Happy 35th Anniversary!

On June 30, 1973, Mark and I were married in Santa Barbara, California. Tomorrow we celebrate the 35th anniversary of that wonderful day. Thanks, honey, for being my very best friend and my one and only true love. Because of you, and the Lord's faithfulness, I am living my dream every day. I love you.
We are heading to Portland this afternoon, and will stay tonight at Portland's White House, a charming bed and breakfast. We are excited!

Cedar Creek Grist Mill

On Saturday, Mark and I went to Woodland, Washington, which is about twenty miles north of Vancouver. Mark had heard about this mill, and we were eager to explore it. And it was worth the drive. It is a totally water-powered grain mill in a beautiful setting, with a covered bridge, and gorgeous footpaths to wander.

The mill, with the flour coming out the chute at the bottom.
They had a display of pictures from various mills in the area.
Water is carried from Cedar Creek to the mill via a flume that extends 650 feet upriver. You can see the excess water cascading from the mill above.
We hiked along the footpath - sooo beautiful.


The covered bridge over Cedar Creek.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit there, you won't be disappointed!

Just a normal day...

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are."
~ Mary Jean Iron

What about Bob?

Yesterday we ate breakfast at Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukie, near Portland. Faithful readers (and of course our family) know well that Mark loves ALL THINGS BOB. We have seen the founder of the company, Bob Moore, several times on prior visits, but it was our delight yesterday to finally meet him, and to visit for a little while with him and his sweet wife, Charlee. They graciously allowed us to take their picture as they rested on a bench outside their business. It was very nice to meet them, and to confirm what we already suspected - they are good people!
Oh, and we got to meet their 12-year-old dog, Annie, too. What a cutie! Bob told us that she follows him around literally everywhere, and doesn't like to let him get out of her sight.
It was a definite highlight of our day. We also toured a grist mill and visited with family. More about that soon.

Happy Birthday, dear Nikki

Today is our beautiful daughter-in-law's birthday. Nikki, we love you and are so thankful you are part of our family. Have a wonderful 22nd birthday! Can't wait to see you soon in Colorado!

Thanks, Jake !

Last Sunday was Father's Day, and Jake's gift to Mark was to help him do some electrical wiring in our tool shed. Today was the day to make it happen. Jake arrived bright and early, and we all enjoyed a big pancake, bacon, and egg breakfast before the guys started to work.

The card Jake gave Mark is shown above.

The first task: empty the tool shed, sorting stuff into piles: "keep," "give away," and "throw away."
How do we manage to collect so MUCH stuff?
Then you set out all of your electrical gear.
They even installed an outlet on the outside wall - very handy!They worked very hard all day. Then came the test - will all those outlets work? Hmm... let's flip that breaker switch and find out. The good news? Five of the eight work great. The others? Need a little more work. Did they get their wires crossed? To be continued... And, by the way, Jake, thanks for being such a fine son. Dad had been looking forward to today all week. WE LOVE YOU!

The Life and Times of Ben Dorr

I've been sorting through Ben's old room the past few days, boxing up stuff and getting the room ready to paint. It has been fun to look through some of his special school papers. I ran across this project, probably done when he was around fourteen.
You might have to double-click on the pictures to see them clearly - they are really fun. Ben - you actually really did take your first steps before you were two years old! :-)

Pretty good drawings, in my biased opinion.
Mostly, looking through all this stuff made my heart ache to the point of tears with longing for my Ben. Thankfully, we are heading to Colorado in just two weeks, and I'll be able to give him lots of big hugs. Love you, Ben! Miss you so very much.