Alaska -- Part 5

Our last port-of-call in Alaska was not near as good as the other two. I guess we just got a bad tour guide. And it was just too touristy. (is that a word?)

This garbage truck was the best/funniest thing I saw.

A cool looking fishing boat:

Our last port-of-call on the cruise was to Victoria, British Columbia. I had no idea what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. It is a beautiful city. The climate sounds almost ideal... 44-75 degrees! It rains 25" a year and snows once every ten years. Soooo nice!

We reached port at 6pm. Along with our ship was, I think, two other ships. Check out all the buses and taxis waiting for the cruisers:

We had a delightful city tour and learned a lot about the city.

We ended the tour with a visit to a place called Butchart Gardens. It was started 100 years ago by the wife of a man who quarried limestone. She wanted to make the spent quarry beautiful. It has been open to the public for 100 years except for a few years during World War II. (What part of the world was not affect by WWII?)

I had a hard time picking just a few pictures of the flowers. It was amazing all over. I hope you can catch that form my photos.

I could not decide what was my favorite rose. There were so many!

These yellow flowers were so unique!

The evening ended with an outstanding fireworks show. Of course I couldn't get very decent pictures, but here are a couple I posted just to help me remember the evening.

It was a wonderful evening in Victoria.

Our next stop was the end of the cruise. We then spent a few days in Seattle. I'll post some pictures later.

RD 12

1. What is your favorite Mexican dish?

Do Chips and Salsa and Guacamole count as Mexican food?

2. When you were a kid, did you get started on your homework right away after school, or did you procrastinate?

Homework? Did I have homework? I don't remember doing homework every day and I'm almost sure that if I did have homework, I put it off. I was not a very disciplined student. Our kids, on the other hand had homework from day one, it seemed. I never liked how much homework they had when they were in elementary school. It seemed excessive. They would usually come home, have a snack and then dive into the worksheets. They both were/are very good students. I was always impressed with how hard they worked at school.

3. What is your favorite store for home furnishings?

 IKEA. Hands down. (Unless I go to Crate&Barrel.) I can always find something I like at IKEA. Always.

Isn't it a beautiful sight?

 

4. When you were young, did you like school lunches? 

In elementary school I walked home for lunch everyday. After that, no I didn't really like school lunches. I honestly don't remember anything about lunches during junior high. I don't think I ate lunch at the high school hardly ever.

5. Is religion a crutch?

Absolutely not! But being a Christian isn't a religion. It isn't rules and regulations. It's all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. No crutches involved here.

6. In your region, what is the "big" (most popular in the community or state) high school sport? 

This community? I have no idea. (only lived here a couple of months) The one I previously lived in? Football. High school football was a big deal. People would reserve their spots in the bleachers with blankets days before the game. Seriously.

Wrestling was huge at the high school I went to. It was the same high school Dan Gable went to.

7. Do you consider yourself rich?

There is always someone with more money. But we are very comfortable. My husband works hard and God has blessed us richly not only in material things, but in the richness of love in our family and the richness of salvation. :)

8. Which of these would you have the best chance for success in administering: A)CPR, B)Heimlich Maneuver, C)Changing a flat tire

I'm not trained in any of these. I once had a flat tire when it was just me and the kids. No hubby. I decided I could look at the book and figure out how to change the tire. But, thankfully, by the time I figured out where the jack was stored, a couple dads from my son's T-ball team drove by and changed the tire for me. Needless to say, I was very relieved.

9. Which dance would you prefer to learn & why: A)Salsa, B)Hip Hop, C)Waltz, D)Swing

I'd love to know how to Waltz with elegance. I think it can be such a beautiful dance and even more so with a long flowing ballgown.  (One thing I don't like about Dancing With the Stars is the women don't really wear dresses. Most of the time they look like they are wearing fancy underclothes with streamers. Just sayin'.) I have taken dance lessons a couple of times, and can I say? I'm not graceful... sigh...

10. What's the worst news you've ever delivered to someone?

About 2 1/2 years ago I had to tell my son and daughter that a very dear friend, Rachel, had been killed in a car accident. She was like a sister to them. Our pastor had received a phone call regarding her death, but since they had moved out of state and he was unable to get in touch with the parents, he was unsure about the report. I called my son who was away at college and had him check Rachel's Facebook account. I'll never forget hearing him say, "It's true." (Friends had written on Rachel's wall about her being gone.) (Writing this is making me cry and miss her all over again.) It was hard news for Megan and Caleb (and all of us) to take.
A neat thing related to that: After I talked with my son, he was also very upset and went over to talk with his girlfriend, Amanda, of only about 3 weeks. This dear girl (who is now his wife) cried with Caleb and prayed with him. That really shows the sweetness and compassion of our daughter-in-law. Also, the last thing Rachel did for Caleb (a month or so before she was killed) was to encourage him to ask Amanda out on a date.

11. Name something you learned in college that had nothing to do with classes or academics.

I learned that God needs to be at the center of my life affecting all areas, and not just a slice of it all by itself. How did Keith Green put it? "I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights."

I also learned that I loved this one guy with a mustache and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life married to him. :)

12. New variation on an old question: If there's a song in your head that just won't get out, what is your favorite (or most repeated) line in that song?

I've been listening to Travis Cottrell Live a lot lately. I love his rendition of the old hymn Victory in Jesus.

Oh Victory in Jesus,

My Savior forever

He sought me

And He bought me

With His redeeming blood!

Weekend Recap

I thought I'd take a bit of a break from the Alaska posts and write about our weekend.

We had a pretty good weekend. It's been a long time since I could say that.

(Well, I guess the weekend before was great because our son and daughter-in-law visited.) (The kids visiting are at the top of my list for a good weekend.)

Friday night my sweet hubby took me on a date. He did some investigating and found a very charming place about 45 minutes away. If not for the flies and humidity, it would have been perfect. (There were flies because it was outside.) The place was a sweet little winery that also served wood-fired pizzas. Now, I don't drink/like wine, but that didn't matter. The pizza was amazing. So was the french bread with rosemary and melted Gruyere cheese. The entertainment was wonderful. A young man played beautiful classical music on a piano. I'd love to go back sometime when it wasn't quite so humid and my good hair day will stay a good hair day.

Saturday was spent shopping in a biggish city about 50 miles away. We picked up some of those new house things like towel rods, red paint for the front door (!) and a rain gauge. (Yes we are nerds and like to know how much rain we got.) The best part of the shopping trip was picking out a new king-sized mattress to go with our new bedroom furniture that is being delivered on Wednesday! I am so excited! I will post some pictures when I get the room all decorated.

Sunday we went to church in the town we used to live in. We wanted to hear some young friends of ours share about their mission work in China. We tried to hear them share in July, but the wife decided to have a baby that day and they obviously canceled. (Well, maybe the baby decided to be born.) Anyway, this time all went as planned. AND we got to hold the sweet little baby boy. (Bonus!) Our friends did a great job of sharing their hearts and plans for working in China.

Lunch after church, (I sure miss that church family) was with a dear sweet 83 year old friend. We just love spending time with her and sharing about our lives.

After lunch we headed out to the country-side to pilfer pick some vegetables from a friend's garden. (That's my favorite kind of gardening... make friends with someone who has a large garden and let them give us the excess.)  Of course the best part of the afternoon was the time spent visiting with our friends.

You know, I should really have dug my camera out of my purse to document the activities. **making a mental note of that for future reference**

This week will be busy getting ready for company this weekend. My goal is to do some actual decorating! I can tell the creative juices are beginning to flow because I have started picturing how things could be set up around the house.

More Alaska pictures coming soon to a blog near you.

Alaska -- Part 4

Day 5 of the cruise was spent in Glacier Bay National Park. Three park rangers got on the cruise ship and were narrating over the PA things we should look for. It was very interesting.

I took a thousand (give or take a hundred) pictures of the glaciers we saw. But I won't post them all here. You're welcome. :)

This glacier was 25 stories tall. Think of being on the 25th floor of a building. That's a lot of glacier!

A couple close up shots:

In another park of the bay was this glacier. I took it through the window so I could remember the awesome view from our room. This one shows the glacier coming down through the mountains to the ocean. To get some perspective, the rangers told us it was 5 miles away!

A telephoto shot:

And a farther out shot:

A close up of yet another glacier. I just love the blue in this one. So pretty!

Just a couple, well maybe more than two, more posts about our Alaska trip. I still have random photos from the ship and a few other places. a gorgeous garden in British Columbia, the food (!) and then the four days we spent in Seattle. Oh well. At least it makes for some good memories for us and a great way to document this on my blog.

Alaska -- Part 3

Just a few more scenery pictures....(Well may be more than a few. I want to try to document this trip more for my memories. Sorry to my readers if it get's tedious.)

A beautiful Alaskan sunset:

Our next port-of-call was Skagway. Defininatly a cruise ship town. There were FOUR cruise ships here with another docked several miles away and brought passengers by ferry to Skagway. We got off the ship a few hours before our excursion was scheduled to begin to do a little shopping. Hubby was chilly, so he went back to get a warmer jacket. I entertained myself by taking a few pictures of the ship.

Here's a shot of all the craziness in town:

Guess what? I didn't buy a thing! Cheesy tourist shops and a bazillion jewelry stores are just not my thing, I guess. There was a quilt(!) shop! I didn't even buy anything there. There was a kit I was interested in until I saw the price was close to $200. **sigh** I took a picture in the store of a quilt I liked.

And look who's book I found in another store! (I'm talking about the Beth Moore book.)

Our excursion headed up into the Yukon Territory of Canada. That is some gorgeous country. The bus followed  through a valley that the gold miners traveled through to get to the gold. It was called the Klondike Highway.

A one sided suspension bridge that we drove over. Twice.

Can you see the markers extending above the highway? Those are for the snow plow drivers... so they know where the road is....and isn't. They are soo tall. I can't imagine the amount of snow they get up there!

There's that photographer guy again! (He liked his new camera!)

Me and my honey on our 26th Anniversary. Aren't we cute? (Especially the hair?)

We went about 10-15 miles into Canada. Yes, we had our passports.

Our destination was this stupid suspension bridge. It was stupid because it was scary, and because it really didn't go anywhere and was just there for tourists.

There's that photographer guy again....

The bus driver made one last stop for a round of cheesy tourist photo-ops. Who could resist?

The trip was ended with a very yummy salmon grill. We had a great conversation with the bus driver who is a college student in Utah. He and several friends drove to Alaska to drive tour buses, but mostly to hike in the beautiful coastal mountains of SE Alaska.


It was a good anniversary day.

The RD 12 For This Week

1. What is your favorite fair/carnival food?

I haven't gone to a fair or carnival for a long time. When I was a kid I loved the fresh-made lemonade and the turkey legs. A few years ago we went to the Minnesota State Fair (the first time to a state fair for my hubby) and we ate a LOT of food!  My two favorites from that experience were Sweet Martha's Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cheese Curds. Mmmmm.

2. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?

The hubby and I have been working hard to get rid of things around the house. The amount of stuff you own really comes to light when you see it all boxed up and put on a moving van. We've sorted through almost everything before it gets put away. We have several big things to find a new home for, whether it's someone else's home or the dump.  
Maybe I should also let go of the dream to move far away from the Great White North? Naw...I'll keep dreaming.

3. What is your favorite gift to receive?

Something that I never thought I'd get. (My hubby gave me diamond earrings for our 20th Anniversary. I was sooo shocked!) I also love it when someone had really put some thought into what they know about me and what I like. (For example: I am a fan of the artist Mary Engelbreit. Sometimes someone will find something that features her work, and I am just tickled.)

4. When was the last time you tried something new? 

Every morning is something new. It's a new day!   

Does living in a new town and almost everything seems new count? I have gone to three new churches, shopped in new grocery stores, gone to new restaurants, driven around new streets and even met a few new people. (That's almost too much newness for me...)

On our cruise to Alaska I tried a few new foods. One was Braised Lamb Shank. Sadly, I was not a fan. Also, on that trip I walked across a suspension bridge. I was not a fan of that either.

5. What is your favorite and least favorite book genre? (Memoir, Mystery, Political Intrigue, Romance, Humor, Historical Fiction, Historical nonfiction, Chick Lit, Self-Help, Other)

Let's see....I read a lot. Probably my most favorite is Historical Fiction. Least favorites are Self-Help and Memoir. At least I don't choose to read those kinds very often. Oh! I just looked on the night-stand and guess what type of book I'm reading? Self-Help. **sheepish grin** It's titled Friendship for Grown-ups by Lisa Welchel. Honestly? I am finding it very painful to read. Mostly because of the subject. I've had an awful, painful time with friendships for the last several years. And that's all I'll say about that for now.

6.Silver or Gold?

This one is easy... Gold. I wear basically only Gold jewelry. Several years ago I tried to make myself like Silver jewelry and bought a bunch, but I just don't wear it. I have given a lot of it to my daughter, and tossed a lot. The one draw-back is that Gold jewelry is a lot more expensive. Sorry, hubby of mine. I am high maintenance. (Speaking of the hubby.... he had always told me that when he was single and would pray for his future wife, he asked God for silver and he got gold. Isn't he sweet?)

7. What makes you sigh?

I think I sigh a lot when I am feeling overwhelmed and defeated. I also think I sigh when I don't realize I am feeling overwhelmed and defeated.

8. If you didn't know how old you are, how old would you claim you are?

I'd think I was in my late 30s. Only without the small children. But I miss those small children. Some days I wish I could go back and re-live a day here and there when the kids were little. I miss those days. But there are some great things about an empty nest, so just a day here and there would be good. But it would be nice to look like I'm in my late 30s so I wouldn't have to pay so much to not look like I'm in my late 40s.

9. Would you break a law to save a loved one? To protect a loved one?

If I had to speed to get someone to the hospital? Heck, yes. If the loved one was doing something illegal/unethical, no I wouldn't do anything to protect them. Pretty sure that falls under the category of enabling.

10. If you had to teach something, what would it be?

I would teach parents how to discipline small children and how to understand the developmental stages children go through so one can understand what is reasonable to expect from children at different ages. I have found that most parents are not willing to listen to advice. I know someone with three kids who complains about how her kids behave, when it is so plain to me why they do what they do. But sadly, that mom is not willing to be given any advice.

I don't think I'm a very good teacher. I let my mom teach my daughter how to sew. I just could not figure out how to teach her what I already knew.

11. You're having lunch with 3 people whom you respect and admire. They begin to criticize a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. What do you do?

Jeepers, I have no idea. It would likely depend on how confident I was feeling that day. If I felt confident in myself I would definitely speak up and defend my friend. If not, I'd probably leave lunch quite mad and not respect and admire those 3 people quite as much.

12. Which of the 5 Love Languages is your prominent means of experiencing love? (Go to Linda@2nd Cup of Coffee to take the online quiz.)

Here's how I rated:

Words of Affirmation 11

Gifts 6

Quality Time 6

Physical Touch 4

Acts of Service 3

No real big surprises to me there. (Were you surprised honey?)

Alaska -- Part 2

The first port-of-call on the Alaskan cruise was at Juneau. The scenery as we neared the capital city was spectacular:

Below is Juneau. We saw several float planes landing as we were coming into port. We heard a statistic that said that one in 50 Alaskans have a pilot's license.

What's that boat? Oh, just another cruise ship. There were 3-4 other cruise ships in each port. That's a lot, a lot of people.

After we docked, we headed for our tour bus. We were happy to get a very good driver/guide. Here's Wendall, the driver. (Well, at least his shoulder.)

Our first stop was Mendenhall Glacier. Only about a 20 drive from Juneau. Such a beautiful area.

I picked up a piece of glacier:

That photographer got in my way! :)

Our next stop was a salmon hatchery. There was a lot of salmon! We learned about how salmon return to the place they were born by smelling even just a drop of the water from the creek they came from.

This is a fish ladder built at the hatchery.

We finished the day off with some yummy fresh crab.