Vote

Have you voted?

Our county went to mail in ballots several years ago. I voted last week.

If you haven't voted yet, do.

Unless, of course you are Welsh or Irish or Austrailia or French or Brazilian or Norwegian or Israeli or South African or...

Odd Shot--Here's Lookin' at You

This is the home of Odd Shots on Monday.

Make a comment on this post to let others know you are participating.

My grandson, 4, told me that this is not a face, that they are going to work on the road. Oh, well. He has a vivid imagination otherwise.

Bridges between...

Blogger has been reversing the order of the photos I insert in groups, so I guess I will talk about this bridge from close-up back to approach rather than the other way around.
Rune E has pointed out his fascination with bridges, and I have discovered while following his passion for them the variety and graphic artistry of different bridges.

We learned about the stability of triangles in early math classes. That stability is put to good use in this trestle's bracing.

The bold graphic lines of the bridge are softened by the greenery surrounding it.

We approached this trestle bridge during the 2009 Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk in Seattle. It crosses the Sammamish River Trail.

There were 3299 walkers in the Seattle event, bridging the awareness gap about this dread disease and raising research funds. Click the 3-Day label below to see my earlier posts about the experience.

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Visit Rune to find more Bridge builders!

Sunday's Psalm on Saturday--Solemnity of All Saints

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.



The Lord's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.

For he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?

One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.

Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Psalm 24: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

view from Sunrise Rim Trail, Mt. Rainier National Park
Inside Passage view, B.C.
Ohanapecosh River, Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Hood seen from Stonehenge Monument, WA
leaf on picnic table, Goose Lake State Park, Oregon
Lake Washington wetland at Kirkland, WA
a moment of faith and friendship at a school assembly

Sunset! ->->-> Sunrise!

On the Columbia River
From Maryhill State Park--that is Mt. Hood in the far distance (in Oregon), the Biggs Bridge in the near distance. The Biggs Bridge crosses the Columbia between Washington and Oregon, but is currently closed for maintenance and upgrading necessitating a detour or altenate route for those traveling north and south in the central parts of both states.

That is Oregon on the other side--and that is a Great Blue Heron on the post in the river.
Visit Skywatch here.

A Quilter's ABC--O is for OLD Quilts

The ABCs week by week! What fun!
Mrs. Nesbitt started it.
It now continues with an anthology version and Mr. Linky.


O is for Old Quilt Tops.

You've already seen the quilt my Grandmother made me here in G is for Grandmother. Here are some other older pieces.

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Clues in the Calico is the title of a book about fabric history. Longtime quilters can give a pretty good estimate of the age of a quilt from the fabrics as well as the block pattern, the quilting style, and the kind of batting used.

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The fabrics in this quilt top peg it as probably from the 1930s or maybe early in the 1940s. Of course, a quilter might have saved bits and pieces from a number of years--from the good parts of worn clothing or from feed and flour sacks. Yes, feed sacks were very important sources in depression times. When it was time to stock up on flour again, a good wife might be very selective about which sack to purchase. She would want to gather several of the same design to make a dress.

The hexagon shapes were also popular in those times. They are less so now because they are nearly impossible to construct by machine, though many modern quilt addicts like to have one in the process to have along to work on while waiting for appointments or watching the kids' soccer game. This quilt top I purchased in an E-bay auction a few years ago is not the traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden arrangement--one reason that I think it would have been made in the 40s.

This OLD quilt top may have been made by my grandmother or else one of my aunts. Why was it never finished? Good question. The block design is Shoo Fly--(A shoofly was a child's rocking chair.) but look how different it looks with a different contrast in that upper right hand block.

Shirtings were commonly used in the later part of the 19th century, but I don't think this top is that old.

Did Grandma make it? Or Aunt Betty? Or Aunt Bessy? This top was given to me by my cousin Patsy. As a child she had the privilege of watching Grandma at the quilting frame. She didn't know who had done this one--it probably was passed down to her from her parents.

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My guess is one of the aunts. Can you see this lady not finishing something?

There are other clues that can help to date old quilts. I thought this one was done by my Grandmother, but I found a clue in the picture that makes me think it was Aunt Betty's work. Grandma did one for each son's wedding and for each of the grandchildren. This one was shared with me by my cousin Ruth and Betty was her mother.

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Besides the late 40s fabrics, the embroidered autographs of family members help me date it as too late for Grandma to have made. Perhaps Aunt Betty made it for Ruth's wedding. The clue? Ruthie's autograph has her married name.

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Odd Shots--Did I tell you about harvest?

This is the home of Odd Shots on Monday. Comment here to let others know you are in the game this week. I will add you to our blogroll. All the details can be found by clicking the Odd Shots Camera in my sidebar.

Harvest season is winding down in the Valley. There are still some grapes being picked and some apples, but most will be finished within the next couple of weeks. I may have mentioned here that some harvests run day and night. That is the case with the hops, and it made for an eerie image across the road from us.

We do have our view back--well, sort of. It is crossed over with the poles and wires of the hop trellis, but there is a mountain over there.

Monday in Monochrome

I scanned two photos from my Dad's album for Monochrome Monday. Originals--naturally--in the late 1920s monochrome was all there was. Since Dad is in these, they were obviously taken by his friend Ron. (Almost identical shots on the same page in the same setting are identified as Ron.)

These were taken in 1928 as Dad and Ron explored the construction of St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Pasadena, California. This was later my grandmother's (mother's mother) local parish. Dad had not yet met Mother.

The second of these is the one I like best. The shadowed lines of the bricks and the very graphic look frame his gaze out into the world just right.

Dad was a so-so photographer all his life. He did not take spectacular shots, but very serviceable ones. He didn't cut off people's heads by accident. Most are pretty nicely composed. Some are overexposed and others are underexposed. He saved the ones that were fuzzy. Nearly all are clearly labeled. I have a trunkful of slides he took in later years. I think that in my retirement, I need to go through them.

My offering is from Dad's album today since my desktop is in the shop. It looks like it may well be the motherboard, so decisions are in the offing. We'll know more tomorrow. My laptop has different software, and converting a photo to black and white with it is problematical. I may well set the camera for black and white at some time this week.

Aileni set up Monochrome Monday with a Mr. Linky site. You can see other contributions to the art by checking there.

Sunday's Psalm--30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, O LORD, my strength,

O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,

my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!

Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.

You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your annointed.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Psalm 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
Photos:
-rock climber, Zion National Park, Utah
-rock climber, Peshastin Pinnacles, Wenatchee Valley, Wa
-cliff plant, First Burrows Mountain, Mt. Rainier National Park
-rock climbing, Столбы, The Stolby National Park, Siberia
-on the Grove of the Patriarchs Trail, Mt. Raineir National Park
-cliff, Zion National Park, Utah
-kayaker on Green Lake, Seattle

PhotoHunt--Theme Scary

TnChick is where to find other PhotoHunters.

I don't know which is scarier--the economy? or the fact that you can watch it minute by minute on cable TV?