A Little Information

First of all, thank you to everyone that prayed for our friend Samuel Vanderpool. I wanted to let you know that he DID receive a liver transplant, last Monday evening in a 14 hour surgery. He received the the precious gift of a used, 21-year old liver, and blessings on the family it came from. The Lord provided the perfect timing, as he only had a few hours left to live. As I write this, he is doing very well indeed. Thanks again for your prayers.

Secondly, we are leaving today for our family reunion in Burns. We are exited, and Joy and her family will be joining the rest of us. We will continue blogging about our very fun week, when we return. May you all have a great Memorial Day Week-end.

Julie and Mom

Another Fun Day

As each morning this week, we started out on the run. This is Cecily getting a running start. On Wednesday morning we had a friend, Kindi Vaughan, come to visit, along with her three sweet daughters.

This is her newest daughter, Ella, at one month old. She pretty much slept through the visit.

This is her middle daughter, Brinnay, having a great ride, pushed by Cal and Ben.

And finally, Shayli and Millie. They all thought it was great fun to have friends over to play.

After lunch, Aunt JoAnn stayed with Millie and Cecily while they napped, and the rest of us went to a small museum. This house is where a friend of ours, Sharon Rosengarth, grew up. For her Mother's 80th birthday, she took the small house and fixed it up with her mother's original belongings. She is available for small tours, so we arranged this ahead of time.

Here is Sharon, greeting us at the door.

Sharon once taught Julie in Sunday School, so they had fun seeing each other again.

Sharon gave each of the boys a scavenger hunt list, of 'old' things to go find in the house. They paired up, so each reader had a younger brother to help and had fun with the project.

The boys were full of questions.

The house stands in a lovely city park, with some huge old-growth Ponderosa Pines dotting the acreage.

Out back is the original outhouse, and the Ben and Cal are carefully peeking inside.

This is what they found : )

Looking up into one of the enormous pines...

We had a fun time visiting the house, thank you Mrs. Rosengarth!

The older boys are avid bird-watchers, and have looked forward to seeing some West Coast birds. They found a kill deer that afternoon.

Later, back at home, we had a doozy of a hailstorm. The children all thought it was crazy, and ran around outside, darting back and forth between the hail stones and the cover of the back porch.

Millie thought that having a couple of inches of hail on the deck was the greatest adventure!

Millie and Cecily think it is great fun to climb up and down our circular staircase out back. Who needs toys?

Last of all, they got to take a bath in Grammy's great big tub, a real treat!

Cecily is about done for the day... but all cleaned up.

What big days we have, full of fun and adventure. But it's always great, to clean up and crawl into a snugly bed when the day is done.

Evening Hot Dogs and S'mores

We inaugurated our new fire pit, and built a fire out of wood scraps for a dinner of roasted hot dogs and s'mores.

Since the weather was on the cool/cold side and rainy, that fire felt really good.

The insurance man roasted Milly's hot dog while she gave him a little loving.

We also plugged in our little fountain, and the girls thought that it was a great place to play!

We ate our dinner in the house before coming back out for s'mores. That's always a big hit of course. The kids loved burning up the marshmallows before putting them in the graham crackers.

Calvin, with a very happy s'more grin! Due to inclement weather, there was no bicycle trip to Sunriver, but we all had a great time at home.

They're here!

On the way from W. Virginia to Oregon, they played at the Pittsburgh airport before boarding the plane. Everyone made it safely to Portland, but the one suitcase they checked. This morning it is somewhere on it's way to our house in Bend...we hope!

One very happy set of grandparents!

Now, today, it is a 'relaxing' day at home, investigating and playing with Grammy's toys.

Cecily found some rocks to play with...

while the boys get in some yard play with Dad. We are in for a very fun vacation.. and we'll keep you posted.

They're Coming!!

Hooray...tomorrow is the day that we pick up Julie & family from the airport in Portland. It's been three long years...and the kids can't wait to see Oregon again, Julie can't wait to come home again, and we, Papa and Grammy, just can't wait! I chose this photo with coats and hats, because it's still chilly here, and they will need those coats! We are planning a fun week of activities and play at Papa & Grammy's house. Tuesday we are planning a bicycle ride in Sunriver. Wednesday we are touring a friend's original ranch house, that she has kept for a small museum. Thursday we are going to the Metolius River, for a picnic lunch hopefully, and a tour of the fish hatchery. That night we are hosting a barbecue/potluck for friends and family, so they can spend time with Peter, Julie and the children. We are heading to Burns for a family reunion over Memorial Day Week-end, then finally a few wonderful days at the Oregon Coast before our vacation is over. We are going to enjoy each and every blessed moment with our grandchildren, starting tomorrow when they will see snow as we cross back over the Cascades into Central Oregon. God's has so richly blessed us with our precious family. Two weeks of Praising Him for His mighty deeds, and fellow shipping together. Bliss..

Living in Central Oregon

I recently saw a cute article in a local advertisement. It was Jeff Foxworthy, on living in Central Oregon. Here are the best ones:

• "If you've worn shorts, sandals and a parka at the same time, you live in Central Oregon."
• "If you have switched from HEAT to AC and back in the same day, you live in Central Oregon."
• "If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over two layers of clothes, you live in Central Oregon."
• "If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow and ice, you live in Central Oregon."
• "If you know all four seasons: 1) almost winter 2) winter 3) still winter 4) and road construction, you live in Central Oregon."
• "If you consider a mountain that has no snow, or has not recently erupted, not a real mountain, you live in Central Oregon."
• "If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Central Oregon."
• "If you know how to pronounce: Sequim, Puyallup, Clatskanie, Issaquah, OREGON, Umpqua, Yakima and Willamette, and Deschutes you MUST live in Oregon!"

I made two layer Halloween costumes for several years, so that one really resonated with me. Hope it was good for a grin...

Beautiful, Homegrown Fruit

Strawberries are really very beautiful, as fruits go. BUT, when it's the first berry to finally be eatable, grown in my own yard, it's a TRULY beautiful thing. :)
We had a pretty nice-sized strawberry patch at the house that we used to live in. We've lived here over 2 1/2 years and I finally got some berries planted and growing. We've missed them. It's delightful to have some again, even if it's just the little bit that you see above. I'm sure it's more than what my friends in Oregon have right now. :)

Night Time Surprise

I woke up around 3:10 am and realized that we had an owl outside. It was busily trying to connect with other owls by hooting every few minutes. It grew louder or fainter as it flew to different trees around the house. It was such a nice soothing sound, one we haven't heard in many years. I listened for a few minutes before it lulled me back to sleep. But I did realize that it stopped just before dawn when the other birds were just waking up...

The insurance man's project is almost done! He laid the sod, and put down rock paths this week. Everything is looking good for a visit from Sam, Will, Ben, Cal, Millie & Cecily next week. (Not to mention Julie and Peter.) The new fire pit will be tested out with S'mores, OR a hot dog roast depending on the weather. We are so exited to see them!
The project has been a lot of fun to plan and work on together. There are still a few little details to be done this summer, and a whole lot of planting to fill it up over the next several seasons.

The near square bed, will be for tomato plants. The rest of our vegetable seeds went in the ground yesterday, as well as the dahlia and gladiola bulbs, and were blessed with a warm spring rain last night.

None of us knew the insurance man had it in him...the artistic creativity that is. We knew he could make ANYTHING!

Brahms' Requiem

This last week-end JoAnn sang with the Central Oregon Mastersingers who performed with the Central Oregon Symphony. They did an original work of Johannes Brahms, the German Requiem, all sung in the original language. Doris, the insurance man and I attended yesterday, Sunday afternoon. I teased Doris that they selected this work, sung in German just for her. She said the choir did well, but the soloists had too strong of an American accent! It was a wonderful performance, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Here is our own little 'star' afterwards.

And a proud set of parents with her.

Beautiful Embroidery

To continue on a bit with the stash of hankies in the box...Aunt Minnie had some beautiful ones. She always carried one in her black purse. She lived in Seattle, on Queen Anne Hill, and walked most everyday down the hill to the Public Market downtown (and back) for fresh groceries. She always wore a dress, hat, hose and sturdy shoes, and carried her black purse (with a hankie). A nice stack of the handkerchiefs were left to me. Many of these were embroidered with Minnie's initials. They were typically a 'J' (her first name was Jennie, I am named after her), an 'M' for Minnie, or a 'K' for her last name of Kuentzel. Here are three samples of the beautiful work done.
Some of the edging is crocheted and some is tatted. I of course, just love the 'J' ones.

It is a real pleasure to use these, and they are much softer on the nose than today's paper Kleenex! Aunt Minnie embroidered her initials on lots of things, including sheets and pillowcases, as was the style of her day. I enjoy being the beneficiary.

Now for a quick update: One reader asked me to keep you posted about the progress of my friend's son, Samuel. On Wednesday he was accepted onto the active list at the U. of Washington Medical Center, waiting for a liver transplant. This could take just hours or weeks, depending upon when one becomes available. This was really a miracle, due to how thin he is and the state of his health. They are now in the waiting mode. His body is failing, so there are only 'windows' of opportunity for Sam to have surgery. God will orchestrate the timing to match a 'window'. Please pray!

The Second Box

This is the second box that I inherited from my Aunt Minnie. No one knows who made it. A few years ago, our church had an 'antiques roadshow' event, with a few antique dealers from town. We brought this box, and were told that it was handmade, probably by a sailor during a long voyage, as a gift for someone back home...his mother, wife or sweetheart.

The reason the appraiser guessed it was made by a sailor was this inlaid motif on the top. It is a nautical symbol, and the woods used are from eastern countries. It is amazingly well-done.

The box is edged with a different wood, and the corner joints are hand-made with yet a different wood.

The keyhole (key long lost) is made from pure ivory, as are the little round handles on the compartment covers inside. Again, the ivory suggests someone who was visiting foreign parts.

There are two little hinges on the back of the lid...and you open the box to reveal a tray with two small compartments and a larger one. I keep some old things inside...inherited jewelry from Grandma's I never knew, a small photo of my Mom in high school, old-fashioned calling cards from the 1800's, a stash of handmade handkerchiefs and ladies' gloves from the 40's and 50's.

You lift the tray out to reveal the bottom portion of the box. It is nice for storing some old things, and I'm always in awe of what can be made by hand, with a little skill and patience. The two small compartments are not the same size, and the lids are not interchangeable. Another mark of being handmade. Our appraiser guessed that the box was probably made in the late 1700's. That would make my little box the oldest item we own.