GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V.11 {2016}

GOOD... Water fountain? or Bubbler? Our Portland Walking Tour guide, Richard told us they are called Benson Bubbler's for the name of the person who gave $10,000 to the city to purchase & install 20 four-bowl bubblers. There were two stories that are told about the reason for the bubblers... to keep the loggers out of the saloons & the other was because Benson saw a little girl looking for someplace to get a drink during a 4th of July parade. For whatever reason, there are 52 bubblers through out the City of Portland & a person can download a list of the bubblers by clicking here!
The bubblers flow from 5:30am-11:30pm, unless they are closed down due to freezing weather or wind... the fountains are cleaned bi-weekly... & it was interesting to learn the water is fresh & NOT RECYCLED.

RANDOM shop... In the Alberta Arts District, I ran across this great window design advertising a tattoo parlor.  Located on a side street, next to the Rexall Drug Store... it grabbed my attention with the brilliant colors & a sign featuring cool fonts.

FUN... Bisquick tin! Okui's Strawberry Stand will be opening March 24th! Gotta stock up on Bisquick to make shortbread rounds for our strawberry shortcake!

Again, I'm posting photos from our Portland, Oregon trip.

Posting with Tamar from Random-osity!

WE DO COOKIES!!

Our HOLIDAY TRADITION... 

When my daughters were in preschool, we started a tradition of baking cookies the Sunday before the last day of school. Over the years, it became known as "COOKIE SUNDAY" and involved lots of flour, butter, sugar and sprinkles. Now, if you know me, I love a "tidy" kitchen so having these ingredients in the hands of 3-5 year olds required patience! BUT, this tradition has continued into adulthood for my daughters... 

Of course, the favorite cookie cutters are those that yield LARGE cookies (boot, mitten, bell, tree) that can be decorated with green frosting & colored sugar sprinkles. See those little cutters? the mitten, snowflake & stars... those are usually handed out to the adults (they're small, so you don't feel like you are eating TOO many - in reality, you can't just eat ONE!).

As I mentioned.... we DO cookies.... Lots of them!

For the past 5 years, I've rolled & baked the cookies... Then, Christmas afternoon, we have a "decorating station" so everyone can put together a plate for themselves to take home. It gives everyone something to do when the meal is eaten, the gifts are open & holiday spirits are starting to fade.

I'm a bit of a control-freak (no comments from my
family, please), so there are some RULES... 

1. Decorate only the cookies on the wax-paper or 
paper plate in front of you.

2. NO licking your fingers or the end of the frosting
gun. 

3. Try NOT to smash your frosted cookie into the plate of sprinkles (don't forget, NO licking your fingers).

4. Place your decorated cookies on a plate &
clean-up your work area. I MUST say... this is the
most difficult to monitor... because EVERYONE wants to start shoving the cookies in their mouth!!

Family members ooohs! & aahhs! over everyone's creativity. There are lots of offers to decorate a cookie for someone else! Ummm... the power of the frosting gun & all that frosting & sprinkles! 

A plate of the finished product!

Creative artistry by Katie (at age 8)

STREET FOOD... ISTANBUL

SLE (Steph) suggested I try pomegranate juice from a street vendor!

Oh my, it was delicious! a bit thick, with some pulp. It was very refreshing!

roasted corn (on the cob)!

we observed children eating this as a snack!

round bagel-like breads with sesame seeds on top!

an example of  a street vendor selling pomegranate juice.

Some people like a bit of orange juice added to sweeten the rich, red juice.

The vendors cut the fruit in half & squeeze the juice into a cup.

We watched this woman roll out a thin bread (similar to a flour tortilla)...

she added spinach & cheese then folded it in half!

(JPE also had her add potato to his sandwich)

she plopped it on the warm grill until the cheese got warm & melty!

yummy!

(yep! we looked like tourists with our cameras around our necks!)

A COLORFUL DAY!

simply beautiful... smells incredible...

SPICE MARKET exploring!

saffron is NOT yellow, but BRILLIANT red!

dissolved in water - saffron turns yellow!

Turks love their tea!

delicious apple tea for a drizzly, damp day of sightseeing!

open bins of tea!

Rick Steve's recommends you purchase fresh spices, teas, nuts and fruits

BUT have them vacuum packed

so you don't run the risk of

losing your purchases when you reenter the US

purchased soup spice for our winter soups

your MUST include a visit to the Spice Market

(if you get to Istanbul)

see you tomorrow!

GOOD. RANDOM. FUN {WEEK 36}

 from a mix (a gift from Lydia, Tasha & Jack)

currently sitting on our outdoor fountain!

made some pillowcases for our bed!

"washed out" photo
{the border fabric was selected by JPE}!

posting with Tamar at

RANDOM-OSITY!!!

LAY YOUR HEAD HERE...

a couple of new pillowcases for Mac & Buster...
{errrr... Brett & Stacy}

this is Mac & Buster!

and for Katie!

she's become quite "the baker"

muffins, birthday cake, lemon bars!

SWEET DREAMS!


did I mention I've been sewing?

6 EGGS, 2 STICKS BUTTER, CUP of SOUR CREAM

Last night our kitchen smelled amazing!

TANGY LEMON juice scented the air,

as we finished bowls of lentil soup!

JPE had a "BAKING BUG"

at the end of our HOLIDAY visit, THE SKIDS

{the "best-est" of friends from Lakewood}

had given us a bag of LEMONS

{picked from from their tree}

 JPE used them to make
LEMON SOUR-CREAM POUND CAKE

{we shared a sliver for breakfast this morning}

dense. flavorful. enjoyed small bites.

this recipe is a K.E.E.P.E.R.

RECIPE FOUND HERE
 

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 12.8.13 + SONG-OGRAPHY

SHS 12.8.13

Wondering... how this holiday season came woooo-shing in? 

I haven't done a whole lot better getting my camera out, reading other blogs or posting (thank goodness for i-Pad's), ...

I'm planning to participate in Ashley's annual Memories, Reflections and Dreams. It will be a fabulous way to document 2013!!! Here's the LINK to get you started!!! I hope you join me - You'll be able to blog-hop while you watch the New Year's parades on TV.

WHERE I STOOD, SILVER, TINY, IN THE CUPBOARD & SHADOW.

From WHERE I STOOD in the doorway of the Apple Farm Gift Shop... this is what I saw... sort of a skinny St Nicholas!

Well, these outdoor decorations looked more SILVER when I took the picture! Pretty huh? and there's a SILVER car in the background.

This WAS actually very TINY! a TINY set of sweaters decorated with holiday characters... a Santa, Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer.

All our baking supplies cannot fit IN THE CUPBOARD (known as the pantry at our house)... JPE used the "candy cane" melting chips to frost one end of his candy cane biscotti! YUM!!!

I took this picture the day before Thanksgiving! Taken at the charming, historic Santa Barbara Courthouse... several of the ornate lights are in the SHADOW! 

And, now for SONG-OGRAPHY! This is an archived photo! but... it's located in OUR (JPE & I  got married in this area) "special place" - Big Sur, California.

stop by Kathy's @ Don't Shoot Your Eye Out to see what others have posted!!!

This week's song is the "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell.

"They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
And put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to seem 'em

Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you've got
Til its gone"

Well, in Big Sur they left this yellow bus, painted it blue, yellow & red & turned it into a little coffee bar! Truly unique... the bus sits on the dirt parking lot underneath some huge redwoods! Lucky for us... it's only a little over two hours north of us!

I'll be posting on a more regular basis this week. I've got a little stash of photos to share, so please come back.

BLISS...

quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne...

AHHHH!

It's FALL-ISH...

~ crisp, chilly mornings ~

scarves

long sleeves

sweaters & lightweight coats

52 shades of red, orange & yellow

{an exaggeration}

~ fluttering, rustling leaves ~

the smell of burning candles

& the sweetness of pumpkin bread

the heater comes on ~

it's time for flannel sheets!

What do you LOVE about this time of the year?

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 9.15.13 + SONG-OGRAPHY

Critter @ Barnes & Noble Bookstore

Busy weekend! Saw two movies --- My Family (Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer) & Austenland (starring Kerri Russell). JPE left for two trips (5 days of teaching @ Sophia University & another 5 days for a trip to Cincinnati to visit his dad). Lauren (niece) is moving into a studio apartment in SLO to begin her credentialing program (mild-moderate disabilities) at Cal-Poly --- so, I'm off to our storage unit to pass along some items we no longer need.

I took most of my SHS photos while we were in SLO last night.

Ashley at Rambling & Photos posted these words: ENJOY A PUMPKIN DRINK, READ A BOOK, EAT OR BAKE SOMETHING SWEET, ANIMAL & ARTSY.

Our local Barnes & Noble Bookstore (SLO) sells Starbuck's coffee, but they are also selling Harney & Sons tea. The tins are beautiful --- the smells are incredible --- I've added a PUMPKIN SPICE tea purchase to my list for a return trip downtown.

I cannot stay away from the children's section in bookstores & libraries. I love pop-up books! There are so many cool books --- one of my favorite past-times is taking time to READ A BOOK with children.

The truth!! I didn't EAT or BAKE this SWEET TREAT. But, doesn't it look tasty? The girl behind the counter said these cupcakes are worth every calorie at least once this fall... may have to give it a try when I return to buy some tea.

Found this guy (gal?) in the kid's section at the bookstore also. JPE put this ANIMAL puppet on his hand, so he could stage a show for me.

What a score, huh? Five out of five photos were taken at Barnes & Noble Bookstore. Found this ARTSY picture  displayed on the wall at the top of the staircase (created by children in a summer art program).

 
And now, SONG-OGRAPJHY... 

this was actually a photo from our August camping trip with Lydia...

Don't forget to check in with Kathy to see what other bloggers post for the song, "SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL"...

At the time of this picture, Lydia & I were talking about the beginning of the new school year... and she was wondering if any of her girlfriends would be in her class... (they are all in the other 5th grade class, bummer!)

So, there you have it --- two "meme's"... see ya tomorrow.