I Never Dreamed…

…”Mongolia” could come to your own backyard. The Mongolian Grill guy and his sweet wife came to Marg and John’s lovely yard to prepare a fun meal for all of us.

The grill is the Mongolian Guys own creation and the men folk were very interested to see how it was put together. The grill surface is a saw blade re-purposed for cooking on. You push down on a pedal with your foot to turn the saw blade. Reminded me of a sewing machine pedal.

Rocks played a big role for our outdoor meal, too. Different sized and shaped rocks helped to identify whose bowl of goodies dumped on the grill belonged to who. That lovely pile beside the big rock was my meat and veggie choice. I’ll show you the choices of veggies and meat and sauces we had after I show you the other role the rocks played…

Thankfully on this warm evening there was a very nice breeze so the rocks were stationed strategically to hold down the table linens! The wind also kept some mosquitoes at bay.

Marg thought of everything in creating a wonderful atmosphere for our evening meal together.

Her “appy” table was filled with yummy spreads and salsas and Rainier cherries.

When the grill was hot and ready to go we got our instructions on filling our bowls with our choices of veggies, nuts, seeds, hard noodles, and raw meats. I chose celery, bean sprouts, baby corn, zucchini, water chestnuts, almonds, and beef.

Now it was time to pick the sauce…

I picked the lemon ginger soy and headed out to the grill.

I fought my way to the front and dumped my bowl of goodies on the grill.

The “Grill Guy” did the rest and it was cooked to perfection. You can see why I picked the large rock to identify my portion. There was no missing it for sure!

After the grill was shut down it was time to set the island for dessert!

“Many hands make light work”

Thank you Marg and John for an unforgettable evening.

More to come…

Back in the U.S.A.

Oh the fun we packed into our time together in Canada. This shot of the MGCC was taken at Marg’s house on Wednesday night. It’s always quite special when the 10 of us can get together. Not an easy feat for sure.

On Thursday morning I said goodbye to Canada and was welcomed back into the U.S.A. with a smiling Border Agent who told me to have a nice day.

On Saturday I’m headed to Canada again to a meeting at the MCC Conference in Vancouver. Pretty soon I’ll be speaking Canadian…eh!

Hope you all have a nice day, too!

A Lovely Weekend…

This was our first true summer weekend here in the Pacific Northwest. The sun has been shining brightly since the 4th of July. We finally just puttered about the yard and stayed home.

After I finished my puttering inside I sat out in the shade to keep an eye on Dear while he was up on those high ladders.

He worked on the trim on the garage. Thankfully he was shaded most of the time.

I think pansies and violas are the sweetest little flowers. They make me smile.

I still have a few more pots that need some fresh flowers in them. On Sunday there was one more project I needed to get done.

Rosella reminded me that it was time to add our next layer of fruit to our topfs! Rosella’s is Rumtopf and mine is Smirntopf! We both added cherries. I know I have a cherry pitter somewhere that Dear’s mother owned but it’s probably tucked away in the attic so I improvised and used a fondue fork to pit my cherries. You were right Rosella…it’s not easy to pit cherries and it’s good to wash a load of dishes when you are done so you can get the cherry juice stain off your hands and fingernails! My blueberries aren’t quite ready to pick yet so they will wait till the next layer…

This is the beginning of a very busy week for me with travel to Canada for 3 days included. I don’t know how often I’ll be checking in. Still praying for those of you suffering in the hotter than normal temps and for the areas that are desperate for some rain. May God shade you and refresh you with his rain…

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go ~ Hymn

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Words: George Matheson, 1882.

This hymn was sung at the fun­er­al of Amer­i­can pre­si­dent Cal­vin Cool­idge, Jan­u­a­ry 7, 1933, at the Ed­wards Con­gre­ga­tion­al Church, North­amp­ton, Mass­a­chu­setts. Ac­cord­ing to Mrs. Cool­idge, it was his fa­vo­rite.

ht: Cyberhymnal

Garage ~ Before and After

Through the seasons here is what our garage/shop looks like from the house.

Since it will be quite a while until we are able to re-side the garage, we decided to paint it the same color of our house. There still is 1/2 of our house that needs new siding and to be painted, too.

Last week Dear finished the side of the garage that faces my kitchen window.

On the morning of the 4th the wall was dry and ready for the new metal art to go up.

We’re enjoying the new view from our kitchen window when we look out at the garage. This weekend more painting is on the schedule and the weather is cooperating.

The Sun Did Shine!

The sun came out, the flags came out, our friends came out, the food came out and we enjoyed a grand 4th of July!

I didn’t take photos of all the food. We had smoked brisket that Dear prepared, cole slaw, a loaded salad, eggplant parmesan, and desserts.

It’s hard to believe Dear has to go to work today. I’ll be off kilter the rest of the week with this Independence Day landing on a Wednesday this year.

We have a forecast of summer here in the Northwest finally. Hope all is well where you live…

Land of the Free…

…and the Home of the Brave.

Happy 4th of July to all in the U.S.A.

Nothing in the United States symbolizes democracy more than the U.S. Capitol Building. For nearly two centuries, it has been home to both chambers of Congress and has evolved and expanded as times changed and the nation grew. The building itself has more than 16 acres of space and 540 rooms. The Capitol Grounds cover about 274 acres with sloping lawns, splashing fountains and beautiful terraces.

The bronze Statue of Freedom crowns the dome of the U.S. Capitol. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle’s head, feathers, and talons, a reference to the costume of Native Americans. A brooch inscribed “U.S.” secures her fringed robes.

Sprucing It Up…

Gotta love a guy that will paint for you after he’s put in a full day of hard work in the office. Did I mention he was dodging rain drops?

It wasn’t raining hard enough to bother the newly painted wall since it’s pretty well protected by the overhang.

I also bought a few more plants to add to the deck. The planters that could also be used as large candle holders were on clearance at 75% off.

This white hydrangea was calling my name, too. I have to decide now where to plant it. I was happy that the weather cooperated for me this morning and I was able to get the lawn mowed. We’re promised rain again on Tuesday and then they say we could have good weather for the 4th.

Tuesday is shopping day for the food for our 4th of July barbecue.