Post-Christmas Hike With Cindy

The weather has been VERY beautiful here!

I have been a bit discouraged that I had a big energy downturn after Christmas,

but Greg and I got to take a lovely hike and Cindy and I did, too!

The memories make me happy, especially on the days I am not able to do as much

as I would like.

Look at our pretty skies!

My favorite hike is really more of a clamber up the side of a steep rocky hill

above Canyon Lake.  It's quiet and the landscape is fantastic.

I only share this hike with my very favorite people!

The rocks have lots of interesting patterns, colors, and inclusions.

Like quartz!

This brown streak looked like a crumbled down wall all packed into the ground!

There we are! I'm waving.

The sun was shining in such a way that our shadows were often quite noticeable.

There are a lot of different colors and textures in this area in the rocks and plants.

There are quite a few cairns to mark the path, but they are small

and difficult to notice.

We found most of them on the way down! 

This isn't really a "trail" for of hike; it's more of an adventure, climbing any which way seems best at the time.  That's one of the reasons I really like this hike.

We didn't really need the cairns.

But we like them when we see them!

I've started adding rocks to the cairns I see to make them a little taller.

Here's another one!

And another one!

And some more!

Look at that view!

Do you see the fancy boat? 

And even the United States Postal Service delivers out there!

Going down this spiny part is my favorite part.

It was a great day and I was happy to spend Cindy's last day of Christmas break (besides the weekend) with her!

I found a few outfits in my camera, too, that I thought I'd share.

This one was comfy and cute for a Saturday of laundry, cleaning, and getting some groceries.

t-shirt (Maison Jules, Macy's
camisole: JKY by Jocket, Target
jeans: INC International Concepts, Macy's

This one was for a day of working at home and some errands.

sweater: Target
pants: SoHo Apparel, Ross
socks: Target
slippers: Ross
bag: ABage, Amazon

Close-up:

This was from today.

I took the photos early in the morning before I left for church,

so the lighting isn't great.

I liked the outfit, though.

blouse: Target
skirt: Dani's Choice, Amazon
bag: ABage, Amazon

I really like the little ruffle that goes across the front of the blouse

and up over the shoulders.  It's very feminine.

The pattern is feminine and delicate, too; it's tiny squarish flowers that are 

modern and dainty at the same time.

I wore these Bandolino shoes with poufs on the toes (Amazon).

It was chilly when I left, so I also wore a cognac faux-leather jacket (Levi's, Amazon)

and a big gray scarf with gold threads running through it (Target).

Our neighbor Jordan has an extravagant garden in his backyard.

The most recent gift from this Eden is a loofah squash!

Once it's dried out, it works just like a rough loofah!

I chopped it up and am using it in the shower to exfoliate.  Very cool!

I'm typing right this minute on the couch with Columbo on in the background.

It's a very soothing show:

he solves every crime with excellent music by Henry Mancini and fabulous costumes.

The cats like it when I sit still and provide appropriate levels of snuggles.

Allistair:

Allistair & Stephen

Claude

More sweet fluffy Claude:

They are always doing funny stuff, too, of course:

If you have a cat, does s/he sit on your journal, Bible, newspaper, book, computer?

Mine do!

Juvy

This week I have lots of appointments and quite a few Chirp Curriculum binders to ship (hooray!)

Churches can subscribe to easily receive the next binder in the sequence without any additional effort on their part, and it's turning out to be a popular service.  I got another new subscriber this morning!

I love thinking about all the kids and families and volunteers  from all these churches who are learning more about how much God loves them through the curriculum lessons I've written.

It's a wonderful job to have.

Have a wonderful start to your brand-new week!