stl in seattle

For a few months at a time, the 5 Spot will dish up cajun-style New Orleans food, Florida fare or feature food from another U.S. region. This time, the Arch greeted me - St. Louis! I dont exactly think of St. Louis food as a culinary group all of its own, but the menu was packed with St. Louis favorites. Lots of Hill inspired Italian, including the toasted ravioli, of course. Gooey butter cake found it's way onto the menu, and who knew crab ragoon was first served at the 1904 World's Fair in the 'Lou? Not I. Best part? No provel on the menu. Our image has been saved in Seattle!

almost...

Waiting for people, lights, cars and chaos to line up is tougher than it looks. Lucky for me, I get paid to be patient when I'm on-the-clock. When I'm vacationing, sometimes I have to give up before I get the frame I'm looking for. Good food and family were waiting, so this time I had to be okay with a collections of "almosts".

last stop in pdx

Tea Chai Té

Go for the roasted máte guarana chai. Beats an energy drink any day.

z & e

Christmas wore us all out.

zig zag hike

Photo by Bryana Gardner



That's the name of the nearby town, not my commentary on the trail. It's called Castle Canyon trail. My cousin proposed to his fiancee at a hidden spot along the route. The hike was also the first that my now married cousin took his wife on. It's a beautiful hike with an 800-foot elevation gain. The view just keeps getting better...and better.

where no prius has gone before...

After some family miscommunication we ended up in more snow than the Prius liked, but we made it out like a champs without chains or studs.

mount jefferson and 3 sisters

The view from Timberline Lodge on Christmas Eve. Oddly clear and sunny for December.

eve on the hood

My uncle worked at Timberline Lodge for years. Five years ago, his lovely beard earned him the role of Santa Claus at the lodge's Christmas Eve celebration. This year, I got to witness the magic for the first time. This Santa actually comes down the chimney!

The eve was asombroso. I haven't seen such a clear view from Timberline in my life. The sun was streaming golden rays into the dining room as we ate. Osso bucco, Dungeness crab, scallops, butternut squash and apple soup...the list goes on. The company was even better than the food. After Santa's escapades, we gathered around the big chimney in the lodge with candles and sang carols. Merry Christmas, 'twas.

dia

STL > DIA > PDX. Portland bound on Christmas Eve day. Smooth ride. Sunny skies.

my students are famous

The StudioSTL class I taught has their own gallery show at Cafe Ventana. The 15 photographs will be on display until Jan. 3. Check it out.

If you can't make it to the show, you can at least see a few of their snaps in this November blog post.

wisdom on 39th

SweetArt's quote of the day.

spinning

solace in a flurry

Letters to send. Food to make. Clothes to wash. Bags to pack. Assignments to staff. Photos to print. People to see. Ah...the holidays.

hidden heart

Photo by Dawn Majors

My friend and coworker shared this image with me last night. On a fall day, she found the leaves in my back yard growing into a heart shape. The leaves grew on the same fence I walk by weekly, begrudging carrying the garage or armloads of yard waste to the alley. I missed nature's message. I'm glad Dawn didn't.

Read her take.

hot dog

My mom knitted me a beautiful scarf for my birthday. Baley loves it. This may be a Baley-heavy week. She turns 3 on Wednesday!

december

Rays on the first day of December. Good morning. Yes, it was.

(The December sun and this purple curtain get along. Check out December 2006. Same curtain. Same sun.)

inside: outside

I thought it was a tulip, but when I glanced inside the flower, I was surprised. I didn't recognize it at all. Then I second guessed myself and had to look it up. Yep, it's a tulip. I grew up with dozens of these flowers in front of my house every year, but today was the first day I noticed its inside. Beautiful. Just like the outside.

steve strikes again

When I pulled up to my house Saturday afternoon, my front flower bed was blazing with color. Fake flowers nestled in with my dying, summer leftovers. Remember Steve? He's still leaving me gems. Grandfather clocks, Christmas lights and Halloween snacks...and the first fake flowers I've ever seen in an outdoor flower bed that didn't make me cringe.