I just returned from the annual Ladies’ Retreat at one of my favorite places, the always beautiful Mt. Hope, which left me thinking about all the good things life has brought my way this year.

January: a visit to Missouri to see my grandson.

February: a visit to the ocean with a friend. 💓

Spring…Almond Festival in Capay Valley, garden blooming, Garden Tour, basketball games, friends’ birthdays, unexpected gifts….richness of friends and family!

Summer brought more basketball! Friend Trudie and I attended the California Classic, a three day event with a double-header each day, featuring the up and coming new players on our team, other CA teams, and for reasons unknown….Miami. 🤔

June took me back to the midwest for my grand’s first birthday. 💓  We also had a mini family reunion for hubs family…to inter his mother’s ashes beside his father’s….a mostly sweet, slightly sad event.

Jason and Nana

Jason and Papa

August found us on the Big Island of Hawaii (between hurricanes) for a visit to my brother Jim and his wife, and to see my number three son and his friend/housemate/ business partner. We are excited for these young men…they bought my brother’s business and are doing well with it. They seem to really love what they do, where they do it, and the people they meet doing it. For example, this week looks rough: fly to Maui for a job there, then back home….later this week they’ll be working on the gyms on a passing cruise ship. 😎

Later in the month I celebrated another birthday (with friends, lots of friends!)

September brought a too short visit with dear friends who moved to Pennsylvania 18 years ago, whom we hadn’t seen in the last few years at all due to the craziness of all our lives. What a truly sweet time we had for those not-quite 48 hours. 💓

Throughout the year we had blessings, small and large…grounded at all times in the One whose love makes all things possible.

April is National Poetry month. To honor that, I chose to write an acrostic poem…which I shared in Facebook. Now I’ll share it here to make even more of you real poets cringe a bit. 😎

An Annual Gift

Swiftly scudding overhead, leaden clouds bring rain or snow

Perched in branches newly budding, songbirds warble; nature’s show

Radiant spirits, promise of ease–scent of blossoms, buzz of bees

Invoking dreams of summer fun, warming sun lingers; children run

Nights are shorter, though still chill. Easter and Passover cause a thrill

Gift of heaven, laden with love. Specially sent from God above.

RLF 2018

For me, the garden bursting forth is joy…

 

Almond FestivalAll dressed up and ready for the Almond Festival this Sunday. 😎

 

 

We have been blessed with our first granchild. It was a lot like having a first child…falling in love with someone before you get to meet them.  🙂

 

 

So it seems Someone had been here before and seen an old post of a sunflower field…and for some reason was drawn back to look again recently. For her sake I thought I’d update with a few pics from this year. Enjoy!

 

I am busy working on a matching pair of fingerless mittens for the Leah Cowl, but due to the general busyness of life, I have nothing to show just now. With that in mind I thought I’d share a few photos from our trip to Canada last July.

We flew up to Seattle, then took Amtrack into Vancouver, BC where I had a nice visit with Monica, before boarding an overnight train to the heart of the Canadian Rockies.

The view from the train, once the morning came, was spectacular! Mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, we saw it all….except for large wildlife…no bears, no moose.

We travelled by train as far as Jaspar, then by tour bus down to Lake Louise, the Columbian Ice Fields, and Banff, with stops at more places than I can name, but all were incredibly beautiful! Several tested my mental strength…the Sky Walk, the gondola (especially the gondola!!) and the 33% grade unpaved, slushy/icy path up to the glacier, to name a few. 😬

We also had a chance to drive up to Edmonton, where we enjoyed wonderful hospitality from and a visit with friends who live nearby….and of course had to spend some time wandering through the Edmonton Mall (wow…just wow) before heading back to Calgargy for a quick visit with friends there before heading home.

 

…that I have bothered to publish, that is.

My Leah cowl pattern. You can download the PDF from here or go here for the Ravelry page where you can add it to your Ravelry library.

At least the sunflowers appreciate this 100+ degree day.
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