A River at Sunset

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I didn't intend to take a little blogging break.  I meant to stay current here, even while traveling.  

But my niecelet wanted to play airplane, my sister-in-law and I up and wogged (walked + jogged = wogged) 7.6 miles on each of two different days, I chatted with Grandma while everyone else was out running up mountains, we all sang together (that song from our wedding, that Grandpa likes so much), I picked blueberries and even answered my phone on the side of a mountain in Alaska, I walked beside rivers with my mom while my dad rode a scooter and my husband ran beside him, I followed along as my brother led the way to a swimming hole in the river...and, well, blogging just didn't demand my time as much as those beloved people with whom I only spend time once or twice a year.

It flew by too quickly as it was.

I'm home now, and as Sabbath sets in over the evening tonight, I'm simply taken with the thought of how great and clever and creative and graceful Jesus is when He reaches out to us yet one more time, when we've messed up again and again, and makes everything clean once more.

It's good to know wherever I am from one end of the earth to the other, I've never been out of His care.  I'm not beyond His reach tonight, and neither are you.

Beauty and Happiness are Real, Too

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Heidi, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth:  Peace be multiplied unto you.

Because of course that's how I would address all of you if I were ruler over the largest, most influential nation on earth.  Which I'm not, but the world wide web can carry my words every bit that far, right?  Well, maybe without the influence of absolute and forceful authority over my readers, but you know. 

I'm posting on location, as you might be able to tell from my photo of the Knik Glacier surrounded by its beautiful snow-capped mountains.

And I've been thinking in my travels about how Nebuchadnezzar and Darius began their letters to the nations, telling them all what a wonderful God Daniel and his fellows served, telling them to give Him reverence, telling them all about the things the God of heaven was doing in their lives.

That's really what I want this blog to be about, too.  All about the ways my God changes, brightens, and enriches my daily life, whether I'm out in the garden, studying His Word, or enjoying the beauties of nature.

I know there's often talk on blogs about making sure life online is "real", by which it seems that most people mean they want to be sure other people behind computer screens don't live perfect lives either.  As if a balanced picture of life has to include more of struggles and ugliness, and less of beauty.

Here, though?

While there might be times I reflect on grief or pain or sadness, most of the time I come to my little corner of blogland to remind myself that beauty is real in my life.

It's my pause for breath on a climb heavenward, moments taken to look back over the breathtaking view God makes out of an imperfect life dedicated nonetheless to Him.

When You Need a Rest Stop

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Sometimes we need rest stops.  Even though we might be within an hour of home, and we think we can make it...the better part of wisdom tells us to stop the bus and give everyone a five-minute break (you know, because if you give them five minutes they'll actually be back in ten, which is what you want anyway).

You take those few minutes to race through the necessities, leaving as much time as possible to enjoy the whimsy of the thick (by south Texas standards) grove of trees, and keep an eye out to see if there are any bright purple wildflowers close enough to photograph.  (There aren't, so you just keep enjoying them from the bus window when you're on the road again.)

Well, today was a rest stop day for me.  I needed a low-energy, low-pressure day.  You know what that's like, right?  A day to do what feels relaxing and rejuvenating, a day to be, to enjoy a space of quiet in the midst of whatever else life might be throwing your way?

It's hard work to give myself permission to have a day like that, but you know what?  At the end of today, one of the few times I've allowed myself a rest stop day, I'm immensely grateful I stopped being my own taskmaster and allowed myself some much-needed time to just be.

So can I give you that permission too?  Permission to slow down, to rest, to clear the to-do list of those things that feel like pressure and make room for those things that feel like enrichment?  Maybe for yourself, or maybe for someone you love?

Because we all need rest stops sometimes, even when we might be awfully close to the finish line.

Welcome to Your Hotel Room

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My husband and I have been blessed over the last two weeks to spend time traveling, especially since the traveling yielded, by God's leading, a new job for him.  We've spent a lot of nights in hotels, and I found it interesting to note a couple of the welcoming touches the staff put into the bathrooms.  Maybe I'll use the ideas for guests in my home sometime.

The toilet paper here was folded in a simple fan rather than the typical triangles end, and tucked in to make a fan-flair.  It probably took only a few seconds longer, but had so much more personality.

The towels in this photo had then wash cloth folded diagonally, with the corner turned up in the back.  Then they were wrapped around the hanging towel and tied in a simple knot to create this sleek look.

Flowers at the Beach

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Yesterday, we went to the beach.  We did that today, too.  I'll show you more of the beach later, but for now, enjoy these little friends who greeted us at the top of the path.

Visiting Jefferson's Monticello

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After visiting Washington's Mount Vernon, I was especially eager to visit Jefferson's Monticello.  I had picked up a copy of this book at my local library, delighted in the garden photos, and desired to see the grounds in person.  And this book, which I also picked up from my local library (a small but wonderful little building), mentioned heirloom varieties that Jefferson had planted in his garden even while he was in the presidency.

So when we found out we would be moving this summer, and that our route away from home would go within half an hour, the dear husband and I decided it would be a great three-year anniversary treat to buy the tickets and relax a little before we drove three thousand miles.  While the tickets were even more expensive than the ones to Washington's Mount Vernon, we felt they were completely worth it (and our happy marriage was worthy of the price!):  the area was beautiful, and you can join several guided tours as well as meander the grounds and gardens on your own.

My photos today are not in any particular order.  (Click to enlarge them, if you wish.)

I had the most wonderful time seeing all the different ways a person could make a trellis for climbing plants.  Above, you see just sticks stuck in the ground at angles.  The two rows lean toward the center, making a triangular tunnel.  I don't recall what was to grow there, but the different kinds of stick trellises gave the garden a natural look.

The garden is almost at the top of the hill.  (The house is at the very top.)  Looking down here, you can see the vineyard and orchard, and the valley with all its green splendor sprawling out below.  At various points along the garden (which you may recall from seeing photos is quite long and narrow relative to its length), volunteer master gardeners were stationed to answer questions about the plants, the garden, the plans Jefferson implemented here.  From one of these master gardeners, I learned that Jefferson did indeed have the crops rotated from year to year throughout the garden (except, of course, for the perennials such as some of the woody herbs that generally stayed in their places).

Each row in the garden is marked well with a little stake, showing the name of the plants as well as the year of the first recorded propagation of that variety.  It was fun to see some that had been cultivated, the seeds saved and replanted from generation to generation, since 1794.

Here is the back of the house.  There is a large lawn here, surrounded by a walkway bordered with flowers.  As at Mount Vernon, no photography is allowed inside the house during the house tours.  However, I highly recommend taking the house tour, both at Monticello and Mount Vernon.  I was struck by the vast difference between the houses.  Jefferson's fascination with education (think Enlightenment philosophy) was evident from the entry way, where there were educational items laid out as if in a miniature museum, and throughout the rest of the house.  

My favorite technological innovation was a machine he used when writing letters, of which he wrote many.  The pen with which he wrote was attached to a sort of pulley system that had another pen at the other end.  As he moved the one pen, the second pen simultaneously followed every motion he made with the first pen, creating an exact copy on the spot.

Sometimes I feel like I need one of those.  Yes, I still write some letters by hand.

A beautiful creature, no?

Another example of some stick "trellises".

Very old Nasturtiums!  This variety has been around longer than the Declaration of Independence!

Another view of the garden and its path.  Here again, my visit was not long enough to give proper time to ponder the issue of slavery at Monticello (not that time could ever help me understand it, or comprehend how the same pen could write about all men being created equal as well as record the purchase of a human being), but the thought of how much labor it must have taken to maintain this garden crossed my mind many, many times as I wandered through it. 

The cicadas (the ones who come out only every seventeen years) were out in force.  They were loud, they were beautiful, they were amazing with their black and orange.  Have you seen one before?

And in case you were wondering?  You can buy heirloom seeds on site or online.  Maybe you'd like to have the Nasturtium variety that has been around longer than our country.

Visiting Washington's Mount Vernon

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We didn't totally know what to expect, but after {maybe} rear-ending someone, waiting for a police officer to come and explain {to the other person} that there would be nothing to do since the {other} car was not damaged, my mom and I headed totally out into the unknown looking for George Washington's house.  {In April.  I know.  I should have told you about it months ago.}

It wasn't long into our tour of his home that we learned we were not merely among a crowd of after-the-fact, first-president enthusiasts.  George and Martha evidently welcomed hundreds of overnight guests each year, many of them random and unplanned for.  Except if you are in the routine of having hundreds of overnight guests each year, you probably plan for them whether you know they're coming or not.  It was hard to imagine such a pre-secret service kind of era, where one could simply show up to a former president's home expecting a meal and perhaps a bed.  More than one tour guide mentioned a letter in which George wrote something like the following, "If no one comes in the next fifteen minutes, something will happen that has not happened in twenty years.  My wife and I will dine alone together."

These covered pathways curved away from the house on, which was really just a box that had been extended a few times.  With fancy things put inside the box.  I thought it was a nice touch to have vines and flowers and archways, with the river in the background.  I did the unthinkable, and left without a photo of their beautiful river view.  But since the river curved around multiple sides of their land, I couldn't think how to properly capture it all in its breathtaking beauty.  I could see exactly why Washington's father put his house just right there next to the river.  It was only later that I learned how to use the panoramic function on my phone.  {Disappointed frown.}

See the greenhouse?  Lots of glass, a beautiful place.  Part of the huge gardens extended in front of it.  I tried not to think of how much work it would have taken to maintain the grounds and gardens of Mount Vernon, simply because we did not arrive for our visit with enough time and space to ponder the sad fact of slavery at our first president's home.  I merely took in the gardens, the plants, the home, the river, leaving that topic to be grappled with another day.

This fruit-growing technique is something I've seen once before, in a magazine, and have kept in the back of my mind to try someday.  Essentially, the fruit trees are pruned in such a way as to remain about shoulder height (at least, shoulder height for me).  These particular trees were pruned so that two sets of branches extended horizontally from the trunk, along the brick wall.  When it's time to harvest the fruit, there are no ladders, no climbing.  Just reaching out to pick the fruit that is ripe right in front of you.  Seems like the way to go!

 

Here's a view of the way the some of the gardens were set up:  like decorative flower beds, but with herbs and vegetables in the beds.  It felt so artistic and beautiful, yet practical at the same time.  One of my disappointments in the visit was that we got there with only about an hour and a half to enjoy the grounds.  Perhaps someday I'll go back for more!

 

Above:  the rosemary rows.  They're gigantic.  The employees told me they don't sell the produce.  It's just available for them (the employees) to take home as it ripens.  Don't you think I need a new job??

If you go:  It's not cheap.  Check out tickets, though, because it's worth every penny.  The house, the museum, the different kinds of tours, the grounds.  My mom and I also discovered that because we arrived past 4:00 p.m. (I believe it was), our tickets would have been good through the next day, and had we been close enough to it the next day, we totally would have been back for more.  We both loved it.

Also if you go:  Please go to the gift shops.  I am NOT one who normally wanders the gift shops.  However, in this case, it was again totally worth it.  With my recent fascination with heirloom seeds, I was overjoyed to learn that a person can buy heirloom seeds from George Washington's garden.  Again, I wouldn't say they're cheap.  However, with the potential of letting your plants go to seed and planting those seeds again next year, it doesn't seem like such an expenditure.  AND if you're too far away from Mount Vernon for a visit, you can still order the heirloom seeds online via the link above.