Barn Collective

We spotted many farms with barns on our way to our son and daughter in law’s home in Eastern Washington.

This first group are taken from I-90 going at least 70 miles per hour!

This was my favorite that I managed to click fast enough when I saw the barn quilt on it.

The next group I share will be from Highway 395 going north from Spokane, Washington.

Linking up to The Barn Collective hosted by Tom the Backroads Traveler.

We will be hitting these same roads heading home today. We’ve been walking and eating and doing some construction on a Chicken Coop. The trip takes up to 6 hours so if I don’t visit today to see your barns hopefully I’ll get around tomorrow morning.

Meeting God in Quiet Places ~ F. LaGard Smith

Wherever we are, God is always close. But as Jesus himself demonstrated, there is something about quiet times and quiet places that helps us to get closer to God. That special solitude provides a time of rest and renewal from a secular world that is busily ignoring God. It is a time of remembering who we are and why we are.

In the Cotswolds, I experience daily the words of that great hymn written by I. B. Sergei:

My God and I go through the fields together.
We walk and talk, as good friends should and do.
We clasp our hands, our voices ring with laughter.
My God and I walk through the meadow’s hue.

He tells me of the years that went before me,
When heavenly plans were made for me to be.
When all was but a dream of dim conception,
To come to life, earth’s verdant glory see.

For those who walk hand in hand with Jesus, every day is a holiday – a holy day before God. Some of us are specially blessed to have a life more conducive to the peace and quiet of holy days before God. But as someone who finds himself thrust back each year into the harsh reality of big-city madness, I know that the greater challenge is to find God in the midst of a metropolis. To see his hand in the inner city and among the urban sprawl; to find time for him in an already-overbooked schedule; to find a quiet place amid a constant bedlam of noise.

If we don’t take the time to remember, we’re in danger of forgetting his blessings. Therefore, take a few moments every day, if possible, or perhaps plan ahead to spend an afternoon walking in prayer with him. Whenever you feel your hand slipping from his, take some extra time to remember all that he has meant to you. And why not write down some of his special blessings throughout the year?”

This is the village of Buckland in the Cotswolds. I was so excited to stumble upon it with Dear and Katie in 2004 after reading this devotional by F. LaGard Smith. The book is “Dedicated to the people of Buckland, who have opened their hearts and homes to make me feel a part of the village.” We strolled around Buckland and it made me want to re-read the book. This book was one of those “treasures” that I happened upon in my thrift store shopping. I found it at the Senior thrift shop on Whidbey Island in the little village of Langley, Washington. If you ever visit Washington take a ferry to Whidbey Island and enjoy the many quaint towns and beautiful scenery this Island affords. Whidbey Island is one of those places on earth that you can feel closer to the Lord just by being there. May you walk hand in hand with Jesus wherever you are today, in the hustle and bustle, or in a serene and quiet place.

The top photo is from a walk I took with our daughter in law and the house you see down the road belongs to our son and her.

A Brief Interlude…

…from my regular scenery.

I’ll be back to city life on Monday with lots to share from the country.

Five More Hats!

Five more hats that I have worn from college on…

# 1 ~ I was part of a Christian Rock group where I met Dear and we fell in love with each other and with Great Britain in the early 70’s.

“Hymns give way to Jesus Rock in morning assembly at St. George’s Church of England School, in Meadow Road, Gravesend yesterday. The concert was given by the Contemporaries, 14 musicians from the United States who are in the middle of a world tour. They have already completed a number of successful “gigs” in Liverpool. They are all professional musicians but they are giving their services free”…

Dear and I are in the center of the photo on the bottom row. 1974 was the last summer tour Dear and I participated in.

#2 – I was a bride and became a wife to Dear and changed my name in December of 1974.

#3 ~ I was an elementary school teacher in the Montebello Unified School District until our first son was born.

#4~ I’m blessed to be a mother to these three children and my mother in law sheet is complete with two daughter-in-laws and one son-in-law.

#5 I’m an auntie and great auntie to so many lovely human beings! I’m sharing a few photos so I can get all of the nieces and nephews and great nephews and nieces in. I haven’t met two of the latest greats in person yet.

Our family and Dear’s brother’s family from Katie and Andrew’s wedding in 2012.

Dear’s only brother’s family and our family in 2015 at Riverside National Cemetery (missing Jenna, Justin, Skylar and Travis).

My kids and nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews surrounding my pop at my mother’s memorial service in 2013.

Our kids plus my nieces and nephews with my youngest niece Hope and youngest nephew Andrew in 2015 at my brother-in-law Nick’s funeral. So let me count. 7 brothers and sisters. 7 brother and sister in laws. 19 original nieces and nephews. Many of those nieces and nephews are married now and I have 9 grand nieces and nephews. I have 4 nieces and 2 nephews who aren’t married yet.

I have one brother (out of my 7 siblings) whose family has estranged themselves from all the rest of us siblings and our families. They are not enjoying the love and support and comfort that the rest of us enjoy when we are together. I’m adding this truth here to let my dear readers know that things aren’t all rosy in my family relationship category. My brother and his wife have 4 kids and we know for sure 3 of them are married. We aren’t sure about our oldest nephew from this family. We have at least 3 grand nephews or nieces that I’ve never met. I also have never met two of my nephew’s spouses and the oldest niece’s spouse. They have chosen to cut off all ties and relationship with us. Haven’t seen my brother since 2009 and haven’t seen my sister in law since 2004. So sad but true. We pray that there will be reconciliation in the future. Gott Kann!

I have a few more current hats to share before I totally bore you to tears.

I’m linking up with Amy at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday and with Susanne for Friday’s Fave Five.

I’ll be on the road for most of Friday and hope to check in once we arrive at our son’s house in Eastern Washington for the weekend later on Friday. Blessings…

Good Fences…

These photos are from Rosedale in British Columbia from a friend’s home.

Linking up with Good Fences hosted by TexWisGirl #109.

We’re getting ready for a little road trip over the mountains and through the farmlands of Washington state to our Eastern Washington kid’s home to work on some projects. Hoping to see some fun things to take photos of…

Signs in Cle Elum and Roslyn Washington

We left early in the morning and our first stop was for breakfast in Cle Elum.

Friendly people and good food if you need someplace to eat on your way across the Cascades we recommend this cafe. They have “acres” of parking…that cracked me up but I suppose if you are traveling in R.V.’s and pulling trailers filled with bikes and camping gear this is the place for you!

We got some great inside information from the family sitting next to us on visiting Roslyn and Ronald. After breakfast in Cle Elum and a stop at the small town hardware store we headed West to Roslyn.

Incorporated in 1886 the coal-mining town of Roslyn played an important role in Washington State History. The extensive coal fields in the area fueled the Northern Pacific Railroad’s trains during construction and early operation of a direct rail line through the Cascade Mountains.

Roslyn also claimed fame because of the T.V. series Northern Exposure. It was called Cicely on the show and suppose to be in Alaska but the filming was done on the streets of Roslyn, Washington.

The Brick is Washington’s oldest continuously operating bar established in 1889. They are also known for Northern Exposure being filmed there and a movie called The Runner Stumbles with Dick Van Dyke. The Runner Stumbles was also filmed at the Immaculate Conception Church in Roslyn shown below.

This was a fun day trip for us and we enjoyed seeing this little towns. Driving around you are always sure to find some interesting yard art, too.

Rust in Peace…clever.

We are still having a heat wave here in the Pacific Northwest. Of course since this is so out of the ordinary everyone’s talking about it. I’ve never had to water plants in April before but I’ve been busy dragging the hoses around and watering the last couple days.

How are things in your corner of the world?

Linking up to Signs, signs with Lesley.

Out of Doors!

We spent a lot of time outdoors with a string of good weather we’ve been having. Here are some photos of what is blooming outside in our yard.

Our pink Dogwood.

Some sweet pansies.

Our lilac and bleeding hearts.

Dogwood with Lilac in the background.

Our azaleas and rhododendrons are getting ready to show us all they have to offer soon.

Yesterday I brought some of our outside beauties in to enjoy their fragrance.

We had a record breaker heat day yesterday at 90 degrees. They expect another record breaker for today at 86. Unheard of in April.

Linking up with ABC Wednesday originated by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by Roger and and team. O is for out of doors, outdoors, outside.

Tuesday’s Treasures…

This is a treasured work of art we have that a friend painted. Here is a link to her website. The work was inspired by a small nook in the crypt of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

This is a collage of the actual nook on the left and our painting on the right. We owned this painting before we visited the Cathedral and it was like a treasure hunt for us to find the nook.

If you ever find yourself in Washington D.C., the National Cathedral is a must see. It’s on one of the hop on hop off trolley lines.

I’m linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveler for Tuesday’s Treasures.

We are having a Spring heat wave here in the Seattle area. We are breaking heat records for April with highs in the 80’s! We barbecued tonight and we’ve had to do a lot of watering that we don’t usually do in April. Thinking of those of you who live in the Houston area and I do hope you are above water.

Snow Geese and Barns…

When my sisters and I were in Mount Vernon, Washington to see the daffodils back in March we also were treated to a large invasion of Snow Geese. I just realized I never shared these photos and since there are some barns in the background in some of the shots I’ll link up to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveler.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Here’s a closer view of a barn in Mount Vernon that we drove by on a different weekend.

We are getting some fine sunny weather in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. There are predictions of it hitting 80 tomorrow. We are tempted to put up our patio covers and get the patio furniture out. I had a good week of Zumba at the gym and I’m happy to say my muscles aren’t screaming at me anymore. On Saturday we worked in the yard and I got some new shrubs planted. Later my son and I had a fun evening watching the Seattle Sounders beat Philadelphia Union 2-1. It’s always more fun to win. Quote of the night from coach Zigi: “You can’t score your second one until you get your first one … It was a big weight off his shoulder.”

Hope you all have a good week and that your tax returns are mailed or electronically submitted!

How Good it is To Thank the Lord ~ Hymn

How Good It Is to Thank The Lord

How good it is to thank the Lord,
And praise to Thee, Most High, accord,
To show Thy love with morning light,
And tell Thy faithfulness each night;
Yea, good it is Thy praise to sing,
And all our sweetest music bring.

O Lord, with joy my heart expands,
Before the wonders of Thy hands;
Great works, Jehovah, Thou hast wrought,
Exceeding deep Thine every thought;
A foolish man knows not their worth,
Nor he whose mind is of the earth.

When as the grass the wicked grow,
When sinners flourish here below,
Then is there endless ruin nigh,
But Thou, O Lord, art throned on high;
Thy foes shall fall before Thy might,
The wicked shall be put to flight.

Thou, Lord, hast high exalted me
With royal strength and dignity;
With Thine anointing I am blest,
Thy grace and favor on me rest;
I thus exult o’er all my foes,
O’er all that would my cause oppose.

The righteous man shall flourish well,
And in the house of God shall dwell;
He shall be like a goodly tree,
And all his life shall fruitful be;
For righteous is the Lord and just,
He is my Rock, in Him I trust.

Words: The Psalter 1912, Music: St. Petersburg ~ Dimitri S. Bortniansky

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage