The WORD on Wednesday: Head to 'Higher' Ground (A Bit Earlier This Week)

And the sign said:

"Flood Zone

In Case of Earthquake,

Go To Higher Ground."

 

 

So this weekend,

 

 

when I was feeling sad, stressed and a bit 'shaken'

from the ever-increasing challenges of this life,

 

 

I headed to a favorite spot along the river...

 

 

and there I was again reminded,

 

 

that in troubling times one should ALWAYS obey the warning signs

 

 

and head for 'HIGHER' ground.

 

~  ~  ~
 

Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life,

what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.

Is not the life more than meat, and the body than rainment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;

yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.

Are ye not much better than they?

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?

and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
 

~  ~  ~

What do you do when you're feeling sad or stressed out

and in need of a change in focus?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

One of my favorite places to go along the Clackamas River.

 

Bible scriptures:

Matthew 6:8b, 25-26 KJV

Matthew 10:29-31 KJV

 

Memorial Day 2013: A Visit to Willamette National Cemetery

He was young,

just in the prime of his life,

when he died in a nation far from family and friends.

 

I never knew him,

but his photo and life's story touched me then,

and has continued to do so over the years.

 

 

 

I think of his family on days like this and

I wonder about his mom

and how she is doing this Memorial Day weekend;

I wonder how one continues to live when something

as precious, as priceless

 as a son or daughter is taken from you?

 

 

I think of her now as I lay flowers on her son's grave and

as I kneel silently besides this, his final resting place,

touching my fingers to my lips and then to his marker.

 

A bouquet of roses, lavender, Lady's Mantle and an iris fresh from our garden

seems like such a small gift for one who gave his all in service to our country,

but it is all I have brought with me today--

besides tears and a hurting heart.

 

It is a gift for that one mom too-

a tangible sign that someone remembers her son and his sacrifice;

it is a gift that has been laying in my heart for many years

 and at last it is laying where it belongs...

where I have so longed for it to be.

 

 

Some in my ancestral line and extended family have known

 (and still know)

the loss of a loved one from war.

Fathers who left children way too soon in the Civil War and in World War II;

families forever changed in that horrible moment of time.

 

 

This day used to be just a holiday to me...

just another day off of school or work;

it no longer is;

it no longer can be. 

 

 

Lord,

Bless those who have lost a loved one in war.

Give them strength, healing, comfort and peace as they go daily about their lives.

Draw them closer to you on this day and forevermore.

And Lord,

please keep our Armed Forces safe and grant them peace soon;

grant our world peace too.

In the Name of Jesus,

Amen.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Willamette National Cemetery

May 26, 2013

 

After the Storm (Does God Cry?)

 
 
 
The storm has passed...the rain has ceased for the moment.

Droplets of rain lay like glittering little crystals on leaves and flowers alike.

 

 

So much pain in this world;

so many tears.

 

Not one week seems to pass without bringing more news

 of suffering, loss, sorrow and death.

Such has it been since Cain lifted his hand to take his brother Abel's life.

 

 

Does God cry I ask as I lift my eyes towards the heavens?

Does He feel this family's pain;

does He feel my pain?

 

 

I know Jesus wept...

for the Bible says so and I believe what is written there.

It also says that

the only begotten Son of the living God

knew pain and sorrow firsthand.

 

Verse after verse, I read accounts of His walk among mankind... 

 among those experiencing storms of disease, loss and oppression--

those with little or no hope.

Yes, Christ saw the cruelty of man against his fellow man;

He saw a world where the Golden Rule was not followed

and

He knew well what that cost those He had come to save;

those He gave His life's blood for.

 

 

Does God cry?

I don't know the answer, for the Bible doesn't say...

 but I DO know God loves those who cry

and I know He longs to comfort them.

 

Today,

I long to comfort a family 

experiencing great sorrow in a nation far from my own--

a family I do not know,

but a family known to God.

Today I also long for a world where we love one another as He loves us.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

 

Thou tellest my wanderings:

put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?

Psalm 56:8 KJV

 

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,

 neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:4 KJV   

 

 

Exploring Our Heritage: Pt I

Here in the PNW there are many paths that lead to the sea

and one of those paths passes by a place that history buffs may find absolutely irresistible!

Recently the weather was less than conducive to good photography, or time outdoors, so my DH had a brilliant idea to visit this place that we had flown by more than a time or two.

 

 It didn't take me more than 5-10 minutes to get ready that day
 (I LOVE history THAT much)

and then we were off,

past rural landscapes and some smaller communities,

this time sans cute, white traveling dog (more about that decision later)...

onery little canine:(

 

Stagecoach...
 Can you imagine traveling by stagecoach over dirt roads?

At last we arrived at the Yamhill Valley Heritage Center --

a multi building complex located on Highway 18 just outside the city of McMinnville--

part of the area known as the 'Wine Country' of Oregon.

There we spent the next several hours exploring with the help

of a very informative, friendly tour guide--can I just say our time there was glorious!

 

How many of us have worn linen clothing?
I know I have.
 

 

 Do you know where linen comes from?

(I imagine all my crafter blogging friends do--LOL)

Do you know how flax is made into linen cloth?

Have you held flax in your hands before?

Did you know that flax was once a major crop in Oregon? I didn't.

Here's a link to learn more:

http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/flax_and_linen_industry_of_oregon/

(the above is also a great source of Oregon history)

Stuff like this fascinates me...

 

 

And just how was mail delivered in the days before cars?

 In the Yamhill Valley area it was delivered by a mail wagon...

like the one above.

 

 

Do you know the purpose of the netting above the wheel?

I do now and I totally appove it:)

If you don't know I'll give you a hint...it has to do with horses.

I LOVE anything that has to do with horses!

  

 

A large part of the museum's awesome collection was tractors and all kinds of farm machinery--

from pioneer times to around the time of the Korean War.  

My Farmer Boy and I had great fun asking questions that occured to us and

getting very knowledgeable answers!

BTW, do you know what happened to the wheels of tractors during World War II?

And back a little...

do you know what the above machine was used for?

I do now:)

 

 

Another favorite of my hubby and I that are included in the museum's collection is old cars..

LOVE them!

 

More heritage coming soon...

 

What 'treasures' did you unearth this weekend?

My dear hubby brought me home local, juicy, yummy, red 'treasures' yesterday!

Mmm.

 

Did you create or cook something special this week?

I made a triple berry crisp for dessert...

Berry crisp + whipped cream=a happy Aimee.

Mmm.

 

Did you take time to nurture yourself this week?

I need to get back in the habit of daily devotion time again...

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Notes:

A BIG thank you to the two volunteers at the museum who spent time showing us through the complex and answered all of our multitude of questions. You were AWESOME and we really appreciated everything done to make us feel at home!

It is amazing that this center is run TOTALLY by volunteers!

More about their special programs soon...

LOVE it:)

 

Here is their link: 

http://yamhillcountyhistory.org/Yamhill_Valley_Heritage_Center.php

 

A BIG thank you also
 to the volunteers of YVHC for permission to photograph

and post photos here on my blog--thank you! Aimee

 

The WORD on Wednesday: Comfort

Yahweh is near to those who are heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit

 

 

May God be with them that are brokenhearted today.

 

Blessings, Aimee

 

Notes:

Psalm 34:18 LEB

http://lexhamenglishbible.com/

Photo taken in my miniature rose garden.

 

Syttende Mai Dinner: May 17, 2013

Good day friends and visitors!

I hope this post finds you well...

Today's post is going to be short because I have a lot to do and woke up late.

 

Last week for Syttende Mai,  I decided to cook the Farmer Boy and I a Norwegian meal.

Originally I had planned to make a wonderful bløtkake for dessert but that changed when I found out to my horror that my butter had expired:(

Sigh...

 

But, as it turned out, I was pretty busy between all the things I did cook and taking photos during the process. I should probably say here that these were taken with my smartphone, I didn't mess with the phone settings before I took them AND (this is the really important part) our kitchen lighting is really awful.

 

Well now that we're all on the same page and,

 we all understand that Aimee is NOT a food blogger and that these won't be great photos,

let's get started....

 

 

Oh my! I should have eaten breakfast before posting...now I am really HUNGRY!

This is kjøttkaker -- Norwegian meat cakes and they were fabulous:)

I ended up modifying the recipe I was following a bit--using 1/2# each of ground beef and veal (no, you don't have to use veal if you are morally opposed to doing so) and 1# of ground pork. I also omitted the cloves--mostly because I just had whole cloves and was short on time.

I did cook the gravy, substituting lingonberry preserves for the red currant jam and I liked it, but I liked it even more the next day...I personally LOVE gjetost cheese and lingonberries but my hubby is not fond of either so he ate his sans gravy and liked them very much.

 

Also on the menu was pickled herring (YUM), agurksalat (ditto the YUM),

boiled Yukon potatoes and green peas. Next time I will try to cook the peas Norwegian style;

next time I will have butter on hand that is NOT expired:) Sigh.

 

 

Making the agurksalat...I've actually made a Swedish version of this for decades

(yep, literally decades). Yum...

This was my first time to use an English cucumber for this salad so that was pretty neat too.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the kjøttkaker--

this was after all the meats were mixed together and the spices were added.

And this was when the fragrance of those spices made me believe that I was in heaven...

yes, they smelled THAT great!

 

 

And then this was after the onion, panko (LOVE this stuff now) and egg was added...

after which came kneading and mixing, kneading and mixing...

and then the FUN part of forming the little meat cakes!

I decided to make them look like slightly flattened eggs...

loved it:)

 

 

And then came the cooking.

I used the last, itty bitty portion of my good, not expired butter and a bit of cooking spray.

This photo reminds me

#1) I SO need to clean my stovetop,

#2) I'm really starving now

and

most importantly

#3) I again have GOOD BUTTER!

 

So as gray skies replace the earlier mix of blue and clouds,

I bid you goodbye...

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Notes:

The recipe I followed for the cucumber salad was similar to this one:

http://www.sofn.com/norwegian_culture/showRecipe.jsp?document=CucumberSalad.html

 

For the meat cakes I mostly followed this first recipe but also used the second one for a guide:

http://arcticgrub.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/kjottkaker-a-rival-to-swedish-meatballs/

and...

http://www.gooseberrymooseberry.com/2012/05/norwegian-meatballs-and-syttende-mai.html

 

And now breakfast...

and then to finalize my menu for my clan's special day.

Mmm...Scottish food:)

In the Garden...

After our wet Saturday we are experiencing a brief respite...

in other words,

the sun is shining,

we have blue skies overhead,

Aimee has laundry hanging outside

and

life is good...here that is.

 

Meanwhile the midwest, specifically Oklahoma, is being hit hard by tornados.

Please, please take a moment or more of your day to pray for the residents there.

 

And now to the garden...

 

 

Our strawberries are getting bigger and there is the tiniest bit of red...

 

 

How I LOVE what raindrops do to the most common

of plants...

 

 

One of our evergreen huckleberries...love these blossoms!

 

 

Grapes a growin'--so itty bitty right now.

 

Poppy time -- love my Iceland and Allegro poppies!

Do you see the little extra 'treasure' in this photo?

Would you believe I didn't tell I was checking the photo afterwards?

 

One of my fav ferns--I wish I could find more of these.

Cinnamon ferns...they don't smell

(that I know of) but they're sure a beautiful garden accent!

 

 

A garden medley...

hot poker plant, Japanese irises, nandina and more.

 

So much in bloom and growing right now...so hard to pick only a few pics to post

(have you noticed I have a fav number of photos in my posts?).

Perhaps more later this week and soon our weekend trip into the past.

FUN times:)

 

Blessings,

Aimee

Today Isn't Just Your Usual, Ordinary Friday...

Well the countdown to the big day is over
(and we even have a little blue sky over our heads--yippee)!

Today is important to me for three reasons...
the first, someone VERY, VERY important in my life will be celebrating their birthday today
Happy Birthday!

Secondly,
many, many (am I aging myself enough??) years ago I was baptized on this very day
(Thank you Lord for your many blessings).

And finally, today is important for -- at least -- one other very important reason...

 

Does this photo of my fav doll Kristin Liv give you a hint?
Yes? No?

Ok, I'll tell you...
It's Syttende Mai -- a day similar to America's July 4th.
A day I choose to celebrate too because of my deep love for the beautiful country of Norway.
Now,
I've celebrated this day in various places...
one year in wonderful, glorious Poulsbo, Washington...

(sorry--old camera)

 

(oh how I miss you and wonderful Liberty Bay).
And last year I celebrated with these beautiful fjord horses
(yep, they are totally AWESOME and SO MUCH fun to ride,
 as I found out one year at a farm that had fjords).
 

 

and, last year, I ate my FIRST (but definitely not last) most YUMMY bløtkake!

 

 

I also ate some delicious lefse wraps last year too made from the most PERFECT lefse!

 

 

OK I'm starving now!

 

This year I was hoping to be a 'bit' north of here...

but the weather didn't cooperate yesterday when a friend was able to go with me.

Maybe later this year I'll make it there...

 

But since I can't be where my heart would like to be,

along the river or the bay,

or in Norway

(even better),

I am celebrating at home by making Norwegian recipes all day...

 

 

Mmm!

lemon vafler or Pannekaken

(with lingonberries--yum)

and

for lunch a lefse wrap...

maybe with some awesome gjetost

(a totally yummy brown Norwegian cheese)

 

And then,

if all goes well and I stay healthy

(I woke up in a LOT of pain but it has lessened for the most part),

at the end of the day my hubby and I will share

a little Nordic feast...

 

 

Yep, that's what I'm doing today...

what plans do you have for this Friday?

Blessings,

Aimee

 

 

Links of Possible Interest:
Viking Soul: http://www.vikingsoulfood.com/Viking_Soul_Food/Home.html
(totally yummy lefse wraps and more, located in Portland)
Norse Hall: http://norsehall.org/
(love this place, also in Portland)
Viking Fest: http://vikingfest.org/
(on gorgeous Liberty Bay--not too far from where my Swedish great-great uncle lived next to his Norwegian neighbors)
Ballard Syttende Mai: http://www.myballard.com/2013/05/13/get-out-your-norwegian-flags-syttende-mai-is-on-friday/
(how I miss you my beloved Seattle with your beautiful bays, lakes and canals...sigh)

And if you're in the need for something Nordic today....
Scandia Imports:
http://scandiaimports.com/
(Love this place! They carry many items, including some food items, from all the Scandinavian countries)
There are also wonderful Scandinavian shops and bakeries in Poulsbo, Astoria and other places that I have been to...
(fattigman, Finnish pinwheels...YUM!)

Or if you just want to try some of the Norwegian food at home that I'll be attempting to cook today:
Lemon Vafler (waffles):
http://www.sofn.com/norwegian_culture/showRecipe.jsp?document=LemonWaffles.html
Pannekaken (Norwegian pancakes):
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Norwegian-Pancakes---Pannekaken/
Agurksalat (Norwegian cucumber salad):
http://www.sofn.com/norwegian_culture/showRecipe.jsp?document=CucumberSalad.html
Kjøttkaker (Norwegian meat cakes)with some side dishes:
http://arcticgrub.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/kjottkaker-a-rival-to-swedish-meatballs/
and...
http://www.gooseberrymooseberry.com/2012/05/norwegian-meatballs-and-syttende-mai.html
Bløtkake:
http://transplantedbaker.typepad.com/the_transplanted_baker/2010/05/norwegian-bl%C3%B8tkake.html  

And...
of course you will find some Norwegian blog links to the right of this post...

All in all it looks to be a very yummy day...
that is if I can get off this computer, stay more or less well and get busy cooking!
Wish me luck:)

Blessings,
Aimee

Into the Forest: Part II

So when we last visited,

 in this beautiful forest setting,

I left you near the falls...

or thereabouts.

 

 

And I will get you to the falls soon,

so I can show you my latest attempts at a good the perfect waterfall photo (LOL),

but I have a few more things to show you first...

a few more treasures,
a few more jewels in this magical woodland.

 

 

So LOVE the 'fringe', the colors...

 

 

The wonderful creek you walk along for much of your journey.

and more of that lovely green foliage.  

 Hum...I wonder if a certain green 'frog' would be happy here:)

 

 

Love, love, love!

 

 

Another location along the creek.

I am thinking that our yard would be JUST perfect if we

built a creek to go with our ponds...

and then planted a hundred trees or so,

added more ferns, boulders and native plants...

Oh and aged everything for a few hundred years or so.

Nah,

I'll just have to go hiking more often:)

 

 

The falls...

you can really see how little rainfall we've received this spring.

The falls is a lot different than the photos on the web,

but still pretty as all waterfalls in the forest are.

Just to let you know,

because of fallen trees, etc. you are not able to get really close to the falls--

well you can but I wasn't willing to get wet or risk a fall...

or should I say a fall by the falls.

 Giggle, giggle.

 

Actually in all honesty,

there is another way to see the top of the falls...

but that will have to wait for another post.

As far as the 'perfect' waterfall photo--

nope, not yet...

although I think there's some improvement.

Guess that means more hikes for me, the man, the onery one

and possibly a friendly tripod.

 

 

And now,

I leave you as we started this trip,

with a boy and his dog

(notice the position of the leash...sigh)

:)

 

Hope you enjoyed the journey!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Lee Wooden County Park,

near Jewell.