Really??? Snow? Really???

Happy Sunday!

We woke up this morning in the trailer at the lake. I was surprised to hear silence all around because the forecast was for heavy rain starting about 4:00 am.  We got up and got dressed, ready to head into town to our house to shower and get ready for church.  Hubby opened the window shade and I heard him say "Oh-oh.  You better come look at the surprise for you this morning."  This is what we both saw.

About three inches of snow unexpectedly fell overnight and was STILL coming down.  Big fluffy white flakes.  Would you believe that yesterday we sat outside looking at the lake with no coats on?  This is the view from our back window.

On the road heading home.  At times the snow was so heavy you could barely see the road.  It felt like December, not the end of April.

Snow everywhere.  But none in Spokane.  You should have seen the double takes when people saw our car, covered with snow.  It's a good thing I had the snow brush still in the back seat!

This was the same view as the first picture when we arrived back this afternoon.  The snow is all gone already!  Just as fast as it fell, it melted away.

We went and looked at a house for sale this afternoon.  It was on 2 1/2 acres with a view of Lake Spokane. It had two covered decks and was all on one level.  A huge shop for Hubby and an RV hookup.  And a brand new hot tub!  It was very tempting but the road was winding and narrow through the mountains and valleys and would be about a 45 minute to an hour drive every day for Hubby-even in the winter with bad roads.  We decided to stay put where we are for now.  If he were retired, well, it could be a different story and I think we would buy this place in a second.  I could have a huge garden and we would be right on the lake.  Oh well.  It's not meant to be at this time in our lives.

This was a farm we passed on the way to the house.  It was very picturesque in a valley with all of the red buildings.  Sorry for the water marks and the cut off picture.  We were driving about 50 mph and it was snowing yet again.

The runner I was making for Jenny has changed patterns.  I got this far and we both realized this pattern was going to take a long, long time and use a lot of thread.  This was an entire ball of thread and was only about 9 inches wide.  Remember, it's supposed to be 162 inches long when it's finished.  The amount thread I could find in this color was limited so the pattern was changed.  I improvised a border on this to finish it off and Jenny can use it as a table topper.  It still needs blocked, but you can get an idea of the pattern.

This is the new pattern we decided on.  It will be much quicker and I think it's very pretty too.  What do you think?

It's supposed to be cold tonight and tomorrow night here at the trailer, but hopefully no more snow. The low is going to be below 30F.  Brrrrr. I'm very grateful for a good furnace here.  By Tuesday it is supposed to be 70F.  I'm wondering if spring will ever arrive to stay this year.  But Chloe and I are cozy here.  I still love it, even cold.  It's very quiet and we like it that way.  :-)

Have a lovely evening my friends.  Thank you for stopping by to visit me.  I feel so blessed to have met you all out there in blogland.  I hope you're all enjoying a spring with NO snow wherever you may be.

Blessings,

Betsy

Spring???

I've been informed by a most reliable source, the calendar, that spring has arrived.  I see by other people's blogs that flowers are blooming, grass is green and gardens are growing so I know it must be true.  I also know that our elevation is higher and thus, it takes longer for the blooming to begin, but I admit, I am impatient for blooms.  

This is the flowering pear tree in our back yard.  The buds are there.  Just waiting to break forth.  Maybe soon.  Maybe soon.

My rhubarb is happy though.  I just took this picture a few minutes ago.  I'll be able to start harvesting soon.  That makes me happy and Hubby even happier as he loves anything made with rhubarb.

A few pictures of Miss Piper this weekend, sent by her Mom.  I hope you don't mind.

She colored eggs with her Daddy and Mandy said she loved it.

She looks fascinated by those beautiful eggs.  Notice her shirt, given to her at birth by one of Brad's fellow pilots.  It finally fits. :-)

Easter Morning just before church.

Isn't she cute?  Apparently she caught on to hunting for the plastic eggs in the back yard very quickly.  Since she can't have any dairy, they filled the eggs with her cereal and she was thrilled with it.

No candy in her basket, but a book and a few small toys. She looks pretty interested.

This is my new project for my best friend Jenny.  She has a tall file cabinet at her office that is driving her crazy.  It was obtained used and it has a few dings and dents.  She wants to cover up those imperfections with a filet crochet runner.  Would you believe it needs to be 162 x 20 inches?  It will take me awhile won't it?  But their office is quite homey and their color is purple in the office so this should be nice.  You can't see the pattern very well yet, but it has roses and leaves in the filet design.

I hope you had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday.  We went to celebrate our Risen Saviour at church and then had a lovely lunch with Jenny, Neal and two of their kids and one grandchild.  They are truly our family.  Shane, (their son), has been our son Alex's best friend since Alex was 5 and I Shane was 6 or 7.  They still do snap chat on their phones almost every day, even with the time difference between here and Japan.  Neal is Hubby's best friend and Jenny is mine.  Quite convenient wouldn't you say?  We truly love their kids and I know they love ours.  Just like family and sometimes even more so.

We stayed at the lake last night and I had fully intended to stay until Wednesday, but the weather is cold and rainy and supposed to stay that way all week so I decided to come home and crochet where it's warmer.  There really is no place like home.

Blessings,

Betsy

Hallelujah, What a Saviour!

HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOUR!

In remembrance of this day...Good Friday, I would like to share with you the words of a few of my favorite hymns of all time.  Nothing published in music today stirs my soul like these hymns of old.

The Old Rugged Cross

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

Has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God, left His glory above,

To bear it to dark Calvary.

In the old rugged ross, stained with blood so divine,

A wondrous beauty I see;

For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died

To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,

Its shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then He'll call me someday to my home far away,

Where His glory forever I'll share.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down.

I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

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.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down;

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

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.

AND FINALLY,

HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOUR!

"Man of Sorrows", what a name, for the Son of God who came

Ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood;

Sealed my pardon with His blood; Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Guilty, vile and helpless, we; spotless Lamb of God was He;

"full atonement" can it be? Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Lifted up was He to die, "It is finished," was His cry;

Now in Heaven exalted high; Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

When He comes, our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring,

Then anew this song we'll sing; Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Amid all of the fun things like the Easter bunny and egg hunts this weekend, my prayer is that each of you, my friends, will reflect on the true meaning of this Easter season.  The Son of God came, died on that cross, then rose to Heaven for each one of us, that we can someday live with Him.

On Friday he died for each of us...Easter Sunday we celebrate his resurrection from the tomb!

HALLELUJAH, WHAT A SAVIOUR!

Happy Easter to each and every one of you.

Blessings,

Betsy

Wonderful Weekend

Off we went on Friday to see our son and grandkids.  Hubby took a half vacation day and we left at noon to go over the mountains to meet them in Missoula, Montana.  It was about a 3 hour drive for us and about 1 1/2 hours for Jamie and the kids.  We were SO EXCITED!  Grandpa and I hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving, almost five months ago.

First mountain pass was Fourth of July Pass.  No snow yet but beautiful scenery.  Up, up, up we go!

What goes up, must come down.  Here we go, down, down, down to the valley floor.

A few more miles and then it was up, up, up into the snow heading up and over Lookout Pass on the Idaho/Montana border  And there was definitely lots of snow there.  And to think, I was wearing flip-flops. 

Icky, dirty snow at the pass.  Look at the exit number 0.  RIght on the border.

Then it was down, down, down again and around lots of mountain curves until we reached the valley floor and the river that runs into Yellowstone National Park.  All of these pictures were taken from a moving car with my iphone so please excuse any blurriness.

This is our hotel in Missoula.  The "Cmon Inn".  Do you see Grandpa, practically running?  Jamie had just texted us that they had just arrived and parked next to us.  We were definitely in a big hurry to see those kids.  Grandpa didn't even wait for me.  :-)

The waterfall in the courtyard of the hotel.  Both sides had a waterfall.  Do you see the taxidermy mountain goat on the top?  The kids loved that goat!

The lobby.  Antler chandelier and deer head.  I forgot to take a picture of the bear rug on the wall.  Yep.  We're definitely in Montana!

The courtyard.  This place was absolutely gorgeous.  I would love to have a log cabin like this.  Look at those stairs.  The construction was amazing.

There's our two kids in the pool.  There are two pools and five hot tubs.  We spent lots of time swimming and the two of them are like fish.

Something else we liked about the hotel was the amazing complimentary breakfast unlike any we've ever had in a hotel before.  Eggs, sausage, bacon, country fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, waffles.  Then were were 3 different cereals, oatmeal, bagels, fresh baked blueberry muffins,  toast, juices, milk, yogurt.  Tea & Coffee were fresh and available 24 hours a day.  It was really an amazing breakfast.  We will definitely be staying here again.  The people who worked here were the nicest hotel employees I've ever dealt with.  They are definitely doing something right.

We took Kyleigh a bracelet making kit and she made me a beautiful bracelet.  Grandpa had to work for  a little while on Saturday, but not for long and he used the ipad and was able to sit with us while he worked.

Here's Caleb with his Mars Rover hot wheel we brought him.  You can see Kyleigh behind him sketching the waterfall with the pencils and sketchpad we brought her as part of her birthday present.  She's quite the little artist and her sketch turned out very well.  She even drew the mountain goat!

Outside of McKenzie River Pizza Company where we had dinner last night.  This is a grizzly scuptue made from junk metal.  Look at that sky.  It snowed last night but was gone in town by the time we left this morning.  Look at tough little Caleb with no coat.  Grandma was freezing.

This was just before we left this morning.  Caleb has a picture he drew.  Oh my goodness it was hard to leave these two behind.  Both Saturday and Sunday they came and climbed into bed with Grandpa and me and we watched Looney Tunes Cartoons while their dad slept a little longer.  It's a tradition with us.  All the grandkids, even Piper, pile in bed with us in the mornings when we're together.  Sometimes we read books, sometimes we watch cartoons while their parents get some much needed sleep.  All of the kids are early risers.

Just outside of Missoula on our way home.  None of this snow was there on Friday when we arrived.  Winter hasn't left Montana yet.

Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho, just about 35 miles from our house.  This is really blurry as I was reaching across Dennis as we drove to try to get a picture with my phone.  This lake is one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen.  It's quite the tourist destination.

And then, just befoe we reached home I saw this cloud.  It looks like some kind of bird doesn't it?

And one last picture Mandy sent me of Miss Piper this afternoon.  This was her first time climbing into the chair all by herself.  Of course she had to take Monkey, Bunny and Baby with her and a blanket too!  Doesn't she look proud of herself?

And now we're  home for one night and it will be back to the lake tomorrow for a couple of days.  It was a wonderful weekend with Jamie, Kyleigh and Caleb and I already miss them.  They are so full of hugs and kisses for us when we see them.  I hope they never get too old for that.

Thank you for humoring me by looking at all of these pictures and I hope I didn't bore you too much.

Have a lovely evening my friends.

Blessings,

Betsy

This and That and a Baby Sweater

Hello my friends and welcome!  Here I am.  Home again.  Responsiblities called me and so here I am.  There was laundry to be done.  Groceries to buy.  Today was my day to take dinner to friends from church who are struggling with a cancer diagnoses, surgery and now recovery.  The husband has always loved my homemade chicken and noodles so, for the second time in a week I made a big batch of them.  

Tomorrow I have errands to run and packing to do and we have Bible study here tomorrow night.  Busy, busy, busy.  Chloe and I came home from the lake this morning.  I practically had to pry her into the car.  Her eyes were so sad.  She loves the lake as much as I do.  Yesterday I was out walking around the big garden plot with her and the three resort maintenance guys and the manager came down the road in their golf carts just to see Chloe after the long winter.  They all love Chloe and bring her treats and lots of petting.  They all tell us all the time what a great dog she is.

The park doesn't officially open until May 1.  Our area is the only one with running water year round, the other wells are shut off in the winter so it has only been us and two other couples there so far this year.  Chloe and I stayed Sunday and Monday night by ourselves as Hubby had meetings late and it didn't make sense to drive out just to go to bed and then get up for work but he joined us last night and we had a very peaceful evening and night.

The paddle boats are waiting for the docks to be put out and people to take them out for a ride in the lake.

The picnic tables are still stacked up and waiting for warm days and families at the beach.

The lake.  My peaceful place.

Mossy covered trees.  We still don't have any flowers blooming around Spokane because the evenings are still too cool-barely above freezing.

A pine growing out of a rock at waters edge.

Lots of granite rocks around the park...hence the name, Granite Point Resort.

I finished a baby sweater, hat and sock set for charity.

I didn't knit or crochet as much this week as usual.  I did, however, read three books!  I'm enjoying reading very much right now.  I seem to go through stages where I read a lot and don't craft as much.  I'm trying to tell myself that it's okay.  Sometimes I feel guilty when I'm not doing as much as I think I should be, but then I remind myself that it's only me that puts these requirements onto myself.  Does that even make sense?

This Friday Hubby and I are going to meet our son Jamie and our two grandbabies, Kyleigh and Caleb in Missoula, MT for the weekend.  The hotel we're going to has a couple of pools and hot tub and we're really looking forward to spending the time with the kids.  Jamies birthday was Monday and Kyleigh's is the 19th so it's a birthday celebration of sorts too.

I'm hoping to head back to the lake on Monday if the weather cooperates.  Would you believe I got a bit of a sunburn yesterday while taking walks with Chloe?

Have a lovely rest of the week my friends.  I appreciate each one of you.  I am so happy that you take the time out of your busy lives to read this blog.

Blessings,

Betsy

Camping!!!

Guess where I am?

Isn't it beautiful?

Can you see the ducks?

I would love to own a cabin like this.  They have a view looking right at the lake.

Here is the view out our back window.

Comfy sofa with warm blankets to cover up with & drink hot chocolate or tea.

This is the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in.

My new little shelf with baskets from Hobby Lobby.  It fits perfectly and holds yarn.  I need lots of yarn storage.   :-)

A closer view. One of the doilies I made last week is on top.

This is one of my very favorite pictures of our kids. Jamie picking up his sister, Mandy.  Brad & Alex laughing about something.  I love how they all love each other and enjoy our very few moments when we can all be together.

Hubby & I are staying in the trailer tonight for the first time this year.  It's so quiet here.  We watched two bald eagles circling over the lake this afternoon but I couldn't get to my camera fast enough.  They were so majestic and beautiful.  Have a wonderful evening my friends. I'm going to spend the evening catching up on the week with my handsome Hubby.

Bleesings,

Betsy

"But they that mount up on wings like eagles will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:31