Category Archives: Beauty

A New Tradition ~ The Mystery Tree!

This year I decided to join my brother’s family in their tradition of the Mystery Tree. My SIL Kelly says it started because of their small Pastor’s salary that wouldn’t support an expensive tree. They would go to Target or Home Depot and get the biggest tree they could on their budget. They bought one that was still wrapped. No fair untying it and seeing if it’s a beauty. No walking around the tree lot for hours looking for the perfect tree. Throw it on top of the car, take it home, put it in its stand then unwrap it, stand back and enjoy the surprise! Sometimes you’ll get a Charlie Brown Tree (which some people prefer) but for the most part you get one that is great. So join me on my Mystery Tree Expedition…

Straight to Home Depot and to the garden department. Down the row of 5-6 ft. trees. I picked this one.

I really confused the Home Depot employee when I told him I was taking it just like it was. I told him I wanted to be surprised with our mystery tree and that I had faith it would be great. He sawed off a bit of the bottom for me so it would soak up water in the tree stand…

He was kind enough to put it in my car for me with a smile for the camera…

It fit in my car perfectly and home again, home again, jiggity jig…

 

Here it is in the house still in its mystery stage. Katie had the stand all ready when I got home. She got the honors of cutting the rope.

 

Voila! Mystery solved and oh what a beauty. The best part of this whole story is that the only man required for this adventure was the Home Depot guy. Ladies it is possible to get a tree from the lot to your home and up in the stand if your hubby is away on business or in the service, or if you are a single mom, etc. Maybe it’s more fun to do it together sometimes but don’t despair if you have to do it by yourself. Make it fun. Try the Mystery surprise tree method. From Home Depot to this stage it took me less than 1 hour!

I’ll let you see it again when we get the lights on and decorate it. Blesssings on all your activities this week….

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.

How Cheering is the Christian’s Hope ~

 How Cheering is the Christian’s Hope

How cheering is the Christian’s hope,
While toiling here below!
It buoys us up while passing through
This wilderness of woe.
It buoys us up while passing through
This wilderness of woe.

It points us to a land of rest,
Where saints with Christ will reign;
Where we shall meet the loved of earth,
And never part again.
Where we shall meet the loved of earth,
And never part again.

Fly, lingering moments, fly, O fly;
Dear Savior, quickly come!
We long to see Thee as Thou art,
And reach that blissful shore.
We long to see Thee as Thou art,
And reach that blissful shore.

(anonymous)

If you’d like to hear the tune click here.

Photo of Lake Washington taken at Log Boom Park in Kenmore

Flowers At My Door

It’s our 33rd Anniversary tomorrow. Dear will be on an airplane from LA to Atlanta to attend a conference. I am still in Washington so we won’t be together to celebrate our day. But that’s not a problem. We like to celebrate any day so missing the actual day is not traumatic. And what came to my door today.

These!

 

and even better is this wonderful note from Dear…

And the fragrance of these lilies is amazing and I’m enjoying it along with these…

What a guy God has blessed me with!

Yes this is totally a brag post and there will be one more anniversary post tomorrow. Hope I don’t bore you do death! Blessings…

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.

Eternal Glory of the Sky ~ Hymn

 

Eternal Glory of the Sky

Eternal Glory of the sky,
Blest Hope of frail humanity,
The Father’s sole begotten One,
Yet born a spotless virgin’s Son!

Uplift us with Thine arm of might,
And let our hearts rise pure and bright,
And, ardent in God’s praises, pay
The thanks we owe him every day.

The day-star’s rays are glittering clear,
And tell that day itself is near:
The shadows of the night depart;
Thou, holy Light, illume the heart!

Within our senses ever dwell,
And worldly darkness thence expel;
Long as the days of life endure,
Preserve our souls devout and pure.

The faith that first must be possessed,
Root deep within our inmost breast;
And joyous hope in second place,
Then charity, Thy greatest grace.

All laud to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the holy Paraclete.

Words: At­trib­ut­ed to Ambrose of Milan, 4th Cen­tu­ry (Ae­ter­na coeli glo­ria); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to En­glish by John M. Neale in The Hymn­al Not­ed, 1854.

Our First Snow of the Season

Here’s what’s happening at my house…

 

Landscape in Snow

 

Snowflakes are drifting from heaven
That frost the landscape today;
Myriad scenes of real enchantment
Border long stretches of highway.

 

Cozy house are wood blocked in white
While woodsmoke ascends like prayer;
The rugged hills wear lacy shawls
As if in an etching rare.

Old red barns are now magical,
Tall, bare oaks stand in filigree;
Pines and hemlocks wearing fine lace
Are, oh, so beautiful to see.

Cold streams are shining ribbons
Beneath a pewter-gray sky,
And the countryside is inspiring
Now that Christmas snowflakes fly!

(Earle J. Grant)

 

Oh boy does my apple tree need pruning!

We’re all snug and warm inside by the fire enjoying the snow as the flakes pile higher!

Blessings…

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.

Show and Tell Friday ~ Christmas Table

I love to set a table for a celebration. This is one of my Christmas or Thanksgiving Tables.

 

Let the celebrations begin. Tis the Season! Blessings on all of you this wonderful time of year!!

For more Show and Tell head over to Kelli’s.

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Thankful Thursday ~ Post #500!!

I’ve been trying to be more disciplined these days and I have set out each morning to walk along the paths of my neighborhood. I’ve put on some “storing up for the winter” weight and because the prospects of eating less over the next month are miniscule I decided I needed to add activity to my day. This has been good and walking alone in the morning hours affords me time to talk with God and to try to memorize my verses for Bible Study. I was struck by all the beautiful paths that I have to walk in and it made me think and be thankful of the way God has led me along the one and only path to Him through His Son Jesus. I am so happy that my 500th post lands on Thankful Thursday. I am truly thankful for how God has led me on His path and that He continues to lead me. So take a walk with me and be thankful for how He leads us in this life we live…

Psalm 119: 105 ~ “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Psalm 25:4 ~ “Make me know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

Psalm 16:11 ~ “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Proverbs 10:17 ~ “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads other astray.”

Isaiah 30: 20-21 ~ “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

Proverbs 4:18 ~ “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”

Psalm 119:35 ~ “Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.”

Proverbs 3:5,6 ~ “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

Psalm 121 ~

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever more.”

For more Thankful Thursday posts click here. Thank you Crystal for hosting…

Monarch Butterflies ~ Honeymoon Memories

I’d like to go back to the Butterfly Inn when the Monarch Butterflies are in full residence in this part of California. Dear and I stayed there during our honeymoon in December of 1974. Bottom two photos of this collage.

In all the world, no butterflies migrate like the Monarchs of North America. They travel much farther than all other tropical butterflies, up to three thousand miles. They are the only butterflies to make such a long, two way migration every year. Amazingly, they fly in masses to the same winter roosts, often to the exact same trees. Their migration is more the type we expect from birds or whales. However, unlike birds and whales, individuals only make the round-trip once. It is their children’s grandchildren that return south the following fall.

To read more about the Monarch butterflies in California click here.

 

This is the Butterfly Inn in Pacific Grove, California. When Dear and I stayed there in 1974 we had a little detached 1 room cabin to stay in. It’s been upgraded since then probably a few times but as you can see it’s still pretty low key and quaint.

I’m also inspired to try to get our honeymoon shots from their slide state (negative state) to a disc state!! Has anyone done that and do you have any tips for me???

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.