A Sure Foundation

He will be the sure foundation for your times,
A rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.

Isaiah 33:6

Are You A Follower?

Just sneaking in here to let you know that I have added the 'Follower' feature to my blog. If you are a follower of my wanderings through blogland, please scroll down to that section on the right side of my blog and add your name to the list. I love knowing that you're there, even though you let me know when you are. This is just another fun part of the friendships I cherish in the wonderful world of blog.

I haven't forgotten to share our fabulous vacation in San Francisco. I'm working on editing my photos. Yesterday my camera and my computer nearly screamed at me as I downloaded over twelve hundred photos - most of them from the trip. It was a process, for sure, and now I'm working through them to delete a few that are less than desirable. In the next day or so you will begin to see - in a new format - the places we went and some of what we did. Now, if you want to see all twelve hundred plus photos. . .

Home Again!

We have come home from one of the most wonderful and memorable vacations we've ever had. Arriving home last night after a long day of driving north from San Francisco our little home was a welcome sight as we rounded the corner. There is so much to share from our trip - time with family and friends. Our days together in The City - just the two of us - were very special. And when my BFF from college days arrived with her hubby we four had the time of our lives. But the highlight was my college reunion on the campus that was my home so long ago. I cherish the memory of the hours spent with friends from the past and my heart dearly treasures the chance to reconnect with dear ones I thought I might never see or talk to again. The campus has changed - in many good ways - and some things dear to my heart are no longer there. But the reasons for the changes made sense and my heart was at peace. I have too many photos to share - I really must learn to control myself with my camera! It will have to wait a bit. Life at home, real life, is calling me to focus on things here. Please come back again soon - I can't wait to tell you all about it!

City By The Bay

Hello, dear friends, from San Francisco - the City By The Bay. Yes, I did leave my heart here!! As we drove across the Bay Bridge into the City yesterday afternoon I could only sit and smile and realize how very much this place that was home during my college years really means to me. Just as we entered the City I hit the play button on the CD player in the car and we heard Tony Bennett begin to croon

'I left my heart in San Francisco,

High on a hill it calls to me

To be where little cable cars

Climb halfway to the stars;

The morning fog may chill the air -I don't care.

My heart waits here in San Francisco

Above the blue and windy sea.

When I come home to you, San Francisco,

Your golden sun will shine for me.'

Last evening we drove to Fisherman's Wharf where we enjoyed a casual meal of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and shrimp salad at a sidewalk cafe. After a stroll along the wharf and the docks of the marina we sat for a time to enjoy a marvelous street musician as he played the most beautiful violin music and then entertained us at the keyboard. While he was playing a street entertainer who was dressed up like Charlie Chaplin came along and danced nearby. Then we took the 'long way home' over the hills and up and down the streets of San Francisco. We wandered through the downtown area just enjoying time away together and the beautiful lights of the City at night.

In a bit we will head out for the day to destinations planned and, perhaps, some unknown. We have had a wonderful trip so far and we expect to keep adding more memories to take home with us when we return in a few days.

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Very early this morning my sweetheart and I are leaving - heading south - for a long-planned, seemed like only a dream, vacation. We are going where I left my heart! San Francisco - 'where little cable climb halfway to the stars'. I did leave my heart there many years ago. I attended a small college in the City By The Bay and when I left it seemed as if part of my heart was there forever.

Twenty years ago my alma mater sold the campus in the heart of the city and built a lovely new campus in northern California. Until last year I assumed I would never step foot on my former campus again. But this year we are having a San Francisco Campus Reunion! On August 8th my sweetheart and I will join many other former students to tour the campus, share a chapel service together in the old chapel and dinner in the dining room where we spent so many of the hours of our youth. The following day many of us will attend a tailgate barbecue and the San Francisco Giants baseball game. It doesn't seem possible that all the planning and hoping and wishing and emails back and forth to my best friend from those days has come to this - we are heading south today! It's here! It's finally here!!

Along the way we will stop and spend a bit of time with my sweetheart's cousin and then a surprise stop with family that I can't share just incase someone peeks in here. Monday my sweetheart and I will arrive in San Francisco for two days of adventure together before my best and dearest friend from college days and her hubby join us. We have reservations and tickets and plans and maps and schedules. Oh my! I can't wait.

My computer access while I'm away may be limited but I will try to stop by and let you know a bit of our 'doings'. You can count on my camera working overtime! My heart will be gathering all the memories and special new adventures to share with you when we return. And when I leave the City this time I know the piece of my heart that has been there all these years will stay behind - for another day. And 'high on a hill [when] it calls to me' I will return again.

The Dog Ate My. . .

Blood pressure cuff! Seriously.

Well, he didn't exactly eat it but he munched and chewed and it's history. Gone. Out of here! We are leaving on vacation bright and early tomorrow morning. (More about that another time.) In my quest to have some sense of organization and planning I carefully began to lay out all the things that had to go with us. Laid them on the guestbed. Out of the way. Now Joey is a little guy and he can't climb on the beds - but he can stand up tall enough to get things close to the edge! Didn't know that until he came down the hall yesterday with my blood pressure cuff trailing behind him! The tube was in his mouth - minus the bulb to pump it up! Checking the guestroom I found the missing device. Chewed right off the rest of the equipment! A stern reprimand was followed by time out and those sad, little hound dog eyes said, 'I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Promise!' Then I was off to buy a new one. A bigger, better model. Minus a bulb to be destroyed. The new one is a thing of beauty. If I can ever figure out how to make it work! It seems the instruction booklet might be missing some information. Oh well, my sweetheart can decipher it and help me. I hope! And, in the meantime, nothing is going near the edge of any surface in this house. So this sweet little thing won't get into things he shouldn't have!

One more thing to cross off the to-do list: Learn lesson on how far the dog can reach. Don't put things anywhere near that area!

The Sea Of Life

‘My God, protect me; my boat is so small and Thy sea is so great.’ - A Breton sailor

‘Don't panic. I'm with you.

There's no need to fear for I'm your God.

I'll give you strength. I'll help you.

I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.’

Isaiah 41:10 (The Message)