What I'm working on right now

detail of sachet - Queen Bee photo was taken in North Carolina,

fabulous fabric from Bolt in Portland

I'm working on little sachets - for the Soulumination Holiday Sale in December. My studio smells divine - like lavender and balsam. Each little pillow displays one of my photos (done as a photo transfer with amazing paper from Dharma Trading) and very fun fabrics from my stash. 100% cotton and the blanket stitch keeps the edges neat and tidy (plus I just like doing it).

Mightmac's (my laptop) going a a little vacation to Apple in California. It's still under warranty and Iphoto and a couple other applications are acting wonky. Back in a week!

play photo: North Carolina, eggs: farmer's market in Palm Springs

neon telephone: Portland, OR train station

Red car, red shoes, great weekend

Robin's favorite red shoes sidle up to the red car

We went to Portland this past weekend to participate in the Portland Century Bike ride. My sweetheart & brother did ride 100 miles. Robin and I did a 'quarter' century - 25 miles. The evening prior to our adventure we went for drinks at the Ringside and attended a performance at the art museum. While walking to the restaurant we spied this beautiful vintage 1949 Buick and stopped to chat with the owner (who my brother knew) and admire the car.

the car seemed alive and ready to rumble

turned out the owner had just driven a bride and groom

to their reception, so sorry we missed them

Photos: fond remembrances of things past

10¢ Cokes, a fond childhood memory

from summer visits with my Alabama grandparents

As new photos are filling my cameras, I'm still sorting through X-country trip photos. New memories are created and very old memories resurface when I look at these images. It was surprising how many of the pictures sent me traveling back to summer childhood vacations. "Every picture tells a story, don't it?"

my grandfather, Papa Louis,

offered us an icy "Coca-Cola" the moment we arrived

these fragrant and ever-so delicious Tennessee peaches

recalled early morning trips with my grandmother Hattie

to the Birmingham Farmer's Market

humid August evenings spent listening to the 'night singers'

at my Georgia cousin's lakeside home came to mind

while strolling around this lake in Black Mt., NC

Treasures in a New Hampshire barn

front of the barn

Our X-country trip ended with a stay at Dundee, our friends' (Susan & Joel) beloved family compound in New Hampshire. Presented with stunning views of the White Mountains, abundant gardens, a serene swimming pond and quirky farm houses with great screened porches, I hardly knew what to photograph first.

One of my favorite buildings was the barn, which lived up to all my childhood fantasies of what the perfect barn would house. Barn swallows in the rafters, secret missives complete with stamps and spidery handwriting, a wooden swing and personal artifacts left by previous owners filled this old building. It was perfect. Thank you dear friends for preserving such a magical place and encouraging us to visit.

garden & shed roof - love the checkerboard

trailhead sign, I think

road sign and trailhead marker

empty paint tin in the barn's art room,

I SO wanted sneak this into my suitcase

wooden buckets with lids

letters complete with envelopes, postage

and wonderful handwriting

Robin loved the swing

Great Aunt Elizabeth, the barn's previous owner

paintings by Elizabeth in the Art Room

old mushroom identifier,

we found delicious Chanterelles in the woods

Nashville Neon is very eye catching

Photographing windows is difficult.

Notice Robin and Jeanette in the reflection.

With so much to photograph during our very brief sojourn in Nashville, I barely knew where to start (or finish). Since I've always been fascinated by neon, I tried to get a few good shots.

Obviously this isn't neon.

I remembered this from the movie BIG,

but didn't get my fortune ...

I loved the little Texas in the big Texas

If this sign is any indication,

the boots in this store were probably fantastic