First Poinsettia of the Season

While I was at Flower World yesterday, I bought one poinsettia to get my holiday season launched.  The large salmon-colored ones are my favorite.

We also bought two red poinsettias, Don's father's favorite, to take to Vancouver next weekend to place on his parent's grave.

Flower World and Christmas Trees

I had to check out the trees and poinsettias today at Flower World.  Here are some lovely trees grown locally, and I hope someone takes them home soon!

Giving Thanks

We had our whole family together for Thanksgiving this year, as always, and we also celebrated Dave's 38th birthday.

The Cabbage Patch had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with 7 entree choices, which allows the men in the family to have prime rib if they like, and the 'girls' can have their traditional turkey dinner (with no cooking!).

We came home to Maltby for dessert, which was homemade apple and pumpkin pies.

Parkhill Cemetery

As a family, we visited Parkhill Cemetery today, where Grace will join her husband after 25 years apart.

Linwood Brandis created the calligraphy for the joint headstone, and seeing his strong, vibrant letters brought back many memories for brothers Don, Craig and Ross today. Not only was their father an Army Chaplin in World War II, and an Army Chaplain at the VA Hospital, but he was an amazing folk artist and calligrapher.

The headstone will be cleaned up before the memorial service on December 1, and Grace's ashes will be buried in a turquoise urn next to Linwood.

Totem Pole and Canoe

Here is a totem pole and a canoe set on the property of the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver, Washington.

The Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, WA

The Heathman Lodge is a rustic retreat in Vancouver, and brings modern amenities to the Pacific Northwest architecture.  The grounds have lovely landscaping and sculptures, and the Lodge boasts a great restaurant (Hudson's).

Fort Vancouver, Part II

Here is the sign at the entrance to Ft. Vancouver, and a lovely gazebo that provides a contemplative place to view the Columbia River and many acres of the fort.

Fort Vancouver, Washington

Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District (which covered the northern half of the region known to Americans as the Oregon Country). Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the Columbia River in present-day Vancouver, Washington, near Portland, Oregon. Today, a full-scale replica of the fort, with internal buildings, has been constructed and is open to the public as Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

For more than 150 years,  Ft. Vancouver housed thousands of Army soldiers and their families.After World War II, my husband's father was the Army Chaplain for the VA Hospital at Fort Vancouver.  This weekend, after the death of Don's mother Grace, we traveled to Vancouver and met with family to plan the memorial service in December.  After the arrangements were made, we had brunch, and then went to the cemetery together, and finally visited the old family home on Ft. Vancouver where Don and his family lived for many years (until their father's retirement from the Army). They lived in a large old house on Officer's Row, just a few houses down from Grant House, where Ulysses S.Grant was stationed on September 20, 1852. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), then a 30-year-old Brevet Captain, later a famed Civil War general and United States President, arrived with the 4th Infantry regiment at Columbia Barracks (later called Vancouver Barracks), a U.S. Army base on the Columbia River.

Christmas Anticipation!

My granddaughter Kaila can't wait for Christmas this year! She and Dave put up their tree today.  I can't wait to see it.

A Trip to Flower World Today

October and Halloween are past, and November is well underway.  I stopped by Flower World today to see what they had growing, and much to my surprise, there were hundreds of poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima)!  There were red and salmon-colored varieties that stretched the whole length and width of the indoor portion of the public greenhouse area.  They were small, but I'm assuming that they are in place to be tended during the next two months while they grow to their mature size.  I can't wait to shop next month and make my selections!

I did buy a pink and white Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera), which will join the one I already have at home. It should burst into bloom during the first few weeks of December.  This trip to Flower World was enough to catapult me into the Christmas spirit a month early!  I can't wait!