Northwest Frame of Mind

Now that our shopping is finished, the house is almost clean and I have a few minutes of quiet before cooking Christmas Eve dinner this set of photos from mid-month is a reminder of what it took to get us here.  All in all we had a good week and it’s nice to take a breath and reflect before the festivities officially begin and it’s time for another recap.

I’ll jump right into the week since our chicken and green chile enchiladas, fresh salsa and almond cake won’t cook themselves but if I’m really lucky John will start things off early with a sparkling gin and tonic delivery as I type.  We were slow to get decorations up this year and as you can see from Sunday’s photo the light stringing didn’t go quite as planned… Monday night was another trip to the Dr for a check on Ryan’s shoulder and this clump of pretty grass sparkled underneath a street light in the parking lot.   Tuesday afternoon I followed a crowd of photo-snapping people through a department store and saw they were all watching the singer Ciara during her appearance as the brand ambassador for Top Shop.  She is the lovely, tall woman standing at the “V” between the two sides of the escalator.

Wednesday I liked this small detail from a outdoor wall mural and Thursday I finished the Etsy listings for a new set of colorful, linen cocktail napkins.  These little napkins are a wonderful alternative to disposable paper napkins and come in a fun variety of stripes, plaids and solids.  Friday afternoon I tripped over one of Ryan’s favorite puzzles from his toddler days.  I’m still not sure why it was in the middle of the floor but at least I didn’t step on the hard wood handles over each letter, they are almost as bad as a hidden Lego piece.  Ouch!  Saturday’s photo is a touching reminder of how we need to appreciate each day and always do our best to be careful on the roads.  The first winter we were in this house an elderly woman drove her car over this embankment on her way to church.  Every year since someone places a bouquet of flowers in memory and those of us who ran across the street to help and call 911 stop to remember.

Each photo was taken with my iPhone 6 using Hipstamatic’s “shake to randomize” function then posted without any additional editing. If you like a particular combination and want to try it at home just click on the image to see the lens, filter and flash used.  For variety I continue to add new lenses and filters so if you want to try Hipstamatic but are unsure how to start let me know and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.