Flowers and Friends and a Finish

There was a lot packed into a single day yesterday, and so I'll just get right to it. First, we saw every blooming thing along the Fanno Creek Trail yesterday morning. There is lots more to come, and so we'll walk there again next week. The lupine is ready to bloom, and we don't want to miss it. As for the blooming things along the trail yesterday, I took a lot of pictures. I don't know some of these, and so I'll just let you look.

Of course, I know a wild rose when I see one, and we saw them in two colors yesterday. These are very fragrant.

Buttercups were blooming in abundance.

Sue and I thought this next one was a wild hyacinth.

Don't know this one, but the little yellow centers were sectioned off like columbine.

Here's another one I don't know.

This next one is allium, which is a member of the onion family. The flower is about the size of a tennis ball.

This pretty pink peony was growing in someone's yard. It was very fragrant too.

Don't know this next one.

This next one is a blooming wild blackberry.

Next are the green berries of our Oregon state flower, the Oregon grape. It's flowers are yellow, and now that it's finished blooming, it's producing these berries. Eventually, they will turn dark purple.

Here's a foxglove that escaped the confines of someone's fence.

A sweet pea.

These are some sort of small daylily.

Here were some furry friends we passed along the way. They posed nicely for their pictures.

This is his cousin who lives across town.

This was the only chicken who approached close enough for a good picture yesterday.

Remember all the carved doors that were under construction in the new playground? It appears this is all finished now. The artist added this alligator. Sue advised me not to get too close.

This mushroom.

On the other side is a skunk and some friends.

Here's a friendly dinosaur.

And this is a little bench, suitable for two small people. At the bottom, you can see this is called "Paul's Forest." I'm assuming Paul is the artist. I'm hoping there will be an informational sign included eventually, but so far, this is all I can tell you about the artist.

Back home on poppy watch, the poppy is still hiding, but it's changed colors now, and it appears larger. I can only think it will be blooming very soon. Also, I noticed another bud yesterday for a total of seven.

Edited to say I'm linking back to Whims and Fancies Wandering Camera.

I was determined to finish off the Cardinal Mosaic yesterday, and here it is.

Here's how it looks from the back.

And I stitched the first pieces in the Guatemala Tiles quilt. I've stitched the lattice and the small tile on the left. Today, I'll be adding the pieces on the right. When those are sewn together, I'll need to do some more cutting.

Toward the end of the day, Sadie could be found nestled between Mike's legs.

This was to the great consternation of Himself, who paced around on the floor below. He thinks the afternoons in this particular chair should be reserved for him. It's just one more reason he won't give an inch when it comes to the bedroom at night. Sadie is not allowed.

We went to dinner at Portland's Chart House last night, and they showed us a lovely evening, starting with these custom menus.

Our server kindly took our picture.

We brought a bottle of wine from our own collection...dee-lish.

We each had a shrimp cocktail. The silver dish they were served in had dry ice in the container below, and so it produced a fog when it was served up. Very clever.

The food at the Chart House never disappoints. Mike had the swordfish.

I had their crunchy coconut shrimp, which I love. It comes with three sauces for dipping.

For dessert, we had their hot lava cake. This has to be ordered ahead of time because it takes a half hour to prepare. We each ordered our own, although one would have been plenty to share. We each brought half of ours home.

This morning, I filled in the hoop of my embroidery.

Now I've moved the hoop to the left, and that is the last of it. I expect I'll finish this in the next couple of days.

And that means I'll have to get busy making up the next block for the Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs quilt. It has some applique that I'll need to finish before I can start the embroidery. I might take a look at that today, although my biggest desire is to get on with piecing the Guatemala Tiles together. Also on today's agenda, I'm going to make the strawberry mousse for two. I picked up some strawberries at the grocery store yesterday, and I'm anxious to give it a try.

So that's enough for a couple of days. We're expecting rain today, and so it'll be a good day to stay in and sew.