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  

Yellow Spaces

 Good Morning June!

I made a batch of gingerbread cookies.  They were just from a package, but they were so moist and  Yummy; really one of the best I've had. 

Jess and the kids are coming to visit me soon.

I have been cleaning and getting ready for their visit.  I wanted a cheerful space on my table, so I put a few yellow things out - I found a pretty painting with shades of yellow, trees, and even a mountain in the distance.  Reminds me of where I live.  I also put out Mia's music box, some silk flowers, and a cute yellow bird I found at the home shop.

Speaking of yellow birds, I used to see them all the time in my hometown, but I haven't seen them even once up here. 

Some flowers in town.  Do you know what these white flowers are?  The blossoms were so big and pretty.

Some benches at one of my favorite eateries in town.

Meals during the week.  I made a salad, and added Chex spicy mix on top for a crunchy kick.  Meatloaf, which was incredibly good, a dish of jambalaya rice and Polish sausage.  The jambalaya rice was delicious.

I have been sipping on Lemon and Ginger tea lately.  It has a very soothing flavor, and ginger has so many health benefits.

My neighbor passed away, and his house is right across the street from mine.  He was such a good neighbor, and was always there when I needed something, or had any questions on this mountain living.  He gave me my first snow shovel. ; )  The roses at his house are in full bloom for his wife, V.

Mia's dear Mother's Day card she made me, and I will cherish it forever.  She picked some real lavender from Nel's garden in their back yard, and glued it to the card. 

I painted my statue, and I chose a shade in 'cottage white.'  I'm not a painter, and it was hard to get in all the cracks, but I didn't want to overthink it, so I just kept painting.  I think it turned out nicely.   

I hope the June days are kind to you.

~Sheri