Cruisin'

We went cruising on Lake Washington. During the 1 1/2 hour tour, a narrator filled us in on the history of the east side of the lake - Kirkland, Bellevue, and other communities. 

Bellevue

Hunts Point

Seattle is on the west side of the lake

Bill & Melinda Gates' compound - It's a pretty amazing place. Check it out here.

The 520 bridge across Lake Washington is being rebuilt. It's about finished. At 7,710 feet, it's the longest floating span in the world. It's also the world's widest, 116 feet at the midpoint. Click here for history about the original bridge. Click here for information about the newly completed bridge. The bridge sits on 77 concrete pontoons which are secured by 58 anchors to the bottom of the lake. (Does that mean 19 of the pontoons aren't anchored?)

As we cruised the lake, I felt great gratitude that we can live in such a wonderful and beautiful place.

Carillon Point, Kirkland 

Kirkland - looking towards Marina Park in downtown Kirkland

panorama - at the Marina Park dock in downtown Kirkland

Childhood Memory

Do any of you remember eating honey AND the comb? A year or so ago I had a hankering (a Dad word) for a taste of this childhood memory. I started looking for it in stores and at farmers markets. Couldn't find it. Farmers market vendors told me it was no longer sold. Then I found it on the Internet and boy was it pricey!

The other day we went to the local farmers market. I asked one vendor who was selling honey about this product. She said it wasn't sold that way nowadays. We wandered some more. I received a phone call that I needed to take. As I talked with the person I realized I was in front of another honey vendor and I spotted containers of honey in the comb! I bought one.

Over the next few days we enjoyed eating the honeycomb. When we spread it on toast it softened up, became a nice consistency and was very tasty. When we ate it cold, the honeycomb tasted and felt like those waxy candies from our childhood.

If memory serves me correctly, we bought our honeycomb at the Deer Creek Honey Farms on Route 142 between London and West Jefferson. There are several references to it on the Internet but nothing in detail. I wonder if it's still in operation.

Peonies

Peonies always remind me of my mother. She loved her peonies. She'd cut them and then put them in the metal saucepan on the back porch hoping the big black ants would escape before she brought the flowers into the house.

I like the peony against this beautiful lamp that belonged to family.

I tried to capture several memories in this picture - Peonies to remind me of Mom; the vase was hers. The lamp belonged to Joe's parents. The table came from my grandparents' home. 

Convenient

I can plug the vacuum cleaner into this outlet and vacuum our entire place. The vacuum cleaner does have a long cord :) 

At one time in my life I would have thought this was a sign of a too small living space. At this point in our lives, this is a convenience that feels just right. 

Daily

“Thoughtful planning and preparation are key to a rewarding future, but we do not live in the future—we live in the present. It is day by day that we work out our plans for the future; it is day by day that we achieve our goals. It is one day at a time that we raise and nurture our families. It is one day at a time that we overcome imperfections. We endure in faith to the end one day at a time. It is the accumulation of many days well-lived that adds up to a full life” and becoming a Christ-like person. 

When Christ taught His disciples the pattern for prayer, He said, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11)

“I believe that we would all readily acknowledge that we have needs each day that we want our Heavenly Father’s help in dealing with. For some, on some days, it is quite literally bread—that is, the food needed to sustain life that day. It could also be spiritual and physical strength to deal with one more day of chronic illness or a painfully slow rehabilitation. In other cases it may be less tangible needs…”

“Jesus is teaching us, His disciples, that we should look to God each day for the bread—the help and sustenance—we require in that particular day.

Christofferson shared a long term challenge that affected him and his family greatly. “The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. I learned that daily bread is a precious commodity. I learned that manna today can be as real as the physical manna of biblical history. I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day.

Asking God for our daily bread, rather than our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread, is also a way to focus us on the smaller, more manageable bits of a problem. To deal with something very big, we may need to work at it in small, daily bites. Sometimes all we can handle is one day (or even just part of one day) at a time.” 

He then spoke of his mother when she had to undergo many painful radiation treatments after radical cancer surgery in the 1950s. She said to her mother, ‘Oh, Mother, I can’t stand having 16 more of those treatments.’ She said, ‘Can you go today?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Well, honey, that’s all you have to do today.’ It has helped me many times when I remember to take one day or one thing at a time.”

Consistent effort in seemingly small, daily steps is a key principle in achieving any great work, including progress in the pathway of discipleship. 

 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:35, 47–51).  D. Todd Christofferson  (Read or hear entire talk here)

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Happy Father's Day

Ducks

Watching this family group above - There are six ducklings. The one on the far left had strayed pretty far from the group. Suddenly he noticed they were headed off in a different direction. He? she? skimmed over the water VERY quickly to catch up with the rest of the group. 

This mother was watching over one very chunky duckling. 

The father is to the right, out of the picture.

Ducks in a row - There seems to be agreement that this phrase means to have things organized, in order, and all the little details taken care of. There isn't agreement of the origin of the saying. It might have to do with pool (a ball sitting at the edge of a pocket is called a duck); boatbuilding (the ducks help guide wood being bent); or any of a number of other possibilities. 

Click here, here, here, and here for more about the origin of the phrase.