Coffee And Donuts

Jess visited recently with the kids, and I wanted to share some of the outings we had while she stayed for a few days.  Whenever anyone comes to visit this area, they always want to stop at the impressive Waterfalls on the outskirts of my town.  I had just gone there a month ago, but Jess wanted to experience it.  Jess drove, as it was just easier for her, instead of unloading the car seats.

  I was in the back seat with the kids, and I had another laugh attack with Francesca.  Something simple made her laugh, and that got me laughing, and we both couldn't stop laughing. 

When we first got there, we went inside the general store, which has souvenirs, sweatshirts, sandwiches, snacks, and ice cream.

Then, Jess and uncle b. walked the trail and explored the Waterfalls.  There is an area at the top that tourists gather at that overlooks the entire falls, and I got a couple pics of that.

 I had just walked all those stairs at the caves the day before, and there was no way I wanted to walk up any more stairs or ramps, so I stayed behind and browsed the general store.  I noticed tour groups from Los Angeles, and talked with people traveling from all over.  I bought an ice cream sandwich from the general store, and took in all the beauty around me. 

 I just started clicking away at pretty things.

Jess and the others made it to the base of the falls, and uncle b. took Francesca even lower to the rocks, which she had a great time exploring.  I love this picture he took with the sun glistening through the falls.

They had a wonderful moment at the falls, and it's definitely a neat attraction you must see when you visit here.  *the pink stuffed snake Francesca got at the general store.

After the falls, we headed up the mountain, about 15 minutes.  I wanted to show Francesca the grizzly bear at the quaint cafe' that I go to sometimes.

When we were seated, I noticed the flag blowing in the breeze through the window; it was a pretty sight.

In another room, there are animal heads hanging on the walls.  The Ram was impressive, and this one Buck I thought was magnificent!

They enjoyed the cafe, and the food was really good.  We got there at lunch time, so I ordered a yummy mushroom and swiss cheese burger.

For dinner that night, my son made chicken fajitas for everyone, and I had leftover homemade potato salad and fresh peaches.  After the kids rested up, we settled in and watched Jurassic World.  I love Brooklyn's quirky expressions.

The next morning, I bought some donuts from Safeway, 🍩 and we had coffee outside on the table and benches at the coffee shop.  It was early morning, and the weather was just right.  When the kids woke up, we had lots of time for hugs and love and Disney shows.  I love Charlotte's "Bedhead."  She's so precious to me. 

My family means everything to me, and I appreciate Jess coming this way to see her mama.  Nel said she wants to take a road trip and visit too.

   

The Chosen

 I just watched The Chosen Season 5, episode 3 Livestream.  It was an excellent episode, where the Pharisees surround Jesus and ask Him questions, and He answers them all with clarity and truth.  He talks about the Holy Spirit during The Last Supper, which is also special.  It's such an important episode.  There is a beautiful scene towards the end.  I believe it's playing for 72 hours after it's release, and I just wanted to let you know.

~Sheri  

Lake Shasta Caverns

 There are many attractions in the mountains of northern California, and Lake Shasta Caverns is one of them.  I have been wanting to go here for some time now, and when Jess visited last week, we did!  Me and uncle b. met her in the city, and then Jess drove from there.  You have to first take a boat ride, which is 10 minutes, and then take a shuttle, 10 minutes, to the caverns.  It was a clean boat with a pleasant breeze, and I brought snacks as we enjoyed the journey.

The boat ride is on Shasta Lake with beautiful emerald green waters.

When we first started out, we noticed a World War 2 boat on the lake that was interesting.

Then, we took a shuttle on a winding road up the mountain to the caves.  We are at the caverns now, and a black bear sculpture greets us at the door.  How I managed to walk up and down over 600 stairs on the tour is beyond me.  And even more astonishing is that Jess carried a heavy baby walking those stairs.  There is a point where you can exit if you don't want to take the full tour.

The caverns are at least 200 million years old.  It is a treasure that has been hidden deep in the mountain above Lake Shasta for centuries.

A new discovery appears in every direction you turn.

When it rains outside, it rains in the caverns.  This natural process of water flow can lead to increased water within the caverns and rising water levels in some areas.

The Stalactites come from the ceiling, and the Stalagmites come from the ground.  They are both made from calcium salts and dripping water.  I call the Stalactites "icicles."

At the end of the tour, there was a light show with different colors illuminating the dark caves.  It was spectacular!

It was such a neat experience, and one that was worth walking up and down all those stairs.

There is a gift shop at the entrance of the caverns, and we were hungry, so we got a hot dog before driving back to the city.

As soon as we got back to the city, it was such a hot day that we indulged in some ice cream!  I got a cone with soft chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, and graham crackers.  So good. 🍦

We did some shopping at Michael's, World Market, and had a wonderful Italian dinner.

After taking showers and resting up, we watched the movie, We Bought A Zoo, with Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson.  I had seen it recently, so I suggested it to the family.  Jess really liked the movie.  It was heartwarming, funny, out of the ordinary, and an interesting true story.

And plenty of time for hugs.  Charlotte loved the little outside chair I bought for her, and even brought it inside the house.

I'll show you more of our adventures next time. 

What Shall I Keep?

 Many of us are in the process of going through our things and sorting out and keeping the items we treasure, and giving away stuff we no longer want or need.  I did this a few years ago when I moved, and I'm still going through things little by little.  We start out when we are young wanting more and accumulating much, and then spend the later years wanting less and keeping only the items we need or truly love.  This is a difficult process for some, but I have to say that it hasn't been that hard for me, as I am an 'organizer by nature,' and don't like clutter.  When my mom passed, I thought it would be a time-consuming job going through all her things, but she was a tidy person as well, and that made it easy on me and my sister and brother when the time came to go through her belongings.  I remember wanting a few of her things, and to this day, I still cherish them.  But she didn't have an excessive amount of stuff, and that made the process more smoothly, and I thank her for that.  Everything had its place, and she labeled everything, dates and all, which I appreciate the most.  So, I may take after her and inherited some of her organizational skills, and that's helped me with my own downsizing process.  She did keep a lot of papers, which I don't.  And I remember going through her papers and cards and such, and that took the longest time.  So, recently I went through some of my boxes, and started piling up things that I thought belonged to the girls now - an album of their school awards, video tapes of their cheerleading and homecoming days, and a picture of their grandma when she was young that I had extras of.  In a big yellow tote bag, I gave these things to them, and as hard as it was to part with some, it was time.  The only papers I won't give up are those special sacred certificates; they belong to me.  I'm giving these things to my children little by little, so they won't have a crazy time when they have to go through my stuff one day (and because my house is small, and I don't have a lot of extra storage space).  ; )  So, these days, I'm very careful what I bring home from the shops now.  I have to really love it.... and when I saw this painting, I knew it had to come home with me.  I love cottage style decor, and I thought this resembled that, and it spoke to me right away.

I opened my kitchen blinds, and saw this!  They are starting to come around more often now.  The pics are not that clear; they were taken through the window.  But you can get an idea of what a surprise it was to see this special creature.

I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.  It was lively and wonderful, and it takes you along on the family's trip, and shows some beautiful scenes of Greece.  Do you know many of the characters are really Greek heritage?

I have been greatly looking forward to watching The Chosen Season 5.  Last night I watched Season 5, episode 1 Livestream.  It was an outstanding episode of importance and meaning.

Well, this will be a shorter post today.  My Jess will be here soon, and I have lots to do.  I made a little fairy table for the kids to play with.  Here are a few miniature things that I've collected here and there.

I washed down the front porch, cleaned the chairs, raked the flower bed, and found this cute little chair that's just about Charlotte's size.  The first pink rose blossomed too.

So, if you are one of those who is going through the de-cluttering process, I wish you well.  Slowly, but surely, we'll get it done.

~Sheri