From the first walk to the outhouse
to the last glimpse of the setting sun
and every bit of the day in between
it was grand first day at The Cabin!
Tag Archives: sunrise
A bit of randomness
1. Not so random, but certainly late – I wanted to thank you all for the sweet anniversary wishes! We had a fun day, driving to Boise with friends and checking out the downtown Farmers’ Market and doing a quick walk-through of the Capitol Building (that’s two down and 48 to go!). It was a lovely, lovely day!
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2. Although we didn’t have a huge celebration on our anniversary DAY (though we were delighted to Facetime with all the kiddos), we did just finalize plans to take our very first cruise!!! It’s not until early April, but we are pretty excited about it! We’ll be going with good SOWER friends, sailing from Galveston and checking out the Western Caribbean ports of Cozumel (MX), Belize City (Belize), and Roatan (Honduras). Now if I could just figure out what Gary will be wearing on those two ‘formal nights’. Thrift shops, here we come!
3. We said good-bye to an old friend yesterday.
This little piece of Pampered Chef stoneware has been with us since the beginning. It’s outlived three toaster ovens, and heated up countless pizza slices and hotdogs. It’s roasted vegetables, cooked many dinners-for-two (from fish to pork to chicken), and even baked a cookie or two in its day. As you can tell – it’s very well seasoned! (It’s supposed to look like that, right?). When I noticed that significant crack a couple of weeks ago I became quite concerned. I wasn’t sure we could continue without it. Thanks to eBay, I found a replacement and was delighted to start breaking it in.
But I wasn’t quite ready to give up on our old friend. Until last night.
It broke apart in my hand as I was lifting it out of the sink. And not even at the crack I was worried about! Thanks for all the (yummy) memories, my old friend.
4. We’re parked just a bit away from the RV parking area this month.
Main parking –
Our spot….
It’s nice a quiet here in the ‘backyard’ and we also have the bonus of beautiful sunrises,
and some equally beautiful end-of-day skies!
So even though we might not be parked in the ‘thick of things’, we are very content.
5. Both Gary and I are terrible lonesome for our kids and grands these days. Although I saw them all in early May, Gary hasn’t been able to hug any of them since Christmas. So when I realized that I had a Picaboo coupon that was about to expire, it only seemed proper that I make up a couple of posters of the Grands and the Cabin (another thing we’re missin’ these days.)
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OK, it’s not quite a hug (or morning coffee in front of the fireplace), but it helps!
6. For reasons unknown to us, our window awning straps seem to have become the local hangout for the neighborhood yellow jackets.
When I noticed a similar (and a bit more intense) gathering on the bedroom strap
it seemed time to take action, and out came the hornet spray. Sorry guys, but we really didn’t want to take you with us when we left town next week.
7. There are some great sunflowers here!
Hope you’re having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!
New every morning
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love
we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23
The Everglades
Could there be a better start to a day than this?
I don’t think so.
We pulled out of Island Christian School early on Friday, heading north. There was a full day ahead of us, and it was truly a blessing to see such a beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.
Our first stop of the day – The Waffle House.
Here’s a quick travel tip – Several years ago I had assured Gary that I never needed to go to another Waffle House. Everything I seemed to order was swimming in grease. Blech. But here’s the trick – if you go to The Waffle House, order WAFFLES! They’re really pretty good and not greasy at all. I love it when I finally figure out these basics of life. 🙂
Next stop – The Everglades and the Shark Valley Visitor Center.
Although we are basically pretty cheap thrifty when it comes to spending our tourist dollars, we decided to splurge on the 15 mile tram ride that wandered through the ‘glades. (It was pretty darn cold, and we decided to hold off on the whole airboat plan.) The tram ride was excellent – lots of alligators, beautiful birds, and information about the Everglades. The fact that my camera displayed the “change battery pack” message once the tram started moving was not so excellent. Thankfully Gordon and Marlene had joined us for the excursion and Marlene’s camera was busy clicking away.
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Belted Kingfisher
Male Anhinga (with his beautiful turquoise eyes)
Purple Gallinule
Wood Stork
And then there were the alligators –
Here’s a mama and her babies
A great bunch of them in a pool by the Shark Valley Observation Tower
And there were lots that were just out catchin’ some rays. (Which actually is what they do most of the time!)
Here’s a shot from the top of the tower (at the half-way point on the tram ride)
The Everglades is (are?) an amazing area, where just a couple of inches of “rise” changes the entire ecosystem. It was a very interesting day. And the best part is that after we had some lunch it had warmed up enough for us to indulge in an Airboat ride!
It was fast and loud
but after all, they did supply you with cotton balls for your ears!
This is the canal where the boat ride started, but soon we were skimming over a sea of grass –
The one stop we made was at a “made for tourist” village to represent how the Miccosukee tribe had lived in the past –
and the view from the dock really spoke to me about the beauty of the Everglades –
What a great day! A wonderful reminder of the diversity of God’s creation, a very special day spent with new friends, and a better understanding of an area of the country I have only ever driven through. If you ever get the chance, check it out.
The alligators want to say hello!
If you’d like to see more bird, alligator and boat ride pictures – check them out HERE. And special thanks to Marlene who took most of these, but let me play with her camera for part of the boat ride. She’s a keeper for sure!
Morning has broken, like the first morning….
I love mornings at the cabin.
Whether it’s the crisp morning sun on the distant mountains
or a walk in the early morning mist, with the promise of a blue sky day ahead
or having your morning quiet time in front of the fire
Cabin mornings are the best.
And sometimes, when Morning at the Cabin looks like this –
That’s OK too!
It’s The Cabin.