Beauty for Ashes

It is 1876 and the Civil War has changed many people's lives. Carrie is a widow living with her brother on their farm in Hickory Ridge, Griff is a man who comes and goes, running from the past and his family. Griff follows a lady into town, and what happens next changes the lives of many people in Hickory Ridge. It is a story of the struggle to surrender one's dreams and desires to God when it seems like they will never come true, and learning what being part of a family really means.

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were well developed, and if anything, I wish it could have gone one more chapter so that the reader could see how everything works out. Instead, our imagination is left to wonder how Carrie's nephews turn out and how her sister in law manages to learn how to run a farm. It was interesting to read the descriptions of Charleston before it recovered from the Civil War and the prejudice people had towards members of society. I had trouble putting this book down and the characters were written so you could relate with them and think they may have been friends.

Congratulations Matt!!

I had the pleasure of attending the festivities of my brother graduation with a Master's degree from Seminary. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I got to go. It included a dinner, and a wonderful BBQ at the house. Congratulations!

Daffodil Classic

I rode my first 30+ mile bike ride a few weeks ago, and had a lot of fun. The area we rode through was beautiful. IT is unusual to be able to see all of Mt. Rainier...it ended up being one of the warmest days we've had this year yet!

Merhut Falls

The Long Way Home

Charlie West is on the run from the terrorists he escaped and the police who think he has killed his best friend. There is a whole year of his life that he cannot remember, which includes his romance with the girl he has always wanted to date. In an attempt to clear his name and figure out if he really did commit the crime he was accused of, he returns to his hometown to hole up in an old mansion. While there, he learns part of the truth and the loyalty of friendship.

I really liked this book. I read it and decided I would have liked to read the first one. It is a stand alone book, the author does a good job of describing what occurs in the first book. I would like to finish the series. It is interesting and action packed..very hard to put down. The characters are well developed but could have been developed a bit more. It is not of huge substance but nice as a book to check out of reality for a while.

Munich Olympics Site

Our visit to the Munich Olympic site was nice. WE had a great walk and were totally cold from the snow and then we stepped into the beautiful swimming hall where it was nice and warm. We would love to swim there, but we hadn't brought our suits.

Museum of Science and Technology

We went to this museum that was something like 6 floors and we could have spent even more time there than we did. They had full boats, the U-1, all sorts of aircraft, a manufacturing area...I can't even describe it. WE had fun and I learned all about diffusion nuclear stuff and other information I don't quite remember but that I enjoyed hearing about from Todd.

Dachau

We spent our first day in Munich at Dachau, which was a sobering yet informative day.

Christmas

Silent Night Chapel

On Christmas Eve, we took a trip out to the Silent Night Chapel, where the song was written and first performed. There was an hour service, which ended with all the verses of Silent Night sung in German with only a guitar for accompaniment, which is how it was first played. It was beautiful. (It was also very cold! We didn't know the service was outside.) We really enjoyed our Christmas Eve.

Views of Salzburg

We went for a walk up in the Monsburg (I think that is how you spell it) where there were beautiful views over Salzburg and of the surrounding mountains. We met a gentleman there who took us to what he considers the best view and it was a really pleasant walk with him. He even took some pictures for us. We thought we would eventually make it to the meadows that they sing the do-re-mi song in sound of music, but they built the blocky modern art museum in that meadow.

Dinner Concert

Our first night in Salzburg, we went and ate a delicious dinner and attended an excellent concert in the Salzburg fortress. We really enjoyed our evening.

Vienna Woods

One of our favorite activities was taking a bus out to the Vienna Woods and going for a little hike. There is a huge system of trails out there (they can be a bit confusing on which you are walking on) that would be really fun in summer. They were fun in winter too, but a bit slick. We had some great views of the city there too.

Who was in charge of facade decorating?

Our hotel (the Hotel de France - highly recommend and a great place) was right around the corner from the biggest Christmas market in Vienna, so we had a nice evening walking around it and looking at all the handicrafts. We were also right next to the subway system which was incredibly convenient.

Mozart's Residence and the Haus der Musik

T is a big Mozart fan, so we covered all the Mozart places in both Vienna and Salzburg. I now know a lot about Mozart and find the life he led to be fascinating. The first picture is of the residence he stayed at the longest in Vienna - two years. I think he moved about every 6-8 months. Must have been hard on his family.

We also went to a hands on music learning museum which was interesting. It took you through how music is made, how and why we can hear it, you get to make some of your own music and then near the end, conduct an orchestra. If you go too fast the orchestra speeds up and vice versa. It was funny. Here's T giving conducting a try.

I also had my wallet stolen on this day. Ugh!! But we were able to cancel everything right away. I do feel kind of lost without it. Thanks for the new wallet for Christmas mom!! I'm glad I brought my old one, now I have one for when we get back!

Vienna Churches

Walk through the Palace Gardens

Schonnbrun Palace in Vienna

We started our vacation in Vienna and went on a city tour combined with the palace. It was the summer residence of the Hapsburgs, and was interestingly enough, interior decorated in and Asian style. Even in winter the grounds were very pretty and we enjoyed our short walk through parts of them. I think this was the coldest day of our trip.

Mt. Rainier and Fall in the Neighborhood

Mt. Townsend

Marmot Pass

Flapjack Lakes

A long hike

Pictures to come, but on Saturday, T and I went on a 15 mile hike up to flapjack lakes. It was beautiful and there were still some lingering blueberries. The last 3 miles back to the car were challenging because my legs were a little tired (the trail up was really steep in some places. Then, while T was at work the following day, I went on a 13 mile bike ride which was fun and relaxing, but my legs were still tired so some of the hills were more challenging than normal.

Labor Day Weekend

T's parent's came to visit over the weekend and it was really fun! T had to work most of the days but was able to get Monday off so we could go hiking along the beach. We came back as high tide was almost at it's peak which made for some interesting times, but so much fun. Other things we did included going to Poulsbo and a walk along the beach and looking at the boats, the blackberry festival (it poured rain while we were there leading to:), touring the uss turner joy and eating at a fun pizza place. It was a really enjoyable weekend, and I enjoyed getting to know them better.

Family Photo

A wave just missed me. Jumped fast

It is not paint

Rialto Beach