Village Lights

I shared a bit about our recent trip to Leavenworth, Washington – but there is more to see.  The little Bavarian-style village is such a whimsical, magical place during the daytime with shops and decorations and friendly people everywhere.

When you see the buildings and many of the homes you have the feeling that you have been transported high into the Swiss Alps!
There are lights on every building – over four hundred thousand lights were installed by the city and there’s no telling how many the merchants and homeowners put up before we arrived.  It’s certainly obvious that they knew we were coming!  The lights are fairly obvious during the daylight hours but with every minute closer to sundown it’s as if someone is scurrying around and turning them on – and turning them all up!At dusk the lights began to show up and I thought it was wonderful.  Little did I know what was about to happen!It got better as time moved along.  The lights on the big tree at the corner of the park had hardly shone up during the day – now it was as if they suddenly had begun to shine.  All of the trees around the park were wrapped with thousands of lights.And from the gazebo in the middle of the park speakers played Christmas music that could be heard all around the downtown streets.

I couldn’t imagine that it would get any better. . .But it did!  We went back after dinner – after the shops had closed and darkness wrapped around the town. It hid the mountains and wrapped us in a world of enchantment.Images that warmed my heart and held me captive in their beauty seemed to call out to me.  A local inn was wrapped in tiny lights of blue and whiteSome trees were encased in bits of color. . .Others had limbs all wrapped in white.

 

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere we went. . .

And when the bells rang

The carols that we sang

Were right within our hearts.

(with apologies to Meredith Wilson )

Christmas Every Day

Last week I shared that my sweetheart and I – and my cousin and her hubby – were off on an adventure.  A long-dreamed-of adventure.  And we weren’t disappointed.  Not one little bit.  While we hoped for snow and a sleigh ride, that didn’t happen.  But we were happy – much too happy to mind.  And that is reason to go back again sometime when snow is on the ground.  We commented often that things were exactly the way God had planned them for us.  How could we complain?Leavenworth, Washington is a little town at the base of the Cascade Mountains – literally, as you can see in these photos.  The photo below was taken from the balcony just outside our room.  The air was brisk and chilly but the sun was shining on the day we headed home. 
Everywhere we went we felt the excitement of the holiday season.  The little Bavarian-style town had certainly dressed up in all of its best – just for us!

While I loved looking in all of the shops, this one was definitely my favorite.
Inside were two floors of absolute Christmas-Heaven!  Just about anything your heart could desire could be found there – and more.  I could have stayed all day.  I did go back more than once!
In the center of the store – this tree – in a magic-sort-of-way had snow falling from the top.  Look close.  You can see it!And flying through the ‘sky’ – would you believe, it’s Santa?
Everywhere you looked there were ornaments. . .And decorations. . .And lights. . .

And signs. . .
And things to hang on your walls. . .
Or to stand on your floor.The view from upstairs seemed to capture the attention of most everyone who ventured up there.  Looking down – there he was again!The view of the little ‘snow’ tree from above was as fascinating as from below!  See the snow in the air around the top?  It falls into the big, gold ‘pan’ below and is cycled back up to the top.  No matter where you stood to watch it, there was always someone else watching it, too.As I walked through this place that seemed like a dream, I told my sweetheart that I need a bigger house!  Imagine the decorating I could do!No matter what time of year we return to this sweet, little town I know I’ll find my way to this shop.  You see, it’s open every day of the year, with a few exceptions like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day!

Tomorrow – the lights of Leavenworth!

A Dream-Come-True Kind Of Trip

My sweetheart and I are leaving town very early this morning.  We are on our way to a sweet, little village on the eastern slopes of the Washington State Cascade Mountains.  This is a dream come true for me – something I have hoped to do but never thought it would be this year.  Or any year soon.  God provided in a way we can still hardly believe and we know it’s a special gift from Him to us.  My cousin and her hubby are going, too.  This is something we four have talked about – now it’s for real!

Leavenworth, Washington is a small Bavarian-style village that attracts thousands of people each year.  There are festivals and activities throughout the year.  We hope this will be the first of many visits to join the fun.  You can read more about our destination here.  We have tickets to a harp and vocal Christmas concert with Bronn and Katherine Journey.  Bronn is an acclaimed harpist whose music I have loved for several years.  And we hope to take a sleigh ride, if there is enough snow, and enjoy the shops and dining and all the sights and sounds of this little town.

We won’t be gone long and when I return I will tell you all about it!  Oh, there will be so much to tell.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sending Thanksgiving wishes to you, my dear friends, with a heart full of thanks and gratitude for the blessings God has given to us.

Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.Psalm 95:2

By The Sea

A few days ago my sweetheart and I decided to run away for the day.  It didn’t take us long to figure out where we wanted to go - we headed to the Oregon Coast.  As we talked about our day trip we knew we wanted to see a different part of the coast than we’ve seen for quite some time – and it was such fun!  We headed to a sweet, little town where we had lunch overlooking the waves.  A leisurely drive around that town seemed in order since the rain cut short our walk on the beach.  Along the way we found some sweet cottages that made my heart long for a beach cottage of my own.

If I had a home at the beach I wouldn’t need a sign above the door to remind me where I am!

I would love to have a home where every room has a view of the sea. . .
And weathered wood siding with white trim.
It could have a with a big porch – and lots of gingerbread!
And lots of room for good books and places to sit by the fire and chat with friends.
Or, it could be blue and white with porches and shutters and trees that seem to hide it away from passersby.
Nearby there would be little cottages for folks from far away who come to visit.  Cottages with names - like these.  There’s ‘Comfy’. . .
And ‘Cozy’. . .
And ‘Care-Free’!
It’s just a dream – but dreams do come true, you know.

Blessed Quietness

Joys are flowing like a river,
Since the Comforter has come;
He abides with us forever,
Makes the trusting heart His home.

 

Blessed quietness, holy quietness,
Blest assurance in my soul!
On the stormy sea, He speaks peace to me,
And the billows cease to roll.

 

What a wonderful salvation,
Where we always see His face!
What a peaceful habitation!
What a quiet resting-place!

 

Blessed quietness, holy quietness,
Blest assurance in my soul!
On the stormy sea, He speaks peace to me,
And the billows cease to roll.

 

 

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!  Isaiah 26:3

 

Song: ‘Blessed Quietness’Written by Manie P. Ferguson, 1897
Scripture:  New Living Translation

Sleeping On The Job

It’s hard to get good help these days!  What’s a girl to do when the ‘hired help’ is caught sleeping on the job?

Our daughter and her children have temporarily moved into the home of a friend while she gets some things straightened out so she can get into her own place.  Since our guestroom is empty now we decided it was the perfect time to make some changes before we put the furniture in again.  My sweetheart decided to correct the placement of electrical outlets that have always been a problem. Extension cords have been a common item in this room.  While he worked last evening – with the electricity off so he wouldn’t hurt himself – he set up a work lamp powered by a long extension cord to another part of the house that still had power.  Joey decided to investigate and once he discovered that the light was also a great source of heat – it was all over.  No help from him!It wasn’t long until he was in la-la land – ‘lights out’ - sound asleep.  Nothing seemed to disturb him.  All was well with the world!  Next thing you know he will want me to put the heat lamp in front of his bed!