I Love to go a-wandering…

People are always confusing me – The Happy Wonderer as in “I’m always wondering about things” with the song The Happy Wanderer. I suppose I am a Happy Wanderer too as many of my treks verify so with this post I’m including the words to the song. They make me smile…

 

Tide was high early today so we opted to head to Sycamore Canyon to do our Scenic Hike. On the way I spotted several fins in the water so we pulled over on PCH (Pacific Coast Hiway) to take a look.

 

We saw several Dolphin rising up out of the water in groups of two. Very hard to click the camera at the right time and catch them.

 

I got this one pretty well. We watched the dolphin for a while and then headed to Sycamore Canyon for our hike.

The Happy Wanderer

 I love to go a-wandering,
Along the mountain track,
And as I go, I love to sing,
My knapsack on my back.

Chorus:
Val-deri,Val-dera,
Val-deri,
Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Val-deri,Val-dera.
My knapsack on my back.

I love to wander by the stream
That dances in the sun,
So joyously it calls to me,
“Come! Join my happy song!”

I wave my hat to all I meet,
And they wave back to me,
And blackbirds call so loud and sweet
From ev’ry green wood tree.

High overhead, the skylarks wing,
They never rest at home
But just like me, they love to sing,
As o’er the world we roam.

Oh, may I go a-wandering
Until the day I die!
Oh, may I always laugh and sing,
Beneath God’s clear blue sky!

 

Here we are at our destination looking down onto PCH and looking back at the rocks where we stopped and saw the dolphin. That is Point Magu.

 

It was fun to watch the pelican from above and to zoom in to capture these shots.

 

 

On our way down we got some close-ups of the deer. This was the first time we’ve seen deer on our hikes here.

 

We saw these little critters at the end of our hike.

 

It really is a treat to get out and experience a bit of the wild side and to get our hearts a pumping. Happy wanderings to y’all!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

A Prayer For Every Day

 

A Prayer For Every Day

Make me too brave to lie or be unkind.
Make me too understanding, too, to mind
The little hurts companions give, and friends,
The careless hurts that no one quite intends.
Make me too thoughtful to hurt others so.
Help me to know
The inmost hearts of those for whom I care,
Their secret wishes, all the loads they bear,
That I may add my courage to their own.
May I make lonely folks feel less alone,
And happy ones a little happier yet.
May I forget
What ought to be forgotten; and recall
Unfailing, all
That ought to be recalled, each kindly thing,
Forgetting what might sting.
To all upon my way,
Day after day,
Let me be joy, be hope! Let my life sing!

~Mary Carolyn Davies

From Flowers to Reality T.V. Friday’s Fave Five…

Whoa…where has the week gone? It’s time to look back and pick some favorites. There is so much to choose from. Susanne has room for you to join in if you’d like to post your Five Favorites from the past week. Click over to Living to Tell the Story to join on in or see some Favorites.

One of my favorites are these new bookcases that Dear put together and I filled in our Living Area. We are really enjoying the new look this achieved and I’m enjoying seeing some of my pretties out from their hiding places.

 

My next favorite is being surrounded by live flowers this week. We bought a few Gerber Daisies at the Farmer’s Market and then on Valentine’s Day our kids sent us the beautiful bouquet of Lilies. (Of course that bouquet is my very favorite because they came unexpectedly from our kids) Then I got 2 dozen free roses from the little Thrift store I frequent. I think that God is so good to us to have created flowers of so many colors and varieties for us to enjoy. Don’t flowers just make you smile??

Call my next favorite a confession of my not so secret obsession. I love Reality TV. Not all Reality mind you just Biggest Loser, American Idol, Top Chef, Amazing Race, Project Runway, and Survivor. Can you still be my friend after I’ve made this confession? Good thing we have DVR so I don’t have to be home every night to watch these shows! For those of you who watch Top Chef, Fabio’s restaurant in Moorpark is not that far from us so Dear and I plan to go soon…

 

Onward and Upward…my next favorite was weather in Southern California this past week. Look at the contrast over a 24 hour period in Southern California. Tuesday Evening we had those great clouds that had brought rain earlier in the day and then the next afternoon not a cloud in the sky. It’s been cooler, too, which is a nice change for us in Southern Cal.

Last for this week are Willow and my walks and the fact that Dear and I continue to work out on the Bowflex and try to get our walking in too. We are starting to see and feel some results which are motivating us to continue. Us older folk need to keep our muscle tone up… Willow and I took photos of each other this week on a fun little path behind her neighborhood. We promised each other not to take photos of our behinds going up the path and steps. Little favors go a long way with body self esteem :0)

Maybe next week I’ll be brave enough for Dear to take a photo of me grimmacing on the Bowflex!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

Tea Recipes

These are the recipes that I thought worked well for my tea…

 

Mock Devonshire Cream from If Teacups Could Talk by Emilie Barnes ~

1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup sour cream

In a chilled bowl, beat cream until medium-stiff peaks form, adding sugar during the last few minutes of beating. Fold in sour cream and blend. Makes 1-1/2 cups.

Cynthia’s Chicken Salad (from Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader)

4 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine the chicken, pecans, green onions, and celery in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir into the chicken mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cucumber-Basil Tea Sandwiches (from Victoria ~ The Pleasures of Tea ~ Hearst Books)
1 – 8 oz. package softened cream cheese
2 Tablespoons half and half
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives
1 unsliced loaf or 12 slices rye or wholewheat bread
1 English (seedless) cucumber, cut into thin slices
24 fresh basil leaves

In a medium-size bowl, beat together the cream cheese and half and half until it is the consistency of soft butter. Stir in the chives.

Spread the cream cheese mixture on the bread and top with several slices of cucumber and a basil leaf. Serve the sandwiches immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes: 24 Sandwiches

 

Enjoy!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

ABC’s of the Word ~ Brothers…

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

 1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!

 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.

 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie

Tablescape Thursday ~ Friendship Tea

It’s time for another fun day of viewing tablescapes in Bloggy World. Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is our hostess for this event so click on over to her blog to see all the links to different tables set for us to enjoy.

Welcome to my Friendship Tea. I’m a table leader for our Women’s Bible Study at my church and I invited the ladies over for tea. It was fun putting together a tea table. Our Bible Study Women’s Leader is part of my table and it happened to be her birthday on the day of the tea so we had an extra celebration.

 

The Places were set and designated with these fun vase place card holders.

 

We had 3 different types of tea,  an Earl Grey, Peach Herbal, and a Russian Black Tea.

 

Cucumber- Basil sandwiches, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Scones, Dream Cookies, Heart shaped Red Velvet mini cakes, Mock Clotted Cream and Lemon Curd and Strawberries.

 

Thank you for visiting my Friendship Tea.

Before you go I just wanted to show you my actual Valentine Tablescape that Dear and I ate at on Valentines Day…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

 

 

WFW ~ Psalm 148

 

Psalm 148

 1 Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens,
praise him in the heights above.

 2 Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

 3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars.

 4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.

 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.

 6 He set them in place for ever and ever;
he gave a decree that will never pass away.

 7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

 8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,

 9 you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,

 10 wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,

 11 kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,

 12 young men and maidens,
old men and children.

 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

 14 He has raised up for his people a horn,
the praise of all his saints,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the LORD.

For more Word Filled Wednesday click over to Amydeanne’s

Outdoor Wednesday ~ Walks and Birds!

Susan at A Southern Day Dreamer started Outdoor Wednesday where you can post any outdoor photos you’d like to share.

My outdoor photos this week were taken Saturday at the beach and Tuesday on a walk with my bloggy friend Willow.

 

These little Sanderlings are so much fun to watch because they move really quickly all together.

 

On Saturday it seemed like the SeaGulls wanted to fly right at my camera.

 

 

We have seen lots of Pelicans flying just above the water on our walks. This is the first one we’ve seen just resting on the sand.

It’s been raining in Southern California for a few days now so on our walk today Willow and I saw this waterfall that we generally do not see during most of our dry days here.

 

Quail are the State Bird for California and we saw a nice little group of them. Such a great looking bird.

Usually these little birds flit about so much I can’t get a photo but this group decided to sit still long enough for me to click away.

More evidence of our rain here. This little run-off creek is generally bone dry on our walks but today it was babbling quite nicely for us!

For more Oudoor Wednesday visit Susan here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

2nd Time Around Tuesday – Cake Plate

 

First of all I’d like to say thank-you to everyone who gave me suggestions on how to repair this cake plate I’m showing for the renamed Trash to Treasure Tuesday. Trash to Treasure is now 2nd Time Around Tuesday and our hostess is still Diane at A Picture is worth a 1,000 Words.

 

I bought the plate and base even though they were separated for $5.00 at a local thrift store. This was before the repair. We just set the top on the base to show what it’s suppose to look like. Dear used Super Glue Epoxy Adhesive since that’s what he already had in the garage. Here it is 24 hours after the repair. It seems to be holding firm. I will never immerse it in water but just wipe it clean when it needs it.

 

I really like my $5.00 thrift store purchase that will have a second time around…

To see more treasures or to join on in visit Diane at the link above…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.

Three or More Tuesday!

 

My Three or more Tuesday this week is from our early morning walk at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura on Valentine’s Day. Four Godwits on the sand digging with their long beaks to find some goodies to eat. Hey look there are 3 or more rocks and 3 or more waves, too.

For more Three or More visit Tam at The Gypsy’s Corner.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage unless I pay them a lot of money. I’m slowly cleaning up many posts from this time period and deleting their ugly grey and black boxes with a ransom request. Such a time consuming bother.