Category Archives: Washington State

Quatro, Cinco, Seis, and Siete!

We traveled to the West side of the Cascades for 338 miles to visit our kids on Thursday the 4th of May. We met up with friends in Kirkland at La Corona on the way and the Mexican food theme began. Good time catching up a bit then we said Adios and headed to our kids home with a stop at Fred Meyer on the way. We had a nice quiet evening recuperating from our drive.

On Friday Laura drove us to Business Costco and regular Costco. Friday was Cinco de Mayo and we met up with our other Westside kids and we all enjoyed a meal at Viva Jalisco.

Saturday morning we baked up some Lemon Scones to enjoy while watching some of the Coronation. Laura pulled out a puzzle for us to work on over the course of the day.

The girls enjoyed a dry spell in the morning at Pickin’ at the Barn in Monroe. A market of all things vintage, antique and artisan. We all made some purchases. On the way home from the market we stopped at The Maltby Cafe and Laura and I split Huevos Rancheros. Another day of enjoying the Mexican theme. Saturday afternoon we worked on the puzzle before we headed out to an early Mother’s Day meal at Feast and Fire in Edmonds.

I had the Osso Buco (Pork) which was fall off the bone delicious. The others enjoyed Halibut and pasta dishes.

 

You can see the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry loading at the dock if you squint.

After a stop at the waterfront in Edmonds we went back to Josh and Laura’s. I opened up some sweet Mother’s day gifts and we continued watching some of the Coronation while finishing up the puzzle.

On Sunday we went to Josh and Laura’s church and were encouraged by an amazing sermon by a visiting Pastor from Southern California. “God’s mercy is God’s goodness to us despite our sin.” What a blessing that was along with Communion. We also ran into friends from our former churches there. An extra sweet encouragement to see and talk to them.

We packed up the car and headed back to Colville after church with Laura as our passenger. Laura traveled back with us so that she could be in town for Addy’s Piano Recital Monday evening. We stopped in Cle Elum for a fill up of gasoline and lunch at El Corporal…if you guessed Mexican food, you guessed correctly! That’s why the title of this post is cuatro, cinco, seis and siete because I enjoyed Mexican food on the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th of May! After lunch Laura took the wheel and drove for a couple hours and then we switched back to me for the ride into Spokane. Dear drove from Spokane to Colville. We dropped Laura off at Dan and Jamie’s and it was a great surprise for Addy and JJ who had no idea Auntie Lolo was coming to stay a couple nights with them.

I think they are thrilled to have Auntie Lolo in town!

 

Thankful for a wonderful weekend from beginning to end.

A Taste of Britain

We had a wonderful weekend on the Westside of the mountains with good easy trips both ways. Thank you, Lord. While at our kids’ home we started off Saturday watching some of the Coronation while enjoying some lemon scones with lemon curd and clotted cream.

We just got home Sunday evening and this is a quick post with more about our weekend to come.

Crisp to Frozen

California was crisp and we are back to the land of frozen. We arrived home to our winter wonderland safely on Friday the 20th of January. Our ‘DisneyCaliFam’ vacation was full and good. Thank you, LORD, for your goodness to us and our extended family.

Many posts will be coming of our days in Southern California. Where the rain paused for us to enjoy some sunshine in between.

Driving Like Nuts Hodgepodge

 

Time for Wednesday Hodgepodge where Jo From This Side of the Pond comes up with the questions and we accept the challenge to answer them.

1. Last time you drove more than 100 miles from your home? Where did you go? 

In May, we drove to Western Washington for a long weekend with our westside kids, 325 miles each way.

The photo at the top of my post is me on our lawnmower that I drive around our property every week from about May to October. I’ve logged 160 hours on it in the last 4 years.

2. Something that drives you batty? 

All the twisted reasoning given to justify evil.

3. Do you feel like you’re ‘on track‘? For what? 

We, the royal we, Dear and me, are on track with finishing the exterior painting on our country bungalow. Dear is doing the painting and I supply beverages when he needs them. Sometimes I hold the ladder. On Tuesday we made a trip to Spokane for the usual shopping and picking up one more gallon of paint. Soon I’ll be able to show the before and after shots on all sides of the house.

4. Your favorite car snack(s)? 

If I was going to snack in a car I would probably have nuts, or M&M’s. When we travel we don’t usually need a snack in the car. We just time our stops for a good meal when we drive a long way or all day. Bottled Water is something we like to have in the car all the time.

5. Something you’ve done recently ‘on the fly‘? 

We left our home at 5:45am on Sunday and walked the Rotary Trail (2.9 miles) and then came home for breakfast and showers with plenty of time to attend Sunday School and our Main Worship Service at Church.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m loving our July yard with all the green and other blooms that are thriving because of our early Summer rain this year.

Thank you for stopping by…

Mother’s Day Weekend

Dear and I drove over to the West side of our state to spend time with some of our family and friends who live there. We met up at two separate restaurants on Thursday afternoon and then Saturday morning with dear friends and spent a couple hours eating together and enjoying conversations and catching up. On Mother’s Day we attended our kids’ church for a great time of worship and preaching. I’ll share some quotes from the sermon at the end of this post. Words I want to remember.

At 1:00 on Sunday this group met up for a Mother’s Day Brunch. It was an honor to enjoy this meal with our westside kids and my sister and her husband. Thank you to Laura for making the reservations and getting everyone together.

Me and my baby sister.

Me and our firstborn son.

Josh and Laura on the waterfront in Kirkland, Washington. The sun finally crept out from behind the clouds for a glorious afternoon.

Josh and Laura created this embroidery together for me as part of my Mother’s day gift. They also treated me to an ornament and tea towel commemorating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. We enjoy so much about Great Britain and remember fondly traveling together in England back in 2013!

A meal out with our daughter and her hubby was another special treat and this lamb shank was a delicious surprise to see on the menu.

We drove back home on Monday morning and it was a rain free event until we entered Spokane, on our last stretch home. We stopped at our Eastside kids’ home to deliver gifts and greetings and were happy for sweet hugs and time with our grands. Home again we get busy with laundry and the need to mow the lawns!

Back to the Sunday service we attended at Canyon Hills Community Church in Bothell, Washington. Dr. Nicholas Ellen from Houston, Texas was the guest preacher for this Sunday. His sermon was titled The Premise and Process of Trusting God. I’m sharing the link.

Some quotes from the sermon that I wrote down…

“The God of reality is bigger than the God of your imagination.”

“Stand Under so one day you will Under Stand”

You Can Obey God ~ some hindrances…

  1. Lack of knowledge
  2. Lack of skill
  3. Lack of will

Don’t be strong and wrong!

God has called us to the process. We need to follow God’s direction. He gives promises and in those promises we need to follow the process He provides.

May is ticking away at full speed. We are enjoying all the color that Spring brings.

Sunday Drivers

We took a drive on Sunday afternoon after church since it was a day with some sunshine and no rain or snow. I tried to upload my photos from the drive but our satellite service wasn’t cooperating.

We went north through Kettle Falls across the Mighty Columbia river on highway 395 and continued north on the west side of the Columbia all the way to the Canadian Border. The Border is still closed to run of the mill travelers so once we saw the crossing we turned around and came back home. It was a very nice scenic drive and I will share more of the photos when our internet cooperates. The sign above was at a gas station/store/post office in Laurier, Washington. Isn’t the sign clever, eh?

If we could cross the border and keep traveling north we would reach Christina Lake and the Gladstone Provincial Park in British Columbia. If we make a left after the border crossing we would get to Grand Forks.

We were alone on the road all the way to the border. On our way home as we moseyed along one vehicle passed us on the road. If the border was open I’m sure we would have encountered many more vehicles.

Here we are in the last week of February. Last February 28th I was flying to Orange County for our sister’s Leap Year Birthday Party. That was just before things changed for all of us in regards to travel and many other things.

Today will be the warmest day this week and it is supposed to possibly reach 50 degrees! We are excited. Maybe I’ll be able to do some more pruning that I should have done last Fall! Hope you all have a good week ahead.

 

Regrouping

Back home after spending a few days on the “Coast” with all these loved ones. It took me seven hours to get home on Thursday with a couple stops at Home Depot and Costco in Spokane. I’m a bit slow in the brain but I hope to be refreshed soon to share some of the joy that has been experienced this past week.

At the RV Park

Last Thursday we met up with my brother’s family at the Tamarack RV Park in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for an overnight before we guided them up to our home. It was so good to finally see them in person. The last time we were together was at our Pop’s funeral in 2018.

We were impressed with all the steps that need to be taken to settle a RV in.

Andrew was excited to show me his skateboarding skills.

We made a quick trip to Costco and brought in a meal of Rotisserie Chicken, Mac n Cheese, Caesar salad and fresh baked bread. We had the meal together in the cabin that Dear and I rented in the same RV park.

Me and my brother.  I’m #4 in our sibling order and my brother Leonard is #8. There’s a twelve year difference in our ages.

We all made it safely to Colville and the Reflection will be parked in our front acres for a few weeks before my brother’s family leaves for their journey south through Oregon and California.

While they are in Washington they will travel without the RV to a couple of our National Parks and of course get their obligatory family selfie photo in front of the Capital building in Olympia. They are trying to see as many National Parks as they can and they are also trying to make it to the capital of each state they visit. While on the West side of the Cascades they are staying with our sister Lana and her husband. Leonard and Lana are twins.

More to come from our time in Colville and the Western part of Washington.

I’m on the road again today so I won’t be participating in the Wednesday Hodgepodge.

9/11 Spirit of America Memorial

God Bless America, Land that I love, Stand beside her and guide her thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam. God bless America, My home, sweet home.

This to date has been the most elaborate memorial we have seen in remembrance of all the lives lost on that tragic day in 2001, a day we all remember as 9/11. The Official County of Chelan Memorial of 9/11 called 9/11 Spirit of America Memorial and The Cashmere Veterans War Memorial are both on this site.

“We Must Never Forget”

Plead the Fifth Hodgepodge

Time for Wednesday Hodgepodge with a big thank you to Joyce for coming up with the questions!

1. Five years ago this month hubs and I relocated from New Jersey to the Palmetto State. What were you doing five years ago this month?

We were still recovering from Dan and Jamie’s wedding and festivities. The weather was not typical for that time of year and a record was set at their wedding. It was 104 degrees at their outdoor wedding. After we recovered we continued on house projects with no hint that we would be selling and re-locating to the northeastern part of our state from the Seattle area. We were concerned about fires close to Dan and Jamie that destroyed the out buildings and some vehicles on one of the groomsmen’s property. The fire came right up to his home without burning his home down but the heat was so intense it melted the mini blinds. Lots of smoke damage.

This was the fire heading up to the home. This section of hillside is still recovering from the fire.

2. What was the last 9-5 job you worked? Tell us about it.

Well I can’t call teaching a 9 to 5 job and other jobs I had after since my teaching job don’t fall into a 9 to 5 category so my last “punch in punch out” job was at Certified Grocers in Commerce, California. (1973-1975) I started as a temp in filing and they hired me full-time and I wasn’t able to get my full salary until the temp agency was paid a finders fee. Ugh. Even though I had my teaching credential at this time it was hard to come by a teaching job. I finally got a teaching position and resigned from Certified Grocers. Oh and my first teaching assignment at Garfield Elementary (Montebello Unified School District) was 2nd grade and my classroom was on the stage of the cafeteria. So one of the walls of my classroom was a stage curtain. Yep…that happened. They finally brought a portable classroom on campus and my class was able to move into the portable.

3. Plead the fifth, high five, take five, it’s five o’clock somewhere, or the big 5-0…which number five phrase relates to your life in some way currently? Tell us how.

I’m going to have to go with Plead the Fifth. It seems that my opinions and convictions right now would land me in hot water with the political and social justice elite. My lips are sealed with the general public but it’s nice to have some lively discussions with people who are like minded and won’t condemn me for my thoughts.

4. During this season of spending so much time at home, what distractions get in the way of being your most productive? Or have you been extra productive since this whole thing started?

Plans make me the most productive and since it’s hard to make plans to do anything in these uncertain times I’ve been very unproductive. Mowing the lawn is the most regular and productive thing I do.

5. Give us a list here of your top five anything.

The Top Five places I would visit over and over again:

  1. Most anywhere in Great Britain like the Cotswolds, Oxford, York, Wales just to name a few.
  2. Family and friends wherever they may be.
  3. Lavender Festival in Sequim Washington
  4. Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley Washington
  5. Pacific Coast Beaches in the Winter

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I thank our sovereign God for allowing us to enjoy these two grandchildren in our older years!

Thank you to our kids for sending texts with these photos!

August is ticking away and thankfully we are cooling down a little after a few blistering hot days!