I've been tagged!

Well this is a fast fun one for me. I have been tagged by my friend NanaTrish...bless your little heart....to share five songs that I am embarrassed to admit to the WWW that I like.

The rules:1. Post the link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.2. Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post.

So here is the interesting thing....I am not a person with great musical taste. My interest level is not high in the area of music. I don't often listen to popular music, and what I do like aside from Christian worship music is definitely very old school. (so my kids tell me) What I do get a kick out of are musicals.

For a month now I have been having a Thursday movie night with some girlie's. And we started watching Wives and Daughters and then progressed to Jane Austin movies...movies I will watch over and over...so okay this is not about movies, that is another post. I am getting to my point. Last week I found out that these girlie's had never seen Phantom of the Opera. So I was delighted to share this epic movie with them, and the music. But here is what I am embarrassed about, when I watch this movie...the music "gets in my mind". It really drives me crazy for awhile. I find myself singing songs from this opera for weeks after viewing it. ( and according to Knitting Mania, my lovely sis I can't sing a note on tune, and she is entirely right!) There are many more musicals and opera's that I love....just don't have room for all that :0) anyone for Julie Andrews....These are a few of my favorite things!

Phantom of the Opera



Think of Me



All I Ask of You



Masquerade



Wishing You Were Here Again




So I am going to tag:

1. Knitting Mannia
2. Strider
3. DeeDee
4. Dusty's Kitchen
5. Sara
6. Lavinia
7. Barbara

What is blooming... this week?

Daylilies

When you plan a garden you have to take into account the ebb and flow of what is happening in each part of the flowering season. It seems a bit like composing to me. All that rearranging I did last week will help fine tune the flow from one bloom cycle to another. I like to plan for as many cycles of bloom as possible. I love my spring flowers, my early summer crescendo, the steadier pace of summer, then a little rest, and we have the final display of fall glory. It seems like every flower gives its last and best effort just before the show ends, especially the roses. Their colors go deeper and richer...just a bit of heaven. Of course some plants only bloom in the fall. I do like waiting for those vibrant colors of fall mums, and asters too.

One of the things I pay particular attention to in my garden is what is blooming in August. Since it is a generally a slower month. There are some flowers that do well here in our hot desert days, and cool desert nights. Going to the nursery during the different bloom cycles also help me to see what could be going on in my garden at any particular season. I have been surprised this time around at how many new and improved plants that have hit the market.

Agastaches (lemon scented)
These last two plants are some of my favorite late summer bloomers for this region.

This Russian Sage, is just starting it's show and will give me color all the way through fall.

...and this white phlox is one of my "I would not be with out" plants. I use to cut the blooms off when they first faded, and then one lazy summer I found that they kept putting bloom out. All I had to do was pluck off the faded flowers and more were coming right behind the first flush. This plant also blooms all the way to fall for me. For some reason I did not bring many starts of this plant with me, and it has taken me a bit to build up supply. This is one of the first starts I planted. Both this one and the Russian Sage work very well with the roses. Of course the roses reign supreme in my garden, all else is there as filler or background support : ]

If you have some garden show stoppers blooming right now in your garden, please do share with all of us? What is blooming in Your Garden right now?

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

This was the only time when she belong to herself alone...Sometimes she felt that these few moments kept her sane. Her family thought that she lay down on her bed and rested but she did not always do this. Sometimes she prayed, sometimes she read a little, but more often she sat quite still with her lands lying in her lap and her eyes closed. Sometimes she would murmur to herself as she sat, " Underneath you are the everlasting arms, " and then she would feel her spirit sinking down, and down through depths of tranquil light, that grew cooler and sweeter the further she sank, until she felt herself resting serenely against something, drawing in strength and peace through every fibre of her being. This lovely experience did not come to her always.


...life without it was like a desert with out wells.

Island Magic
Elizabeth Goudge


As I read this passage I could not help but remember this old precious hymn. Sometimes the old hymns can really speak to my heart. Words of wisdom written by believers from another age, timeless words of wisdom that speak to me from the past, and hit the mark right here, right now.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,Leaning on the everlasting arms;What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain:Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,Leaning on the everlasting arms;Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,Leaning on the everlasting arms?I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,Leaning on the everlasting arms.

(click on the title if you want to hear the music)

Sky Watch III

Skywatching With My Son~ Mt. Rainier~ July 2008 ~Skywatch Hosted by Tom Wiggly

Try clicking these

Josh is in the green

Here are some pieces of sky via my son Josh when he summited Mt.Rainier with eight kids this July on and Outward Bound trip. I had promised these pictures when I mentioned his trip in a recent post.

This was posted in a recent weekly newsletter by Outward Bounds president:

Summiting Mt. Rainier: terrific email and photo from Joshua Rutherford and Marian Biddle.

I thought you guys would appreciate a few photos from the course I was a part of last week, in which we led 8 students through three torturous days of hard work to finally reach the summit of our dear Mt. Rainier. It was a very exciting and emotion-filled summit experience…as we went around the circle, I felt my heart melting as I heard in the voices of the each student the determination that they had to draw upon to make it to the top…I was especially touched when two of our students, who happened to be sisters from the UK, dedicated the peak ascent to their father, who had passed away in a climbing accident on Denali, a few years earlier…they explained that they came to OB to reconnect with mountaineering in order to understand their father's passion.. this, of course, was too much for me and I wept like a school child with them.

For me, it was one extremely momentous event, as I had my very first climbing experience on that very same route…so I felt a sort of full circle of life in my climbing carrier…I was able to identify with the fatigue of the students and felt pride in how much I have learned out and inside the Outward Bound community about the mountains and myself...I thought you might be excited to hear OB the first outdoor ed org to the top of Rainier, whoot, whoot!" Joshua Rutherford with Marian Biddle"

Jenna Dear....

My daughter Jenna is in the second phase of her YWAM mission trip. She spent the first 3 months in Perth, Australia being taught many good things about God and His love for the world. In the second phase of this program they are sent out for three months on an outreach phase. She is in a very hot and tropical place. She is ministering to children in a city slum area. She is having an experience of a lifetime. I realize she will come back not the same daughter who left. Although I can't tell you where she is, I can show you what she has been up to. Here are some pictures and recent bulletins from her My Space, and Blog


This is the gate outside where she is living...she is not in Kansas anymore!

Things are just a little hot....and humid :0)

...and smelly she tells us :]
This is what her typical meal would look like....unless she is out on a visit....

I almost about died

Sooo what an adventure today was!! hahaha We went to two churches today the first one was pretty awesome. A youth group with lots of on fire kids..but ohhh the second church. It was a slum community that lived on a horse race track. The church was in this big building with no AC and no fans for 3 hours. NOT to mention NOOO translator. It was sooo funny everyone was falling asleep. Soo finally they get done and surprise there’s a BBQ and they want to feed us..so we go outside..the food is COVERED in flies....(our translator finally shows up).On the table is a Pigs head..with TEETH!!! And Dog on the table..and ohh my gosh I about died.(Not that I’m not willing to try dog..cause I'm going to..I'm gonna make myself)But anyways it was quite the experience. Sarah (one of my best friends) and i were trying soooo hard not to react with our facial expressions cause we didn’t want to offend anyone..So we had these awkward smiles on our faces..SOO funny. Then we were forced to be in a MILLION photos.


Ohh my lands

i ate chicken FEET today!!!!!!yes i cant believe it either...it was pretty good though! Besides having to spit out the carpels!! HAHA soo sick...

Here is a picture of some of the slums she goes into...

Gosh the kids are amazing here..i cant even tell you. I don’t even like children that much...but when literally 30 of them are chasing you saying MISS JENNA!! HALLLOO!! (that’s there way of saying hello...obviously) haha Its so fun making trains and running around yelling. I swear no one has ever played with these kids its soo incredibly sad!!


As I wait for you...

Amazing calm week of intercession and prayer walking. Don’t worry though, things are about to explode, its all about Gods timing. I've been thinking quite a bit lately about God continually giving me a heart for these people. But also my future, I’m trying not to worry but it’s something that’s been on my heart for a long time. I don’t quite know what God wants me to do! But here is something that oddly has calmed my thinking....There are many things that will catch my eye, but there are only a few that will catch my heart, it is those that I consider to pursue!

a little taste of home

Just sharing this is making me realize how much I miss this kid. God bless her, and keep her, and may your light shine upon her.

Iris Carnage

Well I have had a busy week and a busy weekend. I entertained Friday night. We had another wedding on Saturday. (I helped with the reception flowers again!) Plus we made time to bottled our wine today with some good friends of ours. You folks know him as Strider, and his lovely wife Mom T. After our most enjoyable time with our friends I decide at eight-ish I am going to finish my garden redo, which I started last week. I ended up basically working till ten with back porch lights on. I have done crazy things like this before. Once when we moved into a new house and I was trying to get stuff planted as soon as possible, because you know I must have flowers!!!! My darling husband set up flood lights for me to finish my plantings. For me that was actually one of the most romantic things on the planet he could have done! I will always love him for that one!

So back to the garden revamp… I did plan the borders and set out specific roses as my back bone. But a lot of the plant material I brought with me, I just simply plunked into the ground to keep it alive and get it propagating. So by this third summer it was time to have some order. I just love rearranging my plants for optimum loveliness. Like most women do rearranging their furniture, I love to rearrange the garden. It is my favorite kind of decorating! My irises were my biggest problem; I had lost who or what color they were in the move so I marked them this spring and designed a new arrangement that coordinated them with the roses. So much fun!

This is what my garden looked liked before the massacre...peaceful serene, knowing nothing of what was to come....

I also did a lot of dead heading. I do have a second flush of roses blooming right now. But as August closes in on us here, our gardens go a bit dormant in all the heat. The garden sleeps awhile, and then comes back in full swing in the fall. So with that in mind, the end of July is a good time to revamp things. I needed to divide my irises anyway. So.... I made a bit of a mess : } It was hard work and took me about three days to complete the task. In the process I rearranged quite a few of the borders. It becomes such a creative endevor for me. I just love playing in the dirt, and playing with the timing and the color schemes of things. A garden is not a static arrangement. Things are always growing, changing, dying….just like life, nothing stays the same. Well that could be developed into a great analogy…

So I basically made a big mess, and had so much fun. And next year my garden is going to look great. Okay I can't resist...all that pruning and rearranging for the future looks a lot like what God does in our lives...same, same. Because after all, (and here comes my favorite line) Time began in a garden! What more would we expect?

New beginnings for next year...all rearranged for the master plan!

Blogging Buddies are the Best!

Look what arrived in the mail today! Sara you are so very sweet! The avocado's arrived in perfect condition, and so did the book! I can't wait to start reading it tonight.

I had been working all day in the garden...next week I will show you my "Iris Carnage". To say the least, I think I have out done Pappy's day at the gym. My gardening has been an All WEEK project. Sorry Pappy I do feel your pain ;0) Anyways when my husband came home, he picked up this package from the mail. I just happen to be making chicken enchilada's for dinner. I had asked him to pick up an avocado when he stopped at the store. After I opened up this lovely box, and we saw these giant gorgeous avocados....he remembered he forgot the avocado. Good thing!

These looked so beautiful, I decided to try doing some photography with them in honor of Sara. Now all I know how to do is point and click really...


They just happened to look really cute on my new place mats.

One of them was just barely ripe...so I made some yummy salsa with just one half...these were big avocados!

The enchilada's were extra special tonight! Thanks to Sara. Oh did I mention she grows these on her own tree.

Lots of folks mention Puddin Toes in their comments...so here is our baby in summer bliss!

I am enjoying summer so much, and having this little precious girl to share it with is making it so very, very special !

Sharing the Love

Knitting Mania deserves this award today, because she always knows how to make my day! She uplifts and loves as only a sister can!


Pappy deserves this award because right now he is making all of blogland LOL with his hysterical account of visiting a personal trainer today...do check it out :0) ...a merry heart doeth good like a medicine!


Strider deserves this award because he knows how to share the love for sure...God's love, God’s perspective and God's unfailing faithfulness to us.


The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. **All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same**Memoir of a mommy




See post below for more details....

Share the Love!

This is an award I received from a new blogging friend Nanatrish. She was so precious to think of me. The double blessing came when I followed the award back to it's original creator. I found a story of an amazing mother honoring the donor of her child's heart, by creating this award to share and honor others with the pieces of her heart! How special is that!

I just love this award! I can't wait to pass this one on to further honor and bring awareness of organ donors all over the world. So let's pass this one around!

The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. **All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same**
http://www.memoirsofamommyblog.com/2008/05/new-award-to-give-away.html

I have many to share this award with...all who have touched me, and shared with me a piece of their heart! But I am going to start today with one special gal named Vee.

Many of you already know her. She has just tied the knot! What a precious story about her and a very good friend finding love again. Click here to read her story A Haven for Vee. While you are there check out their Schmoopy Playlist...so sweet!

I will be back shortly to share more of the love!

I Love the Smell of Old Books!

I had a fun little adventure on my vacation that had to do with an on going search for some copies of Elizabeth Goudge (1900-1984) books, that my friend Sara had introduced me too. I have read the only 3 books that they still have at my local library. I was sad to realize that the library had gotten rid of the many, many titles that this author had penned.

So when I was visiting the quaint seaside town of Canon Beach, I was seeing signs all over town for a library book sale, which made me think of E.G. books. So I quickly checked out the two used book stores in town to no avail. Both books stores had not even heard of this author. When I went to preview the library sale, I was told by a woman there that they had no E.G. books. That in fact her daughter had already asked about them.

Well the day of the sale was the 4th of July, and we were already in town for the 11:00 am parade. The sale was beginning at 9:00 am and it was going to close during the parade. Since we had showed up early to get parking and a spot on the parade route, I left my family and decided to take a look for myself around the sale. When I got there I could not believe all the folks crowed into this little library. People had cardboard boxes and plastic crates with them. I was shocked seeing the books fly off the shelf. Well I squeezed my way in and did some searching for my E.G. books...nothing there. So I thought while I am here I will take a peek around. Pretty soon, I was wishing I had one of those crates :] I ended up buying two armfuls of books myself. It seemed the children’s section had not been raided yet, and I found to my delight some lovely old copies of some of my childhood favorites for Puddin Toes. Oh she probably won't even like smelly old books somebody said...but I didn't care...some child along the way might love these. And just maybe I can share this love of old classic books someday with her.

Louisa May Alcott for Puddin Toes!
C.S. Lewis, and Frances Hodgson Burnett

I took a peek at the garden section and one lady was scooping up a lot of the newer books, but I was after the oldies anyway. I was delighted with what I found here too. One book I am reading now called Woman Gardeners...all the ladies of note who have been involved and had a voice in gardening are represented in this book....Vita Sackville-West, Penelope Hobhouse, Rosemary Verey, (whose garden I should show you all this week) Louise Beebe Wilder, Gertrude Jekyll, and many more, I have not heard of. The book is broken into different sections of these woman giving their advice on anything from a single plant, to color schemes, gardening practices, designing and so on and so on. I love this kind of reading :)

I am looking forward to this read...The "Fragrant Path "by Louise Beebe Wilder , I already have "Color in My Garden"

I also found a book of short novels, by Colette. I have only read Gigi, so these might be interesting too.

The best thing about my finds was that the total cost of my shopping spree came to $19.00 ! Most of the books were a dollar a piece. It was a fun adventure and one I will be enjoying the benefits of for a while. I can’t help but smell these old books and be reminded of my childhood, spending a rainy Saturday afternoon with my Dad, as he and I perused the old town Stoughton Library together finding many, many treasures to take home and read. My dad’s love of reading certainly impacted me for a lifetime, I can only hope to pass on this love of reading to the next generation by example as my dad did !

Oh and one more wonderful thing came out of my adventure, I was sharing this story with Sara, and she is sending me an extra copy of one of her Elizabeth Goudge books, Island Magic! How special is that?

Thanks you so much Sara for your kindness!

What is blooming in my garden right now...

Gladiola

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have visited my blog and left such encouraging comments...if I haven't had a chance to visit your blog yet...please be patient...I want to pay everyone a visit when I can!

Being gone for less than a week has taken a bit of catching up. I know many of my friends out there are also busy...hey it is summer time and we need to enjoy all that this season has to offer.

My garden also needs a tremendous amount of attention. Here is what is blooming right now.

First of all on my header is a Star Gazer Lilly. I am pretty excited about it. This is the first garden I have had success with these lilies. They are on a protected north side. Our heat here can be very rough on certain plants, so this feels like a lovely success to me. They don’t seem to last very long in flower because of the heat, but I am thrilled they are blooming and healthy.

Endless Summer Hydrangea

Mandevilla

Agapanthas

Hollyhock

Lavender

Echinacea

Gladiolas

Double Hollyhocks

Day lily in bud