A Visit from Stephy

Our niece Stephy was in the area visiting family and we were able to meet her in Fairhaven one evening with Sallad, Grace and their two kids. It was so cool that they came up to see us, and we had a wonderful evening. We walked around the shops a bit and then ate dinner at my favorite local Thai Food restaraunt, On Rice. They serve awesome food, including the best gluten-free Pad Thai around. After dinner we took a walk along the water on the Pattle Point trestle. It was beautiful!

Stained glass coffee shop window.

Stephy and Bri's sweet little brother. (Yes, he is still nickname-less, any suggestions?)

Experimenting with the camera, I could make the car completely disappear in the shot, but I liked this one best. I am very afraid of spiders, but this one was on the other side of a window from me.

It is stunning when the camera catches a sunbeam so clearly.

We came across a perfectly rusty building that is perfect for portraits. This building was so full of character and I would have taken several photos from different angles, but we ran into a professional photographer around the corner who was using the building already. I definitely want to come back someday. Maybe with one of my sisters who has a fancy-schmancy camera.

I love cloud layers. All the different shades of color and depths and opacities amaze me.

Bellingham ferry dock.

The setting sun lit up a sail as a crew came in for the night.

A stand-up-paddle-surfer.

As we walked along the trestle, Bri found rocks here and there and had a lot of fun throwing them over the edge into the water.

If you ever try shots like these, please make sure your camera strap is securely around your wrist! I'm glad I risked it, because these are some of my favorite shots of Bri. The setting sun cast such a lovely pink glow over her, and she looks so sweet.

A Visit from AJ

Granville Island will always be a place to which I am drawn. With it's tables of fresh fruit, stands of colorful fragrant flowers, handmade wares, local artists singing, creating and entertaining, wonderful foods to taste and beautiful scenery, it is a place where you can't help but relax. Some would say that it would be the last place they could relax, and that they would rather have a wide open wheat field to stare at or a wide smooth body of water in front of them and nothing but the sound of birds chirping to listen to. I would have to agree with them, but I would also stand my ground and say that the hustle and bustle on a little market placed right smack-dab in the center of a huge city is also a place where I can relax. I find it very interesting what is calming or relaxing and what triggers these feelings.

Granville Island will most likely be a place we continue to visit, and a place we continue to take visitors from out of town. On this particular occasion, AJ was in town visiting our mutual friend Dee and her family, and they invited The Mr. and I to join them in visiting the Island. The Island is not really an island at all, unless you count a small trickling stream as something that defines the body of land as being an Island, but that's beside the point. The point is, that once again we had a great excuse to go enjoy ourselves on Granville Island. Oh, and lest I confuse you and you think to yourself "what? AJ was just there?!" I should explain myself and say that this is another post from the archives of my online photo storage and that this visit to the Island took place on April 6th.

Dee and her kids travel in style!

In this post, just a few of days ago, I exclaimed that I loved old weathered grey boards for a background when shooting daffodil photos, and this photo is similar, but the grey background is a city and sky!

Droo and I waited at our table in the market food court while the others got their food. Down at the far end closest to the water is our favorite spot to eat because there are tons of windows to let in light and the view is great.

My supper - a traditional German Cabbage Roll. Scrumptious! Not very photogenic, but very tasty.

Indian food.

Japanese food.

Oh, and AJ! I was so glad she was visiting as it was great to see her again.

Coffee at Blue Parrot Coffee.

Cake modeling a hat for us at Edie Hats. This is a must-see on the Island for all women, whether you like hats or not. There are trendy hats, beautiful hats from long ago, cowboy hats, gorgeous women's felt hats, sun hats, pageboy hats, top hats, this sentence would never end if I tried to name them all.

Outside the hat shop, there is a guest book. It is neat to see that this Island attracts people from all parts of Canada and all over the world by the looks of things!

Dragon Fruit, I was told it is similar to kiwi.

Rambutan. Think this spiky fruit looks weird? Check out this list of 10 Exotic Spiky Fruits, they're amazing and so strange to us here who are used to apples and oranges. I challenge you to find these fruits and try them, just don't ever crack open a durian while indoors. Trust me, Wikipedia calls is a "unique odor" but I think you will recognize it just fine. I haven't tasted any of them as far as I know, but I'd like to some day.

What kind of weird fruit have you tried and liked? Any from the list? I like Lychee, which isn't on the list, but is pretty spiky looking.

Libera - Deep Peace

Found via Little Jo Sleep.

Deep peace of the running wave to you

Deep peace of the flowing air to you

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the gentle night to you

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you

Deep peace of Christ

Of Christ

The light of the world to you

Deep peace of Christ to you

Deep peace of the running wave to you

Deep peace of the flowing air to you

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the gentle night to you

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you

Deep peace of Christ

Of Christ

The light of the world to you

Deep peace of Christ to you

Feel Good Photos

There is something indescribable that happens when looking at old photos. Some photos in particular are so good at keeping memories, warming hearts or producing smiles. This batch of photos is from a short trip we took to Phone Guy and SJo's house in the early Spring. I just ran across them while browsing through my online photo albums and they produced such a feel-good, warm-heart feeling that I have to pass them on today.

Setting off on a road-trip is a great feeling. This photo was taken just South of Seattle. In clear blue skies, Mt. Rainier looms above a fast moving freeway full of cars, the perfect conditions for driving.

God's creation causes us to marvel.

A row of daffodils along SJo's back fence brighten the day with their cheery yellow blooms. Even though daffodil season is long past and it's now time for annuals to shine, this photo makes me want to go outside and work in my flowerbeds. I love how a backdrop of well weathered wood is a beautiful pairing for daffodils, or flowers of any sort.

Yellows that remind me of butter and lemon.

Here are brothers Phi and Leroy, sorry Jeffy for being left out, I guess you were inside somewhere. I love the relationship these kiddos have. It was so fun spending time with this family. Look at their little bellies and Phi's pink little toes. Also, a kid isn't a kid without a few smears of food somewhere on them, white onesies make for a perfect backdrop for breakfast splatters on Lord's Day morning.

Awwww!

When you are done reading this post, go find a friend or family member to hug. Why? Because it feels good, read the excerpts below that I snagged from this article.

"Each time we hug, we increase the level of oxytocin in the blood. This hormone is known as the bonding hormone because it triggers a “caring” response in both men and women."

"As adults, that daily dose of oxytocin-laced hugging protects us from heart disease."

"When the researchers tested the levels of oxytocin after the hug, both men and women showed an increase. However, the researchers also discovered that all of the women had reduced levels of cortisol following the hug. Cortisol is another hormone produced by the adrenal glands as part of the body’s response to stress. The fact that the women participants’ cortisol levels were significantly lower means that females are especially responsive to the calming effects of a hug-- proving that a hug a day can go a long way to keeping a woman you love heart healthy."

On our return trip, just two hours away from home, to our left we see downtown Seattle. This sight brings to mind so many good memories we have made in this area. Time well-spent with family and friends, views of the Puget Sound and Olympic mountains, visits to tourist "traps"and local attractions, as well as sitting and enjoying numerous coffee-laden beverages!

Cloverdale Rodeo and Fair

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to spend a day at the Cloverdale Country Fair in Cloverdale, BC with the E family and Droo's family. There were a couple of cute shows to see, lots of singers of all ages, yummy fair food, animals and of course, rides for the two E girls.

The E girls, Ted and MoMo.

Holstein Calf

Cake checking out how honey is made.

Lots of straw hats.

One beautiful horse, one man with a sore back.

Check out that facial expression. Ouch.

Barrel racing.

All four feet off the ground. It happens all the time during bronc riding, but I found it hard to catch a clear shot with the camera. I think this one catches it the best.

This horse just didn't want to budge! Look at that stance. He's basically sitting on the chute!

Mane and tail action, beautiful. Horses are such majestic creatures.

Look at that mouth! This horse was ANGRY.

So angry, that it headed straight for the fence and bucked this Seattleite right over the fence.

The Crowd

Two of the clowns.

I was glad to see several of the bull riders wearing helmets and face masks. I wouldn't want to be around any of these bulls, those guys who rush in to distract the bulls after the rider falls off are crazy if you ask me.

Ye-haw!

Bucking broncs bare-back riding and a little Mutton Busting thrown in for fun.