Firsts

I almost forgot to show you the pictures I took while I was in Washington. I had never been to the state of Washington before, this was my first time.

Camping in the far Northwest was only one of a few firsts for me this last month.

Everett (north of Seattle), Washington is not the place to visit in the winter. It's a good thing we weren't visiting but were there to work. There are a lot of things to see and do in the area, but in the winter, the cold rain seems to never stop, so it is unpleasant to get out and do anything. The daylight hours are few--about 8--so by the time the day's work is done, sightseeing is out of the question. I did a lot of sitting and watching it rain.

We did get out for a few hours one dreary day when the rain let up for a while. We headed to a ferry that took us across Possession Sound to Whidbey Island.

Notice the heavy cloud cover, the gray skies, the rain falling in the distance? Close to 24/7 the whole time I was there. The locals say that the summers are absolutely beautiful in Seattle, and I believe them. Someday maybe God will take me back there in the summertime.


We drove up the length of the island, seeing what we could see from the highway through the raindrops on the windshield. We stopped at Fort Casey Military Reservation which sits on the bank of Puget Sound and walked around a bit. The air was wet and crisp but we had a good time anyway.

This lighthouse was closed for the winter so I can't tell you anything about it except I thought it was too cute.

This old fort that once guarded the Sound had some nice big guns.

Looking across the sound, I could see mountains beyond the bank of clouds.

On second thought, maybe the area is beautiful, even in the winter.

The sun tried to shine down on our day...

and across the way--God's first promise to all of creation. (A comforting first.)

 I think this is the first time I've seen such green grass in the middle of winter. Even in the deep south the grass doesn't look this green. (An unexpected first.)

Another first for me was seeing the bikini huts that sit, tiny and independent, in parking lots about town. I'll spare you the photos! Just in case you are not familiar with these establishments, they are tiny little drive up coffee stops where the employees are girls clad in bikinis. I can't decide if this marketing gimmick is sad or sick. Maybe both. (A troubling first)
Personally, I prefer coffee shops nestled inside a warm book store with employees fully clothed and wearing long aprons to protect their bellies from hot spills. I'm just sayin'....

With bad weather approaching and the work complete (except for some stray paperwork that could be done from anywhere) we decided this trip would not be the trip for going places and doing things. We packed up and headed for home.

Another first in Oregon--it is against the law to pump your own gas. There are no self-serve pumps in the state. You can pay at the pump with your card, but you don't do the pumping. I'm not complaining. Who wants to stand out in the cold rain and pump gas?  (A surprising & pleasant first)

Now I have to show you the funniest first I encountered on this trip. It was a sign which hung on a post between gas pumps at a convenience store. We were in Washington (pumping our own gas) when I spotted it. Keep in mind that children don't drive, children don't usually pump gas and children are often under five feet tall. This sign hung high, above my eye level...

which (to me) pushed it past funny into hilarious.

Firsts can be fun, frightful, fascinating, and full of surprises. First steps, first words, first bike, first car, first kiss...Firsts escort us all the way through this life no matter how long we live.

There is one first that I'm looking forward to with great joy and anticipation.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  1 Thessalonians 4:16 NIV

A final first--I can't wait! Hope to see you there!

Let's laugh and pray

In all things my heart seeks to glorify God. In the day to day humdrum of life I look for joy, and I like to laugh. I often pray that God will allow me to be a source of joy and laughter to others. That's why I make this post.

I've said before that I'm not politically correct and I don't try to be. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't intended to bow or bend in the wind of what is popular in our land. Our nation and our government is in a mess. We need answers, solutions, wisdom, guidance, and maybe even a miracle. We talk about our problems and the mistakes our leaders make. We worry, complain, gripe and criticize, but do we pray? I mean really pray for our leaders with fervor?

I've never seen Tim Hawkins in person, though I'd like to, but I'm a fan because of video. This guy is gifted for sure.

I hope this video will make you smile, even laugh. But more than that, I hope it will give you subject matter for your prayer time.

Sit back, watch and enjoy this video of Mr. Hawkins, then pray for our country's leadership. Ask God to give them a desire for godliness, wisdom, revelation of truth, and anything else the Spirit brings to mind.

May God bless America.

Maybe I should stick to domestic issues

I've been at it again. Playing with my sidebar. Did you notice that I finally updated my puzzles? I think it has been at least nine months since I did that. And I've added a few new things. If you hate them, let me know. If you love them, let me know. If you couldn't care less, well, you can either let me know, or just keep to yourself. I'm not finished messing with the sidebar--I still need to update my bookcase and freshen up a few other items.

In case you didn't know, I'm not an expert at blog building. I'm not sure I could even pass a test to be classified as an intermediate blog builder. No, I believe I might need several years of training just to be able to use one of those "Idiot" books on building a blog. That's why I contacted my son-in-law. He IS an expert. He knows how to use a computer better than I know how to use a dish rag. And let me tell you, I KNOW how to use a dishrag!

I wanted to add a functionality to my blog's sidebar. I didn't know exactly how to do it but I took a guess--I needed to add a widget, or a gadget, or...

So I asked my techie son-in-law what the difference is between the two. Here is what he told me via text message. "A gadget is an actual item whereas a widget is an anonymous undefined name for a gadget."

O-KAY! That really cleared it up for me. Yep, don't even bother with the Idiot's Guide, I'd never understand it.

Bless his heart, he knows that I've got dirty dishwater between my ears, so he went on to clarify..."It's a placeholder name for nothing specific. Like a doodad or a whatchamacallit."

FINALLY! Words I understand! Now I just had to decide whether I needed a doodad or a whatchamacallit. Still, not knowing the difference between those two things exactly, I choose to use a doodad.

You'll find it up at the top of the sidebar. Now what I THINK it is supposed to do, its functionality, (you might find that word in one of those Idiot computer books if you don't know what it means) is allow readers of this blog to have new posts delivered to their email inbox. Since it is powered by a Google Group, it would also allow readers to talk about me behind my back except that I have it set so that I can moderate all the discussions. (I think) I don't know if it really works that way, so I'm testing it. I put my own email address into the little spot, clicked on the "Subscribe" button, and now we will see if this post is sent to my inbox.

All this has been a long and stressful process because I had to create a Google Group which required more decision making skills than what I possess, then I had to find the doodad and and copy the HTML Code and plug it in... Oh wait, should I use a plug-in, or is the doodad, which I used instead of a gadget or a widget, good enough? Oh, well...

Then I added it on... Oh my goodness, maybe I should have used an add-on instead of a doodad!

Dear God,
I'm no good at this. I'm so confused. Please help me out of this mess. Just give me my dishrag and...My dishrag! Where's my dishrag?

I got so busy with all this technical web-design-blog-building-mumbo-jumbo that I forgot all about a load of laundry, I left unattended, in the little campground laundry room. I guess I'd better go get my dishrag out of the thingamajig and put it in the whositwhatsit so it will dry. I'll need it later on when I get ready to wash my dillyboppers and wipe down the doohickey. Yes, I guess I should give up blog building and stick with domestic issues. At least in THAT department, I know what I'm doing!

*UPDATE* I never could get the doodad that I added to work like I wanted it to, so I removed it. If you would like to receive my blog in your email inbox, simply leave me a comment with your address or email me directly with it and I'll see to it that you get it. Thanks.

Down by the duck pond (just photos)

Saturday the rain and drizzle stopped for a short time so I took a walk down to the duck pond.

I think the management here at the RV park refers to it as a fishing pond, but since no one was fishing, and ducks seem to call the pond home, I prefer to call it "the duck pond."

When they saw me coming, they rushed to greet me.
(If only people were as welcoming as ducks.)

I think they were disappointed that I didn't bring them any bread crumbs.
They quickly went back to dipping and diving and hunting for food.Some of them just wanted to hang out and socialize...while some seemed to prefer a little privacy.

Now y'all know how I enjoy noticing little things that normally go unnoticed...
and since I happened to have my camera handy...
I couldn't help myself.

The chilly damp air and a phone call from my husband telling me he was "home"
prompted my return to the fifth wheel.
On my way back, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this slimy little guy.A worm out of dirt is much like a duck out of water.
This one was leaving a trail on the walkway as he headed for cover.

What's that you say? What was the point of this post? What is the moral to this story?
There is none. Really. But I'm hoping and praying that as you enjoy my pictures, the Holy Spirit will reveal a truth about God and His perfect, wonderful design that we see in nature every day. He really does have a plan for your life. (And mine too.)