Shawl Pictures

Happy Wednesday!  Although to me it feels like Tuesday becaue of the day off on Memorial Day for hubby.  I have a few more pictures to share with you.

The first is the shawl for my niece's wedding.  Yes, I know it's black and glittery.  It's a second wedding for both of them, outside in October.  There will only be immediate family there and her dress is above the knee, white and black with one glittery strap.  She loves her "bling" so I promised her a shawl with some glitter in it.  Please give your honest opinion.  It's a free pattern on Ravelry, called "Multnomah".  I added an extra 20 row sequence to make it a little bigger than the pattern called for.  The glitter sparkle strands don't show too well in the photo. I hope it holds it's shape after the blocking.  Black yarn is certainly hard on the eyes isn't it?

 This is where I've been sitting and knitting the past few days.  I have my radio on softly and the water fountain there by the chair.  Can you see it to the right of my chair?  Our son-in-law, Brad, gave it to us this weekend and I'm loving the soothing sounds of it.

 And this is my view as I knit.  Mt. Spokane is there on the left, but you can't see it in the picture.

 This is where I sit for my morning tea and devotions every morning.  Hubby bought me the rocker at Cracker Barrell a few years ago!

 And here is our table, all ready for us to enjoy a meal.  I love the summertime here in Spokane.  Do you see my little geraniums that I planted Monday?  I planted 8 flower pots that day.

 This is a picture a dear friend painted for us a few years ago for my birthday.  It's of a photo he took at the Oregon coast.  See the starfish?

 Here it is again!  This was my gift to myself this trip. 

There you have it.  A few more pictures of my life.  Hubby and I are heading out to look at a camper this evening when he gets off work.  I'm looking forward to it and hope to use it a lot this summer if we decide to get it. 

Teresa asked about my cast iron.  I just bought Lodge brand at Target.  It comes already seasoned, but I scrubbed it well with a brush and soap and then re-seasoned it with melted or liquid Crisco, very thinly applied so it doesn't pool.  Then I put it upside down in a cold oven with foil on a rack underneath to catch any drips.  Turn the oven to 425 and after it reaches that temperature, leave it for 1 hour.  Turn the oven off but leave the cast iron inside to cool completely.  You can do it up to five times, but I only did three.  There are as many ways to season cast iron as days in the month when you look online, but this seemed to be easiest and the most used by people.  I used the griddle to make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch today and it worked very well.

Have a wonderful afternoon and I hope the sun is shining for you just like it is for me!   

Blessings, Betsy

Two posts in One Day! Amazing!

Hello Again!

I found a way to copy a few pictures from my iphone and I also received a package from UPS about 20 minutes ago that I couldn't wait to share with you.  So here goes...more pictures.

The first one is the seagulls coming to our room for breakfast one morning!  Just kidding, although they did love it when I threw bread or cereal out to them.  This particular time, there were hundreds just flying around and up and down the beach!  It felt like the Alfred Hitchcock movie, "The Birds" at times.

This is a cookbook that I bought at Tillamook Dairy.  It is written by a lady in Yacolt, Washington. Although I haven't tried any recipes yet, I loved all of the family stories and details included in the book.  They are all tried and true recipes from her family with, and this is important to me, ingredients you usually have in your kitchen.  I'm tired of having to go buy some obscure ingredient I will only use one time.  After reading it through, I don't think that it will happen with these recipes.  I can't wait to make something from it.

 We were on the way to pick Brad up at the airport in Portland Friday night when a nasty thunderstorm hit.  No rain was predicted for Friday, only sunshine.  It's funny how often the weatherman is wrong.  Anyway, look at this beautiful double rainbow I caught while speeding down the interstate.  The top rainbow was much brighter only seconds before, but I had to hunt for the camera!

 And finally, look what the UPS man just brought me.  A dear lady I met in Japan last fall sent me a care package!  A beautiful cherry blossom scarf in my favorite color-lavendar.  Also two fans, green tea, a cherry blossom candle, sushi shaped candy and crackers to have with the tea.  Thank you dear Sachinko!  The green tea we get here in the states doesn't compare to the tea in Japan.  That was so thoughtful and unexpected.

Since I wrote this morning, I've been to the post office, nursing home and knitting.  Then I washed the sea salt off the car and came home to trim bushes.  I bought a 10 inch cast iron skillet and griddle while at the coast.  I have them seasoning in the oven now.

All in all, it's been a fairly productive day for me.

I'll see you all again soon.

Blessings,

Betsy

Spokane-Finally.

Good morning everyone.  We finally arrived home late Sunday evening and yesterday was filled with the details of returning home after a week away.  Needless to say, our Chloe-baby was estatic to see us again.  She is following me everywhere since we got home.  I think this last trip coming so close to my Omaha trip has made her afraid I'm leaving and not coming back!  And now, some pictures from our trip.  It was just too difficult for me to blog on my iphone.  One post was enough and now I'm happy to be back on a regular computer keyboard!  Guess I'm getting old. These first pictures were all taken with our regular camera.  I have lots more on my iphone but I need to figure out how to get them off without emailing them all separately to myself.  Anyone know?  I actually think the iphone pics are much better.  Clearer and more fun!

 Gray skies for most of the trip.  These first three pictures were taken from the balcony in our room.

 Seagulls visited us every morning for breakfast, all yelling what sounds like, "mine, mine, mine!"

 Sunset one evening.  It was just beautiful.

 This one was taken by Seaside, OR.  We went north one day trying to outrun the rain but obviously it didn't work.

 This was in a restaurant in Depoe Bay called "Tidal Raves."  Fellow blogger Teresa told me about it and we had to try it out.  Very good and beautifull decorated.  I would have taken more pictures of the original artwork, but the tables all filled within five minutes of us being seated and I didn't want to be obnoxious. :-)  The two pictures below were taken from our table.  The first one is a whale watching cruise heading out from the bay.  What you can't tell is that it's pouring rain and about 50 degrees.  Not my kind of day to be on a boat.  Can you see the people all standing outside on the deck?

 Beautiful Oregon coast.  Even in the rain!

 Our last day the sun shone for about 4 hours and we quickly drove to Cape Foulweather.  We go there everytime we visit the coast.  They have original Oregon souvenirs and some of the most beautiful views on the coast in our opinion.  Just look at the next picture and see if you don't agree.

 See what I mean?  Breathtaking.  This is from inside the shop, perched on the cliff high above.

We drove to Portland on Friday and stayed two nights with our daughter and son-in-love. Saturday, Brad and Dennis tore up all the boards on the deck and hauled them away.  They are putting in a concrete patio.  With all the dampness in Portland, concrete should hold up better than the wood.  At least it shouldn't rot.  We're planning a trip back in a few weeks so Dennis can help pour the new patio.  While the menfolk worked, Mandy and I went shopping for maternity clothes.  After a stop at the mall and Starbucks we went to Home Depot.  There we bought seeds and plants for their garden which they tilled and planted yesterday.   Busy times but fun.

And this is Brad with our granddog, Polly.  She is the biggest baby you could meet.  Literally.  Isn't she sweet?  She looks like she's smiling.  She also slept with Dennis and I in a regular double bed the two night we were there.  She loves us a lot...but she does take up more than half the bed!

 And finally, the last section of road heading into Spokane. 

 And then....going down the Sunset hill into downtown Spokane.  Is there a more welcome sight than getting home after driving almost 2000 miles in one week?  Isn't our town beautiful looking.  Our house is way up in the left hand corner, close to the hills!  No you can't really see it, but I know it's there.

Okay, I'm off to the nursing home and knitting this morning.  The entire trip I worked on a shawl for my neice who is getting married in October.  She needed something for her shoulder's as it's an outside ceremony.  Very small, only a few people, but she still wants to look nice.  I'll try to get a picture of it for my next post, however it's all bunched up on a circular needle and a little  hard to see the pattern.

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone and I'll be back soon.

Blessings,

Betsy

Still Raining!

Here we are at the coast and it hasn't stopped raining for more than a few moments at at time since the night we arrived.

I've downloaded blogger to my phone and iPad so this is my test post! There are photos here just waiting to post so I'll hit publish and see what happens! If it doesn't work, I'll post them when I get home. It's not a major issue is it? Not like the world is on edge waiting for my vacation photos.
The first photo is of hubby the first night we arrived. We were looking at the tide pools at low tide. Most of them were taken from our balcony in our room. One was at Depoe Bay, (the one with the glimpse of sunshine!) Blessings,
Betsy

At the Beach

So here we are. At the Oregon coast. We always enjoy our time here. It's raining cats and dogs, bit since I'm still reclining lazily in bed, listening to the waves, I really don't care. Hubby is next to me and the world is good.

We had lunch in Portland yesterday with Mandy and Brad. They just returned on Saturday from a week in Paris so they had lots to tell us. We ate at one of our favorite Portland restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes. Yummy. Then we hit the road for our final lap to the beach. While driving, Alex called us from Tokyo. He was watching the eclipse of the sun and told us it should pass over the Oregon coast about 5:30 p.m. Needless to say, it was way to cloudy to see here but he had some amazing pictures of it in Facebook. If you're his, (or my) Facebook friend you should check them out.

We took a long walk after arriving and then played dominoes for awhile. We have absolutely no plans this week except to relax with each other.

I'm trying to figure out how to load pictures from my iPad to the blog, but the "upload" image button is frayed out. I'll try to edit it from my phone and see if that works.I hope you're all having a wonderful day, I know I will, jusypt being with my hubby.

Blessings,Betsy

Home for a few days!

Good Morning friends!  I'm sorry it has been awhile.  I had a terrible time trying to get online while visiting my family.  The internet connection left much to be desired. I could get online long enough to check email most of the time, but not nearly long enought to write a post.  So here I am.  I arrived about 12:30 a.m. yesterday, (Tuesday), but was up bright and early about 6:00.  I spent the day catching up on things.  My dear Hubby had cleaned the house and all the laundry and dishes were clean.  He is a saint, truly he is.  I had my laundry, grocery shopping and nursing home visits to accomplish though and it took most of the day.  I also made a yummy macaroni salad early in the morning before the house got to hot to boil the pasta and eggs.  Much was accomplished and the day flew by.

Last night I was up reading until midnight because sleep was very elusive for me.  I was up again this morning at 5:30.  I go through periods like this where I just can't seem to sleep, no matter what I try.  I walk around in a state of semi-exhaustion.  Then, after a few weeks, things seem to click again and I can sleep all night.  I wish I could figure it out since it just seems to have started in the past few years.  I wonder if it's hormonal?  But, then, I blame all strange things on hormones these days. <<grin>>

I had a lovely visit with family.  A little awkward at times because of my fairly recent decision to wear a headcovering full time in observance of 1 Corinthians 11.  It could have been worse though and I enjoyed my time.  The picture below is my mother-in-law.  We spent a lot of time playing dominoes!  She loves the game and only gets to play when she is with hubby or I.  Since I started dating Hubby when I was only 15, she's more like a mom to me than mother-in-law.  She is the only one of our parents left.  We shopped some, ate out some and just hung out at the house some.  Since she doesn't drive very much, she saves up all of  her errands that are more than a mile or two from the house until I visit or hubby's sister is available.  Mom is blind in one eye and doesn't have peripheral vision in the other eye so it's good she doesn't drive much.

These are girls that I went to school with all the way from gradeschool to high school graduation.  All of us but Laurie, (far left), started kindergarten together.  Laurie joined us in the 4th grade.  We found each other last year on facebook and had dinner together when I visited last May.  We want to make it an annual event if possible.  Until last May we hadn't all been together since our 10th reunion.  I love facebook for this very reason!  We met at Olive Garden both last year and this year.  They were so gracious and let us take up a table past closing time.  We can sure talk!  I'm in the center, (in case you were wondering.)

 This is my little garden bed where I planted green beans yesterday.  I'm hoping for a better harvest than I did last year.  Two summers ago I froze 124 quart bags of beans, last summer I only harvested 23 bags!  I had planted the same amount of beans too!  Very frustrating.

 Here's my rhubarb just growing away.  I've already frozen 6 gallon bags of rhubarb this spring and made several rhubarb pies and crisps.  Yum!

 My flower pots just waiting for me to add blooms to them.  I decided to wait until after Memorial Day next week for potted flowers.  We've had too many unexpected frosts this year.  But I plan to enjoy my area under the deck later today with my knitting needles. :-)

 This is all the knitting/crocheting I have to show for the past 11 days!  I actually made several more of the round dishcloths, but as soon as I took one off the needles, someone claimed it for themselves.  My neice loved the pink/orange/yellow ones like the one on the needle in the picture.  She got two of them last week.  My sister took one and a couple others were given out to other friends/family.  They are relatively mindless knitting and great for airplane knitting.  The bottom item is a crochet doily for myself.  I finished one just before my trip but then gave it to someone who said they liked it.  I figure I can always make one for myself and I like to share when people show an interest in something I've made.

That's about it!  Hubby and I are planning a trip to the Oregon coast next week.  He needs a vacation and I'm perpetually on one!   We have a wondeful friend who is housesitting with our Chloe baby.  Her daughter, son-in-law and new baby will be staying here as well, so the house will be filled while we're gone.  Hubby's motto is that the Lord has given us this house and it is to be used for His glory.  They needed a larger place to stay while visiting and we will be away with an empty house..  Win, win for both of us and Chloe will have a baby around.  She loves, loves, loves children.  Everyone will be happy.

Have a wonderful day everyone and I'll try to check back before we leave.

Blessings,

Betsy

Omaha!

I just wrote a nice long post chronicling my day traveling and it's lost into the blog nether regions-floating out there somewhere and I'm just too tired to write it again. I'll try again soon. Suffice it to say I safely arrived in Omaha, land of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms! See you all soon. Blessings, Betsy

Preparing

Another week has gone by-and oh, where did it go?  I've been busy at home and away from home this week.  It's been another rainy week in Spokane and I am truly ready for some sunshine!  I'm flying to Omaha, NE tomorrow to stay for 10 days with my mom-in-law.  This has become somewhat of an annual trip for me.  Not only do I get to visit with Mom, but I also see my family who lives nearby.  Thanks to facebook, last year I had dinner with three friends I haven't seen since high school graduation!  I'm hoping to be able to see them again this year while there.  Since my flight leaves early, early tomorrow morning, I have to be at the airport at 5:00 a.m.  Ick!  To think that when I was working full-time I was up that early every day.  Now I love my mornings in bed, reading my Bible with no rush, (usually) to begin my day too early.

Yesterday, I backed out of the driveway about 8:30 a.m. on my way to visit a friend in the nursing home and I had a really low tire.  So, off I went to the tire shop, (it's not too far to drive and the tire wasn't completely flat.)  I had picked up a screw somewhere.  Fifteen minutes later I was on my way with a repaired tire and they didn't even charge me.  The tires are only about 3 weeks old!  I'm so glad I noticed it though.  If I had driven all the way to the nursing home, it probably would have been completely flat.

Please continue to pray for my friend Heather if you would.  She is 33 weeks prgnant with twin boys and has been in the hospital for a long time on bedrest.  They want her to at least make it to 35 weeks.  She's like an adopted daughter to hubby and I and I'm so afraid she'll have these little ones too early and while I'm away.  We want them to "bake" a little longer so they'll be strong and healthy.

Okay, I'm off to take Chloe to the vet for a check-up.  I'll try to post next week, but I'll just have my ipad and I'm not sure if I can do pictures with it.  If there is anything of interest I'll try though.

Have a wonderfully blessed day and I'll be back to visit soon.

Blessings,

Betsy