Above are (L to R) Petersens, Us, Walls & Silkwoods, taken last summer in Canada
At left are Ralph & Gayle Higgins on their deck that overlooks their Bay. The two "humps" in the distance form nearby Mt Diablo. That's Dwight Klassen at right exhibiting a bit of "Baggar humor" by hugging his (missing) wife Lynnette who was otherwise engaged at the time of the photo.
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As I have alluded to in a previous post or two, we were in California for a week from June 29 through July 5. The trip provided a great opportunity to connect with some life-long friends.
We arrived in Sacramento at the tail end (fortunately) of an early summer heat wave. Unfortunately, three-digit temp days are the norm for Sacramento summers.
The good news is that the next morning we headed up the western slopes of the Sierras to visit our friends Ted and Sharon Petersen who live near Grass Valley where it was a “tad” cooler. The bad news is that “tad” is a slight variance in perception only.
Ted is a retired portrait photographer par excel lance who can’t seem to stop working. He’s now thinking about re-opening (on a smaller scale) his “natural environmental” portrait work to “keep him busy” in between the corporate shootings which linger from his working life. Plus, he has to find time to work on his single-digit golf handicap. Living on the second hole of a beautiful course doesn’t hurt.
Sharon has spent the last few years as the volunteer women’s ministries coordinator in their church. She’s just “passed the torch” to someone else, as she needs a respite from the time-intensive position.
A 12-year cancer survivor, Sharon is an incredible living example of what it means to trust God for everything and to work hard at what He’s called you to do. She won’t mind if you include her on your prayer list.
After our Saturday stop at Quaker Meadows we headed for San Jose, our old stomping grounds, and a Sunday brunch with Mike and Gwen Silkwood and Ed and Darlene Wall.
We enjoyed catching up on things with these wonderful friends whom we’ve known since the 1960’s. We did so via an unbelievable noon buffet spread at the city-owned Hayes Mansion that has been converted into a five-star restaurant. You leave thinking you've bought a bunch of stock in the place, but you're totally satisfied.
Gwen has recently joined Sharon as a cancer survivor and is presently undergoing post-operative treatments. Her prognosis is good, but she, too, is grateful for prayers and support. We spent a long time talking about the “why’s” and “wherefore’s” of life, of course not really figuring out anything, except to agree that we’re thankful for God’s mercy and grace.
A day later, following a Sunday evening stop in Sunnyvale to visit my cousin Jim Narva and his wife Kay, we dropped in on two of the Baggars and their wives who both happen to live in Discovery Bay on the Sacramento River Delta.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Ralph and Gayle Higgins and with Dwight and Lynnette Klassen. Whenever the three of us guys get together, our wives have to put up with our friendIy "Baggar banter" into which we revert as if we were still in college. It probably gets old fast for our wives, but we seem to still groove on it.
I can tell you that the Higginses run a wonderful “bed and breakfast,” just not as a business. After trading stories for hours, sleep came easily in their commodious dockside home, and Ralph prepared a mean Cactus omelet the next morning. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it; it was delicious.
Our little dog, Buddy, simply went nuts with joy when we picked him up from the Kennel upon our arrival back home. It’s so nice to be loved.
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