One More...

Hello Everyone!  I thought I would share one last post before we leave in a couple of hours on our trip.  I just had to share these beautiful photos I took after a humdinger of a storm Monday evening.

These were taken from our back deck, overlooking the hills to the east of us.  Can you see the faint outline of a double rainbow?

This was the other side of the arch.  It was gorgeous and I was sorry I didn't see it until it had begun to fade somewhat.

The storm apparently did cause some damage at the lake. Our trailer is fine, but Lori called me and said a tree fell on one of the cabins and several mobile homes in the park.  Lots of branches down too.  We had a lot of people without power here in Spokane, but we didn't lose ours at all.

And a stunning rose in my backyard last night.

I finished a baby set this morning and will make more while riding in the truck.  These will go to the hospital and Crisis Nursery.

The truck is all packed, Dennis did that last night as he doesn't want me lifting anything.  Goodness it's full!  The whole back end has "stuff" for Mandy and Brad.  I added my toothbrush etc., this morning.  I just have to add my purse and knitting bag.  I got up at 5:30 this morning and took Dennis to work and will pick him up around 3:00 or so.  He works very close to the freeway so it will save us almost an hour in driving time by me taking him this morning.  When I pick him up we can just jump on the freeway and we'll be on our way!

I woke up this morning to an almost pain-free back for the first time in months!  I hope that continues and I'm sure all of your prayers are helping tremendously.  Praise the Lord!

I'll see you all soon and I'll try to check in on your blogs when I'm not playing with Miss Piper...but no promises.  Grandma life comes before blogging!!!!!

Love you all.

"For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:5

Blessings,

Betsy

On The Road Again..

On the Road Again, Just Can't Wait to Get on The Road Again....

Yes!  We're finally going to be on our way to see family the day after tomorrow.  We're driving to Omaha, Nebraska.  Dennis is going to try to get off of work an hour or so early so we can get about 5 hours drive time in on Wednesday, stopping for the night around 10:00 p.m. in Whitehall, MT if all goes as planned.  Then on to Omaha over the next two days.  We'll have to make lots of stops for me to get out and walk around to stretch my back, but it will be worth it to see all of our family and PIPER!!  Yes, Mandy and Brad drove 23 1/2 hours straight through on Friday from Maryland to Omaha, so they're already at Grandma's waiting for us.  They have already put an offer in on a house and had it accepted over the weekend, so I know they're hoping to move in very soon and begin this new phase of their lives.  I'm so excited for them and for us to see them!  It's been way too long.

Ellen is staying at our house with Chloe.  She loves her almost as much as we do so no worries on that front.  She'll take care of the house and our baby!  :-)

I have lots and lots and lots of pictures for you today.  I promised photos of the curtains we made for the trailer so here you go!  This is the dinette area with the curtains open.  I've done a bit of redecorating since I took this photo on Thursday.  The angel I showed you in my last post is now hanging below the clock and the clock has been moved higher.  My Instant Pot has a new home and I have some photos on the drawer unit.

Curtains closed.

We took a new loveseat to the trailert a few weeks ago and it's been a big hit with all of our visitors.  On the wall is a cross stitch that says "The Queen's Corner of the World".  I made it about 30 years ago!

Curtains closed.

Here is the back of the trailer with Dennis' and my Lazyboy recliners.

Curtains Closed!

The hallway.  You can see I have angels everywhere.  People know I like them and I get them as gifts.  That's the refrigerator on the right.

The bedroom with a quilt I made a few years ago from leftover fabric.  Please ignore the not very good job of pillow smoothing.  It's hard to lean back in there with my back issues. 

The kitchen area.  We didn't make curtains for this window because it has nice mini-blinds and they would just get dirty quickly.

I hope you enjoyed the little camper tour. I just realized I forgot bathroom photos.  Oops.  It does have a shower, sink and toilet and it's nice sized as well.  We love our little home away from home and the new curtains make it extra cozy at night when they are shut tight.  It also seems to keep it cooler inside when the sun is beating down.

This next picture is one I took while taking Chloe for a walk Friday morning.  I was awed by how blue the sky is next to the pine trees.  That morning the pine smell was so strong.  Days like that I remember just how much I love the Pacific Northwest and all of it's beauty.

A few more angels and a flower pot on our doorstep.  Dennis made these wonderful stairs for us and several other people at the lake.  Much, much better than trailer steps.

Our backyard.

We are fighting these brown spots this year because of the voles.  They keep digging up the grassy area.

Stairs Lori, Paul and Dennis built to the lower area behind our trailers.  We can use that too but have not developed it at all.

We have had some absolutely gorgeous weather.  The park and beach looked like the 4th of July yesterday.  It was SO busy at the beach.

I've called a time-out on my beaded shawl until we return from our trip.  I was off one stitch and had to rip back 6 rows to get back on track.  Doesn't sound bad until you realize that there were over 480 stitches in each row. And it was lace.  And beads.  Enough said.

It is pretty though and I know I'll like it when it's done.  I just don't want to be chasing beads around in the truck.  So I'll work on baby sweaters, socks and mittens on the drive.

One last photo of my lavender blooming at home this morning.  It's grown from a 6 inch plant to over 4 foot in diameter in 4 years!  I'm going to have to divide it soon.  Any tips?

I'm sure this is way too long.  If I still have anyone here, thanks for hanging in there with me!  I won't be able to post while were gone, so I'll plan to do that once we're back home.  Be prepared for Piper photos! Thank you for the tips on Word Press. I think that will be my next project.  Switching over this blog so I can post while away from home.

I hope you are all having a lovely summer, (or winter if that's where you live.)  I'm going to see my girls in a few days!  I'm SO excited.  Can you tell? 

"For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100:5

I'll be back soon!

Blessings,
Betsy

Happy Father' Day!

Hi Everyone~ Another week has passed and it did go by rather quickly.  I spent several days at the lake and several days at home.  I have been knitting, but on a new shawl and baby blanket that are currently at the trailer, (where I'm returning within the hour), and I forgot to photograph them.  Since I can only blog on our home computer I won't be able to show them to you this week.  So, I'll show you a few other items around the house.

Dennis is mowing right now, so I ran out and took a quick photo of the marigolds and rhubarb.  See the first pass of the mower around the rhubarb?  Gosh, that rhubarb just keeps going this year with our cool weather.  I've harvested about 14 one gallon bags from this plant already and it needs picked again!  Yum.  Lori made rhubarb/apple crisp at the lake last night and it was SO good.  We had vanilla bean ice cream with it.  Not weight watcher friendly, but delicious  nonetheless. :-)

The marigolds haven't grown much in recent weeks either because of the cool, wet weather.  That is supposed to change to more summer like over the next few days so maybe they'll be huge by the end of the week!  Ha!

Friday afternoon I was sitting in the trailer knitting during a big windstorm and I heard a knock on the door.  Our neighbor a few doors down was coming to visit and brought me this beautiful folk angel as a gift. Isn't she lovely?  We have the best friends.

She is joining some of my other favorites on the Hoosier cabinet.  The purple sheep I received as a blogger gift and my knitting bunny live there.  A depression glass plate that belonged to my Grandma and a cookbook full of vintage things too.

I am so glad we found this cabinet a year or two ago.  It's one of my favorite pieces of furniture.

Yesterday we made curtains for the trailer.  The accordion blinds that came with the camper are breaking, one by one and they are SO expensive to replace. They do get a lot of use and most everyone is or has experienced the same problem with their blinds.  I much prefer the cozier look of drawn curtains at night anyway.  Nita brought out her portable sewing machine.  I cut the fabric, Nita sewed the hems or rod pockets, whichever was needed.  (I don't have a cabinet large enough for my Instant Pot, so it  has to sit out in the open.  I'm not fond of the look of it, but I don't want to give up the convenience of the Instant Pot either.)

Dennis is a wonderfully good presser.  He pressed the panels before I cut them and again after they were sewn before we hung them up.  Lori and Paul contributed the little ironing board and iron to the endeavor.  It was a group effort!

This was Larry's contribution.  :-)  He held Sophie.  I forgot to get a photo of the curtains all hung so I'll do that this week for you too.  The loveseat Larry is sitting on is the one that we brought from home last month.  We gave our other sofa to another couple at the lake who had an identical one that had had a lot of use.  We rarely used ours because we have our lazy-boy recliners to sit in.  Now, we have four recliners and our trailer has become the gathering place on evenings when it is too cold or rainy to sit outside. 

Yesterday I made Thanksgiving in a Crockpot for all six of us, Paul, Lori, Larry, Nita, Dennis and myself.  It was really good.  The recipe was given to me last week by a friend at the lake.  It was a cool day and after making curtains all day, it was nice to have dinner ready for us in the evening.

Here's the recipe.

In a large crockpot layer but DON'T stir together.

4 Chicken Breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery OR chicken soup. (I used celery and it was delicious.)
2 cans drained green beans
2 boxes stuffing mix
extra sage if desired, (I used about 1 tablespoon dried sage.)
1 small can chicken broth, (pour over everything)
french fried onions (Like used for green bean casserole)

Cook on high for 6 hours and then turn to low until you're ready to eat.  I did about 2 extra hours.

Let me know if you try it and like it. :-)

Update:  The physical therapist really worked over my back last Monday and I have been in intense pain ever since.  He said at the time that he was sure my back wasn't broken anymore hence the more intense therapy.  WELL SURPRISE!  They did another x-ray on Tuesday and the bone is still broken with NO healing at all no wonder the things he did hurt so bad.  Basically my back feels like it is on fire all of the time now.  I see my Primary Care doctor tomorrow to discuss options.  I would appreciate any prayers you could send up.  This is definitely getting old and we're planning a 26 hour drive at the end of the month with another 26 hours back home.

This is why Nita was a sweetheart and sewed my curtains for me.  There is no way I could possibly sit at the sewing machine that long.  I appreciate her doing that for me so much.  Just as I appreciate each one of you who asks how I'm doing and shows such love and concern for me.  Thank you, thank you. :-)

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38

My friends, you have all given love and caring to me and I appreciate it very much.  I hope you all have a most wonderful week.

Blessings,
Betsy