Celebrating 246 Years !

Happy 4th of July!

This is a beautiful, handmade quilt, 

that was given to me from a good friend 

who still lives in the Seattle area.

It needed to be quilted.

So, another good friend (here in Idaho),

volunteered to quilt the back for me.

 Now it's my turn 

to hand stich the boarder.

It's priceless to me!

~~~***~~~

Top Down!

Tom and I took a Sunday, evening drive into the country 

and drove past farm after farm.

It smelled so good.

We headed back home as the sun went behind clouds.

Big day tomorrow, 4th of July.

~~~***~~~

That's Tom behind the flag- haha

We found "our " spot along the parade route.

This is Melba, Idaho, a small town, 

with a perfct, small town parade.

Lulu, Kimmy and me

It is always well attended and everyone is so

patriotic, courteous, and friendly. 

Small Town!

To start the parade off, 

the motorcycles revved up their engines!

My favorite part!

This parade is so friendly. 

Ila and her friend, asked the horsewoman a question. 

She even stopped to answer them!

You always know when the parade is over.

~~~***~~~

After the parade we set up camp for a great view 

for the fireworks.

We had time to go home, to feed the dog and some of us, took a nap.

Then we headed back down to where we had left our "camp".

We brought our RV,

 so we can have the comfort of 

all it's facilities.

While waiting, it was a great time to play, 

snack and get caught up on life.

The kids enjoyed rolling down the hill on the blankets.

Mark is a great dad! 

More like a kid himself.

Creativity abounds while waiting

~~~***~~~

Then, right on time,

the show begins...

Then the  ooouuu's and ahhh's  can be heard all during the show.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; the people whom he has chosed for his inheritance."

Psalm 33:12

 

On The Road Again

Things are back to somewhat "normal" with 

my eyes, so we took off for an quick 

camping trip.

We jumped into our Van and headed out to one of 

my favorite camp sites.

We weren't sure what was open or 

what we could or couldn't do.

The web site said, 

no fires, no showers and no garbage pick ups.

But we prepared for just about anything. 

Good morning!

Hot coffee served with a smile.

Banjo had a great spot, as a look out.

And he was thrilled to meet anything or anyone.

These two played for the longest time.

While we talked to his owner.

And so did these two!

Dogs and kids are Banjo's favorite things!

As it turned out, we could have a fire.

(plus showers and garbage pickups)

Bring on the Polish Dogs!

Because I didn't think we could have a fire,

I bought a treat for Tom.

What's camping without S'mores?

Did you know you could buy 

S'mores already made?

Not as good as the real deal.

But I think I should of told Tom ahead of time

to take the wrapper off.

OH, well, he enjoyed his way.

The smoke and sunshine created 

a interesting picture.

You can actually SEE the sun rays.

God is good!

Time went quickly and we headed home with a promise

to be back soon.

** Word of Warning to all **

Dog Lovers!

While Banjo was out for his supervised (on a leash),

  walks in the woods,

he came in contact with a harmful and potentially, deadly weed.

(But we didn't know this)

After every walk, we'd inspect him and pick off all the pine needles

and anything else that stuck to his fur.

He started limping and whining.

We couldn't see what was bothering him.

One week later, he was still limping and licking the bottom of his foot.

We'd looked and looked, but nothing!

Finally, we saw that his foot pad was pink'ish.

I ran for a flashlight, a magnifying glass and tweezers. 

Tom saw it and pulled it out!

 The remnants of an awns from

 Hare Barley.  

Research told me that it is very harmful, even deadly, to dogs.

Praising God for helping us track it down and 

removing it from Banjo's paw.

This is the remnant of an awns,

  next to a fountain pen.

It's was very small.

No wonder we couldn't see it.

And look how sharp it is!

OUCH!

Banjo is doing fine now.

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

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'

Jeremiah 29:11

 

Coronavirous  Has Hit Close To Home

Tom and I had plans to visit our three grandchildren, who live in Seattle.

But sadly, we canceled our visit.

We have family that live in the neighborhood, 

where the outbreak of the virus, has taken lives.

Tom and I aren't fearful,

just cautious and are waiting to see how this will playing out. 

before we head over.

Huxley is now 7 months old.

He sits up and has 5 teeth.

All this happened since we last saw them.

Trey is 7 years old

Scarlett is 4 years old

Trey won 1st place in sparing and 3rd in Kara forms.

Scarlett loves to swim and can't wait
to get in the pool.

Scarlett has been writing me the cutest letters!

This is the before and after the 1st Haircut for Huxley!

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 

In the meantime, we are pumping all kinds of good vitamins into our bodies.

We found that the chewable vitamin C is really easy to take.

Especially, when we are taking a lot of them.

We are pretty good about washing our hands, but we've

added hand sanitizer to our routine, followed by hand lotion.

Being disappointed about not visiting our family,

Tom and I jumped into our RV and headed out for a night.

Nobody was around us!

The weather was clear and somewhat warm.

Warm enough to take Banjo for some long walks.

It was his first time traveling.

Once Tom built the fire, we warmed up nicely.

The glow of the fire, makes such a great picture.

🔥 🔥  🔥  🔥  🔥  🔥  🔥  🔥

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

"Have I not command you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:19

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.