It's Home!

Back here in May, I posted that I had found some old books when I was visiting my parents last month. Some had been passed down to my dad from his father (when he went to college in the PNW); others were originally his grandfather's (author, minister and professor at a Christian college).
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This last week, when I was staying a couple nights with my parents, (due to family health issues), my father told me I didn't have to borrow the book I had wanted to; he was just giving it to me!! So now this family heirloom is mine:)
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Of course the first thing I did when I got it home was to photograph the pages I am most interested in at this time (so I would have to handle this very old and fragile book as little as possible). Next I will find some archival quality, acid free sheaths to enclose it in to prevent further deterioration.
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Here are some of my favorites quotes from the book thus far:

First learn then teach.

Say little and do much.

-Truth is heavy, therefore few care to carry it.
Who is rich? He who is content with his lot.

Hospitality is an expression of Divine worship.
The place honours not the man, ‘tis the man who gives honour to the place.

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Blessings for a meaningful Sunday,

Aimee

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Photos:

sage, chives, dianthus

Quotes from:

Chandos Classics, The Talmud Selections by H. Polano (summer, 1876).

'Proverbs and Sayings of the Rabbis'.

If you would like to see some photos of the book please feel free to see the above link.

The Word on Wednesday

“Blessed be the Lord,

who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.“

Psalms 68:19 KJV

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Blessings,

Aimee

Of Hats in the Garden

Ok, aftens done (fish, yum) and I am still up, more or less awake, feeling a bit silly and hoping you will all forgive me for my late night early morning humor but...

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Do you remember when our apples were so frozen they wore hats of snow?

Well I am thinking that this poppy was SO shocked to see a bit of sun yesterday, that this is some kind of sunhat..

What do you think? And you may tell me that I should go to bed earlier--I know that my Farmer Boy thinks I am crazy to stay up this late :)

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Blessings,

Aimee

Another Favorite Blog

This has been a favorite blog of mine for quite awhile now, but recently the blog was moved to blogger so now it will be even easier for me to keep up to date with the posts.

If you are homesteading or want to incorporate aspects of it into your life, then you should love it! Additionally, Crystal (from the PNW too) has many recipes, cooking advice and more! She also has a forum that is quite interesting and covers many topics--it is closed to new members right now but you can still read it and may find answers to the gardening, cooking, animal care, etc, etc questions you have. Here is the link to her blog:
http://homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Also a question for visitors--I know many blogs do have a bloglist to the side> I can think of pros and cons to this, but generally like the idea (although there is no way I could list all the blogs I like or visit and wouldn't want to hurt anyones feelings). Any preferences? Up to now I have been putting links for some sites under the label "Favorite +/or Interesting Websites/Blogs". Such a novel (not!) name, huh?

Have a great and most blessed week! I off for some aftens (my new Norwegian word) and then bed...

Blessings, Aimee

PNW Farm Tour: Lavender, Lavender, Lavender!

Today several wonderful things happened.
First we had an appearance of the sun and partly blue skies--
for awhile.
Secondly, when Farmer Boy and I were outside with our grass-eating goats
I mean dogs
we saw a hawk
(something that always makes me very happy)!

And the third wonderful thing...

at least one of my lavender plants

is looking purple lately and smells really, really good

(in fact, I have one of the fragrant stalks next to me right now and the scent is heavenly)!

So this means that lavender season can't be too far off

and it also reminds me of a promise I made about a year ago..

to post some photos from our visit to another PNW farm,

Mountainside Lavender!

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Please enjoy the post and if you have a minute, and

want to extend all of this lavender goodness,

feel free to visit their website at the link below.

There you'll get to hear and see

an incredibly beautiful video (love the song AND all of the photos),

check out some recipes, etc:)

Mountainside Lavender is located not too far from a big city

(Portland-northwest Oregon, just south of the Columbia River and Washington state)

but it's a world away!
The farm was peaceful the weekday that we visited

and the views incredible;

you could even see three of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains from up there!

At the farm, they have a wonderful farm store,

the 'Lavender Store',

where you will find many lavender goodies--both edible and not!

You can also buy plants from the greenhouse up there so you can have some lavender goodness at home (I grow lavender in wine barrel halves and a raised bed;

handy if you don't have a large yard)

Here is one small view of some of their lavender goodies!

Are you feeling the wonderfulness of purple yet?

Hang tight and keep scrolling...

I just loved this chair on their storage unit--

it was SO Americana and a good photo to post for this weekend!

Lavender, lavender, lavender--beautiful, fragrant, good for a lot of things--

lavender!

If you stand along one side, you see the plants are all in long rows;

from other sides it looks like the fields are non-stop lavender!

Oh--each row is well marked with labels indicating the type of lavender and

the farm family there were very helpful and friendly (liked their dog too)!

Some of the bunches my best friend and I collected to bring home. Don't you wish you had been with us on the trip? My car smelled so heavenly all the way home; lavender is just SO much better then a car freshener!

I should say that in the basket above there are both culinary and

non-culinary varieties of lavender.

Oh and despite the name, lavender,

doesn't just come in purple as you can see in some of the field photos.

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Don't you love these baskets they let us use while we were there?

I have to find a source for them!

You are charged by the bunch--by the amount you can get your fingers around.

I thought it was a great deal---and my hand smelled heavenly when we were done:)

Another view of one of the lavender fields--

all of this makes me SO want to turn our current over-the-head-weed-garden,

formerly known as the main veggie garden,

into a lavender field.

Contented sigh:)

Blessings,

Aimee

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Usual Disclaimer: Aimee is not associated in any way with Mountainside Lavender or its owners; however they graciously agreed to let me post the photos of their farm here, on this blog, and for that I am most grateful! My traveling companion and I both had a great time at the farm and as you will soon find out at the other places we visited that day so I really am excited to share our experience with you :) Trip taken in June 2009.

All I can say is that if you are not in the PNW but have a lavender farm nearby...well you know--you just have to go:)

Check it out!!

Link: Mountainside Lavender farm website here.

To Remember

On this Memorial Day and often, on the many days between these Days,
I think of them--
those who have died
in service to our nation.
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I think of their lives
before that terrible morning,
afternoon,
or night came.
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I wonder what their dreams and aspirations were;
the joys and challenges they experienced in their too short lifetimes;
fears they may have faced; their interests and accomplishments.
~
And I think of the families they left behind-
parents,
siblings,
spouses,
children,
aunts and uncles,
cousins
and friends.
I think of all of them too as I look at photographs of these young faces,
countenances forever captured in a moment of time-
symbolic of priceless lives frozen also in one minute,
never to grow any older.
~
And as I see their faces and hear their names,
I honor their sacrifice in service to America,
and fervently hope that this nation
and its people,
will never forget what they have lost.
For each and every life is a precious gift that is impossible to measure
by numbers or statistics.
~
In loving memory of one father who will never be forgotten by his only child
and her family,
~
Aimee