Where in the World is My Vagabond? Hmmm....

I was reading Tim Holtz' amazing blog on Friday morning and saw the link for Sizzix and the Where in the World is Your Vagabond post.  What a fun idea! So, bright and early on St. Patrick's Day morning, with my Vagabond in hand, this Oregon girl set out for a great location to show the place where me and my Vagabond live!

Grants Pass, Oregon.  It is where I was born, it's my roots, it is in my blood, it is who I am in so many ways.  I'm the third generation in my family to call this magical place my home.  I grew up here, and left only briefly for college and law school, but even then I didn't go far.  I graduated from the University of Oregon Law School a few years ago (well, maybe more than just a few!), so of course that makes me one crazy Oregon Duck fan.  My husband and I went to see the football team play in the 98th Rose Bowl in January, the "Granddaddy of Them All".  Ah, but that's a story for another day! Go Ducks!

Anyway, after law school,  I came back home, to practice law and help the people of my community.  My heart is here, and just like Dorothy said, "there's no place like home."

Just a bit of history and State trivia, but Oregon officially became a state on February 14, 1849 (on Valentine's Day...how's that for a little love!!) The State animal is the Beaver, the State flower is the Oregon Grape, and the State bird is the Western Meadowlark.  And the State tree is the Douglas Fir...And yes, that's the branch of a douglas fir tree I took off our property.  It didn't have quite the look I intended, but that's okay.  My Oregon is the State song, which goes like this:

Land of the Empire Builders,

Land of the Golden West;

Conquered and held by free men,

Fairest and the best.

Onward and upward ever,

Forward and on, and on;

Hail to thee, Land of Heroes,

My Oregon.

Land of the rose and sunshine

Land of the summer's breeze;

Laden with health and vigor,

Fresh from the Western seas.

Blest by the blood of martyrs,

Land of the setting sun;

Hail to thee, Land of Promise,

My Oregon.

Wandering through Grants Pass is the famous Wild and Scenic Rogue River, in what is known as "Caveman Country" (Go GPHS Cavers!).  And, it is also where the historic Redwood Highway begins.  If you start out on Sixth Street in the heart of downtown Grants Pass, Oregon, you eventually cross the Rogue River and the Caveman Bridge, and then merging to the right, you head west, and so begins the journey onto that ribbon of "highway"...that scenic byway that runs from our beautiful little town, winding its way to Cave Junction, gateway to the Oregon Caves National Monument, through the majestic California Redwood forests, by the beaches of the Oregon Coast, and turning south eventually to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.  It is the passage that settlers took over a hundred years ago....And it all begins here.

So on St. Patrick's Day, sporting my Oregon Ducks sweatshirt, my green and yellow Oregon Duck scarf in one hand, a douglas fir tree branch in another, next to the old vintage sign left over from days gone by that told travelers how to reach their scenic destinations, standing on the banks of the mighty Rogue River, next to the Caveman Bridge...Yes, I'm a native Oregonian for sure!  And on this St. Patrick's Day,  here is me and my Sizzix Vagabond! Go Ducks, Go Oregon! xoxo

Lawyer or Artist or ?

Well, I created this blog quite honestly so I could post more easily on others' blogs (like the recent Cocoa Daisy blog hop!). I titled my blog "The Evidence of He(Art)" in an attempt to combine my life as a lawyer with my artist side, with a twist about everything I love...Using the word "artist" for me is still not something I'm completely comfortable with...I'm still a bit shy about even referring to my  love of scrapbooking and photography and junk and paint and stamps and all things vintage, and mixing them all up in a creative aspect as being an "artist"....is that art? I think it is my lawyer/perfectionist/right brain side engaged still in a battle with my desire to be Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams and Mary Cassat and Margaret Mitchell and so many others....So, Lawyer by day, but am I an artist, too? Maybe so, maybe so.  Wow, my first post, too. Very cool. xoxo