Washer necklace

Created for the demo at the store yesterday...

Broken stairway

Took a walk with hubby last week, exploring a trail off Squalicum Blvd, and ended up walking a bit through a neighborhood along the edge of the hill, and down a trail that ended in an intriguing old stairway. We weren't sure exactly where it ended, other than down on the same level as our car.

Looking down from the top of the stairway:

We got to the bottom to find it was missing the final three or four stairs

We decided to walk along the abandoned rail tracks to get back to where we parked the car, and there were a few missing cross bars along the way where the ground had eroded away above the creek bed, just to keep it exciting.

While it was not the prettiest trail we've explored, it was interesting and it's now marked off our list. :)

Party Treats

I made these at the last minute for the Valentines party our art group held today...

Giftie is a decorative clip with valentine sentiment ticket in a 2x2 baggie attached to a Pure Heart bag of tea. "You're my cup of tea" is stamped on the decorative paper header .
I'd already cut the headers for the 2x2 baggie and was going to just stamp a valentine greeting. Then came across the "You're my cup of tea" stamp and decided to add the tea bag, even though the header was now too small. oh well! ;)
It's stapled together with a little gold staple.

Simple but fun, and I didn't arrive empty handed. :)

The River Walk

Photos from our recent stay at Rasar State Park... and walking the path to the river.

This fern topped stump looked like a creature sitting beside the trail. Can you see his face?

I love walking along trails bordered by moss covered trees and ferns... you can feel their energy.

Mossy arches across the trail add to the mystery.

This giant Cottonwood looked almost like it could reach out and pick us up... remember Treebeard, the eldest of the Ents in the Lord of the Rings?

Raindrops

Looking out the window at the raindrops glistening on the branches of the weeping beech. Little diamonds against the slightly clearing sky in the background.

I could not get a good picture, but this gives you an idea.

No time left

I have all these valentine cards to make and I'm out of time. And I don't really care. What would happen if I just didn't make them? Would the world fall apart?

I guess the problem is that I have been thinking of my girl, and all the fun little stuff I'd send her for valentines, and it makes me a bit melancholy. And I just can't get into the valentines for everyone.

So there.

That's not totally true. I do have valentines for my honey and my son.

See... I've made myself feel better about it already. :)

Garden of early February

It's gray today (the usual for my day off) with tiny sprinkles of rain. Perfect weather for checking out the garden to see if any early spring blooms have appeared. Here's what I found:

Oregon grape in front next to house just starting it's blooms... the hummingbirds love it.

Snowdrops peaking out from underneath the sage plant... ignore the weeds... it's too early for me to be cleaning up. Our winter birds love to scratch and feed on seed heads.

And of course, the little yellow crocus are showing their heads. Poor little things are being devoured by the slugs, so we've been on slug patrol and put out the wildlife friendly slug bait so they have a chance to bloom. Off to our favorite Garden Spot to get more... :)

Little motor home in the woods

Camping in the rain at Rasar Park, Skagit County, Washington. Jan 31, 2010

Pick a Theme

I occasionally join a Pick a Theme swap on atcsforall.com, where our "group" of five each picks their theme of choice, and we all make a card based on their chosen theme. I've picked winter moon and am excited to see what arrives. Here are my offerings for the swap:

  

Vintage Transportation

Beings with Wings

Dark Fairy Tale

Victorian House

A Thursday walk

One of my last Thursday's off, John and I continued our "exploring the local trails" walks along the Connelly Creek Trail on the south side which boasts both meadow-y and forest-y areas.  It was an high overcast day not too chilly and no rain... a perfect day for a walk.

Along the trail

Crossing the creek

Log bridge