Travel

Hopefully Not Sleepless in Seattle

Today we’re headed to Seattle to sample the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

I’m traveling with my granddaughter Kate and her boys up to the cloudy rainy home of the Space Needle and the fictional Crane brothers—Fraiser and Niles.

Kate’s a foodie so we have a long list of restaurants, cafes, and bakeries to visit.
So much food, so little time!
We’re working on restaurant recipes retooled for the home cook.

We’ll flood Instagram with our inspiration and hope we can recreate the goodness once we’re back home.

A few articles I read suggested Portland stomps Seattle in a hip contest.
Portland is fine, but I prefer coffee to beer so Seattle wins, and I already bought the tickets, booked the room, and rented the car. And someone said Seattle has a troll. . .

http://www.geekwire.com/2012/seattle-portland-city-hip/

Embed from Getty Images

Besides, I like Seattle’s skyline.
I’m nostalgic when it comes to the Space Needle.
I think of it as a west coast version of the Eiffel Tower.
Like Bridget Bardot’s plain cousin.
Was Bridget Bardot even French?
Don’t pull at the edges of that simile or I’m afraid it will unravel in your hands.

Currently on our agenda ~

Starbuck’s Flagship Store at Pike Place Market
Pike’s Place
Chihuly Glass Museum
Sky View Observatory
Kerry Park
Seattle Public Library
Fran’s Chocolates
Gasworks Park
Seattle Aquarium
Washington State Ferry ride

I have to buy a few Starbuck’s mugs for the new chief in Africa, so it’s almost like shopping for royalty.
Oh the pressure.
I’ll need coffee for sure.

I’m taking my new boots and my old tennis shoes.
The boots look cool, but if we’re walking all day for four days—I’ll surrender cool for comfort in a Seattle minute.
Which is probably about half a NY minute.

Weather forecast is for rain and cool temps. Shocker, huh.
Seattle has about 220 cloudy or rainy days every year.
Remember the vampire flicks?

We’re packing yarn and crochet hooks and new books and dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt.
A new 32GB card for my digital camera.
That’s 2000 photo opportunities 😉
Say ‘Frappuccino’!!!

Got any other suggestions for things to see & do while we’re in Seattle—I’d really appreciate it if you’d mention them in the comments 😉

http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/store-design/1st-and-pike

Praying For Fruit

By Kelly Grace

This morning we are on our way for 9 weeks of ministry in Ghana.

We’re asking that God make it fruitful.
We can’t wait to see our friends there. I feel like I know a little of what Paul felt when he was away from the believers he had shared so much with. We miss our family and church here, but we are so anxious to see how those we met in the last few years are doing in their walk with Jesus.

Please pray for Africa.
God is at work there in a dynamic way. The door is wide open for the Gospel and people are hungry for hope.

Remember the girls taken by Boko Harem. It has been almost 5 months now.

Hold up those in Nigeria, Liberia, and wherever else Ebola has traveled.

I may not be able to read many of your posts because we put in very long days and rarely find Internet in the North, but I’ll catch up with you when I can.

God bless you friends 😉

Meeting Royalty

By Kelly Grace

English Stately Home — An idyllic setting for a stately English manner.

I’m going to tell you a story about meeting royalty.
And then I want you to think about meeting a King.

Long ago, before Downton Abbey captivated American women, my husband and I tromped around the English countryside for a few weeks. Gary was fearless driving on the wrong side of the road as I drooled over the stately homes and humble hedgerows. We both got thoroughly hooked on scones and Devonshire clotted cream!

Planning isn’t our strong suit so when we saw signs for Chatsworth House, we had no clue what we’d find at the end of the road. The house tour was great and the collection of art and furnishings dating back to 1549 was truly impressive.

But, the one thing that will forever stand out in my mind is a vivid pair of blue eyes and a modest but genuine smile.
They both belonged to the Duchess of Devonshire, but I wouldn’t find that out from her ladyship.

Duchess setting in the garden — The Duchess of Devonshire loved the gardens and the farm at Chatsworth House.

Both of my grandmothers were gardeners and from an early age I was fascinated by hydrangea, roses, and perennial borders. And in one of those strange twists our lives sometimes take, I cleaned house for the Head of Ornamental Horticulture at a University for six years. He taught me, personally taught me, how to grow almost anything. When they left for the summer to attend conferences in Holland, Japan, or the UK, I was entrusted with their 3 acre property. Returning home with thousands of rare bulbs, corms, and rhizomes, Professor Roberts and I would plant them in a sandy soil mix and wait for the green tips to make an appearance.

So when a woman, wearing wellies and the most mundane dark skirt ever, asked what I thought of the towering blue delphiniums, I thought she was another tourist with a shared love of gardening and a solid knowledge of perennial flowers tucked under her boring brown belt.

Chatting for about half an hour, she asked about my garden back home in California, and had I ever successfully rooted geraniums from a stem cutting.

We literally dished the dirt about soil and plants!

I finally excused myself and wandered into the Gift Shop thinking that’s where my husband would guess I had gone. Just inside the door a woman with a name badge asked me if I’d had a nice chat with the Duchess.
Say what? Duchess, you say? Where? The lady in the awful skirt and rubber boots?

I think that during business hours a Duchess should be required to wear a tiara or at least a name badge.

It’s all my fault really. If I’d done my homework I’d have recognized those blue eyes.
Then of course, I’d have blubbered and been self-conscious when she spoke to me. My ignorance made for a better conversation about our shared passion. Just two Land Girls exchanging opinions and sharing our green thumb experiences.

Deborah Mitford — The Duchess of Devonshire in her youth. A real beauty among the famous Mitford sisters.

For more about her family background:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitford_family

Woman and chickens — The Duchess of Devonshire, now the Dowager Duchess

That’s my story of meeting royalty.
It took me unaware.

But every day I have an opportunity to meet with a King.
King is not the highest title He holds.

He is maker of all you and I will ever know.
He made each of us, growing us in secret.

And He waits to talk with each of us every day, every hour of the day.
If we think the Duchess a fascinating person, how much more Jesus Christ.

Let’s not mistake Him for the gardener as Mary Magdalene did.
We should think about the One we have the opportunity to meet.
Meeting God anytime and as often as we wish.
Now that is something to think about.

Daily Prompt: In the Summertime

By Kelly Grace

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/daily-prompt-in-the-summertime/

The word ‘Summertime’ has always conjured for me sweet feelings of bliss and freedom.
I wish every child could have the kind of childhood I was blessed with.
As a result certain associations were embedded in my child brain, and they persist to this day.
That’s great because they’re all happy associations.
Things like. . .

I’m returning to my childhood this Summer.
Swimming will be part of every day. As a kid my friends and I played Marco Polo for hours while our fingers and toes got all ‘prunie’.
My grandkids love the game, so I’ll have playmates!
And we’ll wear Coppertone 😀

old ad for Coppertone Suntan Lotion — Original Coppertone print ad.

boys in pool — Marco. . .Polo. . .Marco. . .Polo. . .Marco. . .Polo. . .Marco. . .Polo

I’m going to make exercise FUN.
I remember learning to hula hoop with Jodie Robertson. Granddaughters will love to laugh at me as I try to keep the hoop up and not put my back out. Laughing is a big part of my plans for summertime. How long since you tried this? It’s not as easy as it looks!

ROAD TRIPS

curve along a coastal road — If it’s beautiful we want to see it. Getting there is half the fun for us.

old car — We’ll pack casual clothes, decks of cards, and an Ice chest. No maps or reservations,.

We love taking off without really knowing where we’ll end up. My husband, my Mom, and I are all spontaneous types and the only decision we make is which direction to head. First we’re going north to drive the fabulous Columbia River Gorge

bridge and waterfall — Spectacular Columbia River Gorge

We’re always searching for good pie.

slice of apple pie in to go container — Had the best Apple Pie EVER at Rollerville Cafe near Point Arena, CA

sign for Rollerville Cafe — Cheezy sign and awesome food. Best burger & fries in a year and pie was so good I got another TO GO!!!

http://rollervillecafe.com

We’ll be on the lookout for cool critters.

butterfly on greenery — Beautiful Butterfly part of the collection at Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory.

We’ll stop and smell the roses.

A gorgeous red rose with velvety petals open wide.

Every so often we discover something that makes us squeal with joy!

old typewriter — I feel so Jack Kerouac, but I don’t think he was traveling with his Mom on an epic hunt for good pie.

And I’ll write about our discoveries and maybe you’ll decide to throw some old sweatshirts and jeans in the car and take off to points unknown.

If you find good pie you know how to contact me.
Right???

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold

By Kelly Grace

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/photo-challenge-threshold/
Have you ever loved and been loved by a dog?
There’s a beautiful thing, a thing we should learn from dogs.
Every encounter is fresh, like it’s the first.

It’s been over three years since my dog died and one of the things I miss the most is her enthusiastic greeting when I crossed the threshold.
When you have a dog, every time you come home it’s like you’ve been gone for weeks.
The tail chasing gleeful dance was her way of saying, it’s you I’ve been waiting for!!!
The exuberance, the joy is so affirming and honestly, so touching.

With dogs there’s no holding a grudge when we keep them waiting.
They never pout because we were running late and didn’t say goodbye.
It’s not in their nature to withhold love because we didn’t offer it first.
They don’t seem to remember our misdeeds or scoldings, if they do, they don’t retaliate in kind.

I want to see you the very second you come in to view.

Maybe you’re coming from this way today.

This little guy captured my attention as we walked through Rome one afternoon.
He was waiting there on the threshold for someone. Not just anyone. He couldn’t be distracted from his vigil. Inside the shop I was told he was waiting for his mistress to return. He accompanies her every day to the shop. He’s a Shop Dog. But that day she had to see the doctor, and no dogs were allowed in the office.
He’d been there since she left and wouldn’t move until she came into view at the end of the little narrow cobbled lane. Back and forth he turned his head, first to the right then to the left. His ears on alert, attentive for her footsteps. His nose sampling the air for a hint of her unique scent.

She was loved by a little ‘Yoda looking’ dog.
His anticipation visible on his sweet face as he stood watch on the threshold for her, only for her.

Something You Don’t See Every Day

By Kelly Grace

Africa is exotic and strange.

Over the five weeks we’ve been here I’ve grown accustomed to things I’d never see at home in California.

This is Bucket List stuff I’m now taking for granted.
So I thought I’d share a few of them with you and in the process maybe remind myself of how unique they are.

Elephants at the watering hole in Mole National Park. A Pachyderm version of circling the wagons.

Definitely worth the two day search through the park.

One of two elephants we discovered at a water hole in Mole National Park.

Bent trees are the handy work of elephants. When they can't reach the leaves they just push the tree over. — Bent trees are the handy work of elephants. When they can’t reach the leaves they just push the tree over to bring the good stuff within reach.

I kept hearing the lyrics from the Jungle book song about the elephants:
By the ranks or single file
Over every jungle mile
Oh we stamp and crush
Through the underbrush
In a military style!
In a military style!

http://youtu.be/PrQQZuLru9s

Blonde Camels along the road from Bilisinga, Ghana

These camels are not only blonde, but taller and thinner than their Middle Eastern relatives.

Encountering elephants in their natural habitat was worth the two days of searching for them, and the camels were waiting to surprise us as we came around a bend, but I found this shot of a donkey walking along the road all alone pulling his cart very touching.

I saw several more in the following days.
Near this road is a reservoir and a wooded area and the carts loaded with these two staples of African village life are common sites along the way, but most are accompanied by young boys.

This solitary donkey seemed to represent faithfulness and diligence.

I know it’s more about repetition and routine, but when I look at his face I see serenity and quiet acceptance there.
The story of Balaam and his donkey was my favorite childhood Bible story.
So yeah, I might be romanticizing this creature a little bit.
I like to think this one would have a good story to tell if only we had time to go for coffee.

Am I the Only One Still Awake on This Airplane?

By Kelly Grace

Yep, I’m the only one awake on this plane not wearing a Lufthansa uniform. I’m lousy at sleeping on planes. It is frankly a weird feeling, but when out of boredom I raise the window shade I realize the upside.
For the first time ever we are flying over the Great Sahara in daylight.

Flying over the Sahara I had to acknowledge what a good thing it was that I can’t sleep on airplanes. Thirty years ago I was one of just a handful of the 415 passengers on board an SAS flight still awake. Standing near the exit door with the flight attendant, she pointed out through the small window the fjords starkly visible from 40,000 feet on a clear moonlit night. Seeing the lonely beauty of the Sahara brought to mind that nighttime glimpse of the fjords.
I’m so thankful I didn’t sleep through either opportunity!

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/weekly-writing-challenge-lunch-posts/

Little Things Mean A Lot and Love is All We Need

By Kelly Grace

My husband’s sleep-sounds blend with those of an African dawn.

A medley of chirping, thrumming, cooing and crowing means the sun can’t be far below the horizon now. There’s no going back to sleep, so I slip out of bed and find the thermos of boiled water and ‘tea things’ laid out on the table in the main room. God is already up and greets me first. I say hello and thank Him for making the black tea that grows in Ceylon, mango that grows outside the window, and sunflowers that cover the fields of Cezanne’s Provence in the south of France. Some kind soul at The Republic of Tea in Novato, CA has blended them into an intoxicating morning elixir that releases a heavenly fragrance when doused with boiling water. It’s one of the three luxuries I have carried with me from home over half the face of the earth.

Another small, but oh so comforting, luxury is the $8.00 bar of Honeysuckle soap from Anthropologie. Gary didn’t think it was so special when he discovered it was the only soap I brought which meant he too would smell ‘floral’ for the next 6 weeks. The MacBook Pro I’m using is luxury #3, but it’s a big luxury. It’s the big ‘little thing’ that means a lot to me because I can email my Mom and our kids at home or even post to this blog. It holds the Bible studies I’ll teach and the photographs I’ll take during these 6 weeks. A tie that binds me to my California roots, adorned with that little white symbol and designed for me by Apple in Cupertino, California.
The cutlass, a medieval invention, may be the most common tool used in the jungle environment surrounding me, even an 8 or 9 year old child uses one. But a cutlass won’t work for me. In the faint rays of early light my tool of choice is a recent Silicon Valley creation, perfect for sharing this morning’s musings with friends and family back home.

I remember to say thank you for the soap and the Mac.

Church is soon and the thought from Galatians 5:13 is on my heart.

Serve one another in love.
And not just on Sunday.

The reason comes to me in the melody of the old chorus we sang 40 years ago during the Jesus people movement.

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love,

By our love,

Yes, they’ll know that we are Christians by our love.

Love is the first and still best tool for every Christian.
Useful at home, at work, and at church.
You can’t overuse it.
It works in every situation and with all kinds of people.
There’s no tool as excellent as love.
Like a spiritual version of Harry Potter’s Cloak of Invisibility, the Bible says ‘love covers a multitude of sins’.

We could all use a tool like that!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. . .So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Where in the world we are:
Ghana, West Africa
Kwahu Summit Eastern Region
Near the village of Pepease
We are near the ER of the word Eastern on the map in this link.

http://www.mapsofworld.com/ghana/ghana-political-map.html

We arrived at The Bible Training Centre yesterday at sunset to find the village chickens feasting on bugs in the lawn. If chickens were allowed in the Summer Olympic Track events, these would be medal contenders. Pepease’s avant-garde fowl have embraced the Free Range movement and they cover ground like sprinters springing out of the blocks at the sound of the start pistol. I managed to get a shot of this one who must have learned to run by watching Cheetahs on National Geographic.

Hopefully Not Sleepless in Seattle

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Praying For Fruit

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Meeting Royalty

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Daily Prompt: In the Summertime

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold

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Something You Don’t See Every Day

This is Bucket List stuff I’m now taking for granted.
So I thought I’d share a few of them with you and in the process maybe remind myself of how unique they are.

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Am I the Only One Still Awake on This Airplane?

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Little Things Mean A Lot and Love is All We Need

My husband’s sleep-sounds blend with those of an African dawn.

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Travel

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This is Bucket List stuff I’m now taking for granted. So I thought I’d share a few of them with you and in the process maybe remind myself of how unique they are.

Share this:

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My husband’s sleep-sounds blend with those of an African dawn.

Share this:

Like this:

This is Bucket List stuff I’m now taking for granted.
So I thought I’d share a few of them with you and in the process maybe remind myself of how unique they are.