MORE DELIGHTS FROM LANGLOIS

More photos from Simply Delightful in Langlois............If you're being kept from your gardening and want to get out to see something new.........then make your way to Lindsay's new floral and gift shop. (do I sound like someone doing a commecial on the radio?) While you're there you can also go into Tim's aka Jeffrey's. These two shops compliment each other so well but you'll have to find that out for yourself. Above photo is some of my framed photos for sale at a very reasonable price. Then below you see a number of items..........some cute clothes, accessories, beauty products.........herbal I believe.

And lastly, this is one of Lindsay's beautiful florals along side some goodies for consumption.

I love the Victorian plant table that holds this display! I don't think that's for sale and if it is, I get it!! 8-))

OK..............I hope you all have a great Memorial Day.........safe travels for those of you on the road. And if you're on the south Oregon coast, stay dry!!

SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL!!

"Simply Delightful"!!!! That's the name of Lindsay Dougherty's new floral and gift shop in Langlois. I love it! It has a wonderful, intimate atmosphere with something new and delightful everywhere you look. Plus..........wonderful sandwiches and other assorted goodies to tempt the palate. Next door at Tim Belmont's salon, Jeffery's, Tim gave me a bit of the great chicken sandwich on a croisant he had from Lindsay's............Really, really good!!
OK.......back to Lindsay's. There are some very cute clothing items; from their family business, Poverty Ridge Cranberry Farm, there are cranberry vinegars, dried cranberries, and more;........Lovely necklaces and matching earrings at a very reasonable price;........lots of nick-nacks, which I always love. And Lindsay has my greeting cards and some framed prints that she said were being well received. Lindsay herself, has a warm and wonderful smile and manner about her.......and professional while retaining the youthful enthusiasm that just, well.........it just feels good to be around her. Do try to stop in and take a look, grab a bite to eat and OMG!! how in the world can I forget to mention her gorgeous florals!!! Beautiful flower arrangements made up by Lindsay also, who has FDC training in her background. I can't fit any more photos that I took today and for lack of time and space so I will continue with more photos tomorrow so you, also, can be simply delighted!

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

I understand that the new Tri-Angle Square gallery will be open for business this weekend for the Art Walk . The new owners, artists Karen Auborn and Elaine Roemen, have had their doubts if they'd open as scheduled, but it looks like the job got done right on time. When I saw it, there was still lots to be done, but then again, sometimes the finishing touches go a lot faster than you realize. I think it's going to be so nice. They're keeping those wonderful multi-colored cement walls. They have a wonderful patina. Two back rooms will give each of these talented artists their own work space where we'll find them during open gallery hours.
I think the little patio in the back is going to be lovely, too. It's protected from the winds and it's going to be fun to see what changes they bring for their own personal new look. There will be some changes on the front of the gallery also. All in all, I'm looking forward to seeing it tomorrow and I hope that everyone who takes in the Art Walk and Cedar Fest makes it a point to go see what new and exciting attractions our little burg is offering these days.



Elaine Roemen

NORM'S FRIGHT

There we were at the Hwy. 101 overlook down by Rocky Point. I was happily focused (excuse the pun) on taking photos of the glorious views I saw in every direction. Especially looking down the cliffs. Norm said............"Be careful you don't fall off the cliff." And of course, I had climbed over the guard rail to look close at different perspectives. The cliffs down to the sea were blanketed with wild lupines~beautiful! Norm was watching fairly closely but eventually started to collect some rocks from around the parking area for putting some in our birdbath at home so the birds had something to stand on. When he looked up, no Donna. He didn't know that I had stooped down behind a little hill, to get a closer shot of some flowers. All he saw was that I was gone. He thought that it could happen just like that............there one minute and simply gone the next. And I suppose if I had fallen over the edge that would probably be accurate. He was starting to race over when I stood up, having gotten all the photos I had wanted. He was shaking and scared out of his wits. I felt so badly, never thinking that my squatting down could have given him such panic and fear. Later, I mentioned that the overlook was a great photo opp place to go and I can't print what his vocal reaction was.........I leave it to your imagination and the knowledge that this was a career Navy man. He expresses himself quite clearly.

Isn't it great to see our spring weather returning? The rhoddy's are just stunning this year. All these spring blooms are just so full and lush this now. And I've never seen so many gopher holes as this year down in our yard! Really a lot, so obviously there must be a lot of activity among the earthworms and like. Got my weed whacking done today and so I can look and admire for a little while now. I planted some new plants and rootings last week and the usual high hopes and determination to tend to them with lots of TLC this year.

Hope you've all had a great weekend and are ready to face this new week full of zip and zest!

Don't go near any steep cliffs............

"When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines the kind of men we are." Cesar Chavez

THE NEW SECRETARIAT! aka THE NEW TOY

Here is "Big Red" ........for those of your who haven't seen the movie 'Secretariat', that was the horse's real name. When Big Red began racing, it meant that he needed to have a serious racing name. Norm had missed this fact when I came up with the Big Red name......then went onto Secretariat. No wonder he didn't think my suggestion was clever......
So.he's been wanting a larger cab ..............he's tall enough where the Tacoma was nothing but a problem for him to climb into. Now he has his new toy. . For any of you who follow my blog and have seen the parade of cars and trucks that have graced our garage and driveway, you'll enjoy laughing with me at Norm's statement, in all seriousness, that "this would probably be his last truck".... Oh, REALLY?? Time will tell.
I'm having computer problems and will just shorten this posting tonight. Everyone have a great Thursday....Time to start making your plans for the weekend.

RE-VISITING THE LAMBS

Driving by the pasture where these lambs romped and play about a month or so ago, you sure notice how quickly they grow! These photos were obviously taken when they were much smaller........but sooo cute.

I've fallen a little behind in shooting new material. The next couple of days I hope to make up for that...........going for our weekly run to Coos Bay tomorrow and I have places to go and people to meet the rest of the week. I'm sure I can find new photos to take of this anti-Spring. (that means that we aren't really experiencing a spring this year on the south Oregon coast......just on-going winter........) Actually it hasn't been all that bad, has it? Unless we get some wild hail or wind storm, we're going to have a record crop at our place for blueberries this summer. I have roses that are breaking bud and so are my bearded iris. Soon I expect great things from them!!

I love this last photo. After running wildly with his buddies, he's sticking close, now, to Mama-Ewe.

Some strange looking creature was close by and pointing a clicky-box thing at him. Can't figure out what it was but it's gonna give him nightmares for sure!

"So may his flock increase, an grow

To scores o lambs, an packs o woo'!!"

The Death and Dying Words of Poor Maillie by Robert Burns

A SPECIAL DAY

A sweet smile from the past came to visit today. Wonderful little Megan. Megan used to come to pick up our grandson, Jorma, when he lived with us for a while. She would never join us for dinner, but would politely sit over on the sofa and wait for Jorma to finish eating and then off they'd go. It was so 'colorful' to see them together since they were both into coloring their hair some wild color every other day. One day it would be turquoise......then green, maybe bright pink or maroon. Bright blue was always a favorite. Then Jorma went to live elsewhere and Megan returned to southern California. I saw her briefly at Jorma's memorial service. She said that she was going to stop by but.........you know how it goes. About a month ago I received a facebook note from her saying she'd be traveling up this way and wanted to stop by to see us. We were surprised but very happy that she'd want to come by to see the Grandma and Grandpa. She came for lunch and we spent the next 3-4 hours catching up with more things than I realized we had in common. And of course, it gave us both a chance to remember Jorma........some chuckles and some tears. Megan's had a bit of a rough stretch in the last few years, but she's just bounding upwards now. Full of wisdom from the past, optimism and energy for the future.........she's a very loving and giving young woman. It was just a joy to spend the afternoon with her. It was a very special visit for me and I hope for her. And I wish her every opportunity and joy that life may offer her. I just hope the next visit comes again soon.

This little chipmunk, along with the rest of it's family, have come to visit since we've put up a couple of bird feeders. Here you can see him studying the situation over and trying to figure out how to get ALL the seed. So far the chipmunks haven't made it onto the feeders and they do get their fair share from the seed that falls onto the deck and ground. I've counted a family of 3 of them so far. And since we don't have Willie, our kitty, with us anymore, the birds, squirrels and chipmunks have free reign during the day. and Wow! Can they ever move fast............Quick 'zips' all over the place! Then a sudden STOP..........then they're off to the races again.........Fun to watch...

Last night we watched "The King's Speech". Excellent movie. Colin Firth's acting ability was the best I've seen him perform ever. He deserved the Oscar. And the movie did win Best Picture, I think. Isn't it amazing how quickly the winners names fade so quickly from our memories? I think I enjoyed Secretariat a little bit more............and we saw Burlesque last week also. I loved that!! I'd never paid much attention to Christina Aguillara (might have that spelling wrong) but she was a good actress and a great singer. She has a new fan now.

OK............Hope you all have a wonderful Monday and a great week! Look for the sun!! We know it's up there somewhere!!

A BIRD IN THE HAND............

We're trying to feed the birds again this summer. I've mentioned here and on Facebook how the bears did a lot of damage a few years ago, so we just gave up. Now, we bring in the seed feeder at night and we keep the large sack of sunflower seeds in the garage. We had once kept it on our deck in a covered container, which the bears, a sow and at least one cub, happily ripped apart, trailing bird seed down the deck, through the yard, over the fence and down the trail into the canyon. All the sweet little creatures of the forest happily munched away for days on their discovered feast. Unfortunately, though, we haven't seen any goldfinches that have discover the sunflower seeds. We used to use flax seed but thought we'd try something less expensive now.........anyway.....no finches. Today we did get what I think is an oriole........these are the photos I caught through the window. I wish I had gotten a shot of the hummingbird that was over checking out the oriole. Seeing who's new in the 'hood'.

I hope that other birds eventually show up........I didn't think they could see me taking their photo, but by the looks of this pose, I think I was discovered, don't you??

"Let your heart's light guide you to my house.

Let your heart's light show you that we are one." Rumi

MOTHER'S DAY

Well, let me wish every mother who reads this, a very Happy Mother's Day!! In keeping with this day and it turning out to be a beautiful day here in Port Orford, weather-wise, it seems appropriate to post a couple of photos of spring flowers. This first one on top is my weigelia at the top of it's game! There is another a few feet away that is in the same flowering mode. Pretty spectacular this year, huh? And we had some rain earlier which gave a lovely weeping look to the shrub.

This second shot is of one of our apple trees. I think apple blossoms are among the prettiest. Their delicate pink is such a beautiful pastel......

We saw a couple of great movies this past week for any of you movie lovers. "Secretariat"........I think I might have already mentioned that. It made watching the Kentucky Derby a lot more exciting yesterday. Then the other night we watched "Runaway"........Denzel Washington in the stress-filled story about a runaway train. It was very good!! You might want to check them out in your local video shop or Netflix.

Hope your day was great and your coming week just as wonderful!

"If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people." Thich Nhat Hanh

LOST AND FOUND

These two photos are from my "abstract" folder and help express what my last 7 days have been like of late. The first one says.........'windswept, whirling thoughts and feelings, chaos, unstable and grasping for meaning and control.' So, Betty was found. Course, everyone is angry at her and I'll just leave it at that, other than to say, yes she was OK. Not dead somewhere, with all the ugly thoughts and images that went along with it.

And, here is where I'm trying to find myself now............'Reflections of puffy, pastel and gentle clouds on the placid waters.'

Thanks to all who sent support, prayers and offers of help. It meant the world and I love you all.

Let's practice being kind to one another.........

"Listening is a form of accepting."

Stella Terrill Mann

BETTY

This is a far different posting on my blog than what I usually do...............sorry about that. I do always try hard to keep my writings and photos on the upbeat. There's more than enough unhappiness to go around in the world these days. In this case, though, it's a bit more of a serious and immediate situation. Betty, the woman in the middle in the above photo, is my step-daughter. The twin on the left was Jorma, her first son who left us more than two years ago. Betty has now disappeared. She had lived many years in Port Orford, where Norm and I live. She was living lately in Eugene, Oregon and in transit to return to live in Oakridge, Oregon......that's just up the hill about an hour east of Eugene. Somewhere between Eugene and Oakridge she just vanished. The police have been notified of a missing person, as had the state police. The news media might become involved soon. In the off chance that she returned to Port Orford, I'm asking that if any of you should happen to see or hear anything, to please call either Jory Smith 541-337-3554 or Donna & Norm Smith at 431-332-1300. Thank you and prayers and good thoughts are more than welcome as well as any info there might be.
I always feel so frustrated when a situation arises and then I never hear the outcome. I will tell all of you as I find out anything.
God Bless...........

"You are never asked to do more than you are able without being given the strength and ability to do it." Eileen Caddy

HAS SPRING FINALLY MADE UP IT'S MIND??

Oh, Say it's so!! Today was cool and breezy and sunny. Just like the spring and summer weather pattern is on our coast. The blooms are a-bloomin', the birds are a-nesting and there's just a feeling of renewed energy. Today I was up in Bandon having a great lunch with a friend. We were at a restaurant across from the Bandon wharf. The Coquille River was a little churny with a lot of splashing whitecaps.........very pretty.

Tomorrow I plan on getting out in the garden. I got my weed whacking done the other day and that always inspires me to go further into the weed patches, eliminating as many as I can. I'm giving fair notice to all those weeds.........prepare to make your exits!

I've heard a couple of pieces of news the last day or so. For those that enjoy the Chinese food at Thai's Dynasty in Coos Bay, there is a chef from Thai's that is opening up a new one in the old Fraser's in Bandon. Norm is soooo excited! Must be a happy reminder of his days in the Navy spent in Far East.

The second bit is there are great sounding new shops that are going to be added to the old hotel where Jeffrey's Salon is located in Langlois. The garage in the back is being renovated into a nice shop that will have a large variety of things for sale.......children's clothing, hand made rugs, consignment, some art, all kinds of things........ Next to Jeffrey's will be a cafe with sandwiches and other goodies, along with other gifts and children's cloths, shoes, I think............I know Tim is pretty excited about it. The owner of the hotel, Sue Musser, has done such a great job in restoring the beauty of that old hotel and it sounds like it's just getting better and better. I think these additions are due to arrive around the 1st of June.

There is something else and it slipped my mind......so maybe it'll come to me while I write about how everyone is the area is looking forward to the new Farmer's Market that will be starting on June 18th at Redfish. It will be THE place to hang out on Saturdays! And if you're needing some nourishment from all that shopping of fresh good stuff, you can rest your weary bones and have a bite to eat at Redfish, cup of coffee or some other liquid refreshment. After you've regained your strength you might go in and look around at the fabulous art in the Hawthorne Gallery.

Dianne's Siren's Cafe is adding pizza to their already great menu. They have the new ovens and were doing some re-modeling last week getting ready to offer some mouth-watering selections for us to try. Yum!

Also, new to our Port Orford will be the re-opening of what was Tri-Angle Square Gallery. The new owners are wonderful artists, Karen Auborn and Elaine Roemen, and you'll be able to see their wonderful oils on display. I've heard that there's some other new places in the art fields but I don't know enough to tell you about it just yet. But there are lots of new changes coming to our area. Sounds like a good summer coming up!

"Look only for the good in everything, that you absorb the quality of beauty."

Paramahansa Yogananda