God's hugs

When my focus is on the Lord or others, He often shows me His approval by giving me what I call "hugs".

A week ago Wednesday evening, I finished my packing for a four day visit to Spokane before rushing to the VBS planning meeting. One of the other planners, Trish, was also talking about leaving for Spokane to attend the "Women of Faith" Conference. She was taking a friend with her, who claims to be an atheist. I'll call Trish's friend "F" in this blog. F. had decided to attend with Trish to gather facts to help refute Christianity...along the lines of Josh McDowell & others. We prayed for F at the end of the meeting. The next day our Bible Study group also prayed for F. After the Bible Study, I talked with the Lord the entire drive to Spokane - mentioning F several times.

I was attending the conference with my friend, Julie, who lives at Harvard Park in Spokane. (See above photo.) You have read about Julie in this blog back in the Fall & again when her husband, Chuck, died in January. For a couple of months, Julie & I have planned this visit. Julie reserved a roll-away bed so I could stay at Harvard Park with her the three nights I would be in town. When I arrived at the retirement home on Thursday, Julie helped me unload my bags. She introduced me to the assistant manager of the facility at the front door. The assistant manager asked if Julie had told me about the snaffu regarding the roll-away bed. I thought, "Oh, no, I don't have enough $ to pay the $75 a night to rent their guest room. Maybe I can just sleep on Julie's floor."

The assistant manager continued, "It was our mistake that the reserved roll-away is being used elsewhere, so you won't mind sleeping in one of our rooms, will you? I'm on my way now to make it up. Do you like golf? This sample room will have a golf theme." We entered the elevator & rose to the third floor. All the way at the end of the hall was this sample room, across from Julie's apartment! It had its own bathroom, kitchenette, sitting area & the bed area pictured above. Because of a mistake, I was given this apartment free of charge for the three nights. That was hug #1!

Julie treated me to a delicious salmon salad dinner at Twiggs as we caught up on each other's lives. We both like to walk after dinner, so we spent a delightful evening in Manito Park...smelling the scent of lilacs in full bloom throughout much of the park. Some of the cherry trees were still in bloom, as were the rhododendrons of all colors & many other new plantings. We chatted a lot about Chuck as we walked, since he was very much on our minds. One hug, after another.

The next morning Julie drove us to the Spokane Arena for the "Women of Faith" Conference. Julie's driving us around Spokane was another hug of sorts, since I was able to make the entire trip on one tank of gas by not expending any during my stay in Spokane. Besides, Julie knows the streets & short-cuts in Spokane so we arrived timely both days & left without getting tied up in traffic jams. We entered the arena & headed for fairly close seating to the stage area pictured below. Friday was general admission so we found good seating & started down an aisle. Who should we see ahead of us, but Trish & F! Trish had told us that we might not meet F, since she didn't want to sit with the church crowd. God overruled & led us directly to her. It was almost like He said, "You have been faithfully praying for F. Now you will know what she looks like & have a chance to chat a bit with her, so you can continue to talk to Me about her after the conference." Another Hug! Nothing is better that knowing you are in God's will...receiving His affirmations. Trish took the above photo of Julie & me after I had taken one of her & F. As you can see below, the arena had not filled up yet.

The conference was good, although my age showed by the fact that I thought the worship music was too loud - I couldn't hear the words. My time of fellowship with Julie was better than the conference. We ate at Klinkendagger's Restaurant, overlooking the Spokane River raging with the Spring melt-off. The grilled trout with hazelnut sauce was so scrumptious, as was the rest of the meal. We ambled through Riverfront Park after the meal. Never running out of things to share with each other. So went the whole week-end. A wonderful vacation from the day to day pressures we each face. At the end of the conference, Trish slipped over to the nosebleed section where we had assigned seats for the main part of the conference which had started Friday evening. She told us that F had been extremely attentive throughout the conference & was asking a lot of questions. Trish felt F was taking some beginning steps towards getting to know the Lord rather than wanting to refute the fact of His existence. God is so good!!

Hayes Point Hike in the Blue Mountain Recreation Area

Today's hike was a strenuous 6+ mile hike up to Hayes Point in the Blue Mountain Recreation Area west of Missoula. At the summit of Hayes Point, we could see snow-covered Lolo Peak Near the summit we also passed this stack of rocks & wood which we called a "bamah" - the Hebrew transliteration for "high place" - because that is what this reminded us of. We have been studying Ezekiel where God was condemning Judah for worshiping at such bamahs.

The Blue Mountain area has Shooting Stars with multiple blooms from one stalk. This one has five blossums, but we found some with seven blooms on a single stalk. Quite unusual.

We hiked through meadows of Arnica & multiple-blossumed Shooting Stars.

Beyond the Arnica & other wildflowers we saw vistas of the valleys around Missoula. This view is looking north towards Frenchtown & the mountains beyond it.

Happy Memorial Day!

Rattlesnake Trail with the Svecs

Thursday, my niece & family visited from Billings & hiked with me 1 1/2 hours on the Rattlesnake Trail to the West & down the mountains from the hike I took the day before. The day was much warmer with no wind, so it was comfortable walking. Five year old Corbyn had a grand time climbing rocks, picking wildflowers for his Mom & playing with the fuzzy caterpillar that he found along the trail.

Oregon Grapes were in full bloom, as were many of the other plants I already photographed for you on earlier hikes this Spring. The only wildlife we saw were a few squirrels that scampered across the trail.

Justin carried Gavin in the backpack & sometimes Corbyn too. Kristin carried Brayden in a front pack & shielded him from the sun as he slept. Gavin slept about half of the hike, as you can see from this picture. He didn't mention a neckache when he awoke, but his position was as you see here for at least 45 minutes.

Mt. Jumbo Northern Loop Trails & Sheep Mountain Hike

Arrowleaf Balsamroot blankets Mt. Jumbo above the Lincoln Hills area of the Rattlesnake. The Hallelujah Hikers' Wednesday hike was around 8 miles of Mt. Jumbo trails & Sheep Mt. Trail. The early Spring flowers were beginning to fade as later Spring flowers were starting to bloom. On Sheep Mt. we even saw the elusive Fairy Slippers in some of the more protected areas of the forest.

Larkspur dotted the landscape with the Balsamroot early in the hike.

Further on, Indian Paintbrush & Lupine were starting to blossum amongst the
Arrowleaf Balsamroot, creating a garden effect.

Our hike was a cool 40-50 degrees with a strong wind making it
feel even cooler. The vistas & wildflowers were worth the

effort, as was the fellowship amongst the hikers. The view below

was taken from Sheep Mountain, looking back at Mt. Jumbo, Mt.
Sentinel behind that & the Bitterroots in the distance beyond Missoula.
We continue to count our blessings in being able to hike such gorgeous

country so close to home.

A Hike in blues

Our last Wednesday Hallelujah Hiker trek was up the face of Mt. Sentinel to look out over Missoula and enjoy more of the Spring flowers. We returned through the forested Hellgate Canyon Trail & Ken Williams Trail.

We saw several wildflowers in blues, such as numerous clumps of Bluebells.

The Larkspur was just beginning to blossum.

Around half-way up the face of the mountain, we sited this bluebird perched on a dead tree over-looking I-90 & East Missoula.His mate joined him out further on his branch. She's on the far right

with only a blue tipped tail.
If you click on any photo, you can enlarge it.

We stayed fairly close to town on our six-mile hike, since you still get into snow at higher elevations, as this broader focus shows.

Lazy & Busy Spring Days

Our severely pruned cherry trees are starting to bloom. Praise God that we didn't kill them by pruning so late.

Our tiny Grape Hyacinth & Tulips are starting to blossum as the peony stalks are emerging from the sheep compost circles in our flower bed.

We've planted 5 rows of early crops & topped 4 of them with the sheep compost.

The remaining row of lettuce & spinach was topped with a special fertilizer mailed with the seeds. The start of gardening always means a lot of work at first. But the vegetables later in the summer make the efforts well worth it.

Our animals love the warmer weather. Ari lounges near "his humans" whether inside or outside.

Our sheep & horse lounge & graze at ease in the field. Spring brings such a feeling of comfort & promise to our lives.

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day brought some color to our home - Ivy Geraniums on the outside from Louis & bright yellow tulips on the inside from Esther. Yes, my husband & daughter always color up my life!

We took Mom & Dad to Applebees for a Mother's Day dinner before driving up the Southhill to the Missoula Alliance Church. The California Baptist Men's Chorale of 80 young men praised the Lord for 90 minutes. They filled our hearts with glorious music. This chorale of 18-22 year olds included a young man who went to High School with Esther, so she was even more interested than usual in the whole affair.

The week before Mother's Day, our good friend, Ron Smith, gave me a basket of regular Geraniums in honor of the coming day. He & Marilyn stop by for supper occassionally, so I see this kind of like a "Thank you."

Neat Way to Remove a Tick

After picking off so many ticks on a couple of our Spring hikes, I asked around  

about the best way to remove one that had gotten imbedded.  So far I 

have been fortunate to find every tick on me before it broke the skin.  

However, I may have to remove one while being the Camp Utmost nurse.

I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove
a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some
times difficult to get to with tweezers.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the
soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick
will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift
it away. "This technique has worked every time I've used it, (and that
was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier
for me,"  said the MD.  Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see

that this would be damaging in any way. 

How neat is that?!

Who am I ?

 
      I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in
 another country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children
 with numerous women.
      I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no interest in
me. My mother died at an early age from cancer.
      Later in life, questions arose over my real name.

      My birth records were sketchy and no one was able to produce a
 legitimate, reliable birth certificate.
 
      I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it
was widely accepted in my country, but I practiced nontraditional beliefs &
didn't follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.

      I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult,

 disguising myself as someone who really cared about them.

     That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life
and I embarked on a new career.
 
     I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It was clear to those

 who read my memoirs that I had difficulties accepting that my father
 abandoned me as a child.

     I became active in local politics in my 30's then with help behind
 the scenes, I literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national
 office in my 40s. They said I had a golden tongue and could talk anyone
 into anything. That reinforced my conceit.
 
     I had a virtually nonexistent resume, little work history, and no
 experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker
and citizens were drawn to me as though I were a magnet and they were small
roofing tacks.
 
    I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances. This
 bolstered my ego.
 
    At first, my political campaign focused on my country's foreign
 policy. I was very critical of my country in the last war and seized every
 opportunity to bash my country.
 
    But what launched my rise to national prominence were my views on
the country's economy. I pretended to have a really good plan on how we
 could do better and every poor person would be fed & housed for free.

    I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess.
 It was the free market, banks & corporations. I decided to start making
 citizens hate them and if they were envious of others who did well, the plan
 was clinched tight.

    I called mine "A People's Campaign" and that sounded good to all
 people.

    I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the
 traditional path of politics & was able to gain widespread popular support.

    I knew that, if I merely offered the people 'hope,' together we
could change our country and the world.

    So, I started to make my speeches sound like they were on behalf of
 the downtrodden, poor, ignorant to include "persecuted minorities" like the
 Jews. My true views were not widely known & I needed to keep them unknown,
 until after I became my nation's leader.
 
    I had to carefully guard reality, as anybody could have easily found

 out what I really believed, if they had simply read my writings and examined
 those people I associated with.
 
   I'm glad they didn't. Then I became the most powerful man in the
 world. And the world learned the truth.
 
   Who am I?

   ADOLF HITLER
 
   WHO WERE YOU THINKING OF?
 
   Scary isn't it?

Happy 61st Israel Independence Day!

                      Please pray for the peace of Israel on this 61st Israel Independence Day!

Shearing & Late Pruning just before Spring sprung

Our smallest apricot and pear trees burst into bloom only a couple days after we pruned our fruit trees. Hopefully we didn't harm the trees by pruning so late. The pinkish flowers are apricot. The white ones are pear.

The pruned branches are awaiting our getting our chipper functional. We plan to reduce the cherry & apple branches in this picture to chips we will use in barbecuing this summer.

Praise God, our interventions were a success so far with our septic ewe & her ram lamb. Mama can now walk on her own, has now been sheared & the lamb's tail is banded. The tail will eventually fall off from lack of blood supply. Behind the ewe & lamb is our arthritic "Grandma" ewe. We thought she wouldn't make it through the winter two years ago, but she's still hobbling along in her ancient & thinner state.

Three Spring Hikes during woodtick season

April hikes can be accompanied by woodticks if the weather is just turning warm. I've hiked the Bass & Larry Creek area twice & OBrien Canyon once already in April. Only OBrien Canyon was loaded with these tiny critters that the Hallelujah Hikers had to pick off each other all during the eight mile hike. If you turn the tick over & see a white spot, you count yourself fortunate for finding the tick before it embeds in your skin & causes Rocky MT Spotted Fever.

I hike the Bass & Larry Creek area with my friend, Janie & her standard Schnauzer, Hansi. Since we had almost a week of 70+ degree weather in mid-April, all the Spring wildflowers were blooming. Hansi would stand or partially submerge herself in the creeks that we came to along the hike.

Bass & Larry Creeks are known for their wonderful Trillium that bloom in profusion along the creek banks in April.

We even saw some Oregon Grapes beginning to bloom on the second hike in the Larry Creek area. The day before had topped at 80 degrees, which triggered much of the blossuming.

A couple of meadows were blanketed with the tiny Blue-eyed Mary plants in full bloom.

Shooting Stars mixed with Buttercups in some areas. In many other locations, we saw bunches of Pasqueflowers amidst the Yellowbells & Buttercups. Native Indians in the Bitterroot used to eat the bulbs of the Yellowcups, cooking them like rice.

The 4-5 mile hiking loop Janie & I take in the Bass & Larry Creek area is one of many horse trails, so we sometimes meet folks out horse-back riding. We also sited white-tailed deer & wild turkeys. I wasn't fast enough with my camera to catch them in a photo for you.

The "Tick Hike" up OBrien Canyon was around 8 miles of mostly old logging roads. Dry grass rubbed against our ankles most of the hike & must have contained the ticks.

The Blue MT & OBrien areas were engulfed in a forest fire four years ago. We saw evidence of this everywhere on our hike. Two days after our hike, the Forest Service had a "controlled burn" in this location, but it got away from them. They had to drop fire retardants from planes to get it back under control.

We saw interesting tree shapes, like this split trunk. Actually, with poor signage, we had taken a dead-end trail just before I shot this photo. We did that a couple of times on this hike, making it around 8 miles instead of 5.

We saw wildflowers in this area only near the Trailhead. They were the same flowers I had seen in the Bass & Larry Creek areas, with the addition of a few Glacier Lilies like the ones below. The thick underground stems of Glacier Lilies are also edible & were staples of the American Indians in this area.