Budding Friendship

There is something so sweet about friendships...

 'in the bud'.

When two are brought together,

 by two other hearts, 

already in the fragrant bloom of deep friendship.

This is what has happened with Makenna and Sophia.

Two little girls just beginning a friendship,

that has its origins in their grandma's friendship.

Two little hands joining together in a common effort...

the making of muffins for afternoon tea!

aahhh... the sheer joy of licking the Spoon!

...and the satisfaction of the rewards of their labours!

Afternoon tea (milk) and a few lovely muffins,

just warm from the oven...

certainly make the beginnings of a warm and sweet friendship.

Yummm!

Two little girls,

now feeling a little more familiar with each other,

are ready to play!

 Sharing Teddy Bears...

Twirling and Dancing and gettin' down...

to the Beatles!

Playing with colours, letters and blocks!

And then it was time for a fond farewell.

A budding friendship is sweet indeed!

Together Again!

After catching the early morning ferry at the Tsawwassen terminal and enjoying an incredibly warm and sunny cruise through the Juan de Fuca Straits, I arrived at Swartz Bay and after making my way through the arrival bay, walked right out of the terminal and into the arms of my dear friend Elizabeth.

We had such a lovely day, meandering in and out of shops and enjoying a light lunch, el fresco, before continuing on in our discoveries.  God blessed us with the most wonderful weather, just perfect, sunny and warm with a cool breeze.  It was hard to part when it was time to catch the early evening ferry back home, but we will definitely be doing this again soon!

On the cruise home, there were two pods of killer whales jumping and playing as they made their way through the blue glimmering waters... beautiful!  When I think about how blessed we are where we live, and all the magnificence of the landscape and nature and beauty around us... who needs to travel anywhere else, I am one content woman!

Being together again with Elizabeth, was just a treat... and I won't be leaving it so long until the next time!

The Little White House

Last Thursday morning I drove over to Fort Langley to meet with Margaret at The Little White House and to spend a few hours together.  I was surprised to know that Margaret had never been to the LWH and so it was with the greatest of pleasure that I introduced her to one of my favourite indulgences.

We enjoyed our time looking through the clothing and decor on the first floor of the house, then we went upstairs for further inspiration.  One of the blouses had a simple lace overlay that I was intrigued with, and proceeded to show Margaret how easy it would be to make one similar. 

I loved this dress that incorporated a substantial black and white houndstooth checked skirt with a simple bodice... I was unaware, as I took the picture, that I was inadvertently giving the dress form a 'pin head' just to make the look complete!





Aprons seem to be my weakness and these little black and white ones were so simple, yet so eye-catching... I can definitely see one in my future!

Since Margaret had just recently celebrated a birthday, 

we made our way down into the adjoining LWH Tea Room where we were able to enjoy a fresh brewed cup of coffee and sweet treat made from Lavender -

 (Margaret)

and a lovely fresh bowl of blueberries -

 (Me)

Our waitress was so cheery and accommodating, finding the time to show Margaret through the Tea Room and adjoining restaurant and outdoor Cafe area where they were just setting up for a wedding that was to take place the following day.

We were able to walk through some of the shops on Main Street after our lunch and also stopped in at the Fort Langley Library so that I could return a book and take out two more.

All in all, it was a lovely afternoon, well spent with a dear friend and sister.

Women of Many Hats!

I had a lovely few hours over at my friend Linda's last week. It was a time to exchange Christmas gifts, talk about our lives, our families, our grandchildren.

We had a tender time of contemplative worship as we listened to music pointing towards the coming of our King. And then these two grannies did what all girls love to do... we played dress-up with hats!

After I left, I still had afternoon errands to run, dinner to make and then off to evening church services...

I wore a hat.

Fun - Food - Fellowship and the August Giveaway Drawing!

Early yesterday evening, I loaded up the car with a lemon meringue pie, a dessert loaf, two handmade journals, a picnic basket and a few other odds and ends. I was heading over to Linda's house where our Summer in the Psalms Windup would shortly be taking place. Linda, who had also followed along with the Summer in the Psalms had kindly opened up her home so that we could continue our summer theme in her lovely garden.

As the girls began to arrive it was fun to see them gather in the backyard gazebo, place down their sumptuous offerings of food, squeal and hug like crazy, and get caught up on each other after a long and eventful summer.

Linda's husband Bob was available to take everyone on a pre-dinner garden tour, but it was our gardener Edna who got a head start on us all! I had to literally run to catch up to them to snap this picture before they headed off again. (Do you think Edna looks happy?) Bob had recently come in 4th out of 3,000 entries in the BC Best of Gardens competition sponsored by the Sun newspaper; his garden has been featured in Garden’s West and has been included on the Maple Ridge Garden Tour, so this was a highlight of the evening indeed!

Another highlight of the evening and centre piece of the garden is a full sized play-house... big girl size!

Some of us were more ready to play than others - I just love it when the 'little girl' in all of us comes out to play! Although truthfully, it didn't take but a few minutes and everyone was ready to move into this lovely wee house!

Here are Linda and Jan on the little porch of the playhouse, getting to know one another better. I wish I could have had my camera ready, to capture the expression on her face, when Linda found out that Jan was born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho... Bob and Linda lived in Bonners Ferry, Idaho for years, so this was a sweet connection indeed. I mean really, how many people do you meet that come from Idaho?

One of my personal pleasures of this evening came from watching all my sister-girlfriends all coming together at one time, in one place. It was lovely to see those that God has so lovingly placed in my life getting to know one another, I have always thought of the precious women in my life as the flowers of my life garden and so this particular setting was very poignant for me.

Then it was time to eat... and there was p-l-e-n-t-y of good and sumptuous food for all!

Everyone found and settled into their own gathering place in the garden and into the 'breaking of bread' together.

As the evening sun began to sink deeper and twilight began to bathe the garden, the little scattering of garden lights began to make their luminous showing and deeper conversation and sharing began to flow.

Peek a boo!

Oh, I almost forgot! We had our August Summer in the Psalms Giveaway drawing that same evening - I thought that because Linda was our lovely hostess that she should be the one to draw the name out of the cup... she put her whole self into this endeavour...

...and pulled out her own name! Congratulations Linda! May God bless you as you journal your way through our next study 'Sweeter Than Chocolate'!

It was a truly lovely evening. Every one of us have busy, full lives, yet in the midst of it all God purposed us to be together for this one, very special evening... I am still basking in the afterglow of it all!

With love,

P.S. If you would like to hear more reflections about this evening, read some of the comments from yesterdays posting - I'm a little late in posting the pictures and the girls just couldn't wait, ...Sisters, You Gotta Love 'Em!