Vacation!

You're here and I'm not!  But at three minutes to nine tonight I'll be posting about our trip to Vashon Island.    Tom's had this week off work and we've been at a bed and breakfast on Vashon for a couple of days. I'll let you know what we found to do while we were here.  See you tonight!

Incredible!

Here's something I'd never have thought up on my own -- Strawberry Balsamic Basil ice cream!

We were at the Skagit Valley Food Co-op in Mt Vernon Monday afternoon, looking in the deli for an afternoon snack.  I found a freshly baked gluten-free, vegan marionberry bar.  Then we wandered over to the freezer which holds the ice cream that they make by hand onsite.  I nudged Tom.  "Look at that one!" I said with a knowing nod as I pointed to the carton of Strawberry Balsamic Basil.  (Who wants balsamic vinegar and basil in their ice cream, for goodness sake? is what I was thinking.)

When the gal behind the counter offered Tom a sample, he went for the strawberry!  She loaded up a spoon and passed it over to him.  "Um, hum!  I'll take one of these!" he said.

We found a table and sat down to savor our snacks.  That marionberry bar was melt-in-your-mouth delicious!  But the ice cream was even better.  We were told that the balsamic vinegar makes the strawberries a little less sweet, and the basil leaves a very satisfying after-taste in your mouth.  It was as creamy an ice cream as I've ever enjoyed.

So here's a heads-up for you.  July is National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month is National Ice Cream Day.  That would be this Sunday, the 17th.  You just might want to get into the Co-op and order up some of their homemade ice cream for a special treat.

Take Note

Carol Estby Dagg grew up hearing the story of how her great-grandmother, Helga Estby, had walked from Mica Creek, Washington (near Spokane) to New York City.  It was a wager that set the stage for the trip: if she could make it to New York by the appointed time, she would earn $10,000 from a publisher who would publish their story.  Along the way she campaigned for women's suffrage.  Her traveling companion was her 17-year-old daughter, Clara.  The Year We Were Famous is a novel based on that remarkable adventure.

Through the book (told from Clara's point of view) we follow them along the east-west railroad lines over mountains, through desolate countryside, into Indian territory, small towns and major cities.  It's a perilous trip, filled with unexpected weather, injuries, and the mercy of total strangers.  Through it all, two strong-minded women are struggling to get to know themselves and each other.

Dagg grew up on the stories and wanted to share them with others, but she didn't have much meat for the bones of the story because, in the end of the women's journey the book was never published and their journals were destroyed.  She had to fill in the details with research and imagination.

I found Carole Estby Dagg's website as fascinating as the book itself.  She tells about her research -- reading books, diaries and women's magazines of the Victorian era, studying the railroad maps of the time, learning about frontier remedies for blisters, studying the habits of bears.  Writing classes, multiple drafts of the book, great patience, and fifteen years -- that's what it took for her to get this amazing story published.

I've read about novelists' research and writing methods.  Most have tickler files where they drop any pertinent information or ideas to save for just the right time.  Mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark chooses her charcters' names from browsing the obituaries.  Lee Strobel says that he enjoys the process of getting to know his characters as his books unfold.  His daughter, novelist Alison Strobel, on the other hand, has her entire story figured out before she even begins the writing process.  Some, like Peg Kehret, author of Five Pages a Day, and Left Behind's Jerry Jenkins, set a goal for the number of pages they will write in a day.

My friend, Joan Husby, has written numerous articles as well as several children's books and a collection of stories about her life in the Robe Valley near Granite Falls, called A Logger's Daughter: Growing Up in Washington's Woods. She is currently working on a couple of other books, a historical fiction about Monte Cristo and a fantasy for teens called Farview.  She says that research can go on for a long time, and you can get lost on rabbit trails!  Her books usually start with a place that grabs her attention, such as Monte Cristo.  It's near where she grew up and has an interesting background.  She's researching the Indian pre-history and the current farming of the area.  Once she's got her place, the develops her story, and then her characters.

She reads widely, grabbing details wherever she can find them.  She loves the fun of it -- having all the history and details she can glean from libraries, museums, newspapers, online and through interviews.  She immerses herself in the location and the period, keeping open to any information that might inspire part of the plot.  For example, Joan became pen pals with the lighthouse keepers on Egg Island off Vancouver Island.  When she visited them she took notes and pictures and copied information they provided for her.  She met visitors -- work crew members, other light keepers, helicopter pilots who delivered people to the island or whomever -- and she listened to their fascinating stories.  Some of these stories worked themselves into one of her children's books.

Joan says she used to do notes by hand.  Now she types them or cuts and pastes them into desktop folders.  She has found the free software program Evernote to be a great tool for taking notes.

Although I doubt there's a novel in me, if there is, I think I will enjoy the research phase every bit as much as the writing phase.

Hymn of the Month -- Give Thanks

Give Thanks, played by brothers Ben and Alex Russell

Lyrics by Don Moen

Give thanks

With a grateful heart

Give thanks

To the Holy One

Give thanks

Because He's given

Jesus Christ His Son

Give thanks

With a grateful heart

Give thanks

To the Holy One

Give thanks

Because He's given

Jesus Christ His Son

And now let the weak

Say "I am strong"

Let the poor say

"I am rich"

Because of what the Lord

Has done for us

Birthday Wishes

Twenty-one years ago today we welcomed Tommy, our first born, into the world.  I was as uncomfortable as a beached beluga two days earlier as I picnicked with my family at the river.  But on the 6th of July, all the aches and pains that accompanied pregnancy were forgotten as that little boy made his appearance.

Tommy was no more than six months old when he and Tom would sit together on the couch, laughing at Danny Kaye's antics as the Inspector General.  Words came early and easily to him.  Before his second birthday he looked up and saw the chandelier in his grandparents' house and said, "Gorgeous!"

Happy.  Sensitive.  Curious.  Musical.  These are just some of the word that describe Tommy.

Wishing you a happy birthday, Tommy, and a year full of joy and blessing.  Go in peace, and may the peace of God go with you.  We love you.

Of Ducks and Chickens

Tom's sister Carol, who is living on the farm in Western New York, called a few weeks ago to report that a friend had delivered eleven ducklings who needed a new home.  Tiny little things, they swam and waddled as one.  Not only did he bring the ducks, he also brought all the accountrements to provide for their needs.  She was horrified the next morning to see that they were no where near their little home.  How could they have all been picked off on their very first night?

Not to worry.  She located them later, hidden in the bushes across the pond.  They've been flourishing and, so far, haven't felt the need to fly off with their more adventurous cousins in the area.

Turns out they are not the only ducks in the family.  Recently, at our nephew and niece's house, we saw their fluffy-tufted ducks which were just babies at Easter.  Such personality!

But not as entertaining as Parson Brown!  We'd heard of him through Farmer Jon (Stevens) on the Open Gate Farm blog.  I'd wondered about this Camano Island parson who has his own congregation and occasionally shares some bits of wisdom on Farmer Jon's blog.  When we saw him, we knew how he'd gotten his name.  He's an Indian Runner; he was born "dressed the part of a preacher," wearing a brown "jacket" and white "clerical collar" smartly around his black neck.  He stands straight as a pencil and runs around the yard.  When we caught him standing still, he looked like he had his hands in his pockets.

His congregation is made up of a few other ducks, white, mostly, and several chickens.  It was a hot day, and the ducks and chickens were enjoying any shade they could find.  Parson Brown would have to wait for another day to gather his flock and share his message with them!

Returning home from the farm, we stopped by to see the roosters at the Spare Room Vintage Flea Market on Hwy 532, just before leaving Camano to return to Stanwood.  These wonderful sculptures, made of recycled oil bins and other bits of scrap metal, had their own delightful personalities.

If you haven't yet gotten a gander at these giant guys, today, this sunny, beautiful July 4th, just might be the day to do it!  You might even swing by Open Gate Farm and meet Parson Brown.

Perfect Timing

My friend Inez Kollmar told this story the other day in Sunday School, and I asked if she'd write it up for my blog.  Thank you, Inez.  It gives us a glimpse into the marvelous ways of God.

My husband, Bruce died in 2002.  When I got to the point of sorting through some of the things he had stashed away in a closet, I came across  four videos, unopened, of the evangelistic Jesus film.  I'd heard/read that this film had been instrumental in bringing people into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in some of the more remote areas of the world.  My husband hadn't shared what his plan was for these videos, but I knew he certainly intended them for people who might not hear the story otherwise.

They sat in their pile and in the back of my mind for a long time, while I tried to think who might best benefit from them and how to get them there, but nothing brilliant popped up.  Then a fellow choir member in our church announced that he would be taking a mission trip into the Yukon River delta area of Alaska with some people from the Missionary Aviation Training Academy to help out at a Christian family retreat center.  This is a ministry to Alaska native villagers who live in remote areas, unreachable during the warmer seasons except by small plane or boat.  In the winter, when everything -- including the river -- is frozen solid, they can get from one place to another by snowmobile or dog sled, but that's not when family camp takes place!  The only way they can come to camp then is by plane, thus the need (and opportunity) for the MATA pilots to bring them to and from their villages.

Having lived in southeast Alaska for a bit in junior high, I went to school with native kids and my best friend was an Eskimo girl.  So I already had warm feelings toward the native populations of Alaska.  I asked my choir friend if he thought my Jesus films could be put to use in this situation, and it turns out that the MATA pilots were happy to get them and distribute them to four different native villages far out in the delta areas of western Alaska, across the water from Russia.

I was thrilled!  Though I don't know what Bruce's plan was for them, God knew all along where they should go and was just waiting for the way to be opened for that to happen.  I hope in some distant day that I, and Bruce, will know the impact this film may have had.

Bless MATA and my choir friend for their kindness and caring of His people.

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In just 30 years, God has used the Jesus film to greatly impact the world.  If you'd like more information about the Jesus film, click here.  If you would like to view the film online, you can click here and choose from over 1000 languages that it has been translated into!  Maybe you know someone to whom you could forward this link, someone whose life could be forever changed by seeing the story of Jesus.