I love Christmas carols! Each year I look forward to listening to and singing the age old familiar carols as I decorate about the house, ride in my car, sing in church. In our family we sing many of them together on Christmas eve after dinner, before my brother Jonathan (who took over this tradition after Dad died) reads the Christmas story from Luke 2.

After days of rain and grey dreary skies, this was my view from the front porch this morning. The weather app on my phone had predicted rain all week so this break in the clouds, this glimpse of blue skies, this arrival of sunshine was unexpected...a delightful surprise!

I love the season of Advent, preparing for the celebration of Christmas. One of the newer traditions that I so enjoy is the now annual Christmas wreath making party at the Forde's home. You may remember I wrote about this event last year too here. The party actually took place on the first Sunday of Advent and as I was driving home, I began to think about all that this means.

Just had to squeeze in one more fall post before we jump into the Christmas season! I know you have all been seeing Christmas decor in stores for months but really, December isn't even here yet. So, for those of you like me who still have bowls of mini pumpkins and fall leaves around your home, this post is for you!

Do you like to watch the show Rehab Addict? This Craftsman home, the final one we toured on the 21st Annual Home and Garden in Leavenworth, WA, would have been a perfect candidate for that show! 

Come along with me and take a look at a lovely Farmhouse style home we visited on the Leavenworth Home and Garden tour! Although the home was originally built be a German immigrant in the early 1900's, the current owners are Scandinavian. Adding a Norwegian stabbur out the back, their home certainly reflects their heritage. 

Earlier this fall, a friend and I attended the 21st Annual Home and Garden Tour in Leavenworth, a fundraiser for Cascade Medical Foundation. You know I love home tours! Our first stop on the tour had quite a colorful history!

Do you remember my story about a man who got a little bored one day, got on his earth moving machine, and began to dig a hole in the ground....a big hole? The hole that grew into a pond and had trouble holding water? Are you ready for an  update? 

As I promised in my last post on the Street of Dreams in Lake Oswego, OR, I want to share with you a few more photos (ok, maybe more than a few!), of the other homes on the tour. The French farmhouse I shared previously was definitely my favorite, but there were things I loved in some of the other homes as well. 

For a number of years, attending the Street of Dreams near Seattle was a fun thing to do for anyone who loved to look at houses and interior design. Then the recession came and the builders in this area no longer held this event. I was bummed!

You know, prior to meeting my husband, I'd never been much of country music fan. My exposure to country was limited to hearing Johnny Cash once in a while on the radio, or having small, down home quartets, that were on a traveling circuit come and sing at our church. They often accompanied their songs with guitar or slide guitar, and their vocals included a lot of swooping up to the note and funny little harmonies.

Reunions...that's part of what this past summer was all about for me. I attended not one...but three! Two of the reunions were for family...my mother's side and my dad's side. Yet, before both of those, I met up with three friends from our college years, at a cabin in Cable, WI.

Saturday I attended a delightful tropical themed bridal shower! The prospective groom is the son of a friend of mine. The wedding will take place in Hawaii in October for a limited groups of family and close friends of the couple, so it was a fun to get a small taste of the tropics now through the decor and food of this shower. 

The arrival of summer always means lots of weddings! A special young woman in our church is getting married in July...the daughter of our former pastor. Cassandra, (aka Sandra or Sand) is girlie girl...she loves all things sparkly and pink! 

A friend and I traveled to southern California (So Cal, as the locals say) several weeks ago. Her son and his wife live in a wonderful loft apartment in downtown Los Angeles. The loft is full of charming touches, so well designed and furnished by this young couple...definitely with an artistic eye.

Norwegian Americans love to celebrate...their heritage on Syttende Mai. Falling on the 17th of May each year, Norwegians celebrate the signing of the Norwegian Constitution with parades full of Norskes in their native dress (bunads), many flags flying, and lots of good food!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. A day filled with mixed emotions. Feelings of love, gratitude, and pleasure as I spend time with my sons, yet mixed with feelings of grief and longing for my mother, who died as the result of a car accident almost 19 years ago. 

I love to read recipes...and read books by people who are lovers of food. There's just something wonderful that happens around a table and I love to read the stories by those who feel the same way.