Monday Again

I hope you all had a lovely day. I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect day. It was the perfect temperature for being outside. We picked our first crop of Artichokes.

 

There is maybe double this amount to be picked. So many of them and all of them so pretty.

I found this poor little blue jay. The Mom and Dad were just above my head. They are so used to me they were quiet while it took its picture and then left. As I got in the house, I watched the poor Mother and Dad  try and try to get the baby to fly. He ran fast and flapped his little wings but couldn't get very high. They would fly down and feed it over and over and then keep working with it.

Later when we were out in the garden, Sasha found it. (Somehow it had got over the fence.) It broke my heart to see this little bird stand up to the dog. It stared at her and was so brave. I grabbed her by the collar and put her in the yard. She isn't a killing dog, but she does like to herd. Sometimes she gets too rough, the parents were frantic. I was afraid for it last night, but this morning, even though I didn't look hard. The Mom and Dad were still on duty, so it made it though the night. I hope today they get it to fly today. I really liked watching them working with the baby.

 

The chicks now are tiny chickens. I have decided that Buff Orpingtons  just might be my favorite. What a nice breed of chicken. So calm and gentle. Cuckoo Marans are too but these chicks want to be in my arms all of the time. I got a rooster from this bunch. Not happy about it, but my son said he would take it and turn it into fried chicken. I am okay, so I am not picking it up or even looking at it much. He is also going to take my little black silkie for the same reason. That maybe a bit harder, but he is such a little Nazi I am ready for him to be gone.

Yesterday, we were out on the patio and the kids were playing sword fights and the adults were visiting, Nik decided to throw pots. We sat on the patio and watched him and talked and laughed. There is something so peaceful about watching someone work with clay. Meg said next year she would bring her spinning wheel. As I sat there, I was so thankful for each and every one. Forgive me for bragging, but they are the most talented group of people and I am pretty sure watching them we could survive a zombie Apocalypse. I should have taken pictures of the knives Ben makes. I told him yesterday I am going to start  a Pinterest category, called Stuff I want Ben to make.

Here is a vase Nik made too.

The kids hunted Easter eggs. That was fun and then what I hope becomes a tradition for next year.
Meg brought 18 plastic eggs and goodies to put in them. Ron and I filled them and then we hid them out in the garden. It was almost sundown and seeing those young people run around looking for eggs was so much fun. The eggs had money and then Meg had written out notes that were the size of a dollar bill, which were so funny. One of them said, " Golden ticket, You loose Charlie." Things like that.

Then after that the kids did the Easter eggs with the story of Easter. I made the little things in the eggs when Ben was small and he helped me collect everything. Now  it is so much fun to share it with his sons. Then we had communion with our family. The little families each having their own elements. There is nothing that makes me more thankful or in awe is sitting in the living room with our family and praying.

When we were young, and I wasn't really very sure about being a Christian or reading the Bible or anything to do with it. I had lived in the world and was pretty satisfied with how things were and didn't know if I wanted to change. Ron came home, and as he flew in the door, all smiles. He said, " God gave me a verse about our life!" Me always the skeptic, wanted to see this verse he was so excited about.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
(Luke 6:38)

When I sit and see how this is how we have been given, I see more often than not how little that I have given and how overflowing the blessing is in my lap. I am so thankful I went ahead with the plan. However grudgingly I did it. Our children have turned out to be nice people. 

That was the day. Best holiday ever, if our oldest daughter and her family had been here, it would have been the best. 

Have a lovely Monday, forgive my bragging, I know it is over the top today. But if you knew me in person and the life I lived and the mistakes I made, you would understand, why I am in shock most of the time that this is my life. It must be that Dad of theirs. Because it certainly isn't me.  Not to mention that God is good all of the time. 

~Kim~

" I wish we had tails to wag," said Mr. Dearly."
---101 Dalmatians, Dodie Smith, 1957

Happy Easter

Jesus Has Risen

 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

 Then they remembered his words.

Have a wonderful day.
From our family to yours,
~Kim~

Just Saturday

 

We are having our kids and grand kids over tomorrow for dinner and a nice day of  visiting and the kids hunting Easter eggs. We are going to BBQ. I have all of the ingredients out on the counter so I can start getting my food together. We have a water purifier under the sink. It broke. The water is turned off. We have to buy a new one and Ron will have to install it. I am becalmed. I am dead in the water.

I don't know why, but it seems like before every holiday and I am supposed to be fixing food, we have some water issue. I know it will all work out and we of course won't starve. I am fixing this cake called a Strawberry Sheet cake. I can't wait to fix that. I try to fix things that my grand kids like. One thing that I love about them is they are not like their parents were growing up, they were picky eaters. Our grands are not. They will eat anything. That makes cooking so much fun.

We have blueberries. I took the picture before I ate the three that were ripe. They were nice. I wish I had about 10 times more blueberries.

I worked on some more goodies in my sewing box. I have one more thing to finish then I can put this thing away. I have had so much fun making it.

I have enjoyed sewing like this again. Ron and I have been listening to a Librivox recording of Treasure Island. I sew and he makes trees. I will put a link to his Etsy store soon. My blog has gone wonky and I had to jump through hoops to write this post. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to even find my dashboard. All of the links are gone.

Have a lovely Easter.
~Kim~

"He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying."
(Matthew 28:6)

10 Things I Love About April

  

This morning I was sitting and watching the sun come up over the mountains. I was thinking of all of the things I love about April. These are a few of the things I love about April.

    1. The sunrise and how every morning there are surprises as the sun peaks over the different mountains. In the winter it peaks over Bear Mountain. Now it is peaking over Greenhorn.

    2. The long evenings. Sitting outside is warm enough to sit and watch the sun set and then as the twilight deepens and the shadows deepen the sky turning to velvet and then the stars blinking one by one.

    3. The wonderful smell of spring and how there is just the hint of orange blossoms, rose petals and now jasmine and mock orange.

 

4.In April, there is just a bit of coolness to the air, even if it is 90 degrees. After most of the month has been 85-90 next week we will have snow in the mountains and the high will be 66. That makes me very happy. In April no matter what it is still spring.

 

5. In April, all of the beautiful flowers that are blooming. The green on the trees and the lovely chicks tha
I have and sit outside watching them every day.

6. Cadbury Mini Eggs.

7. Spring Vacation.

8. The mockingbirds singing in the morning and watching them jump high in the sky and do little back flips because they are just so happy. Like my chicks running and jumping in feathery little bits of joy .

9. Watching all of the new birds flying in for a visit and then flying on. I see so many stopping to take a bath in the swimming pool.

10. Just life, I am aware of how blessed I am and how happy I feel most of the time, but in April there just seems to be nice things all around.

~Kim~

"The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

R.L.Stevenson---A Child's Garden of Verses.