Saturday Market

We left Holly and her friend Sara with time to spare. I am currently on the fast track to improve my comfort level and ability to shoot people. So bear with me and enjoy the street entertainers.

A band played on stage near the food court. They were quite good and I was enchanted by the electric violin.

The one man band sang, played the harmonica and guitar on the street corner.

I really expected to hear the one-armed guitar player sing about the Edmund Fitzgerald, but instead it was rock.

Opposite the one-man band stood an aging Elvis.

And the balloon guy quietly sat between Elvis and the one-man band building his creations.

These lovely ladies were quite personable. Not quite street entertainers, they were cute.

Away from the crowd this young man played the "drums".

And this man had taken up camp on a bench in the park.

Young girls lined up to jump rope, sometimes in twos and sometimes just one. I loved how the twirler got into jumping right along with the girls.

OK, I know, not a human but a canine. How could I resist?

Maternity Leave

I took today off for maternity leave. Miss Jillian and Miss Slinky needed a day to make themselves comfortable.


So together they explored their new home, with Talley as an official supervisor.


They quickly found the water bowls and the window. They sniffed around a bit and then...


It was time for a happy nappy. Miss Slinky found a soft cushion in the middle of the floor that was just right for her.


And very close by Miss Jillian crawled into an open kennel. When I returned to my computer, they followed me, saw where I was going and went back into the other room to lay down.


Before I knew it, they were both laying down on cushions in the living room.


Miss Jillian, the party girl played it up big time for the camera.


But Miss Slinky just wanted to be comfortable.


What is like to bring two new girls home you ask? No different than having four or twenty greyhounds in the house. They pull up a cushion, stretch out and don't move.

Welcome home Miss Jillian and Miss Slinky!

Note: They still have their kennel collars on with their names in big, bold print. Yes, that means I still can't tell them apart on the fly.

We have twins! No wait, triplets

Skirvee is ready to share his exciting news. His littermates Jillian and Slinky have come home.

They traveled nearly 3,200 miles to go from Florida to Oregon. This morning we drove out to Sandy to meet them. They happily hopped in the car and nestled in for the last hour of their journey.


The acre was their first stop after they arrived at home. They started their new adventure together checking out their new digs. Side by side they wandered off into the backyard.


It was time for synchronized peeing. They marked their new territory together.


And then they explored together. Without a doubt, these two belong together. Almost identical twins, I suspect they will take great pleasure in trying to trick us until we can quickly identify them. Definitely will need two different colored collars.


After exploring for awhile it was time to meet their long lost brother. Seriously, they had no interest in Skirvee, but he towered over them as he tagged along.

Skirvee is lovingly know for his infamous screech, the trill in his throat, and his demand for never being left alone on the other side of a door. Much to our surprise, Jillian is just like him. I was assured it was a family trait.


It took Slinky awhile before she really explored on her own, when Jillian ventured off without her, she hung by our sides soaking up all the ear scritches she could get. She's a happy, happy girl, her tail wagged constantly. Her personality is more of the bookworm, kinda laid back. She looks and reminds me very much of her uncle, my Buddy.


And then there is Jillian! She's our party girl. She was off and checking out the lay of the land right away. And when Danny and Joey met her, she was a tease, a sniff at a distance was all they were allowed and then it was back off boys. Tonight when it was time to nestle down on a cushion in front of the TV, she was the first one to go belly up, all fours pointing to sky. She was home.

And to Paul and Nancy, thanks for sending us the girls. We will love and treasure and enjoy every minute with them.

Tale of the dress • wedding part deux

I missed the "will you marry me?", but I saw the pics and they were very sweet.

Karen and I were there for the ritual picking of the wedding gown (ha ha soon to-be-son-in-law, we were there this time and you weren't!)


It all begins at a little dress shop in Portland.


Holly, the bride to be,


Her friend Sara,


and the attendant at the store who was so sweet and patient with me and my camera.


Holly had a few questions, but the kid is smart, she'd done most of her Internet research, for days on end I'm sure, before we got there.


Now keep in mind, I have been strictly forbidden and threatened with bodily harm if I show any pictures of the dress, Holly is such a square sometimes. She stuck her head out of the dressing room at this point to make sure I was aware of the rules and made me sign my greyhounds away in blood if I broke the rules.


It was only yesterday that I was sporting miles and miles of stretch marks, waiting for this kid to pop out and here she is standing on a pedestal in a beautiful, white gown.


I'd love for you to see what falls below the shoulders, but I'm afraid. Oh what the heck. Here it is.


The kid, the most beautiful bride. Ever.

Tulips are in bloom

We had time for a quick drive and thought we would drive out to the tulip fields.

They were probably about 75% in bloom and beautiful.

But Crystal was bored almost immediately.

The guy at the front gate said there were 40 acres of tulips this year.

Those that were in bloom were beautiful.

Trying to get Crystal to smile for the birdie was a challenge at best.

As we walked through the muddy field, we saw row after row of tulips.

The red tulips were obviously the early bloomers.

The old John Deere stood stood as the sentinel.

The nursery

Is ready!

Help needed

I just got word yesterday from my greyhound adoption group that we have two very special girls that need a home.


Meet Maya and Lily Valentine. How could these two faces not warm your hearts?


Our mom has passed away and we have lost our loving home.

We are Maya and Lily Valentine. We're looking for someone who has love in their heart to share and a couple of soft beds for us.

We are very well mannered in the house, walk well together, love to go for car rides and spend time shopping in the local pet stores.

We have just had our annual physicals and we are healthy and ready for a new adventure.

Please call Vicki (503.740.9716) or Carolyn (505.665.9741) for more information.

Patiently waiting

Still waiting to bust out his ever so exciting news, Skirvee is patiently waiting.

Poster boy

Our shy little Joey has entered the world of modeling.

McCall Preserve

This part of the Historic Columbia highway was beautiful. It not-so-gently curved around the bluffs. I can't imagine what this must have been like to travel on when it was originally finished.


A near picture perfect homestead.


We were a little early for most of the wild flowers, but what we saw were amazing.




Looking toward the Columbia River from up top.


From the top of the bluff to I-84 was nearly straight down.


Since I am the one stopping to take pictures, Karen is always ahead of me on the trail. I frequently catch her sitting down on the job waiting for me to catch up and once I do, we're off again.


On both sides of the river there are train tracks. On the Washington, I followed a train as it entered the four tunnels along that part of the track.


It was so peaceful up there, not a breath of wind. This was one of three ponds we encountered. I was a greyt day.