More Signs from Indiana

All of these signs were seen on a Sunday along the Heritage Trail in Indiana mostly contained within Elkhart County. The Pillsbury’s flour sign was in Wakarusa.

These last two signs are in Topeka, Indiana just south of Shipshewana next to Yoder Popcorn. There were a few places that would have been fun to explore but were closed on Sunday.

Linking up to signs, signs with Lesley.

Such a wet and drippy day here in the Pacific Northwest. Daughter and I had a fun several hours shopping at the Navy Exchange and Costco with a little lunch in between.

Of Quilts and Queens…

…and other Q things. It’s always an interesting quest to come up with Q words to share for ABC Wednesday.

These first two photos were taken in Bristol Indiana.

Quilts on Barns in Amish/Mennonite Country.

Barn Quilt in Eastern Washington from the road.

Quilts in the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Ohio Amish Country.

And now a quick trip across the pond to England to visit Queen Victoria.

Outside Buckingham Palace, 2013.

Outside Windsor Castle, 2014.

For my last offerings we’re back in the USA for Queues of buggies from Amish Country.

Linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by Roger and the ABC Team.

Despite the rain last night (Halloween) we got about 44 trick or treaters at our door. The bonus of the night was being able to meet a new neighbor we hadn’t met before with their almost 1 year old little boy. So sweet.

I’ll leave you with a couple “Quiet” verses from the Bible to calm (quiet) you in our noisy world.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, ²for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NASB)

Amish Farm Mosaics

I really thought these corn shocks were cool.

“One of the most well-known ways of taking in corn is through shocking it. The first step is for the farmer to drive his team of horses, pulling a machine called a binder which cuts the cornstalks off close to the ground. The binder then makes bundles of corn which must be gathered by hand and stacked up in a teepee-style pile. Although the cornstalks are now dry, the corn is probably not dry enough to be stored safely. The whole idea is to prevent the corn ears from falling on the ground and absorbing moisture. When the corn is dry, it will be gathered on a wagon and either shucked by hand or run through the corn picker.”

I’ll be linking up to The Barn Collective at Tom the Backroads Traveler and to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

ht: Dutchman News

A Mind at Perfect Peace With God ~ Hymn

A Mind at Perfect Peace With God

A mind at perfect peace with God;
O what a word is this!
A sinner reconciled through blood;
This, this indeed is peace.

By nature and by practice far,
How very far from God;
Yet now by grace brought nigh to Him,
Through faith in Jesus’ blood.

So nigh, so very nigh to God,
I cannot nearer be;
For in the person of His Son
I am as near as He.

So dear, so very dear to God,
More dear I cannot be;
The love wherewith He loves the Son,
Such is His love to me.

Why should I ever anxious be,
Since such a God is mine?
He watches o’er me night and day,
And tells me “Mine is thine.”

Words: Horatius Bonar or Catesby Paget

Ht: Cyberhymnal

InSPIREd Sunday

Central Christian Church in Elkhart, Indiana

Grace Lutheran Church in Elkhart, Indiana.

We saw these two churches and a few more on our Heritage Trail Driving tour while in Indiana the end of September. I’ll add a couple more here that were quick drive-by shots.

First Presbyterian Church in Goshen, Indiana. Goshen is the county seat for Elkhart County and the following photo is the courthouse.

Linking up with Beth and Sally for InSPIREd Sunday.

Up and Down Five…

Up: Wonderful blooming Camillias on my neighbors bushes that border our property. I took this photo on Monday.

Last Saturday while we were having a very lazy day one of the “girls” talked about how she was making muffins so I scrounged around the kitchen and came up with the ingredients for these bran muffins. I’ll be posting the easy recipe on the MGCC blog on Monday. Fresh out of the oven they are the best. The down side…I ate more than one.

While we were in Kettle Falls a couple weekends ago I spent a few hours on Sunday with our daughter in law and her granny. Granny treated us to lunch at TJ’s Tavern in Kettle Falls. This sign is on the outside of the tavern and I had to post it for my Canadian friends. TJ’s is about 32 miles from the border between the USA and Canada.

I love the colors that were so brilliant in this rainbow that showed up outside Dan and Jamie’s place in Chewelah. Rainbows are always a welcome sign in the sky filled with hope that makes me stop and ponder and click a lot of photos trying to capture the glory of it all. The downer: I have been having pain around my left hip that has made me stay home from my exercise classes for the last couple of months. I was thinking the worst but I finally visited my doctor who diagnosed a muscle issue with a course of action that does not involve anything but physical therapy. It was not a joint issue and I am thankful and relieved to hear that news. So while my thoughts were down about that they have been lifted up.

The other down this week was an early morning phone call that my sister was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Dear and I showered quickly and headed to the hospital to sit with and wait for the all clear from many tests and her release. To see her in pain was a downer but to find out there were no life threatening conditions was good. To find things to laugh about while we were at her bed side was good therapy.

This is a tree on our son’s property. I’m calling it the cyclops tree and it’s the closest thing I have to a Halloween photo for now. Some choose to avoid Halloween but I really enjoy it for these specific reasons. I can give treats to my neighbor kiddies and it’s a joy to have them knock on my door. I meet people in the neighborhood that I haven’t met before. I buy candy we like so if it doesn’t all get given out we reap the benefits. Everyone who comes to my door gets the same love and candy on Halloween.

Even though the leaves have fallen and covered our lawn, planters, walkways, and gutters we are enjoying the color and weather of the fall season. It’s good to have distinct seasons to enjoy.

Tonight, Thursday, I’m headed to a Sounders playoff game against Kansas City and I really hope it will be an “up” experience instead of a downer! HOT OFF THE PRESSES: We won and here is a shot my DIL took last night at the game.

Josh, myself and Laura. It was a tense 95 minutes and a player we have been waiting on to score had the goal of the year for himself and all the fans cheered so heartily for this young man. We were so worked up it took a while to get to sleep.

Thankful to our creator for 1. All the reminders each day of His love and care over us through the ups and downs. 2. Good doctors who can diagnose and help us with our aches and pains 3. Signs in nature that point us to a good creator who is still in control even in the ups and downs. 4. The comfort of good food. 5. Creating our bodies in a way that allow us to work hard in everyday chores and on the sports fields.

So what were your ups and downs this past week that made you thankful?

Linking to Five on Friday, Friday’s Fave Five, and Foodie Friday and Everything Else.

Fences along the Heritage Trail, Indiana

Linking up to Good Fences with TexWisGirl.

Can you believe this is the last Good Fences for the month of October? Here’s an October fence from our own backyard taken on Wednesday. We are in the midst of some very sloppy weather here in the Seattle area! I took this shot from our kitchen window.

Happy end of October to all of you! Do you have a costume picked out for Halloween?

Sugarcreek, Ohio

I’m sharing a series of signs seen while in and around Sugarcreek, Ohio, with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

We saw the signs that described Sugarcreek as The Little Switzerland of Ohio.

We headed to downtown Sugarcreek for our book signing at The Gospel Shop on Main street.

Sugarcreek is also known for having “the world’s largest cuckoo clock” which earned an Ohio Historical Marker.

All the shops downtown have facades that try to mirror a Swiss Village.

On our travels around this area we passed these smoke stacks several times and I managed to get a photo on one of our drive-bys.

Because of its abundant deposits of clay, Sugarcreek has also become one of the country’s leading makers of face brick. Its history goes back to 1910 when the Finzer Brothers Clay Company was started by the Finzer brothers, grandsons of Swiss immigrants who settled in Sugar Creek. Belden Brick, a company that originated in Canton, Ohio, bought the Sugarcreek company in 1946. Several of the buildings and many of the kilns that are used today were built and installed when the original company was founded in 1910.

I’m linking up to signs, signs hosted by Lesley.

We are a soggy mess here in the Pacific Northwest today. Looks like we’ll have to gather soggy leaves tomorrow. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

The Plain People

Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and by simple living, including plain dressing. This is a very simple definition of Plain People.

This is a photo full post with most of the pictures of Plain People I captured in the Amish/Mennonite Communities in parts of Indiana and Holmes County Ohio.

This photo is a drive-by snap of a Barn Sale.

Ending with this school yard photo of the children at recess.

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for P is for Plain People with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and Roger plus the ABC team.

Since these photos are mostly from farming communities I’m also linking up to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveller.

Fall is living up to it’s name in our yard. Dear went out and rustled up all the leaves this morning and then the winds came and there are more leaves than before on the ground. That is the price we pay for the beauty of our changing seasons. It’s worth it.

As I type I’m watching more leaves fall and it’s a lovely sight.

Autumn Mosaics

We took a drive a couple of Mondays ago to see what we could see along Hwy 9 and Hwy 20 north of Seattle in Washington state.

We saw some lakes we hadn’t seen before like Big Lake.

It was a beautiful drive for the hours we had until the rain came in.

Along the Skagit River in Rockport.

This afternoon Josh, Laura, and I attended the final season game of the Sounders Soccer Team and said goodbye to a fan favorite player Zach Scott. Winning this game means we are now headed to the playoffs. We are happy fans. We also had a wee visit from our dear daughter in law and her Granny who were on this side of the mountains for a memorial service for Granny’s brother. It was a great afternoon from start to finish.

Linking up to Mosaic Monday hosted with Maggie at Normandy Life.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Author Archives: Ellen