Pictures from the Past

Lew proposed the theme Pictures from the Past. He was thinking back to film days. I was thinking even farther. (I do admit that I did not personally take any of these pictures...

especially this one. --that cutie on the left is me.

This is a favorite picture from my Dad's albums. I had always thought it was of him, but it is a friend taken by him.

This, on the other hand, was my Dad.

another favorite.

The gent in the tartan tie was my father-in-law, taken in front of his business establishment, which was an ice cream parlor when the cops were looking, a speakeasy when they were not.



I don't know who is in this car in front of my husband's grandfather's business.

Pictures from the past.

I don't know if the other headbangers will have gone this far back. I may be disqualified by not using my own photos. See what they have come up with from the links in my sidebar.

Celebrate

Our header theme is Celebrate.

We have had a lot to celebrate at church the last few weeks.

starting with Confirmation a few weeks ago.

 

followed by First Communion last weekend, with more to come in a couple of weeks.

 

Last night we celebrated our volunteers with an appreciation meal. I had my camera along, but in the midst of several gallons of homemade chili, several pans of cornbread, a huge bowl of salad, and dozens and dozens of cookies, it sat on the counter.  But before the event started the hall looked something like this picture from an earlier gathering:

Hmmm. It seems that several of us took home some leftover chili. (Always better to have too much than to run out.) A few cuts of cornbread, and a small bowl of salad also went home. Roses were sent home. But somehow no cookies went home with anyone. How did that happen?

 

A couple of months ago I celebrated meeting the author of Jesus; A Pilgrimage, Fr. James Martin S.J. (It's a great book, by the way.)

My brother sent me this picture with which we celebrate Spencer's schooling.

OK, apparently I never posted a picture of my brother's puppy Spencer here on the blog. This is Spencer on the right and his brother Chester on the left. Or is it Spencer on the left and Chester on the right. Oh, Lynne and Connor are on the other end of the leashes--my niece and grandnephew who live with Chester. Aren't they gorgeous? (All four of them.)

 

The problem was, Spencer's manners left much to be desired. Spencer has now been to school (with my brother Don in tow) and is making great progress. Something to be celebrated.

 

 

All great celebrations. But every day in every way we take time to celebrate life and what health we have and every day we still have left together. This time last fall on a hike in Chinook Pass to Sheep Lake.

 

What are my headbanger friends celebrating? I have to go have a look as I may be the latest posting today. Their links are in my sidebar.

 



It's Geometry Monday!

Just a reminder that I actually posted my Monday's Geometry on Saturday--along with my Weekend Reflection.

But here's another bit of amazing use of geometry in engineering from my Dad's album.

You know, I don't really care how many triangles make that strong, to me, that is one scary looking bridge. It spanned the Snake River at Twin Falls, Idaho, and was replaced in 1974 with the one I featured here, which gives me a lot more confidence. At the time this picture was taken, it was the highest bridge in the world. (I wrote about that, too.)

And look--both a reflection and a shadow as well. Thanks, Dad.

ABC Wednesday--P is for...

ABC Wednesday--P is for a Purple Picnic

Do you have a special way of remembering friends? For me, each summer, and for some of my quilting buddies, it's a purple picnic.

So, you may wonder, how does one have a purple picnic and why?

Here is the story behind it. One September, my friend Grace and I were getting together to do a Shop Hop. A Shop Hop is a sort of quilters' frenzy, where quilt shops in a region have a weekend where they team together for special deals, contests, patterns, drawings. And quilters go in a frenzy from one shop to the next to look for the clues, the freebies, and the special patterns designed for the event. It may be something only an addicted quilter can understand.

Grace lived her life in a wheelchair. In the last few years it was a motorized wheelchair, after nearly a year in the hospital. She was ready for some adventure. A full shop hop was more than she would be able to handle, but a few of the shops on my side of the mountain where the Shop Hop covered quite a few miles and only 13 shops was a lot different than the more than 50 along the I-5 corridor.

While planning our excursion, we thought of Debi, a friend not too far off our route who was going through some rough times and we decided to drop in on her. We would arrive in her town close to lunchtime, so we decided to pack a picnic and bring it along, and if Debi wasn't up to a spontaneous visit, we could take it to the park.

I'd brought a batik tablecloth home from my trip to India and had never had a chance to use it. And it was purple. I said I would bring my purple tablecloth and exuberantly, Grace declared, "We can have a purple picnic!" We then set out to plan all the purple we could think of. That first purple picnic (Debi did welcome our visit.) included purple potato chips, purple pop, purple plums, purple gift bags of purple goodies for each of us, including Debi's son. Even a purple toy or something--don't remember what--for Debi's little dog and Grace's service dog, Landrum. We had a delightful lunch, cheerful catching up on everything, and Grace and I were on our way to continue our shopping.

The following year, sadly, Grace suffered a massive stroke and passed away. Some of us were gathered for a quilting weekend, and we had planned a purple picnic, this time adding cold borscht and purple paper plates, purple plastic tableware, and purple napkins to our picnic items. The picnic became a memorial to Grace as we remembered her always witty rejoinders, her faith in what she could accomplish despite her health issues, and her ability to always cheer each of us up.

The purple picnic became an annual tradition, and each year since, at least one person in our group has had a purple picnic in memory of Grace. The one pictured was shared last summer on a camping trip.

When Grace passed away, we remembered what she always said--that one day she would dance---dance with the angels.

Now our purple picnics will honor both Grace and Debi, who passed away earlier this year  after a long bout with emphysema.

                      Grace                                                                                                Debi

Do you want to have a purple picnic? Here are some purple foods to consider: purple potato chips, blue corn tortilla chips (which are actually purple), cornbread from blue cornmeal (available at a health food store), potato salad from blue or purple potatoes. borscht, grapes, plumes, grape soda, grape jelly, purple jelly beans, pickled beets,....maybe you could add some more.....

ABC Wednesday

Founded by Denise

Continues each week with the help of a team at the ABC site.

It's Geometry--1928

Mirror Mirror on the Lake

From my Dad's Album:

I kept the label from the scrapbook to make sure I put i in right side up--that is, if Dad had it right side up.

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James at Newtown Area Photo.

Back to the bridges

Back in February when we were doing the Bridges Between meme I posted this picture of my Dad's here.
At the time the picture was taken in 1929, the bridge at Twin Falls, Idaho was the highest bridge in the world, in the sense that it was highest above the river below. The post explored other senses of being highest.








This morning we crossed the bridge in that spot which was built in 1974.

PhotoHunt--Theme: Painted

This old farm wagon doesn't look like it's seen a coat of paint in an awfully long time, but look at the building beyond. This is Toppenish, a town near me, which has chosen, over the last twenty years or so, to tie its city development to a series of murals painted by teams of professional artists.

More than seventy murals grace the city, depicting the rich history and heritage of the area, from the days of Native American dominance through the coming of the white man and development of the agricultural industry--as shown in this one.

The mountain in the scene is Mt. Adams, which I have shown you before. I am noticing that a detail of the peak is included which I had been unaware of until this morning. I posted about it at Yakima Valley Daily Photo earlier today.

Do you see it?

Tnchick is the hostess with the mostest for PhotoHunt. You can find other PhotoHunters linked at her place.

ABC Wednesday--N is for...

eagle in flight, Olympic National Park, Washington

This is National Parks Week!

While visiting Olympic National Park over the weekend to participate in Washington Coastal Clean-up Day, we learned that this is National Park Week. We were presented with a wonderful evening program about the history and riches of America's national parks.

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The first area to be set aside as a national park was Yellowstone--first in the world--followed by Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Mt. Rainier. Our Mt. Rainier National Park was established in 1898.

The early days of the parks were not well organized, and the National Park Service was not formed until 1916 and a ranger corps established some time after that. Early rangers had to do everything from law enforcement to latrine cleaning. Rangers now specialize--interpretation, education, law enforcement, maintenance, administration.

The parks have come a long way from when this photo was taken in Sequoia in 1928.

More than 300 National Parks, National Monuments and other sites are administered by the National Park Service, and the idea spread to many other countries which have set aside areas special to them as National Parks.

Here in Skagway, Alaska, in part of the Yukon Gold Rush National Park, a ranger explains the history that is spotlighted here.

Cultural artifacts are highlighted at locations such as Wupatki Pueblo National Monument in Arizona.

Wukoki Pueblo, Wupatki National Monuments, Arizona

Parks are protected homes for critters--the elusive ones such as this pika..
...and the little show-offs such as this "camp robber" who followed us posing for two miles.
Rangers can interpret the environment for young and young at heart.

Grove of the Patriarchs, Ohanepecosh, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington

The variety in our National Parks is overwhelming, from a peek at the peak...

Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington

...to an arching span...

Arches National Park, Utah

...caves...

Lehmann Caves, Great Basin National Park, Nevada

...ocean beaches...

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington

...canyons grand and small...

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

...more glorious mountain views...

Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

...what water does in small or large occurrences...

Zion National Park, Utah

We have learned a lot over the years about the residents of our National Parks, so that this by zoom lens...

bear in the meadow, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington

...has replaced this for the protection of both the bears and the humans.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 1928

And we know that in order to participate for our enjoyment...

ready for a backcountry hike, White River Campground, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington

...we also must participate in the parks' protection and preservation.

Washington Coastal Clean-up Day, Olympic National Park, Washington

Ken Burns, who has produced a documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea, was in Seattle on Monday speaking about the film and previewing some clips from it. We weren't there either, but you can hear his interview from earlier in the day on KUOW here.

Visit more Ns at ABC Wednesday Round 4.

Say thanks to the ABC founder at Mrs. Nesbitt's Place.

ABC Wednesday--L is for...

Some places to visit:

ABC Wednesday site to find other interesting Ls.

Denise Nesbitt, who originated ABC Wednesday.

L is for Lake.

In the course of my hikes and travels I have visited quite a few lakes.

From the tiniest:

It took three hours and seven switchbacks along the trail to hike to the tiny Owyhigh Lakes in Mt. Rainier National Park. A quiet rest in the meadow was worth it.

~
to the largest:

Lake Baikal in central Siberia contains one fifth of the world's fresh water. It is the deepest lake in the world--more than a mile, and has more water than the five Great Lakes of North America combined. However, Lake Superior has a larger surface area.

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Wading in Lake Baikal:

Local custom has it that swimming in Lake Baikal will add 20 years to your life. Wading in the lake will add five years.

Reservoirs are man made lakes:

It was on this cruise of Lake Periyar on the border of Kerala and TamilNadu in India that I saw the elephants from E is for.... We cruised to the dam which formed the lake--now part of the Periyar Tiger Preserve and National Park. (We didn't see any tigers.)

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low water level

Here at Lake Shasta in Northern California, and below at Lake Powell on the Arizona Utah border, you can see the line marking where the water level of these lakes once was. Water in the American West sparks heated debates among irrigators, electrical users, recreational users, and other interests. In the many years that I have driven past Lake Shasta, I don't think I have ever it full to the high water mark.

hiking on the lake bed:

Rimrock Lake is an irrigation reservoir, and the end of the growing season leaves the boaters and fishermen out of luck, but gives an interesting opportunity to take a hike on the lake bed. This was the first time I ever walked to an island over dry land.

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reflections:

Shadow Lake gives a mirror glimpse of Mt. Rainier...

as Lake Manzanita reflects Mt. Lassen in Northern California...

and my Dad captured Mirror Lake in Yosemite National Park eighty years ago.
A few more weeks from thie November shot and Tipsoo Lake would have been iced over, the reflection gone until June.

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a lake can be a great place for a summer cabin

Deer Lake, north of Spokane, Washington is lined with cabins. There are very few year round residents.

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a lake can be green:

This unnamed lake in the White River Valley at Mt. Rainier reflects green because of the "glacial flour", particles of rock ground down by the Emmons Glacier.

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or can be called Green:

A single kayaker on Green Lake in Seattle. Urban lakes provide a respite from the rat race.

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more urban lakes:

A plane lands on Lake Union--another of Seattle's lakes.
And the Lake Washington Floating Bridge stretches across another of Seattle's lakes, carrying I-90 traffic to and from the city.

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What variety there is in the world's lakes!