Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Suttle Lake

Ready For Any Sun Break?

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@    WarriorTales)

It’s March. It’s still raining. In buckets. There’ve been some limited reports of seeing sun breaks, but they are few, like leprechaun sightings. Gray is the current outside color. So besides buying bright spring color clothes I can’t wear due to the cold and wet, thought we might all like to be reminded of what the sun looks like.

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Sun on Suttle Lake.

 

There is also a request from my gardenia bush. I moved it into the garage to protect it from the cold for about a month, then finally put it back outside. It’s requesting to go back in the garage; it’s accusing me of waterboarding. Not me, Mother Nature!

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How cute is this sleeping baby alpaca in the sun? Cuddles!

So to give us all a perk up, here are a few favorite past photos which actually contain sun. Try to identify it!

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Heading out on the road again to the thunderegg beds! Luckily I’d just put new tires on Subie. Gorgeous scenery.

Sun in Eastern Oregon above, outside of Madras. They are under a Winter Storm warning right now. Sigh.

And last but not least!

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Sugar Beach, Maui, Hawaii. A vacation favorite.

Sun on my favorite beach in Maui. I checked and they have sun right now. With showers. But it’s 81 degrees! Let’s go to Maui. If only in our minds.

Might be time to start looking for some green beer. St. Patrick’s Day isn’t far away! Happy almost Spring?

Got Projects For The Fourth Of July?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

With the long weekend fast approaching, I love to plan projects I am going to get done with all that available time. What this means is I create a list of things to do I couldn’t complete in a month of time off, then with unrealistic high hopes if I manage to get one accomplished it’s a celebration. We all know life, laziness and must-see movies happen.

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Ahoy bark booty! A cache of hidden wood gold on the shoreline. 

 

So one project I will fess up to do next month is to actually get creative with at least one piece of bark I’ve collected. On the May trip to Suttle Lake for bark gathering the official orange bark bucket got filled to the brim.

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My Mom, bark gathering assistant extraordinaire, helped me fill the bark bucket in no time flat. Somehow the pieces seemed to get bigger as we went along. The brisk wind off the lake might have had something to do with that too. 

 

So then I had to dry the pieces out and buy a bigger glass container to store the bark, and before I am overrun, make something.

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My fancy new-fangled bark drying apparatus; paper and banker box lids on the patio table. Check out some of those amazing specimens. Living the dream!

 

In addition, I need to plant the fuchsia starts my Mom gave me since they now have roots. Bought special potting soil, have baby pots to plant them in, but need to actually put them in the dirt. So the project list grows.

But for now I wanted to share some of the latest official bark gathering photos so you can think about your coming projects for the Fourth of July. Got a holiday to do list?

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And this is where my special bark pieces come from girls and boys; tree logs fall into the lake, the bark gets soaked off and washes ashore and voila! Naked logs!

 

 

 

Got Your 2016 Vacations Planned?

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

It’s a dark and stormy day here in Oregon with heavy rain and high wind warnings. So what better time to daydream about where and when to take vacations this year? I’ve already requested time off from the day job and I’m looking forward to playing in Oregon.

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Suttle Lake outside of Sisters, Oregon – one of my top favorite lakes to visit. Priceless!

 

The 2015 vacations were all about flying to places and one staycation at home. This year is all about not flying anywhere and motoring around my home state. Places on the travel list are my favorites; Sisters, Depoe Bay, Madras, Sisters again and maybe a surprise or two.

One of the best parts about vacations is the planning and anticipation. A vacation bonus is spending time and making memories with family and friends. There is nothing like a vacation road trip to bring out the nutty and bizarre. This has been true whether travelling with family, friends or in the military. Really wacko things happened in the military. And with my family and friends too, come to think of it.

After my bag dragging days in the Army and Air Force, I now specialize in princess travel as I like to call it; full mosey mode with no aircraft to load, tents to pitch or screaming Drill Sergeants.

It’s always good to get away from home and explore the beautiful sights and sounds of my very own state. Even a quick day trip up the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River seems like a long vacation break. It doesn’t take an overnight trip to get that vacation bounce back in your step.

Got rain? Got vacation plans? Where are you going to venture this year?