Happy Syttende Mai

With her bath and shampoo done;

after a little sun

and attired in freshly laundered clothes,

Kristin Liv sets out for a week of celebrating her Norwegian heritage.

On her schedule this week:

Scan Imports

(a wonderful bit of Scandinavia in the Tri Counties),

Viking Soul

(a totally amazing "Norse inspired" food cart in the Belmont district of Portland),

Norse Hall

(a historic Sons of Norway lodge in the PNW)

and the 2012

Syttende Mai Parade

(a wonderful neighborhood parade featuring Fjord horses, vintage cars,

 a great marching band, beautiful bunads, many happy people and more)

Come along...

for on Syttende Mai

 all are welcome to be Norwegian:)

Aimee

Getting Ready to Celebrate

Earlier this week: What is Kristin Liv doing outside wrapped, very modestly I should say, in a dish towel?

I hope she doesn't stay outside too long. It will not be good if she gets a bad sunburn this week.

Kristin's clothes are almost dry. What do you think she is dressing up for? Is there something special happening this week? Something very special?

We'll know soon...maybe even today:)

Aimee

Notes:

Today is a very special one for me. It was on this day, some 48 years ago that I was baptized. It is extra special this year too because Ascension Day falls on May 17th. Of course, I cannot forget that someone very special to me has their birthday today (HAPPY Birthday) and then, of course, it is THAT day (the day Kristin was getting ready for earlier this week).  

Kristin Liv is named after

the main character in Sigrid Undset's wonderful trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter

and

after a Norwegian woman named Liv who lived in Washington state.

The WORD on Wednesday

Abide in Me,

and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,

 except it abide in the vine;

no more can ye,

 except ye abide in Me.

May you and I abide in Him.

Blessings,

Aimee

Verse:

John 15:4 KJV

Photos:

Our garden this week.

Of California Poppies

First there were the lemon colored daffodils that got me dreaming about spring days to come.

Then the many colored tulips which made my heart happy.

Next the white and light purple lilacs which smelled as wonderful as they looked,

the apple and cherry blossoms that were totally dreamy,

the rhodendrons with their large, gorgeous blooms

and now the orange California poppies!

I am ONE happy woman this spring

(well except for my son leaving).

For fellow California poppy loving people take a look at this photo...

 oh great and wonderful orange poppies please come and invade my garden:)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:California_Poppies1.jpg

Now, THAT would be heavenly...

speaking of heavenly, our irises are showing color now 

and

the buds on our roses are just about ready to open.

Spring stay forever...

please.

Blessings,

Aimee

Note: the photo above is mine;

the link will take you to an amazing photo of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

Springtime

Recently I found myself missing spring.

Not rainy, cloudy, gray, cold spring--no.

We have enough of that here in the PNW.

But the spring we are having now--sunny, blue skies, warm, but not too warm spring.

And, then, I found myself not wanting summer to come and change all this new life, the beautiful blossoms, the wonderful freshness and color of our gardens...

and His gardens.

Yes, I know summer has color too and blue skies and sunshine,

but it just seems that spring is SO alive,

SO new, SO colorful, SO fresh, SO exciting...

it just seems, like (as Alicia of Posy Gets Cozy says)

the lighting of spring is softer and more nuturing to the heart.

What do you think?

Do you prefer spring to summer or not and why?

 But maybe this feeling isn't because of spring at all;

perhaps it has more to do with my son leaving soon and missing my kids and grandkids...

of trading one season for another.

Maybe.

Blessings,

Aimee

Photos: Quimper Peninsula, Washington state.

Sunday Journey

Some journeys take you to the sea

and some to the desert.

But some take you to the mountains and these are the ones I really love!

 This past Sunday my DH and I headed out to spend some time on a mountain.

Actually, our destination was the very top of a mountain located not too far from Portland;

one that has a park there.

It was a beautiful day for a trip and we saw many pretty things.

~

We saw lots of great views of the valley below

 (don't worry we'll get to a photo of that).

We saw and safely passed a couple of bicyclists and one hiker

(yes I have photos but then I thought--would I want someone posting me on my bike?).

~

And, once we got to the park, we saw some motorcyclists...

one of my first dates with my hubby was spent on a motorcycle

(we were supposed to go to the coast by motorcyle, but he says I chickened out)

Funny man...with a good memory:)

 Besides the great valley views on the way up,
the bicyclists,
a hiker,
motorcyclists...
we saw

beautiful wildflowers of several different kinds.

I know which one here was my favorite,
but which one(s) do you like best?
~
I LOVE wildflowers and am always looking for them.
Not pictured here, but favorites of mine are bachelor buttons (cornflowers),
columbine and California buttons.

 Oh, I should also say, we saw a lot of trees too
and some picnic tables with pretty great views!

 And those views were the primary reason we came...
we wanted to see the mountains this place is known for.
And we did see them,
or at least we did see three of the five you supposedly can see from up there.

 ~

And yes, I took photos of them...after all that was the reason we had come.

I took a few with my regular lens

and then with some more with my zoom lens

(did you know I can change lenses now...it wasn't a foolproof process though and I was just thankful that my hubby wasn't there when I changed them back at our house later that day; embarrassing!)

But I'm not posting any of them--

at least today--

because, well, there just a bit disappointing I think.

Or maybe I am being too much a perfectionist; I need to think about it more.

Maybe later...
~

Meanwhile,

I will show you a photo of the valley we saw on the drive up to the park.

 Yes, that IS my hubby's arm--

as you can tell,

I was NOT focusing on his arm.

And yes, we were quite a ways up,
but now I am not reacting to heights like I was for a time
(thank you God).

 Here is a photo of one of the picnic tables with a view..

and yes, if you walk past that table a little bit you will KNOW how far up you are.

After all, this is the highest part of the mountain we were on.
~
OK. I have done some thinking--about the mountain photos, that is.
They are not as nice as I would have liked, but without them this
Sunday Journey post would not be complete ...so here are two of them.

 Mt Hood

Mt St Helens
(it looks quite a bit different than before the eruption).
Ok, time to continue our journey...

this sign should tell you that there is a bit of a steep slope on the way back down,
but just like the way up, it is quite pretty!

And at the bottom the Aimee who loves history so very, very much

found herself a bit of another kind of treasure in a little community there.

Yea!

Blessings,

Aimee

The WORD on Wednesday

I have been throughly enjoying the sunshine we've had lately. It is so satisfying and uplifting to walk in the garden and see new blossoms appearing on what seems to be a daily basis and feel the warmth of the sun! It is also uplifting to look up and see the wonderful blue in the sky!

Lately, with all the beautiful weather, I have felt the desire to hang our laundry outside to dry and so, today, I hung out my first full load of laundry for this year...it's actually an experiment to see how long things take to dry at various temperatures and wind conditions:) Today's load is, mostly, hung on a new folding rack I found; I am still looking for the 'perfect' retractable clothesline having decided that the one thing we didn't plan for in our garden plans was space for a clothesline:(



~

Speaking of the beautiful sunshine and spring weather, this past Sunday was gorgeous so my hubby and I went on a drive up to a mountain state park located a bit southwest of Portland. It was a gorgeous day up there and although we had to drive a bit faster than I would have liked on the road because of local (?) traffic, it was not too bad. Along the way there were some spectacular views of the valley and when we got to the top (where the park is located) we were treated to a view of three snow capped mountains; I did find out later we should have been able to see five so we will have to make another visit there to find the two missing mountains:)
Up there on the mountain, I also found some pretty wildflowers which was very nice! One thing not so nice---our DDD (darling daughter dog) got it into her head to jump out of our car while we were parked there and when I picked her up to put her back in it, my camera swung around and bopped her...I felt HORRIBLE but she seems fine. Still I felt horrible.

On the horrible, not horrible, happy, not so happy things of life...tonight I will say good bye to my final child to leave the Pacific NW. And even though he has not lived with us for a couple years, I am really feeling the Empty Nest Syndrome now. Can I say this? It doesn't feel so good:( It is not that I am unhappy for him; I am and I am thrilled with his plans which I will share with you later. It's just that I MISS our 2 kids and 5 grandkids that moved years ago and now the he will be thousands of miles away too. BIG SIGH...OK--enough sadness for today:(

I will end on a more positive, happy note. I am back to reading the Bible, almost daily, and praying the Scriptures still. I am much happier with my prayer life now, although there is still room for improvement in terms of consistency and time dedicated to it. And this brings me to my chosen WORD for today...

Be ye therefore followers of God,

as dear children;

and walk in love,

as Christ also hath loved us,

 and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmeeling savour.

Ephesians 5:1, 2 KJV

Have a great Wednesday!

Blessings,

Aimee

Photo: flowering tree on the Quimper Peninsula, Washington state.

Sorry for the rambling; busy day and a lot on my mind...
will be back soon with more regular posts and photos unless the sun tempts me TOO much:)

Breaking...

Taking...

 a short blogging break to enjoy the coming attraction of

sun, warmth and blue skies.

Wishing you all a good weekend:)

Aimee

Photo:

A beach on the Quimper peninsula, Washington

The WORD on Wednesday: Reflections on Brick Walls + Prayers

A brief departure from the tour of the Olympic Peninsula (even though this photo is from there)...

I've been troubled about my praying lately, feeling like there was a brick wall between me and God. My prayers seemed empty, hollow, repetitious, without passion or love.

Yet the needs kept coming into my 'inbox'; needs that were real and great; personal, family and other needs.

I know that the challenges in our life right now are big, and yet, are they larger then what others are going through? Are they larger then the early Christians faced? Different, yes, but not larger.

And then it occurred to me (and a friend also confirmed this) to pray the WORD of God...by this I mean to take scripture from the Bible, personalize it to that person that has the need and then voice this to the Almighty. It does make sense...praying the Words of God, who inspired men of God to pen them. Words of love, Words of power, Words of instruction; the Words of the ONE who knows each individuals REAL needs far more than I can.

So this is what I am determined to do and I have already tried it. Sometimes the right Scriptures pop into my mind at just the right time; other times I have to seek the out the right Words for a particular need (of course I have to be in the WORD to do that).

During my life I have prayed sentence prayers (Lord, help me through this-- said on the twisty and rainy Highway 20 high above Discovery Bay one day when a driver was crowding our vehicle). I have prayed from prayer books during some church services. I have prayed in other ways...and now I am praying the Word.

What are your experiences with prayer? Do you ever hit 'brick walls' in your prayer life? The Bible says to combine 'thanksgiving' with our prayers...do you do that?
Blessings, Aimee

The WORD on Wednesday

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness:

Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

 Psalm 4: 1

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry;

hold not Thy peace at my tears:

for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Psalm 39:12

Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

Psalm 54:2

Be careful for nothing;

but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known unto God.

Philippians 4: 6

and finally a personalized prayer...

good for a twisty Highway 20, above Discovery Bay, on a rainy day

 or any other scary situation you find yourself in.

Original:

(Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death),

I will fear no evil for Thou art with me...

  Psalm 23:4a

Personalized:

Dear God,

(As we travel this twisty road, I feel anxious because of the rain, the darkness 

and the fast drivers behind us that are crowding us)

Help me to fear no evil for YOU are with me.

Amen.

Note:

All verses are taken from the King James Version.

A good Internet source for different versions of the Bible can be found at:



http://www.biblegateway.com.

If you are searching for a specific topic, such as prayer, you can use the keyword search feature.

Another Day; Another Bay: Discovery Bay

Yesterday's post saw us along Sequim Bay;

today's will see us along Discovery Bay.

Now you may already have seen this bay--

if you have taken Highway 20 into or out of Port Townsend.

(sorry--it's very hard to get a good photo of the bay from Highway 20

which is quite twisty and has a lot of beautiful trees along the road)

Of course if you have taken that route,

you know you are seeing the bay from quite a ways UP.

Today's visit will have some views that are UP a little,

but most of it will be from one of my favorite beaches--

a beach my mom first showed me many years ago.

Well here we are..

On this day, we left the very rainy Highway 20

(the first photo taken there was from another, sunnier day)

and arrived to THIS--

and we have the place to ourselves:)

Well mostly.

 Can you see the little cabins near the end of Discovery Bay?

Yes, I know, they would be much bigger had I used my zoom lens.

Still it is a nice photo of the bay...

For the longest time I confused this area with another one my mom took me to--Beckett's Point;

but this is not Beckett's Point (which is close to Cape George);

this is Diamond Point on the Miller Peninsula.

A photo from over to our right, but still looking out towards the entrance to the bay:

we are now looking (I hope) towards the Cape George area on the Quimper peninsula.

A close up of the water...be still my heart! BLUE water.

TY oh wonderful rain shadow:) 

TY God for creating the wonderful Olympic Mountains

which make the wonderful rain shadow possible!

 The bay--from up a ways.

Build me a log cabin please...

And to end our little journey...

the only thing that would make this gorgeous bay even prettier...

gorgeous horses with a bay background of course!

Yes, two of my loves together!

Back to the gorgeous Christian music on TV,

maybe a 0245 snack (or two)

and then some more sleep...

Blessings,

Aimee

Link that may be of interest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Bay,_Washington

Sequim: Continued Travels

Got rain? Move under the rain shadow:)
Let's be truthful. The western portion of the PNW gets a lot of precipitation from about October to whenever it decides to stop. Old PNW saying: summer doesn't start until AFTER July 1.
Today as it is showering here so I am reliving sunnier
times under the rain shadow.
Sequim is known for several things, besides its climate--
(the area receives about the same amount of rain as Los Angeles, CA but--of course--is cooler)
the cultivation of lavender
 (blog here: http://www.lavenderfestival.com/lavender-festival-blog.html  and
main site here: http://lavenderfestival.com/ )
the Olympic Game Farm
(which used to work with Disney on nature oriented films),
the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, lighthouse and spit.

On our trip there we drove the route known as the Dungeness Scenic Loop,
starting on Kitchen Dick Road...(you can pick up a brochure and information on this area at many of the visitor centers on the Olympic Peninsula)
We did a short drive to the Dungeness Spit but opted not to take a hike because we weren't sure how far we'd have to go before we could get a good look at the famous lighthouse there (the Dungeness Spit is over 5 miles in length)...next time I would love to hike there; one trail in particular caught my eye and I am still 'kicking' myself for NOT getting a photo of the start of it.
We did go to a sand spit though--Cline Spit, just off Marine Drive.
Now for years I didn't know this spit even existed;
and I would still not know about it unless
 our driver had not, all of a sudden, taken a left off the bluff road we were on and headed DOWN....
after I recovered from my shock,
I was VERY grateful there was a spit there--for more reasons then one.

Now this spit is much smaller then its nearby, and more famous, neighbor--
but it is very pretty never-the-less.

There, can you see it?
That is the famous New Dungeness Lighthouse...
I did tell the driver to get me to a beach with a view:)
Now if I had been thinking, I would have changed to my zoom lens right about here...
but I didn't:(

Another view of the more famous Dungness Spit...

On our drive there we passed this...reminded me, a bit, of the photos I have seen of Norwegian stabburs. I think it would make one AWESOME kid's fort...perhaps that is what it is!
One day I would love to build a stabbur.

A view towards the Olympics.

Well I was going to post some photos from Blyn and Gardiner here,

but I have taken much to long of time already so...

more later!

Coming: Beware of Trolls...

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Links of Possible Interest

Sequim:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequim

Sequim Visitor Information:

 http://www.visitsunnysequim.com/

Cline Spit (in Sequim):

 http://www.clallam.net/CountyParks/html/parks_clinespit.htm

Dungeness NWR (Sequim):

http://www.fws.gov/washingtonmaritime/dungeness/

Please see above post to find links to information on the many lavender farms and

 Dungeness Spit area.

 

Disclaimer: I have provided a few links that might interest you about the Sequim area. I am not associated with any of these organizations/government entities but found them to be helpful sources of information. :)

 

 

Happy May Day

However other people choose to remember May Day,

 I choose to associate it with May Baskets filled with fragrant flowers.

 But since I don't have time to make one for each of you,

 I hope you will enjoy these photos of current blossoms in our gardens.

And if one or two catches your eye,

or makes you smile

please feel free to 'pick' and keep them.  

 Finally, thank YOU for being the flowers in my cyber garden...

your presence and comments are sweet indeed!

 Wishing you a May filled with many blossoms and heavenly blessings!

Love,

Aimee

Photos:

trillium

lilac

columbine

strawberry (alpine variety)

dogwood

mauve bowles wallflower

lilac

Note:

Please feel free to copy one or two of these photos (this post only please)

and use them for any personal, non commercial use. Enjoy! To pick (copy) one to paste to your hard drive, right click on the photo and click on 'save picture as...'.

Port Angeles: The Journey Continues

About an hour from Port Townsend is another port city, Port Angeles.

Many people know this city for one of two reasons: its where you can catch a ferry to Vancouver Island, BC, Canada (specifically to Victoria) and just UP a winding road from the city is Hurricane Ridge, one of the most amazing areas of the Olympic National Park -

a viewpoint I am particularly fond of.

But the city itself has many interesting attractions...

among them public art

 loved this!

Ediz Hook -- a sand spit that extends out from the city into the Juan de Fuca strait
(and is a great place to shoot photos of the Olympic Mts that tower over the city, the strait and the bay. It's also a great place to find little rock sculptures like this,  

watch sailboats come and go
(SO wish it had been a clearer day over the mountains--sigh),
kids play,
seagulls,
ducks swim
and more!
I LOVE the spit and always go there when I am in Port Angeles.  

More public art...
don't you love art?
Of course you're just seeing half of 'him'...

Definitely NOT public art.
Nope! More like a resident of the city.
The person I was with asked me to get a photo of this beautiful parrot--
being a parrot lover, I complied:)

And last
(because I DO need some sleep before Monday chores begin...)
a photo I shall call
"history and yellow duck".

Have a great Monday...

more later.

Blessings,

Aimee