Don’t park under these trees!
This sign is posted at the entrance to a property down the road from us that is quite isolated from the houses around it.
I’ll be linking up to signs, signs with Lesley!
We just enjoyed a thunder, lightning and rainstorm move through. We have had drought conditions so any rain we get is appreciated!
It’s time for ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and administrated by Roger and the team! E is for English Breakfast in ellen b.’s kitchen in the Seattle area.
My Seattle version of English breakfast! Whenever Dear and I get home from a trip to England we miss the breakfasts we enjoyed. We make our own version at home but it’s not that easy to find nice sausages like the ones we were able to enjoy in England.
E is also for ellen b. This photo was taken at our daughter’s friend’s wedding this past June.
Trying a new meme this morning called “Catching Light” at Nature Footstep.
1 John 1:5 ~ This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light , and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Hope you all had a nice weekend. We had our kids who live the closest to us over for Dear’s Swedish pancakes which are always a treat for them. We watched a soccer game together which ended up not being a treat since our team lost. Oh well…that’s the way it goes in soccer and life…you win some, you lose some. I’ll be working on “staying in the light” this week and choosing gratitude.
Last Sunday we traveled north to Canada for a get-together with friends. These are the barns I took photos of on the way.
Doesn’t the side of this barn look like a face?
I’m linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveller for Barn Collective.
We had a relatively quiet weekend which is very nice once in a while. Our sermon this morning was on ingratitude and why we should practice gratitude in our lives. “Gratitude unleashes God’s love in our lives”. It is important to verbalize your gratitude.
Thank you for all who visit my blog and take the time to comment. I appreciate your observations and kind words!
How did your weekend go?
Sunflowers make me smile.
Birds flitting around the yard make me smile.
Wild bunnies eating my clover make me smile.
Seeing my children blessing their friends and each other makes me smile.
Seeing good times that my nieces and nephews are having on Facebook makes me smile.
Completing my to-do lists makes me smile.
Enjoying a good meal with friends makes me smile.
Seeing someone smile at me makes me smile right back!
Seeing God’s mercy and grace in my life and in other lives makes me smile.
Hearing about answered prayers makes me smile.
What makes you smile?
Who knew several years ago that we would become familiar with the roads and back roads in Abbotsford and Chilliwack Canada? God knew and we had another fun adventure on Sunday meeting up with seven of the Mennonite Girls and their husbands.
We started with a short hike to Cascade Falls to see and experience the new suspension bridge.
Marg and John would meet up with us later for dinner.
This is Judy’s photo of the new suspension bridge. I forgot to take one. Thanks for letting me steal it, Judy.
I didn’t get two of the couples shots because I was using their camera’s and phones to take the photo for them.
After our time at Cascade Falls we traveled back to Hatzic Lake where Anneliese and H. hosted all of us for our potluck.
Lovella brought this beautiful bouquet from the flowers blooming in her garden!
We enjoyed the most delicious meal. Everything was fresh and homemade including the buns that Anneliese baked. Chilliwack corn fresh from Marg’s farm again verifying why everyone agrees that Chilliwack corn is the best! Lovella’s potato salad made from her farm eggs and potatoes from her garden. Kathy’s coleslaw that topped my pulled pork sandwich was perfect. Bev’s very fresh salad of watermelon, blueberries, cucumber, feta and mint. I forgot to take a photo of the cheesecake I brought and of the Peaches and Cream pies that Judy brought for dessert.
It was a lovely evening on the lawn beside the lake getting caught up in person and sharing stuff like books we’ve read and lots of things that made us laugh or moan. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we do not take this friendship circle for granted and we acknowledge that God brought us together and it is good as He is good!
Dear and I made it home by midnight after a 25 minute wait at the border crossing.
This is what the deck side of our house looked like when we moved here in 1998.
First change out was the stairwell window. The porch you see to the right in this photo has been enclosed and is now our family room with french doors onto the deck.
Dear built a temporary platform to be able to hoist the window up and get it set into the opening.
Next he built the deck in anticipation of Josh and Laura’s rehearsal dinner in August of 2001.
The deck got an extension sometime after 2001 so we could reach the garage from the house on decking. The house got a facelift with new horizontal siding.
Our deck covers changed over the years, too. These two are serving us very well currently. This photo shows the extended deck and the difference between the horizontal siding and vertical siding to the left of the deck.
Here’s a shot that shows the house with the completed horizontal siding.
One more addition this summer is this privacy fence we put in.
Here’s a view from our house without the privacy fence.
And this is the view with the privacy fence.
We really are enjoying this new privacy fence. It gives this whole area a more finished feel and we aren’t totally open to the surrounding neighbors anymore.
Some reflections…
Our two sons born almost exactly 2 years apart were married 14 years apart, one in 2001 and the other in 2015. So our 3 kids were married in 2001, 2011, and 2015.
July 2015 was a tough month for me. It was as if someone had let the air out of my tires. I’m happy to say that I’m getting back to my old self now in August!
I also have to admit that summer is probably one of my least favorite seasons. Even though I was born and raised in Southern California enjoying the beaches and spreading coco butter on my body to sunburn tan, sitting in the sun does not give me pleasure anymore. I enjoy the sunshine while sitting in the shade or under an umbrella. These days my favorite time at the beach is in the winter.
How’s your summer going?
D is for the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and the Dungeness Spit located on the North Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington.
A trail wanders through the trees and eventually drops down to the Dungeness Spit.
The Dungeness Spit has the Strait of Juan de Fuca on it’s outer shore and the Dungeness Bay on it’s inner shore. Canada is directly across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the North of Washington State.
It’s a 6 mile trek to walk out to the Dungeness Light Station, first lighted in 1857. We didn’t have enough time on the day we visited to do the round trip to the light house and back.
It wasn’t an easy walk because of all the rocks washed up on the spit.
The trail begins at the top of those trees in the distance. We walked out for about an hour and then headed back to the trail head.
There were lots of nice camping spots above the Spit and Wildlife refuge.
These last two photos that show the Dungeness Light house were taken in 2011 during the same time of year. On that trip to Sequim for the lavender festival we saw these eagles nesting, too.
Linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on with the expertise of Roger and team!
I’m pretty sure these are the last of my Chewelah Barns.
Linking up at the Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveller.
Dear and I took a road trip up to Canada yesterday and didn’t get home till midnight so I’m a bit behind the ball right now. I’ll be sharing about our trip soon. While on the road I managed to take some drive by shots of more barns in the U.S. and in British Columbia that I still need to upload. We are cooling down a wee bit today and it feels nice to feel that breeze. Have a good first week of August!
In memory of the Savior’s love
We keep the sacred feast,
When every humble, contrite heart
Is made a welcome guest.
Symbolic of His broken flesh,
We take the broken bread,
The cup in token of His blood
That was for sinners shed.
Under His banner now we sing
The wonders of His love
And so anticipate by faith
The heav’nly feast above.
Words: Thomas Cotterill, 1805.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 