Late February Garden

Everywhere I look the garden is showing signs of waking up.

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

Notes on photo: moss, cyclamen (indoors right now), camellia sasanqua, forsythia (forced, but the plant outdoors is starting to show color too), pieries, primroses, tete a tete daffodils, praecox rhododendron, evergreen huckleberry and primrose (in center).

Today we went to a nursery where there was a great buy on primroses. As you can tell I am still not over my craving for the color pink; no, not even close. My poor hubby, I am afraid that soon he might see pink 'blooming' everywhere. As you can also tell, I am not tired of playing with Picasa yet...but I do have quite a bit more on my 'to learn' list:)

What color are you drawn to this month? Have you visited your local nursery yet? I almost, almost, almost bought some herbs, lettuce and more bulbs...but the snow level is dropping and we've already had some hail. Despite the blooming taking place in the garden, I think we're not done with winter yet.

Of Mountains + Valleys

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth...

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

Notes:

Psalms 121: 1-2 KJV -- my favorite Psalm since I was a teenager.

Photos taken in several areas off one of the main highways to the Oregon coast;

love those backroad adventures! Collage created using Picasa.

Recent playlist for Lent:

Casting Crowns, "I Will Praise You in the Storm"

Kari Jobe, "The Revelation Song"

Phillips, Craig + Dean, "You Are God Alone"

Lent Begins: Ash Wednesday

In this life on earth we travel many paths...

The year we lost mom, I traveled this one with my dad and best friend.

This path was new to me then and each curve of the road revealed more of the beauty of creation...

Valley, hills, mountains, woodlands, forests, rivers...it was truly beautiful and I eagerly 'drank' in each new sight!

Shortly after we turned onto this new path that year, I remember stopping at a wide pullout and getting out of the car.

Walking as close to the edge of the cliff as I dared, I saw what looked to be some kind of waterfall...but so much of my sight was obscured by the seasonal growth of weeds, I had a very limited view of its true beauty...

Recently my DH and I returned to that same spot. The ground was wet and muddy; secure footing seemed unsure in the area I had stood before. But then my wise hubby pointed out another place where it was drier and cautiously I walked towards the edge.

I looked out and down, this time through the minimal foliage of wintertime and this is what I saw...

Today Lent begins...another opportunity to focus on the Creator; another chance to let Him remove the 'weeds' in my life (politics, TV, bad choices, wrong priorities, etc) so I might see more clearly what is true and what is not; another chance to more fully realize just how much our Abba Father loves His children...just how much He loves me.

And though I will never fully see or know Him on this side of eternity--just as I could not see the whole waterfall even with a lot of the weeds gone that day; I know God will reveal more of Himself if I set apart time to meet with Him. And so the 'drawing nigh' time begins anew...with a refreshing of the Spirit to follow.

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

Note: Three Rivers Highway, Cosper Creek Falls.

Shrove Tuesday (AKA Pancake Day)

Have a blessed Shrove Tuesday--Lent begins tomorrow!

Aimee

Notes:

Meyer Lemon pancake (from a mix) with imported Sicilian orange marmalade (although this combination was OK, next time I'll use lingonberry or another berry preserve with the pancakes). Also pictured: lemon soy yogurt (interesting taste; first time to try it). Another first-coconut milk yogurt (I will try this again, wonderful after taste, slightly different consistency than milk based yogurt). Soon to try: coconut milk.

Photo edited in picasa (another first---a very, very fun first) :)

There Are Only Two Kinds of People...

I used to think there was just one kind of people.

My type.

People whose time at the coast wasn't complete

till they had seen one (or a hundred) of these babies.

People who would save (or bring) food for them--

or at least hoped someone else would.

People who knew the BEST places to find them

(and considered this knowledge something to share only with their best friends...

and other family, of course). And then after making them affirm, most sincerely, that they would never divulge this information to anyone.

And so the years passed by and I continued in blissful ignorance

until THAT day...

the day I learned there was indeed another type of person...

the kind that didn't like seagulls,

the kind that thought of them as (sob, sob) nuisances...

I am still recovering from the shock of that day.

So what kind of person are you?

Do you like them,

have hundreds of photos of them and

gleefully jump up and down when someone feeds them

(so you can take more photos to add to your collection?

Or do you consider them something akin to the birds

of that famous movie by Alfred Hitchcock?

Blessings, Aimee

In Celebration of Pets

Today I woke up early to get some chores done;

I listened to the TV to see what the weather would be like today...

and found out it would be cold, wet, most winterlike.

~

But then it happened,

for the reporter announced

that today was unlike any other day...

in fact, today was special, very special

because

of

them.

So in honor of

their special day...

always make sure they have a warm bed to sleep in and good food

(even if they take over your bed and beg for treats).

Always make sure that someone kind is watching over them;

because you are their whole world!

Love them when they go the extra mile for you--

because they do it just because it's

for you.

Cuddle them whenever they need that extra touch of reassurance

and

always keep them safe from danger.

Make sure they have toys--

even if they drag them out and you end up stepping on them

(in barefeet in the middle of the night)

And even if you know,

that unlike kids who grow up,

you'll always be the one to pick those toys and bones up.

But most of all,

LOVE your pet--no matter what kind it is--everyday,

not just today!

Have an awesome LOVE YOUR PET DAY...

and give your little or big one an extra treat and hug today

because they deserve it:)

~

Blessings, Aimee

Birthday Gifts

When someone has a birthday it's normal to give them gifts.

But this year, on his special day,

my beloved Farmer Boy

showered me with gifts:

a day with our DDD (darling daughter dog),

a day filled with beautiful scenes of bay,

and ocean;

sand

and wild, wild surf.

A day

in which I received the gifts of gorgeous pink flowers...

and a yummy gourmet, artisan pizza!

And when the day filled with these gifts and much, much more was over,

and I reminded him he could have had whatever he had wanted for his special day,

I received the best gift of the whole day...

because he told me what he wanted most was to make me happy:)

That is love;

that is my DH.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Blessings forever,

Aimee

Valentine's Day 2012

Years ago,

two hearts met along life's road...

and they fell in love.

Not too long thereafter,

those two hearts became one~

before God, friends and family.

One, but still two.

~

Years passed and those two hearts were blessed with children,

in-laws, grandchildren and extended family.

And then it was Valentine's Day 2012...

A day to celebrate that special love~

the love of two hearts that met along life's road all those years ago

and are still together because of that love now.

Tonight we celebrate with dinner

and a special dessert made (and delivered)

by our oldest son.

We celebrate with flowers, candles and hearts.

We celebrate surrounded by pink, burgandy and white.

Happy Valentine's Day Farmer Boy!

Thank you for your love:)

Love Always, Aimee

~

Menu:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Balsamic Asparagus

(thank you DDIL)

Baked Heart Shaped Cheese-Garlic-Herb Pizza Crusts

Chocolate Cake with Hazelnuts + Ganache

(thank you son)

Organic Sparkling Apple Cider

Happy Birthday Dear Oregon!

Happy Birthday to the land by the shining sea,

Happy Birthday to a blessed land filled with wildlife,

Happy Birthday to a land filled with rivers, lakes and rushing waterfalls,

Happy Birthday to a land filled with parks and wildlife refuges,

Happy Birthday beautiful Oregon...

I YOU!!

May He who formed you bless you always!

Aimee
~
Photos:
Cannon Beach, Oregon City area, Salem park, cookie from Home Bakery(Astoria)

Happy Valentine's Day

"When one has once fully entered the realm of Love, the world--no matter how imperfect--becomes rich and beautiful, it consists solely of opportunities for Love."

Soren Kierkegaard, Works of Love (1847)

"The most beautiful sight this earth affords is a man or woman so filled with love that duty is only a name, and its performance the natural outflow and expression of the love which has become the central principle of their life."
Josiah Gilbert Holland, reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), pg 394
-
"Love feels no burden, regards not labors, strives toward more than it attains, argues not of impossibility, since it believes that it may and can do all things."
Thomas A Kempis, German monk & mystic, The Imitation of Christ, pt 3, ch 6 (1471)
-
"They do not love that do not show their love."
William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act I, Scene 1
-
"Love comforted like sunshine after rain."
William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis
-
"An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge."
John Wesley, The Works of Rev John Wesley (1830)
-
----and last, but certainly not least, these verses found in the Holy Bible
-
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 22:36-40 KJV
-
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever”
I Corinthians 13: 4-8a KJV
-
Blessings, Aimee
-
Note:

Quotes are from the following webpage, http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Love. Text, on this post only, available under CC-BY-SA. If you wish to use the text please see the following links for legal terms of use: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_Usehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Photo:

Heirloom Roses, near St Paul, OR

Something's Changed

Since this weekend I am seeing the world in a new,

somewhat challenging but definitely exciting way.

Actually the change began many weeks ago when yours truly left her DH alone and in our car,

with the camera,

for a few minutes while she was on a mission of mercy for her sibling.

~
It wasn't long but when I came back there was a change.
~

By the way, have I told you my Farmer Boy does not like to be bored?

That he thrives on knowing how things are put together?

That these admirable qualities often mean he loves to take things apart

and then put them back together again?

All without the help of instructions...

~

It's true...

But all and all,

once I recovered from my shock

at seeing the CHANGE...

I realized

someone in our family KNOWS how to change lenses on my camera!

~

So, at times, you will see here

that the ZOOM is IN.

And it is my hope you will like the change...

but if you don't...
blame this guy

My sweet, totally gifted, wonderful and very charming

Farmer BOY!

Thanks honey for being you :)

Blessings,

Aimee

Photos:

Park along the Willamette River

Willamette Falls

When Modern Conveniences Go Bad

Once upon a time, not so very long ago,

Aimee and Farmer Boy remodeled their kitchen and dining room.

And Aimee was incredibly happy with the sage colored walls,

the laminate flooring,

the oak cabinets,

the black metal cabinet knobs,

the new white double sink and high faucet,
the dark countertops,

the big kitchen island...

and the new appliances.

And all was well in Aimee's 'kitchendom' until the day (or was it night) one of those new appliances ceased to operate.

Now Aimee could (and has, at times, since then ) bemoaned her fate--the fate of a homemaker who can only look at her almost new dishwasher and remember the sweet memories of days gone by: the lovely splish splash of hot water swirling, the melodic hum of it cleaning dirty pots and pans, the incredible feeling of power it brought her to press a button, walk away and then come back to clean --- and fully sanitized dishes.

But alas, those things are all things of the past until her sweet and gifted Farmer Boy can properly diagnose and repair its current ailment...

Alas, saith a very sad Aimee as she reflects on the 'truth' that...

the life of new dishwashers seems considerably shorter these days.

Blessings, Aimee

By the Sea in Seaside

Often my trips to Seaside involve only seeing it from Highway 101

as I head to and from Astoria...

but there is much, much more to this seaside town then just the highway.

This time as were driving through, I spied the Chamber of Commerce and made a stop to get directions to Young's River Falls...and came away with a whole lot more.

So after our trip to the falls, Astor Column, Svensen Island, Home Bakery and more...

we made our way back to there to follow up on some of the leads we were given earlier that day.

I'm so glad we did---because Seaside is a whole different place in the winter!

Of course, I had been to the boardwalk before...

but the lighting and setting were SO wonderful how could I not go again? And this time, I could get wonderful photos of the beach! While in the area we also followed up on leads for chocolate--after all my Farmer Boy LOVES his chocolate and it was his only request when I asked him what he wanted from the beach.

We found parking quite easily--something harder to do in the busier seasons and while my friend went in to buy chocolate, I enjoyed the architecture of the buildings downtown

(Broadway and surrounding streets) and ...

the public art

(ok I'm ready for summer now)!

And then we enjoyed a lovely meal of seafood salads and clam chowder

(well she enjoyed her fabulous clam chowder and I enjoyed one bite of it,

bemoaning my fate of having lactose intolerance)!

It was the perfect ending to a perfect day...

and I know that I'll be back to this city by the sea:)
~
Where is your favorite place to vacation?
Does your heart sing when you think of the ocean?
Or is it the mountains or desert that make your spirit soar?


Blessings, Aimee


Note: Seaside and nearby Gearhart are located on the northern Oregon coast, between Astoria (to the north) and Cannon Beach (to the south). It is very popular with young people and others, especially during spring break holidays and the summer season. Seaside is known for its boardwalk along the beach, shopping, other family friendly activities and PNW history (the Lewis and Clark expedition).