A Weekend Getaway

It was our anniversary. After much deliberation we decided to make a short trip somewhere we'd never been, outside the good old USA. Our adventure took us to Sooke, BC on Vancouver Island. We live close enough that we've made several trips to Victoria, but never ventured beyond. It turns out Vancouver Island is a big, wild, outdoorsy place. Victoria is lovely, very touristy and fun for it's British vibe. It's a great place for urban hiking. The ferry runs from Victoria, so we spent some of our time there as well. Here's our weekend in pictures!

DAY ONE

Catching the ferry at Port Angeles

A mostly gray ride over

Waiting for the best fish and chips ever at Red Fish Blue Fish
 with my friend Jonathon Livingston

An afternoon walk on Whiffin Spit

DAY TWO

At a scenic view on our drive up the coast to the beaches

We hiked to several beaches along the Juan De Fuca Marine Trail for a day's total of a hilly 11 miles. An over-sized soaking bath tub was perfect at the end.

View from the trail at Botanical Beach

On the trail

A view on Botanical Beach

Tide pool life

Tide pools abound on Botanical Beach

I caught some waves, with the camera

Crane at the beach

Trail to our second beach, Sombrio Beach

This beach is popular with surfers

China Beach was mostly just us and the seagulls 

Mystic Beach was the last stop on our trek

To get there and back I had to overcome my fear of suspension bridges
(and heights)

Yikes!

DAY THREE

This was our actual anniversary, 34 years! The day found us trail weary and limited by time. We had to get in line for the ferry in Victoria by 1:30 PM, so we got going (slowly) and spent a short day of urban hiking in Victoria. We ate brunch at an old favorite, in the garden room of Swans Brewpub. No photos, as we left the card in the tablet the night before and didn't realize it. 

We had a lovely ride back to the U.S. Then we began our search for someplace open to eat one last celebratory meal. Somehow we ended up in the quaint town of Sequim (pronounced "skwim") at Blondie's Plate.

Yummy local steamer clams

One of my all time favorites, Moscow Mule

The entire meal was truly delightful and was topped off with complimentary truffles for our special day! 

Honeymoon 1980

34 years ago if you had said I would be eating tapas in Sequim and photographing the food and Moscow mule on my phone before blogging and facebooking it for everyone to see I would have said you were mad!

Original Browning quote by Suzi Scribbles on etsy

On the other hand, if you had told me I'd be doing that or anything for that matter, with my best friend, the guy I married 34 years ago, that, my friend, I knew.

Linda <><

Seagull In My Mailbox?!

What a special surprise!     An etsy customer included this YouTube in a recent review. She had bought the seagull as a gift and I shipped it to her friend in Regina, Saskatchewan. This made my day. 

      

I have to admit, I love receiving this kind of pure gratitude! How about you? If we do, how much more do you think our Heavenly Father, in whose likeness we were formed, appreciates our praise? 

My gratitude journal is a year and a half old now. I highly recommend something of the sort to everyone. Here in the Pacific Northwest we are in the middle of the rainy season and it's easy to get caught up in the dreariness. 

Mossy rocks on our wet, wet walk

We were fortunate to spend a couple of days just two hours north of here last weekend and enjoyed some magical snow play!

Emma showing off the
new hat I crocheted for her

Whatcom Falls snow day

Snow at Boulevard Park

Today is Ash Wednesday! I am incredibly grateful to live in a place where I can observe Lent and choose how I personally observe it. I'll fill you in on how that's going next week!

Linda <><

  

Today is Ash Wednesday! I am incredable

Sewing Mends the Soul

You are a quilt

Pieces of memories

Carefully stitched together

With precious threads

Of love and joy

You swath my soul

With melodies

Of treasured yesterdays

You bring warmth

This cold, cold night

~Linda Dugger O'Rourke, 1979

This is the quilt from the poem

I just returned for a week in the homeland. Lincoln Nebraska, where I was born and went to college. I wrote this poem cuddled beneath a mosaic garden quilt lovingly handmade by my grandmother. I had that quilt in mind as the words flowed. I was also thinking about my boyfriend at another college 350 miles away. He and I have been married 33 1/2 years now!

One highlight of my trip was a guided tour of The International Quilt Study Center and Museum. It is a big building, housing thousands of quilts, mostly in storage. Only a small percentage of the quilts can be viewed at any given time. The ones we saw were incredible. 

I found the quilts of Ernest Haight most intriguing. An engineer and a farmer, Ernest made over 300 quilts in a 50 year period. Each one I examined was truly a masterpiece. Though every one was unique they reflected the period in which they were created.

Just a few quilts from my precious collection

In a quick count of the quilts I am blessed to call my own I came up with around 20. Some dating back around 70 years. The most recent are ones I made for my daughters. 

Made by a great aunt
before my mother married in 1946

My grandmother was a consummate quilter and seamstress. A quilting frame was ever present in her apartment, along with her treadle sewing machine. Her tailored garments always hung perfectly and her quilting stitches were uniform and tiny. I recognize house dresses my mother and her sisters wore in many of her quilts. They are comforting to me.

Crazy quilt I made for my daughter

I always wanted to make a quilt, but was a bit intimated by the size and my grandmother's perfectionism. I'm more fond of any quick project. I had done two or three small quilts and baby quilts and was collecting old jeans and flannel with plans to create something fun and cozy. Every day I could find an excuse to put it off. Then came September 11, 2001. Frozen by the events of the day I started cutting squares. It really is therapeutic. That quilt is worn out now, but my daughter still pulls it out to use when she's home.

A going away gift from a dear friend
created by her mother

A time to tear apart and

a time to sew together.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 

My dad (at 93, his first selfie) & me

Back home now, I'm inspired and ready to take on new projects as I treasure the old ones. What projects are you dreaming of starting? Today is a great day to begin!

Linda <><

My first full sized quilt started 9/11/2001

In the Blast Zone

This week's hike took us into Mount St. Helens' blast zone. We were searching for sunshine again, but we didn't find any. We never even found Mount St. Helens!

Rainbow at Norway Pass

What we did find  was the beauty of rebirth in an area completely devastated by a volcanic eruption 33 years ago. The area we hiked has been protected to return to it's natural state. It was simply fascinating and beautiful. 

Snow on Mt. Margaret trail

It was also rainy, windy and even snowy at the height of our climb. I can't wait to go back when Mount St. Helens is not hiding behind clouds!

Spirit Lake from Windy Ridge

Have you ever felt your life was nothing less than a blast zone? I have. But I believe when we let Him, God can bring beauty for ashes not just on a mountainside, but in our precious lives as well. 

To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
~Isaiah 61:3

Since we will be falling back soon and any time change messes up our inner clock I want to share my favorite energy smoothie. I don't drink coffee or caffeinated tea, but this really does the trick when I get drowsy.  

Love Chocolate Energy Smoothie

1 banana

1 tablespoon peanut or almond butter

1 tablespoon maca powder

2 tablespoons cacao powder or cocoa

1 teaspoon cinnamon

about 1 cup milk

(almond, soy or cow's milk)

ice

Place banana, peanut butter, maca powder, cacao, cinnamon and about 1/4 cup of the milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Add ice and fill with more milk. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

This makes one smoothie. I like to use the Magic Bullet, but you can use any blender. All of the amounts can be changed to your liking and some sort of sweetener can be added.

Linda <><

When the Sun Comes Out to Play

Autumn on my street

Puget Sound was socked in with fog all week. I'm not complaining, I think the fog magnifies the already vivid fall colors! And for the most part it's business as usual. Great for photography, a moisture treatment tops off my run, no real excuses to stay in. It does get a bit dreary though.

I've been working on a big custom order; thirty-one personalized Mason jar cozies. One of the things I love about crochet is that I can take it anywhere. 

Mason jar cozy fun

I also have a set of CD's accompanying my current Bible study. Did I mention I have a driver I adore? So yesterday we took a quick trip east to find some sunshine. It was really less than an hour away. What a joy it was to emerge from the fog into the warmth and beauty of Mount Rainier.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from?" Psalm 121:1

After listening to Louie Giglio speak on the Creation story we were immersed in the glory of God's creation.

Tipsoo Lake

While surrounded by this beauty the question was posed: will I be the biggest part of my own small story, or a small part of His story? 

Crag Field

As I am blessed to soak in this sun I choose to be part of His big story. When I'm stumped at just what that means to me I recall Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
 and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he shall direct your paths."

Jim and I at the end of a glorious day (Mount Rainier in the background)

Once again I am inspired to find my own small place in God's big story.

Linda <><

Jury Duty Moebius and Other Ramblings

Welcome to Tacoma statue

Last week I was on jury duty. I discovered it is a multi-stepped procedure. First, I call the night before and find out if I need to appear. When I arrive I scan in to a large holding room and wait. I wait to be called. The administrator shows some videos, tells jokes (she has a captive audience) and fills us in on the next steps. She likens it to marriage; in this room we are single (no court case), if we are called the first time we are engaged and, then, if we are chosen we are married to a court case. 

I was never engaged, never a chosen one. Out of the 300 or so folks who started the week maybe 25 or so remained.  I felt like the kid who was never picked in P.E. class. I didn't mind. I got my lovely moebius scarf/shawl done. It's warm and cozy! Some good can come from not being picked. I also walked five miles in downtown Tacoma, visited the Thursday Farmers Market, ate one day at the Amerawcan Bistro (a vegan cafe) and had a wonderful vegetarian tamale for lunch another day. I got to meet some people and check out the other crocheters' and knitters' projects. The minor inconvenience of driving thirty minutes and not knowing just what my days would bring became a lovely adventure for a work from home introvert!

Lime Kiln Lighthouse

Last weekend my traveling partner/husband and I used a groupon for a weekend in Friday Harbor, Washington. The San Juan Islands are simply beautiful and a short trip for us. As it turned out the the entire weekend was rain soaked. We live in the Pacific Northwest so we have our webbed feet, but this was almost too much. We ended up skipping a couple of hikes we had planned and opted for driving around the island instead of riding the bikes available at our inn.

Soaked in the San Juans

This weekend was totally different. Friday afternoon my daughter called to tell us she and her boyfriend were coming to visit. It ended up being a glorious fall weekend with sunshine and highs in the 60's. They left Sunday morning after Church and breakfast. We watched the Seahawks beat the Colts. Then we took a bike ride on a trail I found on Pinterest (I love Pinterest). Washington Trails Association had listed fall hikes on state, city and county lands. We took part of the 34 mile long Cedar River trail. We had gone quite a distance when we decided to stop for a water break and to check the GPS. I glanced up and this is what we were sitting under. We moved on before any bombing ensued!

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life. Matthew 6:26-27

On a completely different note, last week I finally remembered to go to Fred Meyer for the monthly senior discount. I stocked up on fruits and veggies, picked up a magazine and got a  kombucha. My big 10% one day a month discount was only good for the magazine and kombucha. Does that make any sense? Seems like the healthy food should be discounted too.

That wraps up my ramblings. No big epiphanies, I'm just thankful God is with us in all this small stuff, so we don't have to sweat it!