colour my world...

Color is joy.

One does not think joy.

One is carried by it.

~Ernie Haas

What would a world without colour be?

It makes us smile...

brightens our days...

and shows up in unexpected places.

When it comes to Christmas decor...

I like to stick to more traditional colours...

or whites and golds.

But I love to see how others use colour when decorating for the season.

My grands know how to 'colour my world'.

They make me smile.

I'm not much for tatoos...

...but Lucy took one look at her white hand and went to work.

Sorry, Mommy...

I hope you got it off later!

She likes colour...

and spent a lot of time at great-auntie's fish tank...

watching the colorful little fish darting about.

Color is like food for the spirit...

plus it's not addictive or fattening.

Isaak Mizrahi

I took this next photo simply because of the fun colours I saw.

What is it?

I'll let you guess.

I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colors.

I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns.

Sir Winston Churchill

ETA: If you guessed  carwash, you scored!



saturday ~ then and now...

The Saturday of my childhood often shows up in my rear view mirror.

It was the day we changed the bed linens...

and cleaned the house...

and baked buns and sweets.

We polished shoes...

and washed the car...

and made sure the Sunday clothes were good to go.

And at the end of the day...

we all had our Saturday night bath...

reviewed our memory verse for Sunday School...

and went to bed...

ready for the day of rest after a hard day's work.

I actually thought of that on Saturday...

as the day dawned bright and clear.

My planned activities for the day looked nothing like those I remember from long ago.

They involved a lengthy drive through the valley...
beginning bright and early...

...and in good company, of course.

The drive took us to South Langley...

where Mennonite Girls Can Cook were invited to take part in a Christmas brunch

organized by a church women's group.

What a fun event it was...

from the decor and the food...

to the warm welcome and the good fellowship we had!

Lovella told our story...

as she does so well.

Anneliese demonstrated the making of a Christmas wreath sweet bread...

which everyone had a chance to sample at the end.

She made it look most simple...and so pretty!

As for Marg and I...

we were the 'backstage hands'...

and rather liked our stress-free morning.

Thanks to all the lovely ladies who showed up on Saturday morning...

to those who came and chatted...

to those who shared encouraging words...

and to those who shared from their pocketbooks to help us in our mission to feed hungry children...

specifically those at the Good Shepherd Shelter in the Ukraine.

We could have hurried home after...

and still accomplished a few things on the home front.

But we decided to stop for coffee...

the four of us.

It was a very long 'coffee'.

And beside the coffee shop was a boutique...

and so we ducked in there for a bit.

And on the way home we made a few more stops...

ending at the greenhouse where we checked out their Christmas displays.

By then the afternoon was almost done...

and we were invited to the home of friends for dinner.

It was a wonderful Saturday.

But not at all like the Saturdays I recall from long ago.

Maybe next Saturday I'll clean, bake, and wash the car...

just for old times sake!

big white birds...

Trumpeter swans winter along the southwest coast of British Columbia.

Many of them have decided that my neighbourhood is the perfect place to rest awhile.

The sun came out for a wee bit yesterday...

and I took a photo of these swans in the field across the road...

from my front porch.

The photo didn't look all that great with hydro wires running through it...

so put on my shoes...

walked to the road...

and took a few more pic's (sans wires).

Who needs binoculars?

They let me come up close and personal.

Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl species in North America...

with an average wingspan of 77 inches.

They can live up to 24 years in the wild...

but most do not make it to that age.

The adults are pure white...

while the young ones (born in spring) are greyish coloured.

They fly 20 miles an hour...

...so have that camera ready, because there's not much time!

Once they were within 100 birds of extinction.

Now there are 20,000 of them...

and half of those spend their winter in this part of the world.

Hubby thinks most of them are

feeding on the farmlands around here.

They particularly love the winter wheat...

and seem to think it was planted for their eating pleasure!

So we kind of encourage them to go feed elsewhere.

To no avail...it seems.

As long as they are not on our field...

I think I can say...

they are an amazing bird!

a VIP shopping excursion...

What fun we had...

on a shopping excursion with two 'very important people' in our life.

Emme and Spencer had a birthday recently...

and our gift to them was to let them pick out their own gifts.

They knew exactly where they could get the best bang for their buck...

...and that's where we went.

Here's the thing...

none of us noticed the sign they were kneeling in front of.

It was all about the dog!

We were all in for a pleasant surprise when we learned of the sale...

at the check-out counter!

I had a few guidelines from their mom.

~Don't let Spencer come home with more hoodies

~Emme needs pants...not leggings

Simple, right?

Spencer found some nice jeans and a sweater...

and had enough left in her budget to buy a hoody:)

Emme chose jeans and t-shirts...

and one pair of leggings.

Grandpa had his Kindle along...

and found a soft chair...

and was quite OK with the shopping trip.

Funny...

I do not remember that he ever came along to shop for clothes when his daughter was young.

And since we discovered our huge savings at the check-out counter...

we decided we should go out to eat on the way home.

They knew exactly where we should go...

and so we did.

The Olde Spaghetti Factory!

And from the back seat...
they give instructions as to what music we should play.

The kind that's great for singing along.

They are suggesting we might consider geting a Taylor Swift cd sometime though. 

They sure make it fun to be a Grammy!

 

of laughter and friends...

We were at a dinner party over the weekend...

at the home of good friends.

Just in case we ran out of things to talk about (like that would ever happen)...

we were each given a question to respond to.

I was to share where I go when I need a good laugh.

That was easy to answer.
I go and spend time with good friends.
Their laughter is contagious!

Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, 
 a sweet friendship refreshes the soul. 
Proverbs 27:9 The Message

So true.  
Solomon knew whereof he spoke! 

friday wrap-up....

 As the sun set on Thursday...

I had to think of all that had happened this past week.

One week ago today we were still in the desert of southern California.

We took one last walk...

and left a little inukshuk as our calling card on the ridge above the golf course.

Then it was time for the long drive home.

We took the scenic route for part of the way...

the road less traveled.

It took us past Edwards Air Force Base...

a parking lot for big aircraft out in the dessert.

 

We enjoyed the view of Mt. Shasta in northern California this time...

...unlike our trip south when we hardly noticed the snow capped peak

due to being entirely preoccupied with an empty gas tank! 

The mountains of southern Oregon were quite lovely as we passed through...

with snow at the higher elevations and beautiful fall foliage in the valleys.

Since we arrived home on Sunday night...

it's been busy.

There were birthdays to celebrate...

office work to catch up on...

parents to visit...

and Christmas lights to put up on the house!

The lights weren't actually on the schedule...

but with the sun shining brightly yesterday...

we decided to 'just do it'.

 We won't be turning them on just yet...

but they are ready to go!

I'm thinking if the rhodos...

 

and the clematis are blooming...

it wouldn't seem right to have Christmas lights burning bright.

I think it is the last hurrah for the blooms of 2012!

And that is Friday's wrap-up.

Have a wonderful weekend!

celebration time...

We missed some birthdays while we were away...

and we missed everybody!

So...

no sooner were we home...

than we gave a shout out for everyone to come for dinner.

...and birthday cake, of course!

Emme and Spencer are used to sharing everything...

from a bedroom to friends to secrets.

But this time they each got their own cake!

After all...

there were plenty of us there to help them eat it!

I can hardly believe they are eleven years old already.

Time stands still for no one!

May they always be as kind and caring...

fun and funny...

sweet and delightful as they are today.

Micah is three.

He was quite delighted with his own cookie cake...

but not so thrilled with the sparkler, it seems!

Or maybe it was the family-choir version of  the birthday song that was hard on his ears!

Just saying...

it can get a little loud.

As for his gifts...

what's not to like about trucks and tractors and diggers and such?

He went home happy!

We decided to let the girls choose their own gift this year...

 and  gave them each a shopping bag.

One of these days we'll go on a shopping adventure...

and let them fill their bags:)

Cousins Ranen and Micah thought the girls might like a Christmas tree for their room.

And they did!

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas!

Maggie got into her comfy Christmas jammies...

and sang a Christmas song for us.

So sweet!

It was a Remembrance Day celebration to remember.

 

As for the ice-cream cake...

I had planned to post the recipe on the MGCC blog sometime.

But the problem is that I made the two cakes just before we left on vacation...

and never wrote down exactly what I did.

After two weeks away...

I can only vaguely recall.

I don't think that's quite good enough for a recipe blog!

So I'll post my 'sort of' instructions over here...

just in case you are interested.

 

remembering...

I missed seeing the poppy these past few weeks.

In Canada...

we wear our poppies in the weeks preceding Remembrance Day.

It is our way of honouring the memory of the thousands of Canadians who gave their lives...

 in the defence of freedom.

We were on vacation in southern California...

and never saw any poppies.

We are back home...

as of last night.

I found a photo of poppies in my files...

just for today.

I am remembering...

and being thankful!

They gave their tomorrows...
so we could have our today.

It's good to be home...

even though it seems that the furnace is still on vacation.

Brrrr! 

We hope the furnace repair man doesn't mind working on Remembrance Day.

May you all have a most memorable day...

auf wiedersehen...

All good things must come to an end...

and that end is here.

It's time to bid farewell to this place we have so enjoyed this past while.

Farewell to...

...the birds (that sit on our deck)

... the bees (that are still busy in November)

...the flowers

...and the trees



...and the moon up above.

Oh...

and tennis every morning at 8 am.

Farewell to T-shirts and shorts.

Until next time!

idyllic idyllwild...

Nestled in the San Jacinto mountains of Riverside County is 'Mile-high Idyllwild'...

a popular southern California resort town. 

As we left the church service in Nuevo on Sunday...

we headed for the hills....

and the little town which sits one mile above sea level.

I can't imagine a nicer season to visit Idyllwild than autumn!
 

We did a drive-through tour...
 

...and settled at Oma's Cafe for lunch.

It is where the locals hang out.

Jo-an's seems to attract those who are just passing through...
 

...and there were many of those on Sunday.

Idyllwild is flanked by two large rocks...

attracting rock climbers to the area.

 

After lunch...

we opted for a hike.

The Ernie Maxwell Trail was labeled 'easy-moderate'...

...and 5.2 miles seemed the perfect length.

 

The trail rose and fell...

and wound it's way around one rock after another.

We had great views of Tahquitz Rock and Suicide Rock...

and the valley floor below us.

There weren't many others on the trail...

and all was silent in the forest.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

We doddled along and paid little attention to the time...

and forgot that darkness would be coming an hour earlier with the time change.

Ours was the only vehicle in the parking lot when we were done our hike...

...and the sun was setting as we wound our way back down the mountain.

Idyllic Idyllwild...

a perfect day trip destination from Palm Springs.