Category Archives: Photography

Muddy Saturday Walk ~ Storm Watch So. Cal.

Here’s what our weather was like yesterday and what it’s suppose to look like today. Our muddy walk was on Saturday when we had weather very similar to Sunday.

This
Afternoon
Chance Showers. Chance for Measurable Precipitation 50%
Chance
Showers
Hi 58°FFalling Temperatures		 Tonight

Showers. Chance for Measurable Precipitation 100%
ShowersLo 44°F		 Monday

Chance Showers. Chance for Measurable Precipitation 30%
Chance
Showers
Hi 59°F		 Monday
Night
Partly Cloudy
Partly
Cloudy
Lo 39°F

We picked the rainiest weekend of the year to check out this huge empty area behind our condominium complex that’s going to look like…

 

this in a little less than a year!

I’m hoping to get to see some fun soccer just steps away from my back door. Besides all these soccer pitches they are also putting in 3 baseball diamonds on the far end.

Here are more photos from our muddy Saturday walk.

 

 

 

This was funny, no road here but there’s a stop sign and a street sign, hmmm?

I’m hoping they find a way to save this tree.

 

So is this what your dog’s paws looked like yesterday Kim?

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.

Another Year is Dawning ~ Frances R. Havergal

Another Year is Dawning

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

Words by Frances R. Havergal first written as a poem in her New Year’s greeting cards. Music by Samuel S. Wesley.

ht: cyberhymnal

Walking the Burke Gilman with My Friends

Today will be my last 6 mile walk with my buddies for a few months. I leave the Seattle Area for Southern California on New Year’s Day. Every Saturday for several years now we walk rain or shine or snow 6 miles on the trail. Usually 9am to 11 am. Of course when I’m in Cali the walk is with 2 instead of 3…

 

Don’t they look lonely without me??

 

We walk by Wayne Golf Course in Bothell. It’s a little under water from all our rain.

And when we are this old we hope to still be walking together on the trail.

I’ll miss you my friends. God knows the desires of our hearts and He is good to us. Blessings on the trail without me….

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 ~“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Photobucket has blacked out all my photos and is holding them hostage. I’m slowly cleaning up my posts to remove the ugly black and grey blocks that photobucket has inserted instead of my photos.

1947 in Iran ~ the Shvetzov and Katkov Families

For my Show and Tell Friday I’d like to share this old family photo. We do not have many photographs with my maternal Grandfather. I love the photos that we do have of him. God blessed these families with a way out of Iran to the United States and blessed them with faith in Him that has sustained them over the years. My little babushka (grandma) as we lovingly called her was a prayer warrior for our family and her friends. I look forward to being reunited with her and meeting my maternal grandfather for the first time in heaven…

 

My mother was a Shvetzov before she married my father. Her brother Paul married Nina Katkov. This is part of the Katkov family and part of the Shvetzov family after my parents had already immigrated to the U.S.A. The Katkov’s and Shvetzov’s spent much time together at many meaningful events through the years in Iran and in the Los Angeles Area in the U.S.

In the front row you have Vera (Katkov), Nicolai Katkov the Patriarch, Manya Katkov the Matriarch, My maternal grandmother Vera (Shergaev) Shvetzov and my Grandfather Feodor Shvetzov, Zena (Katkov). My cousin Alex Shvetzov at my grandparents side.

Top Row: Vasilli Katkov married Zena, she’s holding their oldest daughter Tamara, Nicolai Katkov, Lida (Katkov) Titov, Alexsei Katkov, my Aunt Nina (Katkov) Shvetzov and my Uncle Paul Shvetzov.

Everyone in this photo eventually immigrated to the U.S. from Iran except for my grandfather who was stabbed and killed in Iran. He was a Baptist minister in Iran. My Babushka immigrated as a widow and lived with my aunt and uncle for many years until she got her own apartment a couple buildings away from the Russian Baptist Church in L.A. A few of the other widowed Babushka’s also lived in this same apartment building including Manya Katkov who lived right next door to my Babushka. My family started attending this church when we left the Russian Molokan Church. Only 4 of the people photographed here are still alive. My Babushka’s last days were spent in my parent’s home.

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

Some Spurgeon from Of First Importance ~

 

“The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother.”

“The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. I can hear their trampings now as they traverse the great arches of the bridge of salvation. They come by the thousands, by their myriads, e’er since that day when Christ first entered His glory.

They come and yet never a stone has sprung in that mighty bridge. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them, trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.”

– Charles Spurgeon

(Ht: Of First Importance)

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

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.

Photo Hunters ~ RED ~ Oxnard Santa

 

This is a huge Santa on a street that runs right along the 101 Freeway in Oxnard, California. I’ve seen it for years but was never tempted to stop by until now because I’m blogging and because the Photo Hunters challenge this week is RED! This Santa is behind a locked wrought iron fence and is maintained by local corporate businesses. There’s a large sign with all the corporate sponsors and you can see the shadow of the fence that it is behind in my collage below. There are cut-outs on the fence of reindeer and a S and a C which you’ll see in the collage below, also.

 

Fellow Photo Hunters! WordPress is sending my comments straight to Spam for some reason. I’ve commented on all your blogs but my comments do not appear. WordPress is working on the problem for me right now. Update: Yippee wordpress solved the problem!

I’m shamelessly recyling this post for Thursday Photo Challenge where the theme is red also. For more Thursday photo challenge click here.

To see more Photo Hunters click here.

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.