"I started photographing my domestic world and writing not just about what I had made,
but why I made it, examining the thoughts that accompany creativity and the act of making."
Jane Brocket from The Gentle Art of Domesticity p. 189 UK edition

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Five On Friday: Teamwork!

Whether we realize it or not, we need each other!  To grow, to work, or play, we need each other to thrive.  As I thought about my Friday Five this week I was impressed by how my week reflected the teamwork needed for me to live as happily as I do.

 Our household hosted an outdoor wedding last Saturday!  It was beautiful even though the clouds threatened rain and some sprinkles of rain fell on the outdoor reception.

One:  The Ceremony was held outside my room, near our rock clad chimney.  My four oldest granddaughters were flower girls and ring bearers.




Two: The reception was held at the back of our house.  Our dear family friend, Grantie, was the wedding co-ordinator and rallied the troops to help everything come together in a lovely way. My youngest daughter made her first solo wedding cake which was beautiful and tasty! [vanilla with raspberry filling and garnished with fresh cut roses and sparkling rhinestone  like crystals.]




Three:  Everyone in the household has taken part in gardening in some way.  This past week my youngest daughter spied a huge moth out on our front porch and I had fun getting a photo of it. Our first Sweet Pea blossom opened and is very fragrant!  The Hollyhock blossoms are amazing us as they open, the lower blossoms first.





 Four:  Thanks to my good friend, Teresa, I got to see more of Cascade Locks, Oregon, this past week.  We heard the rumble of railroad cars passing by and saw some cars parked on one set of rails.  We enjoyed seeing large stretches of wild Sweet Peas climbing on hillsides, and we saw more sail boats, the paddlewheel cruise ship, the Queen of the West, sailboarders, the Bonneville Dam, the mighty Columbia River, and so much more...then as I drove near home I got another glimpse of Mt. Hood from 302nd Street.






Five: While I was not able to meet Wednesday morning with my stitching friends at church, I did get to crochet a number of rows on the current baby blanket I'm making while I waited at the car dealership for my minivan to have $$$ maintenance. The dealership eventually gave me a ride home and while I was without wheels I enjoyed reading a book written by a retired university Dean in 1944.  Like my wonderful uncle I visited on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, nearly two years ago, the author spent his retirement years on Cape Cod.  His short book is a chatty remembrance of some of those years. It has interesting bits of history and on more than one occasion I found myself laughing out loud as I read.  Even though I moved away from near Boston, Massachusetts when I was nearly five years old, my family has deep New England roots and various family members individually and teamed together, helped me appreciate the life investment of my forebears who made it possible for me to live in the USA. Although the book is written towards the end of World War II and reflects some of the danger of that time, the message of the book for me had more to do with the resilience of man over time...in spite of disasters and discord. Two quotes are memorable to me. First he quoted, "...Glenn Frank once said when he was president of the University of Wisconsin,...Education is endless.  A true education registers men at the cradle and graduates them at the grave." [p.131] Then he concluded that chapter, "We who are in the fullness of life can now begin to fathom the depth of what Robert Browning wrote in his Rabbi Ben Ezra:

     Grow old along with me!
     The best is yet to be,
     The last of life for which the first was made:
     Our times are in His hand
     Who saith, 'A whole I planned,
     Youth shows but half; trust God; nor be afraid'.  [p.136]


Amy, thanks once more for hosting Five on Friday.  I am enjoying participating and getting to know others who are participating as well!

Have you found yourself appreciating teamwork this past week?

xx
Gracie

37 comments:

  1. What a lovely post. That wedding must have been fabulous. I too have noticed hollyhocks everywhere at the moment. Your scenery is stunning. Hope you have a relaxing weekend after your busy one last week. B x

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  2. That last photo brought back lovely memories of a trip to Cape Cod about 10 years ago. We hadn't planned to go but there was a mix-up with our hotel bookings. After we got there we wished we'd booked longer!

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  3. Wonderful 5, Gracie, the flower girls were so lovely and the wedding cake amazing! Your trip with your friend must have been a blast and great fun.
    bon weekend
    Maggie

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  4. Such an enchanting five, the flower girls and indeed the wedding looked beautiful. You are certainly blessed with a stunning home and gardens. My husband and I are planning to make a dolls house together. Take care.

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  5. I really enjoyed your five, the wedding looked beautiful.

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  6. Hello Gracie. Such a lovely post. The wedding look wonderful and exactly how I think they should be! Your photo of the ' train' reminded me of my holiday in Canada - those huge trains fascinated me. Hugs Anne x

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  7. This has helped to cheer me up today, the wedding looks beautiful and such a lovely family occasion too. It is so nice to hear of everyone being involved and pulling together. Your grand daughters look so pretty and the cake is fabulous. I hope your service didn't cost too much. A lovely five and a great reminder about teamwork. Have a great weekend xx

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  8. Such a lovely five, the wedding looks so pretty in your garden and the litte flower girls look lovely. The mountain looks wonderful over the tree tops:)

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  9. Gracie, Can I ask how you are able to hold a wedding at your house? Is this common in US? Here in UK only specially designated places can be used for weddings, apart from churches. And then they have to have to be certified and a legal Registrar and Celebrant present. You can't just "get married" where you please or it ain't legal!!!!

    That cake is superb by the way...well done!!

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    1. Interesting, Joy. I did not know that weddings are restricted to specially designated places in the UK. Where I live in the US one must have a registered officiant perform the wedding. The couple must apply for a marriage license and it must be filled out and signed by witnesses and then registered at the county office in order for the wedding to be legal, but the location of the wedding is variable.

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  10. The wedding looks absolutely gorgeous. The girls looked fabulous in their little dresses. That must have been such a fun occasion.

    Hope you have a lovely weekend

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  11. A lovely wedding and oh so pretty and adorable little girls ♡ Have a great weekend!

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  12. Fun post! Lovely wedding (the littles are too cute) and lovely home and garden. I'm always interested in what people are reading. Looks like I must add Cascade Locks to my list of places to visit in Oregon. Love the hollyhocks (such a pretty color) and I can almost smell the sweet peas. Have a great week!

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  13. What a great post. I love sweet peas and to get to see them in the wild would be amazing. What a fabulous looking wedding reception and oh that lovely food. Have a good week Leah x

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  14. Good morning sweet Gracie. I so enjoyed reading your five on Friday. The wedding looked beautiful and the girls look like they were so happy to be part of it. You know how I love your home. I wish Dennis and I could put a cabin right next door. All of your pictures are gorgeous and I enjoyed reading again about your trip with Teresa. You both show such different perspectives and that makes it lots of fun for us reading about it. I hope your van is now fixed and ready to go take you on more adventures. Thank you for those quotes. Very needed during these days. I hope you have a wonderful weekend my friend.
    Blessingsa always,
    Betsy

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  15. Well I'm thankful for good friends at work who help thru rough times we've had this week. I blogged a bit about it last nite. Your sweet granddaughters are beautiful!! Glad the wedding didn't get rained out. Looks like a lovely time. Columbia river gorge area is lovely area. We're thinking of spending time there in Oct for waterfall photos. I like book you read. Good day to you, my friend. Hugs, Becky

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  16. Definitely five lots of wonderful Gracie! The wedding looks beautiful, such a wonderful setting for it and very romantic for the newlyweds! I hope they have a wonderful married life together! Teamwork is a wonderful thing isn't it. If we all pull together we can achieve so much more together than we do alone. A great reminder. Thank you for joining Five On Friday. I hope you have a good weekend. xx

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  17. Our family is one big team, we all call upon each other when we are in need but also celebrate and share fun times together too. I just love the wedding photos, weddings here in the UK seem to have been blown out of all proportion and cost and a wedding at a friend or families home is the perfect way to spend the day I think, especially if you have beautiful flower girls to share your day with like you. Peace be with you Gracie. Jo xxxx

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  18. Hello my friend! It was great to see how the wedding turned out.. so precious to see all the girls in their finery.. and your backyard was a great place for the reception and the cake and food looked delish! Thanks for the shout-out. It was so nice to have the pool almost to ourselves today. I hope the next time we go to the hot springs there will be fewer people. See you next week, have a fun trip to the beach tomorrow! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  19. Great and varied photos! The flower girls are too cute and the flowers are so pretty. I love the other shots of scenes you captured.

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  20. What a wonderful five. How magical to have your wedding at your family home, as mentioned above that is not possible here in the UK. The bridesmaids look so cute. I love the wild sweet peas and landscape shots, especially the mountain.

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  21. Loved the photos of the Cascade Locks area and the mountain! The wedding reminded me so much of my sister's wedding which was held under an arbor in my parents yard too! My daughter was three and her cousin, two. She was the little flower girl and took her role very seriously. When two year old Christopher (the ring bearer) took her basket of flower petals from her and went out in the grass to play with them I braced myself for her squeal of protest, but she knew the ceremony was in full swing and you had to be quiet....she just looked up at me in disgust! :-) Looks like everyone pitching in together really made for a lovely wedding! Interesting sounding book, also. Have a wonderful week.

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  22. Hello sweet friend. I started blogging again and stumbled across your lovely blog. I truly enjoyed reading your fabulous Friday adventures. Really loved the quote your posted from your book you were reading. It made me stop and think for a minute. The wedding....at your home....really looked magical and loving.
    Miss our little chats, ♥ Shari

    I mentioned I started blogging again, in memory of Lauren♥
    laurenmarie21.blogspot.com
    I hope to see you there sometime, Love...and old friend, Shari

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  23. Your little flowers girls look so adorable, and what a nice setting for the wedding...with a beautiful cake and delicious food. Yes, teamwork is a wonderful thing and life enriching. I am glad your sweet peas have begun to flower and give you pleasure, mine have just begun to bloom as well. Wishing you a happy weekend, dear Gracie.
    Helen xox

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  24. I, too, love reading about New England. If you haven't read the books of Still Meadow and Still Cove by Gladys Taber, please try to find one (they're out of print now). I know you'd love them. Also, author and artist Susan Branch lives on Martha's Vineyard and her blog is all about life there. A delightful lady. www.susanbranch.com

    You'll treasure that photo of the beautiful granddaughters for years to come. The rose petal heart was a great idea. Kudos to the cake baker.

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  25. Wow, what a sweet post! Love your little flower girls and ring bearers!

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  26. Teamwork is very important. I loved seeing the girls all dressed up for the wedding, how pretty. The cake sounds lovely. Our wedding cake was similar, white cake with a raspberry mousse filling and a white fondant outer layer with small sugar flowers all over. I wish I could bake fancy cakes, your daughter must be very talented. I hope you're having a good weekend, Gracie.

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  27. I just found I Retire to Cape Cod through our library consortium. It won't reach me for awhile, but thank you for the tip.

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  28. Hi Gracie, I enjoyed tagging along with your five on Friday post. I can imagine that the wedding was beautiful..I have always loved outdoor ceremonies. The caterer did a fantastic job on the decorations and food. It made me hungry just looking at it. Well, It's Monday now, so have a wonderful week!

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  29. Lovely, lovely wedding and oh, so precious little girls! Love seeing all your beautiful photos....Mt. Hood, so majestic, and the pretty flowers. I lived in Oregon as a young mother and grew up in Massachusetts, near Cape Cod where most of my ancestors immigrated to from Ireland and Scotland. The book looks wonderful - it is going on the reading list. Hope the new week brings you sweet moments. xx K

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  30. A backyard wedding! How lovely! So much better IMO than a big commercial venue. And it all looks beautifully styled, especially your granddaughters.
    Amalia
    xo

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  31. Your granddaughters look so lovely - a wedding at your house must have been very special
    I love the hollyhocks in your garden too and the quotes from the Cape Cod Book - especially that Robert Browning piece - isn't that the start of a lovely Mary Chapin Carpenter song? - Grow Old Along with me.
    Have a great week. Fil

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  32. Gracie, the wedding looked lovely. The girls were so, so pretty! And the cake, and good food looked so delicious!! I am sure you were very proud to host it at your home.
    Pammy Sue just posted a moth that looked as if it may have been the same kind? Pretty.
    I am just now getting some catching up done on blogs I love. We have bee n vacation to Big Bear, and had a really great time.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  33. kathy b has left a new comment on your post "Five on Friday: Fun!":

    kathy b
    What a wedding ! Those girls in white dresses are adorable. The whole thing looked beautiful, amazing and so full of memory making ! Thank you for sharing it all

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  34. Oh wow! Hosting a wedding must have been *a lot* of work! But everything does look so beautiful (and, particularly, delicious!...can you tell I'm hungry? ;) ) Enjoyed your photos from Cascade Locks, especially the second-to-last one! Although I'd heard "Grow old with me; the best is yet to be," I had never heard the last part--nice and thought-provoking. Thanks for sharing.

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