Broad-Leaved Beauties

October 24, 2020

What a splendid day to venture out. 

We had no specific plans other than spend the day outside enjoying the beautiful and captivating season. Notice the thickness of the clouds. It reminds me of buttercream on cake. 

The sky above proclaims His handiwork.

Weather like this has become part of the pattern of my life. 

For me, moody cloudy weather is quite majestic. Nature's grayscale beauty gives me such a thrill of almost youthful enjoyment. I can be in the presence of the ocean or the Puget Sound and be idle and enjoy myself for quite a while.

I remember going to U-Village to get ice cream at Hello Robin. On our drive there the fall foliage was bursting with such vibrant colors.

Driving back across the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and headed to Issaquah. We take the backway home sometimes especially during this time of the year because I know there's a lot of deciduous trees in this area to behold. 

Only the Lord can create such glory that it stops your breath. 

We drove down a street where the leaves were burning in scarlet and gold. It is breathtaking to see such bright colored leaves. 

One way to find joy is to look intently for moments where God reveals Himself. I am so very thankful He created such gorgeous trees. He knew nature would be therapeutic for humanity.

The details of our days do make a difference in our lives. I definitely notice it in mine when I'm intentional about living in the moment. I acknowledge the beauty around me. I can't help but to talk about it and it fills me with so much joy.

One of the ways I like to re-energize, recoup, and refresh is to spend time outside, preferably surrounded by nature. I love trees. I love the way wet earth smells. I love the way decomposing leaves smell on a hot day (smells like sweet strawberries). I love to breathe the fresh cool air. I love cloudy cold windy days. Once I get my fill of nature for the day I am at peace. I feel rested and refreshed.

We live better if we're surrounded by beautiful things. 

A Nature Walk

October 17, 2020

The passion for adventure is always present in me. It especially pulls me to the outdoors after being home for more than a day.

Living in such a state as WA, one has nature at their fingertips and that is a wonderful thing. There are so many places to venture out to, where my mind can be stimulated by just being surrounded by enormous pines, wet ferns, damp moss, and squirrels scurrying about.

There's also the Puget Sound, seagulls, seals and the smell of the ocean (since the Puget Sound is part ocean water and part freshwater). 

Boaters still out enjoying the water and weather in October.

As long as I'm not wearing heels, I am always up for casual walks. The crunching of leaves is such a wonderful sound.

We had stopped at Starbucks prior to arriving at Owens Beach. I decided to give Pumpkin Spice Latte a try for the very first time. I wasn't thrilled about it. I do like pumpkin but definitely not in a hot drink. Jacob likes it though.  

I have the choice about how I'm going to live. No matter how old I get, there are always opportunities, always new things I can learn how to do. If I want to have a fulfilling life I must live my life with intention. Anything worth doing takes hard work. This not only applies in the workforce but in every aspect of life including the choices I make about my health and the food I eat. These two things are intertwined. Walking is a great form of exercise if done consistently. 

I thank God often for creating the heavens and the earth, for the sky, dry land, plant life, and stars. For all good things. It is a privilege to have eyes to see His wonderful works and to enjoy them.

All seasons are beautifully filled with splendid wonders. I feel so blessed to go on nature walks on cloudy days. It is such a joy!

May God grant me many many more years of life to be able to continue to be out in nature, cloudy weather and enjoy the beauty of each season.

Gratitude unleashes the freedom to live content in the 

moment, rather than being anxious about the future or regretting the past.

Outings Along the Puget Sound

September 19, 2020

It felt so good to sleep in especially on this cloudy morning. It's the perfect weather for it or lingering in bed just for a little while longer. I had made pozole which went perfect with this type of weather. Jacob ran some errands during the day and in the evening, we went to Dunne Peninsula Park in Tacoma to walk off dinner. 

The scenery here is awesome! The clouds were pretty cool too.

This park is fairly new. This area is definitely the perfect spot for a park. 

Such a pretty picture. Those clouds in the back look amazing! I miss being out here. I miss it greatly!

While we were looking out at this view, we saw a seal swimming along and two young deer walking across the slope.

The beauty of the environment God designed for us to live in has the power to move us to tears and gives us a sense of joy and appreciation of life. 

September 26, 2020

This little guy decided to tag a long on a ride with us. Apparently, he's quite strong. It held on from our house until we reached W Seattle, that's a 40 minute drive! I was surprised it didn't fly off when we were driving on the freeway. I'm glad it made it. 

We walked along Alki Trail that's across the Puget Sound with the Seattle skyline in the background. Great photo spot.

It's fun being a tourist in the state you live in. There's always something fun and interesting to do.

The clouds parted enough to let the sunshine through. It felt good to get some vitamin D. 

Western WA is definitely the outdoorsman's paradise. It is extremely easy to stay active here. Endless places to do a myriad of outdoor activities. It is also a great place for the nature lover. 

I'm happy that Riley has gotten to experience such wonderful outings living here in Washington. I hope that when he becomes a father that he will take his own children out to explore the beautiful sights out in nature.

As we walked down Alki Trail I noticed this sticker on the back of a street sign. It was nice to see this out in the open in such a pagan state. 

It's true what the sign says. That's the main purpose for all of us in this world, whether we agree with this or not.  

Nature is the art of God

When my days end with having spent time out in nature, it helps me to feel peaceful and satisfied. There's just something special about the vastness of sky and water, breathing the fresh air that cleanses your lungs. Once attaining a clear mind, it's easy to put things into perspective which helps us to want to be better people. To want to make better choices in our daily lives.

I must learn to manage my life so that I can refill my heart, mind and body on a regular basis. Doing this is essential to good health. For me, one way of doing this is investing in my own soul's need for pleasure. Also, being in constant prayer with God and to see life with a grateful heart is priority for me. I have to be mindful that the way I think about life has a direct impact to my health. Negative thinking does not only affect our mental health (anxiety and depression) but causes a host of other health problems such as stress; reduced motivation and self-esteem; impaired decision making; weaken immune system; sleep problems; digestive and other issues..... We must not allow negative thinking to take hold in our minds. We must dig in God's Word and choose wisely in the things we invest our time in and the foods we eat.

We've been created for more than just counting our days. 

We've been created to make our days count. To live with intention.

Finding Joy Among Natural Beauty

August 14, 2020

Stress can be so tiresome. Sometimes I don't even know I'm carrying the weight of stress until I allow myself to be still, take deep breaths, and relax. That's when I feel the weight being lifted and that's a great reminder to remember to leave my worries at God's feet. Once I acknowledge this, I tend to feel lighter and less anxious. What also helps me to stop thinking of myself or whatever is troubling me is to be out in nature. 

On a Friday evening, after Jacob was off from work, we went to Owen's Beach in Tacoma. 

I took my book and read for a short bit while Jacob and Riley skipped rocks. 

It was a very warm evening which brought the bugs out, so we didn't stay too long.

The following day, Saturday, August 15, we left the house by mid morning. This time we went to the Woodland Park Rose Garden in Seattle. We visit this garden every summer. I love nature, flowers, trees and I'm glad Jacob also finds pleasure at the garden because of the roses. He specifically loves the most fragrant ones.  

It was warm, in the high 80's. 

This rose garden has an abundant variety of roses. It's quite pretty.

I like dahlias. They are so pretty. 

I think vines are so charming and wish I could have them growing on the side of my house, but I've read they can cause structural damage and attract pests. Too bad too because vines do have a special appeal when you see one growing on the side of the house or up a chimney. 

It would be awesome to have a backyard that looked like this. 

I don't know what type of rose this is, but I love the color. It's like a lavender. Very pretty.

After we walked around the entire rose garden we stopped at Paggliaci and got pizza to go. We ate it at a new park in Bellevue called Meydenbauer Bay Park. Just like any other park near water, it has beautiful views. 

This park sits on Lake Washington. How awesome to be able to launch your kayak right off your backyard. If I lived in one of those houses I would spend hours out there on the water. And not only that, one can stop at a marina and have lunch in one of the restaurants in the area. That would be a fun way to get around. 

Any outing that involves being out in nature either hiking, sightseeing or going on a casual walk fulfills me so much. 

Revel in the beauty and goodness of His creation. 

Sightseeing in the PNW

Driving North

The floating bridge is pretty awesome. I love how low it is to the water. 

I honestly can't get over at how beautiful Seattle is. Especially near lakes, parks and the Puget Sound. This bridge crosses over Lake Washington. I mean, I know I've mentioned this before and probably sound like a broken record, but I have a great love for nature, all that God created. It's just all so beautiful to me that I can't keep from marveling about it.

Beautiful pine trees.

First, we came across Crescent Lake. It's a deep lake and it's known for it's crystal clear water due to low levels of nitrogen that inhibit the growth of algae. I read that there are leeches in this lake. I don't think I would want to go swimming in it, but I most definitely would like to kayak here. It looks quite big and wraps around the mountain. That would be such an awesome experience.

We drove about 54 more minutes to Rialto Beach in Forks.

The parking lot at Rialto Beach is very small so the overflow had to park along the road. We ended up parking a ways away. It was quite the distance to walk to the beach, but it was worth it. 

This is one of the beaches that has a lot of driftwood. 

It was a little humid but a bit chilly at the same time. 

So pretty!

I did find the coolest smoothest looking rocks. I didn't take a picture but they were different shades of blue and green. I have them on my bookshelf in my study.

There are areas where there's too much driftwood. It definitely makes it challenging to walk. Plus, given that this beach has a lot of small rocks especially away from the water didn't help with walking either. You had to be careful were you walked to avoid spraining an ankle or falling flat on your face.

After spending some time at the beach we drove to Port Angeles and had dinner at Barhop Brewery. They use a 115 year old Alaskan sourdough starter for their pizza. That's quite neat right?!

We spent the night in Port Angeles and had breakfast at Chestnut Cottage. I remember that their coffee was good. I wrote in my agenda that they use Boyd Coffee. Jacob and I get so excited whenever a restaurant serves good quality coffee and this place had it. 

Riley always enjoying something extra sweet.

We got home around 1:30-ish. It felt warmer back home. According to my journaling it got up to 90 degrees.

We had BBQ for dinner then drove to Ruston Way in Tacoma for an evening ice cream treat.

Strawberry ice cream on top of a brownie. I couldn't finish it. It was very filling. 

Mt. Rainier was visible and when that happens you have to photograph it. It's definitely a prettier picture with it in it.

This is a great spot to hang out and spend an evening by the water. I miss it!

There are concerts during the summer. It's very nice and relaxing.

Beauty in nature draws us to the creator's 

glory and fills our hearts with wonder and worship.