Contrast--Headbanger Challenge Theme

I set the header challenge theme as Contrast. I don't know what I was thinking at the time--I didn't realize it was my turn and came up with Contrast at the bat of an eye. Displaying it was a more difficult choice.

When we cruised Alaska a few years ago, I noted the contrast between the huge cruise liner and the other boats in the marina when we were docked in Whittier. Whittier is a town of about 300 people with a cruise terminal and fishing fleet. Most of the residents live in the same building.

What a contrast with major cities-even in Alaska where Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau are small in comparison with major cities outside Alaska.

What a contrast between the ship and the fleet.

 You will find the other challengers linked in my sidebar. Wonder what they made of this.

Sunday's Psalm--3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

Skyline--this week's Header Challenge

When you think of the word "Skyline", our header challenge theme this week, you think of some of the world's great cities.

Such as:

Edinburgh (the old) from Calton Hill

Seattle--seen from Vashon Island

or a bit closer (from Seattle's Great Wheel.)

London--with the old--St. Paul Cathedral--and the new--"The Gherkin". (from a river cruise)

San Francisco--with a hint of fog and a bridge. (from the Alameda Ferry)

 

Dictionary dot com
1. the boundary line between earth and sky; the apparent horizon: A sail appeared against the skyline. 2. the outline of something, as the buildings of a city, against the sky: the New York skyline.

All of these good examples of definition #2.

Today I prefer Definition #1. With my honey against the skyline.

Happy Birthday to the love of my life.

Nisqually Glacier View loop trail, Mt. Rainier

Thank you Lew for the perfect theme for this week (the picture was taken Friday afternoon.) Lew and the others will be found linked in my sidebar.

Sunday Psalm--Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mountain--Sun--Snow--Blue Skies

Watch the skies...

Look closely and youcan see soft snow being blown over the ridge.

Go between the poles. Otherwise fall in the creek.

 

Afternoon shadows.

Another peek at the peak. Skywatch!

Perspective.

Light on the Tatoosh.

More of the Tatoosh Range.

Snowshoe patterns

Natural Arch

Once again it is Skywatch Friday.

Which we got to spend with beautiful skies.

Headbangers' Theme is Winter Sunset--Really!

Well, I goofed and tried to post the Winter sunset two weeks ago. I quickly pulled it and did the right theme, but here I am in a quandary. They got a hint at what I was posting then, and we have had some spectacular sunsets since then. The old header image was pretty spectacular, but a week or two before winter actually arrived that year. The new ones, well, they might be pretty spectacular as well.

Here is the post as I published it before:

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Mac really expected some snow, I think, when he asked for some winter sunsets from the team. He'll have to get it from someone other than me. I tried this late afternoon, but we had snow but not much in the way of color, and no good place to stop and get a shot (and himself was driving--if you know what I mean.)

All these were shot in winters past, or near enough to winter that there was snow in some places but just not where we were when I took the pictures.

This was December of 2011 in Eastern Oregon.

 

And this one a couple of weeks earlier in Arizona.

This was taken one January at home.

And the subtle glow of sunset reflected on Mt. Rainier

 was shot through the car window

two years ago today.

My header choice is a surprise--in more ways than one. I am sure that Stewart did not expect a picture like this when he suggested a winter sunset, but it was also taken on a winter trip. It was also a surprise to us. As we were visiting our son in a new location we wondered if there would be a nearby park with a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. We did not expect it to be through their living room window.

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Now that did make a pretty spectacular sunset picture. But since it was not quite winter, and this week actually IS winter, I will make the choice from this week's shots.

 

 The rest of the headbangers are linked in my sidebar. Take a look to see what they have created for this theme.  Can't be any more spectacular than these. They should have their posts up by Wednesday afternoon.



Sunday--Baptism of the Lord

 

As I thought!

The view from the Valley is that both Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier are out and showing their glory today. The view from the Mt. Rainier webcams, however, show that shortly after noon, no one has come to the parking lot at Paradise except the plow, the road looks somewhat treacherous to the west, and the view of the mountain is a view of no mountain. My guess is that the road to Paradise is closed today.



Mt. Adams view (Mt. Rainier was now hiding in the clouds from my perspective.)

Mt. Rainier influences its local weather--no matter what is happening in the rest of the state. I do know that there has been snow today west of the Cascades.

Skywatch

Hug your kids today, okay?

A tragic one car accident last night about two miles north of us took the lives of two local teenagers. A third boy is in ICU on life support.

Hug your kids and tell them you love them. Remind them not to take reckless chances while driving. Drugs and alcohol have been ruled out, but the car was going too fast on a winding rural road.

And a prayer for the grieving families and community.

Linen

Sandy is back with us for this week's Headbanger challenge and has provided the theme of "Linen". My guess is that she and I have the advantage over the guys with this theme, but they are wily and creative, so we will see what they manage. You will find their links in my sidebar, and the headers should be up by late afternoon Wednesday..

Other than a couple of blouses I have had that I remembered were linen each time I had to iron them to make them presentable, my thoughts of linen take me to my Nana and the hand work that she did. I recently came into possession of some pieces of this when my niece moved to a smaller apartment and gave me a box of things that had come to her through her mother. This included three tablecloths, this embroidered one:

And two others with Nana's drawnwork embroidery. Nana had made one for each of the daughters, daughters-in-law, and the older of the granddaughters. I am the youngest grandchild on both sides of my family by about five years, and by the time I was old enough that she would make one for me, she was no longer able to do this fine work.

 The M would suggest that this one belonged to my aunt, Mary Marguerite (Marnee).

 Each side and each corner has a different design.

In addition to tablecloths, Nana did a lot of drawnwork making items for church such as altarclothes and amices. (An amice is a part of the priest's vestments--no longer used--consisting of a rectangle of linen worn around the neck and shoulders under the alb.) Nana made an amice for each new priest of her acquaintance on the occasion of their ordination. (Nana knew a lot of young priests.) She also sent one to two popes.

When I was very young, I would watch Nana work on the drawnwork and she taught me how to do it. I guess that is what piqued my interest in doing decorative sewing for church, though the techniques I use are more those I gleaned from quilting--the handiwork done by my Methodist Grandma. I have made altar hangings and appliqued vestments for several years.

In preparing for this post and the theme, I decided to see what I remembered of what Nana taught me.  I drew out the threads in a sample piece:

and found a tutorial on hemstitching, the first step, at this website: Needle n Thread.

The hemstitching is done along both sides of the drawn threads area.

Next I looked to this website for further help in remembering what to do: Mary Jane's Farm.

 Here's where it starts to get a little wobbly, and I am going to find a better embroidery hoop, another piece of fabric, and give it another start before going on to try working the designs. When I have more to show, I will show it here on this blog.

This is Nana in approximately 1908:

Sunday--Feast of the Epiphany

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,

the glory of the Lord shines upon you.

Skywatching for Snowbombs!

See the various globs up there between me and the contrail? We call them snowbombs. They are just waiting for the sunshiny day to melt them just enough to be slippery and slide off the limb to bomb some unwitting hiker below.

 



Westside Road, Mount Rainier National Park, January 3, 2013

Perhaps the snowiness is more evident in this shot which is a little less in silhouette. 

 

Back to Skywatching.

See you there again soon.

 

 

Let it Snow!

When I was growing up in Southern California, I saw snow in my hometown once. When I was two. I was told about it--I don't remember it.

When I went to college in the Northwest my classmates and dormmates thought it odd that I talked about "going to the snow". They didn't have to go to the snow because it came to them.

Well, except for Patty, from Hawaii, who danced barefoot in the first snowfall.

New Year's Day we again went to the snow--though it had, of course, come to us. The snow you go to is more fun that what comes to you--especially if you are the one who has to wield the snowshovel.

 There are the red alder standing guard naked along Tahoma Creek.

There is Mt. Rainier standing guard in her mantle of white over Kautz Creek.

There are the snow bombs overhead--ready to drop if the temp goes one or two more degrees up.

Snow sculptures

Snow hallways

Peeking out from under the poach roof icicles at Longmire, Mt. Rainier looms large.  Below--did I mention snow bombs?

 

Nearby peaks, the Tatoosh above and Mt. Adams on the way home.