One Thousand Gifts #448 to #463

448. hydrangeas - I love the changing colours as they dry.

449. meals provided by our church family while I recover from surgery.

450. families who took care of my children during my stay in the hospital.

451. the nurses were much more responsive and professional than last year's crew.

452. my voice isn't nearly as weak as it was when my thyroid was removed last year. I can talk pretty normally!

453. I could actually sing a bit during worship at church yesterday!

454. mostly good sleeps since coming home.

455. a friend coming to deliver some groceries and do a little house cleaning for me.

456. I have much less neck pain than after my last surgery.

457. a bountiful harvest of tomatoes this year. More than I can keep up with!

458. free buckets (good quality) from Whole Foods - for garden work.

459. being saved from getting a speeding ticket by a slow driver in front of me. :) (this was several weeks ago).

460. my boys hugging in the grocery store.

461. eating cucumbers that I grew myself.

462. water lilies on the lake where we took our inflatable boat last weekend.

463. a soccer team (for my son A) with experienced players and an experienced coach.


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Dahlias, Dahlias, and more Dahlias.

Yesterday I was able to get out for my first little outing since my surgery on Aug 19th. My hubby drove me to Sky Nursery for the Puget Sound Dahlia Association Show. Wow! What a treat for the eyes!

Some more photos to share.

The show was free to attend. I highly recommend it. It is open today (Aug 24th) as well.Pin It

Trip to Yellowstone (an overview)

Clepsydra Geyser in the background.

We finally did it. We went to Yellowstone National Park. No, we didn't camp. :) Everyone seems to ask that question! It is pretty hard to camp there and I'm not much of a camper anyway.

Idaho cabin

For accommodation we stayed 3 nights at a cabin west of the park, near Island Park, Idaho, and 2 nights at a cabin east of the park, in Silver Gate, Montana. One was a vacation rental by owner arrangement and the other was a motel -- but still a log cabin. Both had kitchen facilities so we were able to make our own breakfasts and pack lunches to save some money on food. We booked our accommodation about three months in advance.

We took 2 days to drive to Yellowstone. My hubby did most of the driving. On the way home we took 3 days and took a slower pace. We used Priceline for our hotels in Missoula and Spokane. The boys enjoyed the pools in those locations.

We were surprised by rain and cold weather on our 2nd day in Yellowstone. It rained for much of the day but we tried to make the best of it. There isn't much to do that isn't outside!

C fulfilled the requirement to become a Jr. Ranger while in Yellowstone National Park. He has the patch to prove it.

We saw many bison, many elk, pronghorns, a grizzly bear or two in the distance, and a ground squirrel up close. We saw lots of geysers, hot springs, mud pots, steam vents, and many waterfalls. Oh, and a canyon or two. The views in the park are spectacular.

On our return we stopped and took the 2 hour tour of the Lewis and Clark Caverns located between Butte and Bozeman in Montana. My oldest son said this was his favourite part of our vacation.



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