Origami Saturday

Matt and I walked by the new gallery about a month ago. We thought, "Just what Ashland needs; another art gallery." Not that we don't like the art galleries, but there is like 30 of them that always seem to have the same art showings and some have even closed down because of the poor economy.

This week Anna was visiting us in Ashland and we decided to walk into town and spend the afternoon cruising the strip. On our way back to my place we stumbled upon this same art gallery that was having a grand opening this weekend with an Origami theme. To my surprise the gallery is actually different then the others. They teach classes and they rent out lots of spaces to local artisit as studios to work in and to display and sell art. There is probably 25 different artisit and kinds of art!

Anyways, Anna and I walk in and they had classes all weekend. They were anywhere from $10-$30. We were talking to the lady at the front desk and she explained that someone donated money to pay for all of the classes that weekend, so they were free to anyone. EXCELLENT! I signed up for a box class for Saturday morning, and then I signed Matt and I up for a wet folding class Saturday afternoon.

Here are a few pics of our work! I think the box class was a better class for beginners and lots of fun. The teacher was a true art teacher , eccentric, which in my art experiences meant the class would be good and I met a few really neat people. The wet folding was for more advanced origamists, (not sure if that's a word), and there were a few of us not up to par. Matt and I did learn that the beauty of wet folding is that you can shape the paper to have more character and personal style. The same folded piece of origami becomes unique for each person depending on how you form it. Even though Matt was sick the whole time we had a great time!

Thanksgiving BEWARE!!!

JJ picked me up from work the other day to have lunch at Lithia Park (because I was too lazy to make my lunch before I went to work). Our normal picnic trip turned into a wildlife safari! We saw a group of pheasants, 13 deer, and 9 wild turkeys. We caught some pictures of the turkeys since I have never seen an actually wild turkey before. Mom, I know you are afraid of the turkey from your childhood experiences, but don't worry. These turkeys won't hurt you. They better hurry up and hide though. IT'S ALMOST THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Turkey on the hill with this feathers puffed up.

Final Harvest my Butt!!

Though the temperature has been to the frost point in the evenings, we expected all of our plants would stop producing. We were happy with the last harvest and were going to leave it at that an not try to cover our plants during the cold temperatures. Well, WE WERE WRONG!! Our pepper plants have been going crazy!! These pictures show about thirty to fifty peppers which have ripened with about the same number which are still green. Oh, how I love you pepper plants. Not much can be said for our tomatoes which have been poor producers all year this year, but oh well. I don't have any expectations about Final Harvest 3 but will keep you posted!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Brazilian's in Ashland!

A few weeks ago Mariana and her mom came down to Ashland to visit us. Mari's mom is visiting from Brazil for a month and wanted to see some of the sites in southern Oregon. We spent on afternoon exploring Crater Lake and enjoying the majestic views of the lake from every angle you look at it! I haven't been since I was about ten and barely remember the trip, so it was really great to visit.

Of course we took a walk around our cute little town and stopped for the biggest one scoop ice cream cones ever at Zoey's!It was so neat to have Mari bring her mom here. Since she couldn't speak English Mar translated between all of us, and we learned a bit of Portuguese. It was great to see them interact together and see just how much Mari is like her mom.

We all spent one morning shopping at the local Farmer's market for fresh produce. That evening Mari and her mom cooked us a delicious authentic Brazilian meal. I hope someday we get the chance to visit her in Rio and let her show us her hometown. Go Olympics 2016 RIO~ It unfortunate other places didn't get this, but after chatting with Mari's mom, Rio needs it. She explained that it's a beautiful town of dance, culture, and history that is falling apart. The crime and bad reputation is causing the business and tourism to struggle. Understandably. The people are hoping that the event in their town will not only show the world what a great place it is to experience, help the city rebuild some of the economy, and push the government to enforce laws and safety to make Rio a better place. Will see.

Family's Fall Visit to Ashland

It was great to have the parents and the Bridge's come visit us again! It was a short trip and unfortunately Regan did not get much time with MOJO. Sniff. But it was nice to have the whole gang for the weekend. As always we had a great time.

We saw at the Angus Bowman theater, Paradise Lost. The play was set around the depression and told the overlapping dramatic stories of five characters. It seemed to be a fast moving play with all the stories intertwined together. It was very interesting to see the similarities of economic downturn and the rippling effects of it, mirror so much of our current societal situation today. I think this was overall everyone's favorite play!

Of course the ladies all had a great time shopping on Main St., especially at Paddington Station.

We had very nice seats at the Elizabethan Theater for Don Quiote. This theater is great because the multilevel historic stage is set outside creating a great ambiance. Although the local fires cast a haze of smoke in the sky and we could barely make out the stars, it was still nice. I can't speak for everyone, but I really enjoyed this play. It was a comedy play about a crazy old man trying to live out his truly rediculous fantasy's of heroism and adventure.

We saw an interesting Deaf dance group perform at the Green show. They really weren't that great of dancers, but the idea and meaning behind the show was sweet. We all sat on this brick wall for at least an hour. By the end of the show I think all of us were hurting a little form the uncomfortable seat!