Still Standing!

Happy Thursday. Thank you all for praying for Spokane. Yesterday was the last time I heard anything and the evacuation orders were almost all lifted for the city. Our old house still stands and people are making their way back home and slowly coming to the realization of what is left. It's a terribly sad time for them all. I know many other communities around the west are dealing with the same thing and it breaks my heart. I'm praying of all of them and that the rains will arrive soon.

Meanwhile this was the state of the weather here yesterday. Notice the "feels like" temperature of 107F. I think we're all over this heat wave this summer and just want some cooler weather to arrive.

This was the containment for the fires as of Tuesday afternoon. I haven't been able to catch a screenshot since then but this is so much better than last week  and I'm sure the numbers have improved even more since then.

I was able to complete another baby blanket. This was using Bernat Baby Sport yarn in the Blossom color way. I used an I hook and made a simple picot border. I've been making this for years and is a very simple sc, hdc, dc pattern. 

I was asked about the blanket on my last post. It's the "Virus" baby blanket. I've had the pattern so long that I don't know where I found it. I know it was a free pattern because I rarely pay for them. 

It has been a busy week. On Tuesday I had to be at the cardiologist at 8:10. I had to drive to the other side of town in rush hour. I'm glad I left at 7:15 because I barely made it on time. I was there over two hours. Apparently my pacemaker battery has about 9 months left so there were several appointments made for January and February for pre-surgery tests like an echocardiogram, X-ray and blood work. When we're back from Texas in April the actual replacement will be done. 

Then, Dennis and I both had our annual dentist appointments in the afternoon. That was another few hours of sitting in an office. I'm so glad I take along a sock to knit on when we have medical appointments with waiting involved. All ended up well there though, with no cavities or other work needed. That was good news!

Dennis went kayaking last night with our friends. He used his new to him kayak we found on FaceBook marketplace. He said it worked great. They saw two eagles, herons, a duck family and lots of other birds and people. I'm so glad we decided to sell the double inflatable kayak and get him a regular kayak. He said it's much easier to propel with a lot less effort.

My colonoscopy is scheduled for next Tuesday and we're leaving for our camping trip for about 6 weeks on Wednesday. We're getting excited to see our son and Montana grand kids, along with all of our friends in Spokane. First we'll be in the Black Hills for a week with Curt and Barb. I'm praying that during the colonoscopy the doctor will find that she was able to get the entire tumor/mass that was removed six months ago. I really don't want to drink another gallon of that vile concoction anytime soon. :-)

What a blessing you all are to me. Thank you for hanging in there with me with a relatively sporadic summer of being online. I'm hoping that the campgrounds over the next 6 weeks have good wifi for my laptop.

I also hope and pray that that each of you has a great weekend and I'll be checking out your blogs.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

MAKE ME A BLESSING

Text: Ira B. Wilson

Music: George  S. Schuler

1.        Out in the highways and byways of life,
 Many are weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
 Making the sorrowing glad.

 

Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
  Make me a blessing to someone today.

2

Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love,
  Tell of His pow’r to forgive;
Others will trust Him if only you prove
  True, every moment you live.

3

Give as ’twas given to you in your need,
  Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed,
  Unto your mission be true.

FIRE!

My heart is breaking for all of our friends and our church family in Spokane. There are three wildfires that have merged and are now burning in the city. As most of you know, we lived in Spokane for almost 30 years, moving back to Omaha to take care of Dennis's Mom who had Alzheimer's. We will always consider Spokane home though, and our friends there are like family, since we had no family living close.

This is a photo of the house we had built in 2002 with our sweet Chloe standing in the front. We loved this house and planned to retire there. We sold in it 2020. Well, this house is now in the "Get Ready to Evacuate" zone. Many of our friends have had to evacuate because the fire has either already burned their homes or is heading toward them. That's the "Get Out Now" Level 3 zone. Our old house is in Level 2. 

It would be so sad to go out there next month and see this house gone. It's already going to be tough seeing all of the damage.

Flames burning near a friend of ours home. They still don't know if their home is okay or not.

This is the perspective from the Gonzaga University campus. Terrifying. This photo is fairly close the to first home we lived in when we moved to Spokane.

According to the officials, this is the number one priority fire in the nation today, although there are hundreds of fires burning around the country. There are more fires in Washington and Oregon than anywhere else in the country. They have not had a drop of rain in Spokane during the entire month of July.  We know over 700 homes have burned and most likely many more.

Please pray for everyone in the path of the fires. Although we got used to having wildfires around us every year when we lived there, I never, ever thought one would be inside of the town and literally burning much of the northwest part of the city to the ground and it's still spreading. The fire began in Riverside State Park on Saturday morning and spread very quickly.

Please Pray For Spokane!

Blessings and love,

Betsy

Home Again

Hello my friends! We got back from our camping trip in the late afternoon yesterday. There was no internet at the campground. Sometimes we had one bar on our phones, but not enough to get online. I apologize. We're home for about three weeks before leaving on a month long trip to Montana and Washington to see our son, grandkids and friends in Spokane.

It was SO HOT. Sunday and Monday the "feels like" temperature was between 117 and 120F. Tuesday was marginally better. I spent a LOT of time in the air conditioning in the camper and everyone else came and visited me. :-) I don't do the outside when it's that hot. The humidity was absolutely awful. It sure didn't stop the others though. Let me show you around.

Mr. Bear was right next to our truck welcoming everyone to the campground.

For the first time we had a group site, which meant we were in a square formation with our camper doors opening onto a central area with the fire ring in the middle. Needless to say, we didn't use the fire ring at all! This was great and we're definitely going to come back, maybe in the spring.  Our camper is on the left, Curt & Barb's is the A-frame and Jeff & Angie's is on the right.

We always have so much fun together. Amanda joined us this time and stayed in our camper with us. Longtime readers will remember that we went to her Masters in Nursing graduation in Kentucky last year. She's a blast to be around and is the same age as our daughter Mandy.

Evening kayaking the day we arrived. Sorry it's a bit blurry. I took this from our campsite

There was a deer with three little fawns just about 1/4 mile down the road. So cute!

Everyone, (except me), went on a 5 mile bike ride around the lake on Tuesday. Oh my gosh it was hot! They are all troopers. Left to right, Dennis, Angie, Curt, Jeff, Amanda, Barb. Jeff is our preacher and you can see that he's not always serious. Ha! Can you imagine riding a bike in such heat? Dennis and Curt are both in their 70's and everyone else except Amanda are in their mid-late 60's.

Taking a short break to catch their breath. These six ride or kayak together about one night a week throughout the summer.

Curt, Barb, Angie, Amanda and Jeff went on a 3 mile hike yesterday morning. (Jeff took the picture.) Dennis opted to stay home with me and relax. It was terribly humid, even worse than normal with 98% and hot temps and he was over it! Ha! Amanda just had major surgery 6 weeks ago and these were her first activities for the summer as the doctor just released her last week to be active again. She was done for when they got back from this hike. It was a good thing we came home afterward although they did go for one more kayak ride after the hike.

They found a beautiful water lily patch on the lake during that last kayak trip and got a couple of gorgeous photos. I think Jeff took both of these.

The view of the lake from our campsites. There was hardly anyone else in the campground, maybe three or four campers scattered around. It was so quiet and beautiful. Just too hot. We've all agreed no more camping in July or August around here. Maybe if we could all go to the mountains, but Jeff is still working and of course, so is Amanda and the mountains are at least an 8 hour drive away.

We've all had our picture taken in this chair and since it was Amanda's first trip with us it was her turn.

Proof of the temperature on Monday. This was without the humidity factored in. It was even hotter when we arrived on Sunday but we didn't take a picture.

Here's Jeff and the proof that we eat very well on these trips! Ha! We share our meals, with one couple responsible for dinner each night. Breakfast and lunch we pool resources. It's always a feast. 

Sunday night Dennis and I made chicken fajita's, refried beans and Watergate salad. Monday night we had  pulled pork sandwiches, watermelon and grape salad and chips. Tuesday night was a baked potato bar with leftovers from the other nights. Baked potatoes in the crockpot are a great way to do it on a hot day. 

Well, I hope you've enjoyed our camping adventure. Admittedly, I sat inside crocheting on a baby blanket or reading while the others were out on these grand adventures. Between my back and the heat, I can't participate in them, but we have plenty of fun at the campground too. We laugh, we eat, we talk, we joke around and play games. Good friends, good times and a love for God among us that is always the basic foundation of all that we do. 

We have our next trip planned for October after we return from Spokane. Needless to say, it should be cooler and we'll even be able to make s'mores on the campfire. Yum.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

Make Me A Blessing [Lyrics]
 by George Stark Schuler and Ira Bishop Wilson

Verse 1

Out in the highways and byways of life
Many are weary and sad
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife
Making the sorrowing glad

Chorus 1

Make me a blessing make me a blessing
Out of my life may Jesus shine
Make me a blessing O Savior I pray
Make me a blessing to someone today

Verse 2

Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love
Tell of His pow'r to forgive
Others will trust Him if only you prove
True ev’ry moment you live

Verse 3

Give as 'twas given to you in your need
Love as the Master loved you
Be to the helpless a helper indeed
Unto your mission be true