Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Vacation Fun, Diva Challenge #229 Negative Space, TNTM #31 "J" and SQ1 Focus Cirquital

Hello dear readers!

The last few weeks have taken my husband and me on a Western road trip in search of wine, food and new (cooler than Phoenix) vistas.  Our Midwestern upbringing provided us with journeys of the very flat-landed variety, and we wanted to experience some new sights in our West-of-the Mississippi territory.  We started in Phoenix and traveled up through California (saving our wine quest there for later this year), headed north to Oregon and Washington, swung around down through Idaho and Utah, then segued over to Las Vegas (oh yeah!), and then back home.  Nearly a month on the road left us happily exhausted and full of new insights about our country and its people.

Our California drive took us not along the coast, but through the vast agricultural swath of almond and walnut groves, up and down steep mountain road grades, and through the biggest pine forest clad scenery I have ever seen!  Bigfoot could happily live undetected up in "them thar hills"!


 
 
Oregon was somewhat familiar to us, as we visited the Dundee area several years ago, but this time we stopped in Salem.  Great wine with lower prices on Pinot than Willamette Valley (yes, we are having some shipped home when the weather is cool enough to make that safe), and such nice people! 
 
Washington was new to us, but was the primary target of our wine quest.  We stayed at the beautiful Willows Lodge in Woodinville and had some of the best food we have ever eaten at their on-site restaurant, the Barking Frog (don't ask - no idea...)  Their coconut curry mussels were killer, and they were kind enough to give me the recipe.  I have no illusions, however, that mine will exceed or even match what the chef prepared.  We went back a second night just to experience them again.  On the subject of negative space, how's this for some?  This is a hollowed out tree stump in front of the lodge entrance.  Cool!
 

 
After touring Chateau Ste. Michelle just next door, and sampling some of their best wines (yes, they have more than what you can buy at Safeway...), we headed over some more mountains to Walla Walla.  What a charming town!  They have row upon row of lovely little tasting rooms in their historic downtown area (all easily accessible for my hubby - nice!), and more excellent food at the Whitehouse Crawford restaurant. Yum!
 
 
 
We met numerous people who said they needed to escape the corporate urban melee (that would be Seattle with its legendary traffic), so they moved to Walla Walla and have never been happier with their gardens and laid-back lives.  Yes, folks, store that nugget of wisdom for future reference!
 
On to Boise, where I predicted our most exciting activity would be laundry.  Surprise, I got that done earlier, and we found some very interesting history in downtown Boise.  Want to learn about the Basque people and their contribution to our country?  Boise has the only Basque museum in the U.S., and it was fascinating. They come from Spain, but have their own, very unusual, language - full of X's and K's, play their own unique sports and were hired as shepherds, staying in unique Basque-established boarding houses throughout the Northwest.   Here I am in my beret, demonstrating how to drink wine like a Basque.
 
 
 
Utah was a one-night stopover, and since we are not hikers, we didn't learn much beyond the fact that Salt Lake City sits in a very beautiful valley, and St. George is very upscale and lovely.  It really is gorgeous around there!  So, next stop Vegas.  It was great, tasty, entertaining, and what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, as they say...  We're going back just as soon as we can!
 
FINALLY - on to this week's Zentangle activity.
 
The Diva challenge was to utilize negative space.  I kind of created an alien pod just hanging in space, peeked at through a frame.
 
That's New To Me focused on "J", so I used Jumu from Judy Murphy (with some extra fruit under the leaves) and a version of J.J. by Joy Taylor.  I left out the intermediate sets of radiating lines and tried to make it look like cut glass.  I had fun with this!





Finally, the Square One: Purely Zentangle focus this week is Cirquital.  I have never used this before, and probably with good reason,  I struggled to make this play with others.  Finally, I was looking at a platter in a magazine and drew the first one, and the other one just happened - somehow.  I haven't even posted these to Facebook, but will do that today.

 
So, enough of this long winded post that will probably slow down your computer when you try to read it (sorry!!).  I missed you all while I was on my wonderful vacation, and am glad to be back in touch with my Zentangle cyber-community.  Thank you for stopping by today, and know that I truly appreciate all your comments and insights.
 
Namaste
 
Antonine
 

19 comments:

  1. I love long winded posts, so don't apologise for that. It was most interesting reading all about your adventures, I am glad you had such a good time. You must tell us, when you do that recipe yourself, how it turns out. Your alien pod is amazingly bejewelled, a fabulous tile. I know what you mean about cirquital, it can be drawn beautifully but then what to do with it. Glad you found a solution,

    ReplyDelete
  2. All are wonderful!! Your drawing talent is amazing. Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great post! I enjoyed reading about your adventures. All of your tiles are lovely. I'm particularly delighted by the final "Cirquital". I'm not a fan of that pattern and my attempts at it this week have brought frustration. Yours is fantastic! Welcome back.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have never been to the Pacific Northwest. But everyone tells me it's gorgeous.. And looking at your pictures prove it! Absolutely gorgeous tiles!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks lovely out there -
    Like your tangles very much! The hint of brown just gives it that bit of extra!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It looks lovely out there -
    Like your tangles very much! The hint of brown just gives it that bit of extra!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It looks lovely out there -
    Like your tangles very much! The hint of brown just gives it that bit of extra!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your alien pod! If you look closely you can see it moving!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like all your four tiles. Nice !

    ReplyDelete
  10. I like all your four tiles. Nice !

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sounds like a wonderful tour - and love you in your Basque beret.. or boina as it's called in Spain.
    As for your tangles, I think you've been super-inspired and I absolutely adore your unfurling Cirquital! My favourite of all of them.
    Axxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Some really great work. I like your Challenge tile with the Purk and Tripoli frame. Your Cirquital tiles are so different but very enjoyable. Have not had time to tackle that one. If have time will probably try to do the Zendala Dare.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for sharing the story and photo's of your vacation. It sounds great.
    Your tiles are beautiful as well.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love all 4 tiles Antonine -- as well as your adventures out west! I love what you did to Jumu. It's not a pattern I'm particularly fond of, but you really dressed it up. And I can't believe your 2nd Cirquital! Lovely.

    What did you use to color the Diva challenge?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The color is a regular brown micron pen with black on a white tile. Sometimes I don't want to go full bore into a Renaissance tile but just keep it simple!

      Delete
  15. Great work! Glad you had a good time on your vacation. Thanks for being part of the TNTM challenge this week!

    ReplyDelete
  16. So many to see here! Thanks for sharing your story and photos about yout vacation!
    All your tiles are wonderful! Especially I like the first one!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Although i am not commenting on everyone's blogs and posts this week ...I had to check in with you and let you know that your travel post struck a chord. Mostly because we have been in Eastern Oregon/Walla Walla area for the past two months visiting family. We could have even passed each other on the street. LOL! BTW your tangles are beautiful this week and I loved reading about your travels. Our daughter had her baby and we are headed home soon...so maybe wel'll have time to tangle again. Thanks for the fun post.

    ReplyDelete