Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Congratulations, Belinda!

Belinda has officially retired from civil service! Tomorrow she starts the next chapter with a part-time job at the Stevi Library! We celebrated these two events with a special dinner at The Catered Table (on Main Street, Stevi). Belinda was presented with a complimentary dessert in recognition of her accomplishment!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Memorial Day in Corvallis

Memorial Day in Corvallis
Parade entries come in all sizes
Dr. Donna Lewis & friends
Belinda and Mo enjoy the parade
Charles is parade happy!

Memorial Day in the Bitterroot Valley was delightful with cooler weather than last year. We went to Corvallis for the annual Memorial Day parade and enjoyed ourselves so much!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

A busy Saturday

Hamilton Farmer's market
Enjoying a moment on Main St. - Stevensville
Getting cherry tomatoes in the ground
Help in the basement
Interesting day - two farmer/craft markets and cleaning up the mess of a burst pipe in the basement.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Farewell Portland

Waiting for the light rail to PDX
Charles said goodbye to a damp Portland this morning having enjoyed the city for the second time.

Next stop, home!

Friday, May 20, 2016

General Confernce - May 20

Buttons galore!
Oh, yes!
With GC over, Charles took advantage of being in Portland to take in one more of the amazing restaurants the city has to offer. A few blocks from the apartment was Frank's Noodle House which Charles learned had been featured on "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives."

Thursday, May 19, 2016

General Conference - May 19

Free hugs during the break
Ready to answer questions
Prayer booth volunteer
With GC drawing to a close, Charles got in one more shift as a volunteer in the prayer center.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

General Conference - May 18

4th anniversary of Wesley joining the family
Prayer room art
Prayer room time for Bishop Wernner

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

General Conference - May 17

Morning worship with our bishop
Emotions were running high
Peace cranes
Ukuela choir from Frisco, TX

Sunday, May 15, 2016

General Conference - May 15

Youth service in the rain
Pearl Bakery
The hunt is on
Donuts?!
Following the worship services at the Convention Center, the youth service and the UMW-led service, we headed downtown, braving the rain, to see some of Portland's sights.

To get out of the rain, we stopped in at Pearl Bakery, a top-ten bakery that has some mighty fine food and an eclectic clientel!

Next up was Powell's City of Books, a bookstore that occupies an entire city block. Using one of the store maps, we found a treasure trove of Wesleyan/Methodist books that was worth the trip! 

We ended our foray downtown with a stop at Voodoo Donuts. After seeing that the wait just to get in the door was over 1/2 hour, we decided that waiting for donuts in the rain just wasn't our thing.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

General Conference - May 14

watching the translators in action
Yum!

Diane Martin and Belinda
Rev. Ira, our D.S., Kama Hamilton-Morton & us @ GC2016

Belinda joined Charles in Portland for the weekend and together we took in some legislative committee work, attended worship, and enjoyed a fabulous meal at the Tin Shed Garden Cafe` on E. Alberta Street.

Friday, May 13, 2016

General Conference - May 13

Before last night's vigil
Where mission is and is going
mini-labyrinth

Thursday, May 12, 2016

General Conference - May 12

with solar-powered light bulbs
Prayer river @ GBCS
Standing up for a cause
Lots of energy already in evidence in Portland.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

General Conference - May 11

Prayer room
Rally for the Lumad people
Rural church & fossil fuel divestment



Tuesday, May 10, 2016

General Conference recap, May 10

Catching up with Jimmy Creech
Welcome to GC
Communion is served by the bishops
GC 2016 got underway with a rousing worship service! It was a wonderful example of the multi-cultural expression that is the UMC.

Monday, May 9, 2016

General Conference recap, pt.2

Breakfast @ Milo's City Cafe`
Where the action takes place
Medalion and beads given to delegates and volunteers
Announcing UMC presence all around the town
A slow start to the day was in order before Charles' first shift as a volunteer. There is a lot of energy present as nearly 5,000 delegates, volunteers, staff, vendors and the curious make their way to Portland.