Wildflowers and Mt. Hood
Hi everybody! It is certainly never my intention to let so much time pass between blog posts. However, the last several weeks have been very adventurous. Sunshine in the Pacific Northwest has been a stranger this season so any opportunity to find warmth is welcoming. And I sought the sunshine! I am splitting my recent adventures into several posts because I have too many pictures to share.
I mentioned in previous posts that fruit picking is the ultimate highlight of my summers. Spending the morning in a sunny, quiet, open field collecting berries is one of the best stress relievers. This year I managed to pick mountains of fresh local berries (with Tim’s help, of course). Aside from enjoying the fruit fresh and stuffing as much as I could into my freezer, I also canned nearly 30 half pints of treasures. My resource for delicious jams and preserves is The Joy of Jams, Jellies, & Other Sweet Preserves by Linda Ziedrich. Every recipe I have made so far has been a no-fail, simple, and fun afternoon project. I’ve had my copy checked out of the library for over a month! Look at all those jars:
Bounty of jams
Then, at the end of July, Tim and I visited my family in Pennsylvania. I hadn’t been home in nearly four years so the trip was well overdue. My older sister and her family, who live in Germany, were visiting too. My sister has two children, one I had never met. I am absolutely terrible with children but homemade cupcakes and trampolines can fix my aunty ineptness:
Cookies-n-Cream cupcakes
My nephew, Kai, jumping on a trampoline from my childhood
Sunset on Lake Erie
We lounged around in the sunshine, wandered the shores of Lake Erie, spent a day at the local amusement/water park, made lots of yummy vegan food, and then spontaneously decided to drive across the country back to Portland. We took a car my dad gifted to us since our 16+ year old car has been having some troubles that are too costly to fix. We visited friends in Madison, WI and Omaha, NE along the way. It was fun, but goodness, was it ever HOT! The temperatures exceeded my comfort limits and detoured our travels. Scenes from the road:
Road in Wisconsin
Puffy clouds enroute to Madison, WI
Wind turbine
Me and my friend Tait in front of Madison’s Capitol building
Somewhere on the way to Omaha, NE
Banana Pecan Pancakes from McFosters in Omaha, NE
Cloudy skies in Colorado
Little America, a rest stop in Wyoming
Sunset over Wyoming landscape
Wind turbines in Eastern, OR (almost home!)
The road trip was exhausting, exciting, and gorgeous. It was nice to visit with friends and drive through new places. We have a few more adventures planned in the upcoming weeks and a trip to Nova Scotia with Tim’s family fast approaching. Check back tomorrow for Part II of my Summer Adventures series!
I love all your adventures, but especially the ones with me.
xo
kittee
I love adventures with you too!!
Love all the sky pictures!
I don’t think a day passed without puffy clouds in the sky!
GREAT!
Thanks!
Love, love, love your photos! Thanks for always sharing them. The first one was breathtaking! I feel like I just went on vacation with you! I’ve always wanted to go to Nova Scotia, so I can’t wait to see those pics! Isn’t making homemade jam the best? :)
Thank you! I have never been to Nova Scotia either – should be exciting! And yes, making jam is the absolute best :) Eating it is nice too!
Incredible pictures! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sky so blue.
wowzers, Amy – such an awesome adventure. i can’t wait for Part 2! the picture of Lake Erie is my favorite, as it is nearest and dearest to my heart. my grandparents lived in Northeast for almost all their lives – right up the road from the shore of Lake Erie. i cannot tell you how many hours i spent on those shores. your photo took me back to all the awesome times i had there. it was nice to “revisit” as i haven’t been back since they both passed on many, many years ago. thanks again for sharing your beauuutiful photos and stories with us all!