Happiness

(Rebecca, Dad, and Mom in Ohio)

...is being outside with family. I was going through my archives today and found this picture from a hike we took in 2009. It still makes me smile. I don't remember the name of the waterfall we hiked to, but it was quite pretty. Clearly we had a good time!

Hardy

We received this orchid as a gift several years ago right after we moved to Oregon. It was beautifully in bloom at the time, but after flowering once, it went on a blossoming strike. Perhaps it was disappointed with the once-a-month or so watering diet I put it on. Apparently plants like to be watered more frequently than that.. who knew?

When we moved, we felt badly about just throwing it out, so we plopped it on the floor of our car's backseat and told it that if it survived the trip (with suitcases occasionally falling on it), we would keep it. Being the hardy little buddy that it is, the orchid indeed survived and has been taken into my aunt Diana's protective custody to see if it will recover and perhaps bloom again.

Organdization

"Is Piglet organdized too?" [asked Pooh.]
"We all are," said Rabbit, and off he went.
~The House at Pooh Corner

After I spent most of the weekend obsessively re-reading The Count of Monte Cristo, it was necessary that yesterday be an Organdizing Sort of Day. So as to recover from the disastrous heaps of the weekend, I scampered around the apartment sorting things into piles and moving files around and so-forth. Benjamin watched me with moderate despair, since I've been known to organize things so thoroughly that we couldn't find them again... I think we avoided that fate today, though.

Lanterns

Flowers + lanterns + eating outdoors = delightful + happiness

Heavens

Psalm 19:1
(NIV)

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Ridiculous

This laundry is not yet put away because I spent my time yesterday reading an article on how to avoid procrastination instead. It was not the most successful article, apparently.

Suburbanlife

There are squirrels all over the neighborhood, and they look unusually chubby and well-fed. I don't think they quite qualify as "wildlife" since they seem to be frequently dining on a smorgasbord of bird feeders and geraniums.

Doorstep

This is the view from our door right now.

Wisteria II: Explosion

Since I took Monday's pictures of wisteria, the blooms have exploded into giant fluffy drifts of flowers. The bees are thrilled!

Melding

I loved the mix of tourists at the temples in Luxor.

Wisteria

...is remarkably pretty.

Bread

Matthew 4:4
(NIV)

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Happy

Spring is springing up, bursting forth, and all those springy things that spring does. Which makes it a fantastic day for my mommy's birthday!

Sunset

Still praying

...for peace in Bahrain and for safety for our friends there! It's looking more intense this time around.

At sea

This whole job-hunting process makes me feel a bit at sea.

Flame

We've been having a number of dinners outside this last few weeks. Eating around a fire makes everything taste better.

Fruit and foliage

(Pear tree at Mount Vernon, 2008)

Fade

Isaiah 40:8
(NIV)

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.

Bloom

Flowers in the courtyard.

Color

(German market square in... a German town. Somewhere.)

I love open air markets, with their massive displays of fruits, vegetables, and other fascinating assorted goods. Often I want the pleasing nature of the displays much more than I want the actual goods being sold!

Still life

Sunday birthday brunch.

Layers

(Luxor, Egypt)

This mosque was built on the ruins of an Egyptian temple before the extensive ruins in Luxor were excavated.

Preparation

Setting the table for Sunday lunch.

Parallel

(Ankara, Turkey)

Triumphant

(Fallen statues on Mount Nemrut, Turkey)

Exodus 20: 2-5
(NIV)

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...

Snow?

(Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan)

We're briefly in the icy North for a family event. If there is snow, who knows if we'll survive, now that we're southerners?

Promise

(Downtown Springfield, Oregon)

Froggy

This fountain outside our door makes for a peaceful, relaxing space. Today there was a raptor of some kind perched on it, driving all the nearby birds frantic, but, alas! I couldn't get my camera before it left.

Budding leaves

The trees are just starting to bud. One of my favorite parts of spring!

Old and new

Leaves at Mount Pisgah Arboretum, Eugene, Oregon