Shop Progress

From time to time for our own records I’m posting the progress of Dear’s shop.

This past Monday our son came over to help Dear auger the holes for the support beams. Augering 14 holes took the better part of the day and it was muddy work as a short rain shower rolled through during the process.

The rest of the week while the weather permitted beams were set in the holes with the help of our son’s tractor and ingenious strapping technique using the tractor forks. After the beams were set in they needed to be secured at the right distance from each other and have the right centering at least so many inches from the sides of the holes for optimum strength at the concrete pour. Too much for my brain to handle but Dear worked to get each one right on the money.

By the end of Friday (9/27/19) all the posts were set. Concrete will be ordered for next Wednesday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. The trusses for the roof were suppose to be delivered at 2PM but never made it until almost 7PM. We had given up on him and then the doorbell rang. Dear went out to set up the spot for the trusses to be set on.

Catchy name…The Truss Company.

We were so happy to see that the truck had a crane to unload the trusses. Nightmares of trying to wrestle those heavy huge trusses plagued us. Oh ye of little faith!

It was raining at this point so Dear found all the tarps he could and covered the trusses and then secured the covers since we have been promised blustery weather this weekend and temperatures dipping to freezing. Unusual for September. Our kids had a bit of snow fall today (Saturday) at their home which is higher elevation from us and on the Stevens County page someone posted a photo of a good amount of snow up on Orin Rice Road. That was the road we had a Sunday drive on a couple weeks ago.

Right now as I publish this all we are getting is sideways rain. The tall natural grasses are blowing in the wind. It looks like they are dancing. Those holes that were augered are gathering some water in them and some slough which Dear will have to deal with before the concrete is poured.

Game Day Snacks

New recipe up for these Spicy Chicken Roll-ups on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog today.

We had an intense wind event in the Puget Sound area yesterday with trees and power lines down all over the region and lots of branches and leaves. Thankfully our power persevered here at this old house. Thousands are still in the dark today.

Our counters are now scheduled for install next Tuesday, the 21st of November. That will work out well for us since we aren’t hosting Thanksgiving day festivities. I’ll still have to choose a day to have a turkey cooking in our oven after Thanksgiving day.

Happy day to you!

Family Divided…

…but not in a bad way! Guys enjoying their time and the gals enjoying their time.

On Saturday the guys were headed to a local shooting range to sight in their rifles for a family hunting trip in October so Katie and I decided to try out a hike close to us, the Redmond Watershed, that you can link to here. Since we didn’t have bear repellent we did a lot of talking and singing along the paths we walked on.

I wouldn’t mind having a bench like this.

There were trails that were open to horses, bicycles and walkers and then some that were only open to walkers.

We marveled that we could have a hike/walk like this in the middle of a city. It was a very pleasant area with level paths and a few elevations that were very easy to navigate. We put in over 10,000 steps and could have gone farther if my lower back wasn’t fussing at me from all the vacuuming and cleaning Dear and I had accomplished the days previous. We enjoyed lunch together and a trip to a Farmer’s Market in Redmond before coming to the hungry aid of our guys with a drive through order from Chick Fil-A.

Saturday was another smokey day here after several clear days. Today Sunday, we are promised rain and more rain and we are happy for this forecast for all the fires that are still raging. After church we did a quick mowing of the lawn to pick up all the pear and apple tree leaves that have fallen. We wanted a clean lawn for the rain. As I look out the window now I’m now seeing the rain fall and for that I am thankful.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Bonhoeffer Botanical Gardens

A couple weeks ago Dear and I headed north to the Bonhoeffer Botanical Gardens on the grounds of Freeborn Lutheran Church.

Found on 20+ acres located on Exit 215 off the I-5 freeway, 45 minutes north of Seattle. The Gardens contain all of Western Washington’s indigenous trees, shrubs, vines and ferns along with most grass, moss, mushroom, pond, flower and ground cover species.

We had a one hour walk without getting rained on which is a treat these days.

On Thursday I hope to go back with our daughter and see the daffodils that should finally be blooming.

I also want to go back in late Spring to see all the other plants that will be blooming.

Speaking of Bonhoeffer this is a great book about his life…

Taken from the jacket of the book: “Bonhoeffer gives witness to one man’s extraordinary faith and to the tortured fate of the nation he sought to deliver from the curse of Naziism. It brings the reader face to face with a man determined to do the will of God radically, courageously, and joyfully – even to the point of death. Bonhoeffer is the story of a life framed by a passion for truth and a commitment to justice on behalf of those who face implacable evil.”

And here are some quotes from Bonhoeffer:

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

” Only if we will venture to enter into the words of the Bible, as though in them this God were speaking to us who loves us and does not will to leave us alone with our questions, only so shall we learn to rejoice in the Bible…”

“The church has only one altar, the altar of the Almighty…before which all creatures must kneel. Whoever seeks something other than this must keep away, he cannot join us in the house of God…the church has only one pulpit, and from that pulpit, faith in God will be preached, and no other faith, and no other will than the will of God, however well-intentioned”

These quotes of course are more powerful to read in context and with consideration of the time period that Bonhoeffer lived in Germany. Bonhoeffer is eventually executed just weeks before the end of WWII.

We in the Pacific Northwest are longing for the sunshine and a string of days without rain. Our February and March have had historical rainfall and will go into the books. Our vitamin D3 is depleted for sure. As I type I see a little brightness outside and it makes me smile. I read an interesting article on grumbling a couple weeks ago and I don’t want to go there. I’m just stating the facts of our weather pattern right now. The weather forecasters say that we will have sunshine about noon tomorrow and that’s a good time to shoot for arriving at Bonhoeffer gardens. After Bonhoeffer since our daughter lives very close to the University of Washington campus we are going to stop there before I drop her off at home to see the Cherry blossoms on the quad. If for any chance the forecast is wrong we’ll just try on another day.

Marching On…

Even though we have webbed feet Seattleites are getting weary of the rain and lack of sunshine in these parts. On Wednesday we had a window of dryness with some sunshine so Dear and I took our standard walk about the neighborhood. The photo above is of one of our 5 Rhododendron plants budding. This is our state flower.

Along our walk there is a pond that our webbed feet friends enjoy. We are getting some nice signs that Spring will come like clockwork.

Friday morning it was warmer than usual so I went outside to do some planter clean up. I raked and trimmed some bushes with my nifty new hedge trimmer. I stopped to take some more photos of one of my favorites, the Lenten Rose (Hellebore).

Then on Friday late in the morning the sun broke through in all it’s glory and we were ready to leap like these youngsters but we chose to walk instead along the waterways in Kirkland Washington after enjoying lunch here. This sculpture is a bronze created by Glena Goodacre called “Puddle Jumpers”. Purchased for the city of Kirkland by city residents and businesses in 2001.

We have a bag partially packed and the gas tank full for when we get the call that our daughter-in-law is admitted to the hospital. Fun times. Thank you dear friends for your kind words and suggestions to us as we enter the world of grandparent land.

Reliable…

…is what this good old address book is to me. It’s come to the rescue of many a family member who has needed an address but failed to come up with it in their new modern devices. If I had $10 for every address I’ve supplied for weddings, baby showers, Christmas cards etc., I’d be able to take a little trip somewhere.

Do you still have a good old address book, tattered and worn?

In other news…

We’ve had more wind this weekend so the patio covers came off again and we decided to go ahead and put most of the patio furniture back in the loft area of our garage.

I’ll be busy this week again dealing with the fallen leaves.

We enjoyed the breezes with the door open until things got too wild. Lots of wind but very mild temps!

How was your weekend?

July Photo Challenge 26-31

Joining Kati for July photo-a-day challenge.

Days 26 to 31

26. 9 o’clock

At 9 a.m. yesterday it was already 70 degrees. We knew we were in for another hot one!

27. Cloud

28. Blue & 30. Shapes

I love the blue on and the shapes of these pots and tea cups made in Russia.

29. Flip Flops

31. My own theme: Busy, busy, busy…

And that’s a wrap for the July photo a day challenge. Thank you Kati for the prompts.

Welcome to August. We are starting the month off in record breaking heat here in the Seattle area. I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. We don’t have any big plans for August. Tomorrow we’ll travel to Canada for a get-together. Later in the month we have a small group barbecue here. Dear will be working at our son’s home doing a remodel hoping there are no big surprises when they remove walls, etc. I have lots of before and afters to post on this old house. The latest are two windows added to the garage/shop.

What’s in store for you in August?

Helpful Views…

Views like these are helping us to find some quiet relaxing moments amidst all the hustle and bustle of getting everything ready for the wedding. Since they are predicting very high temps, over 100 degrees, we are trying to keep our cool. It’s been fun for my extended family to be able to see the area that Dan lives in and to enjoy the acres that he owns. On Thursday some more guests arrive and then on Friday most of our friends and family who can travel here will arrive. We are hosting a very casual dinner on Friday evening. It’s time to put my new memory card in my camera!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and good thoughts on my previous post.

Sunlit Spires

Dear and I were able to get away on an overnight trip to Bainbridge Island and we decided to drive up to the Kitsap Peninsula through the Nordic town of Poulsbo on our way home. We were pleasantly surprised by a very nice and sunny mid-morning to evening on this Saturday after being soaked by rain Friday night and early Saturday morning. I have lots to share from our wonderful getaway.

We had a wonderful Sunday morning at our own church, not this church I pictured. We were able to witness 15 or 43 total Baptisms. We have 3 services so the Baptisms were spaced out between the services. From elementary age children, high school, college, and older adults including a married couple we witnessed obedience to the Word of God to believe and be baptized.

I’m linking to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally and Sunlit Sunday at My Little Home and Garden.

Photo-A-Day Challenge ~ June 1-7

I’m joining in with Kati’s Little Corner of the World Photo-A-Day Challenge. If you click on the graphic above you can see how to join in, too.

1. Leaf

2. Favorite Color

I don’t have a favorite color as much as favorite color combinations. I’ve always loved pink and green. I also really love muted shades of purple with green.

I’m also a sucker for blue and white, especially blue and white dishes.

3. Weather

4. On the Wall

The rustic walls in our son’s shop and one of my favorite paintings in our home…

A friend of Dear’s painted this and gifted it to him before Dear and I were married.

5. Sunglasses

I can’t believe I’m posting this close up of my ~~wrinkles~~ sunglasses on my face.

6. Dot

I had a hard time finding dots around the house. I did find some dots in my bathroom and then I walked by these at the grocery store and couldn’t resist…

And one more dot photo…

7. Water

That was fun. Thank you Kati for hosting this photo challenge.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Weather