This Monday evening we were celebrating our Sister-in-law, Mandy who had a milestone birthday in late February. We were able to assure Many that this decade she is entering is a good one.
Lana and I ordered the lamb. Everyone’s choices were delicious.
We sang and enjoyed dessert!
Strawberries Romanov for me and Lana. All the desserts were enjoyed.
It was a great treat to enjoy this celebratory meal while we were in Texas.
We give this restaurant high marks for hospitality and quality.
The plan for our Monday in Texas was to visit the Fort Worth Stockyards. Steve dropped us off close to Exchange Avenue where the cattle drive would take place at 11:30 A.M. While he looked for a parking spot we moseyed over to find our spot in the crowds waiting to see the cattle drive. This happens twice a day.
The crowds dispersed and we poked into a few shops to see the western ware.
Everything a tourist might need to take home for a souvenir.
We started looking for a likely spot for our lunch rendezvous with our brother Leonard. He was driving out after a couple of meetings to enjoy lunch with us.
We made reservations at Hotel Drover’s 97 West Kitchen and Bar.
We had time to walk and do a little more shopping before Leonard met up with us at the restaurant.
We enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant and had great service.
Full and satisfied with plans to eat again at dinnertime we made our way to our cars and headed back into Dallas and Flower Mound.
If you have never been we recommend the Historic Stockyards at Forth Worth for a visit. I’m glad we were able to visit on a cool day that started misty and improved for our visit.
While in Texas my sister and I enjoyed puzzle time. This was the first puzzle we completed and it was the first puzzle with letter codes on the back of the pieces to determine what section of the puzzle the pieces belonged in. We found it very helpful especially with the black areas.
I always appreciate a puzzle company that includes a poster.
The second puzzle we started and didn’t finish before I left Texas was a very tough one without codes and with so many similar color themes. It caused quite a lot of grumbling but still nice to find those pieces that fit together. My sister sent a photo of the almost finished puzzle she’s progressed on since I left.
It was fun to work on these puzzles with Lana.
Meanwhile here in Colville we are in mud season.
JJ enjoyed that mud.
Addy had an Irish Dance performance while we were gone and we were sent a photo of her before her performance.
On Friday the weather was good enough to do some work outside. I finally got to a couple planters, only about 5 more planters to go.
Have a great Saturday everyone!
After meeting up at Watermark church in Dallas for the 11:15 church service we gathered at Leonard and Mandy’s for lunch. We enjoyed chicken fajitas with all the trimmings. We had some good conversation around the table with a good recap of the sermon.
My brother Leonard and his dear wife, Mandy.
Our hostess and host and chauffeur for our days in Dallas, Lana and Steve.
Our niece, Hope. (Leonard and Mandy’s daughter)
Our nephew, Andrew. (Leonard and Mandy’s son)
We finished off the day with a stop at Half-Price Books. It was the largest Half-Price bookstore we had ever been in but we were in Texas after all, where everything is bigger!
More from Texas coming soon.
While we were traveling we had Spring weather back in our corner of the world and our grands were happy to get the bicycles out of storage.
Is Spring coming early in your corner?
We had quite a thunderstorm come through and we were without power for about five hours here in Flower Mound, Texas. I’ll get around to posting about our time in Dallas when we get home.
The wind is howling as I hurry to get this posted. See ya soon y’all.
Dinner at the Rusty Moose in Airway Heights on our way to the Spokane airport.
Our flight to Dallas left the Spokane airport at 5:30 am. Since we live about 2 hours from the airport we decided it would be wise to spend the night at a hotel at the airport on Friday. That worked out well. We were able to walk to the airport on Saturday morning in good time to check in and go through security. Our brother-in-law and sister picked us up at Dallas-Fort Worth airport when we arrived before noon.
This was our first time to see Steve and Lana’s new home. It is beautiful and comfortable. Lana prepared Cottage Pie for dinner and soon a few of Steve’s family members arrived along with our brother Leonard’s family. It was a nice relaxed evening getting caught up with everyone.
On Sunday morning we met up at Leonard and Mandy’s church for the 11:15 service and then enjoyed lunch at their home. Yummy fajitas with all the fixins hit the spot.
We had a good discussion about the sermon around the table.
Our sister Lana and her husband, Steve.
Our brother Leonard and wife, Mandy.
And here are our niece and nephew.
The day ended with a good rain storm.
Tomorrow we are planning a trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Hope your March is starting well.
Today we are traveling by air to another state for a visit with loved ones. Here are some clues as to who we will be visiting and the state they live in. I think you’ll be able to guess with these clues. All these photos are flashbacks taken many years ago and a couple years ago.
We are going to be in one of the states above from the second row of quilt squares.
We will be visiting two households.
The kids in these photos are now teens. The adults are all in new decades of their lives.
Any guesses? We’ll see y’all on the other side of our trip and hopefully we’ll have lots of blog fodder to share.
This was a sign pointed out to us by our Scottish Reformation Guide on our way from St. Giles to Grassmarket in Edinburgh. There are so many historical signs and events that happened in Edinburgh it was funny to read this one on one of the colorful buildings.
In the midst of busy, those days when ‘nothing’ happened are a treat.
Mount Rushmore September 2021
Joyce From This Side of the Pond has fresh questions for us to ponder for Wednesday Hodgepodge.
1. Many of our earliest presidents created words or expressions widely used today. Teddy Roosevelt is credited with mollycoddle, pack rat, frazzle, and loose cannon…which of those words/phrases currently relates to your life in some way?
mollycoddle: to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention
I was going to say none of these relates to my life in some way but then mollycoddle was in a sentence in the book I am reading, The Vanishing Conscience, Drawing a Line in a No-Fault, Guilt-Free World by John MacArthur. It made me smile to see it right there in print. Here is the sentence I read and then the context of my reading.
We cannot mollycoddle our sin.
“Paul is not suggesting that anyone can obtain life or merit God’s favor by the process of mortification. He is saying it is characteristic of true believers that they put to death the deeds of the body (mortification). Nothing is more natural than for people “led by the Spirit of God” to mortify their sin. One of the proofs of our salvation is that we do this. It is expected of believers. It is the expression of the new nature.
In other words, the true believer is not like Saul, who wanted to pamper and preserve Agag, but like Samuel who hacked him to pieces without mercy and without delay. Saul may have wanted to make a lap dog of Agag, but Samuel knew that was utterly impossible. Similarly, we will never tame the flesh. We cannot mollycoddle our sin. We must deal with it quickly and severely. “
So yes, I want to mortify my sin not mollycoddle it and make excuses for it. It can be done with the help of the Holy Spirit.
2. Have you visited many (or any) of the US Presidents homes, monuments, libraries or related sites? If so what’s been your favorite? Are there any you particularly want to see? Here’s a link to presidential sites listed by state which is kind of fun to read-Presidential Places by State. And since several bloggers who participate in the HP each week live outside the US, here’s a link to Presidential Places Outside the US. Have you seen any of those?
The most concentrated presidential sites I’ve seen were in Washington D.C. in the Spring of 2011. At the National Portrait Gallery you can view paintings of all the U.S. Presidents. The Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington Monuments and statues of other presidents are prominent and scattered throughout the area. You could go on a presidential scavenger hunt.
Outside the Lincoln Memorial
At Arlington National Cemetery we were able to see the grave of John F. Kennedy. When we were in Dallas we went to the ‘Grassy Knoll’ to see where JFK was shot.
My parents lived in Yorba Linda for a few years where the Nixon Library is located. Whittier was part of our stompin grounds, too, growing up so we passed Whittier College many times. When Greg was working in Thousand Oaks California his company Christmas event was held at the Reagan Library and Museum and we enjoyed an evening there taking in history including Airforce One that we were able to walk through.
I have a photo somewhere of the George Washington statue at the University of Washington, Greg’s Alma Mater.
We’ve been to Mount Rushmore and to Rapid City, South Dakota. Rapid City has the coolest display of statues of all the presidents on several corners in town.
John Quincy Adams
Favorite? It is hard to choose a favorite. It’s a tossup between the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore and the Reagan Library and Museum.
3. February 20th is National Cherry Pie Day…will you celebrate? Given your choice of cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cheesecake with a cherry topping, or black forest cake which would you choose?
Cheese cake with cherry topping would be my choice (and I might just scrape the cherry topping off). Greg enjoys cherry pie.
4. Last time you worked a puzzle of some kind? Something that had you puzzled recently?
Finished this puzzle a week ago.
I had to puzzle over converting a recipe from serving 24 people to serving 400 people. Calculating the quantities of the ingredients was something I puzzled over and then I puzzled over how many veggies to buy for veggie trays.
5. Of the early blooming flowers (January-early March depending on your zone) which one’s your favorite? snowdrops, lenten roses, pansies, violets, snapdragons, reticulated iris, crocus, winter jasmine
Do you have any of these in your own yard/garden?
I don’t have any of these growing on our property here but when we lived in Kenmore we had a couple Lenten Roses. They are my favorite.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
George Washington Statue in the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and outside the Cathedral.
I’m posting my Hodgepodge early this week. See you all tomorrow when I’m recuperating from our big event on Tuesday. Maybe I’ll have the presence of mind to take some photos.
After our wonderful tour with Jimmy on Monday September 23rd we were ready for lunch. We took the steps down Advocate’s Close and found the Devil’s Advocate.
Fish and Chips one more time before we left Scotland.
After our lunch we could face the stairs to go back up Advocate’s Close to the Royal Mile.
Our destination would be Holyrood Palace which is at the opposite end of the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle.
Located on the Royal Mile, the Mercat Cross holds a prominent position within the Old Town. Its proximity to other historic sites, including St Giles’ Cathedral and the Museum of Edinburgh, places it at the heart of Edinburgh’s cultural and civic life.
The Mercat Cross holds significant cultural importance in Edinburgh’s history. It was not merely a market hub, but also the focal point of civic gatherings and proclamations. Its distinctive octagonal structure, adorned with a unicorn and the royal coat of arms, reflects the intersection of commerce and monarchy in medieval Edinburgh.
The John Knox House is on the Royal Mile.
John Knox’s House dates from the 15th century and has been largely unaltered since the 1550’s when the Mosman family, Goldsmiths to Mary Queen of Scots, remodeled the house. John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation and founder of the Presbyterian Church, only lived here for a short period before his death in 1572.
The ground and first floors of the house are presented as a museum about John Knox, the evolution of the Protestant faith in Scotland, and the conflict between John Knox and Mary Queen of Scots. There are a few audio commentaries and lots of written information to read.
On the second floor of the house, you see a wood-paneled apartment that is preserved in the state that John Knox would have known. This is the most interesting part of the house.
We found the Secret Garden through an archway along the Royal Mile and had to take a photo of the Thistle
After the garden we finally were at the end of the Royal Mile at Holyrood Palace.
Holyrood Abbey was founded by David I, King of Scots in 1128, and Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 15th century. Queen Elizabeth II spent one week in residence at Holyrood Palace at the beginning of each summer, where she carried out a range of official engagements and ceremonies
This beautiful doorway was a perfect photo op and it became Josh and Laura’s Christmas card.
We bought some souvenirs in the shop at Holyrood.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse Fountain
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle. Holyrood Palace is the setting for state ceremonies and official entertaining.
We walked back along different roads to Grassmarket and then up Victoria Street.
Looking down Victoria Street.
Since this is the last of my posts from Scotland I wanted to add Greyfriars Bobby in the Kirk. We saw this spot earlier in this day. Do you know the story behind Greyfriars Bobby or have you seen the old movie?
Our last full day in Scotland was another record breaking steps day. Goodnight to Monday September 23rd.
On Tuesday September 24th we had coffee and breakfast snacks at the Black Sheep before we checked out and called an uber to take us to the airport for our flights home.
We loved our time and what we experienced in Bonnie Scotland. Cheerio.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 