Joy is an attitude based on our relationship with Jesus Christ.
It is the confidence that God is in control of all circumstances.
The secret to maintaining Joy is
acquiring knowledge of who God is ……..His character and His promises.
Phillipians 4:1-9, Jesse Smith
Z is for
Zuiderdam
The Zuiderdam is the beautiful cruise ship in the Holland America fleet that took us to Alaska last Summer
To see more ABC wednesday visit Mrs. Nesbitts place.
I had the honor of attending a special birthday party yesterday. My friend Barb’s mom, Inez, was celebrated for reaching the age of 100.
This is Barb with her mom. Inez has the most beautiful skin. It is like translucent porcelain and flawless. She is a beautiful and gracious lady who loves the Lord Jesus and said she was blessed to have her children know the Lord too.
This was a dress she wore in the 1940’s with a photo of her wearing the dress.
The family had many wonderful displays. Inez was a nurse during WW2 in Hawaii 1942-45.
This is what little boys do at a 100th birthday celebration. They have no clue of what it means to live that long.
Photo by Bill
It is hard to believe it was just a week ago that we sat on the shore of Lake Tahoe waiting for the fireworks show to begin. It has been a long hot, smoky week since then.
Photo by Bill
Photo by Bill
They do put on a spectacular show! This year the lake water level was up leaving a tiny strip of beach so most folks had to sit on boulders. Comfy! Cute boy brought his camera gear and got some great photos.
We have the best neighbors at the cabin. Shirley and Carl’s home is across the street and Peggy and Gordon’s is next door. It feels so empty when we visit our mountain house and they are not in theirs too . An added benefit is that we go to the same church as Shirley and Carl and we sometimes get to see them away from the cabin.
Carl
Peggy and Gordon, on the right, took their jeep out for a back roads drive and broke a tie rod and ended up driving home, “backwards”! They are the ones who introduced us to the Lake Tahoe Fireworks and we “double date” with them for this event. These two couples are very special. I have many stories I could tell about their adventures.
Even on a vacation there are chores to do. Cute boy mowed the meadow( looks more like a lawn after mowing), and I did some touch up painting. There is always some maintence to be done. The wood stove pipe has some snow damage that will have to be fixed before next winter. It was just so nice to be outside in the beautiful weather. It was clear while we were there but this week, the smoke has obscured the skies there too.
This is the American River, quite low this year. At certain times of the day we can hear it while we sit on our deck. I love the sound.
I hope you too have some relaxing time away from your daily routine this summer.
We are so proud of our nephew Tim. He qualified to compete in the Track and Field Olympic Trials held last week in Eugene, Oregon. This was actually Tim’s second Olympic Trials as he also qualified and competed in 2004. His event is the 110 Hurdles. No, he won’t be going to Beijing but we are proud of his athletic accomplishments
I found this photo on the internet on a Trackand Field site. In 2004 the Olympic Trials were held in Sacramento, California and we were able to attend. It was exciting to see the track and field athletes who would represent our country at the Olympics and to see Tim in there competing with them.
| Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
 106° F | 72° F
41° C | 22° C |
108° F | 72° F
42° C | 22° C |
106° F | 63° F
41° C | 17° C |
101° F | 61° F
38° C | 16° C |
97° F | 61° F
36° C | 16 |
Well I’m back from 7 days in the mountains. Can’t say It’s good to be back. We are having a major heat wave and the smoky air conditions have returned. I’m staying indoors in the air conditioning. To add to the discomfort, I began my chemo regime and I really didn’t feel well. This afternoon I’m perking up and I will feel much better tomorrow.
We had spectacular weather at the cabin. Beautiful clear days, and cold nights, good sleeping weather. And sat on the shore of Lake Tahoe for a great fireworks show on the water. I must say it is taking an effort to adjust to this heat after the relatively cool days we just experienced. Now I have a lot of blogs to visit. I think I’ll get a big glass of ice water.
Look who brought me flowers.
Mary, her sister Emma, and mom Peggy stopped by to see us yesterday. It was so sweet to see them. We have history with Peggy and her husband going back to when we were newlyweds. Though we live a few hours apart we don’t spend time together like we wish we did. We last saw each other at Mary’s wedding in the fall. I’m grateful that they took the time to come by to see us yesterday.
We are so proud to know this great family. Husband, Ben was very involved in the making of the new movie “Wall E” by Disney Pixar. Ben did the sound design and is the voice behind Wall E. I think this movie begins it’s showings in theatres today. Over the years, it has been fun to have watched his gifts and talents displayed on the big screen.
“Bring me a bowl of catnip tea while you’re up. Oh and some of those tuna hors d’oeuvres!”
Well, the ordeal has ended. We had the staples removed from his ear and he has one day of antibiotics remaining. Thankfully, this cat turned out to be an easy pill taker. Just wrap a little tuna around the pill and he gobbled it up. We will be gone for seven days and I’m having a talk with him about staying out of trouble while we are gone.
*We are leaving for our mountain house and hopefully clear air but unfortunately no internet service! We return on July 5. Happy 4th of July everyone.
Sunrise
Sunset
Second photo by Bill
The unusual skies yesterday are the result of the many wildfires that are in the surrounding areas. We have had a very smoky week here in Northern California.
Tom hosts Sky Watch Friday. Visit more skies at Wiggers World
The June garden is very different from the one I enjoyed in April. We had a few days of 105 heat and the garden seemed to like it, although I wilted. Today it is in the 80’s and we are all enjoying the cool down.
The first dahlia bloomed today.
I picked the first cucumbers today too.
The iceberg roses are putting out a new set of blooms. Some of my other rose varieties got crispy in the heat.
The Shasta Daisy and Rudbeckia ” Prairie Sun”, are growing taller.
I’m enjoying the morning glory with new blooms each day.
The echenacia makes me smile. This plant in it’s third year it huge.
I know that this garden will look tired in August with many 100+ days to come, so I will enjoy it while I can.
We were so young !
I found this prayer that my Uncle Mel said at the wedding. I’ve abbreviated it.
The wedding Prayer
Father in heaven, who givest the supreme gift of love to thy children, we thank thee here for Kathy and Bill, As they enter upon the privileges and joys of life’s most holy relationship and begin together the great adventure of building a christian home, we thank thee for all the hopes that make the future bright.
Let faith grow in their home. Be their guest at every meal, their guide in every plan and their guardian in every temptation. None of us knows what is in the future, so all we can ask today is that they continue to love each other and honor each other in faith and patience.
Bless them with joy.
This prayer was so appropriate for that time. You left for Vietnam for a year, two months after the wedding and we didn’t know what our future would look like. That prayer is just as appropriate for us now too. We have learned that no one knows what their future looks like but God has blessed us with joy in all our circumstances.
Thank you for sharing your life with me. I love you so much.
Do you have green beans growing in your garden?
The Pioneer Woman has a super delicious recipe.
Green Beans The Pioneer Woman way! They were wonderful. She used bacon grease which I don’t have and they were still yummy. I don’t have a photo of the completed dish because we gobbled them up too fast. Cute boy said “you can make those again”.
Now I don’t have the patience to wait while more grow. I’m going to buy some fresh green beans. Try her recipe and you’ll be gald you did.
Boo Mama says: “Write a post that tells us what your goals are. Maybe you want to paint your kitchen cabinets, or maybe you want to rearrange your den, or maybe you want to weed the area around your mailbox and then plant some flowers there. Whatever suits your fancy.” Then re-post the results before July 25. Go see Boo Mama for all the info.
For my plans I have to explain what happened before the before.
Once upon a time we had a beautiful multi level deck.
The deck surrounded a large sycamore tree and even had a spa built into it.
But then we had to have our sewer and water lines replaced and it ran under part of the deck. The lovely tree was also growing and pushing the deck up on one side.
The deck had to be taken down. It is a sad thing to demolish something you built yourself.
While cute boy was in Japan, one January, some friends came and removed the spa and took it to the dump for him. That was a very nice thing they did for us.
So this is how that area looked this winter and now too. I call it “the hole”. We don’t know what to do with it but I want to at least get the hedge out and begin to get some ideas for the area. It would be great to complete it by July 25 but we will be gone some of that time.
So I’m thinking at least get rid of the hedge and begin to show some progress. That seems like a reasonable goal for me.
V is for
Vancouver
Vancouver is a beautiful departure port for many cruise ships going to Alaska. We took an Alaska trip a year ago this month. On our return to Vancouver, we had six hours before our flight home. We used that time to take a tour of the city. Beautiful!
Visit more ABC participants at Mrs Nesbitt’s Place.
The Love between a Father and Daughter is something very special!
I miss my daddy today.
Kathy B
