11. Heirloom Roses, 7/24/10

It never ceases to amaze me that we can live somewhere for a very long time and not know about all the wonderful things there are to see, do, and experience practically in your own backyard.

Not far out of Woodburn in St. Paul is a place called Heirloom Roses. This week I went with Melissa and Linda out to see this place I had heard so much about. Heirloom Roses is located in Oregon's fertile Willamette Valley, one of the finest climates in the world for growing roses. Here, you will find 5 acres of themed Rose Gardens, with over 1500 varieties of roses. A couple of my favorites have to be The Hope Garden, by coincidence the first rose was planted in this garden on September 11, 2001, and The Tranquility Garden, a planting of white roses isolated by surrounding fir trees provides a quiet place to rest and reflect. As the weather was in the 90s on the day we went, we were unable to take in the full beauty of all the gardens. The gardens are open from dawn to dusk year round; however, the roses are in bloom late May thru October, with peak bloom in June. I cannot wait to go back next year and see them all in their full glory.

10. Morocccan food at Marrakesh, 7/17/10

I have never been a big fan of putting anything into my mouth unless I am completely aware of what it is I am eating; however, part of this whole "50" adventure is to not only to go places I have never been but also to do things I have never done. To this end, my dear friends Scott and Keri (sorry you could not make it Jess) took me to Marrakesh for a birthday dinner. This is a wonderful authentic Moroccan restaurant in downtown Portland. Before we even entered the restaurant, I knew I was in for quite a treat just by the smell that was wafting down the street. As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by the hostess, who was dressed in authentic Moroccan attire. We were seated at a table that sat very low to the ground, on very plush cushions that you must center yourself on or you will fall off of. The inside of the restaurant looked exactly like what I would imagine a Moroccan tent to look like.

There were authentic rugs on the walls, ambient lighting, fabric hanging from the ceiling to make it seem as if you were inside a tent, servers who were dressed in Moroccan attire, and wonderful Moroccan music playing to set the mood. Your experience begins with your server placing towels in your lap rather than napkins. You use towels because you will be eating this meal with your fingers. I highly suggest you dine with people you really, really like since you will be eating with your fingers. The meal is a 5-course affair with lentil soup, salad, an appetizer with phyllo dough, the entree, and a wonderful mint tea for dessert. Your server will bring a large bowl and set it in the center of the table, after which she instructs you to place your hands over the bowl, and she takes a pitcher of warm water and pours it over your hands so you can wash them. Our meal began with lentil soup, bread, and a salad. Then came our appetizer, which was a perfect combination of wonderful flavors, an amazing blend of sweetness and savoriness. The entrees, wow...there are no words to describe the array of flavors that were going on there...we had apricot chicken, beef kabobs, and a chicken couscous with vegetables. After you have ate all this food with your fingers, your server comes back with the bowl and pitcher of water so she can wash your hands again. Those of you know me know that I am not a huge fan of hot liquid, but if I could drink this mint tea, I would do it every day. It was wonderful.

As we were finishing our tea, I saw Scott and Keri smile at each other and about that time a belly dancer emerged and danced her way through the multiple dinning rooms. It was quite entertaining. The whole experience was incredible, one I would definitely recommend. Check them out at: http://www.marrakeshportland.com/index.html

9. Published Photo, 7/5/10

As most if not all of you know, I love to take photographs. My photography habit, or should I say addiction, stemmed I believe from my love of scrapbooking. I would see beautiful scrapbook layouts in magazines and dream that mine would look like that. Photographers who scrapbook have a different eye for things and born from this came my hunger to explore and shoot some wonderful places and beautiful things. Since I began taking photographs a few years ago, I have tried to get creative in things to shoot. Because of that, I have done a photo album of all the covered bridges in Oregon as well as all of the lighthouses in Oregon. I love taking photos of outdoor things such as flowers and scenery. I have seen some wonderful subjects: Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, Swan Island Dahlias, Smith Rock, The Painted Hills, and the Oregon Coast, to name just a few. Over the last couple of years, I have submitted only a few photos into contests; however, for one of my "50" things I decided I really wanted to get a photo published.

I receive an e-newsletter from Travel Oregon. They sponsor a Photo of the Month contest. You chose your best photos of someplace in Oregon, submit them, and they publish their favorite every month. I was so excited to enter a few of my best shots, but I did have a hard time deciding which ones were the "best." After pouring over the Oregon shots, I finally settled on 8 to 12 photos. This one, the one that was chosen for July, was a last minute entry. It never has been one of my favorites, but a lot of my friends thought it was a good one so I entered it. I was surprised this month when I received my e-newsletter and saw my photo, my last minute entry, was the July Photo of the Month. This certainly would not have been my first choice (I thought there were some that were so much more worthy), but I am so thrilled it was theirs.

There is no prize for getting your photograph selected for the Photo of the Month, but that is not why I submitted my work. I did it for something much deeper...I have a desire to show others the beauty of the world in, a world that God has created, through my eye. Below is the photo with the blurb that appeared in the e-newsletter.

Photo of the Month
Tina shot this photo of Portland's Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens. She says the gardens are a "must-see" in the Portland area.