Discovered Five Years Ago - But Still

 "The English language has a few limitations. One such problem is describing size - words like big, humongous and immense don't come close to describing the objects astronomers are discovering in deep space. There are definitely no words to describe their latest find, dubbed the BOSS Great Wall which is a supercluster of galaxies over 1 billion light years across. Making it the largest structure observed in the universe. So far.

Named after the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey - an international effort to map galaxies and quasars in the universe and is like cosmic webbing. This wall is made up of 830 separate galaxies that gravity has corralled into four superclusters connected by massive filaments of hot gas. This creates a twisting structure that resembles a cosmic honeycomb."

Jason Daley - Smithsonian Magazine 2016

This is an artists illustration of what the Wall looks like ~ 

NASA reports, "Astronomers suspect there may be many more BOSS galaxies than the 830 they can see." 

That's eight hundred and thirty galaxies, each one is 1 billion light years across.

All I can say is, what an awesome God we serve! He's the master Creator! He's the maker of heaven and earth and is the only one worthy of all praise, honor and glory! Praise to His glorious Name!!

A Goodbye, Hilarious, and No Birds

Beth and I had a doctor's appointment this week to say goodbye to our primary care physician. We've seen Dr. T for close to 20 years! I'm sitting here thinking of all the things she's walked through with us... you guys go to the doctor, you know! 😊 Dr T is retiring so we made her a card and went in to see her. She asked Beth about Special Olympics during covid, we talked about our health of course, and we talked about our families. I had to hold back the tears as we walked back down the hallway and out of the clinic. She recommended another doctor to us, one that's there in that clinic and I know she'll be good but it won't be the same.

 

Beth got her first vaccine a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately we had to drive 45 minutes to get there! The second one is scheduled for the same place but we're hoping to get it changed to one a little closer to home. Chuck already has both his shots and he did fine, no side affects at all. And I go in for my first dose this Friday. Yep, I'm going to get it! I'm a little nervous... there's so much controversy surrounding it, but mainly it's just because I don't like needles!

 

We went out to lunch with Sharaya and Ally on Sunday and on our way home Beth was watching something on her phone and was laughing so hard! It got Chuck and I to laughing... don't know what she was watching but it was funny, whatever it was!

 

Mrs. Junko has been sitting on the nest a lot lately. I peeked in the other day and it's still just the eggs. No birds yet. You can see how deep the nest is, you have to really get on top of it to see the eggs. It's great protection!

Have you ever had to switch doctors? What was it like for you?

When is the last time you laughed really hard?

Perfect Timing

Almost every year we drive about an hour and a half north to see the tulip fields. Sometimes we go too early and the tulips aren't quite open yet. This was in 2018, I think: 

 But I think this year it was perfect timing!

 Sharaya and Beth made the long trek out to the fields but it was too hot for the rest of us. I never thought I'd be the one to say mid 70's was too hot, but it was! It seems the older I get the less I can tolerate the sun. That's a hard thing to admit for this California girl.

Roozengaard has a garden area with gorgeous displays of flowers. Plus they have fields of tulips, just rows and rows of them!

 See where all those people are coming and going? There's a tiny sliver of color out there and those are the rest of the fields. Not sure why there was so much empty space between the gardens and fields this year.

And we took our traditional family photo by the windmill. Next year Diana and Peter will get to join us!

 Do you have any Spring traditions?

Are there any you used to do but don't anymore?

Any that you want to start?

A No Show, A Hospital Run, and Four This Year

Work has kept me on my toes lately. We had water baptisms on Sunday and I knew the tank had been emptied and cleaned so I checked it today and saw the covers hadn't been put over the top. They're 4 large pieces of wood covered in carpet and they're very heavy. I called one of the custodians and we tried to figure them out, it was like a jigsaw puzzle.

When we were just about done with that I got a call on the radio that there was a situation in one of the women's bathrooms. I left the custodian to finish with the tank and I found another custodian had been cleaning the bathroom sinks when one of our huge mirrors fell forward and landed on her. Thankfully she wasn't hurt and it didn't break, it just kind of slowly leaned forward and she braced it. I went to the maintenance office, grabbed some duct tape and MacGyvered it! While doing that, I got another call saying my delivery had arrived so I went upstairs, let the driver into our storage area, signed the invoice... it was just non-stop today. 

I hired a new custodian last week and he was due to start yesterday at 2:00. He never showed. I texted him at 2:30 telling him I was a little surprised that he didn't even show up to his first day at a new job. I asked him if he was available today and he said yes, but gave no explanation as to why he didn't show up. I was trying to show him some grace and mercy. He called me this morning and we talked for a few minutes about the paperwork and his uniform. "Sounds good. See you at 2:00." But again he didn't show! At 2:30 I called his cell and it went straight to voicemail. I left a message and then waited. Finally at 2:45 I texted again only this time it was to tell him the job wasn't going to work out and he wouldn't be working here. So now it's back to square one looking for a new employee. Frustrating.

Right after I got home today I got a call from a friend who needed a ride home from the hospital. Actually the call was from his late wife's daughter, who happens to be his Power of Attorney but lives out of town. His procedure ended up taking longer than expected and all the drivers from his assisted living place had gone home. What?! Why were they allowed to leave when one of their residents was still at the hospital? I just didn't understand that! Anyway, I hopped in my car and drove up to get him. Thankfully it's only 5-10 minutes from my house. I took him home and a couple nurses came with his electric chair and took him on up to his room. Would they have left him at the hospital? I'm glad I was available! 

Every few days I check the bird's nest in the wreath and today...

There's 4 tiny eggs! This is so fun! I believe the birds are called Junko. They're a type of Sparrow. I saw the mommy bird in the nest so I stuck my arm out the front door so I wouldn't scare her and got this picture:

She's keeping them safe and warm! 

I hope you're all doing well and enjoying Spring. It's hard to believe May is right around the corner!

I Think the Crows Read My Blog

Beth had another dentist appointment this week. She's got to have a total of 3 root canals plus a crown. This was her second visit for all of this work and I'm nervous for her, but she's perfectly fine with it. The endodontist keeps talking about how good she is as a patient. We got there early and she fell asleep in the waiting room.

 

I made a few more greeting cards. I really love doing this, it takes me out of my routine and I get to be creative. It really is therapeutic.

In my last post I wrote about how the crows were dive bombing this poor hawk. I really think the crows are the bullies of the bird world! Well, Beth and I ran some errands after her dentist appointment and a crow pooped on me!! We were walking out of Safeway and had just cleared the roof when... splat!! It was like he was waiting for me! And it's a brand new sweater, the first time I'd ever worn it!

 

I cleaned it with cold water before throwing it in the wash. Thankfully it all came out and it looks like new again. 

Have you ever had a bird poop on you?

What do you do to relax or get out of a rut?

Dive Bombing in the Sunshine

Whenever I get a full day at home it's a good day and I got two days at home this week! Our weather has been so nice, this kind of forecast doesn't happen very often around here!

I got home from work on Friday and actually went out to the backyard to watch a plane fly overhead. While I was searching the sky I noticed a crow dive bombing another bird. You can see the little white blob on the branch just to the left of the crow.

After a few minutes I see a large hawk fly out of the tree and into a different group of trees! It was incredible to see this amazing bird flying right above me!

Then the crows started dive bombing it again! After about 10 minutes I realized my neck was getting sore so I went in. You never know what you might see out in God's creation!

I was able to get a little yard work done this weekend. The back of my legs are SO sore from stretching while I was pulling weeds but it is looking so good. I love doing work when you can actually see the results!

And guess who's back? I started noticing twigs and grass hanging out of our wreath a few days ago. It's been three years since they built a nest on our porch and I'm excited to watch them again!

Well that's about it around here. Back to work tomorrow. I'm thankful for the weather this week! It's time to bring out the spring / summer clothes!

Do you have birds / bird feeders in your yard?

Do you create a moat around your plants to catch the water?

This and That

We had a different Easter this year. Just me, Chuck and Beth. There were 3 services at church and I had to be there to disinfect after each one. Chuck and Beth helped this time too. Then we went out to breakfast and spent the rest of the day at home, watching movies and relaxing.

We recently bought some new blinds for our sliding door and the two big windows in the living room. They'll be delivered and then Lowes will come out and install them. These are the ones we got for the windows. The door will have vertical blinds... I'm so excited!!

Sharaya and Ally went to San Diego last weekend. They drove down with some friends and they drove straight through! It's 22 hours of driving, if I've remembered right. Chuck and I did that a few times but I remember the last time we did it. It was just too hard to keep our eyes open, too hard on our bodies without the rest we needed... oh to be young again! :)

Well anyway, Sharaya and Ally have had a blast down there! The resort they're staying at has a small water park along with the pool; they've been to the zoo, Balboa Park, the beach, they kayaked around La Jolla caves and even rode The Giant Dipper at Belmont Park!

This was built in 1925 and restored in 1993

 

Diana and Peter went camping over Easter weekend. I forgot to ask her where they went but she said they had fun! They're adjusting some wedding plans due to covid travel restrictions and make it easier for some family members to attend. I asked her if she's been shopping for dresses and she said no, but she did bring two wedding magazines on their camping trip. 😄

Well that's about it from our house. I'm getting a slow start on the yard work this year. We get a few days of rain, then sun. Then rain... I hope you're all having a wonderful start to spring!

Have you ever been camping?

Do you like roller coasters?

We'd Been Waiting Since November!

Some of you had asked what Beth was drinking in my Frightening Part post. She doesn't like coffee so when we go to Starbucks she'll either get a hot chocolate or a Strawberry Frappuccino. It's just ice, milk and strawberries. No coffee, more like a shake. I think some frappuccinos have coffee in them but not the strawberry one. I'm not a coffee drinker either so these are a good alternative. They're SO good!

Last Saturday Ally and I went to The Museum of Flight just south of Seattle. We were supposed to go back in November but they closed down just 2 days before our scheduled day due to an uptick in covid cases. So we were so excited on the drive down! I've always wanted to see the inside of an air traffic control tower and I didn't know there was one that you could go into there! Ally was so anxious to show it to me! We got inside, they took our temp, we got our wrist bands, made our way up the stairs... and it was closed. Due to covid I guess, too small of a room? I don't know. We were so bummed. There was one area of the museum that had a full sized 747 in it, a Concorde, Air Force One... so many amazing planes but somehow we ended up missing it. We never did see them so I told her we'll just have to come back!

We did see the Great Gallery, the Space Gallery, the WWII area and of course bought a few things in the gift shop! 

She's looking at a model of an aircraft carrier

This is the Great Gallery

There are so many planes you can't get them all in one shot. These are actual, full-sized planes. This room is huge.

 We walked across the sky bridge to the Space Gallery

Here we're standing in the open cargo bay of a Space Shuttle

 

I think the Space Gallery was our favorite part! 

I do love hanging out with this girl!