Monday, Monday

 Good Morning my friends. Life just doesn't seem to slow down does it? We have been busy around here since returning home. Dinners with friends, appointments, etc. I have been busy cross-stitching on our new granddaughter Baby W's birth announcement. I'm to the point where all I have left is the outlining and personalization but that will also take a few days. I've been staying up until the wee hours of the morning working on it. Mandy has knitted a sweet little hat and booties set for her and I want to get them all in the mail before little Baby W outgrows them.

I haven't picked up yarn and a hook or needles for days except during Sunday school yesterday when I was able to knit on my "take along" socks.

We canceled our trip to Salt Lake City next month. With the cost of diesel right now, we decided that going to Spokane later in the summer was more important to us than to a camping meet up of people we don't know at all. We're still plan on going to the Tulip Festival next month in Pella, Iowa and taking Piper to the Black Hills Memorial Day week. We're sure hoping that prices fall back to normal before the big trips. 

I thought I would share the four projects that I made while we were in Texas last month. First is a shawl for the hospital oncology unit. A simple granny stitch that I put a single crochet border around.

Here is the virus shawl I asked in a previous post if anyone knew the pattern. Cindy at "The Delighted Hands" blog sent me the link for the blanket. Thanks Cindy! I don't know why mine is a bit wrinkled but I'll try again sometime and hopefully it will be better. Notice it's the same yarn as the shawl. I was limited in what I took on the trip. :-)

This is the V-stitch baby blanket that my friend Terri at the "YarnJoy" YouTube podcasts made. Her's was just like this, ruffled too. I ripped this one out three times and started completely over before throwing up my hands and just completing it, ruffles and all.

And this one was using up all of my tiny bits of yarn I had left. I finished it just a few miles from home. 

The only one of these projects that turned out like I intended was the shawl. All three small blankets were a bit of a disappointment. My tension was right. The patterns were followed and they still look pretty wonky. 

On a happier note, we made it to a place we both love the second day we were in Galveston. Buccee's! It was lunchtime and Dennis had a brisket sandwich while I chose pulled pork. We had banana pudding for dessert and of course bought 2 bags of Beaver Nuggets. One for us and one for Curt and Barb who love them too. We're supposed to be getting the first Buccee's in Nebraska this fall right outside of Omaha, not too far from us. That could be dangerous. :-)

This bird was a metal sculpture between our RV park and Jamaica Beach on Galveston Island. It was huge and I have no idea what it is! I always find art works like this on our travels to be fascinating.

Oh my, we're missing this view. It was 33F here two days ago. Today it is supposed to be 89F and it's VERY humid. I ended up turning the AC on already because we were sticking to the floors when we walked across the wood. Paper and towels were very damp when we picked them up too. I'm thinking this means storms somewhere this afternoon, but I don't think they are predicted in our area. It's pretty early for this heat and humidity though. It's supposed to be much cooler again in a couple of days.

Miss Piper missed three days of school last week with some kind of bug. She went back on Friday and even ran track after school! We didn't see her over the weekend. She still had the sniffles but the biggest reason was because she had TON'S of homework from missing those three days. We did FaceTime for awhile with her and Mandy yesterday afternoon and she read me some poetry she had written for class. It was really good. That girl. She has my heart. I love her so much. It's wonderful to be part of her life by living so close.

I hope you all have a wonderful week planned. Dennis is at the camper this morning, remaking the bed after I washed the sheets. He had a few other chores planned there too. He enjoys going there and "puttering" around the camper, planning the next trip. Normally I would go with him, but I really want to get this cross stitch done, plus I needed to get a blog post up to say hello to all of you!

We have a funeral this Saturday at church for a 91 year old man that I've known my entire life. For many years he was the fire chief on the volunteer department in the small town I grew up in. My brothers were both volunteer firemen too and one was the fire inspector. Dennis and I will be working at the lunch where they are expecting around 300 people. That's a LOT of food! Carl's wife was my Girl Scout leader and I graduated with one of his daughters. We've stayed in contact with them over our 30 years in Spokane.

It's strange, after living across the country for 30 years, we came back and picked up our life almost as it was before, minus our kids being grown. Same church, many of the same friends. It's almost like those 30 years didn't happen. Then we go back to Spokane to visit and it's like we're still there. Strange indeed.

I'm stilling praying continually or all of those involved in wars and conflicts around the world and those being persecuted by evil men. I'm so glad that I have the hope of the Lord living in my and the Holy Spirit guiding my heart. I pray for each of you too, my dear friends. I hope you know Him. The giver of Life abundant.

Blessings and Love,

Betsy

ABIDE WITH ME

TEXT:

Henry Lyte, Justin Smith

MUSIC:

Justin Smith

1. Abide with me; falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers, fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, abide with me.

2. Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, though I oft left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

3. I need Thy presence, every passing hour.
What but Thy grace, can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.

4. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness
Where is thy sting death? Where grave thy victory?
I triumph still, abide with me.

5. Hold Thou Thy cross, before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, Lord, abide with me.

He Is Risen Just As He Said

Easter Blessings to Each One of You!

Betsy

Hello! Long time, no see.

I seem to have dropped off the face of the earth didn't I. Not really, but it was hard to get online and after trying over and over with no luck, I finally gave up and just enjoyed being with Dennis and doing absolutely nothing. Well, I did crochet 3 baby blankets and a shawl that I'll show you next time. Right now I'll just show some of the beautiful scenery we experienced. We arrived home a little after 4:00 pm yesterday, unpacked the truck, started laundry and went to the Good Friday service at church at 7:00. We were exhausted last night. It rained off and on most of the drive home and that adds another level of stress when you're pulling a camper. Drivers just don't seem to realize that you can't stop like in a car, and they pull right in front of the truck. With no signaling I might add. I think some remedial drivers education is needed for lots of people! Ha!

Horseback riders on the beach on Galveston Island. We saw lots of groups of people on horseback just riding and enjoying the sunshine.

Our campground was technically in Galveston, but it was just two miles down the road from Jamaica Beach and 20 miles from the Seawall in Galveston. We rarely left our end of the island. We were very lazy and stayed on the beach and in the campground most of the time.

Sunset from the door of our camper. It was so gorgeous there and every day was beautiful.

I have no idea what kind of bird this is but there were several hanging out around our campsite. Look at that beak! 

Cars went right on the beach. Weekends were busy with people playing. But the campground itself was quiet. 

We loved being on the beach. Most nights we walked up and down the beach and then had our folding chairs that we would just sit and watch the waves. 

One of my favorite things to do was watch the seagulls. They would soar above us without even flapping their wings. They look different than the seagulls we are used to seeing on the Oregon coast.

We went back to the historic Pleasure Pier that we visited before our cruise a few years ago. We had lunch at Bubba Gump's, designed around the movie "Forrest Gump." It was delicious but we definitely wouldn't eat there very often. Pretty expensive for what you received. It was the only meal we ate out  for the entire month. We did pick up pizza two different nights in Jamaica Beach but other than that we rarely left the campground, there was just no need to.

These signs were on the tables at Bubba Gump's. When you needed your waitress, you just flipped it over to say "Stop Forrest Stop." We ate at another Bubba Gump restaurant in Lahaina, Maui years ago. It burned down during the fire that destroyed most of the town a few years ago. It was a fun place to eat too.

This was my meal. Four different types of shrimp and delicious seasoned fries. Yum!

Dennis got the fish and chips. The bottom piece of shrimp was about 12 inches long! The photos don't do the meals justice.

Zoey loved the entire trip. She made lots of friends and played with other dogs in the dog parks at the various places we stayed on the way to and from the Gulf.

I'm sorry I didn't comment on your blogs for the last several weeks. The internet was rather sporadic but they are supposed to be upgrading the wifi connection in the next few weeks at the Galveston KOA. That will make it easier next year to stay in touch. We've already made reservations for next February and March! We enjoyed our time there so much. There are tons of activities in the winter months for the retirees that stay there. Some are there from December through March or April. We were the "short-timers." 

We had thought about taking our time getting home but then realized how much we both wanted to be in our home church for Easter weekend. Tomorrow we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, JESUS! We are so truly blessed in our lives. Our new little Granddaughter, "Baby W" was born on March 31 in London. Mom and baby are doing fine. We are so excited, but won't see her for at least a few months. Grandma, (me), can't wait to get my hands on her. She's precious. The state of the world right now is not conducive to traveling, so the daily FaceTime videos will have to do for awhile.

Wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend of celebrating His death, Burial and Resurrection! 

Blessings and love,

Betsy

WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS

By: Isaac Watts

1. When I survey the wond'rous Cross
On which the Prince of Glory dy'd,
My richest Gain I count but Loss,
And pour Contempt on all my Pride.

2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the Death of Christ my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his Blood.

3. See from his Head, his Hands, his Feet,
Sorrow and Love flow mingled down!
Did ever such Love and Sorrow meet?
Or Thorns compose so rich a Crown?

4. His dying Crimson, like a Robe,
Spreads o'er his Body on the Tree;
Then am I dead to all the Globe,
And all the Globe is dead to me.

5. Were the whole Realm of Nature mine,
That were a Present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my Soul, my Life, my All.