Friday’s Fave Five~

Oh my life has been busy since last Friday! It’s time to stop and think about our favorites from this last week and also to be thankful for all the good things God causes in our lives. So visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in or to see some favorites from around the world. Just want to give a shout out to our friends in Paraguay and Belgium that join in…

On Saturday we traveled across town to a friends Aunt’s funeral. You might wonder why a funeral makes my top 5 but funerals have been a natural part of my life from childhood. It was a good time of supporting the family and seeing friends and family that we haven’t seen for years. Reconnecting, encouraging and enjoying the company of loved ones from our past and present. It was especially good to see my parents, that cute couple in the collage.

On Wednesday I hosted a Tea for my Bible Study Group. It was another great time of fellowship with ladies that have had such a different life experience from me and each other. God has brought us together for a time and it’s always interesting to see how we connect and grow together.

Wednesday night Dear and I went to Ventura for a soccer game. We stopped at a restaurant for dinner first that we hadn’t been to since 1988. It was a fun evening. I’m a huge soccer fan and we got to see the Seattle Sounders our new MLS soccer team play a pre-season scrimmage game against a local Ventura team. We found one other fan from Seattle in the stands and I wore my Sounders Jersey that my son and DIL  gave me for Christmas. Fun times and we won 6-1!

I really enjoy walking every week. Willow and I spotted our little Dove again yesterday. We couldn’t walk Monday and Tuesday because “Life” got in the way but it’s always great to resume and continue this discipline…

Now for #5. Yesterday I posted some ingredients that I was putting together for an experimental meal. I said I would reveal the mystery ingredient and let everyone know if it was edible. Well here’s the reveal. The not so surprising ingredients were whole grain pasta, pasta sauce, and basil. The surprising mystery ingredient was my leftover chicken salad mix from my tea on Wednesday.

Strange but true it was very good! Dear went back for seconds. It gave a creamy and crunchy texture to the pasta that was surprisingly good. So my 5th favorite thing from this week is experimenting in the kitchen and having good results! :0)

To see more favorites visit Susanne from Living to Tell the Story.

 

Outdoor Wednesday ~ The Birds!

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. My outdoor photos this week are taken on 3 separate walks during the month of January.

 

Willow and I see this Dove pretty regularly on our walks in her neighborhood.

One day the Dove wasn’t there and we understood why when we saw this hawk instead.

Dear and I spotted this great Heron on our walk on the Bob Jones Trail in Avila, California on January 19th.

To see more Outdoor Photos visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

 

An Award and Ruby Tuesday!

First I’d like to acknowledge an award I received from the Teach. I do so appreciate you and this award Mary!

And now to Ruby Tuesday that Mary is the mastermind of….

My Blueberry Bush in Washington that has changed the color of its leaves to this nice Ruby.

From our walk on the beach in California on Sunday ruby bushes in the background of my shot of these Sea birds which are called Kildeer.

For more Ruby vist Mary at Work of the Poet.

Dawn at Emma Wood State Beach

Dear and I attended church on Saturday evening this week so on Sunday morning we headed to Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura for an early morning walk.

We saw the sunrise.

The waves were beautiful to see and to hear.

As we walked closer to Surfer’s Point we began to see Surfers trying to catch the best waves.

There’s nothing like an early morning walk on the beach to set your mind on things above and to cause you to praise God’s mighty name and his power in creating the world we enjoy.

We shared the beach with lots of birds, the gulls, the godwits, the sanderlings, and the herons. That’s Dear enjoying the waves. And here’s a collage of some of the birds we viewed on this lovely Sunday morning.

“There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country.  A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo.  Even a bicycle goes too fast.”
–   Paul Scott Mowrer

“The soverign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best.”
–   Thomas Jefferson

Hope you have a wonderful week.

 

Fave Five for Friday

 

It’s time for Fave Five for Friday. If you want to play along visit Susanne at Living to tell the Story. Here are my favorites since last Friday.

1. Starting with Saturday I have two favorites. The first was a return to the beach with Dear for our early morning Saturday walks at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California. We were there at 6:30 A.M. and we saw a lot of birds…

2. After our walk we got ready to drive south for a family get-together to visit with my brother Leonard, his wife Mandy and their new daughter Hope. She’s 7 months old and they all live in Dallas so it’s a wonderful event when they come to Southern California for all of us to get our fix!

3. This made me laugh out loud on Monday when I listened to this You-Tube on Mighty Mom’s site. Click here and give a listen. It’s only about 23 seconds long…

No – I don’t think it’s for real but it still is so darn funny!!

4. Dear turned 55 on Tuesday and a highlight of the week was celebrating Him and celebrating with him at a nice Steak house close to us.

5. Today I’m headed to a planning meeting for our new year of Women’s Bible Study. This year I’ll be a table leader so I’m looking forward to the discipline and the friendships that I’ll form with the ladies at my table. We’re studying Grace.

For more Fave Five head over to Susanne’s and consider joining in. Blessings…

Pink Saturday ~ Shopping and Walking

Today for Pink Saturday I’m sharing some photos from my walks in Camarillo, California and a great Home Decor Store that is housed in a old Farmhouse in Bothell, Washington. Have a great September Saturday everyone.

 

This is an interesting Bougainvillea that has been trained into a bush. We usually see these more spread out growing on fences and sides of homes or patios.

A Porch in Old Town Camarillo.

This was the Pink Room in the Cranberry Cottage on Bothell-Everett Highway in Bothell. Across the street from Country Village. They sell a combination of antique, collectibles, and new goodies.

For more Pink visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Ruby Tuesday ~ Bothell Landing

I took a walk along the Sammamish River Trail at Bothell Landing and these are some of the Ruby things I saw. After parking my car the first ruby that caught my eye were the rooster combs. Then I crossed the River on this bridge to get to Bothell Landing.

I walked around Bothell Landing where they have relocated several historical buildings.

This was the first school house in Bothell.

I’ve been finding out some interesting history about Bothell for my ABC Wednesday post. Bothell is the first city in the state of Washington that we lived in when we moved from California to Washington in 1988.

For more Ruby Tuesday head over to The Work of the Poet.

Oh and look what I got last week when I came in third place for answering Maryt’s question on how to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Thanks again Maryt.

Have a great Ruby Tuesday y’all!

Walking Again

Oh the Places you will go, Oh the Wonders you will see…

I made the horrible timely mistake of stepping on the scale last Tuesday morning. Right then and there I decided it was time to get serious about walking everyday again. I’ve gotten a little more fluffy and soft then I want to be. So I headed out to see what I could see…

The Burke Gilman Trail which spills into the Sammamish River Trail is a great place to walk/ride/run in the Seattle Area. My two walking buddies and I walked this trail every Saturday morning for several years before I moved to California. When I’m back in town we still get together to walk it. The two of them walk it when I’m away. It’s so lush and green in the Spring and Summer! This last Saturday we walked our typical 15,000 steps! On Wednesday of last week after the “stepping on the scale” incident I walked part of the trail starting at Bothell Landing and I clocked 7282 steps. These photos are from that day.

LOOK! I even found the MAGIC PORTAL to get to Hogwarts from the Pacific Northwest!

On Thursday for my motivation to walk I headed to Juanita Bay in Kirkland, Washington. There’s a wonderful park next to the bay with boardwalks that go out into the marshes and wetlands.

I saw this young Blue Heron.

Lots of Woodland Ducks. It was so exciting when I looked straight down from a spot on the boardwalk and saw this mama duck with her ducklings just below me.

Then I spotted these turtles!

This beautiful Dragonfly stayed around long enough for me to zoom in and get a shot.

When Dear gets here I think we’ll have to do this walk again together.

You can see why it was easy to get in 8694 steps checking out the wonder of this spot. The beauty that the Lord has created for us to enjoy and praise Him for is all around us. I hope to always have eyes that see it and a tongue that gives Him praise for it.

On Friday I went to Bellevue and I already posted about that day and those steps! So for my first 5 days back with renewed inspiration to walk my average steps were 9286. My Saturday walks with the girls really pushes up my average.

I hope to keep walking this week. Have a wonderful week and remember your Creator, the God who made all things beautiful for us to enjoy…