Who knew?!

Cedar Springs water wheel

One of the four or five lakes at Cedar Springs

"Sister Act"

WOW. Since I last posted, we've been one of the entertainment acts for a western night (150 in attendance!), I've helped lead worship at a retreat, have sang at a sweet women's fellowship I attend on Monday's, and am gearing up to sing at a talent show next Friday, and with a group of robed-gals to do two Sister Act songs at that same Monday group next week! When you ask the Lord to open doors for your gift, He oftentimes swings them really wide!

Jonathan gets to perform at school every week on Fridays. He dresses in black, to honor Johnny Cash, and does a few of his songs. This week he did expand and do a Weird Al song parody of Achy Breaky Heart. He was really the main performer at the western night (I sang Coal Miner's Daughter by Loretta Lynn, Walkin After Midnite by Patsy Cline, God Bless the Broken Road, Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Martina McBride's version) and Jim and I did Praise in the Wilderness by Jim McNeely :) Jonathan performed the balance of the show in two 30-45 minute sets. Jim also did a hilarious lecture on how to "tawk raht." He showed them words like "bob war" for barbed wire... you know the drill.... It was really funny.


The retreat I went to was at a place called Cedar Springs. It is only 5 minutes from our house in Sumas. Gals (and a couple of gentlemen) came from all over BC, Canada and Northern Washington. We did the Sister Act songs there, and led worship three times. Very, very sweet. These pictures don't convey how absolutely gorgeous Cedar Springs is; there are swans in the lake, beautiful well-kept gardens all over the property, and it is nestled in the "foothills" of Sumas.

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Skagit Valley Farm Tour

Saturday we went on the Skagit Valley Farm tour. We could only make it to 5 farms on the tour out of a dozen, but it was wonderful!
(We also went to a farm tour at Cloud Mountain Farms, which wasn't a part of the tour, but they do it the same day).

Cloud Mountain had fruit tasting inside a huge greenhouse. Over 200 varieties of apples, grapes, pears, jams, etc. We bought three pears for $6, but they are the size of small cantaloupes! 5 of us can feast on just one. It was one of our favorites, because the Prozac Mountain Boys bluegrass band were playing in one corner of the greenhouse, and we actually ran into a sweet couple from our church who are berry farmers.

Our next stop was 45 miles away (then we backtracked) to a Dairy Farm. It was too cold to enjoy it much, but we got to see a 5-day-old calf and got a free ice cream bar. (Joshy wanted to milk the artificial cow, but it was just too cold to wait in line) Each farm offered free samples and info; this one had coloring books, rulers, "got milk" pens and "cheese" erasers!

An oyster farm, situated on the ocean, held the most interesting farm items! We never even considered oysters farm animals! Jim liked the generous free samples of clams and oysters, but the rest of us couldn't really stomach it. (although Joseph did try them). They serve them right in the shell! There was a lighthouse made out of oyster shells. (you can see most of this in the pictures; check out the link)
http://picasaweb.google.com/jim.mcneely/20071006_farm_tour
We also got to touch some sea urchins, starfish, and other slimy sea creatures. There were costumed characters, which you can see in the photos. We missed the crab race, but got to talk to the crab lady as she was taking them back to their habitat. Apparently, they got into a wrestling match and tore off some limbs, but they GROW BACK. God is too fun.

On to a Beef Farm where they had Highland cows. The meat samples were delicious, and Jim and Jonathan each bought a shish kebob and the boys split fresh twirled fries (made on a Pampered Chef type potato peeler while we waited!) Joshy rode a pony, and I enjoyed the bagpipe players!
The one picture of me and the fellow with huge earrings was taken because he arrived in a kilt, and wasn't even a part of the farm tour! (The picture apparently doesn't show the kilt; the whole point of the picture. Oh well) I asked him if he wore it all the time, and he said his workplace frowned upon it usually...

By this time, it was way past lunch and we were really hankering for the organic beef cheeseburgers we heard were being served at the Skagit River Ranch. Just a short drive from the other one, it was probably our favorite farm. It was everything you learned about in grade school; it had free range chickens (which we just knew we were going to accidentally run over if they didn't watch out!) pigs, turkeys, 5 day old baby chicks in an incubator!, horses, goats... you know, Old McDonald's kind of farm! We went on a very cold horse-drawn wagon ride to see where the cows are allowed to eat grass which hasn't been sprayed with insecti-or pesticides. WOW. The hamburgers were THE BEST ones I've EVER put in my mouth. I didn't know grass fed beef would have such a different taste. Afterwards, we bought 6 frozen patties for $12 and can't wait to eat them on the grill at some point. If you come visit, I'll make the trip back to get some more. It's worth the drive! (the store is open on Saturday's). Every turkey was already spoken for. I wanted to place an order for Thanksgiving! I'll have to do it earlier next year!

We rounded out our day at another apple farm, and bought several pounds of the sweetest, crispest apples I've ever tasted. I didn't realize there were so many varieties... even though Washington is the apple state! I mean, have you ever heard of Sweetheart, Jonagold, Tsugaru, or Honey Crisp?!! Absolutely yummy. We also got some fresh apple cider, and could have went to a wine tasting, but we were ready to make the 45 mile trip back home, which was just spectacular. The leaves are turning shocking yellow, red, and orange, but there are all the evergreens interspersed in large quantities. We passed several Christmas Trees farms and a couple of Alpaca Farms, which were on the tour, but we didn't stop.

That was our Saturday!!!!!!!!

Vancouver

This weekend we went to Vancouver, BC in Canada. One of the wonderful places there is this Suspension Bridge. It's very touristy, but you get what you pay for! There are people in period dress wandering around, live music, and "first nation" folks giving tours and describing what life was like in the late 1800's.

When you get across the bridge (which makes you feel like you are Indiana Jones, and you pray it doesn't break... which it wouldn't, (I saw all the cables underneath on the other side!) The steps going up and down feel so rickety, though, and the river below is so rocky....Anyway, there are smaller suspension bridges from tree to tree.

You walk from tree to tree which doesn't disturb the ground below. It's really quite fun. You feel like you are in an Ewok Village! It's really beautiful, and there are signs everywhere explaining different aspects about the habitat. There are ponds below, and huge trees everywhere.

Canada and the "first nation" people have this thing about Totem Poles. They even carved one to look like me while I was there. I felt very honored, considering I don't have one drop of any first nation blood in me :) (we call them native americans...)
It was an expensive day, (usually our weekends are free) but really, it was worth every penny. If you come up here, you will have to budget your shekels to visit this place with us. (Of course, if you come visit, you'll have to allow about 17 days to go everywhere we would want to take you, and then you would need a vacation!) That settles it; some of you are just going to have to move up here with us!

Heather Meadows

Well, there have been a couple of days when we've actually had to turn the heat on up here. It has gotten down to the 30's some nights! Today is actually quite lovely. Sunny and bright and almost "hot" although when you go back in your house, it's still chilly. It's like having the best kind of air conditioning... free!

We went to Heather Meadows this weekend, although it was rainy and cold. We've decided that isn't going to stop us. There is a different kind of beauty that comes with the clouds. The trip back home was inspiring. Absolutely vertical rain that looked like it could be snow, it was falling so slowly; almost like it was in slow-motion. Then, every once in awhile, the sun would peak through gloriously and highlight the changing colors of Fall here. What a wonderful state we've moved to!!!!

Worst Gifts

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I could use a good laugh. I sent these to some folks a few years back (so forgive me if you've already read them). They are from the flylady.com website. She had people write in and describe the worst gifts they had ever received. Here are just a few... Let me know if they make you laugh out loud, like they do me. (every time I read them!)

I had been down with the flu for several days before Christmas, and weakly joined the festivities on Christmas morning. My husband, who is gift-giving-impaired, did his shopping for me on the way home from church Christmas morning. The only place open, of course, was the local convenience store. He bought me - get this - a big stick of pepperoni. The smell alone was enough to send me to bed for the rest of the day. This has been the family joke for 20 years!

A few years ago my mother made oven mitts for several of the adult members of the family. Unfortunately, she couldn't figure out how to make the thumb so she just gave them to us without thumbs. Trying to figure out what to do with them amused us all day and we still have a good laugh every time we think about it.
The worst gift my husband ever got was from his two sons - in their 20's at the time. They spent a considerable amount of time making a potato gun for him. It was so powerful it could shoot a potato for about a city block. We still laugh about this one too.

I was about 7 years old. I had collected a precious handful of the prettiest rocks I could find. I thought long and hard if I could let go of something so precious, but decided that my dad deserved the best, so I would give my treasure to him. They were pebbles, quarts and chips of various size rock. I found a square piece of scrap wood and put fabric on the back of it. I very carefully arranged all the rocks on the plaque and dripped wax over them so they would shine and look wet. I was very proud of this project and did it all by myself. (I did get in a bit of trouble for using a candle without supervision). I wrapped it in paper towels and tape and presented it to my dad. What I didn't realize, that to the "untrained" eye, the gift I made, looked just like someone had eaten a heap of Christmas candy and vomited it up and it had petrified on a square piece of wood. My sweet father graciously received it and was kept safe in his top drawer for the next 34 years, the rest of his life.

My worst gift would have to be about 10 years ago (before I trained my husband to NOT be so practical) I had a gift under the tree that was really large and extremely heavy! I was sooo excited to open it on Christmas Eve! Well the enthusiasm really went down the toilet (excuse the pun) when the gift turned out to be..... a new porcelain TOILET! Needless to say I was speechless and my family has never let my husband forget about the most practical gift he ever got me!

There is no question that the worst gift we ever received was a Christmas teddy bear for my newborn. It was made from dead possums and smelled. It was apparently a well intentioned attempt by a group in New Zealand to utilize the furs of the non-indigenous pests that kill the native wildlife...but to think that I would put this thing in my newborn's crib was truly funny.

The first year we were married my DH obviously had NO clue!!! He went to the hardware store and did all his Christmas shopping for me. He got a new screen door handle, wooden numbers for the house (which he wrapped individually), a door mat and a shower curtain liner. Needless to say, it's been jewelry every year since! :) Love him dearly but that was a true test of love and patience on my part that first year.

Harrison Hot Springs

We went to the International Sand Sculpture Competition in Canada on Sunday. The sculptures were amazing, but look at the setting! NO wonder the artists were inspired! I had been to the women's retreat from our church up there and we got 5 free time hours on Saturday. Me and two new friends drove up to Harrison Hot Springs. It's just gorgeous. When Jim came to get me, we all decided to go back up there. The boys "swam" (more like slowly got into the water and when they couldn't take the cold anymore, ran out screaming). Harrison is so quaint. Gelato shops, street pedal bikes, water sports, and the most beautiful beach. The sand there is amazingly conducive for sculpting.

Here are the boys on the beach. There is a fancy schmancy hotel that houses some of the actual hot springs, and there is a public building with them. Maybe next time...

This is an outhouse made out of sand. Look at the detail! It's difficult to describe how intricate and creative these sculptures are. Rain actually strengthens them; it's the wind that damages them. Some of them had been up since May, but we were there on the actual days of competition. It was so wonderful seeing people of all countries working together on the team event. There wasn't usually just one country represented on a team. You would have the russians working with canadians, belgians with koreans, etc. There was also an event for solos and duos as well as the team ones. Simply amazing. It will be up until October if anyone wants to come see them before then!

Backtracking a Bit

I wanted to revisit our trip up here with the Teeter's. They took turns, along with Jim, driving the Budget Rental Truck and our new van. The pictures I've included, for your viewing pleasure, are the double rainbow we saw in Kansas, me winning the "here's your sign award" by trying to feed a pig out of my hand. They bite! (although he didn't break any skin:) and our last night together, worn out but grateful, along the Chuckanut Drive (by the ocean). Justin is taking the picture with his arm outstretched so we could all be in it. He learned that technique from Mike Tesdahl at the Teeter Christmas Party; we played a camera scavenger hunt where we had to include ourselves in the pictures of what we were hunting. It was hilarious. Even though our team won, Mike should have won for something. Wow. It makes me miss everyone to backtrack. I don't think I'll do this very often :) Comments?