OUR FLOWER COMMUNION

    "The Flower Communion is an annual ritual in many Unitarian Universalist churches that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community.
     Originally created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Capek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, the Flower Ceremony was introduced to the United States by Rev. Maya Capek, Norbert's widow.
     In this ceremony, everyone in the congregation brings a flower. Each person places a flower on the altar or in a shared vase. The congregation and minister bless the flowers, and they're redistributed. Each person brings home a different flower than the one they brought." (From the website www.uua.org)

Each flower unique.

Each person is unique.

By themselves, they may look rather plain -

Our Flower Communion at church was last weekend.  It also coincided with our "Good Bye" service for our minister, Rev. Marcia Stanard who is leaving us after three years to become the new minister for Atkinson Memorial Church in Oregon City.  We will miss her alot, but she has proved to us and to the world, that even a church as small as ours deserves and can sustain a great minister.

You take that one plain flower and add another and another, and soon you have a display of great beauty.

I think people are like that, too.  Don't you?


PS - and if you get to Oregon City on a Sunday morning (starting late August)  stop by Atkinson Memorial for a great church service.  Tell them "A friend of your minister" sent you!   








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A Good Read - "The Beekeepers Ball"

 

After having spent the last few months on a marathon of old Nora Roberts romance novels, the books that my sister included in the "Christmas" package that I received last month promised to be exciting reads.  I decided to start on the Susan Wiggs novel, "The Beekeepers Ball" Bella Vista Chronicles, Book 2 .  

This is just a great book.  OK, I thought it was going to be a little slow at first - you get used to Nora hopping her characters into bed at the first possible chance - that didn't happen here - although the "dance" was there - a slow romantic waltz, that morphs into a delicious tango as the book goes along. 

The side story of Tess & Isabel's grandfather's life in Nazi occupied Denmark is believable and interesting.  Wiggs' engaging characters leave you wanting more and hoping there will be another book in the "Bella Vista" Chronicles.   I definitely have to find "The Apple Orchard" (Book 1, of course)

Hope you're having a great week! 

"Memories, light the corners of my mind" ???

I got an email from an old friend the other day.  We went through all 12 years of grade school and high school together -

"You know what tomorrow is?" she asked.





May 28th, I thought.


"May 28, 1970 - our high school graduation day" she continued.

As if I could ever forget.

 How does it seem that some dates are inexplicably etched in your memory?

(If it were not for the copy of our wedding invitation, sealed in stained glass, that hangs on our bathroom wall (ok, I know that sounds like a funny place for it to be, but it works) I would never be able to remember our anniversary.  It gets mixed in with Earth Day and an old friend's birthday - I just always have to go look at it and check.)

Sorry, I digress -

And peonies - They always remind me of graduation too.  We lived in a small town in North Central Washington - there were no florists - but you always knew who had the best gardens and that is who did the flowers for the important community events.  Big baskets of peonies and branches of bridal veil spirea decorated the gym that day.

I think I was co-valedictorian (ok, it's been 45 years - the mind is not the steel trap it used to be, ha ha)  That meant I had to give a speech!

Me, "Miss last minute/procrastination is my middle name", knew weeks before the ceremony that I was going to have to give that speech.  Mr. Godden, our principal, had to approve it before hand and kept bugging me.  "I'll get it done!" I said - probably somewhat testily because in those days there was no Wikipedia, no computers to help you hastily write up something "meaningful"  - no, it had to be HAND WRITTEN on to those 3x5 cards, with all of your "main points" written in capitals, so you wouldn't forget them.

Here I am in my 18 year old splendor

Well, I finally got my speech written, I do remember that it was something inspiring about where we were all going from here.  And I can still remember that main point:  "AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE" -  (flip to next card) - Oh, crap - even though I had just written this dribble, I knew for sure, that the next sentence, which instructed us all on where to go from here - was missing.  I hadn't had time to proof read my cards.  Damn...  and in the way that memories hide in the corners of your mind, to tell you the truth, I really don't remember how I recovered from that boo-boo.

Somehow I finished up the speech, got my diploma and was off to the many "graduation parties" that were happening that night - well not really "many" - there were only 12 of us - and nine of us had gone through all 12 years together - "One big happy family" - yeah, right...

But I still remember that date - May 28, 1970. 

Not quite Christmas in July...

So, my family, although we're all in the same state, is spread out, and it's awkward to drive through the traffic or over the passes to get together for Christmas- so, we don't really "celebrate" together like many other families do - in fact we kind of have a laissez faire attitude about Christmas presents - sort of a "you'll get them when you get them" approach. 

My sisters got their 2014 Christmas presents from me in May...well, I was only 5 months late...

Last week, I got a call from my youngest sister - she sort of goes by the philosophy of you'll get yours when I get mine.  And since she got her's last month , I've been anticipating  her call -

"I sent your Christmas package today - it's coming to your office - I hope that's OK?"

"I've included some "Hand-me-up" clothes" she said.  (And these two cool reusable shopping totes) 

Oh, good - I love her "hand-me-ups" - she has fairly good taste in clothes...

The first item in the box was a small muslin covered pillow - "hmmm, I thought - this is "weird" " - but then I dug down a little deeper, and found this really cute pillow cover  - Kitty and, velvet - what else could you ask for...

A decorated mug & coaster set - bigger than it looks - probably holds almost two cups -

Just perfect for the hot lemon tea that I can make with the dehydrated lemons that Trish sent me...

I love dragonflies -

This scarf is almost 4' square - so it is really more of a shawl - Old Navy - who'd a thought???

And, of course, the perfect stocking stuffer items - stickers, a box of Peeps and these cute elastic hair bands........

All in all, a pretty good Christmas box, don't ya think? 

A SweetTart Surprise!

A couple of months ago my friend Trish, the Heavenly Maven from The Katnip Lounge (and Mommy to THIRTEEN of the most entertaining and engaging kitties you will ever meet!!!) mentioned that they had their own lemon tree in their yard (they live close to Las Vegas) and that she uses her food dehydrator and makes dried lemon slices. "Oh, that sounds yummy!" I said.

Last week, in the mail I got this wonderful package of lemony goodness!  I haven't had time to try anything but a nibble of one - sufficiently lemony flavor.  Can't wait to come up with ideas for their use!

Thank you Trish!



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The Birth of a Princess

Last month a new Princess was born - 

 Marietta's Lilah! 

Oh, you thought I meant THIS Princess -Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (ie Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana...)  Sober looking little thing, isn't she? 

Not as good looking as "Uncle Henry", but here are all of Lilah's Aunties and cousins - checking in to see what all of the excitement is about. 

This is Lilah's brother Sammy  -  (pre-sold, can you believe it!)  They are actually almost a month old, so I need to get out and take some new pictures.  His horns are going to be massive and she has just the sweetest face. 

Nothing says spring like new lambs! 




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Life is going on

This was Bella's favorite perch when we were out in the barn/greenhouse area.  Surveying his kingdom.  

Thank you to everyone of you for your kind thoughts and prayers about Bella.  He still has not returned and as I do not have a sense of his "spirit" anyplace close, I don't know what else to do but think of him in the arms of his angels. 





Meanwhile the kids have stopped sitting on the back porch and staring into space, and they are eating again - not that I was worried that they would starve to death, I think Gracie must weigh about 20 pounds!  But for the first 10 days or so, they just didn't seem that interested in food.

But they definitely are interested in snuggles - big time - ask my how easy it is to type with a cat on your lap.  And he doesn't "perch" - he kind of spreads out to be as comfortable as he can get - laying on my keyboard tray - silly cat...

Both The Shepherd & I have had bad head colds/cough/laryngitis/sneezy type stuff.  I even took a day off work last week - I think George was the only one who got any sleep that night.... I probably should have taken two days off especially since one of my jobs is to answer the phone, and that is pretty hard to do when you sound like a squeaky toy

We sheared a couple of weeks ago, and I have lots of pictures of pretty fleeces - I'll try to post them this next week.




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Losing hope

 My heart is broken. 

The thin late winter sun does little to brighten my day - saddened by the disappearance of our sweet kitty Bella.

Even George & Gracie seem sad.  They sit on the back porch and stare off into the distance - like I do - hoping to see her in the shadows





And they are kind of off their feed too - where as last week, they would chow down twice a day on a bowl of crunchies and 1/3 of a "hockey puck" can of "stinky goodness" - now, they barely eat 1/4 of a can, and not so much on the crunchies either.   (which, really, isn't a bad thing, they are both a little (well maybe a lot) pudgy) 

I just don't like the not knowing. 

Sigh.....




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Without a Trace

Back in the fall of 2011, a very sweet kitty came to live with us - abandoned?  No, I think he was actually supposed to live up at "the barn" next door, but they obviously weren't feeding this cat, because he was starving to death.  Literally. 

So pretty soon, he was eating on the back porch, then inside the back door, then, why the heck not, in the kitchen with George & Gracie.

 Bella was (is?) a beautiful cat - furry furry black and big green eyes.  I have 39 posts labeled with Bella - you can go back and read through them - the biggest surprise was last year when I took her to the vet & found out she was a "he"  - We called Bella our Transgendered cat - because "he" really did seem like a "she"

Bella disappeared on Thursday.  Coyote?
Maybe ... 

Thursday night is the first time since Bella came to live with us that he hasn't met me at the gate when I came home from work - hmmm - bad feeling about this. 

I've called the neighbors and put it out on the neighborhood facebook page that he is missing.  Hopefully he's just locked in someone's garage and will be home soon.  Keep good thoughts... I'll keep you posted. 

Taking a break in the Caribbean from the cold wintery weather

A co-worker and her husband recently celebrated their anniversary on the island Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean  - her pictures were so pretty, I asked her if I could share them with you - especially for any friends on the east coast - spring is out there somewhere.....

Beautiful tropical beaches

George, Gracie & Bella liked the picture of the burds just lined up like a buffet

Miles of beach, and hotels....

I wonder what it was like before?

Beautiful shells

And other kinds of fauna...

Just as beautiful under the sea

Remember the warm sandy feet when the cold winds blow. 

Hope you enjoyed these pictures of paradise  -  Have a great week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

photo copyright Rachel Vos*

And there's nothing better than walking in the rain with your sister!






*Thanks Rachel for letting me use the picture of the girls :-)  

12th Man (& 12th Woman) Pride

The team at Security Solutions has a lot of 12th Man pride ... well, all except for our controller, Brian, who's a die-hard 49ers fan. We love him, anyway.

A brave man to wear red & gold in a sea of blue & green! 

Wishing our team the very best at Super Bowl XLIX!  

GO HAWKS!!!!

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Blue & Green to the core -

May the best team win - and of course we know who that will be!  

'Nuff said.

Be nice now.....

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Word Games...

 

My sister & I discuss "words" a lot (she is a self professed "word geek") - we'll talk about misused words, maybe misspelled  - what ever.  I thought of her when I saw this funny on Pinterest.  I love the Thesaurus that is built into MS Word, don't you? 

And I'm lovin' Pinterest - In fact the little sign that says "Pinterest is just electronic hoarding" fits me to a tea.  Ha ha ha.....

Making Pumpkin bread pudding for dessert tonight.  Hope it turns out tasty - I'll keep you posted. 

Have a good day! 

Ho, ho, ho - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Well, it's that time of year again!  The witch hazel is blooming,

and,

it's my birthday! 

Thank you to our friend Michelle for the pretty Jacque Lawson birthday e-card. 

The promise of longer days is holding my attention right now, and looking for some of my favorite spring flowers.

On Pinterest......

I don't know if it is a better addiction than computer solitaire or not???

 My oldest sister, the rat, is in Hawaii...

Eating cocoanut shrimp at the Kona Inn.  I'm sorry, cocoanut shrimp is just wrong in so many ways - however my next oldest sister and I decided that the reason I don't like cocoanut shrimp is that I prefer tarter sauce with my shrimp and we decided that, yes, that was disgusting.

The Shepherd & I went to dinner tonight with a long time friend from church that we don't see very often any more.  It was lovely to spend time with her.  We had Thai food - I had Prawn Pud Thai - it was delicious! 

And tomorrow, I am going out to lunch with some other long time friends who I used to work with - we've been going to lunch about every other month for at least 10 or 12 years now - maybe longer.  It is a comfort to have such long time friends.  

One thing that is different this year is that there is no snow on my birthday.  It used to be something that I could "count" on - but no snow tomorrow. The weather man says that there is a "0" percent chance of precipitation tomorrow!  Yeah!  


We had a quiet Christmas and a quiet New Year - spent New Year's Day at our friend Nancy's annual brunch.  Not as many people there as previously - many have moved to be closer to grandkids (!) and sadly some have passed away. 

But the food is always good and the music is even better.  And every year, new people come.  It is a fun tradition. 

I'm just finish up my "treats" to take to work tomorrow (when it is your birthday at our office YOU bring the treats)  I made Traditional Chex Mix - but I put Fritos and Cheetos in it as well as all the other goodies and double the sauce AND this year I put some Chipotle Tabasco sauce in the mix so it's got just a little bit of heat to it.  Yum...

To counter the heat I've also made some Caramel Chex Mix - instead of the Cheetos, it's got popcorn and I put some little bitty green M&M's in it - I'm going to finish it off with a drizzle of  "white" chocolate that's been tinted blue - - -

Can you say Seahawks colors???  One game separating us from Superbowl 49.  WooHoo!

Have a great day out there!  




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Yup, it's comin' on Christmas......

"It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace" *

Merry Christmas to all from everyone here on the farm!

*From the song "River" by Joni Mitchell