Blooming and Sliding into 2016!

Hi! In early 2015, some of you may remember I posted photos of my amaryllis bulb being propped up by a Fisher-Price palm tree.   I kept the bulb after I clipped off the dead blooms and when the leaves started looking pitiful I clipped them off and stopped watering the bulb.  I left the bulb in a shady spot in our hallway and just glanced at it from time to time and wondered...would it bloom for me again around Christmas?

Two weeks before Christmas I moved the bulb in it's original pot onto a sometimes sunny windowsill and started watering the bulb.  Within a few days a new stem started shooting up!  Buds appeared!  Four of them! Household members started exclaiming about the bulb's growth, but three-year-old, Joy was beside herself with excitement and has buzzed into my room numerous times to proclaim the bulb's progress.  I wish I had written down all the versions of her proclamations :)  The last I remember was, "Gramma Gracie, your flower is all growd up!"  Indeed!

In 2015 we had just a few flakes of snow down here in the valley near Mt. Hood, but 2016, has started out with about an inch of snow...and...ice! 

Our mailbox was knocked down.  Then a truck slid into our driveway and it took several days for it to be rescued.  My youngest son-in-law's  truck slid into the building where he works. He and his truck were ok, but the building needed some repair; then while dealing with that when he was trying to spread deicer on the parking lot he fell backwards and whacked his head and has a mild concussion and sore back :(  Because four of my five granddaughters were getting over coughing colds they did not try to go sledding, so all in all the storm was pretty and exciting for us, but not much fun.

However, those of us who were able to stay inside, enjoyed finishing a puzzle, and gazing at our idyllic snow village.  We had good food, read, watched some TV, played some board and computer games and I even got some stitching done, including a doll clothes bag I crocheted for Joy.

Most of the ice had melted in time for us to safely get my oldest sister from the airport on Thursday.  When we got home from the airport, I found a package had arrived from my blogging friend, Wendy, who lives in Australia!  She is in the throes of hot weather, but she very kindly made a pretty set of red yarn mitts to help my hands keep stylishly warm :)

Thank you again, Wendy!

As I type this, the sky is gray and we had a bit of rain this morning, but thankfully no more ice!  We are still exclaiming over how pretty the amaryllis is and we  enjoyed our weekend. 

Are blooming and sliding a part of your New Year?

Gracie xx :) 

Wildfire Weather

Hi!  Thanks for coming to visit : )  It is good to greet you from home, although I had a great time traveling. With pretty cotton yarn Betsy gave me awhile ago, I even got two dishcloths knit while I wasn't driving.

When we heard that there were some wildfires in northern California we decided to take the coastal route [always my favorite anyway : )] to try to avoid driving through smokey areas...a plan that did not entirely work.

While driving through Crescent City, CA we stopped at Brother Jonathan Point where I took this zoomed in view of St. George lighthouse which is seven miles from shore and difficult to see in the foggy mist that day.

Then looking to the south I took this less zoomed in view of the Crescent City lighthouse which I enjoyed touring many years ago when we lived in Crescent City.

South of Crescent City there was a huge herd of elk in a park protected area on both sides of the road.  Aren't those antlers amazing?

Then, not many miles south we started running into smoke from a wildfire east of Eureka, CA.  Typically this is the time of year when lightning strikes start wildfires and the on going drought in the West has made this year particularly vulnerable to fire and the loss of many homes and a few lives so far, too, as you may have heard through the news.

As we continued driving south, the smoke lessened and we enjoyed driving through a redwood forrest CA state park.

My youngest son, Tim, and I stopped in the northern San Francisco Bay area to pick up three family members to continue the drive to Burbank, CA, and the 50th wedding celebration for my older sister and my bother-in-law.  We saw many orchards along route I-5, and were very curious to know what was growing in them because we could not see as we sped down the road, and we wished the farmers had put out signs to inform us : )

Many sections of the southern freeways have oleander bushes growing in the median strips, which I think is a lovely choice.

My nieces planned a wonderful party and helped us make wonderful memories as we celebrated.

My oldest niece's sister-in-law made this amazing cake which made me think of Anne's wonderful sugar craft work. 

After several days of visiting we drove north and my family dropped me off to visit with my friend of forty years, Paula, and her husband Lee in San Jose, CA.  Paula and I met at the church we attended, and Lee told my husband, Louis, that IBM was hiring for a position he was interested in getting and did get.

Paula is an animal lover and has a beautiful little flock of chickens in her backyard.

This feathery girl seems to be thinking..."Did I really lay that!?!"  : )

My pictures don't do justice to this pretty and productive flock!

Paula drove me up into the San Jose foothills and this is a view of the southern Bay Area and some of the golden hills of CA.

While there are few trees in the foothills, the eucalyptus and old oak trees are especially beautiful, I think.

We enjoyed seeing this small herd of horses, also.

There are so many vineyards up and down CA, it always impresses me as I drive by them.

This thought provoking message on the mount impressed me as well.

The modern windmills springing from more and more locations pose a pretty and practical presence to me although some protest their worth.

The diminished snow cover on Mt. Shasta in northern CA while normal for this time of year also reminds us of our increased drought conditions.

But in spite of the drought, our household has been given or picked up fruit and vegetables which are being processed.

Various family members are canning and freezing the results and we are having yummy fresh produce meals as well.  A Fisherman Friend has given us delicious fresh salmon to enjoy several times, also.

The wildfires have made some of our sunsets especially colorful.

But it has been concerning to not be able to see Mt. Hood very well because of the smokey haze, as in this view several blocks from our home that I have often shared with you on clearer days.  Can you see Mt. Hood?  It is a bit of a shadow in the upper right of the photo...honest!

While I was traveling,  my youngest daughter attended the county fair and sent me this delightful Smiling Sheep photo which is the last image I will leave with you in this post.

Wildfire weather is a time of tragic loss for some and great concern for others.  Forestry experts explain that forrest fires positively contribute to the growth cycle of forests,  but we still mourn the loss of lives and property they bring.

Today marks the six year anniversary of the death of my husband of 38 years.  While I am celebrating with those around me who are marking 50 years of marriage, I am saddened and jealous that I can not celebrate 50 years of marriage or more with my husband.  Yet I celebrate the positive time we shared, particularly our shared faith: that pleasures on earth will be followed by the incredible pleasures of eternal life through Christ.

Months ago I added a page to my sidebar but did not bring your attention to it.  It is entitled "Louis."  In it I describe my view of my time spent with Louis on earth.  Adventures!  I invite you to read about them if you are curious : )

Since coming home during our stretch of wildfire weather, I have been picking sun gold cherry tomatoes, knitting, swimming, attending church, having luncheons with friends, planning to restring some cobalt blue glass beads I have been collecting along with those Teresa gave me, writing a poem, drawing, painting a watercolor picture, and planning a business link to this blog...my adventures continue!

Please tell me about your adventures whatever your weather may be.  I am eager to know!

Gracie xx

Stitching Along the Way

While riding down to my oldest sister's home in California recently I knit a dishcloth for her, then once I arrived at her house I sewed a button back on the hood of my jacket,  and I enjoyed following Sue Perez's Rampant Arch headband pattern that was published in the Interweave Crochet magazine I purchased several months ago.  I love the pattern and am having fun experimenting with different yarns and colors for each headband I make.

It rained on the day my youngest son Tim drove us to California in his car, and it rained on the day he drove us home, but I managed to get a photo of Mt. Shasta, peeking out of the clouds on our way home.  My son, son-in-law, and a family friend spent some time working on repair projects at my sister's house, and we had good visits with family members and friends while we were there.  I also got to hear my niece sing in the Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus, Bach's Mass in b Minor.  Glorious music ~ ~ ~

The yellow wild iris are in bloom in the front pond at home.  Our red rhododendron bush is in full bloom and other plants that we planted in the last month are growing, including the fuschias in the hanging baskets.  The first of our Joseph's Coat roses is blooming as well...I love the warm sunny colors of the petals!

When looking at the caption of May's photo on our home calendar I realized that the field of red flowers growing near us [pictured above] is clover...I thought clover just produced white flowers.  Do you have clover fields that bloom near you?  If so, what are the color of the clover flowers?

My youngest daughter, son-in-law and I visited the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, remembering with gratitude those who died for our freedom. My daughter brought some burgundy sweet pea flowers to leave there and some lavender ones we brought home and put in a vase on the table in my room.

I plan to be home for a few months, but travel to Burbank, California, during the first part of August to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my older sister, and my brother-in-law.  Until then I hope to get some significant stitching done, and finish Rosie's album...I gave it to her for her first birthday and took it back to finish it and she is now one and a half!  Mercy!

Wishing you happy days as Summer fast approaches!

xx
Gracie

Home and Commissioned!

About 47 years ago, I spent my 16th summer working with my cousin Jimmy Nason and his family at Nason's Stone House Farm in West Boxford, Massachusetts, a bit north of Boston...fond memories. The Stone House is well over 100 years old and on one of the stones over the front door there is a fossil imprint of a butterfly.  This is the location that both sides of my family gathered for family reunions several times during my childhood after my immediate family moved from Massachusetts to Missouri because my dad changed employment from manager of Flying Feather Chicken Farm in Andover, Massachusetts, which closed, to Research Supervisor of a poultry farm south of Kansas City, Missouri.  The Stone House is foundational in my sense of family and purpose in a lifetime in which I have moved over 15 times back and forth across the United States.  Up until a few years ago there were pretty pink hollyhocks that bloomed year after year by the side door and they inspire me to try to grow some by my front door now. 

Cousin Jimmy telling me about life at Stone House Farm in the Fall of 2014

In the kitchen, Boston Baked Beans and Brown Bread, Meat Pies, Blueberry Pies and more yummy food is prepared.

Cousin Jimmy is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and long ago he made a beautiful wedding cake for me.

From West Boxford, my youngest son drove us for an overnight stay with my cousins Jan and Charlie in Sturbridge, MA and then on to Saugerties, NY, where we lived for 15 years in the house pictured below, although it used to have yellow siding when we lived there.  We enjoyed sharing this one acre of land having access to the mighty Hudson River, with deer, fox, raccoons, 12+ inch snapping turtles, snakes, and a host of annoying insects.  Geese, swans, cardinals, robins, crows, hummingbirds, sparrows, and other varieties of birds flew around us.

In the winter the Hudson froze solidly and the kids tried ice skating on it! Behind the trees on the point is a Lighthouse.

South of Saugerties this is a view of the Catskill Mountains looking West toward Kingston from the Rhinebeck Bridge.

In Kingston, a friend treated me to delicious dairy free sorbet :-)

I tried the Blueberry-Pomaganate, and Chocolate Mint sorbet. Yummy!! Then after four days of wonderful visits with friends in the area, a friend drove me a bit northeast to New Skete near Cambridge, NY.

It was so lovely and peaceful here, with time to try to listen for God's direction for this season in my life.

This was part of the incredible view from the balcony off the living room.  The weather was perfect for sitting in the sunshine, listening to the birds, chirp and twitter and caw. Crickets offered a steady foundation of crickety sound, while the wind gently wafted through the leaves on the trees with soothing waves of rustling from time to time.  In the distance I could hear some barking from the German Shepherd dogs the Monks and Nuns train for service.  Occasionally I heard a small plane fly overhead, a reminder I was still involved in modern, busy life in 2014.

The distinctive golden domes of the Eastern Orthodox Church seemed especially at home in the autumn light at Vespers, to me.

The icons painted on the walls of the Sanctuary are strange or depressing to some, but I am learning to appreciate them as serious, but uniquely beautiful reminders of others who came before me and lived their faith in God: Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit and challenge me to do the same.

My youngest son, Tim drove me from New Skete south to Yonkers, NY, where I attended Education Day at St. Vladimir's Seminary, and my oldest son, David [in the photo above] and my oldest grandson, Kenny, picked me up and took me to their house for a visit. :-)

My daughter-in-law, Julie, helped me feel so loved and welcome!   <3

David, Kenny and Aron took me for a tour of their neighborhood, including their school and the Bayside Marina.

The boys and I enjoyed playing Uno and Bananagrams.

Kenny took some good photos for me, including these swans at the Marina.

Our time together FLEW by way too fast!  I took this photo as the boys were headed off to school and I headed to the airport.

Mount Jefferson ? just before we landed back in Portland, Oregon.

My youngest grandson, Aron commissioned me to knit a bunny for him !

And now that I am back home I have been playing catch up on sleep and bills and cleaning, and exercising.  But Teresa invited me to spend last Friday with Dayle and her grandsons and her to find Lost Lake near Hood River, Oregon.  We had a wonderful time and we found Lost Lake!!! Isn't it beautiful?

Have you found anything beautiful lately?

Gracie xx