Fave Fives, Finally

Oh my.  I am very late with my Friday Fave Fives this week!  But, quickly, here they are.

1.  Rain.  Are you tired of reading that I am thankful for rain?  Well, we've been in drought conditions for years (maybe seven or eight?) and finally, the official word came out this week that our county is now No. Longer. In. Drought.  For an agricultural area, this is a huge blessing.  And as I am writing this, it is raining lightly. The best kind of rain.

2.  On Sunday, the women (high school and above) had lunch together after church.  The menu was very versatile and everyone had something they could eat.  The speakers were from our church.  I was sitting with several younger women, some whom I didn't know well--it was great to talk with them and learn more about them.

3.  Those women--we are all book lovers!  During our conversations, one younger woman pulled out a pen and wrote down everyone's suggestions for good, clean historical novels.  Then on Tuesday, she texted a couple of us the list.  I may have already popped over to the library to check out one of the authors...

4.  I am so thankful for cell phones.  Both of my daughters called me and talked for a long time this week.  Just wanted to hear my voice.  Phones make that possible even though we are thousands of miles apart.  It made my heart happy to hear their voices, too.

5.  An elderly gentleman who is friends with us made a comment about some events and people he has observed during his long life.  His final statement was, "So, don't be a grump."  Simple and true.

I didn't take a single photo this week. (must correct that!)  But here are some pictures taken during this week over the past years.  I realized that spring is a little later this year as in other years the flowers have already been blooming.  Enjoy!

Good Medicine

Hello Friday!  What a week it has been.  It just flew by and I'm barely keeping up.  The best part though is that I was able to stop and smell the daffodils (from my garden)

and laugh a bit.  That's why I am posting my Friday Fave Fives.

Have you heard that statement, "Laughter is the best medicine"? This week, I noticed several things that made me happy, made me smile and made me laugh.

1.  Saturday when we shopped at Trader Joe's, we noticed there were kids wandering around the store dressed in Hawaiian shirts, accompanied by store employees.  It was 'take your child to work' day!  The kids were helping in all kinds of jobs--serving snacks and stocking shelves.  Cuteness overload!  We loved it!

2.  Our nephew has two children, a boy and a girl.  Since they live not so very far away, we are often invited to dinners and birthday parties.  This week, we received thank you notes from them for the books we gave them last month.  They made us smile.

3.  We also received the cutest Valentine card from our PAL.  She's only four but she quite neatly wrote her name on it.  Awwww.  A little card like that can produce the biggest smiles from her Meema and Bapa.

4.  So.  I live in coastal Southern California where weather is steady, temperatures seldom fluctuate much and, according to legend, the sun always shines.  But.  This week.  On Thursday, we had HAIL. And SNOW on the coastal mountains--not more than 10 or 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean (Boney Peak--over 2,800 ft).  We drove over to a nearby national park (Satwiwa) and walked in to take some photos.  The place was packed with other people doing the same thing.  Yeah.  Snow on Boney Peak is a bit unusual.  It was so much fun to see it, and everyone we talked to was so excited.

See it?  It may not be much and it probably has already melted away, but it is amazing and unusual for us.

5.  Down in town there wasn't snow.  It was HAIL!  A friend posted on facebook that her son, after seeing the hail, asked his mom, "Is this a national disaster?"

Are you laughing now?  It's good for you!

Fiber Theme

I am so thankful for the ability to create beautiful things from fiber.  This week I've been focusing on finishing some things.  Other than the usual daily tasks, this is what I've done.  They're my Fave Finishes!  I'm sharing them for Friday Fave Fives with Susanne as our host.

1.  The main reason I have been focusing on the knitting is that I emptied the four drawers of yarn this week and reorganized them  My intent was to pull out and give away some of the yarn I know I'll never use.  The Professor told me I should have taken a photo of the bed--piled high with different yarns all in their little sections.  Acrylic. Wool. Sock. Cotton.  At least it's organized again and some is finding its way to others who will use it.

2.  A vest.  It's still in the beginning stages.  I love love love the yarn--wool and silk. Yum.

3.  Socks.  I've decided to work my way through a bunch of sock yarn.  You can't have too many warm socks when it's rainy and damp and cold.  I was working on this sock at the doctor's office this week and drew a lot of attention.  (Was it the sharp needles or the yarn?)

4.  Scarves.  It was almost Valentine's Day and I had some left over red and pink yarns.  What to make?  Another scarf!  I started it with warping on Tuesday night and finished it on Thursday evening.  I'll be wearing it to a Valentine's dinner tonight (Friday night). The colors in the photo show the scarf to have much more pink tones and less red.  In real life, the scarf is mostly red.

5.  Another bunny.  This one is for Easter.  Photos soon.

How did you enjoy your week?  Any creative outlets?

Time to be Thankful

Good afternoon! It's Friday Fave Five time.  Here is Willow's Week in Five short summaries.

1.  I heard a new to me term this week for the beautiful green grass that has grown on our mountains this winter (because of the rain we've had--see below).  The "emerald hills" of Southern California.  I love looking up and gazing at our Emerald Hills!

2.  Rain! More rain! Because of the rain storms which have blown through our area, we are no longer in drought. According to the official wording, we are now merely 'abnormally dry'.  Whatever the terms are, I am thankful for the several inches of rain we have had this season.

3.  And these have blossomed!

4.  This happened last week, but I am thankful for it still.  I was driving our car and noticed that a warning light came on the dashboard.  What it was for I wasn't sure, so I checked the information book we keep in the car.  Hmmmm.  Low tire pressure?  When I got home, I checked again.  Yup. Right rear tire was almost flat.  So I turned around and slowly and carefully drove the back roads to the tire store.  There was no charge and the wait wasn't all that long for the repair.  I am thankful for a good car, a reputable tire store and most of all safety on the roads. (and that it happened between rain storms!)

5.  A dear friend of mine is moving soon.  That's not the fave.  The fave is that we spent a couple of hours one afternoon nursing a cuppa at CBTL and just chatting up a storm.  We've decided that we need to do this a lot in the next few months.  She challenges me and encourages me.  It seems that until we realize we may lose something or someone, we don't carve out time with them.  I'm thankful for the reminder and for time well spent.

6.  A children's book I loved:  A Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.

What blessed you and encouraged you this week?

TuesdayTalk

Karen at Over the Backyard Fence mentioned that she was doing a daily writing challenge in February to help her get over the blues hump of blogging.  I've been feeling a bit like that so I figured I'd jump in and at least try to write something most every day. Note: I didn't write anything on Saturday, Sunday or Monday because I just decided today to do this.

Karen wrote about how she keeps track of her week.  My way is similar but different.

I use 3x5" cards to write out my daily to do list.  I used to make a weekly list on a card but lately I haven't done that probably because The Professor and I keep our shared calendar on our phones.  That works well for us since we also share a car and need to make sure that we don't schedule over each other at times we both need the car.  Whenever either of us is scheduling anything, we immediately write it on to the phone calendar.  Hence the need for a 3x5" card weekly list is redundant.

Back to the daily card.  Either the night before or the morning of, I write down my to do list below the day's date.  My list includes emails I need to send, appointments, gardening, cooking, whatever is on my schedule.  For example, one day I may have a physical therapy appointment, but I want to work my shopping or a post office run around that time so I can be more efficient with my time and gas.  So the whole list gets written down including times if appropriate.

How do you keep track of your schedule?

Encouraging Words

Encouraging words can and do change people's reactions and perspectives.  That is why I regularly participate in Friday Fave Fives with Susanne who hosts us. (Follow that link to find her blog and connect with other thankful people.)  This is why:

It is now Friday early afternoon and I am home from all my wanderings and appointments of the morning. 

As I was sitting in Bible Study, I was reflecting on my week and thinking, "What can I write about?  It was one of those weeks when stuff happened and I need to focus on the good things."  Then I noticed I had a message on my phone.  It was my (new) pastor's wife, just checking in and telling me she was praying for me today.  OK!  Right there--that should count for ALL.FIVE.FAVES for this week!  She remembered.  She prayed.  She cared.  She told me.  She encouraged me.

That caused me to pull out my pencil and notepad and write down all the other blessings that suddenly popped into my mind.

1.  Today I wore a vest I knitted last year.  It's not my favorite although I love the pattern.  I made it from a heavier yarn and it just doesn't fit me right.  But.  Several people complimented me on how lovely it is.  Maybe it looks better than I thought...

photos of the detailed cables on the back of the vest

2.  World's Best Neighbor has a tiny patch of rhubarb in her garden.  She shared some with me and I baked a strawberry rhubarb crisp.  YUM!

3.  I finished weaving another scarf this week.  Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE weaving on my Cricket rigid heddle loom?  (photos soon!  I am in the process of blocking it.)

4.  Some younger women at church have expressed interest in learning to sew.  I offered to teach some hand sewing basics, and we started this week.  Something as simple as sewing a straight seam is bringing me so much joy.  I get to teach.  I get to become better friends with these young women.

5.  Apologies to all of you who are in very very cold places.  Including my daughters.  Here in Southern California, we are all excited about the rain.  It rained one day this week.  And we are going to get more rain starting tonight!  Maybe finally our decade of drought is ending!

When Others Encourage Me

My word for this year, as I wrote earlier this month, is ENCOURAGE.  I want to encourage other people, but this week others have encouraged me.  Here are five examples (out of many more I noticed this week) which I am sharing as my Friday Fave Fives.  Here is the link to Susanne's blog where she hosts our Gathering of Blessings and Encouragement.

1.  Out of the blue, I received a phone call from the mom of a former student.  For the last eight years of my teaching career, I taught homeschool students how to write--stories, essays, compositions.  Anyway, the mom called me and had her son tell me how as a jr high student now, he had been earning the highest marks in his class.  As he said, "I did what Mrs. Willow taught me and got extra credit."  Isn't that the most encouraging thing a kid could say to a former teacher?

2.  We have had a crazy week...just lots of 'little things'.  A younger mom from church assured me she was praying for me.  That's encouraging!  (and I'm supposed to be her encourager!)

3.  How can a memorial service be an encouragement?  Well, it was.  Yes, another funeral.  This week we celebrated the life of a younger man from our church congregation who was a great encourager.  Born with disabilities, he embraced life with the happiest and brightest smile.  He was a greeter at church and hugged everyone.  Bill's life was an example of how to be an encourager. And that encouraged me to 'be more like Bill'.

4.  On Sunday evening, I had a meeting and so did The Professor.  But they were at two different times in two different places.  Since we have only one car, I was blessed and encouraged when a friend who was going to be at the meeting with me, offered me a ride home.  Then we sat and chatted in her car for awhile--just because we could.  She encouraged me, and I hope I encouraged her.

5.  An hour or two later, the same friend texted me, "Look outside!"  It was the lunar eclipse which we didn't expect to see because our sky was clouded over.  But the clouds parted just enough.  I snapped this picture at about 3 minutes past totality.  I'm glad she encouraged me to go look!

How have you been ENCOURAGED this week?

And here are a couple of photos from our very very green wild landscapes as a bonus.  Where I live in Southern California, we don't have green mountains very often, so we revel in it when we do have the green!

There's not much green here, but you can see some new life returning after the Hill Fire burned through here in November.

Yes, we really were that high above the entrance to Hill Canyon.

Two Quick Hikes

It's not all books, knitting, and weaving around Willow's Cottage.  The Professor and I love to walk and hike.  After our rainy week last week, we have been taking advantage of the warmer sunny weather this week.

Hill Canyon.  Yes, that Hill Canyon.  Where the Hill Fire started in November.  The canyon trail is still closed only because the bridge across the creek isn't fixed yet.  But the trail up the east side of the canyon wall is open, so we hiked up there Monday afternoon.  The GREEN which is popping up everywhere is beautiful and healing to the land.  Yes, we can thank all that rain we've had for the past week.

Then on Tuesday after having lunch with some visiting family from up north, we hiked into the area where the Woolsey Fire swept through at the same time as the Hill Fire did.  Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is closed due to the federal government shut down, so the buildings are closed, but the grounds are open for hiking.  Specifically, we hiked around the King Gillette Ranch.  Yeah, that Gillette.  Basically, this ranch was purchased and built from the money King acquired from selling those little razor blades.  The ranch land didn't burn, but the areas around it and even across the road did.

Front entrance

You can see the effects of the lack of personnel caring for the property.

Leaves Every Where.

Back entrances

We hiked up to Inspiration Point, about 180 feet above the area where the house is.

(notice the cars and the white trailers in the picture above?  That is probably a movie photo shoot.)

I zoomed in and took this photo of the Gillette Ranch House from the top of Inspiration Point.

And a shot of Inspiration Point from the front lawn.

Both of these hikes weren't more than about two miles each, but they included some steep hills and so much beauty!

Simple Week

This past week was a quiet simple time.  I'm thankful I was able to take the time to adjust back to being home and get settled in again after being gone for almost a month.

Here is how I spent my Simple Week--being thankful for the quiet.  I'm linking up to 

Friday Fave Fives

to share.

1.  My favorite photo of the week.  Palm trees with snowy mountains in the background.  That's Southern California!  Taken from my front window.

2.  When it rains, the flowers soak it all in, and they love it!  Can you see the raindrops?  It has been raining and raining and raining this week.

3.  Lunch with a friend.  We might have spent almost three hours...  And it was worth every minute.

4.  This week I did some reviewing of my family history documents so I could scan the information to send to a possible distant relative.  It was fun.  And now I want to do more delving in to my family's past.

5.  Knitting and weaving is a daily event around Willow's Cottage.  I'm thankful for being able to learn more of my art.  I finished two bunnies which will be gifts for two new little girls. 

  And I warped my loom for a new scarf.  Thankfully, my friend noticed a mistake I had made and showed me how to correct it.

What are you thankful for this week?

All. The. Good.

"And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you."

   Deuteronomy 26:11

The Bible text above popped up in a devotional someone shared this week and it struck me that Friday Fave Fives does exactly this.  All The Good.  Here are Five Good Things the Lord my God has given me this week.

1.  Safe and easy flight home.  Not being the world's best flyer, I always appreciate a mostly turbulence free flight.  And this time, no transfers.

2.  We spent one day this week driving to Los Angeles to attend a memorial service for a dear friend who was my mentor and Bible teacher for a few years when I lived in LA.  I loved what one person noted about her life.  "GW lived her life for two things: to bring people to Jesus and to bring people together."  I would want that legacy , wouldn't you?

3.  Then we met family friends for lunch in Santa Monica--We have know them for many years, since those adult boys were primary students at the school where I taught (Watts Christian School).  We love them!  We laughed and chatted and reminisced.  What a blessing to spend that special time with them.

4.  We drove home via Highway 1, also called  PCH (Pacific Coast Highway).  The road has been closed due to the Woolsey and Hill Fires.  It was the first time we had driven along there since the fires.  Look where the rain has already started to green up the burned areas.  I'm thankful for the healing of the land.

5.  Dinner with World's Best Neighbor.  Pizza.  How thankful I am for a good neighbor who is also a good friend.

Happy January to you!  Be blessed!

Flight 2019

Happy Friday!  It's 'take off time' for the New Year!  I continue to highly value Friday Fave Fives as a way to focus on my blessings from the past week and NOT focus on the difficult or sad things.  Here are five things I am thankful for this week.

1.  My daughters had some extra time off from their jobs so we were able to spend days with them.  One day we went to a science center and the grandchildren had a great time.  (a year pass is our gift to them for Christmas)

2.  Walks and hikes.  Even in cold wintertime, we try to get out and walk every day.  (I have photos but haven't downloaded them yet. I'll repost when I do.)

3.  Playing games.  The New Boy has discovered Settlers of Catan and Pandemic.  I tried Pandemic.  The Professor and New Boy's mom played Catan with him.  Scrabble--he is a solid player and keeps us on our game!

4. On New Year's Eve, New Boy wanted to stay up until midnight.  I was ready for bed long before, but we waited and as 12pm arrived, New Boy counted down, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!  Happy New Year!"  His next words were, "OK, let's go to bed."

5.  My small group leader from Friday Bible study sent this.

Will all passengers on Flight 2019 please proceed to the boarding gates...

Your checked baggage should include only the best souvenirs from 2018.

The BAD and SAD moment if carried in your hand luggage must be thrown away in the garbage bins before boarding Flight 2019.

Stopovers will be:  Health, Love, Joy, Harmony, Well-being, Peace.

Refueling will be at Giving, Sharing, Caring.

Remember that you will enjoy the journey better if you talk, share, smile, and laugh together.

Sitting silent will make the flight seem longer.

Wishing you and your family an enjoyable trip on board Flight 2019.

Encourage

2019.  Wow.  It's another New Year.  I don't do New Year's resolutions.  I do Hopes and Goals.  Also, each year, I choose a word that describes where my thoughts and focus seem to be leading me for the year.
I haven't been focusing much on the new year; I've just been trying to keep up with Christmas activities with my kids.  So when I realized that it was almost the new year, I hadn't considered any words to focus my intentions for 2019.
Then out of the blue, out of the wider world of thought, the word ENCOURAGE popped into my head.  For the past few months, I've noticed that my role among my friends and family has been moving in to encouraging them.  Rejoicing with them.  Mourning with them.  Sometimes, they have encouraged me, too.
I think that ENCOURAGE is how I am supposed to my time and energy this coming year.  I will encourage friends who are struggling, encourage loved ones to trust God in all circumstances.

I have written down a few hopes and goals, too.
1.  Keep on knitting and weaving through my yarn stash. (will that ever end?}
2.  Read through the Chronological Bible again this year.
3.  Pray more.  (keep my prayer journal handy all the time)
4.  Get back to exercising regularly and eating a more healthy diet (I already do these, but I want to refocus)
5.  Use up various consumables that have just been sitting around in drawers and cupboards--mainly lotions and cleaning supplies.
6.  Focus on learning more about gardening and growing herbs.

I think that's enough.

Do you have hopes and goals for 2019?  How can I be an ENCOURAGEMENT to you?

That Week Between

I have been away from most blogs and websites for three weeks or more.  That's because I left on an airplane and flew many many miles and have been away from my little cottage.  It's been fun to spend my time with kids and grandkids and just focus on them.  The Professor and I are enjoying the season!

This Friday Fave Five is going to be a catch up session. Follow the FFF link to share your faves and to read what others have written.  I have been counting my blessings and have been remembering to be thankful.  I just haven't written them all down.  So, anyway, here goes:

1.  That list:  I finished the weaving projects and almost all of my knitting projects.

                         knitted scarf
                         six knitted hats in Christmas colors for my friend's studio open house
                         knitted hat for PAL's cousin
                         another knitted hat
                         woven scarf
                         knitted vest for baby boy (church friend)
                         knitted vest for baby girl (another church friend)

                         some knitted bunnies-these are half done and that's the last on my list left to do.

2.  Christmas is my favorite holiday and I just love singing Christmas carols!  Christmas morning I woke up with Hark! The Herald Angels Sing running through my brain, and it stuck with me all day.

Hark! the herald angels sing, 

"Glory to the new-born King! 

Peace on earth, and mercy mild, 

God and sinners reconciled." 

Joyful, all ye nations, rise, 

Join the triumph of the skies; 

With th' angelic host proclaim, 

"Christ is born in Bethlehem." 

Hark! the herald angels sing, 

"Glory to the new-born King!

Christ, by highest heaven adored: 

Christ, the everlasting Lord; 

Late in time behold him come, 

Offspring of the favoured one. 

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see; 

Hail, th'incarnate Deity: 

Pleased, as man, with men to dwell, 

Jesus, our Emmanuel! 

Hark! the herald angels sing, 

"Glory to the new-born King!

Hail! the heaven-born 

Prince of peace! 

Hail! the Son of Righteousness! 

Light and life to all he brings, 

Risen with healing in his wings 

Mild he lays his glory by, 

Born that man no more may die: 

Born to raise the son of earth, 

Born to give them second birth. 

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the new-born King !"

3.  Dr. Mike was able to pause in his travels and research long enough to spend four days with us!  We put him on a plane Thursday night and waved goodbye but promised him we would try to get to his place in the next couple of months.

4.  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with three of our four children and three of our four grandchildren.  And we were able to Skype with Chaplain Dan and his family (especially our PAL!) What a blessing!  And guess what...I didn't take any photos!  I can't believe it!

5.  No photos isn't quite right.  Someone took this photo of The Professor and me and I put it on my facebook page where it has gotten lots and lots of 'likes' and 'loves'.  We like our matchy shirts.

So Merry Christmas/Happy New Year to everyone!  Are you looking forward to 2019?  I'm reflecting on my word and focus for this next year.  Are you?

That December List

Do you have your December To Do List?  Have you been checking it? Twice?  As in twice every hour?  I have.  I've been working my way down that list, crossing items off as I complete them.  In fact, that is my focus for Friday Fave Fives.  Here is where you go to join in being thankful this week.

1.  Christmas letter.  We have (nearly) finished writing it and will be printing the copies to mail out.  The fave is that the addresses are all updated and labels printed.

2.  That letter:  I asked my children to contribute their paragraphs and they all sent me the information in (mostly) timely fashion so we could format the letter and add some cute photos.

3.  Activities.  I wrote them on my To Do List and checked them off.  Pick up my earrings that were being repaired at the jewelers.  Open House at my friend's weaving studio.  Steering committee meeting for my Mom to Mom group.  Two Christmas dinners with groups of friends.  Last Bible Study for the year.  Buying books and stocking stuffers.  Buying yarn and buttons for some knitting and weaving projects.

4.  I have been knitting and weaving like crazy to finish those projects before I leave for points in eastern US for Christmas.  You should see the list.  It's getting done!

                         knitted scarf
                         six knitted hats in Christmas colors for my friend's studio open house
                         knitted hat for PAL's cousin
                         another knitted hat
                         woven scarf
                         some knitted bunnies
                         knitted vest for baby boy (church friend)
                         knitted vest for baby girl (another church friend)

5.  Shopping.  Almost done.  I think all I have left to buy is one book.*  Amazon to the rescue! *The Professor just ordered it! Done!

This is definitely a busy time of year, but making my lists really helps me get things done!  I'm thankful for the time to get it all organized and get it done!

Done with November

I can't believe it's almost DECEMBER.  What happened to November?  I know that Thanksgiving was early this year and that the first Sunday of Advent is this weekend.  Wow!

So what did I do this past week?  What blessings arrived on the doorstep of Willow's Cottage?  I'm sharing Five Faves--five favorite things from this past week and linking to Susanne's group Friday Fave Fives.

1.  Obviously, the big fave this week is the RAIN we had on Wednesday and Thursday.  Here in Southern California, rain is somewhat of a rarity.  We popped into the library to drop off books and all the high school kids are in the front plaza running and jumping around in the rain.

2.  With rain comes some trepidation after having had two or more rain induced deadly mudslides in the past few years in our area after wild fires have decimated the flora on the hills.  So we are all very thankful that there were no mudslides this week.

3.  I'm thankful for the very diligent fire departments and police and sheriffs who patrolled all around the burn areas (including my neighborhood) checking on everyone and everyplace to make sure the mud and rocks stayed where they are supposed to be.  Our first responders have been very very busy lately.  I'm so thankful that they work hard to keep us safe.

4.  Also with rain and wind comes that phenomenon called tumbleweeds.  They are real things.  And they are big.  In the wind, the tumbleweeds were jay-walking across the roads and sidewalks and cutting off other drivers in their lanes and getting stuck on road signs.  I love 'tumbleweed season'.

photo taken in the rain near a lemon orchard

5.  And of course there is always knitting at Willow's Cottage.  Two new bunnies!  Aren't they adorable?  I love to knit and I love to create beautiful things.

So now we are done with November!  On to Advent and Christmas!  My favorite time of the year!

Five Faves For Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all my American friends!  I know I am a bit late posting my Friday Fave Fives, but because I had family visiting, I decided to just enjoy our time together and focus on them until they left on Friday.  I could have listed fifty things I'm thankful for, but I chose just five from this week.  So here are my Five Faves for Thanksgiving.  You can click on that link to join in.

1.  First, I'm thankful for Susanne who so faithfully posts and leads the Friday Fave Fives.

2.  For the first time in two or three years, I was home for Thanksgiving!

3.  Our older son Chaplain Dan and his family joined us.  Our PAL entertained us all.  Doesn't every four year old need a Hebrew alphabet puzzle?

4.  One of The Professor's sisters joined us for Thanksgiving dinner, and later his other sister and two nephews arrived to share pie and pie and more pie.

5.  Speaking of pie, Chaplain Dan made the apple pies.  It's nice to know that the years of teaching my children how to cook and bake have reaped their benefits.   They even tell me that they LIKE to cook.  And I don't have to do it anymore.

6.  OK, I couldn't do just five.  Because, truly, a week can't go by without knitting.  I finished these two Harry Potter house scarves for Chaplain Dan's nieces.  I made him model them.  The fave parts?  I was pleased that the girls asked me to make the scarves, I am glad I finished them before he left so he could take the scarves to them,and it made me happy that he was willing to model them.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!  Be Thankful every day!

What a Week!

What a Week!  Yes, we're home.  Although there have been some fire flare ups on the hills above our neighborhood, we were able to return home on Saturday evening.  We are so thankful that our home is safe from the Hill Fire* and Woolsey Fire.  It hurts our hearts when we hear of people who have lost everything--especially so soon after the Thomas Fire which devastated Ventura in our county last December, and after the shootings at Borderline in Thousand Oaks which is the next town over from ours. So here are my heartfelt Friday Fave Fives.   This week I can link up to Susanne's blog!

1.  Saturday evening, we enjoyed a dinner out with long time friends before we 'repopulated' our home.  We sat there in the restaurant and chatted and laughed.  It was great.  Exactly what we needed.

2.  I was called for jury duty.  Yes. Again.  My report day was Wednesday and I did get called into the courtroom and stayed until 5:15 pm while prospective jurors were interviewed.  Because of the memorial service for the county sheriff who was killed in the Borderline shootings last week, we were held over until Thursday afternoon, so I had to report there again and sit in the courtroom until all the jurors were chosen and sworn in.  Then we who were not chosen on the jury were allowed to leave.  Hopefully. I won't be called again in the near future.  What was the fave?  Meeting a couple of other women who I really clicked with, one of whom noticed my felted bag and asked, "Did you knit that?  I knit, too."  Well, that obviously meant instant friendship.

3.  Meeting with a couple of friends for a morning planning session for our Mom to Mom group at church.  I am learning to love these co-mentor moms and appreciate their wisdom (and their humor).

4.  This is a funny thing:  when we left last Thursday, I had poured some hot water over dried chocolate mint leaves and left it to steep while we were gone for what we thought would be about an hour.  Well, when we returned Saturday night, there was the tea mug.  I decided to try the tea.  It was delicious!  Evidently leaving mint tea to steep for 50 plus hours makes excellent tea!

5.  We hadn't seen one of The Professor's sisters for awhile.  She texted and said, "Hey, I was missing you a lot tonight. Can I come over tomorrow to see you?"  So we had a wonderful visit with her and she stayed for lunch.  She even loved our usual lunch of veggies and more veggies with a bit of hummus thrown in.

I hope you are all preparing for a joyous and wonderful Thanksgiving!  Giving thanks is what we're all about here.

* The Hill Fire was named after the place the fire started:  Hill Canyon-- where The Professor and I hike on a regular basis.  It doesn't look like this anymore:

Faves in a Fire

Hello Friends, you may have heard by now that my county in Southern California is burning. Again. I am writing this while sitting in a Starbucks coffee shop.  We were notified of our evacuation as the first  to receive the notification. But. We weren't at home, so we were unable to pack anything.  However, we are ok and so is our home.

So here are my Five Faves From this new Fire. Here is the link. Hope it works! Until I can get my computer, I can't seem to link up... Www.susannesspace.blogspot.com


1. We are safe.

2. As of now, our home is safe and secure.

3.  We had a place to sleep last night.  Friends invited us immediately to stay with them.  Actually, we had numerous offers for a bed.  We were amazed and overehelmed by the immediate response of so many people offering help.

4.  Following on #3, we were encouraged and felt so very loved by so many calls, emails and texts from friends and family checking on us. Those misty eyes of mine --maaybe it is the smoke in the air; or maybe not.

5. I am so thankful that The Professor and I were together when our phones began ringing with mandatory evacuation notices. I had planned to drive up to the shopping mall by myself, but in the end I waited for him to finish a task and he went with me. Otherwise, I would have been fighting my way down toward him on very.very.very slow back roads and he would have been walking out of our area to evacuate. Together is better. Even though we took that road to our friends' home, we were together.

Five Quotes to Contemplate

I am out of town right now taking a watercolor painting class (yes, it's true!). 

where I am

 (don't worry; The Professor is home keeping everything safe.)

But even so, I wanted to participate in Friday Fave Fives.  Here is the link to Susanne's blog and directions for how to post your own FFFs.  So here are five quotes I've been thinking of lately.  I share them with you so you can contemplate the truth and beauty of them.

1.  A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot.

2.  Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with your God.

3.  Sow the seeds of good health with a generous dose of gardening.

4.  Do something every day that makes you happy.

5.  And The Professor's favorite:  Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

After I return, I will catch up with you all.  Happy Weekend!