Category Archives: Architecture

Lovella’s Walking Club Tally ~ 11,083 Steps

Time again for our early morning Saturday walk at Emma Wood. We took a new trail this week and took a closer look at the Flora and Fauna along the way.

 

Sitting already.  The waves were crashing and giving off wonderful spray again today.

 

I found this wonderful book at the Friends of The Library in Camarillo for $3.00 and it shows among other areas the flowering plants of the coastel region. Here’s some of what we found today.

 

Sea Fig and Hottentot Fig

 

We’re still working on identifying these two.

 

We saw this pod on a Eucalyptus tree and then this bloom that we guess comes from it.

 

After our walk we walked some more along Main Street in Ventura. We went to some used bookstores and some thrift stores and I’ll show you our “finds” at the end of the post. But first we decided to refresh ourselves at Anacapa Brewing Co.

Good ole Queen Victoria said “Give my People plenty of Beer, good beer and cheap beer, and you will have no Revolution among them”

 

We decided on the brewed on premises IPA and lo and behold we aren’t joining any revolutions today!

We split a pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw and some North Jetty Fries (fries with fresh garlic, rosemary, and Parmesan cheese) We’ll be tasting garlic and rosemary for the rest of the day!

 

After lunch we walked uphill to see the Statue of Father Junipero Serra at the Ventura City Hall. He founded 9 missions in California, including his last and most cherished, Mission San Buenaventura in 1782. He died in 1784. One of these days we’ll take a side trip to the Mission down the street.

The first elementary school that Josh and Dan (our sons) went to was Junipero Serra in Ventura.

Now to the bargains we found today. I bought this cute cake plate at the Mission Thrift Store for $4.95.

The hardbound Jane Eyre for $2 at a Span thrift store and my most exciting find the Elizabeth Goudge book The Child From The Sea for $3.25 at Abednego Bookstore.

We also bought this breakfast in bed or computer in a chair table for $2.95. It folds up flat and the tray also tilts up to set a book on at a reading angle. I like the magazine or book holders on the side.

 

So with all of our walking today my average steps went up nicely to 11,083.  Woohoo! Look what was in the mailbox when we got home, my new pedometer. Now I hope to get more accurate step counts.

Have a wonderful President’s Day Weekend for those of you in the states and a lovely regular weekend elsewhere.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

ABC Wednesday ~ D is for…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

My first ABC Wednesday and the letter is D today.

So many choices, I think I’ll share daffodils, dogwood and doors.

 

This photo was taken in England in April 2004.

 

This Dogwood tree is in a garden on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, just uphill from Kerry Park. The photo was taken in July of 2007.

 

The photos in this collage were taken in Oxford~England, York, Edinburgh ~ Scotland, South Kensington and the bottom middle one if taken at Ste Michelle Winery in Woodinville, Washington.

To view more ABC Wednesday participants click here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Fun Monday ~ The Story of Your Home and Road…

We live in a neighborhood in Washington State northeast of the city of Seattle. We are surrounded by new homes. Our home is the original home that was here by itself surrounded by trees and fields. It was part of  a nursery. The owners of this home finally sold all the property around it to a developer who built many homes on small parcels. There used to be a dirt road access to our home from the main busy road. New roads were built when the neighborhood was developed and access to our home is more convoluted. We moved into this house in 1998.

 

These 4 photos are the road that comes to the back side of our house and then the drive you have to come up to get to the front side of our home.  You could say we are the “sticks out like a sore thumb” house in the neighborhood. One of the major attractions we had to this old house was the detached garage/shop/barn. We have lots of  extra junk and cars (projects and hobbies) that fit in this extra space nicely. Our chain link fence is another thing that is different than all the new wooden fences in the neighborhood!

 

We’ve made several improvements to this old house but are now reconsidering what we want to do. We have put new siding on 1/3 of the home so the front and one side of the home are different than the back of the house.

 

This is the front of our house that you can’t see from the street. You can see the new siding we’ve added here. We are now seriously considering the idea of demolishing the house and rebuilding on this property. We have some heating challenges because of how old the house is and the way things were added on over the years. We also have very uneven floors and some flooding issues when we get big storms. We can only make a wild guess as to when the original part of the house was built. We tend to think it was in the ’60’s. But it wouldn’t surprise us if the original little section of the house that’s been added on to over the years is a lot older than that. The last addition that there are county records on shows the ’70’s.

 

I decided to add this photo taken from the inside of my house looking out my stairwell window. A pretty view of my neighbor’s Maple tree in the late fall (all her leaves land in my yard!) 🙂

Head over to Kitten’s homeschool on Monday to see more Fun Monday participants.

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos I was storing on their site and they are holding them hostage. I am working on updating my more than 4000 posts.

Thursday Thirteen #13 ~ Handel’s Messiah

The Messiah, Handel’s most successful and best known oratorio, was composed in the 1741 in 24 days. It was first performed at a concert given at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, on April 13th, 1742, Handel conducting in person. For more history of this first performance click here.

Here are thirteen lines from this amazing work…

1. “And the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed”

2. “For He is like a refiner’s fire”

3. “and shall call his name Emmanuel: God with us”

4. “arise, shine, for thy light is come”

5. “For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given”

6. “and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

7.  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

8. “He is the righteous Saviour and he shall speak peace unto the heathen”

9. “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, and He shall gather the Lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom”

10. “Behold the Lamb of God, behold the lamb of God, That taketh away the sins of the world.”

11. “He was despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”

12. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of glory.”

13. “Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

I’ve only seen the Messiah performed twice in person. If you never have you should put it on your list of things to do. It was an amazing experience. I hope to be able to enjoy a live performance again…

For more TT click here.

Backwards WFMW ~ Favorite Fiction?

 

I love to read and I love books and I hope to visit some beautiful libraries before I die.

What is your all time favorite fiction work?

What is the best work of fiction you’ve read in the last 6 months?

Bonus: What is the best library you’ve ever been in or would like to see?

Bodlein Library in Oxford, England to inspire you. I hope to get back to Oxford on a day that Bodlein is open to the public.

 

“No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books.”  ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

For more Backwards WFMW head on over to Rock’s in My Dryer….

The Door

John 10:9 (ESV)

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

James 5:9

Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

Rev 3:20

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and eat with him. and he with me.”

Mathew 7:7 (NIV)

“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks recieves; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

On Things Above ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Longing for Heaven

Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4 (ESV)

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This quote by C.S. Lewis comes from Mere Christianity

Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all – except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognise it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.”

“Like a Cedar in Lebanon” ~ Blenheim Palace

All my photos for this post are being held hostage at Photobucket.

This is Blenheim Palace in England. It is home to 11th Duke of Marlborough, and was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, the exquisite Baroque Palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and the magnificent Lake.

 

 

On the grounds of this beautiful palace are the most magnificent Cedars of Lebanon. Our daughter Katie is standing at one so you can get a better perspective on just how huge these trees are. In the verses below the righteous are compared to this amazing tree. Because of Christ’s righteousness in us we flourish and we are planted in the house of the Lord! How amazing is that!!!

Psalm 92: 1-8, 12-15: (ESV)

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O Lord are on high forever.

…The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

http://www.churchwell.co.uk/images/blenheim-palace.jpg