COMMENT HELL

I struggle to find the time to visit all the blogs I love. You are such great, fun, creative people and I always learn so much.

This morning I squeezed in a quick look at the first 2 blogs that came up on my reader.

Great post # 1 with some recipes. Tried to comment and it is a Word Press blog that required I have a Word Press account to comment. Okay I’ll try that. I tried 4 times to get an account set up but apparently I already have one???? Tried to get back to my comment so I could post it with what I guessed my log in info would be and my comment was now gone. Sorry, see ya later.

Great post #2 with some decorating. Tried to comment and there was a Captcha word verification at the bottom. 7 tries to copy the different letters and numbers and got every one wrong. I have good eyesight but I can’t read those things. Buh bye……

I sure hope people have an easier time commenting on my blog and if you don’t please let me know.

I found this to be so frustrating and I will probably remove those blogs from my list.

THE WINNER IS….

The winner of the Folk magazine subscription is Kim@ Snug Harbor. I will need your address right away Kim as the cut off is midnight tonight. Email me please. You can do so at my sidebar on the top right.

Congratulations to Kim and thank you to all of you who came by.

DEADLINE APPROACHING FAST

The deadline is almost here. 6:00 pm tonight is the cut off for entering to win a years subscription to Folk Magazine.

You must be a either a follower of my blog using the Google Friend connect on the sidebar here or be a follower of FamilyTreesMayContainNuts Facebook page.

Click here to see some a little more about the magazine and to leave your comment on the contest post.

Don’t leave your comment on this post, no, no. Click on the link above and leave your comment on the contest post.

COME MEET THE GOOD FOLKS AT FOLK MAGAZINE

Have you ever heard of Folk Magazine? I have been following them on Facebook for some time now and my mouth always drops when I see the photos they share.

They have their Fall edition coming out soon. How lucky for me…and for you that I have been offered a chance to review the magazine and to give away a 1 year subscription to one of you lucky readers.

It  is difficult to know where to begin when there is so much to see. I rarely buy magazines any more since I don’t have the time to go through them and they just end up gathering dust.

Not this magazine. Page after page is full of interesting articles, food, scenery, art, travel, stories and of course our favorites FOOD AND DECORATING.

The pages in this magazine are  full of interesting imagery that appeals to not  only your sense of sight but to you memories of times gone by. It makes me think of my genealogy research on some pages, looking a lot like a precious family scrapbook album.

I have always found that the food pages in a magazine appeal the most to me. I am already planning what recipes to make at home.

How about Pumpkin Biscotti or Pumpkin Egg Nog? Settler’s Beans? That got your attention didn’t it?

You could take a trip to the Rural Society in Mount Vernon, Ohio to their show of architectural salvage or set up a table in a barn to rival the best dining rooms anywhere.

Every page will draw you in. You will smell the smells and hear the sounds of the surrounding areas. You will wish you were there and there and also there.

If you are a business there are many advertising opportunities too including a Artisan’s Directory. They strive to promote American small businesses.

True to the Folk name they have articles on talented folk artists such as Jennie Helper who makes the cutest Pumpkin head prims (primitives) or Johanna Parker’s whimsical pieces.

Now how are you going to get your subscription? You can go to their web site by clicking here.

You can also win a years subscription by leaving a comment on my blog. You must be a follower of my blog either through Google Friend Connect gadget on my sidebar or by following this blog on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook like button on the sidebar.

Now there isn’t much time here to enter. I need your comment and your follow by Sunday, August 26 @ 6:00 pm Pacific Time.

BREAKFAST AT MOTHER’S

When we were leaving our wonderful hotel, The River Place in  Portland, (read all about that here & here) we asked our valet, Andrew, for his best recommendation for breakfast in the area.

He suggested we head over to Mother’s Bistro & Bar which was quite close to the hotel. He said they would be very busy but we should be okay since it was still quite early.

I have to say he sent us to the best. If I lived down there I think I would eat there every day for every meal…well at least until I ran out of money.

It is a simply FABULOUS restaurant. Do you notice the capital letters there? FABULOUS!!!

It was busy like he said but we only waited abut 15 minutes for a table. They are full of interesting photos and other decorative items so your eyes are busy and you hardly notice the time.

This is the view from our table. The staff here are moving at warp speed. Every single person there is pulling their weight. I have never seen a more efficient group.

One of the things that caught my eye immediately was that you can order a French Press pot of coffee. Those who know me know I like my coffee strong and black and I knew this was going to be awesome. chefscatalog.com

I ordered a basic breakfast of sausages and eggs. I was not sure I would like the sausages since I like mine crispy brown but these were delicious. You could taste the sage in them, so fresh.

My BB Guy ordered a  Stuffed Frittata. We had waited a bit when our server came to the table with a giant cinnamon bun and two plates. She apologized for the wait and said the frittata didn’t come out to their standards and they were starting over. This was perfect in my opinion since we debated buying some cinnamon buns to go since I really wanted to try one. It went perfectly with that delicious coffee.

I don’t know when I have ever been more impressed with service and food. I am sorry I didn’t get pictures of our food but my BB Guy thinks it is weird to take pictures of our food. I would like to say hello to the woman seated at the counter who was taking pictures of her food. I should have asked her for the name of her blog.

We left a very large tip because they really, really work hard to make sure their customers are taken care of. Just like when you go home to Mom’s to eat!

Mother’s Bistro & Bar is at 212 S.W. Stark Street at the corner of 2nd. Avenue, Portland, Oregon.

BARN HOUSE ANTIQUES SALE

Our 3oth anniversary getaway happened to fall on the same weekend as the Barn House Antique sale. I have always wanted to go but it has never worked out before. The timing this year was perfect and as you can see in my 2 previous posts we were very close to where the sale was being held.

My BB Guy likes antiques too so off we went Saturday morning driving from Portland to Battle Creek, Washington. It was about a half hour drive through the lovely countryside.

The sale is held on a farm and has many vendors who bring in their antiques for the sale. Let me tell you it was crowded. REALLY CROWDED. They had a lot of people helping direct traffic for parking. Great job guys. This barn was full to the brim with different vendors and shoppers. So much to see, not big enough elbows to spread out and get good pictures.I don’t know why I didn’t buy these. I guess it was because we had just got there. Silly me. My photos don’t do the displays justice. It always makes me sad to see photos for sale. I wonder about the family members who may not even know the photo exists and who would love to have a copy.Not everything was an antique but the country style was just what I like.I know I would have purchased off of this table too if I wasn’t feeling so claustrophobic.I got to know this fella really well while standing in line to pay for an old, black clock. The line wasn’t moving because some woman was chit-chatting away at the cash desk about whether or not she should come back later to pick something up or take it now. Whether she wanted to shop more or not. What she thought she might do with her purchases once she gets them home. Really? Lined up 2o deep in a hot barn and you are visiting. Let’s all learn our antique sale manners. Keep things moving.The many booths offered little bits of shade here and there. So much to see.  Who is that good looking guy in the mirror? I didn’t see my BB Guy until after I looked at the picture on here.This Ouzo bottle was about 18 inches tall.This window would have come home with me if it hadn’t been broken. It was so beautiful.  This one below made me think of Sue @ Sullivan and Murphy. I think she likes old typewriters. We wandered throughout the displays and tried to cool down as much as possible in the shady spots. It would have been fun to stay for the music and the food they set up but our time was limited. I thoroughly enjoyed myself here and know that we just skimmed the surface of all the wonderful items on display. In the end I only bought an old black Big Ben clock and a really big badger hair paint brush. BB Guy ended up with nothing.

Click here to see The Barn House blog.

ANNIVERSARY TRIP–PART 2

In celebration of our 30th anniversary I planned a surprise weekend away for my BB Guy and myself. You can read Part 1 here.

As I said it was a great weekend and here is some more about our first day. We stayed at the River Place Hotel in Portland, Oregon. I cannot say enough good things about this place. Awesome. This was the view from our room. I had booked the Romance Package…at least I thought I had… but I managed to mess it up online. I was informed when I checked in that I hadn’t actually done so but they set it up for me anyway as they read my note along with my booking regarding this being our 30th anniversary. We had valet parking along with this lovely Cava (champagne)watiting for us in the room. Being such a shorty it was a challenge to get into the bed but it was so comfortable. I slept great and those of you who know me know that I don’t sleep very well at the best of times. Enquiring bloggers want to know so of course I will include a picture of the bathroom! They had great water pressure and that is something we really care about. You should smell the soap they provide. Of course I took it with me. My suitcase now smells wonderful. We found the cutest litte socks hanging in the closet for those who may get chilly feet. I have never seen that before. I love how they matched the robes that were also in the closet. We had driven a long way and were very glad to take advantage of the wine happy hour in the hotel. They hold this outdoors (weather permitting of course) and we had a great view of the water. They served us local wines and some delicious heirloom tomatoes sprinkled with basil, balsamic vinegar and course sea salt. Now that is how a tomato should taste! There were chairs to spread around as more people came in plus more fixed seating facing the water. They also set up for special events here such as weddings. On the Saturday evening they had it filled with elegant tables for someone’s special celebration. It must have been a spectacular evening.
These 2 posts cover our first day and evening at the River Place. Again you can read my first post right here.