HAPPY NEW YEAR

Blessings for this new year!!

My Mantra for 2015 & Life

Lose Weight, Feel Great, I'm turning 48!

Yes, this year I turn 48.  Crazy as it seems to me.  Sometimes I wonder where the time has gone.  My daughter recently turned 24 and that stopped me in my tracks as well.

I have been horribly lax in my eating and exercising lately and know that I feel better when I am active and eating whole, healthy foods.

This year has been full of wonderful times and impactful moments.

Blessings to all!

Happy Thanksgiving

Blessings this day the Lord has given us!

Autumn Day Trip

The first Saturday of October was a fun-filled day full of fellowship and the beauty of God's creation!

My small group, a grandson of a small group member and my daughter drove up to Ione, WA and took the Lions Train round trip ride between Ione and Metaline Falls.  We had a beautiful and blessed day :~)  Below is a wonderful description from the Lions Train Rides website!

Written by Lions Train Rides. Posted in About Us

The 1^1/2 hour round trip begins in Ione (except over Labor Day Weekend when it runs from Metaline Falls to Ione and return) and runs north through the canyon ten miles to

Metaline Falls.

Shortly after leaving Ione, you roll through the countryside. Soon, you cross the highway just outside the town and enter the river canyon. As the train winds along the cliffs and through the cuts more than a 100 feet above the river, take in views of the river not seen from the highway. If you watch closely enough, you might glimpse an eagle catching trout from the river, or an elk grazing on the far bank. The route is sprinkled with apple trees, the result of railroad workers throwing apple cores away as they traveled the tracks.

As the slope drops away to the river, you feel as though the train is floating on air. On your right are sheer rock walls stretching skyward from the water, on your left is a dam completed in 1956 and strung between rock islands rising out of the river.

Ahead is a majestic trestle completed on October 14, 1910. When the train stops on the trestle, you can enjoy a stunning view of Box Canyon Dam. After crossing the river the train climbs up the mountain, rocking along on the twisting tracks to plunge into the first of two tunnels on the line. The 810 foot long Vail tunnel, lined with concrete in 1953, takes you through a spur of the mountain that juts out into the valley.

Since the completion of the railway in the fall of 1910, the forest has grown dense around the tracks, and wildlife abounds. Soon the train crests the grade and begins its decent to Metaline Falls through a bore in a rocky knoll and across a number of wooden trestles spanning numerous gulches and gullies.

As you coast into Metaline Falls, you can see the large cement holding silos of the Inland Portland Cement Plant constructed in 1910. Metaline Falls is a quiet little village tucked away in the mountains just south of the Canadian border.

After the train eases to a halt, the engine cuts away to reconnect to the other end of the train for the return trip. The train has been known to be robbed by Ma Cutter and her gang while waiting for the engine to couple back up. Don't fear as they are only looking for donations for the historic Cutter Theatre in Metaline Falls.

No passengers are allowed off the train until it returns to the ride origination point. You can buy tickets here on our website any time or call 1-877-5ALL-ABOARD (1-877-525-5226) between 6 AM and 5 PM Monday through Friday. For more information, e-mail information here, call us, or explore our website further.

Where Am I?

I am a schedule kind of gal.  I like routine.  Since June I have NOT been in a routine.  I am completely out of sorts in my person and in my home :~(  I need to shake myself out and get back to a schedule.

Autumn

My favorite season has arrived (according to the calendar).  The quote below sums up some of my thoughts as well.  I thank the Lord for the diversity He gives.

 Don't you love them?  

More and more I am beginning to appreciate the seasons and the unique purpose of each one.  Fall is definitely in the air...some rain, some cool nights and mornings, orange pumpkins, and falling leaves.

Summer is such an incredibly busy time, with wonderful harvests, preserving, family gatherings, visitors, events, and so much more.  Although the cold wet rainy season has it's challenges, I think we are all looking a bit forward to having a somewhat slower paced autumn and winter!  -- This is from Joyful Keeper at Home blog

Life continues on in the Pacific Northwest.  Cooler nights and sunny days.  Praises to the Lord for the beauty He surrounds us with!

Long-awaited Liebster Award Answers

I was blown away to be a recipient of the Liebster Award!  Thank you, Julia from Writing for His Glory :-)  Here are the answers to the questions she presented:

1.             If you were in outer space and your friend started drifting off, what would you do? “swim” over to her and grab on; we will go together.

2.                   What is your least favorite blog?  Hmmm, I don’t know.  I usually search for my interests so don’t run into unsavory blogs – at least not on purpose – lol.

3.                   If you had nothing to eat would you, eat grass, flowers, tree bark, or dirt? Flowers

4.             If you were woken up by a screaming sister telling you that your older sister was badly injured and bleeding, what would you do?  I just took a CPR class :~)  Have her call 911, go and put pressure on the wound until help arrives.

5.                   What post did you laugh the post at on my blog? Not a laugh but a “who knew” – May 14, 2014

6.             Have you ever climbed on the roof of anything? (like garage, chicken house, etc). No, I am afraid of heights.

7.             Do you wear a promise ring? (Or purity ring)  That wasn’t something that was used when I was growing up (late 70s/early 80s).  I am currently single (was married) and have no prospects.  However, I believe in the idea as it would be a visual reminder.

8.             Do you have a favorite meal to cook, from scratch? No boxed meals, ladies! ;)  Tex-mex Quinoa Salad and biscuits with a peach cobbler for dessert.

9.                   Have you ever tried to break a broken egg against something? Haha – nope.

10.          If a stranger walked up on the streets, handed to a note and it said "Don't look at that car". What would you do? =D   Human nature – turn and look :~)

11.          If you could clean a house (even the bathrooms! ;) )  with 5 bloggers, who would they be? Mandy@Biblical Homemaking, Gloria@Amish Reader, Olivia@Fresh Modesty, Mary Ann@A Joyful Chaos and you (Julia)@Writing for His Glory ~ of course.  However, there are many others that I would include in this group :-)