The sweetest way to spend a Monday morning

I got to have coffee with some lovely ladies

The Zywicki girls and Vinny were gracious enough to let me invite myself over for coffee and goodies. It was great to get caught up a little bit. We get to continue the visiting on Sunday. Can't wait!

The felines of the family

I managed to get pictures of 3 of their 4 kitties. The super fuzzy one is Lily. The tortoise tabby is Stanley. The white and grey one is Lucy aka Barbarian. I didn't get one of Sweet Pea. She's a siamese. Lucy is their newest addition. She is very very friendly. She tried to get my attention by standing on the back of a chair and patting me on the head.

All versions to be converted...

to King James version?

My iPad Bible program only has King James Version. It's a red letter edition as well. 

Apparently, if I want to read any other version they need to be "converted".

I almost laughed out loud in church when this message popped up.  I think the whole point of God's written work is and always has been to "Convert All"!

Meet Lila

This four year old doxie mix was adopted by Joylynn's old neighbor. Joylynn and Jess had her at their place for a few days prior to her going to her forever home. What a sweet dog! I've determined that when we are close to empty nesting Har and I are getting a dog. It's going to be small enough to be a lap dog. Though I remember my sister's boxer thought he was a lap dog and every time I was there he sat on my lap :P

It looks like early summer

Rhododendrons that look like peppermint candies.

Poppies that look like they are part of a watercolor painting. So pretty.

Yard work

It's getting to be the season of weekly lawn mowings. I love our retro mower. We have to decide if we are going to try to reseed the deep shade part of our lawn or do something else there. The joys of homeownership. But once you put the money into it and put in the sweat equity, you can sit back and enjoy the results.

On my bucket list

 In my almost 34 years of living in the Portland metro area, I've never been to Saturday Market. Har and I drove down Nato this weekend and there were a ton of people around. Did you know that they don't pay attention to the "Don't Walk" signal if there is a big enough group crossing the road together? I suppose it wouldn't take a whole lot of effort on my part to get this crossed off of my "bucket list". It's not like it's an Alaskan cruise or anything.

This is not the best angle to photograph this sign. One of these evenings I want to go out and get a picture of it from on the east side of the Burnside Bridge. It's a real Portland landmark. It has changed hands over the years and is currently owned by the University of Oregon. They have every right to put a big O in green or yellow up there but they mercifully have it saying Portland, Oregon (in UofO colors).

The back-East kids

They got to see one of the bigger Smithsonian Exhibits recently. The Natural History Museum! After an afternoon of that Miss Katie, in her mother's words, was "so done". She's so cute in her exhausted state though.

Sunnier disposition

 I got these three pictures today on my phone. They sure are enjoying their new swings, play fort  and their big yard!

 Their mom is finding treasures like this flowering shrub in the woods around their house. It's going to fun for her to see what all is growing around there and what will be blooming at various times during the spring, summer and fall. 

Keep sending pictures Lyssa! 

I'm glad you have a phone with a good camera :0)

Walking the morning away

Artist in Residence

I discovered that Garrett had gotten into a bucket of crayons. My cutting mat was the perfect canvas for his artwork. Not long after I found this, Har and I had to run to an appointment and left Krystle in charge of Garrett. We came home to see that no more mischief was undertaken and he was fast asleep. Way to babysit, Krystle!

Lunch crashers

Courtney and Charles were having lunch with our friend, David Nuttelman. We popped in and hassled them for awhile. Though physically it's not obvious, David really looks up to Harlan. He is going to be leaving fairly soon for an internship at Disneyland. The Magic Kingdom will not be the same after this!

Our Saturday stroll netted plenty of pictures

We saw some beautiful landscaping during our Saturday walk. This grouping of trees is one of my favorite additions to yards and gardens around here. Though it's hard to have a favorite when almost every house has something to admire.

I finally got a photo of this recently built pirate ship play structure and the Jolly Roger flag is wrapped around the yardarm. The flag is lit up at night. It's very cool.

 We spotted one of the local squirrels burying something in a front yard. He was so meticulous about putting the grass back and packing it down.

Are these both strawberry plants?

I know the plant on the right here is a strawberry since I've seen the berries in past years. But these pink blossomed plants look like strawberries too. Do they have different varieties with different colored blossoms?

Coffee break

Har and I stopped in at Caffe D'arte. They make the prettiest lattes. I like the rings left around the edge of the mug each time Harlan took a drink. It's kind of a measurement of enjoyment ;0)

A couple of fun photos

My only allergy catalyst

There is something about the flowers on this tree that causes my throat to itch. Every year while it is in bloom I have problems with a slight allergy. It's weird that off all of the plants and pollens blowing around, our neighbor's trees keep me from sleeping with the windows open while these spires are in bloom.

An evening in A Secret Garden

Cam and I got to attend a production of The Secret Garden put on by the drama department at Portland Christian Schools. Our friend, Megan Nuttelman (David's sister). had one of the primary parts. 

 They did a fantastic job on this musical. Here we are posing with Megan after the final curtain call. This is her final play at Portland Christian as she will be graduating in June. I hope she continues with her acting in college. She is very talented.

Thank you, Jan for the tickets. We had a wonderful time!

It's days like these that make the rainy times bearable

Cityscape and mountains

These two pictures weren't taken by me. Our friend Josh is a photographer and took these this week. I must say these are photos of Portland at its finest.

Mt Hood in the first photo and Mt Adams in the second.

A flower or a flowering weed?

 This cluster of flowers came up in our parking strip. They are perfectly lovely but they are living where we are supposed to only have grass. Does anyone know if this is a desired flower or a nasty weed?

A quick look: the flowers around our house

Our first rhododendron bloom of the season. There are tons of buds on it. It will be in full bloom for Mother's Day.  My Sabre forget-me-nots :0)

The neighbor's camellia and a few of their flowering plum branches peaking down through the canopy of new Japanese Maple leaves on our tree.



Our backyard neighbors have lilacs!  They are so beautiful. I wish I had a window that faced their yard so I could enjoy these more.

Plants for Courtney to put in the ground.

 I picked up some perennials for along the driveway. I need to get out there and weed and turn the soil and amend the bed before we can have success but I've been putting off planting there for long enough. 

I think our newest neighbors would appreciate something lovely to look at.

My lovey boy

Grandchildren are the absolute best! They make rainy days sunny and sunny days SPECTACULAR!

I cherish the moments we spend together. Today was Garrett and Gramma time.