John and I decided to play tourist in our own state and spend a couple days last week in Boulder, Colorado (if you click on the linked “Boulder, Colorado” you’ll see a lovely little video giving you a feel for Boulder, Colorado from the bouldercoloradousa.com website).

THE ACCOMMODATIONS

We opted for a rustic experience in our accommodation choices, and stayed at the A-Lodge/Boulder Adventure Lodge in the Fourmile Canyon area of Boulder.

I couldn’t help myself, it is early Spring and the landscape is still pretty stark around Colorado so I just had to take the photos in Black & White!

The Lodge has a cool two-level lounging area and they also serve craft beers and have a daily “Happy Hour”. The accommodations were decent although sparse, but you couldn’t beat the $70 a night price.

Excellent value for the money; and if you are really looking to save money, they also have like a $22 a night hostel (you share a room with others). There were lots of young outdoorsy adventure seeking type dudes staying there, I am sure they were enjoying the low rates for the hostel area.

John and I spent some time in the lower level of the Lodge, sipping craft beers and reading (John) and crocheting (me with my travel granny squares making project).

I loved this cool piece of art in the Lodge:

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

So Boulder has a lot of independent bookstores and a lot of cool thrift shops, and visiting them was part of our plan while in Boulder!

We started our adventure with a trip to the downtown Boulder shopping area Pearl Street and spent time wandering about the Boulder Book Store.

The bookstore was pretty amazing; and I could have spent a day there (but there was so much more to see in Boulder). The original building that houses the bookstore was built in 1899 and you can see the historical architecture throughout the building.

Here are a couple photos to give you a flavor of what it was like to wander about the bookstore:

I had my favorite (and now well worn) tote bag in tow; but I was well behaved and only filled it with one new book from the Boulder Book Store.

I also filled it with some new stickers for my water bottle, laptop and John’s tool chest (which he covers with stickers) as they had an amazing and reasonably priced sticker collection:

After the bookstore, we wandered around the Pearl Street shopping district and stumbled upon this very fun thrift/vintage shop – Heady Bauer. I was already having an awesome day so I appreciated the sign in front of their door: “Best Day Ever”:

When first entering the shop you see a huge wall display of crocheted blankets, including granny square blankets, mounted on the wall!

Seriously creative art and recycling!

I bought a used book there (I didn’t want the book from our first stop to be lonely!) – an original edition (complete with 1970s cover art) of one of my favorite science fiction books of all time: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke.

It will be fun to re-read it in the version that it was originally published.

Oh we had a laugh when we stopped at the clothing store Free People to look around (I do like some of their clothes). Do you remember when I was endlessly working on drawstring bags? Well we came across a line of pants that to us looked like “drawstring bag pants”!

I feel like I could definitely learn to make those pants!

I’ll continue the rest of our Boulder adventures in my next post, and I want to close this post with some really cool embroidery art they had in the Free People store above their clothing displays: embroidered coffee and tea burlap sacks:

That is gorgeous recycling!

A Crafter's Life, Life in B&W, Outside Adventures!

Truly Alive

September 19, 2022September 20, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

My next post was going to be Part II of this post Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West show opening weekend, Part I.

But then I went to the Garden of the Gods, the national natural landmark in Colorado Springs, CO (my 4th visit) this weekend while my brother and his family were visiting.

And I stood here for a while gazing at the 300+ million year old rock formations across the grassland and got very reflective…

Then I stood here for a while and got even more reflective:

I starting thinking about an Instagram post I did a couple months ago and how I feel “truly alive” in Colorado.

Here is what I wrote on Instagram:

My third anniversary of living in Colorado came and went without any fanfare but I’ve been thinking about it today.

I arrived in Colorado from Bend, Oregon (a truly magical place to live that I would’ve lived the rest of my life if life changing disaster had not struck) around April 20, 2019 to start a new life after being surprisingly widowed in 2018. Little did I know what glorious adventure awaited me in Colorado, the next chapter of my life.

I have this framed advertisement in the wall of my sewing studio. Two months after my husband suddenly died and I was sitting in my Oregon home strongly doubting my decision to move to Colorado, and I randomly opened a magazine and this ad was the page that opened! OK universe I hear you…

I am the adventure that will replay in your mind. The story you’ll tell for years and years. The invincibility you feel, if only for a moment. One beautiful, breathtaking moment. I am Colorado. And I’ll show you what it’s like to be truly alive.
Colorado.com

Whoever wrote the copy for that Colorado visitor guide advertisement I’d like to give a huge hug to.

“Truly Alive”, that is what I felt when I was wandering around the Garden of the Gods on Saturday.

I spent time with the group wandering around; and at the picnic we had on one of the over 300 million year old elevated rock formations. Here are photos of my brother and I hanging out as well as a haphazardly snapped photo of our picnic among the ancient rocks (while I was trying to balance food on my knee and take a photo):

I also spent a bit of time alone, allowing the group to wander off on their own. Here is a video I took as I looked upon a scene (which I’ve seen 3 times before) that took my breath away:

Here are a couple more select photos from the day but nothing compares to being there in person. It was a gloriously beautiful day in a spiritual sort of place.

And of course, here are some photos in Black & White:

…I am Colorado. And I’ll show you what it’s like to be truly alive.

Thank you Colorado. (And thank you to me for being brave enough to move here for the next chapter of my life adventure).

Postscript

If you’d like to see much higher quality video footage of the Garden of the Gods, here is a video I found on YouTube that I think captures some of the beauty I saw on Saturday:

Life in B&W, tierneytravels

Downtown Las Vegas in Black and White

August 23, 2022August 24, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Recently we returned from a long weekend trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. This time we did not stay on “The Strip” (the Las Vegas Strip where the major hotels, shows and attractions are located), instead we stayed in the section of downtown Las Vegas know as Freemont, or the “Freemont Experience“.

Freemont is older and grittier than the Vegas Strip and definitely filled with colorful characters. Initially I took photos in color but then I thought it would be fun to take a series of photos in Black & White and share them with you as part of my ongoing blog post series – Life in B&W.

One morning I went wandering and there were a few interesting metal art installation in downtown Vegas including a heart filled with locks and keys; and a very large praying mantis:

You’ll see the sun in some of the photos – it was only 9:00 am but it was already very hot (eventually climbing to 100 degrees F/38 degrees C) and the sun was definitely part of my walk.

Here are some buildings and street scenes that caught my eye:

Here is a little of the actual “Freemont Experience” section of downtown Vegas:

My favorite discovery during my wander in downtown Vegas was the street art on some of the buildings:

And here was my favorite:

Be a Maker! Not a Taker!

So awesome!

Oh and in case you are wondering – I donated a little money to the slot machines and called it good. I am not much of a gambler. We did take the bus and spend part of one day of the trip on the Vegas Strip and had some wonderful meals at a couple favorite eateries on the Vegas Strip: Eataly and Din Tai Fung.

We didn’t catch any shows this time but we had a lot of fun lounging at the amazing pool at our hotel (Golden Nugget) that had an aquarium in the center.

My partner John was brave and did the water slide that takes you through the aquarium. I stayed poolside sipping on my frozen cocktail!

Life in B&W, tierneytravels

Chicago in Black and White

August 3, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Early July we met my brother, his wife and son in Chicago for a long weekend.

I’ve been to Chicago, Illinois many times, and each time I visit it is like visiting for the first time as I have a different experience each time.

While visiting I took a bunch for B&W photos and this post is a photoessay of my visit.

STARBUCKS RESERVE CHICAGO ROASTERY

We went to our first Starbucks Reserve Roastery while in Chicago and it was so cool! I rarely go to Starbucks and would rather support a small independent coffee shop, but I would recommend if you come across on you should visit it at least once, it is quite an experience.

Here is a photo from first entering the roastery:

MILLENNIUM PARK

We spent a bit of time in Millennium Park which is a “mandatory” place to visit on first trip to Chicago.

DOWNTOWN CHICAGO

Here are some photos from wandering around downtown Chicago.

360 CHICAGO OBSERVATION DECK

On our last day in Chicago we went to the the 360 Chicago Observation Deck at the top of the former John Hancock building. I’ll close the post with these photos from 1000ft above Chicago on the Magnificent Mile.

Life in B&W, Quilt Retreats, tierneytravels

Riptide Retreat 2022 in Black and White

July 30, 2022August 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Well thanks goodness the tierneycreates Beastie got my blog restarted with her two previous posts about the quilting retreat I recently attended in Shelton, Washington: Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part I and Guest Blogger: Quilt Retreat Report from the tierneycreates Beastie, Part II.

She’ll be back tomorrow with Part III to finish the story, but I am slipping in today and sharing ten (10) B&W photos I took during the quilt retreat. I’ve numbered them, let me know which one(s) you enjoyed the best.

From the upper back deck of the quilt retreat:

From the lower back deck of the quilt retreat:

From the back of the quilt retreat on the beach level:

From my walk along the beach:

Black and White photography makes even the most mundane interesting in my opinion. The tire on the beach was sad (the pollution of our oceans) but beautiful at the same time when photographed in B&W.

My favorites of these ten photos are #4, #5, #9, and #10. I do love also the creepy mystery of #8 – the beach house obscured by trees.

I guess if I had to just choose one then I would choose #9. The beach was covered with oyster shells.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I am just briefly popping in on the story of this retreat, the tierneycreates Beastie will finish up the story of our adventures tomorrow.

Life in B&W, tierneytravels

Rancho Bernardo in Black and White

May 18, 2022May 24, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

We went to San Diego, California in October 2021 for a conference that my partner John was speaking at and stayed at the lovely Rancho Bernardo Inn/Resort.

I came across photos from this trip in my online photo album and realized I never blogged about it (wait – did it really happen if there is no blog post?!?!? ha!). Next post I’ll share color photos and an overview about the trip (including stopping by Eleanor Burns’ Quilt in a Day) but for now here are some photos I took in B&W during my stay.

I like to pretend I am a photographer and do B&W photoshoots (see my blog post category Life in B&W if you want to see more of my delusional photography…)

Life in B&W, Outside Adventures!, tierneytravels

Seven Falls in B&W

April 14, 2022January 15, 2023 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is just a quick follow up to Mike the Miniature Schnauzer’s guest blog post: Guest Blog Post: How to Completely Terrify Your Miniature Schnauzer.

What he didn’t share was that I took several cool (well I think they are cool) photos in B&W while we were on hike, as did my partner John. I thought I would share some of my favorites from this amazing hike (despite what Mike says in his post linked above!):

I guess the park had this sign to really discourage you from going off the trail:

I ALWAYS want to protect the privacy of snakes!

Life in B&W

Exploring My Inner Ansel Adams (Lake Tahoe)

November 19, 2021November 19, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

On the first day visiting our friends Kathy and Matt in Northern California, they took us to Lake Tahoe, an area I’ve never seen before. While in Lake Tahoe I took many Black and White photographs.

I’ve titled this post “Exploring My Inner Ansel Adams” as Ansel Adams is one of the most famous/renown B&W photographers. If you are not familiar with him I linked his bio here – Ansel Adams, Photographer.

As mentioned in the Wikipedia entry on Lake Tahoe that I linked above, “is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States”. Ansel Adams was renown for his amazing B&W photos in the Sierra Nevada.

So here is my photo essay in B&W of my first visit to Lake Tahoe (and there was a cool fog/mist above part of the lake).

Let me know which # photo you like the best in the comments below! I numbered the photos in the comment field below each image.

Life in B&W, tierneytravels

Austin, Texas in Black and White

September 28, 2021September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post is my photographic travelogue of my recent trip to Austin, Texas.

I’d just returned from New York City when I turned around and went with my partner John to visit his son who recently moved to Austin, Texas. It was a quick 3 day trip and it was my first return to Austin, Texas since I used to live in Texas over 25 years ago.

I love taking photos when I travel and Austin lended itself (at least in my mind) to Black & White photography with my camera phone. Here are a sampling of my photos from my trip to Austin, Texas.

I had a wonderful time in Austin, Texas and I had the best beef brisket I’ve ever had in my life at the Rolling Smoke BBQ food truck. I also saw my first Lone Star Beer chandelier (see 2nd photo), a sight I can never “un-see” (smile)!

I remember moving from New York to Texas so many years ago when my late husband was in the military and having complete culture shock as a New Yorker. But I adapted and met many great friends; and now having lived in 5 states around the country it is easier to acculturate when moving (but I have no plans to leave Colorado).

That is it for traveling for now, am currently “travel out” and have a bit of traveling fatigue. It is good to just be home for a while!

Life in B&W, tierneytravels

Wilmington, North Carolina in Black and White

September 1, 2021September 2, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

A couple weeks ago my partner John had a 5 day business trip in Wilmington, North Carolina. Since I am not currently working (see post News) I accompanied him and Mike the Miniature Schnauzer stayed with the dog babysitter (Mike will do a post in the future about his adventures at “Dog Camp” for little dogs).

We stayed at the Embassy Suites on the Wilmington Riverfront, and each morning I went on a walk along the river to explore and take photos, many in Black & White. As some of you might remember I like to pretend I am a photographer and do B&W photoshoots (see my blog post category Life in B&W if you want to see more of my delusional photography…).

Here are some select B&W photos from my trip that I want to share with you (as usual I took a ridiculous amount of photos).

WANDERING ABOUT THE WILMINGTON RIVERWALK

The Wilmington Riverwalk is amazing and I was glad it was right outside our hotel!

Here is the photo that I would call “The Money Shot” (like they do in Hollywood) – it is my favorite photo I took along the Wilmington Riverwalk:

I love the reflection of the clouds on the water!

OLD BUILDINGS

I was fascinated by the old buildings I encountered while wandering around downtown Wilmington one day.

AROUND DOWNTOWN

Wandering around Downtown Wilmington…

THE RAILROAD MUSEUM

I thought I would get time to visit the Railroad Museum while I was there because I love railroads but time got away from me and I will have to save it for next time. I did take some photos though…

THE BEACH

Wilmington is on the North Carolina coast and we did spend an afternoon, when John was able to get out of meetings early, at the beach/ocean. Most of those photos were in color and I will share them on another post, but here is my one B&W photo at the on my way walk to the beach from where we parked.

BLOGGING CENTRAL

Our hotel room had a separate living room/kitchenette area from the bedroom area. Between the kitchenette and the living room was a desk set up. While on the trip I spent a bit of time catching up on reading blog posts as well as writing some posts. I took a photo of the desk I worked from in our hotel room:

I really enjoyed pretending I am a photographer! I also really enjoyed Wilmington, North Carolina!

John will be returning in the future for more business trips and there is a lot more to explore.

I also met some of his wonderful colleagues that live in North Carolina at a company dinner and look forward to spending time with them again. We dined at a place called the Port Land Grille (and yes after living in the Pacific NW I got a giggle over the name…) and I will close this post with a photo from the shopping center next to the restaurant.

Life in B&W, Outside Adventures!, tierneytravels

Garden of the Gods in Black and White

May 8, 2021June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is sort of part 2 of the May 6th post Out of town guests? Put them to work!. We didn’t just make our friends visiting from Oregon work on home remodeling projects, we did actually take them sightseeing.

The weather was cold and a bit snowy during their visit but they really wanted to see the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. According to Wikipedia, The Garden of the Gods is comprised of “red rock formations were created during a geological upheaval along a natural fault line millions of years ago”.

This was my second time there and very different from my first visit in August 2019 when we took my visiting sister and nephew there (see post And on the 8th Day…Part I). It was much sunnier and much warmer in August.

In honor of the difference between the warm August and cold/snowy early April visit, I took photos in Black & White instead of color.

Here is a photo journal of the day – enjoy (or cringe at my attempt to be a B&W photographer, ha!):

And yes, Mike the Miniature Schnauzer joined us in the backpack.

Life in B&W, Outside Adventures!, tierneytravels

And on the 8th Day…Part III

April 27, 2020August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is my third and I think final installment of my series of posts celebrating my one year anniversary of living in Colorado by sharing some of its natural geologic beauty.

If you are just joining us, here are the previous two posts in this series:

And on the 8th Day…Part I

And on the 8th Day…Part II

Today’s post is about a recent hike (two weekends ago) at Castlewood Canyon State Park.

And let me kick off this post with a photo I took early in the hike that I think is quite lovely (I forgot which smartphone camera settings I used, perhaps “Sepia”):

Although we did not hike into this specific area (the site of the remains of Castlewood Canyon Dam), Wikipedia has some interesting history on Castlewood Canyon State Park:

The park retains a unique part of Colorado’s history, the remains of Castlewood Canyon Dam. Visitors can still see the remnants and damage from that dam which burst in 1933. The event sent a 15-foot (5 m) wave of water all the way to downtown Denver resulting in a flood.

My partner John and I brought Mike the miniature schnauzer with us, and once again, as in photos in other posts in this series of posts, Mike got to hike in the backpack:

Yes, Mike is one spoiled miniature schnauzer!

With social distancing in place, hiking was a bit tricky when we got to narrow areas as if there was another set of people walking by we had to get at least six (6) feet away from them. This got a wee bit cumbersome during the hike at times, especially if there was a large family group hiking.

During this time of social distancing, I always wonder if dogs think that humans just do not like each other any longer, as they are always avoiding one another as much as possible!

You cannot sit at any of the park benches or picnic areas (they are closed off during the COVID-times) but we did have a nice picnic on a large rock next to a stream during our hike.

As you can see in the first photo, Mike looked on as lunch was prepared and eaten, wondering why he was not invited to the feast (we did bring dog treats and water for him of course)!

I will close out this post with some of my favorite photos from the several hour afternoon hike at Castlewood Canyon State Park in both color and black & white. Thanks for virtually sharing this hike with me!

Life in B&W, Outside Adventures!, tierneytravels

And on the 8th Day…Part II

April 20, 2020August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am continuing my series of posts to celebrate my one year anniversary of living in Colorado by sharing some of the natural geologic beauty I’ve witnessed over the past year as I explore Colorado. Here is the link to the first post in this series if you missed it – And on the 8th Day…Part I. This post also explains the title of this series of posts.

I meant to continue this series yesterday, on April 19th the actual anniversary, but I got distracted by the endless trimming of half square triangles (No Scrap Left Behind (half square triangle craziness)), so I have a good excuse. No worries (in case you’ve been losing sleep wondering how I am progressing on my latest scrappy quilt) I will update you on this piece in a future post, but for now here is a photo of my growing piles of trimmed half square triangles:

Eldorado Canyon State Park

Eldorado Canyon State Park is one of those hidden gems in Colorado that no one talks about except the native/locals. Luckily my partner John is a Colorado native and knows all the great places to hike. We spent the day there with Mike our miniature schnauzer in September 2019.

Here is the description of this spectacular park from the Colorado State Park’s website:

Eldorado Canyon is a hidden treasure right in Boulder’s backyard! Whether it’s hiking amidst the towering sandstone cliffs, picnicking along scenic South Boulder Creek or climbing Eldo’s sheer golden walls, Eldorado Canyon State Park truly has something for everyone! Discover this hidden jewel and take home memories that will last a lifetime.

Well, like the description above says, I did “take home memories that will last a lifetime” and I took WAY TOO MANY photos!

In preparing for this post, I poured over hundreds of photos from my visit to decide which ones to share. I am only going to share my absolute favorites (smile).

In the Rapids

One of my favorite memories of the day is climbing out to the rocks in the middle of river (or creek?) that runs through the park and being in the middle of the rapids (well it was not that turbulent) and having a little picnic.

My partner John, who took the photos, had to precariously hand me Mike once I got myself safely positions on the rocks in the middle of the water.

My favorite photo from this moment is selfie I took of Mike and I where it looks like Mike is saying: “My human is kind of crazy for bringing me out to this rock in the middle of rapidly moving water!”

Wandering About the Canyon

I only had to select from 20+ photos to provide those photos above. I won’t tell you the obscene amount of photos I had to select from for these next set of photos. Everything was so beautiful and awe-inspiring as we hiked about the canyon.

Here are some of my favorite photos (because I do not want to blow out my blog page image storage allowance, ha!).

All I can say is that these images do not do the beauty of this place justice.

The sky was clear blue and although it was a Saturday in September there we not very many fellow hikers there. At times it felt like we had the whole amazing place to ourselves!

Traveling in Style

As some of the hike involved a bit of easy rock climbing to get around, we decided we would carry Mike in his backpack most of the hike for safety. Here he is traveling in style (we took turns carrying him vs. our day hike pack) and John carried him most of the time.

The Black and Whites

Of course I took B&W photos during the hike? Would you expect any less of me?!?! (If you are new to this blog you can check out my series of posts – Life in B&W).

Here are some of my favorites as I channeled my inner Ansel Adams…

And to close out this post, here is me, feeling quite happy and blessed to be a on a beautiful hike, on a beautiful day, in the beautiful state of Colorado!

Life in B&W, tierneytravels

Cabo San Lucas in Black and White

March 15, 2020August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In the middle of February, before the reality of global pandemic became something we would be discussing in our daily conversations, my partner and I went on vacation to Cabo San Lucas.

In my next post I will share stories from our “relaxation vacation experiment” but for this post I will just share some of the photos I took in black & white to continue my ongoing series Life in B&W, in which I pretend I am a photographer (smile).

A Crafter's Life, Life in B&W, Outside Adventures!, tierneytravels

California Quilting Sisters Adventures, Part II

February 21, 2020August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post is a continuation of my previous post California Quilting Sisters Adventures, Part I.

Northern California is a beautiful part of the U.S. While visiting my Quilting Sisters Kathy and Lisa in the Sacramento area in April 2019 I got to appreciate some of the beauty of Northern CA.

I stayed with my friend Kathy, her husband Matt and her awesome new Chocolate Labrador puppy, Riley. They have incredible wooded areas on their property and just hanging out at their home I got a taste of the beauty of Northern CA.

One morning, I watched three wild male turkeys trying to court a female turkey right off their back patio:

I put an arrow where the female turkey was and she did not seem very interested in any of them (she kept wandering away) while they took turns (or simultaneously) displaying their plumages!

Kathy took me on a day trip to South Yuma River State Park and it was amazing! I will let the rest of this post serve as a photo essay as I show you some of the images from our visit to this stunning state park.

Next post (which is the final one in this series of posts) I will share photos and stories from our Quilt Shop Hopping in Northern California!

Postscript

I am also sneaking into this post a continuation on my series of posts Life in B&W, in which I pretend I am a photographer showing you the stark beauty of Black and White photography.

Here are a couple of the images I took during the day trip in B&W for your enjoyment (or you can roll your eyes, ha!).

Oh yes there we a lot more, but I figure four images is enough to expose you to 🙂

Life in B&W, tierneytravels

Life in B&W: El Paso, Tx and Mesilla, NM

November 12, 2019August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my series of posts Life in B&W, I thought I’d share images from a trip to El Paso, Texas and a day trip to Mesilla, New Mexico with old friends. In El Paso we stayed downtown at a lovely hotel called Hotel Indigo.

Let’s consider this post a “photo essay” and I will just share the images without a lot of text.

El Paso, Texas

Mesilla, New Mexico

Yes I have a thing for doorways and windows in B&W. The last photo is one of my favorites – I love the contrast of the white adobe structure to the wooden door.

Postscript

Only in El Paso…

Why drive to Starbucks when you can take your horse? Yes this is downtown El Paso, Texas.

Life in B&W, Sunflowers!

Morning Walk in Black and White

August 18, 2019August 19, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my series of posts Life in B&W, I thought I was share some images from a recent morning walk near where I am now living in the Denver Greater Metropolitan area.

But first I thought I would share some news/update you on my life…

I’ve Moved – from Urban to Suburban

Those of you who followed my blog for a while know that earlier this year (April 2019) I moved from Central Oregon to the greater Denver Metropolitan area, after my husband Terry suddenly passed in December 2018.

I moved from a home in Central Oregon to a two-bedroom apartment in the Denver area. and tried to stay positive about a new “living on my own apartment adventure” (the first time I’ve lived on my own in my life). However, little did I know how much I would dislike apartment living after living in a home most of my life. As well as how much I would dislike living without another human in my residence.

Mike my miniature schnauzer disliked apartment living also – he missed having a backyard to play ball in. Early morning, during the day and late in the evening, I had to take him on either a quick or longer walk for him to “do his business” and this became tedious. Additionally there were sketchy areas and a large homeless population near where I was living. Mike and I had one scary experience where a homeless man from the park near my apartment followed us for several blocks in a stalking manner.

In May I met a friend at the new Spousal Loss Grief Support group I was attending in the Denver area who also loss his spouse and was interested in having a roommate for his large house. He had a nice backyard that backed up onto a green space and walking trail and he really liked Miniature Schnauzers (his favorite dog breed)!

So a couple months ago I left my apartment in an urban area and moved to the suburbs and I am very happy (and so is Mike).

Plus it is wonderful to have a roommate who understands the depth of the grief of losing their spouse/lifetime partner and we’ve been a great support to each other. It is not something I want anyone to experience in order to understand. As I’ve discussed with numerous other widows and widowers, unless you’ve personally experienced this unique and devastating loss, you absolutely do not have a clue (and you are not in any position to offer any life advice to someone who has lost their spouse, all you can do is support and respect them on their journey) or can even imagine what they are dealing with.

You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.― Anne Lamott

With that background, I can now share with you some images in B&W I took with my smartphone on a morning walk near my new residence (by the way, I thought I was going to live an edgier urban life but I am a suburban girl at heart.)

Morning Walk in Black & White

As part of my walk I had to go through a tunnel under the road to cross from one side of a busy street to the other. I was absolutely fascinated with the tunnel in B&W:

The tunnel was lined with bird nests, which also looked quite interesting in B&W:

Pretty cool, eh?

Postscript

Now that I live in a house, I also have a yard in order to plant things. One of the early thing I planted was sunflower seeds. If you are a longtime follower of my blog you might remember my obsession with sunflowers (see series of posts – Sunflowers!)

Recently the first sunflower from three large pots of sunflowers I planted has begun to bloom:

I suspect I might have a future post about sunflowers when all three pots of sunflowers are in bloom!

And speaking of future posts – I have a new studio in my new residence.

If you remember my posts from May 2019 (“Oh Scrap”, Part II and New “Studio” Tour and New Studio Tour, Part II) I shared images from my new apartment “Studio/Guest Bedroom”:

I now have a dedicated Studio – a room for creating that I do not have to share with any guest – ha! So I will do a future post about my Studio, but here is a sneak peak with an image of the design wall my roommate built me and a work in progress:

Colorado Bound, Life in B&W

Colorado Bound (Part III) – Colorado in B&W

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here is my next installment in my new series of posts “Colorado Bound” which began with this post: Colorado Bound (Part I). It is also a continuation of my series Life in B&W in which I pretend that I am a real photographer expanding my portfolio of Black & White Photos taken with my iPhone camera (isn’t that what real photographers use?!?!?).

I recently returned from a 5 day trip to the Denver Colorado area to visit friends and to tour apartments to live in. We toured 10 apartment complexes between Boulder and Denver and I settled on a place in a suburb of Denver, in the Denver Greater Metropolitan area (this is the web and you never know who is reading so that is as many details as I will provide in this public forum).

I did end up getting a 2 bedroom apartment which even has a separate nook with a built in desk for telecommuting! I was originally going to be very minimalist and thrifty but decided that if I am going to work from home I need space. Additionally it will be nice for visitors and to have a decent space for crafting.

I decided to rent in a “boutique apartment complex” type of place for a year which has included a fitness center, a pool, community activities, and other wonderful amenities. It will be sort of like living in a hotel for a year!

In addition to touring apartments (my friend was incredible driving me around on the first day to tour 5 apartments and loaning me her car the next day when she had to work to let me tour on my own), we went on a wonderful tour of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Distillery as well as attended an incredible concert by the Boulder, CO based acapella group Face Vocal Band.

I will feature some photos from Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Distillery tour in another post.

Oh and if you enjoyed the video by Face Vocal Band above performing a traditional song, here they are again performing a contemporary popular music hit. Note all the percussion sounds are done by voices of the performers, no instruments!

I so appreciate my friends Michele and her husband Blair introducing me to this fun band!

Okay so let’s get to the Black & White photos I threatened to share in the title of this post (smile).

Colorado in Black & White

Michele, Blair and I went for a lovely hike on the Sunday before I returned home. Here are some photos from that walk:

Postscript

I thought I would start with my recent trip to Colorado as it is fresh on my mind, but I have a backlog of other stories and posts to come 🙂

Life in B&W, Shows and Exhibits, tierneytravels

Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part II

March 18, 2019September 27, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here is a follow up to my 03/01/19 post Solo Show Seattle Municipal Tower, Part I.

Last week I was in Seattle, Washington for a work meeting and while I was in Seattle I dropped of my 12 art quilts that will be in my solo show at the Seattle Municipal Tower in Downtown Seattle opening 04/18/19 and running through 07/16/19.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Patricia S. the Coordinator for the City of Seattle’s Ethnic Heritage Gallery and Blake H. the Curator and Collections Manager for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. They seemed pleased with the art quilts I had selected for the show.

I got to tour the gallery space in the Seattle Municipal Tower in downtown Seattle.

Here is some of the gallery space (I took photos quickly as I had to get to a work meeting in another section of downtown Seattle):

Here is the reception area where the opening reception will be held:

And here is the draft flyer for the show which is titled “The Wardrobe Meets the Wall: Art Quilts Created from Recycled Clothing & Garment Manufacturing Samples”.

The show’s curator said he loved the title, the concept and thought the art quilts were beautiful (I had a “trunk show” in the lower lobby/gallery area for the Coordinator and Curator).

The show opens at 12 noon on 04/18/19 at 700 5th Avenue, Seattle Washington. See you there if you are in the area! (My head is still reeling that the City of Seattle invited me to have a solo show…)

Postscript

Downtown Seattle in B&W

I could not refuse the opportunity to take photos of downtown Seattle Washington in black & white while I walked from my meeting with the City of Seattle on the show, to my employer’s office.

I guess you could consider this postscript a continuation of my series of posts – Life in B&W.

And then there was the magnificent Downtown Seattle Public Library which I used to browse when I lived in Seattle 15 years ago:

Life in B&W

Santa Fe in Black and White

November 30, 2018December 1, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post is another installation on posts about my trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico in early November. My previous post discussed creative inspiration from visiting the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum for the first time (Creative Inspiration: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum).

Santa Fe was filled with inspiration and I was inspired to dabble in B&W iPhone photography again like in previous posts (see my series of posts Life in B&W).

So indulge me again and check out this photo essay of images from my trip to Santa Fe in B&W!

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

The first building I fell in love with in Santa Fe and immediately wanted to photograph in B&W was the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in downtown Santa Fe.

I took a lot of photos of the exterior of the church and even tried different B&W iPhone filters:

And the amazing door, I had to photograph this door, as well as an interesting structure in the church courtyard:

While we wandering downtown there was a Mass in progress so I did not peek inside of the church, but there I did check out photos online of the interior which were amazing.

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

During our visit to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum I experimented with B&W photography. Most of the photos are not worth sharing but I do like this one of the windows in a section of the gallery:

Fences and Adobe Structures

I was absolutely fascinated with the rustic wood fences and adobe structures in Santa Fe. Here are some of my photos:

Madrid, New Mexico

As I mentioned in the post Creative Inspiration: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, on our road trip back to Albuquerque, NM to fly home, we took a detour to visit a colleague of my friend Laurie who owns an amazing horse ranch/equestrian center.

On our route to the horse ranch, we drove through the quaint town of Madrid, New Mexico and stopped to wander around. Here are some B&W photos from that wander.

At the Equestrian Center

And finally, during our visit to the equestrian center outside of Albuquerque, NM, I took photos in B&W. I was fascinated by the displays of horse tack and saddles.

More photos (in color) of my trip to come.

Postscript

Work has been very busy lately with end of year projects. I must admit I have not had much interest in being on a computer outside of work hours lately so although I have many posts in my head I have not actually written them. I also need to catch up on the blogs I follow.

I also need a nap.

Funny when you are a kid you never want to nap, but when you are an adult you would love to have a nap!

Speaking of naps, I will close this post with an image of my miniature schnauzer, Mike, taking a nap in the front window in his cushion that has been moved to the window area per his request (smile).

He is a “Napping Professional”.

Life in B&W, Quilt Retreats

October Quilt Retreat Part IV: In Black and White

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Here is the final installment of the series of posts on the quilt retreat I attended in October.

If you are just joining us – here are the previous related posts:

This post is the fault of Claudia @Claudia McGill – she encouraged me to share more Black & White photography.

As I warned my readers in the post New York City in Black and White, the “Noir” setting on my iPhone camera is a dangerous thing in the hands of an imaginary photographer!

But Claudia just had to comment on this post:

“You’ve got a good eye. Enjoyed these. More, please!”

And, all I needed was a tiny bit of encouragement and now you all are stuck with some more…

Quilt Retreat in B&W

During the quilt retreat I wandered around the retreat center and the surrounding rural areas and snapped endless photos in B&W. Here are my favorites.

Wandering Around Outside

The Quilt Retreat Center

And of course this collection of photos would not be complete without Abbey the Quilt Retreat Kitty in B&W!

A Crafter's Life, Life in B&W, Sunflowers!

End of the Season Musings

November 12, 2018November 19, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is sort of a follow up to the 10/21/18 post Creative Inspiration: Sunflowers!. but it really about the end of the “warm” seasons in Central Oregon (late Spring, Summer and early to mid Autumn) and the heralding of the Winter (aka cold) season.

A couple days ago on my daily walk I snapped this photo of the Giant Sunflower that I posted about in the Creative Inspiration: Sunflowers! post.

Here is what is looked like in September:

Here is what it looked like in Black & White in September:

Here is what it looks like now in November:

And here is what it looks like now, in Black & White:

I seems like Black & White is the right palette for the now stark and shriveled previously gorgeous sunflower.

It appears that all the sunflower seeds are gone from the sunflower head and I am not sure why the homeowners are letting it sit there to decay.

The decay reminds that Winter is coming…

There are many good things about Winter and Winter is important to the Central Oregon ecosystem and to our economy (we have Mount Bachelor which brings in the skiers and other Winter sport enthusiasts). Winter is also a great time for reading, nesting, crafting, reflecting, and the Winter holiday.

But today I am sort of wistful for the beauty of the other seasons and grieving the end of the tremendous beauty of Autumn in Central Oregon (see post Creative Inspiration: Fall Colors).

Right now all the leaves have fallen and everything looks stark, bare and dried out. I think the landscape will get more appealing once the snow falls and a lovely blanket of white covers the stark ground.

Life in B&W, Quilters Take Manhattan, Special Events

New York City in Black and White

October 24, 2018November 19, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The “Noir” setting on my iPhone camera is a dangerous thing in the hands of an imaginary photographer!

Last year while attending Quilters Take Manhattan 2017 (see my series of posts Quilters Take Manhattan), I took a series of photos while wandering Manhattan (and on the Long Island Express train from Manhattan to Queens) in Black & White. Like yesterday’s post photos I recently came across these photos while cleaning up my photo storage.

So I will let today’s post be a photo essay of New York City in Black & White.

Creative Inspiration, Life in B&W, Sunflowers!

Creative Inspiration: Sunflowers!

October 21, 2018November 19, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Today I am continuing my series of posts on sources of Creative Inspiration and sharing some of the zillion (yes “zillion”) images I took in late Summer and early Fall of blooming sunflowers.

Sunflowers Make Me Happy

I am absolutely obsessed with sunflowers, I even have a sunflower themed quilt. I’ve added a new category to my blog, Sunflowers! , in case you’d like to look at my previous posts related to sunflowers.

Sunflowers are more than just creative inspiration – they just make me happy in general, I am not sure exactly why, but they do! The sunroom in my house is decorated with sunflowers including this corner which has a wonderful faux sunflower plant from my dear friend Michele:

Did you notice the little sunflower tea set in the above photo, yup, I am obsessed!

My Favorites From This Sunflower Season

Well I would blow out my WordPress photo storage allotment if I posted all the photos I took of sunflowers during their 2018 Central Oregon season (late August to early October) and that would be silly especially after I posted tips on how to manage your WordPress photo allotment last month (see post WordPress Image (Photo) Management)!

So here are some of my favorite images from all the images I took.

In my neighborhood we also had the “Mother of All Sunflowers” – a serious Giant Sunflower with at least a 12 inch (30.5 cm) diameter (I bet it was even wider):

I became completely obsessed with it and I will not tell you how many photos I took of it (daily at times as I passed it on my walk every morning). I also photographed it in Black & White:

I also started photographing other sunflowers in B&W in full bloom as well as when they were wilting:

Smartphone cameras are a dangerous thing, eh?

Let me close this post with one of my favorite sunflower related quotes from one of my favorite inspirational people, Helen Keller. I remember reading her book The Story of My Life as a pre-teen and being blown away by her courage (and her amazing teacher Anne Sullivan who believed in her and taught her to communicate).

Keep your face to the Sunshine and you cannot see the Shadow. It’s what Sunflowers do. – Helen Keller

todd-trapani-1052709-unsplash — Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash

Creative Inspiration, Fabric Scraps Obsession, Life in B&W, What's on the Design Wall

Random Blog Posts Follow-ups

September 26, 2018November 19, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Originally I had another post in mind but got distracted and decided to instead share some random follow-ups on previous blog posts (the links to the original posts are linked in the headers).

Scraps from Scotland (09/23/18)

My friend Kathy brought me wool scraps from the Isle of Harris during her trip to Scotland. Today she texted me a photo of what she did with her scraps:

She cut them into hearts using some type of fabric die-cutter and plans to use them in a picture frame. I am inspired by this idea as I have not decided what to do with my Scottish wool scraps yet!

Apple Rescue and Pre-Fall Cooking (09/16/18)

Today was another glorious Autumn day in Central Oregon and during my morning walk I came upon another neglected apple tree, this time at an empty home for sale in the neighborhood.

Hanging and falling from the tree were Nature’s Neglected Bounty of delicious looking red apples.

I grabbed one to eat on the rest of my walk and one to take home and join the rest of left over rescued apples that did not make it into the apple pie I discussed in the post.

It will join its new friends in becoming an apple cake (I plan to try out this Fresh Apple Cake Recipe from allrecipes.com)

What’s on the Design Wall: Tango Stripe (09/13/18)

I continue to work on the Tango Stripe quilt and recently decided to make a change to my studio to give me more design wall space. I added another design wall next to my sewing machine.

The design wall was made by wrapping a large piece of poster board (from an office supply story) with Warm and Natural batting. I duct tapped it to the back and then screwed the whole thing into the wall.

I now have three design walls: a large one in the hallway; one on my closet door; and one close to my sewing machine.

This third design wall will make it easier to lay out piecing while sewing.

Creative Inspiration: Bark (07/07/2018)

Although my secret project is done related to trees (an art quilt for a future Women of Color Quilting Network exhibit), I am still fascinated with trees and tree bark and continue to take photographs sources of creative inspiration.

They look wonderful in color:

But they are really intriguing in Black & White:

Wouldn’t those all make amazing art quilt inspirations!

Taking Chances: The Mike Hogan Chronicles (11/27/15)

September marks the 4th anniversary of our adopting our miniature schnauzer Mike from a rescue organization in September 2014.

Funny he was the dog I said “no way I am adopting him” when I met him due to severe behavioral issues, and now he is one of the great loves of my life.

Here is a recent photo of him, now at 8.5 years old, with his beloved ball!

Well that is enough random following up for one post, talk to you all later, T

Feature Photo by Terri Bleeker on Unsplash

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Eldorado Canyon State Park

In the Rapids

Wandering About the Canyon

Traveling in Style

The Black and Whites

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El Paso, Texas

Mesilla, New Mexico

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I’ve Moved – from Urban to Suburban

Morning Walk in Black & White

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Colorado in Black & White

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Downtown Seattle in B&W

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Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Fences and Adobe Structures

Madrid, New Mexico

At the Equestrian Center

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Quilt Retreat in B&W

Wandering Around Outside

The Quilt Retreat Center

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Sunflowers Make Me Happy

My Favorites From This Sunflower Season

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Scraps from Scotland (09/23/18)

Apple Rescue and Pre-Fall Cooking (09/16/18)

What’s on the Design Wall: Tango Stripe (09/13/18)

Creative Inspiration: Bark (07/07/2018)