Ten Recent Random Moments

My phone photo collection has become a place I enjoy scrolling through ..

mostly to see what I can delete ...

But always a reminder of the many random moments. 

The boys helping Papa with bark mulching.

 The girls playing with magnets on the fireplace screen doors

(because I don't want the fridge scratched) 

 and throwing walnuts outside for the squirrels.

 Jack picking dandelions 

 while Jade is learning soccer skills.

 Mini daffodils that started off as cute four or five inch plants,

shooting up like beanstalks.

 Lilacs that stayed nice for a long time.

 Sister shopping time at Hobby Lobby.

 A successful trip.

And a lemon zucchini Bundt cake that looked photogenic to me.

I look at such random moments and realize how blessed I am!
Bringing me back to the reason I started blogging more than ten years ago:
I didn't want the important nor the seemingly insignificant day to day
 to pass without acknowledgement.

Beauty in Imperfection

I did not take a photo of this bouquet when my cousin brought it over ...

beautiful in its perfection, all standing straight, barely opening.

But, these last few days, whenever I walk through the family room

and see this array of blooms stretching out  ...
portraying a bit of an attitude ...

I smile inside. 

There is a beauty even in this, right?

Since We've Come Home

A hodge-podge ...

Getting back to Pacific Time was a bit of a challenge,

especially when he got sick even before we got home and

I soon followed with headaches, other aches and coughing fits.

It was not the welcome back I envisioned 

when there was so much to catch up on.

I had delayed my usual mother's day potting

 so that neighbors would not need to water our plants.

This got done.

In the midst of my fog,

I suddenly also realized that it was time for strawberry jam . . .

got those flats taken care of and stirred for many hours

for the grandkids' winter pleasure.

You've seen what jam looks like, so I'll show you this

Canada Day dahlia I chose for this pot.

The pre-schoolers made up for at least one play-date they missed while we were away.

And oh, the things they get away with here.

No one got hurt.

On father's day weekend the kids hosted a wonderful brunch.

Ben and Kari have an empty room that Teddy calls her office.

This was set up for their own dining pleasure.

Not sure who enjoyed it more,

the kids or the adults.

This week Lacey invited me to her Grade 1 classroom for 

a reading or The Little Red Hen, for which she was the narrator.

It was so cute!

And last, but not least, 

I have to document this ballerina foot stance

of a sweet girl in her happy place.

I took her along to get groceries one day and,

after filling my trunk had to put the toilet paper rolls beside her on the seat.

As I was driving, the large package suddenly hit the front seat

and she giggled, saying,

"I laughed because the toilet paper 

did a back flip."

Koen came in with his mom when they picked her up.

He asked if he could have a snack.

I asked him if he wanted an apple or an orange or ...

"Did you say a cinnamon bun?" he asked.

He went home with a Tupperware container of buns from the freezer.

And that's it for my random post.

Tulip Time in the Valley

 

The day before it opened last week, we were invited for a sneak preview

of the tulip farm nearby, just in it's second year of operation,

If you happen to go down Highway 1 near Chilliwack

in these next few weeks,

you can't miss the colors,

  

 We walked the perimeter of the farm,

enjoying the rows on rows of tulips in such a perfect setting

with the mountain ranges and peaceful looking farms as a backdrop.

I can just imagine the rainbow of colors once they come into full bloom.

 I  bent low to get some close shots  . . .

when, after a while, Teddy asked if she could take some pictures.

I handed off my phone and smiled when I saw how she squatted near the blooms.

just like she'd seen me do it.

But what I did not see until I went through the photos later

was that several times she had focused on the lone tulips in the mud.

I almost deleted them before realizing this beautiful perspective from a child,
seeing beauty despite the circumstances,

  and a reminder to bloom where we are planted. 

The Frozen Pond

On Sunday we went for a walk mid day . . .

the sun was shining and skaters were enjoying the ice.

It felt like we were part of an old fashioned Christmas card scene.

Walking in the morning, however, 

my focus has been on the ducks, 

tough mallards who stick around for the winter.

I've read that they have a thick layer of fat on them

and that their feathers are water-repellent -

giving them natural insulation.

But it still surprises me to see them walking on the ice

or chilling in small pools on the edge. 

Not the most romantic type of courtship season, if you ask me.

.

The funniest is when they fly and land with a huge slide on the ice

skidding like a bad plane landing.

At this time of year you will also see a raft of them exiting onto the walking path

if they see someone willing to share some food.

They appear to be a lot friendlier, not so quick to scoot away,

when they are cold and hungry.

I'm looking forward to warmer waters for them

and showing off their little broods come Spring.

Christmas Lights

Last night while Shaun and Kristal went out to celebrate their Anniversary, we took the kids to White Spot and then drove around looking at light displays of various homes around town. It was a fun way to spend time in the car with them.

This first house was hardly visible behind all of the blow up decorations and the kids were quite impressed. I decided to take some quick photos from my window so we could choose a winner at the end.

So much creativity and work went into these displays.

We stopped to take in the views and  then moved on.

It didn't take Evy long to figure out how this worked, and she'd call out

from her car seat, "Next one!" 

I think my favorite one was when Natalie suddenly started singing

 "Oh come all ye Faithful , , , " and we could not help but sing along.

A beautiful way to share the joy!

And yes... I know this one does not fit in at all, 

but I thought I'd add "home sweet home."

Hot chocolate with mini marshmallows finished off the evening perfectly

just before mom and dad came to get their sleepy kids.

January Joy

 One more time I took a picture of the month

that went by so quickly . . .

 I put it away, replacing it with hope for another season.

I spent some time arranging the mantle in the living room.

And continued on the way we all do . . .

switching things up.

 In the kitchen I'm enjoying fresh cut flowers from friends.

They've  brightened my most loved space and 

I think they actually helped make it easier to put away the greenery and candles.

 In the kitchen also, I exchanged the manger scene in the cubby shelf  

with a plate on a stand and some chicks that I love moving from place to place.

And the cabinet-hung plate stand lost it's Christmas plate 

and has a brand new cutting board sitting in it.

A gift that has had me trying out an old recipe

with a few missing steps and vague instructions,

written in part English, part German.

I'm loving the challenge of this one and

will keep you in the loop.

Treasure found at the MCC Sale

On Friday night we moved slowly with the traffic going toward the Mennonite Central Relief Sale at the Tradex Center. It was a good thing there was overflow parking in the adjacent field. We found a spot and finally made it inside to join the throngs of people there for dinner.  

One could tell that organizers have worked hard to make things flow with people picking up pre-paid vouchers so that not every booth has to handle cash. Also, large signs describing exactly what food you were lining up for helped, and still there were line-ups weaving from one building to another - I hardly know how to describe. Long tables were set up in the center and people just moved in and out all night long. It certainly  made me feel like the memory of our ethnic food is not going to die off any time soon.

We spent the evening meandering through the crowd away from the food, meeting old friends . . . that's what it usually boils down to . . . taking ten steps and catching up with the next set. 

As we did so, I peeked at the tables selling new and used wares when I happened to see a beautiful small punch bowl set. I kid you not, it was the plastic ladle that had my attention because mine just broke.  I checked it out, thinking, it's a small bowl but so pretty for a fruit salad or trifle and . . .  I would get my ladle in perfect condition.

I'm at a stage where I do not need more crystal serving dishes. 

and I do have my 70's style punch bowl . . .

but this little one will find it's spot and it's purpose in our home

to possibly serve a few more than it has so far.
It's always fun to come home with some kind of treasure.

Girls' Trip to La Conner

It was Ellen who invited us for a get-together in La Conner, WA 

for its first official Daffodil Festival this year . . .

a re-take of our trip five years ago to Tulip Town, when we first met her.

It was mentioned how it's hard to believe that

we have only really known Ellen for five years

and how we can't imagine our German Mennonite group 

without our one and only Russian "cousin."

We walked through the entrance of the Roozengaarde which boasts a beautifully manicured little park with endless varieties of tulips and daffodils -

to the fields in the back.

You can see Julie was not too proud to do what was necessary to keep her cute sneakers clean.

I took this photo from Lovella's stash, because I just love it!

Back in the fields, it was hard not to click away on our cameras.

Daffodils never looked so pretty!

Tulip fields followed the daffodils.

Here we saw the harvesters busy cutting bunches of bouquets for the market.

They carefully picked and cut their bundles 

and brought them to the end of the row

to arrange in waiting flats.

On our way out, we spent some more time in the garden area

and then headed into town to have some lunch.

Some of us have been practicing the pan shot on our iPhones,

finding out it makes for some funny entertainment. 

Here we are . . . the only  ones missing would have had to fly in.

Marg came to join us wherever she did not have to walk too much

as she is still nursing her injured leg.

It was a good day and a good way to celebrate the unique friendship we share.