Another Birthday Bash

Driving down to my friends birthday I was compelled to stop and capture this very moment in time.

These colours, the clouds, the hills and the vineyards.

Absolutely magnificent. 

It's hard to believe that I get to enjoy this kind of view on a regular basis...I am GRATEFUL from the very depths of my being and it spills out in worship and praise to the incredible designer and creator of ALL OF THIS! 

It was my sweet little friend Donara's birthday and her dear husband put on a wonderful steak and seafood feast for us as we gathered to honour her one wild and precious life. 

Such a lover of God, of His Word

Rescuer of the downtrodden and hopeless

Singer of beautiful songs...

There were beautiful views and exquisite flowers....

good friends and good food. 

Even some organic wine that made us feel ALIVE! 

Such a fun space to fill and to enjoy...

So many stories to share and moments to savour.

I'm grateful for so many groups of wonderful women in my life. 

Together Again

This wonderful bunch has diminished in size and we only gather a few times a year now due to busy work schedules, but they made time and space for a little reunion, a delicious meal and to celebrate my birthday.

My birthday was over a month ago but somehow it pretty much got swallowed up in the King's birthday and the wedding party in Holland, so it was fun to have a cake and some singing.

But the best part was being with my dear friends again.

There were three candles left burning...

According to Christine that meant there was one for the Father, one for the Son and one for the Holy Ghost.

My constant incredible magnificent Companions forever and ever

Amen. 

In the Dirt

It's Spring!

This season is like no other - full of new beginnings and fresh starts.

  

Hope and expectation

Overflowing delight...

Growth

Color

Wind

Rain

Glorious Sunshine

Warmth

I'm feeling it in my bones and my spirit is rejoicing! 

Since I missed out on some of the local blossoms this year while I was in Europe,

I'm making up for lost time and it's totally energizing me.

Somehow, having this big empty house all to myself has given something back to me. I'm more motivated than I have been in quite some time and am keeping up with the place "with a little help from my friends". 

The other day I even managed to get a VERY full and heavy recycling bin and the garbage bin all the way down the driveway on my own. 

There was an Indian gentleman pruning the grapes in the yard next to ours and as he watched me coming down the slope he kindly asked if I needed help, but at that point I was on a roll and needed to prove something to myself. 

Isn't he amazing?

I absolutely LOVE where I live and what I get to see every single day.

I'm so very, very grateful.

So, recently Nicole and I went out shopping for flowers together in lieu of mother's day and all that which was very sweet.  I bought myself some fun little annuals and had such a good time adding color to the back patio. 

Just keeping it simple, but it's very life-giving even just to add little touches and to watch the flowers do their thing.

Then today after work I took the puppies in to the salon and they came out looking pretty ravishing. 

I got a good deal since they skipped the shampoo bit so I felt like I could afford that little luxury.  Plus they have been carrying way too much stuff into the house on their big shaggy bodies and tails. 

Clean and streamlined are how we roll around here.

Look at this little Diva contemplating life and her escape from the horrors she had to endure at the salon with the cat...let alone watching me drive away while she was kept behind the gate.

While the puppies were busy I went to town and bought plants, of all things!

Seriously, something's up.

Becca had kindly weeded one of the garden plots when I was away and I decided to put in a few zucchini plants and tomatoes just to see if I could somehow manage to keep them wet enough to have a wee garden this summer.

How humble and cute is this? 

I also put in a few peas, some winter squash and sunflowers hoping for the best. 

It would just be so much fun to have a few things to pick now and then from my very own garden!  

And here is my rhubarb plant.

Thing is, I don't even like rhubarb but Patrice does and I think it is a hardy plant that just keeps on giving, so I'm giving it a go. 

Apparently we're not allowed to pick from it the first season so hopefully it will live until next year.  Ha!  Motivation to keep things watered.

What a lovely day.

Now I'm thoroughly exhausted but I have prayer tonight so I'll go and plant a different kind of seed that I'm sure will produce a rich harvest of righteousness 

one day.

Even Games!

It's always such a delight when I can get this crowd together.  Between Nicole's shifts, Daniel's studies and their active social network I need to be tenacious about finding a night that works for them but it happened.

The table was loaded with Chinese and Sushi take-out and we were all well fed and satisfied.

Here's the evidence and there were even games involved. 

Usually Dad isn't in the mood for games, but Daniel was also tenacious and he brought along Backgammon and his Opa finally said YES!  

He often complains about his brain not working anymore but he learned the game quite easily and won the first round so I think he's more on the ball than he knows. 

And the rest of us played dominoes with Tante Hilda winning every round much to her dismay.  Hah!  

Heidelberg and HOME!

After bidding our sweet relatives farewell we jumped into our VW and made our way to the incredibly lovely city of Heidelberg. 

There is something just tantalizing about that name as it conjures up visions of knights, vineyards, royalty and beauty and it did not disappoint.  

It ended up being a rather hurried visit, unfortunately, as our time was short, but we really wanted to make this last stop on our journey. 

The weather was perfect and even though the traffic was slow it was quite something to come upon this jewel on the river. 

We drove WAY up a mountain to see a view that Patrice had read about, the "King's Seat" which was above the Heidelberg Castle.  It was nerve-wracking driving for Patrice on a very curvy road and there was someone in a very urgent German sort of rush RIGHT BEHIND US!  

The Castle was absolutely gorgeous with beautiful grounds and an amazing view of the city.  All for free!  

We fought through crazy traffic on the way to Frankfurt, possibly due to the "Mother's Day" holiday that we also managed to include on our European tour of special dates. 

The night at the One Simple hotel (or some strange name like that) was short but effective in that German sort of way and the next morning we dropped off our car and found ourselves boarding our flight back to Canada.

Whew.  

Whirlwind tour of three countries and many cities.

So worthwhile to connect with so many beautiful friends and to see all the beauty on the way.

Auf Wiedersehen Family!

We were invited to Katharina's place for a beautiful Mother's Day breakfast on our last morning with the relatives. 

Once again the table was laden with delicious food!

The typical German fare of freshly baked brotchen, cheese and sausages was served plus a plethora of other yummy dishes which included whipped cream and cream cheese and even cake.  The caloric intake is deliciously weighty but thankfully we will soon be home and eating more normally. 

Because I have a feeling that there is an extra layer of European goodness that has accumulated around my middle...

Really, how is one supposed to resist and hold back when presented so lovingly with such bounty? 

Surprisingly these dear relatives are all able to maintain a normal weight so perhaps they don't indulge in such goodness on a regular basis either. 

It's the gathering of the clans that brings out the fancy fare.

These little kids were an absolute delight and I am so very thankful that we took the time to re-connect with these beautiful people. 

Family.  

It's a big deal.  

The final farewells and hugs were given and we made our way south in our little VW rental car, our hearts and tummy's full of goodness and love.

We made our "exit" from the land of loving family and headed towards our final destination before heading home.

The drive through the German countryside was captivating and there was beautiful music dancing out of Patrice's iPod so our senses were fully engaged.

Ahhhhh!  

Storybook Sweet

Saturday morning breakfast was served out on the back patio in the sunshine.  They got me to pray before the meal as they discerned that it was what we do...so I managed to come up with a whole vocabulary to cover that request much to my amazement!

Every meal is so delicious.  Anatoli had gotten up early to go to the bakery to buy fresh buns and there were eggs from their neighbours chickens, many sorts of cheeses and jams made from their own berry bushes.  Truly feels like living in a story book.

It was so lovely to be outside watching the kids playing with their bunny and playing soccer with their Dad.  Patrice had so much fun with the kids as well.  Little Timmy is about the friendliest, most cheerful and chatty little boy you can imagine. He wins your heart in about 2 seconds flat and then continues to charm you with his sweetness.  Amy was also super sweet and was practicing her English with Patrice.

After breakfast Dima was preparing the fish he had caught to be smoked so that was a whole procedure going on in the yard as well.

These little fellows will be featured a little later in the day.

After breakfast we headed into town for a bit of sightseeing.  Their town has cobblestone streets closed off to traffic with a little stream running down one of them.  There was a town square where loads of flowers and vegetables were being sold.  It all felt so friendly and homey.

My cousin pushed me from place to place as we went window shopping and when we popped into a store where I wanted to buy a few things he refused to let me pay for them.  Wow.  Not the easiest thing to keep accepting and to be so spoiled but I was managing to cooperate with all this goodness quite nicely.  Unfortunately I was feeling unwell as I was fighting a cold but I just couldn't resist the sweet invitation. Plus our time was short so we had to make the most of things.

Our final stop was an Italian Ice Cream shop that sold exorbitantly expensive treats.  I ordered a Tiramisu ice-cream to share with Patrice.  It was so delicious and fun.  Anatoli remembered us taking them to Dairy Queen when they were in Kelowna 17 years ago and he wanted to bless us with a similar experience.

Tiramisu Decadence

There was lots of sharing going on but the most delicious dessert was the yogurt fruit parfait in the middle.  Not too sweet but so yummy. 

And the town was just lovely.  

Here is Anatoli posing with the little brook that is running through the centre of town. 

And these two second cousins got along just fine despite the language barrier.

Supper looked like this.  

Freshly smoked fish.

Absolutely delicious.