Invincible

Yesterday our town lost two young men to an avalanche in the mountains.  I think tragedy tests our unyielding spirit and we step back to realize time is precious.  So, although we spend our time working to remain healthy to live a longer life, we also must remember to enjoy life ~now in the present.

Chase Music

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together,
Brighter than a lucky penny,
When you're near the rain cloud disappears, dear,
And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.

My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows

Umbrella in the Rain

Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:9

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" "Hosanna in the highest"

North and South

 

 

I recently watched North and South again on DVD.  Not the American mini series but the British account of textile mills in Europe.  It let me reflect on how different our own country can be just states away.  I remember the educated attitude of the Northeast,  Bible belt communities of the Midwest, the southern hospitality of the South, and the raw independence of the Pacific Northwest. 

See Saw

Today was a day of ups and downs. So instead of worrying about the downs I'm looking up.  Beautiful blue skies and puffy white clouds.  It's friday and I'll keep concentrating on the good.  I hate when people quote Forrest Gump all the time but really, why do I always get the pink cream filled chocolate?  Just once I'd like to get the caramel center.  Bunnies and rainbows, bunnies and rainbows!

The Land of Fire and Ice

On Sunday March 21, a volcano near Eyjafjallajökull Glacier erupted causing evacuations and concern about avalanches and flooding.  We met terrific locals while staying in this area and pray they are all safe.

 

Our sweet little "Hotel Anna" which rests at the base of theEyjafjallajökull Glacier.  We wonder how the owners are doing.

 

This is a farm that Scott loved and we took several pictures and talked about the beautiful picturesque location of this lovely home.  It too is located at the base of Eyjafjallajökull and so we assume they have been evacuated.  It's very apparent why this country is called the land of fire and ice.

Wanderin' Around

A few pictures of the old barn at the Powell Butte station.  I took a few photos on my way to show potential new employees the station.  There's a bit of history in every place you go.

Blues

Rain with a Chance of Sun

Saturday

 

Tonight felt like Saturday night at the pub.  Irish Rovers, each of us has a memory or a story and we enjoyed sharing them with one another  tonight.  How can you go wrong with lyrics like this:  We'll drink sing and be jolly, with laughter our voices ring out, no more will we feel melancholy, when we trust in a pint of good stout."

I Wanna Go Fast

 

Because if you're not 1st you're last!

I find this saying so ironic, even funnier since it's from Talladega Nights and my husband is in love with a girl named Nascar.   When did this happen?  Was I neglecting him?  It's not the proverbial "lipstick on the collar of his work shirt" but more "hours of PVR'd races stored on the recorder".  I always thought women who found out their spouse were seeing someone else and said "I didn't see it coming" were liars and just "chose" not to see it.  But it's true....I didn't see it coming, one day I wake up and it's Nascar this and Nascar that.  Now I'm buying him shirts and decorating his birthday cake with cars.  I guess, if you're not first you're last!

Streets

Village Peace
Contentment, peace, old village streets suggest
And beauty caught by men who, at their best,
Cared about values little praised today---
Men who had time to dream and time to pray
  ~David Hope from The Friendship Book, 1972

Go Green

My Train of Thought

I guess it was my grandfather's love of trains that makes me stop and take a long look when I see one traveling by or stopped on the tracks.  I remember the summer afternoons at their apartment waiting for the train and the sound the horn as a "hello to good ole Hank".  No matter how he felt he'd always try to get to the window to wave back.  Although I feel like a traitor since this isn't a Union Pacific train, I still felt like stopping for a photo.  And in classic Henry fashion as I got back into my car I said:  "Hey, I saw U-P on a boxcar!" and still giggled to myself. 

Lost and Found

 

 Winter is lost but spring is found

Sunday Drive

Took a little drive Sunday after church. It was sunny and not too cold but we didn't have enough time to hike. The first flowers of spring were in bloom.

Silhoutte on the Shade

Woke up to find this image on the roman shades. We have a bird feeder attached to the window to satisfy the cat and cut down on the number of birds she brings into the house (DOA). I love the way the sun projected the hue onto the wall and the way the bird was unaware that I watched it eat for almost an hour.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Ellen is one of our friends. Her hair is grey but her face (pink and white) is young because she thinks happy thoughts and does kind things. For example, keeping a diary while on holiday abroad.
Reason? Well, according to Ellen, however much you see, you forget a good deal, so the best thing when you are visiting new places and seeing thrilling sights is to record them briefly day by day, and then.....
You've guessed. when you get home and you visit old folk on winter evenings, you can make your adventures live by sharing them. Just one of Ellen's notions, bless her!
~The Friendship Book 1972

Rainy Afternoon

This Way

Stillness

I love the sweet smell of dawn -
our unique daily opportunity to smell time,
to smell opportunity -
each morning being, a new beginning.
~Emme Woodhull-Bäche

Spring Has Sprung

I'm not a lover of the daffodil. I find the scent to be unappealing and harsh but it's color is amazing. The bright yellow against the brown world is the flag of spring waving in the air. So I tip my hat to the daffodil for it's perseverance so early in the season.

Anticipation

Anticipation
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)an-ˌti-sə-ˈpā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 14th century

1 a: the act of looking forward; especially : pleasurable expectation
2 a : visualization of a future event or state b : an object or form that anticipates a later type

Colors of Life

Sometimes colors make you want to have a thousand............

Old Friends

Old friends, old friends,
Sat on their parkbench like bookends
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
of the high shoes of the old friends

Old friends, winter companions, the old men
Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city sifting through trees
Settles like dust on the shoulders of the old friends.

Can you imagine us years from today,
Sharing a park bench quietly
How terribly strange to be seventy

Old friends, memory brushes the same years,
Silently sharing the same fears

Time it was and what a time it was,
A time of innocence,
A time of confidences,
Long ago it must be,
I have a photograph,
Preserve your memories,
Ther all thats left you...

~Paul Simon

TipToes

Through the blackest night, morning gently tiptoes, feeling its way to dawn.
~Robert Brault,

Beautiful morning on the High Desert today. I love how Mt. Jefferson was peaking it's head through the clouds while the sun above the clouds illuminated it's beauty. There are days I know it's a pleasure working here.

A Little Crazy

I'm looking for the calm, something to keep me from jumping off the deep end. March has come in like a lion and I'm not prepared for his roar.

Georgia On My Mind

Out of secret darkness sprang
These hyacinths so fair,
A holy incense, wondrous strong,
Their perfume fills the air.....
A dream comes true, white, red and blue
To lift my spirit with a song.
~Friendship Book (March 1, 1972)