Friday’s Fave Five ~ July 3rd

Welcome to Friday’s Fave Five hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. This weeks favorites come from the State of Washington.

 

1. My first favorite was crossing the Columbia River into Washington from Oregon and knowing we had just 3 more hours to be at our home. We made the road-trip from California to Washington on Sunday. I will be in Washington for the next 6 weeks.

2. Having all our kids around the dinner table. It’s always fun to enjoy a meal together.

3. Getting the patio put together and ready for our 4th of July party.

4. My old double oven was getting questionable so we ordered a new one. It arrived on Thursday and Dear installed it. I’m going to bake some cookies on Friday to break it in and test it!

5. I love summer fruit. My favorite is a Nectarine. I’ve been enjoying some this week.

If you are living in the U.S.A. I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July.

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No Internet Today!

Well we hit a snag with our internet service and were down for most of the day. The kind Comcast man came and fixed our problem and we’re up and running again. It was a good day to be off-line…

 

I went outside early (to beat the heat we’re experiencing) and worked on my patio containers. Dear and our son Dan had already put the cover on our gazebo and brought out all the patio furniture. My new oven was also delivered today and Dear installed it. He is such a handy guy. I’ll try to get some good photos of my new oven but right now with all the sunshine streaming in the windows there’s a lot of glare :0) I plan to break in the oven by baking some cookies tomorrow. Here’s hoping the temperature is calibrated a whole lot better then the old one…

Tablescape Thursday ~ In Honor of the 4th!

Well I’m thinking we are going to see a lot of Red, White and Blue this week on our tables. It’s time for Tablescape Thursday so visit our hostess Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to see a variety of tables decked out for our viewing pleasure!

 

Dear and I arrived to our home in Washington on Sunday night after 15 hours on the road. We drove from California. I will be in Washington for the next 6 weeks. Dear flies back to California on Sunday. Boohoo! On Monday evening we had all our kids around the table for a meal. Now that is a wonderful thing.

 

I decided to bring out the red, white and blue for the week. On Saturday we’re having a gathering so this will serve as the buffet table for that event.

 

For those of you who live in the U.S.A.,  hope you all have safe and sane 4th of July celebrations. Thanks for stopping by…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Window Views ~ Heritage Square

 

These windows are from one of the historic buildings at Heritage Square in Los Angeles, California.

The barn was built in 1899 on the grounds of what is now Pasadena’s Huntington Memorial Hospital for Dr. Osborne, a member of the hospital’s staff. Originally used to stable horses and store a carriage, the building was subsequently converted into a dwelling and garage. Its architectural style is Queen Anne Cottage with Gothic influences. It has three gables and a distinctive pitched roof.

Moved to the Heritage Square Museum in 1981, the barn now houses the museum’s restoration and maintenance. In time, it will be returned to it working condition as a carriage barn

To see more windows visit the Window Views Blog.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Outdoor Wednesday ~ My Yard June 30th

For the next several weeks I’m in the state of Washington so my Outdoor Wednesday Posts will be from the Western Washington area.

Susan at A Southern DayDreamer is our kind hostess for this weekly event. Click over to her blog to see Outdoor Posts from around the world.

 

I took a walk around the yard today to see what might be blooming. My hydrangeas are just getting some color.

 

I was happy to see my Lavender survived the dry weather the Seattle area has been experiencing seeing how my tenants (two of my adult children) don’t consider watering part of their routine upkeep of the house.

 

The wild rose bush is flourishing and we have a very few pears growing on the Pear tree and a good amount of blueberries plumping up.

I’m still getting my bearings here in the Northwest. I’m not up to my usual bloggy speed. We are replacing my old double oven this week and I’m scrambling to get things in order for our July 4th Barbecue. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods and if you are in the United States enjoy the 4th!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Jeff & Heather ~ June 27, 2009

 

On our road-trip to Seattle we stopped in Clovis for Jeff and Heather’s wedding. Jeff is my cousin Jim’s youngest son. It was a wonderful ceremony and reception. I appreciated how relaxed and unpretentious the whole event was. The couples youth and college pastor performed the ceremony and it made it very personal as he had many great experiences with the couple as they’ve grown and matured. We laughed  a lot, even during the ceremony. The recessional was to the Indiana Jones theme…

 

The colors the bride chose were vibrant summer colors. The reception hall was a gymnasium but the elaborate ceiling feature with the flowing fabric and string lights softened the room beautifully. Thank goodness for air conditioning because it was 102 degrees in Clovis during the wedding.

 

That’s a lot of yards of fabric! The centerpieces were individual mini cakes. Each table had a different flavor layered cake. Fun idea. After Jeff and Heather cut their cake and had a bite we all were able to serve ourselves at our individual tables.

 

My cousins with their spouses and kids. One of Jim and Jeanie’s sons isn’t in this photo.

 

The Father and Mother of the groom. My cousins and sister Kathy. The bottom left photo is of Jeanie, her sister Kathy, (who is Kathy B. from Count it All Joy) and me. The last photo is of my long time friends.

 

My parents. My cousin Katrina and her daughter Kristen. My long time friend Heidi and Ken. In the last photo we managed to get a shot of the Ben who was missing in the other family photo with my parents, the bride and groom and my sister Kathy.

Fun times. You should have seen the dance moves the groom and his brother Ben have…quite impressive! They were really cutting the rug! Congratulations Jeff and Heather! May God bless you richly and protect your marriage!

And in the world of the mundane… my time at the computer is limited these days. Today Dear and I are off to the hairdresser and then we have to buy a replacement oven and get it installed. I hope to get some free time soon to visit…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Mosaic Blue Monday ~ Red,White & Blue!

 

I’m joining Sally’s Blue Monday a little late this week. Visit her to see more blue. I suspect you’ll see a lot of 4th of July blue this week.

And on a personal note. We arrived to our home in the Seattle area at about 10:15 last night. As usual it will take me a couple days to get my brain back. It’s hard sometimes switching from my Southern California Brain to my Washington State Brain. The trip took us 15 hours but listening to The Prisoner of Azkaban made the hours go by quicker. The book on cd was 11 hours long. I’ll be uploading photos from the wedding and other random shots soon.

Hope all is well with everyone…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

The Soul Cheering Promise ~ Hymn

The Soul Cheering Promise
(words by Fanny Crosby)

We know not the trials before us,
But Jesus takes thought for them all,
And trusting the aid of His counsel,
We never, no, never can fall;
We know not the trials before us,
Or what on the morrow may be,
But sweet is the soul cheering promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Refrain

Then cleave to the Savior, cleave to Him,
Whatever the conflict may be,
Remember the soul cheering promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

We know not the trials before us,
But why; should we tremble or fear?
The arm of the Lord will protect us,
The ark of His mercy is near;
We know not the trials before us,
Or what our temptations may be,
But stronger than death is the promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Refrain

We know not the trials before us,
The sorrows and cares we shall meet,
But O there’s a refuge in Jesus,
Though surges may break at our feet;
How blessèd that refuge forever
Where safe from the storm we shall be,
The password to life is the promise,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Refrain

II Corinthians 12:9 ~ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

I’m on the road somewhere between Clovis, California and Seattle Washington today so I’m doing a re-post of this hymn. We should arrive in Seattle sometime tonight…

Roadtrip!

 

We’re hitting the road today to Seattle. On the way we are stopping overnight in Clovis for Jeff and Heather’s wedding. Jeff is my cousin Jim’s youngest son. Jim’s wife Jeanie was my best friend in college at Cal State L.A. I introduced her to my cousin and they got married the same year Dear and I were married. At the wedding we’ll get to see family and friends. I’m looking forward to seeing Jeanie’s sister Kathy B. who has become a wonderful bloggy friend of mine. My parents and sister Kathy will also be at the wedding. We’ll hit the road bright and early on Sunday morning and drive straight through to Seattle.

If you don’t see me around the blogisphere for a few days you’ll know why…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Friday’s Fave Five ~ Summer!

Looking back over the first week of summer 2009 here are my top 5!

 

On Saturday Dear and I explored Malibu Lagoon State Park and saw some great sights including the historical Adamson House.

 

After walking and enjoying the sea air we had breakfast at the Marmalade Cafe in Malibu. Dear and I enjoy eating breakfast out together.

 

Oops more food. On Sunday we barbecued a tri-tip roast and got 3 full meals from it. The first night we made sandwiches with the meat and a roasted Poblano chile. On Tuesday I made these quesadillas with caramelized onion and whole green chilies that I cut up along with pinto beans. I like to get the whole pinto beans and mash them myself. We have a great Mexican market here in town that makes their own Guacamole and salsa. I can’t buy avocados and make the guacamole myself for as cheap as I buy the freshly made at this store.

 

I always love seeing this plant here in Southern California from the Agave Family. It’s called Our Lord’s Candle Yucca whipplei. Beginning in April and continuing through July, Our Lord’s Candle blooms abundantly in Chaparral and Oak Woodland in elevations up to 2500 feet. Willow and I saw this beautiful example of one on our Thursday walk in her neighborhood.

 

Now my absolute favorite thing about this week is looking forward to our road trip to Seattle beginning on Saturday. On Saturday we will stop 5 hours up the road at a wedding of my cousin’s son enjoying all the fun and then on Sunday morning we’ll drive the rest of the way to Seattle. I’m looking forward to seeing all our kids and getting the deck all set for summer festivities. I’ll be in the Seattle area for 6 whole weeks…whoohoo!

For more favorites please visit Susanne at Living to tell the story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.