photo I took of Weston when he was a little guy. He must have been about six months old. He’s now almost two, next month. I was thinking of Valentine’s Day and was thinking about what the look of love is… and this is it, in this little boys eyes. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.
The Helen McCol, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
The theme for the week is Nautical. I took this one in Newport Bay at the Marina there. It’s something I always love to do when we head over to Newport… cruise the docks, take some photos, check out the fishing fleet. The name of this lady is the Helen McCol.
If you’d like to join in the fun and play along with the photo hunt CLICK HERE for details.
I was looking around, and will continue to I’m sure, for ideas and such on how to go about performing a marriage ceremony. I came across this little bit from a film called “Little Murders”. Some of it is slightly… uh… shall we say colorful… so if you’re not into that, feel free to skip it. If you’re not going to be offended and know it, check this out. I’m really considering this approach to officiating…. bwah ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, and it’s kinda long, so if you want to fast forward a little, go to about the three or three and a half minute mark.
Winter Sunset, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Driving home tonight the sunset was quite pretty. Here’s the best shot I could get with my iphone while I was driving. Yes, I understand there are a lot of things inherently wrong with this statement… driving… iphone… taking photos. I get it and I’m an idiot for even doing it, but look… not bad.
Snow Drops, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
February Snow, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
This looks like several pictures I’ve taken so far this winter. Same snow, different day. When I got home today it was still there. White. Covering everything. I’m whining aren’t I?
Lingering Winter, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Anyone tired of all the snow besides me? I’m sick of it. Sick and tired. I can’t take it anymore. I think I’m going to go insane. … not really. I won’t really go insane from looking at snow. Seriously though… we have had snow since December 14. With no break. Granted, at times it’s just been this left over pile that won’t melt, but still. There it’s been… the pile. Taunting us. I want sun and warmth. I want to wear t-shirts and shorts, or at least start wearing flip flops. These are simple things. Simple wants. I’m not asking much…. am I?
My movie picking skills are lacking. For a while there I was doing pretty OK. We saw some decent movies arrive in the ol’ Netflix envelope. Lately though it’s been rough. So rough in fact that we have now resorted to watching the first season of Seinfeld to cleanse ourselves from the bad vibes of terrible movies. As an example I offer up portraits of 10 not so excellent films we’ve watched in the last month. Oh, and so you don’t start throwing potatoes at me or anything… the last couple are movies we watched that we actually liked, a lot. There have been a few (at this juncture I feel compelled to thank Liz for suggesting The Fall, you rock Liz… thanks for saving me from a complete descent into movie picker hell) worth watching. Some I’m not mentioning here, but that were fairly alright. It’s not been all bad, just mostly bad.
Without further ado… some bad ones… avoid them. They suck.
And now, the two we really liked… tah dah…
If you haven’t seen The Fall, check it out. It won’t be for everyone, but put simply, it’s stunning. The way it was filmed is worth a viewing, even if you don’t like the story. And the little girl, whoever she is, was fantastic. So cute. It’s strange, and gorgeous.
Not to sound like Meatloaf or anything, but I was just opening up my wordpress dashboard… kind of the control room for all things blog… and noticed the stats graph. To be pun-ish and intend it, it’s a very graphic description of how many viewers I haven’t had today. bah ha ha ha! Makes me laugh really. I go in, to tweak or post, or fiddle with my blog and every time I hit the dashboard I see it, right there in front of me. It’s either the thrill of victory or the agony of da feet. Today… da feet. But hey, I don’t do this for the groupies anyway (that was a bit of an inside joke stolen from my buddy Ted, who I used to work with, who always said… I’m in this for the groupies). If you knew, you’d laugh. I think I’m feelin’ a little punchy today. Must be the damn snow!
Amani Shot, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Well folks, this is the winner. This is the shot, taken by me, and picked by a local child abuse assessment center for the cover of their mock ball invitation. A great concept if you ask me… the whole mock ball thing. Send invites, don’t have a ball, all monies go toward the center. No dressing up, no having to rent a tux, or buy a dress. Just donate to a great cause. If you’d like more info or to know how to volunteer for this great center or donate CLICK HERE .
Inside Al’s, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Actually, this photo makes it look pretty light in there, but it was darkish, lights along the lanes, pins that were lit as well. Almost like cosmic bowling. The huge screens played music videos the whole time, kinda cool. I liked the place.
We went bowling on Saturday with Karen’s Portland work crew. Great group of people. Plus, I have to say… I rocked out the bowling. First game, 132. Second game, which was stopped after the 7th frame, was awesome. I had 157 going and was working on three strikes. Ah, what might have been…. bwah ha ha ha! For me, that score was fantastic. Too bad I couldn’t see where it would take me, but alas, it was not meant to be. We were at Big Al’s, in Vancouver actually. Al’s is pretty cool. Part bowling alley, part game place, part sports bar, part restaurant. It’s huge. We had dinner in the restaurant/sports bar (I say part sports bar because there were enormous screens in there showing sports). The food was decent, the screens amazing, and, as you already heard, the bowling was loads of fun. Thanks gang for letting me tag along. It was a blast and you are some terrific people.
I just found out that on December 22, 2008 my blog was listed as #72 on the WordPress list of growing blogs. Apparently my blog is growing. Not sure at what rate. Maybe it will get too big for the monitor, the screen, my hard drive? I don’t know. The attack of the 50 foot blog.
Kinda cool huh?
Weston Says… Are We Done Yet?, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
And we say back to him… Oh yes… yes we are little man! More walks for you!
Master Bathroom Sink Anew, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
And this is the master bathroom without the funky sink, the strange cabinet, or the red paint. Oh, and it now has a wall and a new shower. There is that. LOL I might sound a tad sarcastic, which isn’t quite my intention. It’s just that this place was a bear. The more we got into it the more we had to do and so on and so on and so… it was a big job. We started in October and yesterday (a BIG WOO HOO here) we signed the rental agreement with our new tenants and finished up the very long chapter of 11th street renovation. YEAH!!
It felt strange today. Our lives now our own again. We hung out this morning until we felt like leaving, then took the dogs for a walk at Cathedral Park, which was followed by a little shopping at Trader Joe’s, then home and a movie. It’s only 7:44 now and it’s been such a lovely day. We’re excited about next weekend, and this week, and well… all the free time we now think we have. Free time we can use to work on our place, to hang out with friends, to go shopping, to see a movie (at an actual theater), to go hiking with the pups, to visit with family, to accept dinner and activity invites from friends, to do whatever the hell it is we want to do, when we want to do it.
We were driving along 21st today in Northwest and Karen was looking around and said, “wow… all of these shops look different when you know you might actually be able to wander around and go in them”. We laughed after she said that. What a relief. We now have the time, if we so choose, to go in some of them. We are free, and life is good.
I bet all ya’all can hear the collective sigh coming from this direction…. ah…. deep breath and… relax.
Across the Living Room, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Here it is, completed… across the living room looking into the kitchen.
11th Street Master Bath?, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
This is before the renovation as well. Dig the sink.
Bad Backsplash, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Here’s another… from inside the kitchen looking at the wall between the kitchen and living room.
Kitchen – Pre-remodel, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Ok folks… here it is. This is a before shot of the kitchen on 11th street before we remodeled it. Notice the dishwasher, the really bad backsplash, the fact that the cabinets are up on the right, meaning there’s a wall there in this shot. And now…
Hawthorne, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
This week’s hunt is all about bridges. I have taken, recently, to walking along the Eastbank Esplanade, downtown Portland, Oregon. It’s a great place to take the dogs for a walk. One of Portland’s nicknames is bridgetown. 10 bridges cross the Willamette and Columbia Rivers within city limits. Pretty impressive. The Hawthorne, pictured here, is one of my favorites.
I haven’t been in the hunt for awhile now. Too busy with life stuff I guess to be at the computer much more than to just load photos onto flickr, blog a word or two, and then get up to do other things. In the interim I’ve been through the holidays, had three feet of snow at the house, had no power during those times on three separate occasions… the last time it took the power guys 5 days to fix it and that was because they couldn’t get up the road until the snow plows made it out here. I live in the woods, it took them awhile, but actually it was faster than I thought it might be. I’ve also finished work on the rental project we were up to. It’s our second. It was a bear. Much more work than expected. Means that since October I’ve basically had two jobs. My day job, and then the night and weekend job of painting and mudding and taping and hammering and the like. It’s over now. Woo Hoo! And it’s rented. Now, thanks goodness, it’s sort of life returning to normal… LOL Whatever that is.
If you’d like to join in all the fun by posting the weekly photo for the hunt, CLICK HERE for all the details.
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