White Christmas

Good grief it's cold. . . . and so much
snow. These photos were taken in our front
yard. Merry Christmas!

A Trip to Stonehenge

Traveling back to Idaho from Vancouver Washington
I drove on the Lewis & Clark Highway on the WA side
of the Columbia River instead of the more traveled
Highway 84 on the Oregon side. A little bit longer
but well worth it for the stop in Maryhill to see
the lifesize replica of Stonehenge - a memorial to
the men of Klickitat COunty who died in World War
Two.



























































The site doesn't appear to get many visitors which
seems a shame. It's secluded, yet less than a mile
from the highway. There are beautiful views and the
large stone fixtures are impressive. great for tiding
one over until a trip to England and the real Stonehenge
is possible.

Roslyn

I passed through Roslyn on the way to Sumner
WA last week and saw this famous sign.



















I thought when I saw this on Northern Exposure
it had a moose in the middle instead of a camel
but maybe I am thinking of this sort of scene
(see below) which may have been in the opening
sequence for the show.

Purple House on Polk

The purple house on Polk street has always been
one of my favorites but this fall it really shined.
I don't know if the owner planned for these fall
colors or just got lucky:

Happy First Birthday Seamus!

Today we celebrated Seamus' birthday
by having a picnic at Robinson Park.

Seamus' best friend Nosey came and a
lovely time was had by all.

Lolo Pass

Last week on my trip I went over Lolo
Pass for the first time:


















Most of the roads I travel are riddled
with historical markers about Lewis and
Clark. I often see one right about the
time I am bemoaning the lack of bath-
rooms or restaurants on my route, then I'll
pass an L & C sign and remember how good
I have it.

So during the third week of October there
was already snow on the pass. So pretty!


















A bit after the pass is the Montana border
where one can see this charming sign which,
for me at least, resulted in a big reduction
in speed.

DeVoto Cedar Grove

Between the town of Lowell Idaho and Lolo
Pass on Highway 12 site the DeVoto Cedar
Grove. You have a choice to walk through
the grove on the north side of the highway
or the south side. The photos below are of
the north side which has diverging paths
and a small stream that runs down the the
loud river on the other side. Lots of ferns
and tall cedars here in this dark and magical
faerie habitat.

On the Road

I've been traveling through Idaho and Montana
for the past two days and I highly recommend
October as the best month to drive through
these two beautiful states. Here's a few
photos of Lowell, Idaho, a town one drives
through traveling East on Highway 12 towards
Lolo Pass.


















Below is the pretty view from the pricey gas
station in Lowell - the last place to buy gas
till after the Pass, which is why they charge
$4.39 a gallon, I suppose.


















And below, the City of Lowell sign with its
ominous overtones.

The Bluest Eye

Sometimes I look back and forth at Seamus' eyes
trying to decide which one is my favorite. Brown
or blue. There's the brown eye actually its 2/3
brown with 1/3 blue at the top - when you look at
it you can see what a handsome dog he is; and the
blue eye, which makes him look a bit fey, like a
dog from Brigadoon or Avalon.















I really can't decide.

Columbus Day in the Park

Thank you Christopher for another day off work!
We've already spent an hour at the park - very
pretty, cold, clear fall day. Now I'm working
on my daughter's Halloween costume. Later,
cleaning out the car and reading ... Nice.

Aveda - The Third Circle of Hell

Once upon a time there was a remarkable hair
product for people with curly or frizzy hair
called Aveda Elixir. It was a great product
until some evil ne'er-do-well (with smooth sleek
hair no doubt) discontinued the product.

You can read about my past frustrations with the Aveda
Product Elixir here and here

Today I got an anonymous comment from another
former Aveda user:

“I just spoke to a representative at Aveda who said
that Elixir was discontinued because it was of their
"HIGH" standards, and now they have a new product
for $24.00 that is better. I asked her for a sample,
and she told me to go out and buy one. I told her
I've been buying this product probably before she was
born. I'm so pissed I can't tell you...I have curly
hair and elixir was the only product that ever made
my hair look good... “

I completely commiserate. Not only is it bad business
to discontinue a popular product without any warning
or explanation, it’s also just plain stupid not to
offer free samples of the new product you’re trying
to replace the old product with.

I used to be a big Aveda fan but really, those people
have no class. Nor manners.

As for my hair, I've learned to embrace my natural
curl ...

Porom Hat - Scary

I've made quite a few hats - all pretty basic;
72 stitches on - rib for an inch or so, then
basic knitting and reducing - switch to double
pointed needles till the end. Nothing fancy.

But I'm about to try something more difficult:


















The Porom hat from Jared at Brooklyn Tweed.
His site has more photos and information
about making the Porom hat plus LOTS of
other knitting ideas.

I purchased Jamieson's double knitting yarn in
two shades of blue, one for my hat and one for
a hat for my daughter. Wish me luck!

Garfield County Courthouse

The town of Pomeroy is the county seat
of Garfield County and home to a very pretty
courthouse. I've had to drive through there
a few times for work and finally managed to
remember my camera last time. One of my
favorite parts is Lady Justice at the very top
of the building.



















Here's a look at the building in 1923 (before they
painted the brick facade white) and you can see a
variety of courthouse shots over the year at this site.














Another favorite part is the turret. I'm think
this may be where they keep all their dangerous
prisoners before they appear in court.

Columbia Queen

Driving through various places in Idaho and
Washington today with my dog I saw the Columbia
Queen, a pretty riverboat that cruises up and
down the Columbia River from Astoria to
Lewiston then back again. I’ve never been big
on cruises but this boat is very pretty. If
only I could hire the entire boat and travel
up and down a few times - just me, and maybe
my family, and my dogs, sort of like in Love
in the Time of Cholera. You can read about the
Columbia Queen here.

Helmer

Hiking outside of Helmer, Idaho last week
was the best part of my week. No people,
no noise, no guru, no method, no teacher,
just the dogs and I and nature.


















Seamus enjoyed the creek and the fresh air.



















Nosey blends right in . . .

Payette ID: City of Dog Haters?

I had to go to Payette ID for work this week. Looks
like a pretty place on the surface. See?
















And look at this cool old gas station.
















What isn’t cool is their pet policies. If a
dog is found running free (got out of the yard, slipped
off his lead, whatever) authorities can pick up the dog
and destroy him immediately. Honest.

Also, no pit bulls allowed in this county, or anything
close to a pit bull. In fact if you are driving through
the county and have a pit bull in the car you have to
get a permit from the Sheriff’s Dept or face a misde-
meanor charge. And what about the pit bull owners who
lived in Payette before the ordinance was enacted?:

"Pit bull owners living in the county prior to March 28
are required to meet stiff kenneling requirements for
their dogs, register their dogs for a fee of $500 and
obtain a one million dollar liability policy. No new pit
bulls are allowed in the county after the date of March
28, 2007."

Cocusa Motel - Not Recommended

On our recent trip to washington we planned to
stay one night at the Cocusa Motel in Burlington.
It was reasonably priced and accepted dogs.

We really booked this room based on the internet
photos showing lots of grass and thought this
would be perfect as we were traveling with two
dogs.

The motel is MUCH closer to busy streets than
the internet photos showed and on the corner of
a major freeway entrance. The photos don't
really give an accurate portrait. When you are at
the place it feels like a bad neighborhood in LA.

You can't see any grass from the outside,
apparently the grassy courtyard is only on the
inside. The woman in the office wasn't exactly
rude but when I asked, "You have a grassy area
right, because we have dogs and that's why we
booked this place" she answered "We do have a
grassy courtyard but absolutely no dogs are
allowed on the grass!" Heartless.

We were already very disheartened by the busy
location and appearance of the place - so the
No-Dog-Grass was the last straw for us and we
canceled our reservation. I didn't think about
taking a photo at the time but now I wish I
had. This place is not a good place for dogs
or families.

Renton, Wa

On the way to Bellingham last weekend Del and
I stopped in Renton, WA to see Jimi Hendrix's
grave. Supposedly the cemetery is across the
street from the neighborhood he grew up in.

It was a little strange to be there.

heat wave

The heat wave hit just as we left on our
work/shopping/reunion trip. My advice:
don't travel with two dogs and a teenager
in August.

I'm wiped out - too pooped to plog, er, blog,
so here's some photos to hold you over:

I Like my Hair

Back from Boise with a new haircut!

I was very excited to come across Graeber and
Co in downtown Boise. They take walk ins, have
reasonable prices and the salon itself is gorgeous.

Alison, a very cute redhead, cut my hair and was
patient with my vague description of what I wanted.
My hair looks better than I imagined - especially
the way Alison styled it. I have tried to do the
same but have no skills (or no patience) with a blow
dryer. Still, I’m very happy with it.









Had a nice breakfast at Moon’s Kitchen Cafe -
homestyle cooking with a great old-fashion waitress
and comfortable setting.









Also attended the conference, bought my daughter
a cute shirt at Lux Lounge and enjoyed the pleasant
downtown area until the heat got to me.

Boise’s a nice town - in the Fall, Winter and Spring,
but after living in Moscow I don’t know if I can ever
live in a place with high chico-esque temperatures
again.

Headed South

Tomorrow I head down to Boise to see
clients and attend a conference. I'll
also be stopping in McCall Idaho to pick
up some yarn at one of my favorite stores.











Keep Me In Stitches is a small but well
supplied yarn store. It's located on
136 E. Lake Street and has a gorgeous supply
of natural yarns.

Everytime I go, there are nice people sitting
inside working on some sort of project and
chatting. Just the store I need at this time
of year to get inspired for fall & winter
projects.