Growers/Crafters Markets have the best food & I love a good book!!!

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Hi everone... Are you having a good week so far? I'm having  a great week. Today I made a sort of unplanned trip to my local growers/crafters market.  I wanted to  buy a couple of hand  pies/tarts...one sweet and one savory. So it was such unexpected fun today, I just had to snap some photos and share them with you all.

Here goes...The last time I was at the growers/crafters market was back in May. I went with some friends.  This particular market is held at the local National Guard Armory. It's fantastic.  I was so surprised by all the variety. This market is small, but mighty..and there was everything there from fruits/veggies, fresh eggs...to handmade toys and cutting boards :) I was really hungry and I saw these hand pies..and they were yummy, yummy.....and yummy!!!

When I looked at the sign, I noticed it read Pennington Farms. Oh I remembered this place. This is the farm that was featured in the July 2008 issue of Country Living magazine. At the time I didn't know they were local. I just loved their baked goods and their story.  Here's a link to the online article. It's worth checking out, the photos are fantastic. So when I realized they're local, I was really happy!!!

The first visit to the market I purchased an apple turnover and an Italian savory hand pie..both are handheld pies..so yummy. Today I purchased a blackberry hand pie and a spinach/Swiss cheese hand pie :) :) Of course, I shared both with my dad. This is my favorite booth for jams, baked goods etc. I asked if I could take a few photos. The very nice lady said "yes".  Here's a few photos of the booth...and you'll see why I love it so much :) :) :) Oh, click here to visit the Pennington Farms website :) :)


Look at all those yummy bottles of fresh preserves and jams!!!


Pennington Farm has lots of hungry fans :)


This is a little bit about the farm. They also have this on their website too :)


Okay...I love stuff like this :)

Here's some of the fresh berries available for purchase. There was quite a bit more this morning...but people kept buying it all up :) :)


Now this is what I'm talking about :) :) :)


These are the little bags that the hand pies and turnovers are lovingly packaged...wow, even the bags are cute.

This is the blackbery hand pie. Yummy, yummy, and did I say yummy!!!!


These were miniature jars of preserves that were $1.25 each..I'm going to reuse these jars for a craft project when the preserves are all eaten up :) :) :)


This was a free postcard...so I took one home. This booth has so much to look at , buy and enjoy :)

My other favorite booth at the growers/crafters market is Full Circle Bison Ranch. I love bison meat because of how it's raised...100% grass fed. It tastes a lot like beef. Click here to visit their website. Now I didn't purchase anything here, because I am on a budget...BUT they are very well known here in Southern Oregon. Their products are sold in quite a few farmers markets and stores.

What caught my interest was the bison hide and the bison fur pelt.  My dad makes leather Bible covers from leather hide..and I saw this..I knew he'd be really interested. So that was my "hook" for getting him to come to the farmer's market with me today :) :) Oh, in addition to their bison meat being 100% grass fed, it is also certified ORGANIC. That's so important.  For me at least, I'm careful about the meat I eat...because whatever the meat animals eat, you eat too. So it's just a personal conviction of mine.

The gentleman at the booth today was a real sweetheart. My dad was asking a LOT of questions, which was his way of saying that he loved the booth, and especially that bison leather hide. It's super soft...softer than cow leather hide.

I don't eat a lot of meat, but when I do, I LOVE bison meat or organic beef. Full Circle Bison Ranch specializes in buffalo meat :) :) :) It's really good.

There's all sorts of bison meat products to purchase there or on-line. Full Circle Bison Ranch will ship to your door :) :)

Here's my dad talking with the nice gentleman in the hat. They're talking bison leather hides. The bison pelt on the right is also really interesting!!!


I wrote this on the back of the Pennington Farms paper bag that kept my hand pies safe till I got home to eat them :) :)   I wanted to thank them for letting me take some photos :) :) I highly recommend both businesses because their product is good, but they were also really nice to me!!! That's important in my book...don't just frequent a business for the product...but also for how they treat you as a customer :) :) :)

Oh, I love to read. Lately I've been reading a lot of historical Christian fiction. I love this genre because its great romance but also clean and uplifting.  One of the author's I love to read is Mary Lu Tyndall. Click here to visit her website or  you can go straight to her blog by clicking here. She's been having a giveaway durings Fridays in July for her book "Surrender the Heart". It's the first book in the  "Surrender to Destiny" series. This book opens up in 1812 right at the onset of the war of 1812 between the USA and Great Britain.  I won a copy. I'll finish reading this book really quickly :) :) :)

I had previously read Mary Lu Tyndall's series "Charles Towne Belles series"..which takes place in the 1750s during Colonial America.  All of her books have romance, adventure, danger and the Gospel is weaved throughout the books. So these are fantastic romances that will leave you feeling uplifted and wanting to read more.

This is me holding a copy of Mary Lu Tyndall's book "Surrender the Heart". This photo was taken today.


Mary Lu even autographed the book. How cool is this? I love it!!!!

My dad and I had a great morning. It's going to be another hot one today, for sure. I didn't know the farmer's market opens at 8:30 a.m. So the next time I go, I'm definitely going to be there when it opens :) :) :)   

I got something good to eat and now I have something romantic and uplifting to read. I hope you all are having a great day today!!!! That's the news from Oregon.  Love and hugs, Heather :)

Happy Sunday everyone!!! It's a beautiful day!!!

Happy Sunday everyone.  It's really nice outside today.  It was supposed to be 90 degrees Fahrenheit today. It actually feels more like 80 degrees.  I really love being able to have all the windows open....all that fresh air and the occasional breeze :) :) :)  Here's my memory verse for this week :) :) Feel free to borrow this Scripture photo if you'd like.


So I was taking photos as usual today.  I also went to one of the laundry rooms here at the apartment comlex to see if there any magazines lying around that I could read.  I love anything country etc!!! No magazines to be had anywhere...BUT I did walk by a neighbor's apartment...the neighbor and his wife were both home. So my dad and I stopped to chat ;) :) They're a really nice couple.  They have some beautiful flowers on their patio. They were gracious to let me snap a few photos. Thank you!!!!! Take a look at what I saw today :) :) These are simply gorgeous flowers...



Hydrangeas...these sure are pretty, aren't they?


Even more amazing...these are some more hyndrageos that were growing in the same container!!!

Snapdragons....That's what my neighbor said these were called. They sure are a pretty shade of pink.  he said they started out purple when he first got them. 

These are blue verbenia.  The color was so intense, almost neon, it was difficult to get a clear photo,...they were that intensely beautiful!!!

Here are some beautiful fuschias that were hanging from another neighbor's apartment.  I love how they cascade over the side of the planter!!!


I don't know what these are called...but these were in a little planter on my neighbor's patio fence...(the married couple that I was chatting with on my way to the laundry room)..I was trying to focus on the flower in the foreground..and it seems like my camera liked the flower in the background instead.  It's an interesting perspective...but still very pretty.


Okay...here they are in better focus.  There's such a variety out there...and now is a really great time to drive through the neighborhoods and take a peek at what people love to plant and put on display!!!


This was at yet another neighbor's apartment.  The red flowers with the white centers caught my eye.  The pink ones are very nice, too!!

PRAYER REQUEST FOR ME...AND A MOMENT OF UNCOMFORTABLE HONESTY: Okay..so I have a prayer request/confession to make...I have not been to church in a few weeks..about five at least.  First off, I wanted to ask you all to forgive me if I'd said I'd been, because I wasn't.  I do love going to church very much..but lately I've been feeling really discouraged about many things...my weight (I've gotten fat in the last year and  do need to lose some pounds..no doubt), being single, still not having a proper career job etc, feeling alone at church because people are so busy with their own lives..and often I feel like I"m the last single person in the entire church..although that is not true...and wondering what exactly God has planned for my life & why He's not being a little more forthright about His plans for me :) :)  Most of the time I don't even worry about these things...but when it's quiet and there's nothing going on, that's when I start to feel sorry for myself.  It's not right and I let that discouragement keep me at home, instead of going to church where other people could encourage me.  Oh, I'm still doing regular devotions and spending time in prayer and reading my Bible..but church has really faltered... Please forgive me for not being forthright about that earlier.  My dad has been really understanding about the discouragement I've been feeling lately.  He's also been praying for me.  In some ways, I was afraid that if I said that I just didn't want to go to church today because I felt sad/discouraged, that maybe it would be frowned upon or that people would stop visiting here.  Again, I would ask that you forgive me for not trusting you ladies and for being more up-front about going to church. Pray that I'll have the discipline to go because it would mean being obedient to God and because honoring Him is way more important than how I feel at any given time!!...meaning, I don't want to be ruled by my emotions, but rather by the truth of God's Word!!!

Now I did actually get dressed and ready to go to church today!!!  I had on my nice natural face thanks to Bare Minerals...love that stuff!!! My dad and I were in the car and headed in that direction and then I literally started feeling kind of sick.  I have a minor form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease similar to colitis, called ulcerative proctitis.  I've had this for 10 years now.  It's more of an annoyance on a daily basis than anything else..but once in a great while I have what I call a very bad IBD day.  Today was one of those days...and I can never predict when they'll happen.  I'm only able to feel that something is not good...so my dad turned the car around and we stayed home. This time he stayed home with me, instead of gonig to church on his own.

I will definitely be there next Sunday...and I'll even take a picture and post it here to prove it :) :) :) Remind me, in case I forget to post the photo!!!!

That's the news from Oregon today. ..hoping everyone is having a great Sunday. Love and hugs, Heather :) :)  :)

If you want to make God laugh, than tell Him your plans - Part II & more "daddy" updates!!!

So I wasn't trying to "bargain" with God today...where my father is concerned. I like the post title so much I had to continue it through today!!! It is a "true" one!!!  Today my dad had to be at the hospital by 7:30 for check in.  I'm telling you, I slept so bad last night. I woke up at least 10 times while my dad was quiet as a mouse.  Lack of sleep wasn't caused by worry. Instead it was the Oregon summer heat...very hot and humid. I should have left my window open last night :) This post is extra long today.I included lots of photos There was just so much cool stuff that happened today...another day where I noticed God is definitely at work!!! Thanks for indulging my penchant for "type-chatter" today!! Y'all are great!!!

This is just a small portion of the vast walkway of the hospital. This is my father sitting in the huge waiting area.  This wing of the hospital was built within the last 10 years or so. It's very modern and spacious. I did lighten the photo up a bit from the original.  It was actually this way in the waiting area. For some reason, my camera darkened it up a bit. So I fixed that :) Oh did ask the nurse for permission to take photos inside the hospital FIRST.  She said it was okay!!!

The morning time is never very busy..at least it wasn't this morning.   A male nurse came out before 8 a.m. to get my father!!! He was really friendly and had a nice smile. My dad warmed up to that immediately. So did I :) I told the nurse to make sure my dad is a "good patient" :)

He came out what seemed like just a few minutes later.  They gave him an injection of "nuclear radiation stuff" in his hand, then put a cotton ball and tape over it.  He told me later that he wanted to stay on the table. The nurse smiled and said "No, we have other patients to take care of"..So my dad waited outside with me.  He was told to go eat something again. So we went down to the cafeteria for some breakfast. My dad had some scrambled eggs and biscuits with sausage gravy. Yummy!!!!

He loved it so much downstairs...that we sat there for awhile.  He was content to sit there and read a Christian book.  Nothing fancy...just wanted to simply read. My dad was a very happy daddy :) :)  About 8:23 a.m. we headed back up to the main waiting area so then nurse could take my dad for some picture scanning of his heart.

An artist was hired to paint all of these different murals throughout the hospital. Every painting reflects life here in Southern Oregon. This was the one in the waiting area where my dad and I sat.  The artist painted this entire mural from start to finish in 9 days!!!!  All of the things in this painting have meaning to the people who live here!!

My dad was finished around 9 a.m.  I showed him the mural.  He thought it was cool.  I asked him how it went. He said it went well. They put him on this low-lying table and then it & my daddy slid into a scanning machine that took about 35 pictures of his heart from left to right. He thought the table should have one of those "lift" functions like a chair lift. That would make it easier to get up off the table. That was his only complaint ..and it wasn't even a complaint. It was more of a comment :) :) He said that the nurse who did the actual imaging today was much nicer than the nurse who took the images yesterday.


The little stream of water that feeds the beautiful man-made waterfall.  When I lived in Germany years ago, there were little streams like this in the streets...dating back to the Middle Ages..called "Bächle".  They were designed as a way of preventing fires from jumping from one building to the next..in case there was a fire. Also a way of carrying waste material away from the city.

Let's back up to before my dad went to check in at the front desk.  We left early so that I could get some coffee and maybe some breakfast.  I passed on the breakfast..and actually had that after my dad's appointment was finished. I did treat my dad to more breakfast afterwards as well :) :) :)

We arrived at the hospital earlier than we had planned. So I went around snapping photos of more cool stuff on the hospital campus.  This waterfall was really nice. My dad came along with me.  I walked around the campus quite a bit. He just followed me and it was really cute.  He was giving me advice on what photos to take. That was nice because it showed me that he cared about what I was doing!!!

This is the waterfall as seen from the front side. This is what I saw on the passenger side of the car as my dad and I drove into the hospital parking nlot.  I thought it as really nice and very creative.

I forgot to mention a couple of things that happened yesterday.  My dad had to first check in at the waiting area near the gift shop. That's where everyone goes first, before heading elsewhere. We just sat there. All of a sudden this nurse comes out and calls "Heather...Heather (insert my last name here)".  I was surprised because she called my name (first and last) but this lady with blonde curly hair stood up.  My dad and I thought that was really wild. I've met quite a few other women named "Heather"...but none who also shared the same last name.

My dad and I turned and looked at each other in amazement.  When the nurse called my dad's name, we went to the check-in area to have some paperwork filled out.  My dad asked the intake person about the name.  When I told her that I also have the same name, she replied "You're kidding, right?"...Not at all.  It turns out my "doppelgänger" spells her last name with just one letter different.  That's wild.  What was even crazier was that there was also a person with my dad's same first and last name...and again just one letter different in the last name.  The intake lady reassured us that they verify each patient's identity with birthdate before accessing patient records.

I tried to look for my "namesake" later that day but couldn't find her. It would have been fun to get a photo of us together...both with the same first and last names.  Now if the middle name was the same, that would have been really crazy. "Intake lady" said that she's seen patients with the exact names and birthdates before...glad that didn't happen here. My dad's "namesake" was younger than him. My "namesake"...just judging by looking at her face was slightly older than me :)

The sprinkler had just been shut off and there were still water drops on the flowers. I thought it would be neat to capture some of that on film. This was by far the my "favorite" white rose!!!

Two other things happened yesterday as well.  One of them was the emergency alarm going off throughout the entire hospital. People weren't alarmed...but they were curious about what was going on. Now this is what I heard on the hospital intercom "Housekeeping to Floor 3.  Patients and visitors please stay in your current location"..It wasn't anything serious. The little 12-year old boy that I met yesterday (along with his mother), asked the nurse at the desk why the alarm went off. She said that it was just a hospital fire drill and that those happen all the time.  Probably...but who knows. Anyway, that was the most "drama" of the time spent at the hospital. I told my dad about it afterwards.


Here are some more beauties. I love the way the water clings to the petals. I love color and these colors are so rich!!!

My dad doesn't have health insurance and he had to fill out some paperwork. The short story version is that this entire procedure will be covered by the hospital.  That was a real answer to prayer. Neither of us has health insurance. We do what we can to stay healthy. My dad would have had the "heart imaging" procedures done anyway...and we would've worked out a payment schedule. Fortunately my dad qualified to have the entire bill written off because he's unemployed and doesn't have health insurance. So that again, was a real answer to prayer!!



A close up of one of the white flowers. it has a slightly pale yellow center. I like seeing all the details in the flower!!!

Okay, back to today.  There's a quote from Coach John Wooden that goes something like this "You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you".  I really liked that quote and decided I was going to do that for someone at the hospital today. I don't have lots of money, but "doing something nice" for someone doesn't have to involve that. It truly is the thought/action that is the most important.

I spent much of the time talking to a lady who was getting the exact same procedure done as my dad. She looked scared.  I didn't ask her about her fear directly...but rather, I just started talking to her. I gave her a smile and asked her name.   She'd had a few stints (spelled correctly?) put in her heart some months back and she was experiencing some pain again. "Nice lady" was worried because she hadn't been able to work for the last month. As it turns out, she works in housekeeping at the very same hospital. A few hospital co-workers came by to talk to her!!! "Nice lady" didn't have anyone to wait with her either...just like the old lady from yesterday.  We talked about her family, good Christian fiction, and food.  I offered to buy her something to read because she was going to be there for awhile.  "Nice lady" declined the offer. We had a nice chat. I made sure to call her by name and thank her for talking with me. It truly was a lovely conversation.
It was my way of putting Coach John Wooden's quote into practice...or as another friend put it "practicing random acts of kindness"...for no other reason than because you have the "resources" and because you "can"... You don't ever have to wait for an opportunity to do something nice for someone. Make your own opportunity and just go out there and do it...and be surprised at the blessing that comes out of that!!!

Below are some more photos I took of the flora around the hospital campus. There truly is quite a bit to look at, if you watch for it :) :) :)


These sure are pretty. The way the flowers are clumped together sort of reminds me of cauliflower in a strange way :) :) Yellow is a really cheery color. You can't be sad when you see yellow!!!

These buds are teeny tiny. I got as close as I could without getting stung by the bees. God takes care of even the smallest of details :) :) :)


This flower is so pretty. Does anyone know if it's a type of wild rose? I love it because it looks like it's made out of crepe paper. The insides...doesn't it remind you a little of a fuzzy bee? Such a pretty pink with a yellow center!!!


These were in the hospital foyer. I love bright colors and soft colors too. This just caught my attention.

This last photo was taken at the mall. It's random, but I just had to post this. Read the rest of this and you'll understand why!!!


The message says it all...:) :) :)

After my father was done at the hospital, we went to the mall. The visit was over by 9 a.m. this morning...and the mall didn't open till 10 a.m. The mall's doors are open as early as 6 a.m. for people who go there to get coffee, or walk around the inside of the mall. There's a buildt in track with mile markers and everything. It's actually pretty neat...and literally a cool place to get some exercise during the hot summer months!!!


As we were leaving, we see this banana yellow car drive by. My dad says "Heather, look...That's so cool" True that!!! We waited till the driver got out of the car. I asked him if it would be okay to take a picture of his car. We really loved what it said on the side of the car. The car owner said "yes" and here is the result :) :) :) It's different...I love it...and the message is clear in two very simple words!!!!

I've "type-chattered" a LOT today!!! Hope you don't mind. Please let me know if it's too much writing and too many photos. I use an extra large font so it's easy on everone's eyes in terms of readability :) :)

I bought "Love Finds You in Lahaina, Hawaii" today while at the mall. I am fascinated by Hawaii's past history. My dad and I visited our local Christian bookstore. I love a good historical romance that weaves in elements of the Gospel. So good and uplifting, even after the book is done. I had to "cheat read" the ending, otherwise the suspense would have  been too much. I'll let you know how it turns out.

That's the news from Oregon.  Love, hugs and greetings, Heather :) :) :)