…into part of our sisters weekend. I’ll share more later because we’re still cracking each other up…
My prayers were answered for a nice day on Saturday for our major tour day! Thank you Lord!
I’ll be back in my blogging saddle on Wednesday!
O Lord, Look Down from Heaven
O Lord, Look Down from Heaven
O Lord, look down from Heaven, behold
And let Thy pity waken:
How few are we within Thy fold,
Thy saints by men forsaken!
True faith seems quenched on every hand,
Men suffer not Thy Word to stand;
Dark times have us o’ertaken.
With fraud which they themselves invent
Thy truth they have confounded;
Their hearts are not with one consent
On Thy pure doctrine grounded.
While they parade with outward show,
They lead the people to and fro,
In error’s maze astounded.
May God root out all heresy
And of false teachers rid us
Who proudly say: Now, where is he
That shall our speech forbid us?
By right or might we shall prevail;
What we determine cannot fail;
We own no lord and master.
Therefore saith God, I must arise,
The poor My help are needing;
To Me ascend My people’s cries,
And I have heard their pleading.
For them My saving Word shall fight
And fearlessly and sharply smite,
The poor with might defending.
As silver tried by fire is pure
From all adulteration,
So through God’s Word shall men endure
Each trial and temptation.
Its light beams brighter through the cross,
And, purified from human dross,
It shines through every nation.
Thy truth defend, O God, and stay
This evil generation;
And from the error of their way
Keep Thine own congregation.
The wicked everywhere abound
And would Thy little flock confound;
But Thou art our salvation.
Words: Martin Luther, 1524.
Sisters!
It’s been 5 years since we’ve had a “Sister weekend”.
We made some good memories then and it’s time for some more…
Last time on the first weekend of April 2011 we took the Clipper to Victoria for a weekend. This time we are staying in our homes in the Seattle area and venturing out from here.
Last time we were in Victoria we met up with Pondside and she gave us a grand tour of the area. My sisters and I loved spending time with her. She is a blogger that I so admire for her work ethic and her caring heart for all the people in her life.
I’m hoping to show my sisters our fields of daffodils this time around. Here’s hoping for decent weather and rows and rows of daffodils!
I’m getting things ready at this old house for my sisters. Trying to plan some easy meals in between our outings. I’m thinking about breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and desserts. I’ve got two guest rooms ready for my oldest sister Kathy and my next oldest sister Vera. My younger sister, Lana, lives walking distance to me. Kathy and Vera live in southern California. I’m picking them up from the airport on Friday morning. I hope to share some of our adventures on my blog next week.
SAD NEWS FOR BLOGGERS!
I was so sorry to hear that Sally of Smiling Sally Blog has passed away. She hosted Blue Monday for years. I participated in the past but haven’t for some time. She was always encouraging and positive and kind. I love what bj said in her comment on Sally’s blog…
Bye, bye, Sally…you are now in the best BLUE of all….Blue Heaven.
On her blog she has this verse as her favorite so I know I will see her again in the future in heaven…
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. I John 5:13
Signs, signs…
This is me and my dear daughter-in-law standing in front of a Seattle Sounders Sign at Century Link Field. We enjoy most home games together since we are season ticket holders. This weekend is the season opener and it will be an all girls day at the “Clink”. My son will be out of town and he offered his ticket to one of my sisters who is a big sports buff and will be visiting us this weekend. My daughter, daughter in law, sister and me will fill our season seats. Now all we need is a win!
Linking up with signs, signs hosted by Lesley!
I’m happy to say that my illness has not taken the course that Dear’s took and is not as severe. I’ve had two days sitting around doing nothing and today I’ll try to get some errands taken care of. I miss my daily walks but I’ll be able to get back to those soon enough. We had some wild weather yesterday which made it a good day to stay in. My Medicare and supplemental insurance went into effect yesterday so I’m also looking at joining a gym with my Silver Sneakers to try out a Zumba class. Hopefully Zumba class isn’t in front of a mirrored wall! I hope to get some photos of the flowering trees in our neighborhood. So pretty! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
The Home At Peace
This post is all about this old house, the home that we have treasured memories in.
The Home At Peace
Here is a little world where children play
And just a few red roses greet [September];
Above it smiles God’s stretch of [autumn] sky;
Here laughter rings to mark the close of day;
There is no greater splendor far away.
Here slumber comes with all her dream supply,
And friendship visits as the days go by;
Here love and faith keep bitterness at bay.
Should up this walk come wealth or smiling fame,
Some little treasures might be added here,
But life itself would still remain the same;
Love is not sweeter in a larger sphere.
This little world of ours wherein we live
Holds now the richest joys which life can give.
~Edgar A. Guest
Our front door in the summer and our front door at Christmas…
Views of our house from the back.
Side yard with art details on the garage/shop.
Before the patio covers are up.
With the patio covers and before we built the privacy fence.
View from the house to the privacy fence.
The living room of our home and the same room transformed for a Christmas dinner party!
Looking from the family room to the heart of the home…the kitchen and eating area.
A view of our kitchen before the hardwood floors. And the table full for our Christmas breakfast 2015!
All decked out for our annual fourth of July party in the past and this shot for our 2015 party…
Our daughter, son-in-law, niece and nephew. Our niece and nephew were visiting from Texas with their parents.
Our family of eight. The most treasured part of our home!
I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for H is for Home and to Tuesday Treasures.
Later in the week I’ll link this post to Thoughts of Home on Thursday with Laura at Decor To Adore.
Thank you to Mrs. Nesbitt and her team and to Tom at The Backroads Traveller.
Blenheim in April, 2004
Before we left Oxfordshire on our daughter’s literary graduation gift tour in April of 2004 we stopped by Blenheim Palace.
Blenheim Palace is home to the 12th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. I’m sharing a few photos with quotes from Churchill and one from the Bible.
Winston Churchill was born here in 1874. “At Blenheim I took two very important decisions; to be born and to marry. I am content with the decision I made on both occasions…”
“Never was so much owed by so many to so few…”
We were really taken aback by the grandeur of these Cedars of Lebanon that were planted on the grounds. We had Katie stand beside it to give some perspective…
The Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani) is a conifer that originates from, as its name might suggest, Lebanon and surrounding areas in the Middle East. Original old growth groves of this tree, that is mentioned in the Bible, are now very rare. This tree can live for thousands of years and became a popular exotic specimen tree in European landscape gardens in the 18th, 19th century.
Psalm 92: 12-15 (ESV)
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
15 to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
“You have enemies? Good. It means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.”
We enjoyed our time at Blenheim and toured the grand home with all the amazing artwork and furniture and walked about a small part of the 2100 acres landscaped by Capability Brown!
Now…back to the present. We are thinking about quarantines at this old house as Dear’s ick seems to be spreading to the rest of us here. Oye and Ugh! Hope you are sore throat free and living in a non-coughing zone!!
O God, Whose Smile Is in the Sky ~ Hymn
O God, Whose Smile Is in the Sky
O God, whose smile is in the sky,
Whose path is in the sea,
Once more from earth’s tumultuous strife
We gladly turn to Thee.
Now all the myriad sounds of earth
In solemn stillness die;
While wind and wave unite to chant
Their anthem to the sky.
We come as those with toil far spent
Who crave Thy rest and peace,
And from the care and fret of life
Would find in Thee release.
O Father, soothe all troubled thought,
Dispel all idle fear,
Purge Thou each heart of secret sin,
And banish ev’ry care.
Until, as shine upon the sea
The silent stars above,
There shines upon our trusting souls
The light of Thine own love.
Words: John H. Holmes, 1907.
I’m linking up to Sunlit Sunday at My Little Home and Garden
Last Five in Feb
Happy last Friday of February to all of you! I’m sharing 5 flashbacks today from February past. These are memories that I like to remember. I will start with February of 2012. My sister Vera is a Leap Year baby so she only gets an official birthday every 4 years. In 2012 her kids threw her a Sweet Sixteen Party since it was her 16th actual birthday. It was such a fun party!
Since this Monday is another actual birthday for her I wanted to share this flashback.
Everyone who came to the party was encouraged to write their response to the I Love Vera because prompt on a white board and take a photo at the photo booth.
In February of 2013 my cousin and his wife came for a visit and I set a table for a meal together.
We gathered around the table to enjoy our visitors from California. My cousin and I are Russian and our moms would make Goluptsi for us so I thought it would be a special treat for our evening. Goluptsi are stuffed cabbages. You can see the recipe here. We had a wonderful salad with lots of goodies chopped in it and dressed with our favorite Persian Dressing.
Since I’ve seen that many of you enjoy knitting and working with your hands I thought I’d share some yarn bombing with you. We saw these yarn bombed trees in the Pioneer square area of Seattle in February of 2014.
“It’s a statement by artist Suzanne Tidwell. She uses a knitting machine, which sounds like a saw and looks like a giant harmonica, to make evenly-stitched striped panels. It takes two or three of these large panels to wrap one tree trunk. She climbs a ladder or sometimes rents a lift to wrap the tree, then hand sews the final seam up the trunk.”
In February of 2015 I set a Valentine’s Day Table for a meal with the family.
And last but not least is February of 2016.
Our beautiful and fun views on the way home from an early Valentine’s Day lunch on Friday the 12th. The upper photo is Lake Washington from downtown Kirkland and the bottom is from Kirkland, too. They decorate this cow and dog sculpture according to the times and what is happening. In March they’ll be decorated for St. Patrick’s Day and then for Easter.
I’m linking up to Five on Friday with Amy at Love Made My Home and with Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.
Hope your last weekend in February will be good. We’ve had some glorious sunny days and are now expecting some rain for the weekend. I’ve been able to walk without a rain jacket. Dear has a cold with a nagging cough that we suspect he got on his plane ride to or from Austin. I’m hoping he doesn’t share it with me!
Good Fences…
Heading out on my walk on Wednesday I enjoyed this bunch of daffodils in front of this fence.
Further along on the walk I looked to the left and noticed the top of our shop/garage in the distance beyond some fences. It’s the structure that has the window with 8 panes in it.
Before I come to the heart pumping uphill portion of the walk I enjoy this path and fence.
I’m linking up for Good Fences #101 with TexWisGirl.
We are promised another dry day with sunshine and I’m headed out to enjoy it. Hope you all have a good day.
Signs of my Times…
This past week I traveled to the nearby town of Woodinville for an appointment with our accountant. Woodinville has become a very popular tourist spot for wine tasting in our state. The last two names on this sign direct you to two of many wineries. The most popular winery in Woodinville is probably Ste Michelle Winery. Another larger winery in this town is Columbia Winery. You can probably find wines from Ste Michelle on your grocery shelves.
Last night I attended my first soccer game of the year in Seattle at Century Link Field. Our Seattle Sounders played Club America, a team from Mexico in the Concacaf Champions League. This was a quarterfinal game. We will play this same team again on March 2nd in Mexico to see who moves on in the tournament. Our home opening game for the MLS season is on March 6th. The season will be in full swing starting the 6th. I have season tickets with our son, daughter in law, and daughter. Yes, we are soccer fans.
I’m signing up with Lesley at signs, signs. Thanks Lesley!
I feel like I’ve had quite the workout today. After my walk since the weather was so nice I mowed the lawn for the first time this season. I also did some cleaning up of our drive. My body is telling this old gal to sit a spell and put my feet up! I’ve got a lot of catching up to do on visiting blogs.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 