Home ~ To Cedar Pond

My drive home from almost anywhere is scenic. This is Mount Rainier viewed barely 5 miles from home. It I so easy to take this view for granted because I see the mountains every day if there is no cloud cover or there are no trees obstructing the view.

The main highway a scant 1/2 mile from our road. Just look at those snow covered hills.

I'll be making a left turn just past the telephone pole with the orange-red ribbon around it.

The left turn onto the private gravel road leading to our home .

The neighbor's horse is always curious about passers-by.

Home ! The gate posts to Cedar Pond , made and constructed for us by our grown children, welcome us home. Home. I love that word and all it implies. Home.

 

Don't forget to leave a comment to be included in the drawing for a flock of 3 Wee Little Sheep !

Lovely View ~ But I Wish We Could Go Home

Isn't this a lovely view outside the window in our room ? Can you see the church steeple ? Can you see Mt. Rainier ? The mountain appears to be floating above the city. We can also see Puget Sound from here and the tops of the trees in nearby parks. But this is not a fancy hotel or resort. It all started...

...here at home on Cedar Pond. Yes, that is a Medic One vehicle in our driveway and two handsome and kind men transporting one of our grandchildren to the E.R.They let me ride with them and our grandchild. What an exciting ride, sirens and all.

Grandchild brought friends and was given 2 new friends. You can see Belle Bear who rode with us to the hospital also has to receive oxygen, but just like grandchild,

she is doing much better now.We've been here several days and are a little tired of staying in this lovely hospital even though it is all new, all truly beautiful, and even has room service ! We are wanting to go home now please.Pretty PLEASE ?

UPDATE : My grandchild and I are home . We cannot say enough good things about the hospital (Mary Bridge Children's Hospital ) and the staff and are very thankful for everything they did for us. Yes, they are very kind and supportive of family staying with those hospitalized, and there were numerous people I met there who are volunteers. Self-sacrificing volunteers who spend a great deal of time with patients and their families. I think I will be writing more about this later...but now I am needed by grandchild. Time for meds !

Summer Turns To Autumn, Quickly !

Mount Rainier, seen from Alder Lake. We see this amazing and awesome ( in the true meaning of the word) view from many perspectives all around our home and as we travel to town to shop, or drive practically anywhere. It becomes very easy to take this view for granted, but I don't. To see this mountain and the surrounding country-side only makes me cry for the beauty and ponder the God, my God, who has created it. To me, more precious than the beauty of the mountain, 3 of my granddaughters sitting on the dock of Alder Lake gazing out at the lake and mountain. God Himself considers the little ones precious. I hope in this busy time, this summer time, you too have time to ponder and give thanks to God for His gift of a beautiful and awesome creation...the amazing forests, oceans, deserts, mountains, and even simple meadows and flowers in your own backyards. Even more precious, the children God has blessed you with, be they your own children, grand-children, nieces & nephews, or little ones God has placed in your lives who need an appreciative voice, a caring voice, someone who will love them and pray for them no matter what. "Do you not know, have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired, His understanding is inscrutable, He gives strength to the weary..." Isaiah 40:28,29 This summer has been one of great joy, but also much busy-ness and activity.Balancing home duties, caring for my animals , crafting with my wool to provide weavings and rugs for upcoming bazaars, and remembering to take time to actually enjoy my family , especially my grandchildren, before they grow up so very quickly, as quickly as my children did...well,this has left me little time to blog.My head is swimming with things to write, and the urge to write has been bubbling up within me. My body though is screaming "SLEEP!". So, the flesh is weary and giving in to sleep which enables me to wake up and enjoy another wondrous day with grandchildren who will grow up too quickly. Summer is coming to an end, the granddaughters will return home and to school. Already the scent of autumn is in the air, the leaves are turning red and yellow. My favorite season is so close and as summer quickly turns into fall I will miss the 4 little girls who giggled and laughed and kept me and the washer & dryer humming all summer long as they spent their summer here on Cedar Pond.

A Favorite Place With My Favorite Person

Just look at Mt. Rainier peeking through the clouds overlooking Tacoma's waterfront. This is one of our favorite places. My husband and I spent a lot of time in this area while dating, and in the early years of our marriage we lived very close to the Pt. Defiance waterfront area. We even had a teensy view of Puget Sound from the home we lived in close to this beloved place. I used to get up in the very early, still dark A.M. and walk this area with a friend. To celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary my husband and I decided to spend a few hours strolling the beautiful waterfront and having dinner here. "A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity. The order varies for any given year." Paul Sweeney

Another view from the deck of the restaurant where we had dinner. "Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate." Barnett Brickner

We walked the docks and checked out the fishermens' catches.We saw a seal and learned from a man crabbing that the seal was stealing the bait ( chicken) and the catch.The seal looked pretty well fed and happy. No one seemed to be catching any fish but they kept on fishing. It was a beautiful day to just be outside near the water. "Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years." Simone Signoret

"In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare.Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced." Robert Sexton

We had a lovely time on our anniversary while enjoying the company of one another in a place we love, a beautiful place. We ate at a chowder house and talked to each other about our day, our dreams, the scenery.There is so much to be said for the simple things in our life that are easy to take for granted. We no longer take the every day blessings for granted and often I want to shout from the mountain tops, "Look all you people,life is awesome, amazing, blessed! Love your family , love your friends, and love the country God has chosen for you. It can all be taken away in an instant! Husbands and wives, love one another~ til death do you part!" In marriage, in life without a spouse, in life in the city, country, suburbs~in life with or without children, with or without riches ,I would hope for all of you to be able to heartily say "...for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am... I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11,13 Happy anniversary my beloved . As time marches on I am more and more thankful for you. You are most definitely my better half.Thanks for putting up with me. Thank-you for being so loving, steadfast and dependable. No matter what. "There is no substitute for the comfort supplied by the utterly taken-for granted relationships." Iris Murdoch Of course, I do not take you dear husband for granted.

I love you!

Lavender Weekend

The first Celebration of Lavender in Roy, Washington took place this past weekend~

This is Barbara, the only one of the couple who own this lovely Lavender farm I could pin down for a picture, in front of one of the lavender fields. Although it is hazy, you just might spot Mt. Rainier in the background. Here is my booth , you can see Mt. Rainier in the background , and to the left of the booth is the pen I displayed two of my very handsome Jacob ram lambs. I do believe I had the best spot on the place . The large tree gave us shade and my booth was very close to one of the lavender fields and where they were giving lavender oil distillation demonstrations.

My husband kept me company and answered the many, many questions about Jacob Sheep.

A view of some booths and a lavender field.

Lavender distillation equipment.

Some of the grandchildren came to see us and the festival. The girls all made lavender sachets at the craft area.

Our oldest granddaughter just loves our youngest grandson! ( I think he is eating Cheezits )

Our daughter A.Joy and Little J check out the lambs. Little J wanted to watch them a long time.

These two granddaughters remained with us the rest of the festival and we had a good time. I did a lot of spinning wool during the festival and answered a lot of questions about spinning, wool, yarns, etc., The jug in the back ground was filled with ice lemon water each morning and we drank it all up as the temperatures were in the 90's both days.

Oldest granddaughter poses by one of the many classic cars in attendance at the festival.

A beautiful sight to me, "our mountain", a field of lavender, and our oldest granddaughter! We had a wonderful time this weekend at the first ever Lavender Festival in Roy. I made enough money to make it well worth my time, and I hope to be asked back again next year~