Last week, we were invited over to a friend’s property to pick marionberries. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. My mind was immediately flooded with all the marionberry possibilities: pies, jams, cobblers, oh yeah!

My friend and I picked berries while the kids played. I’m not talking about ordinary berries here…these marionberries were ginormous! Many of them were 1 1/2 inches or more in length!

After we picked all the ripe berries, we turned our attention to feeding the resident llamas some lettuce from the garden. Llamas are silly creatures and just looking at them makes me giggle. I almost feel sorry for llamas because it’s difficult to take them seriously…they’re kind of like the class clowns of the animal kingdom. I mean no disrespect to the llama lovers out there; I just happen to think they’re funny.

Anyway, it was a fine morning of picking marionberries in the summer sun with the added bonus of seeing some of the goofiest animals God ever created. I love Oregon!

Stay tuned for marionberry recipes…

Tags: Life in Oregon, llamas, marionberries, marionberry, Oregon berries

Last night I got together with some girlfriends for an outing on the lake. Here’s how one of these outings works: We meet at the Captain’s house, pile into her boat, slowly make our way across the lake while eating dinner (more on that part later), then we dock in town, get out of the boat, meander through the cute shops and restaurants, then pile back into the boat for the trek back to the Captain’s house. Last night there were 9 of us…often there’s 10 but one is on vacation. As you can imagine, there’s lots of laughter and general goofiness. This is a diverse group of personalities and perspectives but it works and I love them all dearly.

Now back to the food. There’s one thing you have to understand about this group: We Love Good Food! Our gatherings are always complimented by a wonderful potpourri of flavors. This is exactly what a potluck was meant to be…quality food that not only tastes good but is good for you. Last night we had: Chinese Chicken Salad, Spinach Strawberry Salad, Lemon Shrimp & Jicama Salad, Tomato Basil Mozzarella Kabobs, Feta Dip with Fresh Veggies, Thai Salad Rolls with Peanut Sauce, Fresh Melon, Fresh Guacamole with Chips, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, and still warm Fudge Brownies. Yumm!

One of the highlights of the evening was when the Captain put on her Girlie Mix of tunes she’d put together just for this outing. She had collected a song for each of us with our name in it…9 songs in all. There was a song about Wendy. A song about Amy. Two songs about Lisa. A song about Shannon. A song about Cheryl. A song about Rose. A song about Debra. And I’d never heard it before but there was even a song with my name in it…Andrea. I couldn’t believe it! The Captain outdid herself! It was a super creative idea and one that I’m sure we’ll be talking about for a long time!

The sun had already set by the time we got back into the boat for our trip back to the Captain’s house. It was a warm night and the breeze off the lake felt good. It was a wonderful evening spent with a special group of friends, and through them, God has richly blessed my life. We laugh together. Sometimes we cry together. I am thankful for them.

I’m linked to:
Finer Things Friday
Just For The Joy Of It

Tags: Girls' Night Out, Life in Oregon