Before and After

Our side yard.

(No-mans- land)

I used this area to spray paint things.

The neighbors cats were the only

regular users. 

We used the bricks, added a little gravel,

hired two teenagers to help

and 

we now have a useful and beautiful

way to our backyard.

Great job you two!

They are brother and sister.

It was so fun to listen to them talking and 

singing together, while working!

~~~~~****~~~~~

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him."

Colossians 3:17

Weekend Cruising

Tom and I enjoy riding our bikes or driving, around certain

areas of Boise, Idaho.

On beautiful days, the top goes down on our VW. 

Or we pack our bikes. 

Either way, we cruise the up and down each street,

 gawking, looking at magnificent, old and quaint homes.

The streets have their own unique personality. 

No two homes / mansions are alike.

They were built way before

"Cookie-cutter" was popular.

Sometimes we'll come across something

very unusual or funny.

This neighborhood is called,

Hyde Park in Boise, Idaho.

If you ever visit Boise, take a stroll or "roll" 

down these stately streets.

On the other side from the Hyde Park area is 

our State Capital.

The streets are still gorgeous.

Lots of History lives in this area.

This is the  USA Assay Office,

of Boise, Idaho

 

I like this door!

At first glance, we thought it was a jail.

See the bars on the windows.

Even the Ronald McDonald House 

oozes with charm.

~~~~~****~~~~~


"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything."

Hebrews 3:4

A Love Story

I read this and my heart just melted!

I'm a real softy, when it comes to stories about Grandma's

To be loved and appreciated by a grandchild this much is such a blessing.

Christine - Vista woman

💕

“I am writing to tell you about the extraordinary kindness that was shown to me by members of Alaska Airlines who worked Flight 1176 on May 10th.”

A woman named Kathryn sent me this.

I thought it was a beautiful story.

Especially when you find out what the pilots did.

It’s easy to get disillusioned these days.

But believe me there’s a lot of good out there.

Here’s what Kathryn wrote.

It will take you about 60 seconds to read it:

I had to travel that day to attend my grandmother’s funeral.

She was 103.

This was her birthday last November

She died on May 8th.

Concetta Immacolata Mongiardo was the light of my life.

For the wake and funeral mass, I made a poster of my favorite picture of her, which is when she turned 100.

To me, this picture shows the essence of my grandmother’s nature: Gratitude.

I didn’t want anything to happen to the poster, so I used cardboard to protect it.

When I got to the gate, I showed the gate agent what I was carrying and asked if I would be able to put it in a safe place for our cross country journey.

At first, I was told that it would have to go in the cargo hold with all the regular baggage.

But as soon as I explained why I was traveling (and I started to break down), and who the cardboard was protecting.

The gate agent, Lourdes Pedemonte, started to cry with me, and then she assured me that Nan wouldn’t have to fly in the cargo hold.

A few minutes later, she came up to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, “you’re all set, the pilots are going to keep Nan in the cockpit.”

I started to cry again because of the kindness Ms. Pedemonte showed me.

When I boarded the plane, I was greeted by flight attendant Pam Keck who said, “you must be the woman with some precious cargo.”

I smiled at her, with tears in my eyes, and handed Nan over to her.

The cockpit door was open, and when Ms. Keck handed Nan over to the pilots, they both made eye contact with me and told me not to worry, that they would take good care of Nan as we travelled across the country.

After what seemed to be an eternity, we finally landed.

Ms. Keck made sure Nan was waiting for me.

I thanked Ms. Keck again, and asked her to thank the pilots for me.

She said, “you can thank them yourself, there they are.”

So I looked them both in the eye, and, with my hand over my heart, thanked them for taking care of Nan.

They both said, “it was an honor” and offered their condolences.

I really hope Ms. Pedemonte, Ms. Keck, and the pilots know the depths of my gratitude for the kindness and compassion they showed me that day.

---Kathryn

#RealPeopleRealStoriesRealLife

Tea Anyone?

Our quaint, little town has it's very own 

Tea Room!

We have been excited to see it close up.

So we got dressed up for Tea and...

Kimmy, Lulu, Ila May and I

had lunch there.

We each picked out a fancy tea cup for our tea.

The Tea Room was whimsical and very feminine.

Just perfect for some of us who had never been to a Tea Room.

Ila May even had the proper pose for drinking tea.

I'm sure Lulu gave her a few lessons before going.

Lulu is a loving and caring big sister and

watches over Ila.

 First tea...
then after a delicious lunch,
and afterward lunch,
dessert!

Ahhh...

💗   my girls!   💗

~~~~****~~~~

For Mother's Day,

I received flowers from a very special 

friend.

I've never had flowers delivered to me before.

What a treat!

~~~~****~~~~

"Behold, let us love one another, for love is from God, and who ever loves had been born of God and know God."

1 John 4:7

This Week...

Ila May turned 7 years!

 Birthday pictures are one of my favorite kind of pictures.

Kimmy takes a picture of each child on their birthday.

The day starts out by the birthday child coming downstairs to 

a birthday celebration just for them.

Ila's was a princess theme.

 Oh, and balloons, for each age they have turned.

Ila May has seven, tied to her decorated chair of honor.

 Breakfast consists of cake and ice cream.

Yup, breakfast!

 Then each sibling gives, the birthday child,

a birthday card from them.

Lulu or Levi get the honor of reading them.

Won't be long before Ila will be reading her own cards.

While the candles are burning, we quickly sing!

Presents are opened after breakfast.

They are quickly played with, all day long.

Around the house...

Porch sitting...

First day of laundry hung on the line...

Toys found in the bottom of the laundry basket (??)

Who put those there?

~~~~****~~~~

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

Camping - Second Stop

Hell'S Canyon...

is a ten-mile wide canyon located along the eastern Oregon, eastern Washington and 

western Idaho.

North America's deepest river gorge.

The Snake River

We were traveling in the same area as
The Nez Perce, Shoshone-Bannock, Palute, Cayuse Indians...

Lewis and Clark Exposition came in 1806...

Later came explorers and the miners searching for gold.

After a hydro power Dam was built on the Columbia River,
the Idaho Power Company got a license
to build three more dams,
 on the Snake River.


Part of the agreement was that Idaho Power had to give back to the community.
So they developed camp grounds near each dam.

This is one of camp sites built and maintained by Idaho Power,
 Copperfield Campgrounds.


Trees, grass, bathrooms, showers, bike trails!
We were so surprised at the clean and tidy
camping area!


As you can see, others had the same thought.
But we didn't feel crowded.


We set up camp and ate lunch.
Camping makes even a DIET FOOD
taste so yummy!


We got on our bikes to go and explore.
Tom and I felt like Lewis and Clark (!)
We stopped to read up on the history of this area.

Lilac trees, lined the path at the campgrounds.

I turned around several times just to take in

more whiffs of their fragrance.

Tom taking the lead.

We enjoyed our second camp fire.

A perfect evening!

Well, maybe a marshmallow or two with chocolate

 would have made it a little better.

~~~**~~~

You know what I like about camping?

No make-up or styling my hair!

Fun and Funnies...

Extra toilet paper and holder in the campgrounds bathroom.

These butterflies were congregating in the mud puddle.

Our "neighbor" had a tiny mailbox out in front

of their camp site.

When we left, I stuffed it with a note.

(haha - hehe)

We left around 11:00 am for the next campgrounds.

Then Tom started to feel crummy.

We decided to head home,

Once down from the mountains we arrived on the prairie.

I couldn't stop thinking about,

ALL those who crossed these open prairies in covered wagons!

I learned a lot about our American history and how interesting it was to be in their footsteps,

 as we traveled.

This was a great experience.