Veggie Days

I was talking to a lady that teaches a cooking class and wanted some color on the walls of her great classroom a huge master kitchen. I told her I wasn't sure I had any cooking images or anything related. I then realized I've been going to the Saturday Market in Eugene for years and yet I really never focused on the veggies as a primary focal point. So I went back last Saturday in the rain to see what was in the market and colorful. This is the result.

There were lots of peppers...


... in lots of colors.


Green seemed to be the most common.


Then there were the red apples...


... and lots of beets...


... and tomatoes.


The peppers were hot...


... and some were sweet...


... and all were beautiful organic and local.

Scrabble Score ~

Scrabble Queen gave up toward the end of the game holding the "Q" and the "Z" because she was far behind on a board that wasn't easy and a lack of vowels.

Quote of the Day ~

"Only vegetables are happy" ~ William Faulkner (American short-story Writer and Novelist, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949, 1897-1962)

Along the River

It wasn't a car show ...

... but there was a great hot rod parked next to us at the the Elkton RV Park.

Hot Rods are by far second best indication of middle-age crazy. Don't ask what #1 is, I won't say.

Here is my favorite barn again, the same one was in one of the pictures I sold two weeks ago at the McKenzie Orchards B&B. If you ever make a trip to the Eugene/Springfield area it's a great place to stay and the hosts/owners, Karen and Tom Reid are great folks.

There were rafters on the Umpqua but it wasn't the fast moving experience we saw on the McKenzie River our last time out.

Of course, I did get a flower picture...

... or two...

... or three.

At this part of the river some of the best shots are of the rocks that half of the year are under water.

As the water recedes the rocks seem to pop up out of the water.

I thought this rock looked a lot like a Crocodile's head.

Between the bedrock crevices plant life emerges.

Sometimes the plant life covers the rocks just like the water does when the river is high.

It all makes this a great place to come if you like variety.

Beautiful and deadly is an accurate description of Blue-green algae. There were signs posted and at least two dogs died within minutes of swimming and drinking water near these plumes.

"Blue-green algae, technically known as cyanobacteria, are microscopic organisms that are naturally present in lakes and streams. They usually are present in low numbers. Blue-green algae can become very abundant in warm, shallow, undisturbed surface water that receives a lot of sunlight. When this occurs, they can form blooms that discolor the water or produce floating rafts or scums on the surface of the water."

"Consuming water containing high levels of blue-green algal toxins has been associated with effects on the liver and on the nervous system in laboratory animals, pets, livestock and people. Livestock and pet deaths have occurred when animals consumed very large amounts of accumulated algal scum from along shorelines."

It is lovely and it can kill.

In the faster moving parts of the river the water is a very clear blue color.

They tell me fishing is great at this spot...

and even had a small mouth bass fishing tournament here last week.

If you look really hard at this rock you can see Jack Palance and I should have snagged it for my rock collection.

Oops more flowers.

A couple of kids came floating down the river and I'm sure the fisherman was tickled pink to have them come by as he fished.

They were wearing life vests ...

... and when they got to the stump (that's still here) they climbed aboard...

... and jumped in for a little more excitement.

Sharyn pointed out this great barn shot between two RV's

This time the drove over the bridge you see in these pictures to get a close-up of that beautiful barn and I decided the view from the other side of the river was better even if I liked this side as well.

We took a back road that was paved in parts and a one lane gravel path in other places. The "road less traveled" was a fantastic rural tour I really enjoyed. I keep telling myself all we need is 2 acres in this kind of area and a nice "Park Model" or "Modular" home & high speed Internet and we would be in paradise.

Scrabble Score ~ She is still Scrabble Queen

Quote of the Day ~ "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche (German classical Scholar, Philosopher and Critic of culture, 1844-1900.)

The Eugene Celebration and Art Walk

The Eugene Celebration is an absolutely great event ...

... it is a tremendous street celebration held in downtown Eugene, Oregon and it benefits "Food for Lane County" the county food bank organization. Oregon had one of the first food banks in the country and Food for Lane County is one of the organizations of it's kind in the country.

I wondered if the mascot is names Cornelia?

I parked one block from the event at a lucky curbside parking place and looked west. The crowd was gathering fast for the evening festivities.

When I got to Broadway Plaza (also known as Ken Kesey plaza) a stage had been set up and the Vicki Stevens Band was performing some amazing blues.

Vicki was amazing ...

... and even smiled for this shot while singing

This young woman began dancing to the music and later was joined by the crowd (see picture later) in the merriment.

I love Eugene and our wonderful people who are always up for a great time...

... and the merriment never stops.

Especially Broadway but also Olive and Willamette two of the cross streets were lined with mostly food vendors and most of the galleries and shops were also open.

This was a great smiling crew in their portable food stand and no, I didn't ask them to pose.

I arrived at DIVA and walked around looking at the great art there...


... and the works were very colorful and well done.


Even the light on the wall was creative as were the clay balls.



Julie Ann Mills-Testi was on display in the main hall and the show was called "Essence of the Soul."


I really liked this bird image it was very stylized and beautiful.


More from the Mills Testi series and then ...


... I ran into Renee Manford displaying a wonderful new work inspired by the colorful Autumn last year.

The work is titled "On the Road to Marcola." In 1900 there was a community of Japanese people in Marcola who had come to help construct the Southern Pacific railroad line that was built into the Mohawk Valley to help the local lumber mills ship their timber. Marcola is Northeast of Eugene.

In the same room with Renee's work was a beautiful sculpted log showing a River Otter with a Salmon.


Outside DIVA as part of the Eugene Celebration one of the booths featured a woman beating up some poor guy. Just kidding it was a massage therapist hard at work.


Down Olive North of Broadway was another stage and the performers were called "Just People." I hung around there for a few minutes and loved their sound and ability to entertain. They have a great website at http://justpeoplemusic.com/

I crossed the street and turned East toward Willamette and the Karin Clarke Gallery and was greeted with a great surprise, Adam Grosowsky's work was the show tonight. Adam has been one of my favorites since first seeing his work on display at the Karin Clarke Annex across the street.

All of Adam's work I'd seen were large figures, all striking and all bright color on black. These smaller figures are unmistakably Adam's work and the new works were wonderfully unique.

The gallery was full of visitors tonight, all seemed to be enjoying the show a great deal.


Adam was there and gave his permission for my photos and seemed pleased with the show.


The great thing at this show was getting to see some of his landscapes that I thoroughly enjoyed.


I walked back South on Willamette to see Vicki Stevens Band still performing and this time it was a truly great rendition of "Angel from Montgomery."


As Vicki belted out the songs ...


... the audience danced with the kind of joy that only comes from "being in the moment," something Vicki Stevens is very capable of creating. She paints the moment with her voice and joins the audience in all the fun.


While some danced others relaxed at the outdoor tables.


I walked back up Broadway ...


... past the Jazz Station to the sounds of a great female voice inside singing.


A young guy was doing a street performance using a blue spool and string while his Top Hat accepted any gratitude afforded him.


I headed back to the car (mimi-musemobile) that was parked on Broadway ...


... taking a moment to ponder the energy saving taxi service.

On the way back to my car I stopped at Studio Tre Amiche to visit the Studio and Gallery. Studio Tre Amiche is a private studio and gallery it is open several times a year for public viewing. All other showings are by appointment only. I was lucky because tonight was one of those public viewing nights.

Three friends and artists Rogena Degge, Patsy Hand, and Kathryn Hutchinson joined forces to create the studio and gallery and it's a wonderful place for them to work and also show their art that includes etchings, monotypes and art prints.

Both the Gallery and studio are spacious, well lit and appealing.

You can see three different styles on display ...

... three unique expressions ...

... and three examples of art at its finest. What a great end to a great evening!

Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble Queen 313 ~ The Contender 345

Quote of the Day ~

"When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and move around." ~ Ken Kesey