Category Archives: Walking

Sky Watch Friday ~

I’m trying out a couple new photography blogging carnivals. This one is hosted by Dot in Georgia. Welcome to Sky Watch Friday!

How to participate in Sky Watch
1. Post your sky picture on your blog. You do not have to use a picture with only the sky in it and the picture can be taken whenever and not just on Friday.
2. Come to Strolling Through Georgia and sign in on Mr. Linky
3. Enjoy the beautiful sky pictures of the other bloggers

So here’s my 1st Sky Watch Friday entry…

 

This was taken in the morning in Oxnard, California…

For more photos head over to Dot’s.

Monday Walk in Whittier

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.

I drove Southeast through Ventura County into Los Angeles County to the suburb of Whittier, east of Los Angeles to visit my sister Kathy. Whittier is home to Whittier College, Richard Nixon’s alma mater. He majored in History. We decided to combine a nice healthy walk up the hills and down in the older beautiful neighborhoods of Whittier so we could then have a guilt free nice lunch as a reward.  Kathy chose the Crepes and Grapes Cafe on Greenleaf Ave. in Uptown Whittier. I have a few photos of our time. The first photo is of the great Avocado tree that keeps me well stocked by Kathy when the avocados are in abundance. Then we walked along such wonderful canopied streets and we saw some beautiful blossoms. The last photo is of my yummy crepe. This was a build your own crepe for $6.95. I chose turkey, red onion, tomatoe, green pepper and a ginger lime sauce on the side. Kathy chose a white sauce, chicken, spinach, tomato, and Jack cheese. Duhlicious!

 

This is my sister Kathy with her grandson Jackson. She is my oldest sister, a wonderful friend and Godly woman. Thanks Kathy, that was fun…

Beach and Breakfast!

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 numbers this week for Lovella’s Walking Club were an average of 9933 steps for the 6 days. I had a low step day because of a sore knee so my steps are less than last week. We ordered a pedometer today so I’ll see how my numbers might change in a couple of weeks. I’ll probably start figuring on a five day average, too.

Today we started our walk at the beach at 7:00 am.  We won’t ever get tired of walking at the beach. The air, the sound of waves crashing, and the salt water smell make it so easy to keep on walking…

 

The waves were beautiful today with lots of spray.

Then we saw this guy way out in the water past the surfers and it looked like he was walking on water…

 

Before we headed home we decided we needed breakfast at Allison’s Country Cafe in Ventura. We really enjoy this spot for breakfast. Dear likes the Green Chile Omelette. I had the Mexican Omelette and because it was our healthy walking day I asked for the fruit instead of hashbrowns. Then, oh my goodness, I slipped and said bisquits instead of whole wheat toast!

AND THEY BROUGHT TWO! I only ate one and brought the other one home for Dear to eat later..

So that’s my Saturday Walking Club report. Hope everyone is enjoying moving about out there!

9999 Steps!

Willow and I had a 4-Niner walk yesterday. (9999 steps) Many of those steps were uphill steps as you’ll see with some of the views I’ve included.

 

 

We huffed and we puffed to the top of the lookout… (well I huffed and puffed!)

 

On the way down some more great views…

I loved this tree…
And the trail was shaded here and smelled so piney.

 

The creative side of blogging. Baby steps with my camera.

Beautiful Runicula that we came upon in someone’s yard. I think this is the sweetest flower. I’ll be posting my walking numbers tomorrow. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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.

The Desires of Our Heart ~

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.

I decided to combine a joyful experience with Thankful Thursday.

 

God is so good to me. He gave me two desires of my heart today! I’ve said over and over again how sweet it would be to meet one of my bloggy friends and how I’d love to have a walking buddy in Southern California after I left my walking buddies in Seattle, Washington. Today Willow and I met and had a walk and plan to walk on a regular basis, keeping each other accountable. How sweet it is! We found each other through other blogs and realized we both live in the same city. We’re in the same stage of life and have a lot in common. Check out her blog, she has very exciting news today! She became a grandmother!

Today we met in Old Town Camarillo at a specialty coffee shop and walked around one of the older neighborhoods in Camarillo and through a couple of Antique Stores. Fun times with lots of steps to log for the Lovella’s Walking Club!

This is something I’m thankful for this week!

For more Thankful posts visit Iris at Sting My Heart…

Fun Monday ~ The Bucket List…

Tiggerlane, the Neophyte is hosting Fun Monday this week. Here’s her assignment.

Have you heard of The Bucket List? Well, that’s what I want from you! Make a list of things you want to do before you die. It must be at leastfive items – and you can make it as long as you desire. Photos are optional. And let’s hear about some of the wackiest, most bizarre to-do’s on your Bucket List!

These are not listed in order of importance just in order of how they came into my brain.

1. Visit Ireland. And while there I want to visit Trinity College and see the Book of Kells. I also want to tour the Guinness Brewery. A visit to the Jameson Distillery for my husband’s pleasure. I want to eat a good meal in Cork. I’d like to see the countryside. I’d love to do a Pub Crawl with some good traditional Irish music.

2. I’d love to experience grandchildren.

3. I’d like to fly first-class to Australia or New Zealand so the many hours in the plane would feel more comfortable.

4. I’d like to have a great famous cook like Ina Garten or Jamie Oliver cook a meal for me and my friends at my house with a clean up crew.

5. I’d like to walk across England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea.

6. I’d like to meet some of my bloggy friends at a spa resort.

7. I’d like to be living back in my home in the Seattle area.

I’m just not a person who desires whacky or bizarre things in my life. I’m happy with a cup of tea in a beautiful setting.

Or a lovely meal with friends. A worshipful church service where the truth is taught and the love of God is felt. Probably the most out of this world experience I think would be real cool is …

8. The Acts 2:2-4 experience…”Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

For me that would be an amazing experience.

For more Bucket lists check out Tiggerlane’s site for more links to Fun Monday posts…

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.

Walking Club Tally ~ Week 3

This week was a much more successful week for me in the walking numbers. I walked close to an hour every day but Friday.  Today Dear and I walked at the beach for close to 2 hours! My average this week was 11,508 steps a day. I’m so much happier with these results and I hope that when I weigh in on Monday for the Brown Plate Special I’ll have some lower numbers on the scale, too. Before our walk we had some blintzes that my mom brought over last weekend. I filled them with a ricotta mixture.

The Blintzes were baked with butter and half & half. After they were out of the oven we put a dollop of sour cream on top and some pure maple syrup. This was at 6:00 am so I have a whole day to burn off these calories. 🙂 I think Lovella will be pleased. Good thing we’re headed for a good long walk…

 

We decided to walk along the railroad tracks at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura. It was cold and crisp this morning.

 

The Channel Islands were in clear view today.

 

 

This is at the North entrance to Emma Wood and Lana G! just called me so I’m waving to her while I talk to her in Washington. I’m all layered up cuz it was cold this morning people.  Well cold for California, it was shorts weather for you hardy folk in the North!

 

On our way back to the car I took this shot of the river and the snow capped mountains in the distance. This river empties into the ocean at the South end of Emma Wood. Hope you are all having some good times walking…

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.

TT #19 ~ Hope for Spring Walk

If you are here for Wildflowers in Winter the literary edition please scroll on down to the next post…
For my Thursday Thirteen this week I’m sharing 13 images from my walk in anticipation of Spring. I looked for signs of Hope for this wonderful season we’ll experience soon…

 

These were all taken from yards and common areas in my neighborhood. For those of you living in regions that actually experience 4 seasons remember my walk was in sunny Southern California.

 

My thirteenth image is of my shadow which I hope will become smaller by Spring!

For more TT 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.

Wildflowers in Winter Week Three ~ Literary

All of these photos of Spring flowers were taken in England. The third photo on the top of the collage is of a Fritillaria meleagris which grow wild on the grounds of Magdalene College in Oxford. This photo was taken on Addison’s Walk, a footpath along the grounds and River Cherwell. When we were on this trip I wasn’t a blogger yet. If I was, I would have taken more and better photos of this wonderful flower. I’ll add a google image of a closeup so you can see it better. The 1st photo I believe are Anenome nemerosa. The second daffodils. The fourth are Pink Pom Pom Aster? Any real gardeners and flower buffs can correct me if I’m wrong, please.

Fritillaria meleagris

While on one of our trips in England we stayed on the Farm in the center picture in the Lake District. This was the first time I ever experienced hearing a Cuckoo Bird. I was amazed and excited to realize it really says “cuckoo, cuckoo”. Then after hearing the cuckoo from our room at the Bed and Breakfast we got to see some of these cuckoos as they flew from tree to tree on one of our walks. This brings me to the poem about Spring and Flowers and the Cuckoo that I chose to share for week 3 of Wildflowers in Winter. I would highly recommend a walking tour in the Lake District or the Cotswolds in late Spring and early summer.

To The Cuckoo

~ by William Wordsworth

O BLITHE New-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice?

While I am lying on the grass
Thy twofold shout I hear,
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off, and near.

Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of sunshine and of flowers,
Thou bringest unto me a tale
Of visionary hours.

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing,
A voice, a mystery;

The same whom in my school-boy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky.

To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the green;
And thou wert still a hope, a love;
Still longed for, never seen.

And I can listen to thee yet;
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again.

O blessed Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!

I’m adding two photos of my husband and our daughter and myself with our daughter on Addison’s Walk on the grounds of Magdalene College where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would walk and talk.

For more literary contributions to Wildflowers in Winter Week 3 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.