Raining

It's raining here today. I love the rain. it smells so good when it starts to rain. There is a wonderful word for that:  

Petrichor ( /ˈpɛtrɨkər/) is the scent of rain on dry earth. The word is constructed from Greek, petra, meaning stone + ichor, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.

Grüezi

 This morning we stopped by the Farmer's Market down the road from me. My daughter (who lived 5 years in Switzerland) squealed when she saw the Swiss cantonal flags on this stall. The folks running the stall bake real Swiss bread. We bought Wurzelbrot, a baguette style Swiss bread and a little whole wheat loaf,  and will be going back next Saturday for more. Polly will get some  "Zopf", a soft, braided, egg bread, a bit like, Challah, but with a different crust and a unique flavor. It is traditionally eaten Sunday morning. I hope they have some rye bread.

Zopf

Cantonal bread varieties

http://www.sweetrockfarm.com/

Flag Day

Honor the flag of our country by flying it correctly and proudly.

Click here for "The History of Flag Day"

The Pledge of Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

 

Paint

Just a quick post to show you what I did this morning. I went over to Home Depot for a little pot of "sample paint". I painted this little place in my guest bathroom. I think it looks pretty nice.

 

I've posted about this bathroom before in this post: A Little Sea Breeze

Japan visits Oregon

Suddenly on Wednesday here in Oregon, a concrete and metal dock that measured 66 feet long, seven feet tall and 19 feet wide, washed ashore a mile north of Newport.  A Japanese consulate official in Portland confirmed that the dock came from the northern Japanese city of Misawa, cut loose in the tsunami of March 11, 2011. More of this kind of thing is expected all along the West Coast, this Summer. No radiation was detected, but the marine organisms could be a real hazard to our native species. So far over a ton and a half have been removed. The next task is to decide what to do with the dock.
Alaska has been receiving debris for some time, but this is the first for Oregon.
Oregonian beach combers have always found treasures from Japan which have washed up along the shoreline, such as fishing floats, but this is a first.

Workers from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife remove marine organisms in order to prevent invasive species from a derelict Japanese dock that washed up on Agate Beach. (Credit: OSU's Hatfield Marine Science Center)

D-Day

In 2008 while teaching Jr. High at a small private school, I accompanied the two 8th grade students to France for their graduation trip. We enjoyed a bit of sightseeing in Paris and visits to my friends and family. The girls enjoyed a visit to the school of my friend's granddaughter. After that we headed north to Rouen for more visiting family, with side trips to all the usual places. Giverny, Les Andeleys to see Richard I's Chateau Gaillard, the Shrine of Jeanne D'Arc, etc.

After leaving Rouen we headed West to tour the D-Day beaches. We were fortunate to stay at the same hotel as the head of all American Cemeteries in Europe. He was a wealth of information and made our visits to several of the sites a more edifying experience.

We especially enjoyed seeing the memorial at Point du Hoc, with the inscription and dedication by President Ronald Reagan.
Pointe Du Hoc is situated between Utah Beach to the west, and Omaha Beach to the east.

My favorite portrait of Queen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This 1992 portrait of the Queen, by Richard Stone, is my favorite of all those that have been done, over her long reign. Mr. Stone, a Colchester artist, has been partially deaf from the age of four. He still resides with his five and family in Colchester.

I bought a copy of this lovely painting to bring back with me. I hung it in a beautiful gold frame I bought at auction in Clair. It is now in storage, but I will hang it again soon.

This is a acknowledgement of my sending a message of congratulations. What a treasure!

Park on Lake Oswego

George Rogers City Park is the site of  The Oregon Iron Company built the first blast furnace on the west coast in what is now  Lake Oswego, the town where my daughter lives. It was built in 1867.

The railroad arrived in Oswego in 1886. A seven-mile-long line provided Oswego with a direct link to Portland.
By 1890, the industry produced 12,305 tons of pig iron,  and at its peak provided employment to around 300 men. The success of this industry greatly stimulated the development of Oswego, which by this time had four general stores, a bank, two barber shops, two hotels, three churches, nine saloons, a drugstore, and even an opera house.

Many of the men who worked in the company's mines were from Wales.

The site is now a beautiful park, located on Lake Oswego, an expansion of an earlier natural lake, named Waluga (wild swan) by Clackamas Indians.

 Polly went down close to see the ducks and geese. There was several half-grown goslings, but only one duckling.

The lovely landscaped gardens are dedicated to Mayor William Gerber.

  

The trees and shrubs are lovely. The grounds are well planned and provide a great place to have a picnic, or just sit and watch the lake and the wildlife.

This is the most innovative "park bench" I've ever seen. I love it!

 

A lovely young Magnolia tree.

 

The center of the flowers is so exotic.

I love how the BarBQue grills are shaped like the old smelter. Everything has been planned so carefully.