Simple Pleasures Got Tagged.

AHOY THERE! Where are you from and where are you going? Comment me that, if you care to. Seth at The Altered Page is doing a polling of "guests" who pass by. We all wonder who our company is and if they are bloggers (or Web siters too) or just passersby who got off on the wrong track. Leave a comment if you have a moment.
In the meantime, Veronica Funk, Simple Pleasures, got tagged today. I've been thinking about some questions like this. I offered up a couple more, perhaps not quite so ordinary. Let me know if you copy and answer these yourself.
These were some of the questions she had to answer, and a few I've added, replaced with my own answers:

What are you wearing now?

Jeans, black wool socks, green Danskos, green long-sleeved top.

How often do you blog?

5 times a week or more!

Who was the last person you hugged?

My significant other.

Which item from your closet are you wearing most lately?

My jeans.

What's for dinner?

Ground turkey meatloaf and pea salad.

What's the last thing you bought?

A lamp and small side table.

What are you listening to right now?

Can't hear it too well, back here in the office, but it's a mix of lots of stuff on the 60-disc spinner.

What is your favorite weather and why?

Warm summer so I'm not cold.

What time do you usually get up?

6.45 am

What is your most challenging goal right now?

Getting my head on "righter."
When have you been happiest?
Coaching girls softball one spring/summer.

If you could have a house-totally paid for, fully furnished-anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?

In the deep, deep Oregon woods.

Favorite vacation spot?

Italy.
Last person you saw crying.
Barb.
Last person you saw laughing hard.
Barb.

What movies can you watch over and over again?

"Groundhog Day," "Pride and Prejudice," "Wonder Boys," "Roman Holiday," "Penny Serenade," "Like Water for Chocolate," "Wings of Desire," "It's a Wonderful Life."

What is your favorite tea?

Starbucks Chocolate Hazelnut.

Who are you tagging?
No one. I'll leave them alone for now.
AND this weekend I'll be attending the Oregon Press Women Conference in Troutdale at McMenamin's Edgefield. It will be fun taking a writing workshop from Jessica Page Morrell. She is going to show us how to make our writing *sparkle* - femminismo

Stimulating Scenery and Scintillating Company.

YOU CAN'T ask for much more, can you? Good company and great scenery lift the spirits and get you quickly out of the doldrums. The Oregon Press Women met Friday, Oct. 3, through Sunday, Oct. 5, in Cannon Beach. (And, yes, as you can see, there was dessert.)
Jan Jackson spoke on "Shoot the Story" and gave us great tips on how to get "stories" in our photos - and much more, too. Check out some of her own wonderful photos and stories. (I was even brave enough to still use a camera within eyeshot of Jan after her talk.)
Kim Cook's topic was "Reject Me Please!" Very good information on marketing, "branding" yourself and taking rejection in stride and using it to make you stronger.
Freelancing was addressed by Jo McIntyre, an Oregon writer who is also president this year of Oregon Press Women. She writes for the Sheridan Sun Newspaper and other publications. Sorry, Jo, I couldn't find a link to your name. She left for Amsterdam today, however, and other exotic European locations, so don't feel too sorry for her.
Sally Petersen spoke on the business of running a business. Very practical, good advice. The kind you really need if you're going to turn your words into a way to make a living from home by yourself. The real American dream. Check out her book.
And Susan Butruille! Oh my gosh, what passion and persistence. She has written a readers theater production on womens suffrage that is just terrific.
JoAnn, a colleague, and I shared a room at the conference and enjoyed a Saturday night out to dinner with the OPW group at JP's in Cannon Beach. We enjoyed luscious food and fabulous conversation. I had the seafood pasta and JoAnn had the steak. Delicious! Real roses on the table, flaky-crusted bread, chilled small pots of butter, glittering candles in glass lanterns - very romantic. And the wall mural put you in Italy - a fine place to be. I sat next to Serena who used to cover fashion for The London Telegraph. Such stories she had, you wouldn't believe. JoAnn and I both agree when we are older we want to be fabulous, juicy women like Serena and have magnificent tales to relate. (JoAnn's chocolate cake had a marionberry cheesecake filling. Can you imagine?) Sorry the photos are blurry. Low, low light.
So, today, on Sunday, JoAnn and I walked to Haystack Rock after breakfast. It was a little windy (just a little) and a little rainy (just a little) ... we made it to the rock and took photos as we went.
The seagulls were all over the beach. It must have been their own Sunday-go-to-meeting time.
I took so many photos I can't possible post them all. I did do some art along the sand however, so I'll show you that.
JoAnn is just the "sweetest-heart" and most encouraging person. There is nothing she doesn't think you can do. Just put your mind to it. I am lucky to have her to encourage me along my path to doing ... what? Something, I'm sure. That's what.
Here is my favorite picture of her, taken today as she did her "photog" thing. I am sure I looked very similar, only not like Red Riding Hood, but like a nun - in my black raincoat with the white trim around the hood.
I had better go. I need to get some sleep and talk some more with the Mister, who was generous about me getting out of the house and running away for a while - femminismo

Guess Where I Am!

I WON'T keep you in suspense: I'm at Cannon Beach, Oregon, attending the fall conference of Oregon Press Women - and no, we're not bench pressing. We're talking about writing for newspapers, magazines, writing in general and how to market our writing ... and where to go from here if we're working for the fading newspaper industry, which is an ancient idea begun by Egyptians trying to market papyrus.
Cannon Beach is a lovely town. JoAnn and I can see the ocean from our window and Sunday morning, before we leave, we hope to get through some of the shops and walk on the beach. There's an actual independent book shop in town that I love to go through when I'm here, so that's on the list.
I don't have any photos to post and it's just as well. Since we are in a "bowl" here at the Hallmark Inn there is no wireless Internet service and I'm back to using dial-up. Yikes! Ever think you could go back to that again? Think again. I am - femminismo

OK ... This Is Really Funny.

WHENEVER I check in with Judy Wise, I find something that looks like so much fun that I have to try it. But a few weeks ago she tricked me. Actually, it was my eyes that tricked me.
Here is Judy's page and I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing a small portion of it with you.
First of all it had this incredibly colorful face in the middle with lots of her little tiny handwriting, because she likes her journals to last F.O.R.E.V.E.R.
I saw the "stamps" with her in all those different hair styles and I thought she had done one of those computer downloads so ... well, you can guess. I wanted to do it too. (Judy always says to steal great ideas!)

So I spent at least an hour and a half taking head shots of myself and a side shot and downloading them into the Stellure "try on a hairstyle" program. When I finished I had a 3-D model of myself and I could try on some hairstyles and make them all sorts of colors. They were mostly ugly as sin, which you will see when I show you this page from my journal.
Also, when you took the photos you were supposed to NOT have hair in front of your ears in case you wanted to have a hairstyle that exposed your ears. If you had hair in front of your ears it would still be there in the form of werewolf ear hair when you "put on" a style like ... oh, say ... the ponytail. Don't I look cute with hairy ear patches?
When I looked back at Judy's journal page, I realized she had merely cut out women's heads from a yearbook, removed their faces and inserted her own. Smart Judy! Well, as you should know by now I can laugh at myself.
The Mister says these photos don't look like me. But if you ever want to do the same dopey thing that I did, and you have an hour and a half you don't mind throwing away, go to stellure.com and try it out. Actually, don't. It's faster to do it the "Judy way."
Today is the last day of September and I'm reluctant to say good bye but I guess I have little choice in the matter. This weekend I'll be attending the Oregon Press Women's fall conference in Cannon Beach with a colleague, JoAnn B. I hope to have lots of great photos to show you when I return - femminismo
p.s. No comments on my batik? Come on! Aren't you going to try it too?

My New Age and other Earth Shaking Events.

I'VE been my "new age" for two whole days now and I don't feel very different. Actually, I think turning 13 and 16 were about it for me. They marked "being a teen" and "being able to drive" - whole new worlds opened up.
Age really is mind over matter and, although I'm not telling you how old I am, I really do feel a little more together ... even as my body's falling apart!
During the Oregon Press Women's conference on Saturday I left behind a jacket. Fortunately, Katherine K. recognized it was mine. Tonight we got together over some Thai appetizers and a drink and she returned my jacket. Fun to chat with her. I believe I've made a new friend, so I guess there's a reason I left something for her to return. She belongs to OPW and I am going to join. The group encourages members to meet informally - in between the two yearly conferences - to share ideas and talk. Tonight, Katherine was able to give me some advice on some personal writing I am doing. All input is appreciated!
I always feel I should post a photo now when I put down my 2 cents for the day, and today I was thinking about a photo that I took when I was on vacation in Mexico. If I could only remember what the photo was???? Hmmm. Note to self: Memory falling apart too.
Ah! I remember. Here is a photo of the covered waiting area along the MAX transit line. It wasn't taken in Mexico; it was taken in Portland. Don't you love the etching on the glass? I want to turn this into a stamp. Where are my carving tools? Try it yourself and let me know what results you get. - femminismo p.s. Upper left hand corner for latest visitor count. No. 2,000 wins art work.

McMenamins Edgefield Manor - heaven.

WHY is Edgefield Manor in Troutdale, Oregon, heaven? Part of it is the artwork in the building and the ambiance. Thank the McMenamin Brothers for that. Another part: the gardens. Native plants like flowering currant and Oregon grape, dogwood and lilac in bloom, herbs popping up in the garden - rosemary in bloom - and all sorts of other delights. Birds are twittering and swooping past windows on their way to small bird condos scattered here and there.
Today was the Oregon Press Women's 2008 Spring Conference at Edgefield (and a beautiful warm day it was!) and I got invited along as a guest. There were delightful speakers and wonderful women to chat with about writing and lots of other life issues that didn't involve working for a living. (Just living.)
A colleague and I walked the grounds and these photos are just a few of the things we found.
It made me want to start planting things. Maybe not the huge hairy plant, though. It looked as if it delighted in the bog near the Little Red Shed where concerts are held on the lawn. The new red leaves on the established ivy vines will cover this wall before long.





Spring flowers in Oregon are lasting a little longer than usual with our cooler temperatures. That's one of the good things. And if these wooden lounge chairs in front of the ivy-covered building don't make you think you're in the South of France, nothing will! Check the upper left hand corner for an updated number of visitors. No. 2000 will will my art prize. Cheers - femminismo