From City to Gritty

Only in Portland

We left the colorful city of Portland a few days ago and now we’re getting ready for the next big thing. It will be quite different from the gray skies and bare trees of Portland. It won’t be all about Indie music and hipster culture. We won’t be able to find a microbrewery on every corner or a dive bar within arms reach. We’ll miss their enthusiasm for coffee shops, food trucks and of course VooDoo Doughnuts! But we’re ready to put the winter clothes away and spend some time on an organic tropical farm in Hawaii. We’re looking forward to getting our hands dirty on this trip!

City Bikes!

Feeling the Love

A gift from the sea

What a special day this has been! We are thrilled to be chosen by Betty Londergan for the Versatile Blogger Award. Betty is the Author of one of our favorite blogs heifer12x12 Thank you Betty!

As the proud recipient of this award we must now fulfill our duties, yes there are duties!

1♥ Select and list 15 bloggers who we nominate, these are in no particular order and we love them all!

The blonde coyote

pretty pictures

For the love of wanderlust

Annika Ruohonen

Naive Test

long time spent

Little london observationist

Collette falls on her feet

My Italian letters

Claire Atkinson photography

booshy

Malate

Nitty gritty dirt man

The lazy photographer

Travelbug

2♥ List 7 things about us you may not know

We love cheese

We love Bikes

We like slow food (the opposite of fast food) What is slow food?

We are not vegetarian

We were both born on the 16th

We have a vast age difference

We like Stephen Hawking

3♥ Now we must go inform the nominees.

4♥ Thank the person who nominated you. Thank you Betty!

A happy and beautiful day of Love to all of you! ♥

 

 

 

Photos for a winter’s day

A lonely barn in winter

Frozen in time

Covered bridge series, Scio Oregon

Rivers edge

Orchard in winter

Through and through

Ghostly church on a winter's night

Soon we will be leaving winter behind for a tropical Island in the sun!

Lan Su Chinese Garden, a beautiful escape

Lan Su garden is a small oasis in the middle of old town Portland.  Lan Su meaning “Orchid awakening” and from the moment you walk through the gate, that’s exactly how you feel. The gentle meandering pathways  lead to an opulent garden full of Chinese botanicals and tranquil waterfalls. Chinese gardens are observably designed to stimulate one’s intellect and spirit while wandering in Nature.

                     You can easily spend an afternoon here with a good book or just watching the Koi in the reflective water.

Visit the Tea house, sit, relax and enjoy as you gaze out at the garden.

E.H. Wilson, noted 20th century plant hunter, referred to China as the Mother of Gardens.

“In the Chinese Garden, the solidity of stone (yang) is balanced by the softness of water (yin).  When opposites–yin yang–are in balance, there is rejuvenating qi energy. As the circulatory system of the world, water brings vital energy to the Garden and to its visitors.”

This, the last day to wish you a happy Chines new year!

The year of the Dragon!