Life in Color Photo

I started this post way back before my trip to Alaska. I’ve never been one to really save a post as a draft and post it later (partly because it does this weird spacing thing). So I forgot about it, and it got lost a bit. But I found it today after thinking about this kind of thing all day. I watched my brother recycle his drink holder from Burger King, and used my bags (two weeks with out getting a single bag who hoo!) and thought that’s all good. Hey did I ever post that post? Anyway I know some people are really not into environmental issues, (my dad: "who cares I’ll be dead") so if that’s you just skip it and please no nasty comments.

I’ve been thinking about all the little things I try to do to make the world a better place. I thought I would make a little list and see if any of you had things you could add to it.

-Keeping a bucket in my shower to catch water (I water my flowers with it)
-We don’t water our lawn
-We use a push mower (okay, okay Bj does most of the pushing)
-Energy saving light bulbs in most of our fixtures (some of the older ones don’t take them, and you can’t put them in dimmer lights)
-Buying lots of used things instead of getting everything new
-Using as little plastic as possible (glass food containers, etc)
-Always carrying a little bag or basket with me so that I can use it when I shop (have had the Mini Maxi Shopper L for a while, recently got the Mini Maxi Shopper as well – super tiny. I’ve blah blah blahed about Reisenthel before, but I do just LOVE this company).
-Using more paper to pack my orders instead of all bubble wrap
-Currently knitting this for my produce (I have soooo much freaking cotton yarn after Sciarrino and I went crazy buying cones of it from Elmore Pisgah.

-Using bar soap instead of pump soap. Ugh I don’t like pump soap anyway and this uses way less packaging.

-This might be weird to say, but using O.B.s also way less packaging than normal tampons.

 

-getting things from the library instead of purchasing another book. Like this super cute Candy Tots Kristin told me to check out. How cute is this?

 

Would like to get better at:

-riding my awesome bike (dude what is up with these stupid spaces?)

-getting winter ready (storm windows need to be put on and I want to make draft stoppers do you use beans or rice for those? Anyone made one?)

Care to add to the list, I’d love to hear your ideas!!!

Salem is seriously pretty right now. Driving back from the post office I passed the park and a million pretty trees. So I decided to grab my camera and walk around a bit. Check this out:


Those are just starting to change.


These are also everywhere. The ones in my back yard are as big as my head (and no you can’t see my knee-high-weeds-backyard). Sciarrino and I met up at the park (she walks to work go Sciarrino!) and sat on the swings for a while. She snaps some shots of me (and me of her but she tends to be very particular so I’ll let her proof them first 🙂 so you get to see my fabulous skirt that I am in love with.


I think this is my first knitted skirt I’ve ever bought. I love it. Like wearing a blankie. Then we walked back to Sciarrino’s to pick up her knitting. Along the way:


Mmm I love moss.


Then I grabbed a gourd from Sciarrinio’s stash and set this on her steps. Mmm fall. Not my favorite season, or second, or third, but hey they are all pretty close for me any way 🙂 Spent the night knitting, great day.

By the way I really want to try some totally rad actions on these (and some other photos). Right now I really don’t process my photos at all, I sometimes tweak them a little in Aperture, but I haven’t tried any actions. Any one have the rad actions and have thoughts? Other sources of actions you love?

I haven’t been up to much this week, hence the slow blogging, but last night and today I finally had time to have some fun. Yesterday I picked up Emilie and we went with Sciarrino and Matt to First Thursday in Portland. We had a great time walking around the city. My favorite exhibits were Scott Peterman: Ice Houses and some Gee’s Bend quilts I got to see at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery. I was lucky enough to get to meet some of the woman who made the quilts.

Then today I got to hang out with the lovely and talented Nora Griffin and her husband Sean.


They first got to come and have lunch at my place. When they showed up it was like I already knew them, since we’ve been reading each others blogs for a few years now. So much fun.  And I got to show them around the loveliness that is Salem. Lucky for me they loved the city as much as I do. We went to a bunch of cute boutiques on State street. Nora was very impressed with the fall foliage.


After that we headed north to Aurora, I think I’ve talked about it before, it’s a cute little antiquing town. It was a great day. Finding blog friends is always a double edged sword, I knew we would get along well and have fun, but she has to go home to cali! I’m sure we’ll hang out again next time we cross paths.

I had a fantastic weekend this weekend with my two old roommates Sciarrino and Laura. I hadn’t seen Laura since the wedding and hadn’t really hung out with her in years. Sciarrino had this idea to go to this cool place in southern Oregon call the Treesort for her birthday (which his Friday). It’s a bed and breakfast (sort of) up in the trees. The cabins are literally up in the trees. We got there after a day of driving down the coast (Sciarrino and I) and then dipping into California then coming back up near Cave Junction. It was so crazy cool to get there at night. Twinkling lights hanging from the trees, kids running around, the campfire, magical. We hauled our stuff on pulleys, crazy cool, funny and dangerous, as a diet coke plunged out of a bag and nearly impailed Sciarrino. The next day we were able to see the whole place:


The tree we were in (Forrestree) was up about 40 feet. So you went up spiral staircases and then take the suspension bridges across.


That’s our treefort. It was sort of scary in the dark hearing all the creaking and the swaying of the bridges. It’s really hard to get a shot of the inside, you know with the whole tree going through it!


So there isn’t room for a table or anything, but there is a queen bed, then bunk beds behind where I am standing here. There is a toilet tucked next to the door and a sink hooked to the tree. Also room for a little heater and fridge. Plus we managed to fit a smores maker in there:


Some more shots from around the place:


The pool, a little too chilly for this weekend.


Awe!


One of the lower houses. We also went on a horseback ride (my butt still hurts, not quite as flexible as my eight year old horse-back riding loving self) and did a zip line course.


Ziplines are so much fun, but I totally had to push myself on this one. One of the higher ziplines you have to climb a forty foot tree. I had clogs on and have NO upper body strength (I am such a weakling). But I did it! We were going to go over to the big swing right after this, but the golf cart was out of order (you’ll see), we still went over there to check it out.  I was like, um NO WAY. But the next day the other girls got to try it. It had just been built a week before and I could not see how you were not going to hit the trees. So you get harnessed, and then hang onto these handles:


Then you get towed really quickly up 60 feet and then you have to let go and you, well swing.


Yikes! So I was the picture person on that. The whole weekend was a rush though, a great time, and I totally reccomend this place. They don’t really have a license as a B&B so you go as a "friend" Hehehe. It’s so Oregon, so crazy, so great, I loved it.