Vee’s Note Card Party ~ It’s Fall Y’all!

I’m heading back over the Cascades to Eastern Washington and our son Dan’s land for my one previously posted Note Card for Vee’s Party. This was taken Fall, 2012.

These next two photos are from Jolly old England from September of this year that I haven’t gotten around to posting yet.

This last one is from this past Sunday in West Seattle of our daughter Katie…

It’s been the story of my life this year but it’s fall and I haven’t pulled any fall/Thanksgiving bins out yet. Time will tell if I do. Seasonal decorating has been out the window all this year. That is O.K. It really is best for me to go with the flow and accept the events of our lives and interruptions as they come. Reminds me of that song from the 50’s that Doris Day sang…

“Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be”

Hoping to get around to see all the Note Card offerings this week! Blessings…

Here, There and Everywhere…

I’m headed on a new adventure today with my girls. Here are some photos from the road this past week when we visited our son Dan and some other random shots from here, there, and everywhere!

The bridge over the Columbia on I-90 heading East at Vantage.

Friday turned out to be a glorious day in the Pacific Northwest.

The weather gave us lots of hope for future tulip days in April. But in March we always have daffodils popping up to make us smile.

Katie had 16 inches of her hair cut off to send to Locks of Love and she is now a vibrant red head! I’ll give you a sneak peek.

I’ll share the whole look later. As for me my hair is still the same with some grey covered up for now.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I’m not sure when I’ll be posting again because of our whirlwind trip to the Los Angeles area.

Hello Winter…

I’m sharing some photos our son sent along of some true winter scenes at his new home in Eastern Washington. He’s talking about the need for some snow clearing equipment and I can see why…

The snow on top of the bird feeders reminded him of Marge Simpson’s hair. Too bad it’s not blue…

How is the first day of winter where you live? We are still having rain and it’s cold but no snow that sticks around.

a Mother Goose poem

Cold and raw the north wind doth blow,
Bleak in the morning early;
All the hills are covered with snow,
And winter’s now come fairly.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Wrapping It Up…

This will be the final post from our time at Dan’s.

This is one of the horses that live next door coming over to say hi.

Several White Tail Deer come to visit to eat apples, plums or cherries from Dan’s trees.

We are looking forward to visiting again to take care of more projects on the property. Because of weather that visit probably won’t happen till the Spring.

Today I’m thankful for Dan’s good neighbors (besides the horses and deer). These neighbors all look out for each other and each other’s properties. It is good for this mom’s heart knowing even though Dan lives out alone on several acres there are those who know he is there and watch out for him.

The Grace Challenge continues with specific things I am grateful to God for. I’m also thankful for the chance to celebrate Communion today and remembering with gratitude what Christ has done for me.

Day by Day…

We will give thanks for all the wonderful things we’re given and we enjoy.

It’s no secret around my blog that we enjoy food. Food from our own kitchen and food from other kitchens is appreciated and enjoyed. I thank God today that we have the resources to make good things in our kitchen and that we can afford eating out at nice restaurants. While in Chewelah we re-visited The Chalet Restaurant for breakfast. I’m sure this will be a spot we frequent when we visit our son.

I’m also thankful for a free weekend. We don’t have any engagements this weekend and we are happy to just be able to putz around the house.

What are you thankful for today?

Inspiration to Shoot…

I’m thankful today for fellow bloggers who inspire me to look at the big picture and the beauty in the details. Karen at Ocean Soul is one of those bloggers along with her co-blogger Jukavo who inspire me with their photography.

Here are some of my artsy fartsy shots from Dan’s place…

This post and the rest of my posts in the month of November will be connected to the Grace Challenge I’m participating in. Here’s a quote from my brother’s blog about grace:

“Grace may be the word that best summarizes Christianity. In English, “grace” is connected to two other important words that teach us a response to grace: Gratitude and Graciousness.

Here is how it works. First and foremost, our life, salvation and everything in between is a result of the grace of God. Every breath I take is a grace of God. I cannot be saved apart from grace. Grace emphasizes and points to God as the center. Life is all about Him. He reveals Himself to me not by force, but by grace.”

To read the whole post click here.

I want to continue being specific in my thankfulness. I’m really thankful for digital photography. Digital photography affords me failure in photo taking while at the same time giving me an incredible chance of shooting a beauty. God does the same thing for me through grace. I fail and he picks me up and He lets me try again and with His help He makes things good for me.

Hope your week has gone well. This weekend ends daylight savings. Don’t forget to fall back an hour!

Put Your Boots On!

It’s time for a trek through Dan’s 6.5 acres!

Head past the old barn…

through the gate…

past the brush…

up the rise…

now down the other side of the rise…

keep going across the brush that the deer and the bears enjoy…

keep going…we’re headed to the creek…

past more beautiful fall colors…

through the evergreens…

along the boundary marked by barbed wire fencing…

to the creek…

Don’t forget to look up and see the distinctive Western Larch.

“The largest of the nine larch or tamarack species growing in the Pacific Northwest, the western has pale green foliage, a rather “feathery” graceful arrangement of branches, and an open crown. Brilliant yellow in late fall, the needles drop in November. In fact, this species is one of only two coniferous species that sheds its needles every fall. Its thick bark is reddish-brown in color and features elongated scale plates.”

And speaking of elongated scale plates…

More fencing marking his boundaries with fair warning to those who might pass by…

At the boundary of his property on the old mining road…

We trek back listening to his ideas of what to do with this piece of land…

He describes to us what he has learned about the Western Larch…

I keep exclaiming about the beautiful fall colors that we are enjoying on our trek…

A close up of the Western Larch…

We are shown the evidence of this being a favorite of deer for bedding down at night. I’ll spare you the close up of what they have left behind…

I’ll end this part of our trek at the road and his little stand of “Christmas trees”…

More to come from our time at Dan’s…

We are so thankful to God for his provision for a home and land for our son Dan. We put in lots of hours to organize the shop and house for his comfort. I’ll be sharing more in the future. Our trip over the pass to and from Eastern Washington was good with no snow or significant slow downs.

Dear is back to work today and I’m trying to get back in my groove. Our niece’s family is still without electricity and running water in their high rise in New York City. Continued prayers are going up for the people effected and for all the first responders who are working hard to restore services to everyone without.

I’m also getting ready to hand out treats to the children in the neighborhood who will brave the cold and wet to ring my doorbell!

Catching Up…

…after 4 days of no T.V. or Internet. We had a wonderful productive time with our son Dan and I will share more after I catch my breath. Here’s one view of his property in Eastern Washington.

I’ll be visiting your posts and see what I missed while I was away. I am praying for friends and family on the East Coast who are suffering from effects of hurricane Sandy. Katie and Andrew are safe in North Carolina. My niece’s family in New York are without power or running water. Thinking about our bloggy friends in New York especially Pat at Mille Fiori and Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen. How are you doing Vee? Hope everyone else is doing fine. Blessings…

No Internet…

…or TV! I will be way out of the loop until the middle of next week.

Spending time away at our son’s new home. We are walking the acreage, checking out the old barn, spending time in his amazing shop. I’m sure by the time you are reading this my camera is slung over my shoulder and I’m clicking away. My son is shaking his head at me but grinning all the same. I brought my boots along. We’ll see if he likes the house warming gifts we bought. I’ll share some of the highlights next week.

Great God, as Seasons Disappear ~ Hymn

Great God, as Seasons Disappear

Great God, as seasons disappear,
And changes mark the rolling year,
Thy favor still has crowned our days,
And we would celebrate Thy praise.

The harvest song would we repeat,
Thou givest us the finest wheat;
The joys of harvest we have known;
The praise, O Lord is all Thine own.

Our tables spread, our garners stored,
O give us hearts to bless Thee, Lord:
Forbid it, Source of light and love,
That hearts and lives should barren prove.

Another harvest comes apace:
Ripen our spirits by Thy grace,
That we may calmly meet the blow
The sickle gives to lay us low.

That so, when angel reapers come
To gather sheaves to Thy blest home,
Our spirits may be borne on high
To Thy safe garner in the sky.

Words: Edmund Butcher, 1798.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Eastern Washington