Outdoor Wednesday

Susan at A Southern Day Dreamer is starting a new photography meme on Wednesdays called Outdoor Wednesday. All you have to do is post something you took a picture of out of doors. My first photos are both taken at night over the last couple weeks just outside my condo.

 

This first one was taken on a foggy evening. Kind of eerie…

 

Then this last Saturday night the moon was full and seemed so close…

To see more outdoor shots visit Susan at A Southern Day Dreamer…

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

ABC Wednesday ~ The Los Angeles Zoo

Welcome to ABC Wednesday. We are on the letter Z. Yikes, the end of the Alphabet.

What fun I had meeting my brother, his wife, little Hope, my niece Michelle and her son, Jackson at the Los Angeles Zoo the week of Christmas!

 

My brother was here with his family from Dallas to celebrate Christmas with all of us. Hope will be 1 in January. What a joy to spend time with them all.

 

My niece Michelle and her son Jackson live in the L.A. area and they joined us for the fun.

 

It was a nice cool day at the Zoo and the animals were out and about. The bird is a Kookabura. We were singing the Kookabura song for quite a while after we saw this beauty. But since we are on the letter Z, this song would be more appropriate…

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day.
Plenty of sunshine headed my way.
Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay

Mister bluebird on my shoulder
It’s the truth, it’s actual.
Everything is satisfactual.

Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay
Wonderful feelin’.
Wonderful day.

Lyrics by Ray Gilbert and Allie Wrubel.

 

 

Since we are on the letter Z, I couldn’t ignore the Zebras!

 

This photo is of my brother Leonard and me pushing the strollers at the zoo.

For more ABC Wednesday posts on the Letter Z visit the ABC Blog.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Tablescape Tuesday ~ Silver & Black that Sparkles!

Welcome to another Tablescape Tuesday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. This week I’m sharing a silver and black table with lots of sparkles. There are snowflakes and mirrors and sliver mirror garland that adds to all the sparkle.

 

This was a fun table to put together. I was cleaning out cupboards when I was home in Seattle and found a bag full of silver accessories that were left over from a January Dessert I helped decorate for our church several years ago. I got out a small folding table and set this table for 4 in our guest room with stuff from the bag and added goodies from my entertaining stash.

 

My table confession for this week is that I didn’t have any black or silver cloth napkins so I used a white cloth napkin that was a bit too white by itself for the look of the table so I added a black paper cocktail napkin to soften it up. :0)

 

The Snowflake candle is sitting on a small raised serving piece with silver garland underneath.

 

The little plates with a Stratford on Avon scene are on top of a cut glass plate with a silver doilie below it. The tablerunner is a silver shimmery piece of fabric.

 

The Sterling is from Dear’s mother Verna that got passed along to us. The Pewter goblets were a purchase Dear and I made in England the summer before we were married (1974). The etched glass goblets were a find at Goodwill. The cut glass plates with a fleur de liss pattern on them were a clearance purchase at a specialty grocery store we used to have in the Seattle area called Larry’s. The sterling candle holders are also from Verna. The napkin rings are silver ribbon with a sparkly embelishment hot glued on them.

To see more Tablescapes visit Susan at Between Naps on a Porch.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Ruby Tuesday

Welcome to Ruby Tuesday hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet.

This week I’m still in sign mode. My sign today is taken in the evening at one of the Mexican Restaurants we frequent in town. We are part of their Jalapeno Club so we get a 10% discount.

 

For more Ruby fun around the world visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

High Tide at Emma Wood State Beach!

Dear and I returned to our favorite Saturday walk last weekend and we were in for a fun surprise. The Tide was so high that there was no sand to be seen. The waves were so powerful we heard the large rocks and bolders moving and hitting each other when the waves receded. We had to watch our steps so that we didn’t get sprayed by the waves that hit the beach walls and rocks.

 

We were experiencing Santana winds again over the weekend so the wind really whipped out and caused some spray off the waves.

 

Then when a wave would recede and hit the next wave coming in we got a big treat with an explosion of spray!

 

It was difficult to snap at the right time to make sure I captured the great spray.

 

 

 

Yippee I got this one without getting soaked!

 

The birds were patiently waiting for the tide to go out so they could dig for their food in the sand…

Psalm 89: 8, 9 ~ “O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.”

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Blue Monday ~ Gifts From My Sons…

Welcome to Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally from Florida. Each Monday we’re invited to post something blue to share. Click over to Sally’s to see more blue or to join in with something blue on your blog.

 

Both of my sons gave me blue gifts this Christmas. My 2nd born son Dan gave me that soft Adidas warm up jacket that I’ve enjoyed wearing already. The Soccer jersey from my firstborn Josh and his wife Laura is an away jersey for our very own Seattle Sounders FC. This year is the first year Seattle has a MLS Soccer team. Josh bought season tickets. My boys know their mom learned to love soccer after years of driving them to and watching them play at school and in special leagues. Soccer became my favorite sport to watch. You’ll catch me watching English league soccer during the week on cable. When World Cup Soccer comes around I try to catch every single game televised even if they are on at 4:00 a.m.  One sport I’m sure to watch during the Olympics is Soccer.

Thanks for visiting my Blue today and I hope you all have a great week.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Joy Is The Fruit That Will Not Grow ~ Hymn

 

Joy Is The Fruit That Will Not Grow
~ words by John Newton

Joy is a fruit that will not grow
In nature’s barren soil;
All we can boast, till Christ we know,
Is vanity and toil.

But where the Lord has planted grace;
And made His glories known;
There fruits of heavenly joy and peace
Are found, and there alone.

A bleeding Savior seen by faith,
A sense of pard’ning love;
A hope that triumphs over death,
Give joys like those above.

To take a glimpse within the veil,
To know that God is mine;
Are springs of joy that never fail,
Unspeakably divine!

These are the joys which satisfy,
And sanctify the mind;
Which make the spirit mount on high,
And leave the world behind.

No more, believers, mourn your lot,
But if you are the Lord’s;
Resign to them that know Him not,
Such joys as earth affords.

ht: Cyberhymnal

Pink Saturday ~ L.A. Zoo

Welcome to another round of Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

 

The week before Christmas I met my brother, SIL, young niece, older niece, and grand nephew at the Los Angeles Zoo. Our very first stop was to have a look at the Pink Flamingos. Leonard and Mandy were giving me a hard time and as soon as we spotted the Pink Flamingos they said “Oh perfect for Pink Saturday”. After this stop we were off to see the other animals in the Zoo. My full Zoo post will be for ABC Wednesday next week since we are on Z. Yep they had to kid me about that one, too.

 

This is my brother Leonard with his daughter Hope who turns 1 this month and me and my grandnephew Jackson who just turned 4 in November. He’s holding the map and helping us navigate. Mandy, Hope’s mother and Michelle, Jackson’s mom were ahead of us and Michelle took this photo.

For more Pink Saturday Posts go click away at Beverly’s!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

San Francisco ~ Saints Peter and Paul Church

There was so much to share from my extended weekend in San Francisco in December and then Christmas took over as it should. Now that life is a little slower I’ll share another beautiful church I visited.

The present church, with its twin lofty spires that soar 191 feet into the sky, was completed in 1924. For over a century, the church of SS. Peter and Paul has served parishioners, charmed the numerous tourists who visit it daily, and has been an inspiration to the members of the North Beach community. A ribbon of verse from Dante’s “Paradiso” spans the facade and translates:

 “The glory of Him who moves all things
penetrates and glows throughout the universe.”

This mosaic inscription placed just above the three entrances to the church connects the four large pillars upon which rest the symbols of the four Evangelists: Matthew (An angel), Mark (A lion), Luke (An ox) and John (An eagle). Original plans, regrettably laid away to rest, called for spectacular outdoor mosaics covering the entire facade. The twin spires (191 feet) have become a landmark in the area. The church is 100 feet wide and 160 feet long. The magnificent rose window measures fourteen feet in diameter.

 

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Friday’s Fave Five

It’s almost Friday again and time to ponder some favorites from the past week! Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in or to see other Favorites!

 

So on Sunday we flew back to Southern California from Washington. In a lot of ways my daily life in Southern California is easier than when I fly back to my house in Washington.

1. At the very top of my favorites this week, and probably for several weeks more, is the fact that my 911 neighbor, Summer, and her boyfriend are gone for good! I didn’t even realize the stress that their presence had on our quality of life until this week and the amazing difference we have experienced! We have peace. Peace is amazing. Peace with God is the most important thing in life but daily peace in your living conditions is way up there, too. I don’t have to tense up when I hear them come home. I don’t have to hear the yelling and screaming. I don’t have to get jolted out of a deep sleep with loud thumping on the floor and screaming. The photo of the empty deck in my collage is the deck that had their stuff on it before. That emptiness is such a welcome sight. Oh how sweet it is…

2. Starting to walk regularly again with Willow is another favorite. OK, so I put on way more poundage than I imagined and I need to cut back on food and increase my activity. On a more positive note,  it’s great here in Southern California to still see roses blooming and other plants flowering with lots of color. The Yellow rose is a photo from one of Willow and my walks.

3. Dear and I have also started walking together when he gets home from work and before we eat dinner. This has been a good time to talk and check out the neighborhood. The Sunset photo is from one of our late afternoon walks.

4. Meals for two. How easy that is. That’s one of the bonuses of my lifestyle in Southern California. We have actually eaten in for 4 nights in a row. That’s good for us. Don’t worry though, tomorrow we’re headed back to El Tecolote for our meal out!

5. The last favorite is seeing some beautiful sunrises this week. There’s something about the quiet of dawn that is wonderful to experience.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.