Way Out West (part 2)

 Day 8, Sun. - After worshipping in our room, we loaded up and headed west to Nevada. We had a room reserved about 20 miles north of Beatty. We stopped in town to stock up on groceries, then drove to our "inn". We were shocked! This nice little B&B, that had such good reviews, was a trailer house with small bedrooms to rent. The host was super sweet, but the house smelled like dogs, and the room was barely big enough for our overnight bags...much less the other things we needed. We went back to the car, did some frantic searching (there are NOT many places to stay in this area!), and finally found a room at a hotel right before entering Death Valley. I made our excuses to the lady at the "inn", and off we drove. I'll never live that one down (since I was the one who had booked the room)! The place we ended up staying was perfect for our needs, and even had a couple of restaurants that we could eat at.

view from our desert inn

another view from the inn

sand dunes in Death Valley

mountains in Death Valley

Day 9, Mon. - We got up early the next morning, ate breakfast in our room, and headed into Death Valley. It wasn't at all what either of us expected. It was very interesting, quite pretty in places, and not too hot. The temperatures in the park ranged from 77-97 degrees. We stopped for lunch in Bishop, CA, then took the Tioga Road to Yosemite. That was probably the prettiest drive on the whole trip! We saw lots of snow, and wildflowers were everywhere. They were beautiful! We drove to our cabin in Foresta, which is a private community surrounded by Yosemite National Park. Such a quiet, peaceful place to stay...and even had a washer and dryer that we could use.

Day 10-11, Tues-Wed. - We spent the next couple of days exploring Yosemite. It is a gorgeous place, but the crowds were crazy. We tried to time our outings to avoid the worst of the crowds...didn't really work. Since we had a fully equipped kitchen, we were finally able to do a little cooking to avoid eating at pricey restaurants. Everything out there is EXPENSIVE! I'm really glad that we were able to go and see the sights, but I have no desire to ever return to California.

moon over El Capitan

These guys are everywhere!

Bridal Veil Falls

Day 12, Thurs. - As we were leaving Foresta, a cinnamon colored black bear ran across the road, right in front of us. We stopped the car to watch him, and he stopped at the edge of the woods to watch us. We didn't have time to snap a picture, but it was a real thrill to see him!

Our next stop was Lindsay, CA. When we were making our travel plans, it was the closest town (not including cities, which we were trying to avoid) to the Sequoia National Park that we could find. It ended up being between an hour and an hour and a half to the park. Since we got there so early, we decided to drive up to Kings Canyon in the park. I have never in my life driven on such a curvy road! It was insane! We really enjoyed Kings Canyon though! This was Dennis' first time to see giant Sequoias. He loved it! After a light picnic supper, we retraced our steps down that snaky road back to our motel. When we were a few miles north of Lindsay, we got a really nice view of the valley below us. What a sight! There were orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see. We also stopped at a fruit stand and picked up some apricots, peaches and plums for snacking on. YUM!

General Sherman

General Grant

3 Sisters

Day 13, Fri. - The next day we found a better road leading to the main section of Sequoia National Park, where General Grant is. (General Sherman was in Kings Canyon.) We walked among the giants and were amazed at their mass. I'm so glad that Dennis was finally able to see these magnificent trees! I had seen them the summer after I graduated high school, but I enjoyed them even more this time around.

Day 14, Sat. - We had seen everything we had come to see in California, so we cut our visit short by a day and headed southeast. For a state that has so many people in it, that section of the state is desolate! We were happy to reach Arizona!

Day 15, Sun. - We worshipped in our hotel room, then headed east for Holbrook, AZ...the gateway to The Petrified Forest National Park. We spent about 3-4 hours driving through and looking at the sights...even doing a little hiking to get a better look at the beautiful petrified logs. We had a late supper, then collapsed in our hotel room for the night.

historic inn

Blue Mesa

Day 16-17, Mon-Tues. - We had a hard day of driving on Monday, making it to Amarillo for the night. On the drive through New Mexico, we saw miles of blooming chola cactus. It was beautiful! I guess we hit it at just the right time, because it seemed as if every cactus was covered in pretty pink blossoms.

Just as it had happened on our way out west, we were met with storms. Amarillo must love it when we come through...we seem to bring the rains with us. Then this morning, we got up early and drove home. I have to say...seeing our house at the end of our long journey was one of my favorite sights of the trip. After 17 days, about 4000 miles, and having visited 6 national parks (and 1 state park), it feels SO good to be home! 

Spring Blessings

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful spring. The weather is glorious (although windy), and the wildflowers are so beautiful right now…the vibrant hues of the bluebonnets, the bright coral of the Indian paintbrushes, the gorgeous fuchsia of the horse mint, and the pale pink of the primroses. I love springtime!

Nam came for a sleepover last month during spring break. We really enjoyed his visit, as always. He is growing up so much! He is now old enough and tall enough to ride in the front seat of our vehicles. He really enjoyed riding in the front of Grandad's truck! The whole dynamic of our relationship is changing. It’s still good…just different. Our three boys are getting so close to adolescence! 

Diane came over the week after his visit and spent the night. We got up the next morning and drove to San Saba for our annual pecan purchase. It was fun having her along for the trip! We also picked up pecans for others that wanted some, so we had a LOT of pecans to bring home. (Of course, we also bought a few treats to eat on the road!) It was a nice day for driving through the countryside. The bluebonnets were just starting to bloom, but it was still a beautiful drive.

The church in Hurst had their meeting the first weekend of this month. We were able to make it over there Friday night and Saturday. We enjoyed the lessons and felllowship. After the Saturday morning assembly, everyone went to Koh and Michelle’s for lunch and more visiting. It was pretty chilly out, but we all enjoyed the food and the time spent together. It was great to catch up with so many loved ones. 

This past weekend, we drove to Paris to celebrate Stephen’s girls’ birthdays (a little early). Friday night, we met up at the park for Shepherd’s soccer practice. (He is completely healed from his appendix surgery!) We took the other kids to the playground while he practiced. It was fun. Little Rosie never slowed down or stopped smiling! That child always has such a big, sweet smile on her face. Afterwards, we went out for Mexican food to a restaurant with outdoor seating. It was such a nice evening to sit out and visit. Saturday morning, the guys and kids fished Stephen’s pond while I played with Rosie and watched. They caught a few fish and just enjoyed the beautiful day. I really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with our sweet little 2 year-old. She is such a doll! 

We had quite a few visitors at Eastside yesterday. The Joiner clan had camped out at the state park over the weekend, and most of them joined our assembly. It was good to see all of them and have a bigger crowd than usual...and hear a good lesson from Andy. Later that afternoon, Sheila’s family came over for dinner to celebrate Caleb’s 20th birthday. (Can you believe that?!) As always, we really enjoyed their visit! It has been so nice to be able to see all of my grandkids within the same week. 

I am now officially drawing Social Security! There were a few hurdles to jump through to get everything lined out. Poor Dennis had to spend ALL of one day on the phone, trying to sort out a mistake that the SS administration had made on the form that he had to sign in order for me to draw off of his earnings. He finally got through to talk to a real person the first thing the next morning. So all has been sorted out, and I got my first deposit on the 2nd. That, plus having our house paid off, will really make a big difference in our monthly finances!

I’ve been working on some small projects this past month…knitting dishrags and pot holders, and sewing some quick items. I decided to make memory bears for the grandsons out of Dennis’ army dress uniform. I’ve finished one, so far. I’ll probably start on bear #2 next week. I have 4 total to make. I’ll share pictures after they are made and gifted. I also made me some PJ pants and some hanging kitchen towels for Mandy. I hope to get some towels made for Amber this week, and maybe another pair of PJ pants for me. I’m doing lightweight cotton that comes to just below the knee for cooler summer sleeping. 

PJs

one of Mandy's towels

Well, that’s what’s been going on around here. Let’s keep those who are facing serious health issues in our thoughts and prayers, as well as reaching out in other ways that we can to help. And remember to count your blessings! 

Isa 61:11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Springtime Pleasures

 Can you believe that it is April already?! 

March was filled with good times with loved ones! Right after we returned from our vacation to Big Bend, Stephen's family came to stay a couple of nights. We enjoyed their visit so much! They showed up Sunday afternoon, along with Ricky's family (who they had spent the previous night with). It was great having them all here together. Monday morning, we went shopping at The Crazy Water Hotel. The kids loved exploring the toy store! (I always enjoy it, too!) We still had some time before lunch when we finished, so we headed out to the state park to do some hiking at Penitentiary Hollow. It is a beautiful trail with LOTS of rocks for the kids to climb and pose on. I have to admit, this Granny was a bit nervous at times...those kids are fearless! We got a good workout and then grabbed some lunch before heading home to rest up a bit. That afternoon, Stephen and I took the kids to the city park for an hour or two, while Rosie stayed home with Mom and Grandad to nap. After supper, Stephen took the kids BACK out to the state park for even more hiking! I stayed home to play with Rosie that time. I was pooped!

Stephen's family headed out after breakfast the next morning, and I went to the eye doctor. I had been a couple of weeks earlier and he had checked me really well because of a new floater that had appeared. He said everything looked good but to return if anything new or different showed up. Well, that morning, the floater changed...it looked like an additional one had appeared. He checked it out really well again and said it probably just changed position...there were no new ones. I go back in a couple of weeks for a final checkup. He said if there still are no new ones, we can relax and it will eventually fade away. His fear has been that I might be developing a retinal tear, which if caught early can be repaired. If it leads to a full detachment, it is much more serious. It is still annoying, but I haven't detected any new changes, so I think it is going to be nothing but an annoying floater.

Dennis' latest dental implant failed. UGH! The oral surgeon said the risk of failure is quite a bit higher when the implant is put in at time of extraction, which this one was. So he'll go back in another couople of months and have it done again. Thankfully, the doctor doesn't charge us for the "makeup" implant surgery!

Sheila's family had originally planned to come over when Stephen's family was here to go hiking with us. Unfortunately Caleb ended up with a stomach bug, so they bowed out to keep from possibly infecting anyone else. So they ended up coming over that Saturday for lunch. We had a great visit and fun game of Mexican Train. With school and work, we usually only are able to get together about once a month. But it was really nice being able to visit with all of our kids and grands that week...even it is wasn't all at the same time.

Diane came and spent the night the next week, then we did a little shopping at The Market downtown. We also enjoyed a leisurely lunch before time for her to head back home. As always, I enjoyed our time together. This time, however, Dennis got to enjoy visiting with her too!

That Saturday, Rick and Amber invited us over for dinner. We spent all afternoon visiting and playing with the kids. Archer is at such a fun age! He is learning new things every time we see him. We can carry on conversations with him now, which is a blast. We don't always understand what he's saying, but we can usually get the gist of it. They ended up coming over and going to church at Eastside and spending the afternoon with us the next day, too. We love having them so close!

Last week, on Wednesday, we took Amber and the kids to the Fort Worth Zoo. That is always fun! The weather was nice and the kids were great. The next day, Dennis had his chemical stress test/PET scan done in FW. (The results were normal, thankfully!) Afterwards he wanted to go to Arlington to the Rockler store to get a new tool. We stopped for lunch at Luby's and bumped into Marlin. So we ended up having lunch together and catching up. It was good to see him!

Saturday we went to the meeting in Hurst. They had a houseful! Everyone went to Koh and Michelle's for lunch and visiting afterwards. We SO enjoyed visiting with so many that we hadn't seen in years! Ricky's family also showed up, so we even got extra time with the littles. Archer rode with us to the Box's (which was about a 40 minute drive) and never quit talking the whole way! 

Driving home through the country from Koh and Michelle's was a delight. The bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes are at their peak right now. They were gorgeous! We saw large fields full of color. Such a pleasant conclusion to a wonderful day!

Yesterday was a 5th Sunday, which we normally have a guest speaker come and then have a potluck. Since we knew most people would have other plans we decided not to do the potluck, but Jett came and spoke for us. He did a really good job, too! It was the first time I'd heard him speak. We were pretty tired from the week's activities, so Dennis and I just came home (after our weekly lunch at Whataburger) and rested the remainder of the day. 

I have been working on Gracie's birthday gifts the past couple of weeks. I decided to do homemade presents this time. I've finished most of them, but still have one last thing to make. It is going to require more time and skill. I hope to get it made this week. If it turns out like I hope, I'll share a picture after it has been gifted. It is going to try my meager abilities!

I hope you have been enjoying your Spring! Be sure to take the time to appreciate the beauty around us!

Isa 35:1-2 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God.  (NKJV)

Time for Fun!

 Dare I say it? Our house is finished (for the most part). There is still a little trim work to finish up and the sliding barn door to do, but for all practical purposes, we are DONE! It feels so good! We are loving our new carpet. The odor was very strong at first (gave me bad vertigo), but the weather was so nice, we just opened the windows for a few days to let it air out. It has been fun watching Archer on it! He'll throw himself down on it and just roll around. Haha! Here are a few pictures of the finished product:

master bedroom

living and dining room

other end of living room

As most of you know, Frieda went into the hospital on the 12th with an intestinal blockage...her second one in 4 months. She ended up having to have surgery on the 18th. She is still struggling a lot in her recovery. The last report I read showed her making some significant progress. Hopefully she has finally turned a corner in her recovery. It has been a long hard road! Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers!

As far as my crafting goes, I finished my winter rag quilt. I have it stored away until after Thanksgiving (still using my fall quilt until then). I only have one more rag quilt left on my "to-do" list...my warm weather one. I'll probably put it off until January. This one makes me 11 for the year. I sure am enjoying making them!

I also made a "chenille" pillow cover. It didn't turn out like I had hoped, but maybe it will continue to fray as it "ages". It is supposed to look like chenille, but it doesn't. Oh well, it was fun to try!

I have started doing on online knitting course, through Craftsy, and am learning a lot! Before I had taught myself using the book "Knitting for Dummies". The best that I could manage was knitted dishrags, though. I LOVE knitted dishrags, but I also thought it would be nice to be able to make more than that. So far, in my course, I've made some fingerless mittens and a waffle stitch cowl. I'm really enjoying it and learning a lot more about the process. I'm hoping my skills improve to the point that I can make a large project. Right now, I'm working on a scarf to match my mittens...just kinda "winging" it. I think my next class project will be a cap.

cowl

fingerless mittens

We hosted our 5th Sunday potluck this past Sunday. I had some hunks of meat that I usually use for making jerky that I needed to use up, so I ground them into hamburger and made up a big batch of chili. Everyone else brought "fixins" to go with it. We had a small group, but we really enjoyed the day. Between Andy and Sherry and Thiess and Gina, there were many interesting and lively stories told!

The next morning we got up and packed and headed north to Hochatown, OK. The weather has been quite chilly, which we are really enjoying! Tuesday morning we drove the Talimena Scenic Byway. It was a beautiful drive. The colors weren't "prime", but they were nice...much more color than we've been seeing at home (which is pretty much nil). We had lunch at Little Italy in Mena, AR. It was really good, and we had plenty of leftovers to bring back for another meal or two. Then last night we drove into Beaver's Bend State Park to look for deer. We weren't disappointed! We did a quick drive through, then went back this morning to go through the museum and drive around some more. We went down to Broken Bow for lunch and did a little shopping. Among some other things, I found and bought my new favorite coffee mug! 

pond where we are staying

one of the deer we saw at Beaver's Bend

cypress trees along the river

small cascade in BBSP

our cabin

Beaver's Bend Lake

We plan to pack up and leave in the morning. It has been a fun and relaxing trip, but as usual, we are missing home...especially now that we have it fixed the way we want it! We have the Highway Meeting and a baby shower for Kacey to attend this weekend, too. It's amazing how busy we stay for a couple of old retired folks!

Enjoy this wonderful fall weather and the everyday joys that come your way!

Ps 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: (NKJV)

Texas Hill Country Road Trip

Since Dennis finished up our shower (and we finally got to use it Wednesday morning!), we decided to take a short road trip to relax. We headed out just before lunch on Wednesday and drove down Hwy 16 to Fredericksburg. Although the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes are gone (for the most part), the late spring/early summer wildflowers were in full bloom. The drive was gorgeous! It was overcast and slightly rainy the whole trip, which made for very pleasant traveling. I had stumbled onto The Peach Tree Inn while looking for a room to reserve. Our room turned out to be half of a duplex on the back side of the property. We had outdoor seating on the back porch, which offered us such a peaceful and beautiful view! There were also a couple of deer who regularly made an appearance in the evening. After unpacking and having a light supper, we relaxed all evening. Dennis went for a drive through the countryside looking for deer, while I stayed in and clipped on the quilt that I'm making him.

Inside of our "cabin"

Our backyard view

Thursday morning, after fixing a big breakfast of bacon, eggs and (canned) biscuits, we drove down to Wildseed Farms. We had been there years ago and loved it. It was a bit of a disappointment this trip. They have downsized their wildflower fields and planted vineyards instead. I still enjoyed looking at the flowers that they had for sale.

A beautifully colored bougainvillea they had

Poppy

From the Wildseed Farm, we drove back into town to tour the Nimitz Museum. We spent a couple of hours looking at all of the exhibits there. It was very interesting! I also enjoyed the serenity of the Japanese Garden back behind it...donated by the Japanese people in honor of Admiral Nimitz. 

Across the road from the Inn where we were staying was a meat smoking plant/deli. So we ordered a couple of sandwiches and took them back to our room for lunch. YUM! Then we spent the afternoon touring the Pioneer Museum. It was SO informative! It told about how Fredericksburg was started in the mid-1800's by a wave of German immigrants looking for a better life in this country. 

This was a trunk that carried all of the goods that a family could fit in it as they traveled from Germany.

a "necessary" chair

various kitchen utensils

honey extractor

wire fence weaving machine

baby swing

After leaving the museum, we drove out to a peach stand we had seen earlier. This year's crop is already available down there, so we bought a box of "seconds". They are SO good! I also bought a pint of local blackberries and a couple jars of locally canned goodies. I was tempted to just eat that for supper, but figured I'd regret it later. 

This morning, we went to The Twisted Sisters Bakery for breakfast, then packed up and headed north. Our neighbor, whom we had spent an hour or more visiting with the night before, had suggested that we might want to drive on the Willow City Loop on our way home. It takes off Hwy 16 about 8 miles north of Fredericksburg and is known for it's wildflowers. I am SO GLAD that he told us about it! The wildflowers weren't the best that we saw on our trip, even though there were areas where they covered the landscape as far as you could see in all directions. They were mostly yellow flowers (like brown eyed Susans and coreopsis). But the vistas were breathtaking! Most of the drive is on private land, so you aren't allowed to park and get out to take pictures. But it was well worth the slight detour!

We stopped for lunch in Llano. We ate at a wonderful little Italian restaurant on the square, which had amazing bread and pizza. It was directly across the street from the courthouse, so I had to get a picture. I love the architecture of so many of Texas' courthouses! 

Since I still didn't have any pictures of the wildflowers that were blooming all alongside the road, I told Dennis to stop at the next good place we came to. It wasn't the prettiest that we'd seen, but it had a good representation of many of the varieties that we'd been enjoying.

white thistle poppies

upright prairie coneflowers

Indian blankets or firewheels

horse mint

This picture doesn't do justice to the lush field of wildflowers!

coreopsis and Indian paintbrushes

such variety and beauty!

We both thoroughly enjoyed our little get-away, but it is good to be home again. Now it is time to move out of our bedroom and do our last remodel project!

Mt 6:28-29 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (NKJV)