1. August is National Back To School Month…how does that make you feel?
I’m pretty stuck in the tradition of school starting after Labor Day so I’m always surprised when we get the photos of our nieces and nephews starting school in August. Above is a photo of me in front of my high school that always started back to school after Labor Day.
Share a back-to-school memory.
Our sons on the first day of school in 1986 or 1987, ready to walk to school. Our daughter waiting for the bus in 1991ish.
This memory of our daughter always sticks in my mind because she chose to wear that t-shirt on the first day of school a few years in a row. I was and am impressed with her boldness and resolve. This photo is from the first day of her senior year, 2003.
2. Something you’ve learned in ‘the school of life’?
That God is in control and I am not.
Contentment is worth more than riches.
Here’s a quote from our sermon on Sunday. “If we displease God does it matter whom we please? If we please Him does it matter whom we displease? ~Leonard Ravenhill
3. Three words to describe your current mood.
Under the weather…
4. A summer food you’ve eaten too much of/are tired of?
Nada, Zip, nothing.
A summer food you haven’t had enough of?
Nectarines and watermelon.
5. What small stuff do you sweat that you know you shouldn’t?
When planning a meal or event I always wonder if I ordered or made enough of this or that. It seems to always work out so I’m trying not to sweat over those things.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of Leonard Ravenhill here is another gem I’ll quote from him.
“A man who is intimate with God is not intimidated by men.”
Yes, I like the beach. I like to walk at the beach, especially in the winter. I’m not a fan of heat and being overheated. I like to walk the pier, watch the waves and enjoy the cool breezes. We lived in Huntington Beach from 1975-1984. We lived in Ventura (which is a beach town) from 1984-1988. We lived in Camarillo, 8 miles from the beach from 2006-2010. While we lived in Camarillo we drove to Emma Wood State Beach most every Saturday morning to walk the beach at dawn. The collage at the top of this post include photos from Emma Wood.
How far do you have to drive to get to the nearest beach?
Since my definition of beach is related to an ocean we would have to drive over 450 miles to get to the Pacific Ocean.
If you are talking about a sandy or pebbly shore we could get to one of those in under 10 miles. We live close to the Columbia River, Lake Roosevelt and other lakes and rivers.
Your least favorite thing about the beach?
Getting sandy or sunburned.
Last beach trip you took?
I flew to Southern California in June and stayed with my sister in Huntington Beach and enjoyed walking at Corona Del Mar and Huntington Beach.
2. Are you known for making waves or are you more of a ‘go along to get along’ kind of person? Explain.
Hmm, if I have to make waves I will but it’s not my first choice. When something goes against my beliefs I won’t compromise. I don’t nod my head or keep silent when someone presumes to speak on my behalf and what is said is not part of my convictions. I will challenge things said that aren’t the truth in proper settings, when it’s within my boundaries to say something and could make a difference.
3. A favorite song that in some way references the beach?
I’ll give the beach nod to our Marine son-in-law and all Marines!
A favorite book and/or movie with a beach-y setting?
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
4. Tuesday is National Simplicity Day…what’s a simple pleasure you’ve enjoyed this week?
The simple pleasure of enjoying my cup of coffee each morning and the pleasure of the morning unfolding.
What’s something you could eliminate from your life to make things simpler?
Extra weight on my body. My current clothes would fit better and my movements would be easier. It’s harder to move excess weight around,
5. What’s something you love to do? Do you do it often? Why or why not?
I love to plan a trip. I don’t do it often, maybe once a year or every two years. It’s fun to anticipate a journey or a destination that will be fun to experience. I find the more I research the destination the more enjoyment it gives me when we get there.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Two months from today, Lord willing, me and Dear will be in Oxford, England for about 12 days. I’m doing what I love and making plans for our days there. We will be staying in an apartment in Oxford (central) for 9 of the nights, 2 nights in a hotel in Woodstock, and our last night back in Oxford in a hotel. When we had our trip planned in 2020 that got cancelled for obvious reasons, we were reimbursed for everything but a day tour we had booked with Go Cotswolds, a small touring company. We asked them to keep our money just in case we were able to return to England in the future. They were appreciative as they had to cancel so many tours and the more people that kept their reservations on hold allowed them to stay in business during the tough season everyone was in. We contacted them and they were so gracious to honor our two year deposit for a day tour. They are flourishing again in their business. We will hop on the train in Oxford to Moreton in Marsh and get picked up for a day in the small villages of the Cotswolds. Another tour we have on the books is The Kilns, the home of C.S. Lewis just outside Oxford. We will ride a bus to Headington for that tour. We are not renting a vehicle for this trip but depending solely on public transportation and our own two feet . Most of our sight seeing will be right in Oxford. There is so much to see in this compact city that we will be able to enjoy on foot from our apartment.
All of our children were born in California and this week we will be celebrating our oldest with a dinner together on Saturday. Our second born son will be celebrating this week with his fiance who has a birthday this week, too, in Eastern Washington. Our January is full. I’ll be traveling next week to California to celebrate our niece Hope’s 7th birthday and one of my brother’s birthdays. I’ll share photos from all the fun times we manage to enjoy! Is January full or quiet for you?
This church is in Ventura, California. When we walked past a few years ago it was not being used as a church anymore. It has been operating as a Bed and Breakfast and Tea Room.
Southern Methodist Espiscopal Church ~ Designed in the Carpenter Gothic Style by Ventura architect FP.Ward, this church was built by Selwyn Shaw in 1888 on donated land. Notable features include Eastlake detailing stained glass windows, steeply pitched roof, 96 foot steeple, and delicate “gingerbread” along the roof edges. (City of San Buenaventura Historic Preservation Commission)
We had quite a wind storm blow through last night and some people are without power including our daughter and her husband. They live in an all electric building so that has made life interesting for them. Katie is spending the day with us while her hubby is at work since we have power.
This is a flashback post to 1984 when the Olympics were in the Los Angeles area. In 1984 we we had just moved to Ventura, California. Dear’s company purchased a leg of the Olympic Torch running event and they had a trial run and contest to determine who from the company would be selected to run. Much to our delight Dear won the draw and we had many fun events that we attended because of this honor.
Each Olympic Torch Bearer ran one kilometer and then lit the next person’s torch. Conrock, Dear’s company at the time, purchased the torch and they still have it on display at their offices. Conrock changed their name to CalMat shortly after. Dear’s allotted kilometer was in the city of Ontario, California.
We got to keep the torch for a short time before Dear gave it back to his company.
During these summer Olympics we were able to get tickets to see rowing events that were close to our home in Ventura. We gathered up a group of family and friends and enjoyed the races together.
Dear’s company had a professional photographer take some photos.
Joining ABC Wednesday started by Denise Nesbitt and facilitated now by the ABC team. Thank you!
Ticking down the days to Katie and my roadtrip! What’s on your agenda this week?
This weekend I finally got familiar with the new scanner I purchased to scan old slides that Dear took in the 70’s. At least one day a week on my blog will be devoted to a blast from the past.
I’m starting with our honeymoon which was in December of 1974.
After our wedding we went to my parents home and got ready to leave on our honeymoon. Our family and closest friends were there, too, and we opened gifts before we changed into our get away clothes and left for our honeymoon. Did any of you do that after your wedding or did you take off and go straight to your honeymoon from the wedding sight? We were pretty beat when we finally arrived to our first destination, the Pierpont Inn in Ventura, California.
The Pierpont Inn, Ventura, California. Little did we know that 10 years later we would move to Ventura.
From the Pierpont we continued north along the coast of California.
This little log cabin somewhere in Central California was a nice little spot to stop. I can’t find it online anymore but it was called Butterfly Trees Lodge.
This was Dear’s car, a 1971 Datsun 510.
We went as far north as San Francisco and then headed back home along the 101 highway to our apartment in West Los Angeles. We stopped in Solvang on our way home.
Back to the present…
We had a nice quiet weekend and we were able to start a couple new projects. I filled our bird feeders…finally. Dear is working on closet doors. I started the huge project of scanning old photos starting with our slides. What fun it’s been to see these old images from the 70’s. How was your weekend?
I pulled up this collage from 2008 because I just wanted to have something cheerful on my blog.
Things are pretty much the same for my mom in California. I’m able to talk to her everyday. She reminisces and lets us all know that she loves us and appreciates our uniqueness. I have 7 brothers and sisters and we are all pretty different in many ways and similar in other ways, too. My father is restless and needs to have things to do so my sisters try to keep him occupied. My sister Lana gave the apartment a thorough cleaning from top to bottom and got rid of some things that were taking up too much room.
To make room for my mom’s hospital bed the family moved out my parents queen bed and brought in a twin bed for my dad. One of my sisters or brothers spends each night at the apartment with my mom and dad and they sleep in the living room. The apartment is small with just a kitchen, living area, bathroom and bedroom.
Back here at this old house our remodeling continues with Dear putting in the baseboard and trim around doors and furniture is slowly getting put back into place. We are also busy emptying out the bedrooms and living room where our new carpeting will be installed on August 7th.
Thanks again for all your kind comments and prayers for my family that are highly appreciated. May God return the blessing to you!
Grander than ocean’s story, Or songs of forest trees; Purer than breath of morning, Or evening’s gentle breeze; Clearer than mountain echoes Ring out from peaks above, Rolls on the glorious anthem Of God’s eternal love.
Dearer than any friendship Our truest comrades show; Stronger than all the yearning A mother’s heart may know; Deeper than earth’s foundations, And far above all thought; Broader than Heav’n’s high arches— The love that Christ has brought.
Richer than all earth’s treasures, The wealth my soul receives; Brighter than royal jewels, The crown that Jesus gives; Wondrous the condescension, And grace beyond degree! I would be ever singing The love of Christ to me.
It’s time for the Round Robin Photo Challenge and I had to go to my archives because I’ve been buried in the garage packing and unpacking boxes from the condo. The boxes are from California so I thought it fitting to show you a California beach shot. This was taken in January of 2010. I am now in Washington State full-time so you’ll be seeing more Pacific Northwest shots in the future. Happy May 8th everyone and a very Happy Mother’s Day to any mothers that stop by!
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
Our challenge for January 30th is water. Just so happens I took about 200 or so photos of the wild California surf after our recent storms. I am narrowing it down to one photo.
If you like wild surf click here to see more of my wild waves!
Visit the Round Robin Photo Challenge Blog to see other entries. This is a twice a month challenge that I’ve enjoyed participating in. You might like to join in, also. We’ll hear what the new challenge is on Sunday or Monday for next time…
Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 