FFF ~ Early July Fun…

Once again it’s time to look back over the last week to pick out your favorites. I enjoy this exercise in focusing on blessings and listing them. Thank you Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for hosting this worthwhile meme.

Here are my favorites.

1. The weather finally improved enough in the Seattle area for us to bring our patio furniture out of storage and onto the deck. Along with the furniture I spent some time decorating the deck area in red, white and blue for our upcoming 4th of July, Independence Day celebration.

2. Watching Women’s World Cup Soccer and seeing the U.S. Women’s salute to our military after scoring a goal!

3. A get together with family and friends with lots of good food and fellowship to celebrate our Nation’s birthday. By now you might know that I like party themes and for this one it was all about flags, stars and red, white and blue. We had blue drinks with white ice and red berries, cupcakes with red,white and blue sprinkles. Serving dishes and flowers followed the theme, too.

4. While we were working on the deck we had a fun little visitor, the green little frog in my mosaic.

5. Katie and I have been using our library more and we’ve gotten some books that we put a hold on. I’m looking forward to finally reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.

Having a holiday on a Monday can throw me for a loop and it did. I’ve been a little off all week. I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend. How was your past week and what were your favorites?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Can You Name That Statue?

Oh dear me…

I saw and took pictures of so many statues while in Washington D.C. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know who half of them are. Maybe you can help me? If not I’ll have to start googling images and try to figure it out. I was also in a quandary as to whether I should call them statues or sculptures.

This one is for my Canadian friends. The statue is in the plaza area of the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C.

Grand Army of the Republic
Organized at Decatur Illinois, April 6, 1866
By Benjamin Franklin Stephenson M.D.

On some of the statues I managed to get the name in the photo so that is helpful. This statue of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock was sculpted by Henry Jackson Ellicott in 1896. Hancock fought in the Mexican, Seminole and Civil Wars.

Another easy one of Ben Franklin in front of the Old Post Office which is now a mall.

Sitting statues are popular in D.C. Here is the Majesty of Law Statue in front of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Contemplation of Justice

These last two sit in front of the Supreme Court Building. This one is called Authority of Law.

This is the Columbus Statue that sits outside Union Station.

Architect John Russell Pope placed four monumental statues around the National Archives Building. Each was cut from a single block of limestone weighing 125 tons. Aitken’s “The Future” sits on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building. The young woman lifts her eyes from the pages of an open book and gazes into the future. Its base is inscribed with a line inspired by Shakespeare’s play The Tempest: “What is Past is Prologue.”

This was taken on the grounds of the National Cathedral in D.C., George Washington.

The white marble Peace Monument was erected in 1877-1878 to commemorate the naval deaths at sea during the Civil War. Inscribed “In memory of the officers, seamen, and marines of the United States Navy who fell in defense of the Union and liberty of their country, 1861-1865.”

The Garfield Monument

Believe me when I say these are no where near even half of the statues around the D.C. area. There are many I missed.

A Look at Abraham Lincoln in D.C.

This post will be loaded with photos so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I’m joining Jenny for Alphabe-Thursday for the Letter L.

I’m gathering all my photos that I took while I was in D.C. in May of Abraham Lincoln. I’ll start with the less obvious views around D.C. and end with the Lincoln Memorial.

The spot where life ended tragically for our 16th President.

I’m adding humorous quotes from here on out from President Lincoln.

From the National Portrait Gallery…

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”

“He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas better than any man I ever met.”

“When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees.”

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

“When you have got an elephant by the hind leg, and he is trying to run away, its best to let him run.”

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

Hope your summer is swimming along. We are enjoying some happy weather here in the Northwest!

Northern Flicker Red Shafted ~

At least I think this bird is…

I much prefer him in the yard instead of pecking on our chimney or roof.

I spent Tuesday recuperating from all the 4th of July Party fun on Monday. I did not make it out of the house. I watched some Women’s World Cup Soccer. Made an appointment for a mani/pedi later in July which is a gift from my brother’s family. Washed one load of laundry. It was and is another beautiful day in the Northwest. Enjoyed the lovely fragrance coming from the rose bouquet Jody brought to the party.

I hope your Wednesday is more productive than my Tuesday!

A Wonderful 4th of July Celebration…

When you have a loved one serving his country your 4th of July celebration takes on new meaning. Our daughter is able to skype with her Marine husband serving in Afghanistan when he is available and I’ve tried to capture the distinct smile she gets on her face when they are communicating miles apart from each other. This is a close capture but she caught me with my camera so the “look” is a little off…

We love to display the red, white, and blue here at our old house. I always hope to find some new red, white and blue treasures on clearance after the 4th!

Our pulled pork ready to be sauced up for our sandwiches!

Dear was ready to serve up some special red, white and blue drinks!

The best part of our celebrations are the people who join us to eat and enjoy fellowship together.

My sister Lana and her husband Steve were able to walk over and join us.

My dear friends of 26 years and walking buddies here in the Northwest Jody and Jan…

I always love to capture our daughter Katie in photos to post so her husband Andrew can enjoy them from miles away in Afghanistan!

Sisters!

Our dear Northwest friends and family. Thank you for joining us and making our celebration a special treat!

Roses from Jody’s garden…

Now I hope to be able to fall asleep with all the loud fireworks exploding in the skies around us…

Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day celebration! Blessings!

Happy Independence Day!

I’m posting early because it’s already the 4th in Afghanistan!

We had a warm sunny day on Saturday and Katie, Dear and I worked together…

…and finally got our patio furniture down from the loft in the garage. We cleaned and arranged the furniture, then decorated for our 4th of July celebration. We are looking forward to a get-together with a few friends and family on Monday afternoon.

On Monday at the MGCC Blog the recipe for Chocolate Butterscotch Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars will post at 4:00 A.M. Pacific Time.

The recipe for these delicious bars is the most visited post on my blog. To date I’ve had 48,250 visits to the post for this recipe alone.

Hope all my visitors from the U.S.A. will have time to celebrate our country’s independence and remember to pray for our great nation. I’m praying we can continue to enjoy our freedoms and I’m also praying for all those serving here and abroad to ensure our freedoms.

Thank you Andrew and to your unit serving in Afghanistan.

Thank you, too, to the sons, daughters, and other relatives of my bloggy friends who are serving their country. God, please continue to bless America and protect us from evil.

Lastly I wanted to share this photo I took of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team at the World Cup in Germany giving a salute to the military after they scored a goal against Columbia. I really appreciated this collaboration for their goal celebration!

Our Country ~ Hymn

Our Country

Our country, unrivaled in beauty
And splendor that cannot be told,
How lovely thy hills and thy woodlands,
Arrayed in a sunlight of gold.
The eagle, proud king of the mountain,
Is soaring, majestic and free;
Thy rivers and lakes in their grandeur,
Roll on to the arms of the sea;
Roll on to the arms of the sea.

Our country, the birthplace of freedom,
The land where our forefathers trod,
And sang in the isles of the forest
Their hymn of thanksgiving to God;
Their bark they had moored in the harbor,
No more on the ocean to roam;
And there in the wilds of New England,
They founded a country and home,
They founded a country and home.

Our country, the past, and its glory,
Still honor the names of thy dead;
The statesmen that crowned thee with laurel,
The heroes and veterans that bled.
Mount Vernon, where Washington slumbers,
The soul of thy freedom for years,
A willow droops tenderly ever,
Go hallow his grave with thy tears,
Go hallow his grave with thy tears.

Our country, with ardent devotion,
In God may thy children abide;
In Him be the strength of our nation,
His laws and its counsel our guide.
Our banner, that time-honored banner,
That floats o’er the ocean’s bright foam,
God keep them unsullied forever,
Our standard, our union, our home,
Our standard, our union, our home.

Words: Fanny Crosby

The Capitol and Statue of Freedom ~

Because this is our 4th of July weekend in the U.S.A. I thought it would be good to post my photos of the U.S. Capitol and the Statue of Freedom that crowns the Capitol Dome.

Statue of Freedom

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.

U.S. Capitol Building

The Capitol building is one of the most symbolically important buildings in the United States. President Washington laid the cornerstone on 18 September 1793, and it has housed the meeting chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate for two centuries.

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 statue at Emancipation Hall is a plaster model of the Statue of Freedom. The actual Statue of Freedom sits high atop the U.S. Capitol Dome. The plaster cast gives visitors a good idea of what the real thing looks like.

This is a small view of the inner dome and canopy over the Capitol Rotunda. I’ll have another post of more photos from the inside of the Capitol on another day. E Pluribus Unum ~ Out of many one. E pluribus unum was suggested by the committee Congress appointed on July 4, 1776 to design “a seal for the United States of America.”
E Pluribus Unum still appears on U.S. coins even though it is no longer the official national motto! That honor was given to In God We Trust in 1956 by an Act of Congress.

Hope you enjoyed these views of our Nations Capitol and a great symbol of freedom. That’s what we celebrate every 4th of July.

We’ve been getting our patio all ready to go for our 4th of July celebration hoping that we get our long awaited summer for many days in a row! Hope your weekend is going well!

FFF ~ Long Weekends…

The U.S. A. is headed into their long Independence Day Weekend and Canada is in full swing of their Canada Day celebrations. Happy Canada Day to all my friends across the line. Enjoy your camping and grilling! I’ll post more about the 4th of July on Monday.

Now the time is right to look back on the past week and list my favorites to join in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five.

1. Spending a day away with Dear this past Saturday.

2. Spending Sunday with Josh and Laura enjoying brunch, the Sounder’s game, and dinner out.

3. Changing some things around in the Living room for a fresh look.

4. With all my shows in re-runs or off the air, I’ve been enjoying reading in the evening. I’ve finished a couple of books this week and am in the middle of two others.

5. My collage up top shows some of my plants in containers on the deck that are finally starting to show their colors. I’m looking forward to getting the patio furniture down and out on the patio this weekend. Can’t believe the weather has not been good enough to do it sooner.

We are having a 4th of July get together with friends on Monday. Dear will be smoking a Boston Butt for pulled pork sandwiches. My company will be contributing dishes. We haven’t decided on everything we’ll serve yet but coleslaw and baked beans will be part of the menu for sure. My red, white and blue decor is out and our flags will be flying.

What are your plans for the long weekend?

K is for Katie!

K is for Katie

K is for our Katie. Katherine on her birth certificate. This photo was taken by Jamie Spiro. This is a repost from a few years back but I was stumped for the letter K and am always ready to share about our wonderful daughter Katie.

Our Katie has an amazing amount of knowledge stored in her brain and I will show you some photos that might explain where some of that knowledge comes from.

At a very young age if Katie went missing this is where you would find her.

She was most drawn to books with words, not picture books. We had a few old school reading books and these are the ones she’d pull off the shelf and carefully go through.

As you can see she did not have a shortage of toys but she always seemed to go for the books.

We didn’t realize how well she could read until a trip to Meadowdale Beach Park with our friends the Spiro’s. Jody was walking hand in hand with Katie when they came to the tunnel under the railroad tracks that took you to the beach side of the park. As they approached this tunnel with this sign Katie said quite clearly to my friend Jody, “Caution Low Head Clearance”

We realized then that we had an almost 4 year old who definitely knew how to read. Who knows how much she was reading without us knowing before this experience.

Here’s Katie in a Kilt that I bought in Scotland in 1973! Hard to believe it fit me once.

Here’s our Katie in 2010 on the night she got engaged to Andrew.

Katie and Andrew were married at the Magistrate’s office in North Carolina when she visited Andrew March 11, 2011. He is deployed at present and when he returns we will be having an official wedding. Right now it looks like that wedding could be on March 11, 2012. We have to wait on the Marines to know for sure. For those of you who pray, please pray for our Andrew in Afghanistan and for our Katie as she waits for his safe return. Semper Fi!

I’m linking to Alphabe-Thursday with our great teacher Jenny! Thank you Jenny for keeping us on track.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage