Pretty bit

Day Tripping

About two weeks ago, I took a day trip to Portland. Yes, it takes me THAT long to edit photos and then post. Taking photos is sooo fun, editing them ... not so much. If I could give budding photographers a tip, it would be, try to narrow your choices to the best ones and concentrate your creativity on getting the best shot out of a few themes, rather than shooting a gazillion (at least) photos which you will spend hours editing. Oh, the multiple shots of one flower I took in the Rose Garden to get the lighting and angle just so.... except when I get back, then I can't decide. This has been an issue since art school, 20 some years ago. Alright, so enough complaining, just show us the shots, you say.

Ok..... I went to the Rose Garden, downtown to my favorite salt store, The Meadow, a store dedicated to salt from all over the world, along with artisan chocolate and bitters, and finished up with Voodoo Donuts.

Squinting, but I wanted the shot with roses in the background.

I liked the juxtaposition of the faded old bloom with the new buds about to bloom.

The Green Faeries came to say "hi" in this shot. :)

I also had fun putting filters on some of the shots......

and Voodoo Donuts, where I can't eat anything, being gluten-free, but I had a great time picking out donuts for the boyfriend who CAN eat them. Some of their donuts are x-rated, .... hey, I didn't name them, but it appeals to my naughty side.

From top left clockwise, the Cock and Balls donut, yes, it's cream filled; I think the bf got a bit annoyed with me over that one, maybe it was my hysterical laughter as he ate it,... the Voodoo donut, with a pretzel "pin", the Dirty Bastard, with smashed Oreo cookies, and the Maple-glazed donut with bacon on top, oh, how I wanted to try that one.

2nd try at Salt of the Earth

Hi......... I had this post all done, and before I could hit publish, the internet ate it.......... so....... we'll give this another try.

Recently, the boyfriend and I and an old friend from FL, met up in Portland and went to the Colombia River Gorge scenic area to see more waterfalls than you can imagine in a couple mile area.

 Fantastical, dreamworld forests and waterfalls. The bf and I stayed overnight at the Bridal Veil Lodge, which was an old-time lodge with really cute, clean and comfortable cottage rooms, that had skylights, so you could see the stars at night.... well, if it hadn't been cloudy. I highly recommend the place, the owners are very knowledgeable about the area, friendly, and best of all, I could actually eat the breakfast for once, because they cater to food allergies! Just let them know your requirements the night before, and you'll get a yummy gourmet breakfast you can eat!

The second part of this trip for me was going to the amazing salt store in Portland, The Meadow; where you can buy the salt of the Earth, literally. They have fine salts from all over the world. Real salt. Did you know that typical table salt from the supermarket is a highly processed food? First, it is baked at high temperatures to crystallize it, which kills all the minerals and iodine. Then they add an industrial grade iodine back into it, but that turns it purple so they bleach it. Then they add dextrose to make it taste right again. None of that is on the label, because it's considered part of the processing rather than an ingredient. This is good to know if you have blood sugar problems. The body doesn't recognize this altered salt product, so you can actually be low in blood sodium, while messing up your blood sugar. I just want real salt, please, with the minerals and iodine naturally still in it. Anyway, back to the store, they are VERY friendly and will spend vast amounts of time explaining the salts; what different salts from different parts of the world are best at flavoring, and the difference between fleur de sel, and sel gris..... they have testers of each salt so you can try them out. The store also carries specialty chocolates and gourmet bitters. The bf was most patient while I took an hour to figure which salts I wanted......... it was like being in a candy store.