Snoqualmie Falls

Dear, my sister Vera and I drove to Snoqualmie Falls on Saturday January 28th. The falls weren’t at their fullest on this trip.

On this day we decided to hike down to the bottom of the falls. Our first time to do this.

It was nice to have a different view.

The river was fast and furious and frothy!

After our hike down the trail and the harder hike up again we decided a nice cold brew and good meal were the next thing to enjoy.

Linking up with ABC Wednesday, F is for Snoqualmie Falls. Thank you Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger and the friendly ABC team.

Flashing back to Sunday evening and our early Valentine’s day celebration with our kids Josh and Laura. I’ll share more tomorrow. Happy Valentine’s Day ABCers!

E is for Ellen’s Winter Wonderland…

We don’t get snow every year and this was an exciting surprise for us when we woke up early on Monday morning.

It won’t last long but the exhilaration causes an excessive amount of photos every couple of minutes on social media. I like how this old house looks in the snow.

Dear and ellen b. went for a walk in the snow. Dear is home because he is not employed and hasn’t been employed since June of last year. We are still not sure if this is unemployment or retirement.

Our pear tree that we just finished pruning last week.

Our privacy fence that encloses our deck from eavesdropping neighbors.

An enchanting view on our walk east of our home. There were ducks in that pond.

On our early morning walk we encountered neighborhood children enjoying this steep hill sledding.

We ended our snowy walk with a selfie of Dear and ellen b. Our house is behind Dear’s head.

Linking up with ABC Wednesday which was going to end but has been revived with a new leader.

D is for Dale Chihuly

“I want People to be overwhelmed with light and color in a way they have never experienced.”~ Dale Chihuly

Chihuly Garden and Glass is located in the shadow of the Space Needle at the Seattle Center. On Friday the 27th of January I picked up my sister Vera from the airport and we headed straight to the Seattle Center to enjoy the art of Dale Chihuly. This was something my sister wanted to see.

The Glasshouse, a 40-foot tall glass and steel structure, was inspired by Chihuly’s appreciation for conservatories and includes a 100-foot long sculpture.

There are several rooms with themes and Chandeliers was one of them.

Ikebana and Float Boat. Dale Chihuly has always loved the water. As a child in Tacoma, Washington, he would beach-comb to find Japanese fishing floats.

The Mille Fiori from the Italian for a “thousand flowers,” this unique series is comprised of a variety of works.

The Persian Ceiling, an immersive experience in color and shape.

The Sealife room.

Linking up to ABC Wednesday for D is for Dale Chihuly. Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and the great team of ABC’ers.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

While we were enjoying the art of Dale Chihuly my Dear was home smoking a couple Pork Shoulders for our Carnitas Street Taco dinner on Friday night. We invited our Western Washington kids over to enjoy the meal and to visit with their Aunt Vera. We added guacamole, pico de gallo, beans and other goodies to our meal. D is also for a delicious dinner and for Dear who is a great chef!

A, the Finale…

ABC Wednesday is starting their farewell tour. This will be the last trip through the alphabet with Mrs. Nesbitt and her team. On this farewell tour I will be looking back with a mix of old and new for each letter. Click on ABC Wednesday to see what others are sharing.

Amish, animals the Amish use and Architecture are my choices for A. All these photos are from our trip to Amish Country in Indiana and Ohio the end of September (2016) with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

The architecture photos are from the village of Millersburg in Holmes County, Ohio. I haven’t shared these photos on my blog before. Millersburg is in the heart of the largest Amish settlement. This is the Courthouse at the county seat.

We found the downtown to be charming with many interesting shops and original architecture.

Millersburg was incorporated February 17, 1835.

Hotel Millersburg built in 1847 is on the left. The Hotel, which has been placed on the US Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places, is located in the center of the Millersburg National Historic district.

Now to the present…how’s January 2017 shaping up? Things are busy here and I’ll have a lot to share later. We are still cold and icy but nothing to compare with other parts of the country.

Zestful and Zany 2016

Zestful: full of energy and enthusiasm. Here are some zestful captures in 2016.

There are also some zany moments. Zany: amusingly unconventional and idiosyncratic.

Dan and Jamie have birthdays one day apart in January. Here’s their Happy Birthday Cookie Pizza.

Our boys have birthdays 3 days apart in January. We were able to celebrate Josh since he lives on our side of the state.

My pop holding his youngest great granddaughter for the first time in 2016. She was born Christmas Eve 2015.

Sister weekend Selfies.

Daughter Selfies.

Easter Egg Hunt!

Praying over our dough so it will rise!

Met up with my brother’s family in Austin Texas at the end of April. They live in Dallas and I drove from San Antonio.

Together with my brother and sister in June in Southern California.

My siblings having some fun with our sleeping pop.

The Mennonite Girls having some fun with our newly published book.

Our 93 year old Pop getting his turn to hit the pinata at his great granddaughter birthday party.

Zestful Sounders MLS Cup win in Toronto, Canada.

Our zany daughter on Christmas morning in her onezie.

We are already at the letter Z for ABC Wednesday. Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her team for keeping us going all these years. Joy to my ABC Wednesday friends!

Onward and upward into 2017 we go. Today we woke up to cold temperatures for the Puget Sound area, 15! We aren’t suppose to get up over 30 degrees today. Brrr. I guess we’ll wait to prune our fruit trees till the days warm up next week. Hope your year is starting well.

The X in Xmas…

PM1909 (postmarked 1909)

X has a long and sacred history

The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That’s how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect. (from Ligonier, R.C. Sproul)

These are both antique postcards from Dear’s great great aunt Emma. I’m posting them to share with ABC Wednesday for the letter X.

X is for Christ. Thank you to Mrs. Nesbitt and her helpful elves, Roger and company for keeping our ABC meme moving along.

The Xmas news from this old house is that what is done is done except for preparations for our meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and some baking. I will wait to shop for the meat and side dishes early on Friday. On Wednesday I will do a little baking to make cookies to take to some neighbors with an invite to our church’s Christmas Eve services. I am also spending time adoring Christ and all He has done for us.

The Wonder of it all…

O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.

Hope you are enjoying the Wonder of Christmas and the Wonder of it all…

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and now her elves are working hard keeping us on track.

I’m heading to downtown Seattle today for the Seattle Sounders Victory Parade and Rally. Hope my nose doesn’t freeze and fall off. Our deck is a sheet of ice right now. No snow or rain is forecast so that is good.

Usable Space-Before & After

This empty space in our basement was not very usable and Dear had a plan to transform it from ugly to nice.

Dear set his plan into motion. After taking measurements he built the sides and back and shelves to fit.

After seeing if the pieces would actually fit he primed the wood and then painted the side and back pieces and stained the shelves. He set the pieces in using his fancy nail gun.

When the stain was totally dry he slid them in and they fit perfectly and firmly.

His work was level but the existing walls weren’t so he added trim to cover up the crooked space.

He primed the trim and installed it. He then gave the trim it’s final coat of paint.

All finished and ready to load up the shelves.

These shelves are sturdy and can hold lots of weight. Now I have a very useful, usable space.

U is for Usable, Useful space. From Ugly to Nice.

Linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and continued by Roger and the ABC Team!

Maybe in the future I’ll show you what I decided to fill these shelves with.

I’ll leave you with one of my first Christmas items that is now on the wall and let you find the 2 words starting with U!

Twenty Six more days and if you read this tomorrow it is Twenty Five days till Christmas!!

Sedro-Woolley

Sedro-Woolley was founded on a can-do spirit brought by hard working folks as they made their way into the great forests of the area. This tradition of hard work and community was well documented by photographer Darius Kinsey whose works are on display in town and at the Sedro-Woolley Museum. The downtown is decorated with historical murals, large cedar statues carved by chainsaw and hand finished, and attractive gas lamp replicas.

This mural artist signs his name with a Bible verse. On this one it’s Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”

This signature is hard to see but it’s Fredrick Sutliffe again and the Bible verse posted on this mural was John 3:16~

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Until it closed in October 2010, Holland Drugs of Sedro-Woolley was the oldest continuously operated business in Skagit county outside of LaConner. Its roots began in 1889 in the old town of Sedro on the north shore of the Skagit river as one of the first businesses near Mortimer Cook’s original general store. Seventeen-year-old Albert E. Holland arrived in old Sedro on July 15, 1886, and was immediately hired by Cook to be his clerk. Holland parlayed his original drug store into one of the largest pioneer fortunes in Sedro-Woolley.

1 John 4:8 ~ ^“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

This looked like the newest mural on the side of a Mexican Restaurant.

The Bible reference from Fredrick on this one is Rom. 6:23 ~ ^“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This very large mural is painted on the side of a building that defines part of the outdoor space called Hammer Heritage Square in honor of the Hammer family, pioneers here from the 19th century.

The artist signed his work in the form of a wanted poster. Madd Artist. Name: John Maddox-Alias: The Bald Dude-Last Spotted: Fighting the Mural Deadline-Crime: Brush onslaught with the intent to paint- Gang Members: I won’t list them all. At the very bottom it says In Memory of Bill Bowley +.

This chain saw carving by Phil Finton won 4th place in 1999 at the Loggerodeo Chainsaw Carving Contest.

Loggerodeo is an annual event held on July 4th in Sedro-Woolley, the chainsaw carving capitol of Washington State and the Pacific Northwest.

Daddy’s Little Logging Princess. I didn’t get a closeup on who carved this one. There were several other carvings along Metcalf Street in the historic business area of Sedro-Woolley.

Sedro-Woolley was a fun stop on Dear and my Fall drive in the early part of October to areas of the Skagit Valley. It would be interesting to head out to this town on the 4th of July with ear plugs to see the chainsaw carving contest in action.

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for S is for Sedro-Woolley. Thank you Mrs. Nesbitt and Roger’s team of ABC’ers for keeping us all in line.

I’ve decided to add one more link for this post called Our World Tuesday.

Speaking of saws, there is a noisy one in action in our basement today as Dear is framing out a niche that has needed attention for a long time. He will be adding shelves to the space that I get to fill up. That’s dangerous. Before and after photos to come after completion. Yikes! Thanksgiving is next week!

Roads Less Traveled

All these roads, signs, and fences are from our trip to Amish Country at the end of September. These roads are in Holmes County, Ohio.

^{Matthew 7: 13-14 –}“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Linking up today for ABC Wednesday with Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger and the team. R is for Road Less Traveled.

Also linking up later in the week to signs, signs with Lesley and Good Fences with TexWisGirl.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: ABC Wednesday