NEW "ON VACATION" CARDS

Several more of the Coffee Pot People went "On Vacation" this week. It is a holiday weekend, after all. Here are the places they found:

Molly didn't go far from home, just up the hill to Rocky Butte. She wanted to scope out the views for the 4th of July, thinking it might be a really good spot for seeing the fireworks. Waterfront Park was looking less attractive to her, since Vancouver's fireworks had been canceled, which probably meant even huger crowds for the Blues Festival. She hated to miss the festival, though, so she's hoping for next year.

The view from the top was awesome! Unfortunately, by nightfall Molly was so tired she just didn't feel up to going anywhere, especially since the temperature had topped 95 degrees by early afternoon. (That's 35 degrees Celsius, for those of you unfamiliar with our Fahrenheit thermometers.)

Lucky for her, the night was alive with fireworks right in her own neighborhood, so she just walked outside and admired what the amateurs were doing. You'd never know fireworks of that sort were illegal, and frankly, Molly isn't sorry some of the local peeps ignored Big Brother. (Don't quote ME. That's Molly speaking!)

Ginny got outta Dodge, and headed for Crater Lake, which she'd always wanted to see. It was as beautiful as expected, and she thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Edith loves the Oregon Garden, especially here in the Japanese section. She adores the way the azaleas match her eye shadow, and decries the more casual dress code of fellow garden tourists. "A garden this lovely deserves to be dressed for!" Edith tells her friends. She has more tact than to mention it to the jeans-clad, however.

Edith also uses the garden for research, constantly on the lookout for new and unusual varieties for the flower beds in front of her popular tea room. She insists there are no beds at all above stairs.

LUMIN GOES "ON VACATION"

It's been a while since I sent a Coffee Pot Person on vacation. This seemed like a good day to send Lumin somewhere, but where?

Here!

Lumin & the Westport Lighthouse

And as long as I was working with my little vacationers, I reworked Harold Angel:

Harold, watching over highway construction

I also, today, unloaded the utility trailer, which was full of old wooden pallets, some broken, some whole. I had to promise, Scout's honor, to wear gloves, and be very careful, and quit instantly if I cut myself.

Why would I want to? Because it needed doing, I like physical labor, and with muscles, it's use 'em or lose 'em. Statistically speaking, people lose about 10% of their muscle mass each decade after thirty. That is an "eventuality" I have no intention of fulfilling! And why should I, when there's plenty of good clean work to build muscle doing? I have absolutely no intention of ever becoming the proverbial 95 pound weakling. Besides, it really does feel good. Or is that just the tomboy in me speaking?

Also today, I weeded the bed next to our house, did a smattering of housework, had a nice visit with the neighbor, watched Dad's memorial video several times, and planted

A nice big cluster of daisies
A euphorbia griffithti
A couple of liatris
A lovely primrose I got for Mother's Day
A low-growing, spreading form of oregano
A nice, bushy agapanthus (bear's breeches)
And eight geraniums, including one called "Happy Thoughts"

Thinking about a flower called "Happy Thoughts" is my happy thought to go to sleep on!

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NEW! COFFEE POT PEOPLE "On Vacation"

I've been working on a new project, one I'm excited to share, not to mention crow about.

My Coffee Pot People and Tea Kettle Characters have gone on vacation, and brought back with them the photographic "proof" of their travels. (And we all know pictures never lie, right?)

The photographs have all made it onto the front of cream-colored blank note cards, and will shortly be available in my Etsy store. And although I haven't scanned the final product into my computer yet, I am (was there ever any doubt?) going to share the pictures right this very minute.



Angie on the beach at Grayland, Washington



Bob, from inside the Sea Lion Caves on the Oregon coast



Belle, visiting relatives in Savannah, Georgia



Cowboy, in Fresno, California



Harold Angel, flying watch over highway construction north of Grants Pass, Oregon



Sage, in Carysbrook, Virginia



Raoul at Burning Man



This barefoot boy refuses to tell me where he found the fountain!



Nigel, under the St Johns Bridge near Portland, Oregon



Orin, who found this boardwalk on one of his daily hikes



Rocco, enjoying a gondola ride in Venice



Violet, basking in the reflected gleam of the Eiffel Tower


That's it for now! I have another fifty or sixty yet to do, so these vicarious vacations will undoubtedly keep me occupied for some time to come!