Rest Stop

Last Friday on our journey from Western Washington to Northeastern Washington we stopped at a rest area we hadn’t stopped at before on our past trips.

The rest area in Sprague had some beautiful Spring views.

It was good to stretch our legs and enjoy the views before we drove into Spokane and then headed north to our destination.

I’ve been quite busy at our kids home holding sweet Addy May and helping out here and there so I haven’t been able to visit much if at all. Hope all is well in your corners of the world. Happy Victoria Day to our Canadian neighbors!

Here’s one of my great views with more to come.

Clap Hands, O Ye Heavens ~ Hymn

Clap Hands, O Ye Heavens

Clap hands, O ye heavens,
Thou firmament ring!
From highest to lowest,
Thou universe sing!
The darkness and tumult
Have ended in calm;
And glory has come,
And victory’s palm.

Refrain

Clap your hands, all ye mountains!
Ye valleys, all ring!
O warble, ye fountains,
Ye little hills, sing!
He liveth again, as truly He said.
Unconquered, unharmed,
He has come from the dead.

Come forth, O ye flowers,
Come forth with the Spring!
And deck the fair plains with
Each blossoming thing.
With violets humble
Let roses be joined,
And marigolds bright,
With lilies combined.

Refrain

Thou song of rejoicing,
Rise higher and higher,
Thou spirit of gladness,
Breathe forth from the lyre.
For Jesus is risen,
As truly He said,
Unconquered, unharmed,
He’s come from the dead.

Refrain

Words: 16th Century

Calvary Cemetery

After Tea on Wednesday Katie and I had a nice stroll through Calvary Cemetery close to the Queen Mary Tea Room. Calvary Cemetery is a Catholic Cemetery.

This copy of The Pieta was in the section of the cemetery where nuns are buried.

We are enjoying time in Northeastern Washington and I hope to share a few posts soon about our time.

Hope your weekend is tiptop!

Friday Favorites…

My new favorite look of Addy’s that the kids sent to us this week! Very soon my camera will be clicking away trying to capture all the latest looks. I wonder what she’s thinking.

I’m also getting a post ready from Katie and my time at Calvary Cemetery in Seattle after we enjoyed tea together.

In the upper photo of the collage you can see downtown Seattle in the distance.

Hope you all have a great Friday. No rain here today and we are promised dry skies all day long. Woohoo!

Tea for Two

Katie invited me to Tea on Wednesday. She and Andrew were in Salt Lake City for Andrew’s sister’s college graduation on the weekend so they weren’t in town for Mother’s Day. We had a nice time at the Queen Mary Tea Room in Seattle very close to where Katie and Andrew live. We split a high tea tiered tray of goodies plus a breakfast scramble. It was a good combination and enough for both of us with a few leftovers. The tea room was not filled to the brim which was nice. When we were done with our tea time we took a nice stroll at a cemetery in close proximity to the tea room. I’ll share the photos from the cemetery soon.

It did not rain from sunrise on Wednesday which was a nice relief. The sun had a hard time shining through. Maybe on Thursday we’ll get some clear and bright sunshine for a few hours.

I Smell a Rat Hodgepodge

2016-07-27 Beatrix potter6

1. May 17th is National Pack Rat Day. Sidebar-should we be celebrating this? Hmmm…

Are you a pack rat?

Maybe I’m a pack mouse.

Seems like I’ve been hoarding receipts and paperwork over the last several years. I’ve been weeding out stuff around here and what a hoard of paper I’ve been shredding and recycling and refiling. I’ve been sighing a lot!

Even if you’re not a full fledged pack rat, most people have one thing or another they struggle to part with. Tell us what’s yours.

I like to hang on to keepsakes and things I’ve collected over the years. And then there are dishes and goblets and tea things and tablecloths and napkins and napkin rings, oh my.

2. What are two things you know you should know how to do, but you don’t?

Read instructions. Bake Pies.

3. Do you crave sugar?

I do enjoy sweets, doughnuts and sweet rolls. I can’t have them alone though. I usually need something savory, too, or a cup of black coffee with them.

Do you add sugar to your coffee and/or tea?

No.

Do you use artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes?

Never.

When dining out is dessert a given?

No, but if we do order dessert it is usually shared by 2, or 4, or more.

Are you someone who has slain the sugar dragon, and if so tell us how you did it.

No. Our oldest kids are working on it after watching documentaries on sugar. I did post a recipe for loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies on Mennonite Girls Can Cook with 1/2 cup less sugar today.

4. What’s a trend it took a while for you to come round to, but now you can’t imagine living without?

A smart phone.

5. What’s a song that reminds you of a specific incident in your life? Please elaborate.

 

Just as I am – without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
– O Lamb of God, I come!

The photo above is from the Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade in 1963. My father took us to the crusade every night. My father started his life of following Christ at this crusade. My life as a follower of Christ started in 1963, too. The song, Just As I Am always reminds me of the Billy Graham Crusades and our time at the crusades and what this time meant for the future of myself and my family.

Part of my pop’s story was shared in a book that Billy Graham’s grandson’s published. You can read about it here.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We are promised some sunshine the next few days! Woohoo! Today I’ll be having tea with our daughter for a belated Mother’s Day celebration. On Friday we are headed east again to see our Addy and her parents in person.

Thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions for us to answer. See how other people have responded here.

Spring Has Sprung…

The most vibrant of our azaleas has bloomed.

The fern fronds are unfurling.

Everything is green. Our large rhododendron plants are just starting to open their buds. This is the back side of our home.

This smaller rhododendron is in full bloom.

The rosebud azaleas are close to their prime.

This is view of our side yard looking to the front of our property. Our house is on the left and garage/shop on the right.

Yellow Rhododendrons

I’m real excited about all the peony buds this year!

This is one of our Top Hat Blueberry plants on our deck.  Fresh blueberries are in our future.

We are in another rainy pattern. They are talking about some sunshine in the near future.

Addyson is 2 months old today. We were texted some photos the last couple of days.

They’ve been storing breast milk and daddy was able to successfully feed her for the first time on Mother’s Day.

2 months old with Rayna keeping a watchful eye on her! Isn’t she lovely…So happy for the easy way we have these days to share photos. It makes being far away so much easier. Are you near or far from your grandkids?

Linking up to ABC Wednesday for the letter S. Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her loyal team.

Swords Into Plowshares

On our walks in Magnuson Park with our daughter we have visited this sculpture area called The Fin Project.

The Fin Project: From Swords Into Plowshares 1998 by John T. Young, Artist, Max Gurvich, Producer

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore…” Old Testament, Micah, Chapter 4:3.

This artwork is made using diving plane fins from decommissioned U.S. Navy nuclear submarines built in the 1960s. It is about peace, turning weapons into Art, recycling, and honoring the men and women who served our country during the Cold War. It also may remind the viewer of dorsal fins of a pod of Orca whales or a school of salmon.

I’m adding some more photos from our recent walk at Magnuson Park.

Magnuson Park is a 350 acres park on Sand Point at Pontiac Bay, Lake Washington, in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The park is the second largest in Seattle, after 534 acres Discovery Park in Magnolia.

Established in 1900 (military use 1922-1975).

And now for some favorites that we received via text earlier this week and this morning.

Sweet little Addy is discovering her hands and fists! Soon we’ll be seeing little Addy and her parents in person again. Here’s Addy on her first Mother’s Day.

Seriously? I love this face! This little one had a nice Mother’s Day with her mom, daddy and Granny Linda and Granny Florence, and great uncle Scott and great aunt Rhonda. I had a very nice Mother’s Day with our firstborn Josh and Laura, who treated us to brunch. Phone calls came in from Addy’s Daddy and from our daughter Katie and my dear old Pop, too. I’m blessed.

I’ll be linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

Light of the World, Forever, Ever Shining ~ Hymn

Light of the World, Forever, Ever Shining

Light of the world! forever, ever shining,
There is no change in Thee;
True light of life, all joy and health enshrining,
Thou canst not fade nor flee.

Thou hast arisen, but Thou descendeth never;
Today shines as the past;
All that Thou wast Thou art and shalt be ever,
Brightness from first to last.

Night visits not Thy sky, nor storm, nor sadness;
Day fills up all its blue—
Unfailing beauty, and unfaltering gladness,
And lover forever new.

Light of the world! undimming and unsetting,
O shine each mist away;
Banish the fear, the falsehood, and the fretting;
Be our unchanging day.

Words: Horatius Bonar, 1808-1889.

Skagit Valley Barns

These photos were all taken on our way to Roozengaarde Garden on May 2nd to see the tulips.

I’m linking up to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveler.

Dear pressure washed the deck and part of the drive and put up our patio covers on Friday. Now we are ready to bring the patio furniture down from the loft in the garage. That will happen once we have a dry spell again. We continue our quest to go through boxes of records to sort and shred. Our major Spring project is to let go of a lot of stuff! Our kids will reap the benefit of not having to do it for us! If you are a mother and are visiting here I hope you have a very grateful and peaceful Mother’s Day!

This is a side by side of our daughter-in-law when she was a baby and our granddaughter a couple weeks ago. Addy’s mommy will be celebrating her first Mother’s Day tomorrow. Happy Mother’s Day Jamie! You are a great mommy for little Addy!