Lake Como from Varenna…
More words later when I show you more from this little village on the Lake.
We had a full day of trains, wind, up and downhill walks, up and down stair walks. We are tired and tucking ourselves in. More touring tomorrow but this time on my own. Thank you for all your appreciated birthday greetings and comments in general. Ciao for now!
I’m borrowing Judy’s idea and posting a snapshot from Milan.
We arrived safe and sound via Amsterdam and had a walk about the town in search of something to eat. Even though we are very tired from our flight and no sleep for 24 hours we had a nice time remembering it is my birthday today. It was fun to come upon this city street with the name of my high school alma mater.
Tomorrow we take a train to Lake Como and spend the day before Dear has to get busy with his business trip obligations!
Blessings…
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps
covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
to a thousand generations, (Deuteronomy 7:9, ESV)
The next bride in our family, Debbee.
Our family had a bridal shower for our niece Debbee this past Sunday in California. The shower was at our niece Michelle’s home. This first photo is of my mom with all the granddaughters that could attend the shower.
Debbee with her Baba.
My sister Vera is Debbee’s mom.
Deb with her mom and future mom in law
My three sisters with our mom. Lana, Kathy, Nadia (mom), Ellen and Vera.
Our cousins on my mom’s side of the family were able to attend the shower. My mom only had one brother who had 2 sons and 2 daughters. His two daughters are in this photo along with one of his DIL’s.
This one also has 2 of my mom’s DIL’s in the photo (my SIL’s). Top row Letty, Lana, Kathy, Kelly, Debbie, Tanya. Seated are Valia, Vera, Nadia, and Ellen.
My sister Vera has 2 children. David is married to Kristin on Vera’s left. Kristin, Vera, Vera, Debbee, Debbee, Lenny’s mom Linda, and Lenny’s sister Tina.
Debbee’s Bridesmaids
The cousins at the shower…Melissa, Michelle, Kristin, Debbee, Jess, Katie, and Laura.
My niece Melissa and my niece Debbee were roommates for 10 years! They are both adjusting to a new place to live until their next chapter begins.
My girls and my sister Kathy’s girls.
Debbee and me.
My family does not take lightly the blessings that God has showered us with. The times we have together filled with love, fun, and laughter will always be cherished and enjoyed.
I will share photos of the food and table settings at another time.
Tomorrow Dear and I are headed to Milan, Italy. Time will tell how much I can keep up with all the happenings online. Blessings.
My niece Debbee’s shower was so lovely. The embroidered pillow Katie and I traveled to Canada to purchase from Winks Home Garden & Gifts was a big hit.
We are still running down here in Southern California. I’ll share detailed shots from the trip and shower sometime soon. We fly home tonight. Hope all is well in your corner of the world!
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Words: Henry F. Lyte, 1847.
I’m headed on a new adventure today with my girls. Here are some photos from the road this past week when we visited our son Dan and some other random shots from here, there, and everywhere!
The bridge over the Columbia on I-90 heading East at Vantage.
Friday turned out to be a glorious day in the Pacific Northwest.
The weather gave us lots of hope for future tulip days in April. But in March we always have daffodils popping up to make us smile.
Katie had 16 inches of her hair cut off to send to Locks of Love and she is now a vibrant red head! I’ll give you a sneak peek.
I’ll share the whole look later. As for me my hair is still the same with some grey covered up for now.
Hope you all have a great weekend. I’m not sure when I’ll be posting again because of our whirlwind trip to the Los Angeles area.
…or the time in between Winter and Spring in Chewelah. There was a lot more snow on the ground at our son’s place before we arrived. I was happy to visit after the fact. I shared Fall scenes from his property and here are some winter scenes.
This was our daughter Katie’s first visit to her brother’s home so we all trekked about the property for her to get a good picture of his property.
We ended our stay with breakfast at The Chalet Restaurant and Alpine Room in Chewelah, a great place to eat.
We had a wonderful time together at Dan’s place. After breakfast we said our goodbyes and reminded each other that we’ll all be together again in late April when we travel to our niece’s wedding in Southern California from 3 different airports. We’re at that stage in life when our kids are a bit scattered and enjoying life as they should apart from us. We always welcome the times we can come together and enjoy each other. Do your grown children live far or near?
…for a short time.
We had a good drive back and forth to the far North East of our state. We made it over Snoqualmie Pass with no restrictions both ways. We had a very nice visit with our son. I’ll be uploading my photos and sharing more about our trip tomorrow or Friday. For now I’m sharing the photos I took of my Lenten Rose this past weekend.
We are unpacking and getting ready for our next adventure at this old house. I hope to come around soon and see what you all have been up to soon!
Although we didn’t win it was nice to get rolling again. It was especially nice to enjoy the game with 3 of our 5!
For those of you who aren’t major league soccer fans this was the Seattle Sounders opener against Toronto. It was nice that Katie could join us while she is in town.
We’ve gotten to be friends with the season ticket holders around us. It comes in handy when you want them to take a photo, too!
I love that we always begin with National anthems and that the military in our area is so well represented. I’m a little partial to the Marines!
Since we were playing a Canadian team, their flag was represented, too. We listened to a beautiful rendition of “O Canada” in English with some French thrown in. They could have been better guests, though, and let us win. Aye!
Another fun season of “raising our scarves”…and wearing our rave green!
Our Emerald City Supporters really go the extra mile. The other Major League Soccer clubs have learned a lot from our Seattle Sounders supporters. This next photo does not represent most of the fans.
I don’t know how they were able to fall asleep but I’m glad I was able to catch them in the act! Speaking of sleep, I’m going to be sleeping at our son’s home in Eastern Washington for the next couple of nights so you probably won’t be hearing from me.
Have a great week!
…but she can dig a hole and put a pretty plant in it!
Last year I planted these after they were wilted in their little pots. This year they surprised me popping up and showing me their pretty smiling blooms! God is the best gardener and I really do depend on Him.
Look how the wild flowers grow! They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of these flowers.
On Saturday I added these Primroses that I’ll be able to see from my kitchen window. It makes me smile.
We had a few hours of dry weather on Saturday and Dear worked in the garage organizing more “stuff” and I did a little work in the yard. It felt so good working outside. It didn’t take long for the weather to turn on us and we experienced some lion like March weather. Sunday started cold but bright. Such a nice change. Blessings to you on this first Sunday in March!
