Friday, June 18, 2021

A Traveling Week

 Hello!  Anyone there?  I've been gone all week, and I have hardly checked in on anyone or anything.  Here it is Friday already!  This morning, I am taking a breather in my busy week and am quietly sipping a cup of coffee while I ponder the many many blessings God has poured out on me.  I need to do this in quiet weeks, busy weeks, hard weeks, fun weeks.  Whatever is happening, God is always here reminding me of His care and love.  Here are my FRIDAY FAVE FIVES with the link Susanne's blog where you can join us or simply reading what is happening in many parts of the world.

1.  Travel and more travel.  This is the longest trip we have taken since we moved ten months ago.  Five days away.  I am thankful for safety and for a comfortable and well functioning car.  Super boring, right?  Never take for granted a well running auto.  The Professor drove (I sat and navigated a bit) more than 1,400 miles to Iowa and back, and about 300 miles to visit a national park.  No car issues.

2.  As I mentioned last week, I was visiting a almost life long friend for one day.  Can you believe we didn't take a single photo of us together??   We were simply too busy talking.  (Mary, I know you will be reading this.  Did you get any pictures?)  The Professor has known her all her life and we share so many bits of life and memories.  We talked and talked.  And talked.  And loved every second.  I am so thankful for friends and memories.

3.  After we said farewell, we drove on to The Professor's cousin's farm home.  The main reason for our trip was to attend a family reunion.  This is only the second time in sixty years that he has been able to attend this reunion.  He is descended from a long line of Swedish settlers in Iowa.  Fun with his three cousins, a lovely church service at his mother's childhood church, and then the reunion luncheon.  Yes, it's true.  No photos!  Again!.  The Professor's comment was that a face to face conversation makes better memories than a picture does.  Family is a great and marvelous blessing.

4.  Annnd...while we were driving back home, someone arrived at our house for a visit!  Our granddaughter PAL is here for a week accompanied by her mama and auntie!  Oh the fun we are having!  And finally, some photos.  Can you tell which ones are teenagers now?  Someone got some owies crossing the rocks in the Japanese Gardens.




How about another walk?  We can bring our lunches and eat at the arboretum...

5.   We are a family of adventurers.  So some of us drove north to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  So much fun!  I am thankful for my family loves to travel and experience new places.

So this has been Willow's very busy traveling family filled week!  Stuffed full of blessings.  (And I promise I will make a post about the Fairy Trail.  In fact, we are heading out there this morning so PAL can enjoy it, too.)

8 comments:

Deb J. in Utah said...

Fun times. So glad you could attend the reunion and spend time with your grands. :-)

Faith said...

OH your trip sounds just wonderful!! I'm so thankful our nation is opening up and we can be free to travel again!! It sounds wonderful.....family, long time friends, and memories.

LOVE the grandchildren photos and YAY for taking walks, eating lunch in nature...all of these wonderful memory making events.

Happy Father's Day to your husband this weekend!!

Karen said...

It all sounds wonderful! And I agree with the Professor, the conversation will make better memories than the photos. We are all so caught up on taking photos these days. And how many do we really need? (Reminding myself of this, because I am the BIGGEST offender!)

Mereknits said...

Everything sounds wonderful, so full of joy and love. So glad you had and are having a wonderful summer.

Gattina said...

That's nice that you could travel again and attend a family meeting ! And then the visit of your granddaughter ! I haven't been further then 60 miles from home fortunately the restaurants are open ! Mr. G is still in hospital and I am worried about the future. This weekend my son and grandson are here.

Anonymous said...

I’m still basking in the warmth of your visit! No, no photos…but I think we were too busy talking to remember to take any. Next time, God willing. Those dear grandchildren. I’m loving seeing all of them together. Mary

ellen b. said...

How nice to visit and be visited! I'm sure you are enjoying your days with Pal!

Barbara Harper said...

I'm very late visiting for FFF. That IS a long trip! We've had car problems while away a few times, so I know what you meant about not taking for granted that everything went well with the car on a long drive. What great visits with friends! I too often forget to take pictures, too. I'm sure you had a fun time with the grandkids!