Thursday, May 31, 2012

Art for the Masses

I was trying to catch up on reading the blogs I follow this morning when I came across this paean to chalkboards :

It reminded me of a picture I had taken in Washington, DC, when overcome with admiration for chalkboard art in the local coffee shop. [ I am really very happy to have a purpose for this photo which has been an odd duck in my photo collection.  Only one family member was humiliated by the taking of this picture. ] For general ambience I show the larger picture:

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And then the close-ups:12-01-14-09-04-04H

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I have also noticed very fine chalkboard ad/art at Trader Joe’s grocery stores.  At first I assumed that there was an in house art student bagging groceries by day and doing chalkboards by night, but then I went to a different Trader Joe’s and saw the same chalk artist’s work.  So is there a central clearing house for chalkboard artists, I wonder?  And how do they keep up with the daily and weekly ad changes?  Do they work on site?  Is there a union of chalkers?  These questions puzzle me.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the vibrant chalk artistry at Trader Joe’s, but next time I go for groceries I’ll take my camera.

To see the blog which prompted my musings, see:

http://www.thenester.com/2012/05/chalkboards-3-ways.html

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Mom, Apple Pie, and the Flag

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I saw this yesterday at the grocery store and thought it was creative packaging and marketing.  I love the symbol of the flag and usually like pictures with flags in them.  Funny, though; I showed this picture to someone else and they saw it as stacks of beer and didn’t notice the flag.

I am not promoting beer here; I am just showing a folk art flag.  I guess beer is right up there now with Mom, apple pie, and the flag. 

Have a safe and healthy weekend celebrating the privileges we have as Americans and remembering those who have sacrificed throughout our history to protect our liberties.  Enjoy getting together with family and friends.  Summer is coming!  One more month of school! 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Breathing Space-or-What a Difference a Day Makes

Some weeks get so crazy busy that I look forward to the first empty square on my wall calendar.  That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do on that day; it just means we don’t have extraordinary things going on.

After several full weeks of activities I was missing my Tech Guy.  We were still both living at home, of course, but  activities  were controlling us. I was hungry for some talking time with him.  Down time. 

Our best chats have been in the car going nowhere in particular, or possibly somewhere but stopping to smell the roses on the way.  That usually means hopping out of the car to take a picture of the roses. [ We would drive Type A personalities wild. ] Fortunately, Tech Guy has become quite interested in photography himself and now we each carry our own camera and I’m not the only one who wants a U-turn. 

So,recently, I asked him to take a day off so we could just get in the car and go.  Someplace.  Anyplace.

We drove the back roads to the beach which can be reached in an hour and a half but we managed it in about 4.  We went through the tiny towns of Jewell and Mist where the runners in the Hood to Coast Marathon pass by at 3 o’clock in the morning.  I think I have only seen Jewell and Mist in the dark, wee hours as I drove a van of  runners.  12-05-04-10-49-56H An old trestle bridge

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A goat and some chickens find the sun

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an enormous tree:

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In the distance, you can see why they call it “Mist”

12-05-04-12-30-28R  One of many, many log trucks on the road

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A more substantial bridge.  I just love bridges.  [In a high school aptitude test I scored high in engineering with a possible career of bridge construction.  That is a true story.  Scary, huh.]

Behind the trees you can see the shadow of the bridge as we come upon it:

12-05-04-12-31-59H      12-05-04-12-32-31H 12-05-04-12-32-52H I got out and climbed down the hill for this one.

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Our first stop in Cannon Beach was the library where they often have books for sale.  This blossom carpet is just outside.

Haystack Rock, the famous landmark of Cannon Beach.  The tide was out, exposing rich tide pools in front of it.

12-05-04-16-28-23R The sun is struggling to come out:

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We ate lunch at Mo’s, a famous-in–Oregon chowder house:

12-05-04-16-55-28R view from our lunch table:12-05-04-16-36-48R

Then, bolstered by our fish and chips, we headed back to the little shops.  The sun shone in the window of one:

12-05-04-15-14-19H 12-05-04-15-17-55Hand Tech Guy found an opportunity to start one of his just-acquired books.

In the town of Seaside, on the river, hope for warmer weather: 12-05-05-10-34-22R

We enjoyed lollygagging so much that we got a motel and stayed overnight, armed with our new paperbacks but no toothbrushes!

We travelled home the next day along the Columbia River, a busy port.12-05-05-13-33-39H

I’m a lucky girl.

Retreat or Advance?

12-04-28-14-35-27H     A few weekends ago Tech Guy and I attended a Leadership Retreat for some area churches.  Author Larry Crabb was the speaker along with several break out groups.  The retreat was held at Eagle Fern Camp, home to many of us summer camp volunteers.

Driving into the camp property this caught my eye:

I walked up the hill for a closer look:

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The one good thing about living where there is so much rain is the abundance of moss, the fullness of the creeks running wild this spring, and the green.  Green, refreshing green.

That was all the retreat I needed, a soul moment.