Tag Archives: Planet Earth

A Year of Preparations…

…calls for more than one post!

Hope you will bear with me as I chronicle the events of this past weekend.

On Friday I packed up my car trying to choose the right clothes for 4 main events that were scheduled for the weekend. Of course there was a little gift for each of the other girls that had to be packed, too. I always wonder if my car will be randomly chosen at the border to be searched. I think the agents would get a kick out of the things I pile into my trunk. When I approached the window and handed off my passport I again had a nice smile and was waved on with no problems.

I arrived to Judy’s Front Porch a little after four in the afternoon. She had planned a nice meal for us before we set off to our first signing of the weekend.

She made her delicious Santa Fe Chicken salad on page 60 of our first cookbook. If you haven’t prepared this dish yet I would highly recommend that you do. I’m sorry to say I didn’t take a photo of Judy’s lovely rustic rhubarb tart that she made for dessert.

Judy and I changed into our dresses and headed to Abbotsford for our first book launch event at House of James bookstore.

Everything was all prepared for us and they even had baked treats from our book that everyone who came was able to enjoy. The ten of us were happy to finally be together again and we took our seats ready to sign our books.  House of James has been on board with us since our first book and we appreciate their promotion of our book and support. They had drawings throughout the evening and we also had opportunities to speak about the mission work our Celebrations’ author royalties will be donated to. This next photo is of the Menno Media staff that has been part of our support team, Russ Eanes the director of Menno Media is in the center flanked by Ben Penner our marketing manager and Amy Gingerich our Editor. We were happy that they could travel to be a part of the weekend.

We left with thankful hearts to rest up for our next full day of activities.

Bright and early Saturday morning Judy and I headed out for a little walk on her country road before the rest of our nonstop day. Elmer, Judy’s husband was concerned that because I was a city girl I might not be able to stand the eau de perfum wafting off the freshly manured fields. I managed just fine by concentrating on the beauty that goes along with it. When in the country it’s good to just enjoy all you get!

After our walk we got cleaned up, donned our next outfit and headed off for the rest of the day starting with an early lunch at Planet Earth in Chilliwack just down the street from Winks where we would have our next signing. I’ll share more about that on another day.

I made it home from Canada later last night and am still just sitting around taking it all in. The lawn is several inches high and asking to be mowed but it will have to wait for another day yet. I wish high school kids were still of the mind to work hard for some pay. I would hire one today! I’m slowly making the rounds on what I missed while in Canada without my usual internet connections. Hope all is well where you are…

Two Country Drive…

Have I ever mentioned I love being able to take in 2 countries on a drive starting from my front door? Two countries in one day with beautiful weather is a special treat. Having Katie along on this road trip was a delight for me. As we started out our trip we started singing “Oh Canada” and Katie managed to sing most of the words!

This wasn’t our best view but I found out that when I’m the driver on a road trip fewer photos are taken. Our views were truly magnificent and I don’t think a photo could have really captured the glory anyway. We saw our wonderful Cascade range of mountains starting in the U.S.A. with many more glorious views in British Columbia. An eagle flew over us on our way up and on our way back. We drove through a lot of country that these creatures call home…

The photos from the road that I took like this one were when we were stopped for road works or at the Border Crossing. Speaking of Border crossings, I am always appreciative of the kind courtesy we receive from Border Crossing Agents from Canada and the U.S.A. I am grateful for the work they do, as thankless as it might be, to keep both our countries safer.

Our primary reason for traveling to Chilliwack was to pick up a shower gift I ordered for our niece Debbee from Winks. Katie, Laura, and I will be traveling to California soon for her bridal shower. I was so excited about seeing Kathy (one of our Mennonite Girls) at Winks I forgot again to take any photos. Kathy did a lovely job of bagging our purchase. This photo was taken after we got home. Sorry I can’t show you the gift until Debbee unwraps it. We were only at Winks for a very short time as we had a very important date down the road.

Meeting up with these Mennonite Girls was the best part of Katie and my trip. It was fun for Katie to meet them all and to see Bev again. We chattered for quite a while over our nice lunch and then parted ways. What? You want to see what we ate? Wouldn’t you know I at least got a few photos of our food.

I was real happy to see the pickle spears on our plates. Here is another question for you. Do you eat the pickle or leave it on the plate? It seems Marg and I both enjoy eating ours and are willing to eat yours, too, if you leave it there too long!!

From lunch we followed Bev to Yarrow to check out a local pottery shop that her friend Ted Dreidiger owns and where he throws and fires his beautiful creations. Umm, it’s not food, so again my camera stayed in my purse. Oye! I did take a photo of my purchase when we got home. It’s a great piece that’s perfect to warm a round of brie in or to serve other hot or cold dips in.

It was fun to visit Ted in his workshop and to see all his great pieces. Thanks Bev for suggesting this stop on our way back to the U.S.A.

As we continued home after our nice chat with the U.S. Border Officer Katie was game to see the downtown area of Lynden, Washington. Can you guess what we brought home in that box?

Bumbleberry Pie! We wanted Dear to get a taste of our trip, too.

Look at all that yummy filling!

We will be having a nice quiet day at home today with more excitement starting on Friday. It’s good to pace yourself…

What have you been up to?