I Won’t Have to Cross Jordan Alone ~ Hymn

I Won’t Have to Cross Jordan Alone

When I come to the river at the ending of day
When the last winds of sorrow have blown
There’ll be somebody waiting to show me the way
I won’t have to cross Jordan alone

I won’t have to cross Jordan alone
Jesus died all my sins to atone
In the darkness I see he’ll be waiting for me
I won’t have to cross Jordan alone

Often times I’m weary and troubled and sad
When it seems that my friends have all flown
There is one thought that cheers me and makes my heart glad
I won’t have to cross Jordan alone

I won’t have to cross Jordan alone
Jesus died all my sins to atone
In the darkness I see he’ll be waiting for me
I won’t have to cross Jordan alone

Though the billows of trouble and sorrow may sweep
Christ the Saviour will care for his own
Till the end of my journey my soul he will
keep and I won’t have to cross Jordan alone

I won’t have to cross Jordan alone
Jesus died all my sins to atone
In the darkness I see he’ll be waiting for me
I won’t have to cross Jordan alone

A dear friend is at death’s door and we are waiting to hear that she is finally in the arms of her Savior.

FFF~ Hello Fall!

Not only is it Friday again but we are officially in our Fall Season. There are some things that do not change with the seasons and one of those things is the need to show our gratitude or to think on the good things in our lives. Thank you to Susanne for hosting Friday’s Fave Five!

1. Last Saturday our son picked me up for the Seattle Sounders Soccer game against D.C. United. Not only did we win big but we managed to get our hands on a couple free Sounders lunch boxes. They were handing these out to all the kids that came to the game. At half-time when they had boxes left over they let us oldies have one, too, until they ran out.

2. On Sunday after a great church service we went to a Welcome to the Family meeting for new members at church. We are so grateful to finally settle into a home church that is a good fit for us and so close to home. This church is the closest to us in 40+ years of church going…

3. Although Dear and Katie passed along a sick bug to me my bug was very mild and I was feeling well after just a couple days.

4. Katie and I went shopping for wedding jewelery and came up with some great pieces to go with her dress and the price was right.

5. I was grateful for the fresh herbs on my deck that added wonderful flavor to dishes this week. It’s great to just go out and snip the herbs rather than go to the store and pay too much for them.

Hope you are all having a great transition to Fall. I still have to get out and about and see if I can find some great fall color.

A Little Slice of Lake Washington…

It’s time for Alphabe-Thursday with our great teacher Jenny! We are on the letter W.

I live in the state of Washington so I’m surrounded by W. I’m just showing a little of the North end of Lake Washington today. There are two floating bridges that cross Lake Washington and lots of beautiful inlets and homes and parks on the shores of the Lake. Bill Gates of Microsoft fame has a home on Lake Washington. The University of Washington is also adjacent to Lake Washington and if you’ve ever watched a football game on T.V. where Washington is playing you’ll see the beautiful backdrop of the Lake from one of the end zones.

Speaking of W, we are also surrounded by water here in our state. Sometimes that water is falling down on us. Our Western boundary is on the Pacific Ocean. Some of our Northwestern boundary is on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In the Seattle area we are intersected here and there by the Puget Sound. We have the mighty Columbia River running through our state. We have many wonderful Islands.

I took these photos today Wednesday September 21st so you can see we are cloudy again with a chance of rain. It’s not cold, though. We are heading to the upper 70’s today.

Thanks for visiting. Soon I’ll be waltzing over to see what you are sharing for the letter W.

What to do with your Bounty…

When trying to lose some extra pounds put on over the last year for different reasons what is the best approach to using produce from your own fruit trees? We have an apple tree, a pear tree, and blueberry bushes on our property. Property sounds big but truth be told we only have 1/3rd of an acre. I froze much of our blueberry harvest and made applesause that is frozen from our apples but now I’m working on the pears. Everything that sounds good for pears is sweet and yummy and loaded with calories. I saw this great recipe at LazyonLoblolly and it helped me to use up some of my pears. To make your frosting look more like the Southern Living magazine photo you will need to add more powdered sugar than the recipe asks for. The frosting is delicious so I would not exhange it for caramel sauce.

So back to losing weight. If you are going to continue to use the bounty available to you from your property/garden the best remedy to gaining lots of weight is to give some away to your neighbors. I have a neighbor who is a younger widow and she would never bake a whole cake, pie, etc. for herself anymore. She gladly accepts a  piece of cake, or a piece of pie or a couple muffins from me. It’s a win win situation. I took 3 pieces of this cake to another neighbor who works full time and probably doesn’t have the same time I have to bake. Her husband and daughter would enjoy something homemade.  My sister and BIL were the other recipients of a couple pieces of this cake. My sister travels back and forth from California and even though she stills enjoys baking she also appreciates a treat from her big sister.  If you have creative ideas that need to be brought to fruition don’t abandon them. Think of ways you can share your bounty with those in your neighborhood.

Maybe this started out as an all about me and losing weight post but I hope it was warped into a better love your nieghbor as yourself post instead…

Thank you for your get well wishes! I’m feeling a lot better and happy to say I didn’t get the full on ick my husband endured…

 

Ruby Tuesday…

A fun pop of ruby from a wedding we attended at Kayak Point in Washington.

Mary at Work of the Poet is the hostess for Ruby Tuesday!

After a couple days of rain and clouds we’re enjoying a few more days of sunshine this week in the Great Northwest. I’m thinking as soon as I get over the bug my Dear and daughter decided to share I’ll need to get out and about and look for some good signs of Fall.

U.S. Capitol Grounds

This is the Peace Monument on the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington D.C.

“At the top of the monument, facing west, stand two classically robed female figures. Grief holds her covered face against the shoulder of History and weeps in mourning. History holds a stylus and a tablet that was inscribed “They died that their country might live.” Below Grief and History, another life-size classical female figure represents Victory, holding high a laurel wreath and carrying an oak branch, signifying strength. Below her are the infant Mars, the god of war, and the infant Neptune, god of the sea. The shaft of the monument is decorated with wreaths, ribbons, and scallop shells.”

This next mosaic is of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.

“The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial sits at the base of Capitol Hill amidst other important Washington D.C. monuments such as those built to honor Lincoln and Washington. It is currently the largest equestrian statue in the United States and the second largest in the world.”

There is so much to see and document in Washington D.C. You can never exhaust the treasures there in one visit. We were there in May of this year and I’m still pulling up more photos and history to share.

I’m linking up with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Thank you Mary for hosting this weekly event and sharing your beautiful photography with us.

Grander Than Ocean’s Story ~ Hymn

Grander Than Ocean’s Story

Grander than ocean’s story,
Or songs of forest trees;
Purer than breath of morning,
Or evening’s gentle breeze;
Clearer than mountain echoes
Ring out from peaks above,
Rolls on the glorious anthem
Of God’s eternal love.

Dearer than any friendship
Our truest comrades show;
Stronger than all the yearning
A mother’s heart may know;
Deeper than earth’s foundations,
And far above all thought;
Broader than Heav’n’s high arches—
The love that Christ has brought.

Richer than all earth’s treasures,
The wealth my soul receives;
Brighter than royal jewels,
The crown that Jesus gives;
Wondrous the condescension,
And grace beyond degree!
I would be ever singing
The love of Christ to me.

Words: William F. Sherwin, (1826-1888).

FFF ~ Welcome Fall Schedules!

It’s that time of the week when it’s good to look back and consider the good things that have happened. Friday’s Fave Five is hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.  Click on over to join in this worthwhile exercise.

I enjoy this time of year… the end of summer and the beginning of Fall. I like the new order that Fall brings to my life.

1. Church was all a buzz on Sunday with the launching of all the Fall programs.

2. Women’s Bible Study started on Tuesday morning and I’m excited about the study on the Parables. I’m new to this group/church but I was put in a group with a friend from my past. We were bleacher/sideline buddies because our boys played soccer together in high school. It was great to see her and to catch up a little on Josh and David’s lives. The guys are in their 30’s now…

3. We have our wedding planner assigned for Katie’s wedding and we are looking forward to meeting with her about the details and having a food tasting with the chefs.

4. Woohoo I cleaned out my pantry! The benefit of that is that there were a few items that I really needed to use up before they were way too old for human consumption so I’ve been creative in the kitchen this week. We’ve had home cooked meals way too many nights in a row. Thankfully we are going out tonight.

5. I finished reading the Penderwicks book series by Jeanne Birdsall that I really enjoyed and am now reading a series by Gail R. Fraser about the little town of Lumby.

Before I sign off head over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook on Friday for the recipe to put this pasta salad together.

Hope you all had a good week. I hope to get around and see what has been happening in your neck of the woods…

Vertical

It’s time for our alphabet letter of the week and we are on the letter V.

 I’m linking up with Jenny at Alphabe-Thursday.

 I am choosing the 2nd definition listed in the dictionary for vertical.

Situated at the vertex or highest point; directly overhead.

I’m heading back to our Spring trip in Washington D.C. to the U.S. Capitol to show you what I photographed at the highest point.

The Apotheosis of Washington is the immense fresco painted by Italian artist Constantino Brumidi in 1865 and visible through the oculus of the dome in the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building. The fresco is suspended 180 feet (55 m) above the rotunda floor and covers an area of 4,664 square feet (433.3 m2). The figures painted are up to 15 feet (4.6 m) tall and are visible from the floor below. The dome was completed in 1863, and Brumidi painted it over the course of 11 months at the end of the Civil War. He was paid $40,000 ($711,135 adjusted for inflation, as of 30 December 2009) for the fresco.

If you ever visit Washington D.C. I would recommend the Capitol tour. It was well worth the time.

Is it getting cooler in your neck of the woods? We have been experiencing some cooler temps here in the Pacific Northwest.

Hope to see your V posts soon!

Multnomah Falls ~ Oregon

This was one of our first views of the falls as we walked from the parking lot that is an exit off I-84 in Oregon.

While standing on the bridge I decided to take a shot of the wider portion of the falls looking straight down.

A great description of the falls and some history of the falls can be read here.

I would really enjoy seeing Multnomah Falls when the leaves change color.

Hope you are having a good week. Today was the first day of the Fall Women’s Bible Study at our church. I’m so looking forward to this study and getting to know the ladies in my group.