Upon reflecting the end of summer, it doesn't seem that I accomplished much, but now that I look at the photos I snapped, it seems that I have actually been fairly active (yes, I am a little surprised at that). I did a little wine tasting at Maryhill and Naked Wineries and hiking Catherine Creek in the Columbia River Gorge early in June.
My husband and I sold our trailer and bought a tent trailer, the theory being that we might get out more often...considering that we have only been camping twice in the last two years, I hope he is right.
We went desperation camping in July with a group of friends from work, to La Wis Wins which is just outside Mt Rainier National Park. I call it desperation camping because we tented for two nights and we NEVER tent anymore! I have to say though, it was the most relaxing trip the DH and I have been on in a very long time...just what we needed!
Which brings me to August...
Camping at Bumping Lake ...peaceful, awesome food, perfect weather almost boring even we brought the generator but forgot the tv and dvd player...but again, very much needed! I did, however, bring along some hand stitching to keep me busy, not sure what I have in mind for them, but it occupied my mind when I wasn't reading, walking the dogs or napping.
On the quilting front, I have have two new projects started...I won't even go on about how, I need another quilting project like I need a hole in the head...that point is just moot for most anyone who collects fabric. There is the scrappy trip along in which I participated in a fabric swap on Flickr and the Impromptu along, all the squares are ready to be put together into a top, but then life happened as it often does and so they sit...
Yesterday, my good friend Lana and I road-tripped to Reardon, WA for the Buggy Barn's annual quilt show. She had never been but lived on a farm and loves all things country and quilts as well, so I knew she would love it...I was right (I knew I would be)
From there, we ventured into Spokane in search of a winery...the only one I knew of was Latah Creek, not being real familiar with the town and its viticulture, so off we went...and were pleasantly surprised! I went home with a Chardonnay and a blush, but would have loved to purchase the late harvest Sirah, Natalie's Nectar, it was beyond yummy and just begged to be eaten with some good quality chocolate...(sigh) next time...Pam and Penny (twin sisters interestingly enough) they were very intriguing and more than fun to chat with, unfortunately being from Ceour d' Alene, didn't have any suggestions for a winery that also served tapas...they did provide a most helpful winery map that directed us to the Cougar Crest tasting room downtown...it was our sommelier there that told us about the Steelhead Bar and Grille.
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Mmmmm...yummy smoked salmon artichoke dip to start us off, Radius Red for sipping with dinner and halibut & chips, ohhhh I was stuffed, but happy!!! To end our day, a trip to Manito Park was in order before hitting the road home...
So very glad we stopped...the light was perfect for picture-taking and the grounds were gorgeous! What a perfect day and all these lovely pictures to remember it by!!! Hope you had a wonderful summer, school starts on Wednesday, hockey begins in October and we will be back on the run every weekend with games and tournaments...
