Happy Thanksgiving 2024

Posted on by chappyshi

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Card

Clare and I are truly grateful to our family, friends, church, and God for the blessings of this past year.  We have had good health, good living conditions, good finances, and good times.  We vacationed together in mostly northern San Diego, CA, county in the spring and in the Outer Banks, NC, based in Duck, in the fall.  I visited my aunt and uncle, Ruth and Cliff, along with Mom in August.  All of these trips just reinforced for us the glory of the Kingdom of God and his good work that we see daily all around us.

On a sad note though, we mourn the death of Clare’s mom Gloria who passed unexpectedly on July 4th.  Gloria was 97 and still lived on her own in the house she had lived in for over 60 years!  What an amazing woman and example for Christian, healthy living she was.  Clare and I were blessed to live nearby, share holidays with her, and see her almost every week.

 

Some Pictures From Trip To Alaska, August 2024

Posted on by chappyshi

Here are some pictures from my trip to Alaska with my mom to see my Uncle Cliff and Aunt Ruth.  I will be publishing more as time permits.

Kayaking In Suffolk, VA

Posted on by chappyshi

Clare and I were kayaking on the reservoir off of Lake Prince Drive in Suffolk, VA when I caught sight of two fawns on the peninsula dividing a big loop of the waterway.  I tried and tried to get a decent picture but didn’t seem to have much luck.  On the trip back to our launch point I saw them again, this time with the doe.  I tried and tried again to get a decent picture but didn’t feel like I was having much luck. Back at Kim’s, I loaded the pictures onto my laptop and came across this decent one.

Fawn Sighted When Kayaking

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on by chappyshi

We give You thanks, most gracious God,
for the beauty of earth and sky and sea;
for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers;

California Coastline, Monterey area 1994
California Coastline, Monterey area 1994
Glacier National Park 1994
Glacier National Park 1994

for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers.

Great Blue Heron On Bull Run in Clifton, VA
Great Blue Heron On Bull Run in Clifton, VA, 2022
Flowers On the Grounds Of Monet's Home
Flowers On the Grounds Of Monet’s Home….. Trip to France 2023.

We praise You for these good gifts…
Grant that we may continue to grow
in our grateful enjoyment of Your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of Your name,
now and forever.    ~ Book of Common Prayer

Clare and I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving hoping that you have quality time with family and good friends.  We are so grateful for the love and fellowship of our families, friends, and church who support us unconditionally.  We are grateful for our jobs, our good health, and our comfortable home.  We thank God for all his great love, compassion, grace, mercy, and provision.

God Bless,

Clare and Scott

Fall Weekend In Northern Virginia

Posted on by chappyshi

Clare and I squeezed in a three-day weekend before she started her new job.  I built up enough hours in my two-week pay period to take Friday off w/o burning up any vacation and Clare was between jobs.  Due to the almost perfect fall weather, what I would have called the “Indian Summer,” we were able to kayak on Bull Run/Occoquan Reservoir on Friday afternoon and walk around Accotink Park counterclockwise on Saturday and clockwise on Sunday.  The days were mostly sunny lighting up the leaves emphasizing the wonderful colors of leaves in the fall.  I had my SLR out with us on the water but only my phone on the walks.  I got some decent pictures.  Clare is wonderfully patient with me as I slow our progress down with my picture-taking.

On the water in our kayaks.  The bald eagle was hanging out in the mud flats looking for food I guess.

Walking around Lake Accotink