Afternoon At Grandma's...

Periodically I get to have two of the grandchildren over for lunch and the afternoon. It's a fun change of pace for all of us. Miss M. and Mr. B. enjoy playing with their "big kid" aunt and uncle. I get to enjoy the kids and their dear mom gets an afternoon of peace and quiet! Usually I am not so good about getting the camera out when they are here, but this week I did, so here are some photos of an afternoon at Grandmas!

Painting with water is a great activity - it has a lot going for it - you never run out of "canvas" as the sun "erases" it quickly, it does not stain clothing or faces and clean up is a snap!...Of course the down side is that there's no art work to hang on the refrigerator!

Play Doh was fun for Miss M. and Naomi.

Mr. B. having snack with Uncle Lucas!

And of course... even an afternoon at Grandma's house includes a nap!

Lots of fun memories!

60 Years Ago Today...

Although we did our celebrating last month, today marks 60 years of marriage for Dad & Mom. In honor of their special day I will reprint my post from their 59th anniversary. It is every bit as true today as one year ago. I only hope that there will be many more anniversaries yet to celebrate!

Today my parents celebrate 60 years of marriage. That is an admirable milestone in and of itself, but what is more admirable to me is the way in which they have lived out those 60 years. Their life's journey took them from the farm to major cities all across Canada. Their retirement years brought a total loss of vision for my mom and now in their senior years they face the multitude of health challenges that come with age. The journey of life often takes us to unexpected places, but Mom and Dad have always embraced their life with contentment and graciousness. Wherever they went they made friends, found a church and got to know their neighbors. They have always practiced kindness, generosity and hospitality. I am so blessed to have them as my parents.

So today I say ~ Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Here is a song for your anniversary:

Another Quilt Story...

For those of you that read my daughter Angela's blog, you may have seen her recent post on the quilts that she and Melody made years ago. (You can click here to read it if you've not seen it.)

When I saw her post I decided that I needed to show you all another quilt project that my two girls did years ago! About 11 years ago I had seen a quilt in a Pottery Barn catalog that I just loved; well the girls created a very close replica of that quilt including pillow shams, as a gift for Bob and me and managed to keep it a surprise right up until the "quilting" stage. It is beautiful and we have been using it continuously for 10 years now.

I have some photos here of the quilt as well as a scan of the catalog page that was their inspiration. I am still amazed at how similar it looks!

The whole quilt is hand quilted plus tied at all the corners. They embroidered their initials and date on a backside corner.

Here is the Pottery Barn catalog quilt:

 Thank you girls! I love the quilt and I love that you made it!

The Big Event...

The last day of our trip was the 60th anniversary celebration. The event that had brought us all up there. Dad and Mom's condominium complex has a lovely clubhouse that was perfect for our Sunday afternoon "Come and Go Tea". We were able to set everything up on Saturday afternoon. We decorated with tablecloths and ribbons used at Angela and Crandon's wedding, in teal and gold and silver. Melody put together some pretty flower arrangements, and several of us did some baking. These next few pictures are Saturday after we set up.

We used the same guest book that was used for their wedding, 60 years ago. I think the only guest that was at the anniversary and the wedding was my Aunt Mildred!

These are some photos from the event - lots of good visiting with friends, neighbors and family!

Miss M. was showing off her sticker on the front of her dress!

Everyone enjoyed looking at Mom and Dad's wedding album.

(By the way, that is the next great-grandchild, due in October, in the center of the photo!)

Don't Dad & Mom look great!

This little guy was worn out by the end of the party! Fortunately his Aunt Naomi was happy to sit and hold him.

After celebrating all afternoon, the family and some close friends went out to dinner at a local restaurant that Dad and Mom frequent.

Here are the 5 of us: Mom & Dad, Myself, Doug & Brenda

I consider myself very blessed to be able to celebrate this milestone anniversary with my parents!

Welcome Fall...

 In the other gardens
  And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
  See the smoke trail!
 Pleasant summer over
  And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
  The gray smoke towers.
 Sing a song of seasons!
  Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
  Fires in the fall!

Autumn Fires Robert Louis Stevenson (1885)

I will come back to my Canada pictures soon, but thought I would take a break to welcome Fall as yesterday was the fall equinox.

Here in Northern California the weather is still warm and there are plenty of green leaves on the trees, but it is still evident that fall has arrived. The evening air is a little cooler, the mornings crisper, the afternoon shadows longer and the sunlight has a golden cast to it. It is probably my favorite season! When fall arrives I start to think about pumpkin spice lattes, carmel corn and fires in the wood stove.

On Saturday as we were doing our weekly housework, Naomi helped me put out some of our fall decor. Our lifestyle no longer reflects the seasons as it did in past generations; we can eat fresh pineapple in December or have cut roses on our table in January. We no longer carefully watch the calendar to determine planting time and harvest. With our global economy it is easy to miss the passing seasons; perhaps that it why I enjoy decorating seasonally, to purposely acknowledge the change. A reminder that there are some things in life that we can always count on

"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

We are enjoying some of Naomi's ornamental corn that she grew this summer. It has all the colors of a southwestern sunset!

Happy Fall!

More Canada...

My vacation posts are coming in random order since I totally missed getting photos of some events and am waiting for Angela to share her photos with me =)

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of some of our projects and activities while at Mom and Dad's house.

Playing games in the evening (The Little Guy in the basket seems to think this is boring stuff!)

A serious game of Bananagrams! (I think Dad won this round)

Lucas keeping the Little Guy happy!

Bob at work replacing toilets!

An evening at the Wave Pool.

Great grandma with Little Guy wearing one of the sweaters that she knit for Angela more than 30 years ago!

Great grandpa enjoying his newest great grandson!

More pictures soon...

Canada...

Our recent trip to Canada was busy and filled with lots of activities, projects and visiting. I will try to highlight a few of them over the next week or so.

One of our outings took us to Vancouver for the day. We rode the Sky Train from Surrey into the waterfront in Vancouver. At Canada Pace we took in the amazing "Fly Over Canada" experience and then continued by Sea Bus across Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver where we enjoyed lunch and shopping at the Lonsdale Quay.

Riding on the Sky Train: (Little Guy seems to be less than impressed with the experience!!!)

Canada Place on the water front with beautiful hanging flowers:

FlyOver Canada is a breathtaking, flight simulation ride. You take off into a huge dome screen with the latest in projection and ride technology creating a true flying experience (complete with wind, scents, and mist!) We soared over Niagara Falls, through river gorges, across the open prairies and into the arctic surrounded by the Northern Lights. It truly was a one of a kind experience.

Grandma and Grandpa got to look after Little Guy while his mom and dad took in the show. We got our turn later!

Enjoying lunch at the North Vancouver Quay:

Coffee break time!

The beautiful Vancouver skyline from the Sea Bus:

Check back soon for more of our trip!