Skyblue

One thing Americans love is the coming of the summer season.

It starts at the mid of June and ends through beginning of September.

 School ends in June as well, and resumes in September,

graduation ceremonies occur during the first week of June.

Summer is the best time for families to join activities in town,

such as music,the Saturday Market, painting and art.

Crafts like scrapbooking and quilting are also pretty common activities among women,

as are fishing and kayaking among men.

Almost all families enjoy bike riding and camping, too!


Africa's Vegie on Ethiopian Sponge bread

Aside from the outdoors, every last week of June

welcomes the World Beat Festival to Salem,
where several countries demonstrate cultural dances.
The differing cultures all have their own booths
with displays of their native history and crafts.
They also often have booths where they sell their native culinary dishes.

As for me, since there is no Filipino restaurant in Salem,

this is one of the few chances during the year to fullfill
my cravings for Filipino and other Asian cuisines.
I've also tried the Turkish food as well as the African dish.

There are also many cultural exhibits and ethnic bands

playing to entertain the townfolks.
Kids and pets go jumping around to the music.
Camping chairs and sun umbrellas
are utilized by the old people who love to relax on the grass.

(Rocker Tee tank top from Antique Collectors' Market, Billabong ruffled mini skirt,

Sterling silver necklace, Nike trainers, Buffalo David Bitton socks, & Fendi sunglasses)

 Fashion is very exotic and liberated, people prefer to feel cool

under the sun in any outfits that range from tank tops

to mini skirts and mini dresses,

to short bottoms to tankinis, even to semi-naked and bikini tops. 

Roadtrip With Baby Begins

When it is summer like this and the sun is up high until 9:30 in the evening, 

staying inside the house is no fun at all. 

In America, every 21st of June is the longest day of the year. 

The brightness of 8:00 in the evening is just like 2:00 in the afternoon in Philippines. 

 Their sun is very bright, ( a sign that the air is not polluted),

 and guess what is a "must have"? A pair of sunglasses! 

We thought of heading off to Aloha, a town 40 miles from Salem,

part of Metro Portland.  Portland is the largest and most important city in Oregon,

while Salem is the capital.  After a round trip to Aloha and back,

we took a short cut home via the Wheatland Ferry,where cars are transported to the other side of the Willamette River in 5 minutes, then you can return  to Salem in 10 miles. 

Where as, taking the road back from Aloha and skipping the ferry takes 20 miles more

driving distance to get back to Salem.

Cars waits in line, you pay a couple of bucks ($2.00) for each car. 

The water is smooth and glassy. 

Looks like 9 cars could be accomodated for one way. 

Anyway, this link will provide more of the details including

the schedules and other information you might be interested on!

 

 

( Victoria's Secret top, Roxy surfing shorts, Target socks,

Nike deck shoes, Gucci sunglasses and a Necklace from Antique Collector's Market)

History states that Wheatland was one of the largest cities

 in Oregon that used to ship wheat downriver to

 Portland and beyond until a flood destroyed the town in great flood of 1868. 

All that is left is the ferry now.

For this kind of  day trip, make sure your baby

 has a full formula bottle and extra diapers.

Be prepared to make several stops along the way as needed for babytime.  

I would also recommend buying an automobile plug-in bottle warmer. 

Keeping the bottle in a cooler bag is good and sanitary 

but making the baby's stomach happy with warm formula is best.

Wheeew!!.... That was a fun trip!   =)

First Father's Day

my own handwriting & design

"A truly rich man is one whose children

run into his arms when his hands are empty." -- Unknown

I am blessed with this wonderful son.

Could happen this way; 

I could have a five to eight year relationship before I got married,

 I could have waited  two or four years to have a child...

or I could have never married after waiting,

or probably never had a child...

A mass on a Father's Day

.... but things happened by the will of God...

...and this child changed both our lives together...

Indeed it was special to all families to celebrate,

we , my husband Eric and our son dined on one of the town's
 most busy breakfast places.

People on the waiting area adored us with
lots of compliments on our little baby!

It has been awhile since we decided to try this place...

the Word of Mouth Neighborhood Bistro. 

The Designer Omellete

Bacon Florentine

Yummmmm, indeed a Word of Mouth I could tell my friends.

The plate is an overload, great meal for the price we paid.

The night before Father's Day, I painted this at an 18" x 24" acrylic on canvass.

My husband, I could say, is one of the world's notorious beer can collectors,

about 40,000 beer cans made from Oregon and Washington

arranged and displayed on his shelves.

This painting would always remind me of his identity,

and my talent is one of my gifts which I could share with him forever.

My Piglet's Nursery Room

  Two months old today !! Yes, he is ! 

I have thought I would share the making

of my newborn son's nursery room,

designed by myself with the help of the artistry skills of my husband.

We were able to accomplish the design of this space

at no labor cost to us, except $love$.

I came up with these inspirations,

from his name (Hunter) and his family.

aunt and uncle are National Park Rangers in South Dakota,

while Grandpa Palmer is a bird watcher. 

I myself loved my wildlife watching experiences at

Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

This demonstrates how the space started

and my husband's initial painting of the walls. 

I learned that most Americans have

their own tools for working on their house

and would rather do the carpentry themselves

than hire someone to do it.

It saves them money, there are no worries as to time spent on the project nor are there concerns as to the quality of work done.

We bought the curtains from Walmart including the rods.

The finials were designed like an arrow and were reflective

of our son's name "Hunter".

I utilized two types of rods, one for the underneath sheer curtains

and the other for the heavy curtains and its valance.

The valance was purchased online at BabiesRUs.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3867746

They have a variety of selections but I needed something that had

animal characters and an indented rod holder since the

window space is narrower.

We also purchased an animal theme light switch plate,

for some reason I could no longer find the item

on the BabiesRUs online store,

but it looks like this:

Basically, we listed the furniture we needed....a Crib for the baby,

 a Rocking Chair for nursing and lullaby,

a Side Table by the rocking chair for a CD player,

baby books, or just a space for the bottle to be placed,

a Futon - a convertible sofa and bed, just in case

 I would like to sleep in the night while Dad needs to sleep for work,

an Entertainment Stand for the TV and other displayable items,

a Toy Stand to hold and keep toys,

a Desk for my home office - gives me something to work on

 while watching the baby, and a Chair for the desk, of course.

The closet or dresser is also important

but since we had a built-in closet,

we did not have to include them on the list.

 

Shown on the wall is my 18" x 24" painting

in oil on canvass titled "Peek-A Boo".

( I made this wall art from wood, scrapbook and watercolor )

I do love Interior Design.

I am obsessed with its aesthetics and composition.

I prefer slick, neat, elaborated shabby chic, minimalist designs---

as long as they make me float on air! ; )

(feel free to ask questions on my Nursery Room)

Happy 2nd month Hunter Henry !!

Rain & Birthdays

Rain 

 I live in Oregon and its a June month of rain in the summer season ! 

 Moist, cold breeze, raindrops...

gives me an idea of rather having summer out of state !

Birthdays 

 I have two brothers and my beloved mom born on the same month ,

           13th, 16th & 17th...

              a blessing in my life I thank God for !

American Eagle Outfitters top, Aeropostale denim mini skirt, PRP belt,

Neiman Marcuss bag, &  Naturalizer peep-toe espadrilles.

Tastes of Summer

For tonight , I thought of posting  the restaurants in town which I had recently dined..

 ***************

 

Baby had his first out of town trip to Portland, a city in Oregon

which has been reffered to as the most environmentally friendly

 or "green" city in the United States and the second most in the world.

Portland is also named as a "City of Bridges" and out numbered

 the population of hippies and bikers. 

Known to have the famous hippie street, SE (southeast) Hawthorne,

we stopped by at  Riyadh's Lebanese Restaurant to taste the mediteranean cuisine.

Oh yeah! My belly ccould only be a happy camper from a 45 minute drive from home!

( Chicken Vegetable Humus served with Pita Bread )

*********

On another week, we had also dined at Bakery D'Amour,

a breakfast place along Commercial Street in Salem.

I admired the modern slick, neutral color schemes

and the wee but elegant uncrowded interiors of the place

visited by people who dines in well-dressed or either on gym gear

 after a morning's marathon...

( a wall decor which caught my attention)

( Denver Omellete served with toast and hashbrowns )

************

On one of the weekends, Eric and Hunter and I

spent a long walk along downtown of Salem. 

Sunny days with a moist of Spring is tempting to exercise...

... Uh--ummm! A tommy filling sounded great to The RAM Brewery and Restaurant.

( Baby Back Barbeque Ribs w/ salad, vegies and fries )

 

( Unbranded summer dress, necklace from Black Hills, SD and Vera Wang sunglasses )

H A P P Y   S U M M E R   !!