Sketchbook- Yachats, OR

We were able to run away for three night to the little town of Yachats OR during spring break. The coast weather is always sketchy so I wanted to get a home that 1. We could afford and 2. Had room to watch the ocean storm.

Most homes were taken but the photos online looked crisp and clean and big with this home so you can imagine my surprise when we pulled up to this. I wish I got a photo to give you perspective of the homes on either size. This was a glorified shed. 

However, after I got over my initial shock and toured our little shack I found that the room was sufficient for what we needed. It felt like a very clean and modern RV actually. 

With the sun shining we spent most of our time on the front porch. And because the house was so small and set back we hardly had any wind! No wind = Painting!

If you are ever passing through you must eat/drink at the Green Salmon. I get an orange mocha EVERY time I go. It really doesn't matter what time of day it is. The main restaurant in town is great but hey also have fine dining at Ona and a cool pub right behind it with loud music and actual biker guys. Don't come here to shop though. You are better off meandering up the beach and stopping at the other small towns along the way. 

There are several trails to hike and there is one "trail" that will take you from one side of the Yachats coast to the other though some of it is on small residential roads. 

Here are a couple of doodles from my sketch book:

I like to experiment with different looks to my paintings and some times it is time that dictates that.

The view of the little bench across the street from us. Being on the ocean front street really made us feel connected to the community. Everyone walking by says hi and some are interested in what I'm painting. 

This is what one looks like in progress. We went down to the beach for a bit but I decided to hunt  for sand dollars for a while instead of finishing this up. 

Summer 2013 Part 1

Every summer starts with our trip to Sunriver OR. This time was a bit longer then most but because of the rain I was only able to sketch a few pages. I have been sketching exclusively in my large moleskine allowing me to write more about where I am when painting and what I am experiencing. I especially love watching people look through it and read the stories. 

Not a few days after this trip we were off to the coast to camp with family; my oldest sis Angie from Dear Spring Green and her family along with my mom and dad. It was so great spending time with my niece and nephews. Mark went diving twice in Depoe Bay and we dreamed together of one day owning a house on the beach. We drive around looking at signs and collecting flyers. Does anyone else do that?

At some point, and I honestly don't know when because I'm getting old, we went fishing. Very, very  early in the morning. The morning started out with high hopes. El had just gotten a new bright pink fishing pole that lights up when you real in and I was fully prepared with sunscreen, snacks and a fabulous hat!
Within the first hour we caught our first fish! We all clap and take pictures and congratulate each other. Hour number two goes by... nothing. The other boat holding Mark's brother and friends continue to catch fish. We say "yay!" and clap for them the third, fourth and fifth time but by fishy number six we could only manage a weak "yay" followed by a grumble. The sun was not warm on our faces anymore. We lacked the excitement we once felt when we cast our line. Life was meaningless.

I love my photo bombing daughter

 After five hours we went home and took a nap. Life got better.

And, as always, there is the CONSTANT harvesting going on here. Because we had such unseasonably warm weather in June our cherries, basset berries, strawberries and rhubarb all came on at the same time. My fingers were stained brown from all of the cherry juice for a few weeks, but I now have a gallon of dried cherries and countless gallons of seeded pie and bing cherries in the fridge.

In my search for a good cobbler recipe for the bings I found THIS one by Martha Stewart. I would double the filling though because there is a ton of crust in this recipe.

Now the blueberries are consuming our evenings and the blackberries and apricots are on their way! I am also working on harvesting our lavender for my handmade sachets and to make infused vodka!

I will spare you the details about worming the sheep and move on.

Finally, we are enjoying every sunset here at Bramblefield and I look forward to sharing more of my summer projects with you soon.

Sketchbook-Coast Trip

This spring break we were able to get away for a few days to the Oregon coast. Our friend's family beach house is in Garibaldi and they were kind enough to invite us for a couple of night. Needless to say I spent a lot of time filling  up my little moleskin as well as eating entirely way too much cheese from the Tillamook Cheese Factory around the corner. Oh how I love squeaky cheese..*sigh*

View from where my friend and I were bundled from the cold. 

The kids spent a lot of time playing in the sand. I of course was still bundled.

This was the view from the back porch. Though the fog was rolling in I was sunning myself on the porch. 

The final day we drove to Waldport where the sun was, and in 70+ degree weather we had a bbq with our small group. I can not remember the last time I had so much fun. It felt like I was leaving the Summer behind as we drove away.