Reflecting

Letty told me that the Vietnam wall was nearby at a memorial park in the hills. As we drove, she told me about a young man that went to the exact high school I went to and graduated about 7 years before me. "He was a great student, and he attended to my church. I'd like to find his name on the wall."


We walked along the wall, looking at the names. The names drew us in, and we felt their stories. After a while almost every name seemed familiar. Common first names and last names, just like the names of our friends and next door neighbors.


We felt a mixture of sadness and pride. These were ordinary men and women who stepped up to do something extra-ordinary. And they are heroes.

A grey haired man dressed in jeans with a green camouflage shirt stepped up to Letty. Can I help you find someone?

"Yes," she said. "His name is Roger Boomsma."

After a few minutes of looking at some papers, he came back and lead us to the name.




He took a little piece of paper and covered the name. Then he took a pencil and made a copy of the name for her. She tucked it into her purse and thanked him.


This truck was parked near the wall.
You can see some pictures of Roger and look up pictures and information on other men and women who fought in the Vietnam war by clicking here: Roger Boomsma

New Life

Happy Easter!

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

This is such a meaningful day to me. It gives me hope and assurance that there is more to life than what we see. Jesus conquered death, for us. He came back to life. Because of Him, we don't have to fear death. If we trust him...he will safely bring us through death into a new life. And we will enjoy him forever.

The Blessing of Diamond

God gives us earthly blessings to enjoy in this life. But all things on earth will one day pass away, except for one thing. Our relationship with God. Jesus said, that "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

We lost one of our blessings one week ago, on Saturday night. Diamond, our 2 year old beloved friend, was hit by a car.



Diamond (named for the diamond on her head) came into our lives, unexpectedly. My son acquired her while he was living on his own (for 2 months). And when it didn't work out, he moved home. I did not want a dog...but I had no choice. But God knew what he was doing. All four of us in the family fell in love with Diamond. As we enjoyed her antics, it gave us something to talk about with our son. We laughed at the way she would try to talk to us with her growly voice, and we were quite entertained when she pushed the basketball around the fruit trees at lightning speed. And now, she brings us together in her passing, as we grieve.

Many months ago, a wild poppy seed fell in front of Diamonds dog house. When I played with Diamond on the grass I didn't even notice it. Until about a month ago it began to get taller, and I wondered if the little plant would survive Diamond entering and leaving her dog house.

A few days before her death, it began to bloom. But I didn't really notice it until the morning after that fateful night. I took a picture of it then.



With a tear in his eye Mozart told me that when he went out to see it, he noticed four blooms on it.

Now it has filled out quite a bit and covers the whole entrance to the dog house.

Jesus words are comforting to me when he says that the Father knows when each Sparrow falls. Although his words need to be taken in context, I do feel he cares about all the animals.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father." Matthew 10:29

Parents Found; Dog is Lost

I had a good feeling inside.




When you miss someone, it's a good feeling because you know you have someone special in your life. I missed my mom and dad. And then I thought "it's only 50 miles...just go and see them."

So I did. And we took a walk along the harbor, and happened upon these beautiful strawberries. (above)



We ambled along the pier.




and had lunch on the tip-end of it at Ruby's Diner.


Two friendly seagulls posed for me.



Just look at all that water.
I love looking at water.

Back at home, there are other nice things to see.
Our naval orange tree has been going full tilt. (yes, I'll tell you about the lost dog in a minute.)



The Bird of paradise has been blooming along the back fence.



Lillies line the driveway.



Lemons are waiting to be picked.

One of the boys has been clearing a spot for a herb garden.
Oh...that "bush" is the remainder of last year's 2 tomato plants. What a surprise that yellow flowers are setting once again.
Sharing these pictures with you reminds me of my many blessings.

As I look at the pictures, they have a way of shaving off the rough edges of the week.

Especially today when the dog went missing and she didn't have her collar & tags on. She belongs to my oldest son, and there is no word to describe the grief, after we looked for her for 2 hours and realized she just wasn't anywhere in the neighborhood. My oldest son fell apart. Diamond is his life.

I called my parents to pray. Mom said, "Call the Human Society and the Police." The police? I doubted they would be of help. I called the Humane Society. No one had turned her in.

I called the the police fully expecting to get brushed off, or laughed at.

"Uhm...our dog is missing, she's black and white with a diamond on her head." Silence. More Silence.



"Someone just called in with a dog fitting that description."

We were directed to the house, and there she was. She had crossed a major boulevard.

Dog is fine. Son is improving. Mozart has a stiff neck from driving 20 blocks looking left and right, and I'm going to bed. Good night and have a great week!

The Pheasant Hat

On a breezy Sunday afternoon I drove toward the foothills with Pheasant feathers on my head, and hoped nobody would see me. This situation stemmed from a young woman climbing into a young man's wagon on a cold snowy day over sixty years ago.

In the early 1940's my mother-in-law taught school in a one room school house near Swedeburg, Nebraska. It was her first teaching job, and she was living away from home, boarding with a family who lived out in the countryside. She walked to school every day, and on one particularly cold day as she trudged to school through the snow, a wagon with a team of horses rattled up beside her.

"Would you like a ride?"

She looked up and saw a young man. He looked safe enough, especially with his shy smile and big ears.

"Oh, thank you." She held up her hand.

The wind whipped his blond hair as he reached down to help her up. Donald was a Swedish boy, born on a farm nearby. He had been born in the same bedroom as his father before him. His grandfather had homesteaded land.

When they arrived at the schoolhouse, he helped Katherine with some of her preliminary teaching duties like gathering wood for the stove.

The next morning, as Katherine plodded along the road to school, the wagon pulled up again.

"Would you like a ride?"

Well this went on for days. Until, one day, she heard the beautiful words.

"Will you marry me?"

Now, what does this have to do with a Pheasant hat? Well farm boys like to hunt. And Katherine had always wanted a fashionable Pheasant hat. They were newlyweds, now, and didn't have much money. They eventually moved in with Donald's parents on the farm to help take care of his ailing mother. But back to the hat. It was an extravegance that was not affordable. So Donald did the next best thing.



He and his dad went hunting and shot themselves a Pheasant. Then they crafted it into fancy hat for Katherine. She loved it! (and we take a moment to remember this special pheasant who brought such joy.)



(It has much more style than the picture displays.)


I wore the hat to my friend's Mad Hatter Tea Party a couple of Sundays ago.



Here you see several ladies taking a break from their busy lives to let their hair down, or I should say to put their hats on to relax, play games, and be a little crazy.





We had a lovely time.

Posts that will be Coming Soon

(1) The Pheasant Hat Post

(2) Florida--from an angle seldom seen.

Into the City of Angels

Union Station - photo by Sharon, 1-4-12

The lazy days between Christmas and the new year were fading fast and I thought, "I need to do something out of the ordinary before I go back to work."

I've always wanted to ride the Gold-Line, because I love trains. Actually called a "light rail", the Gold Line runs from Pasadena through downtown East Los Angeles.

Why not go to lunch in Los Angeles? I found two good friends, Terry and Sunny, who were up for the adventure.

The train, hanging by wires, floated along in gentle fashion stopping and going to let passengers on and off. We wound our way through Old Town Pasadena, then turned and headed toward Los Angeles. It wasn't long before we stepped off at Union Station.


The station opened in May 1939. It was built on a grand scale and became known as "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the USA. Although the neighborhood around the station is a bit shaggy, the station has aged gracefully, and one easily notices its beautiful architecture.

I particularly liked these windows.


The station has served as a backdrop for many films including The Italian Job, Silverstreak, The Island, NCIS: Los Angeles, to name a few.

The Christmas tree was still up.
We emerged from the station and into the streets.

It was a quiet day...not too many people around except the locals.


We stopped in the square to survey the area.

Terry hams it up for the picture.
"Okay...we've had enough pictures."

Terry and Sunny crossed the street. I got stuck in the middle trying to get a photo of Los Angeles City Hall and the old buildings. City Hall was designed by some of the same architects who built Union Station.

Where'd Terry and Sunny go? I found myself on Olvera street, the oldest part of Los Angeles. The city was actually founded on a site southeast of this street in 1781 by a group of Spanish pobladores (settlers), consisting of 11 families. The street, a tourist attraction has many historic buildings and looks like a romantic vision of old Mexico. Small vendor stands with assorted trinkets line the street, colorful pinatas sway, and over-sized sombreros rest next to colorful Mexican pottery.

I trotted past some hanging puppets and spotted Terry and Sunny beyond the stuffed donkeys heading towards a restaurant.

Sunny was saying, "Oh it smells wonderful! Let's go in here!"



After having our fill of toastadas and enchiladas we lingered and talked until the sun drifted low, casting it's golden light across the sidewalk reminding us that we better head back to Union Station before dark.
The train approaches (left side of picture) We climb on and wind our way back toward Sierra Madre.
Near the end of the ride, the train drifted to a stop, and we quickly gathered our things and stepped off. The train took off again, and we dreamily watched it head off into the distance.

Then someone said, "Oh no! This wasn't our stop!"
Sure enough, we had gotten off the train too early. We were now stuck on raised island in the middle of the freeway. Traffic rumbled on both sides of us. Sigh.

At least the sunset was entertaining.
Fifteen minutes later, another train came by and picked us up.

Back at our home station, we climbed the steps to our car which was parked on the roof of the building. I spotted my son's workplace, "Bed Bath and Beyond".

And here is another shot looking east.

We climbed in the car and peered through the Eucalyputus trees at the orange sky. And we knew it had been a great day!