Month: July 2014

Travel with mamawolfe: Bend, Oregon for Rivers, Books, Coffee and Consignment Stores

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Jennifer Wolfe

I just got back from a quick road trip to Bend, Oregon; we try to have a family reunion there every year, but with growing families and adventurous kids, it’s hard to bring everyone together in one place at one time. I managed three days and nights of rivers, books, coffee and consignment stores-not to mention some great family time and outrageous sunsets!

Deschutes River, watching the swimmers.

For the kids, the big draw in Bend is swimming and floating in the Deschutes River-of which I did neither. I think I was the only one besides the grandmas who stayed dry – guess I’m officially OLD!

She was much braver than I!

Bridge near Old Mill District in Bend, Oregon

There’s lots of cool shopping in Bend – we started off in the Old Mill District. The teens loved the clothing, but I loved the Savory Spice Shoppe. I can’t wait to try out my Thai Green Curry and Ghost Pepper Salt!

Next, the search was on for used books and clothes. We found huge amounts of both at two adjacent shops: The Open Book and City Thrift. Shopping for resale winter clothes makes much more sense in a mountain town! Did you know that many thrift/consignment stores sell used books at low, low prices?

City Thrift in Bend, Oregon

We could hardly wait for coffee…and there are many choices in Bend! We headed for a favorite, Lone Pine Coffee downtown.

Cool outdoor seating at Lone Pine Coffee, Bend, Oregon

Next stop was Dudley’s Bookshope Cafe in downtown Bend. This place was that delicious combination of used books, big comfy chairs, delicious pastries and coffee…I never wanted to leave!

Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe in Bend, Oregon

Ju-bee-lee is a tiny gem tucked in amongst clothing stores and cafes. The shop offers gorgeous vintage-type clothing, soaps, lotions, artisan jewelry, cards, candles…it’s my ultimate kind of gift shop.

LOVED this store – ju-bee-lee in Bend, Oregon

This cute quote caught my eye:

Next, we found more gems at Rescue Consignment Shop; such fun to try on vintage/new dresses!

Rescue Consignment in Bend, Oregon

I love downtowns that invest in beauty.

Love the flowers in Downtown Bend, Oregon

Didn’t have time to stop here, but definitely would love to spend a hot afternoon at one of Bend’s microbreweries.

Deschutes Brewery and Public House in Downtown Bend, Oregon

Can you believe my morning view? Not a bad place to sip coffee!

morning meadow view near Bend, Oregon

On my last day, I took a walk alone back to the Deschutes River-not to swim, but just to take in the glory of the high desert.

near the Deschutes River, Oregon

Can you spot the desert flower?

river view of swimming hole, Deschutes River, Oregon

They jumped off this?! Deschute River, Oregon

On the way to the airport, a quick stop at Dutch Bros-one of my favorite West Coast chain coffee shops.

Central Oregon is home to Dutch Bros!

Just couldn’t resist one last sunset photo; this one of my niece sums up the beauty of my road trip to Bend, Oregon. Sunsets, rivers, shopping, coffee, books and family. It was a good, good time.

Sadie at sunset in Bend, Oregon

Bend on Dwellable

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

Pondering Independence Day

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Jennifer Wolfe

The 4th of July, for me, isn’t the kind of holiday I really look forward to. I live in a small town. We have the parades, the pancake breakasts, the picnics, the gathering-together-in-the-park kind of celebrations. We have the swimming pools, the BBQs, the kids riding decorated bikes through town.

It just doesn’t speak to my independent spirit.

I’m not a big crowd kind of person. I love the quiet, I love small gatherings, I love solitude. I love home.

I’m not anti-social, really. I like people; well, some people. I don’t like stepping over sweaty bodies laying all over the grass. I always got nervous when my kids were little and it got dark and I couldn’t see where they were. Now that they’re teens, I get nervous because they’re too big to cling to, and too old to stay by my side. Independence turned against me, I suppose.

We’ve celebrated Independence Day lots of different ways. Sometimes we’ve gone to the foothills to hang out with just one other family. We sat on their deck, the kids rode their horses and let off LOTS of fireworks. We’ve spent the 4th at the lake, riding bikes from home to Squaw Valley and back, then battling the crowds for blanket space and then sat in traffic after the last sparkler burned out. We’ve stayed at a bed and breakfast, just the two of us, and rode bikes around the Gold Country. One year , on a trip out of state, we danced around fireworks that seemed more like hand grenades being flung by passers-by. That didn’t speak to my spirit at all.

When I was little, the 4th often meant trips to my grandparent’s house in the Bay Area. Grandpa would have brought home ‘illegal’ fireworks from Chinatown, and the cousins would light up the long, covered porch with sparklers and those snake-like ones that left an enticing trail of ash as proof that we really lit it. Lighting anything was a true sign of independence.

This Independence Day morning, I ponder the day ahead. My girl is long gone, skiing for the summer on top of a glacier in Oregon. No picnics with her today – she’s enjoying her own independent spirit. My boy is planning teenage shenanigans and reliably unreliable for family time, but horribly independent. My husband is working; I guess it’s just me and my dog. Maybe I’ll take a walk and watch the parade from a distance. I’m sure I could dig up a few glow sticks tonigh – no sparklers, though. Light a BBQ, sit under the trees on my patio, listening to the festivities going on down the block. Independent.

I think I’ll just listen to my own spirit, and ponder the real meaning of Independence Day.

Dear reader, how do you celebrate Independence Day? Do you listen to your own spirit, and do what you want to do?

This post was inspired by today’s prompt |ponder| from writealm.com.

Jennifer Wolfe

What Is Prayer?

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Jennifer Wolfe

These months of spring and early summer shared their beauty and their pain, their hope for new beginnings and the sadness of lives ended-some with grace and dignity of a life well-lived, and some with the tragedy of a life not-yet-fully lived. For me, I find prayer in poetry, in words of writers who speak the words in my mind that cannot find their way to the page. Thank you, Mary Oliver, for your gifts so eloquently shared. Thank you for your prayer.

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean –

The one who has flung herself out of the grass,

The one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

Who is moving her jaws back and forth

Instead of up and down –

Who is gazing around with her

Enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms

And thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

Into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

How to be idle and blessed,

How to stroll through the fields,

Which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

With your one wild and precious life?

~ Mary Oliver

Poetry is prayer. With these words, I remember those who have moved on from this ‘wild and precious life’, saying a prayer for those they left behind. Dear reader, what is prayer to you? Where do you go to find comfort?

This post was inspired by writealm.com’s prompt-a-day for July.

Take a Walk With Me…The World Is Holy (jenniferwolfe.net)
Live A Life Of Amazement (jenniferwolfe.net)
My Best Life, April 2014: Endings and Beginnings (jenniferwolfe.net)

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