Happy Howloween

Crafters Challenge - Halloween

We had a crafters challenge at the store, one for our customers and for the "insiders". I got second place in the "insider" contest for this little tin. *big cheesy grin*

Day Tripping to Mount Baker - Part 2

It was surprisingly busy at Artist Point for a Wednesday in mid-October, a half full parking lot. Everyone else thought the sunny day was the perfect time for the last trip to Artist Point for the season. The road is closed when the first snow flies, and it's due any day now.
The sun was too bright to get good pictures, but here are a few from our walking about...

Back view of Mt. Shuksan - I think we were on the Artist Point trail.

View from Lake Anne Trail. There were still blueberries on the bushes, and we ate a few handfuls. The leaves were all turning red and I was disappointed that the pictures didn't turn out. The sun was just too bright and washed out the color.

 Classic Mount Shuksan view. This is one of the most photographed views in the world, apparently, and I decided I needed my very own picture of the classic view.

 
View from our picnic lunch table. A bit of cheese and bread and apples. We decided the wine should stay at home and drank water. :)

It was a lovely day, and the perfect thing to do to chase the 'blues' away. There is something about being out in nature and feeling the energy of the earth. Sometimes we need to take the time to reconnect and rebuild our earth energy. I am so grateful to be married to a friend who knows just what I need.

Day Tripping to Mount Baker

I woke up feeling a bit down on Wednesday, and John's solution was to suggest a last of the season drive up to Artist Point on Mount Baker. He knows just what I need. This is why I love him.\

 This was our first stop on the way up the mountain, just a little pull off on the road.

 We stopped at Heather Meadows which now has a parking area and interpretative center. It closes Sept 1st.
 Cool old rock building and incredible view.

We decided we'd stop back on the way down the hill for our picnic.

to be continued.....

Garden visitor

When moving the pot of devils club we discovered this little guy. We left the pot where it was... 

Coffin Candy Holders

I made these little coffins as demos at the store. The one on the left was decorated by Hilary last year. We got the original directions online last year, but couldn't find them so I can't give proper credit. To figure out what we had done, I took apart last years demo and created a template pattern for sharing. It's been a popular template...

Optimistic, Affirmative Aspirations

Affirmative in your approach to life today, you may be feeling especially optimistic regarding your aspirations. As you walk toward the world of your dreams, you may be filled with positive feelings that keep your attitude upbeat despite appearances. Staying positive when things don’t seem to be going the way you’d like is important for keeping the momentum going toward the creation of our goals. If we become discouraged, we invest our energy into something other than our goals and make the road to our aspirations an even longer, more circuitous journey. By keeping positive pictures in front of us, we walk confidently through the shadows of the unknown to arrive in the light at the other side. Today you have the energy to stay positive as you advance toward your aspirations.

There are times when it seems natural and easy to be optimistic. But positive thinking and affirmations of our goals are most important when they don’t come naturally. These thoughts act like a lighthouse, showing us how to find the shore when we are in the midst of fog or stormy seas. They keep us on course and moving toward our dreams. If we become discouraged, we must hold on to our map and not throw it to the ground in disgust. Without it, we can lose our way and find reasons to focus more on the negative than the positive. Today your upbeat and optimistic attitude keeps you and all around you pointed in the right direction toward the manifestation of your greatest aspirations. 

from DailyOm

Rosemary Cheddar Fingers

Got a bit crazy and joined a recipe play-it-forward swap on atcsforall.com. This is the first recipe I received from wildholly. It is yummy as well as adorably presented! I took it to the SAS Halloween party yesterday, and everyone loved it.

Letter birds

So I was given a couple of napkins to play with at the Fall Art Retreat at Sparrows Nest Studio. They know my addiction to napkins...heehee! Anyway, I did this silly series of letter birds. Got the inspiration when I was playing with beeswax and pages from a calculus text...

I totally love how the beeswax shows both sides of the page. Guess how I chose the letters? :)

Haiku on falling asleep

As part of the Silly 2 online class by Carla Sonheim, last Wednesday we did some Hump Day Haiku. Theme was Falling Asleep.
We were camping and waiting for the morning fog to lift a bit before our hike so used the time to write the following:

Me:
technical reading
after an extra long day
puts me right to sleep.

Hubby:
In front of the screen
with a few micro-brewskys
will bring on the nod