Thursday Doors- Our Lady of Lourdes Church

Copyright ©2023 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

There are several interesting and old building in Colusa, CA. so, while I had some free time I thought I’d visit a couple for Thursday Doors.

The first one I found was Our Lady of Lourdes Church with its beautiful bricks, arched windows, lovely steeple, and pretty red door complete with pretty street lamps.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Colusa, CA.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Colusa, CA. Red Doors

I couldn’t find much about this building’s history other than it was erected in 1880-1881, and

“this historical marker is listed in this topic list: Churches & Religion. A significant historical date for this entry is October 12, 1900″.~ from their website. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=17492

This post is part of Thursday Doors, a weekly challenge for those that find doors interesting and lovely. Hosted by Dan Antion of No Facilities blog. Head on over to his blog to find this week’s entries of doors from around the world.

iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 24.1

more to come…

Thursday Doors- The Red Church

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

In the Sierra foothill town of Sonora CA. there’s a beautiful little church called St James Episcopal. I’ve photographed it a couple of times but, as He-man and I were driving to Baby Girl’s house for Christmas I saw it lit up for Christmas for the first time and knew I had to go back and photograph it.

Here I’ll share 3 views from that photoshoot.

St James Episcopal Church

I did a little online search for the history and here’s what their website says,

Saint James Episcopal Church was first established in 1859. The current building was completed in 1860. St. James was part of the Episcopal Church until 2007. A schism occurred over various theological issues and a number of the churches in the diocese dissolved their affiliation with The Episcopal Church. They accepted oversight by the Province of the Southern Cone, in South America.  A number of Episcopalians wished to remain with the Church. These faithful, with the assistance of the governing bodies of The Episcopal Church, reorganized the diocese. On March 29, 2008, a Special Convention was held, led by the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. The Rt. Rev. Jerry Lamb became our first provisional bishop. 
On that day St. Mary in the Mountains, organized in January 2008 by The Rev. Martin Risard, and his wife Alice, was formally recognized. Our first home was in a small room in the Senior Center in Sonora. Fr. Martin retired in 2010 and the Rev. Stan Coppel became priest-in-charge of the congregation.
 In July 2011, after several weeks of backbreaking labor to get the building ready, we moved to our next location in Jamestown. Our first service coincided with the first visit of our new provisional bishop, the Rt. Rev. Chester Talton, who consecrated the building for use as our church. After much time, litigation, and negotiation, St. James, popularly known as “The Red Church” returned to the Episcopal Church. The first service held upon the return of the church was on July 7, 2013.
Currently, St. James Sonora, is part of Diocese of San Joaquin
.”~https://www.stjamessonora.org/the-red-church

St James Episcopal Church

The bell is casted in the late 1800’s.  It is rung announcing each service.    It is also rung to announce the beginning of Mother Lode Round-up Parade, and the Sonora Christmas Parade.~https://www.stjamessonora.org/the-red-church

St James Episcopal Church

The church has a Flentrop Pipe Organ made by Flentrop Orgelbouw in Holland. It was installed in 1973.

I really have to give a shout out to my grandkids, and Baby Girl who waited patiently with me for the lights to come on. We waited 30 minutes, I think it was worth it! Not sure they did, but there were ohh’s and ahhs when the lights finally came on. 😀

This post is part of Thursday Doors a weekly feature run by our host Dan Antion of No Facilities blog. Click here to be taken to his site to see all the other doors people are sharing from all over the world this week.

Nikon D810| Nikkor 24-120mm| PS CC 23.0.0

more to come…

Thursday Doors – Mare Island Shipyard Doors

Copyright ©2018 Deborah M. Zajac.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I was poking around in folders of file images and opened one from this last March when some friends and I spent the day wandering around Mare Island which was the first Navy Base on the Pacific Ocean.  It’s been closed for a long time, but there’s some activity there, and lots of doors.

Here’s two images from that venture.

I love the arches framing the door and windows, and the color of the trim with the red brick.  The door is pretty meh, but oh the accessories! 😉

Arched Door and Windows

This one is for Dan.  It’s an At-At Crane!  This huge beast is outside of a Dry-Dock.  It even has doors.

At-At like Crane at the Dry Dock

This post is part of Norm 2.0 Thursday Doors. To see doors from around the world or add your own door click on over to Norm’s Blog and find the blue frog on his page, click that and you’ll be taken to links to some very cool doors.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2018

more to come…

 

Wild Weds. 26/52 The Inn at Benton Hot Springs

Copyright ©2018 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I thought I’d change it up a bit and show you the Inn I stayed in the night before the Wild Mustangs trip.

The Inn at Benton Hot Springs

It’s lovely! The Inn features 7 rooms in an Historic 1940’s building, along with two private historic houses, with private hot tubs, and 10 private tubs for day and overnight use, and a wonderful breakfast in the morning.

The Inn is housed in a 1940’s block building constructed with local pumice materials. It was built to replace an old hotel where 10 small rooms shared one bath. The Inn was renovated in 1998, however the original structure integrity was retained. Therefore, all rooms except the Marquessa Suite (Room 7) share a bath. Two additional unique bathrooms with showers are available in a separate, adjacent building.

Prized for it’s western history, hot springs, remote settings, and  dark skies.

The family has owned and operated the ranch for more than 90 years.

This is their Mission Statement:

“Our mission is to provide
guests with a tranquil and
peaceful respite from their
fast-paced, chaotic worlds.
During their visits we
encourage calm reflection
while lingering in natural
soothing hot mineral water.
We desire that our guests
leave in a restored and
reinvigorated condition,
returning to their worlds with
enhanced balance and harmony.”

Each room at the Inn is decorated in a different theme. I was in the Victor Room, but first let me show you the place setting and crumb cake we had as a starter to our breakfast. We had eggs, and hash browns, lots of coffee, and the conversation was delightful. You eat with other guests all at one table. There are two seating’s for breakfast. 8 o’clock, or 9 o’clock. Don’t be late!  I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo of the whole table. 😕

IMG_8829

Now, onto the Victor Suite. My room was on the end of left side of the building with a street view. There was a lovely chair outside my door with a view of the front courtyard. That image is still on my cell phone.

Brass bed… pardon my jackets on the chair please!

Victor Suite Rm 2

Each room had a Teddy Bear on the Bed(s)…  after meeting some of the other guests that were also doing the Wild Mustang Trip I asked if I could see their rooms and decor and I said I’d be happy to show them my room too. We all did a little tour of each others rooms. It was neat to see 4 of the 7 rooms, plus the Miner’s cottage. The first question one of the ladies asked me was ,”Do you have a Teddy Bear on your bed? 😊

Victor Suite Rm 2

I loved the antique furniture, and collectibles in the room. That black door is to the shared bathroom. I didn’t take any photos of the bathroom.

Victor Suite Rm 2_IMG_8806

In this image below I don’t know if the thing under the table is for magazines or boots. I’m hoping it’s for boots!  Oops, forgive my Ray-Ban’s too please.

Victor Suite Rm 2

Victor Suite Rm 2

…and a closer look at what’s on the white table. I love old bottles, and railroad spikes and do-dads.

Victor Suite Rm 2

 

For the History Buffs, here’s a bit of history on the town of Benton from the Inn’s website.

~://benhttptonhotsprings.org/history.php

Benton is one of the oldest existing towns in Mono County. Benton was founded by the western Indians who came to make use of its hot springs. As the nearby towns of Bodie and Aurora grew, Benton became a check-point for travelers on the way south in 1852.

Silver was discovered in the hills of Benton in 1862, and its population quickly grew. After hitting the initial strike of silver, not much more was found, but Benton’s profits were soon primarily from silver.

Unlike other mining towns, Benton was able to provide enough for the town to thrive and flourish for about 50 years. Most of the main activity took place between 1862 and 1890.

The Carson and Colorado Railroad reached the region in 1883, and made a stop at Benton Station, just four miles away.

I have some images of the old town that’ll be sharing in the future.

I’ll be staying here again in July, and hope to get a photo of the whole breakfast table all set up for breakfast, and if I get a different room you know I’ll be taking photos to share.

Oh, and I’m packing my bathing suit this time so, I can partake of the Hot Springs tubs!😀

Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G|  iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 2018

more to come…

 

Thursday Doors: On the Curve

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

When I’m not hiking Hiking I feel the need to stretch my legs and keep in shape so, I walk up what I call the “steep road” which isn’t too far from me.  The total elevation gain is anywhere from 250-900ft depending on how good I feel. If I’m feeling great when I get to the top of the road I’ll veer over to the trail that takes me up to Fremont Older Open Space and get more hills in.  But, no matter how far I go up I’ll usually end up on the road going down which leads me to this view, and past this house.

Copyright © 2017 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I love the pavers on the curved driveway leading up to the arched garage doors, and the balcony! 3 French doors and two topped with Ivy! SWOON!  The tile roof… is gravy.

Quite often when stretching my legs I don’t carry anything other than my iPhone7Plus. I’ve regretted that choice more times than I can count! This was one of them.  I blew out the sky to keep the house in the right light, but even it is a bit blown out. 😦  It was a risk knowing He-Man and I got started later than I wanted to. He likes to start later than I do and if I want his company I concede to his timetable most the time.

I hope you’ll see the house as I do when walking down that steep road after a long hike up. It always puts a smile on my face seeing it.  It’s like a Villa isn’t it?  I wish sometimes this was my final destination, but reality…it’s not!  But, it is the first house of the last steep S curve going down. The road’s grade gets easier after this last S curve, and soon I’ll be done, and the deer are sometimes just around the corner at the bottom of the “S”!  I hope they’re there this morning.

Here’s how I see the house from higher up the road.

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Deer weren’t at the bottom of the hill eating on this morning, but you know I hope they are every time I go this way! 🙂  I see Deer so often when out stretching my legs or hiking that I believe they’re my Spirit Animal.  Coyote are the other 4 legged animal I see a lot when hiking. I wonder if I’m missing a sign and they’re my Animal Spirit? Maybe both?  I should look that up.

I hope to be out birding this week-end so won’t be online much.  I hope you all have a wonderful week-end and do something you love doing, and see a door or two along the way! xx  🙂

Apple iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 2017

more to come…

 

 

 

Go outside!

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I’m looking forward to the week-end to get outside in nature with my camera.  Here’s a poem that expresses what I’m feeling.

Go outside_DMZ3292

Be Outside. – Poem by Miki Byrne

Step outside the box.
Build fires and be Gypsies.
Let your little space feel huge
And yours alone.

Grow jungles where cats may prowl.
Sit under stars framed by man-made apexes.
Keep your fences mended
And the space within, your own Serengeti.

Refuse the closed doors and windows.
The air, the sky, the very night itself
Calls “Come out! ”
Do not have a city-dwellers fear of un-walled spaces.

But find in a garden small
Some of Eden’s traces.
A roof of inky softness, a flowers sweet aroma.
Be outside, leave the box. Come home.

I hope you all have a wonderful week-end and get outside your box for a little while.
Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2017 & Nik Silver Efex Pro| NYC from the High line

Sunset from the Balcony

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Copyright © 2017 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

At the end of March He-Man and I had our 36th Wedding Anniversary, but we kept it pretty QT since it fell on a week-day. We were anticipating our get-away to Pismo Beach this past week-end (April 1st & 2nd) to celebrate us.

He-Man booked a room for us right on the cliffs with a balcony with a partial view of the ocean and pool area.   The image above is the sunset Saturday evening from our balcony on the 3rd floor.  I loved this view.

The hotel we stayed in is the Shore Cliff Hotel in room 315. When we opened the door and walked down the small hallway to the main sleeping area we were surprised and delighted to find the bed covered in rose pedals (faux) and a tray loaded with two wine glasses, a pair of Swans made from Towels (towel art), a bottle of Sparkling Cider, and a card wishing us a Happy Anniversary!  Isn’t that lovely!

Shore Cliff Hotel Rm 315 Anniversary Week-end

The swans towel art and rose pedal theme was even in the bathroom.  It had double sinks- I loved that! I wish my own bathroom had room for double sinks, but really don’t want one more sink to clean. 🙂

Shore Cliff Hotel Bathroom Rm 315

I’ll show you the little kitchen area, and entertainment areas of the room too.

Rm315 Shore Cliff Hotel Pismo Beach

Entertainment Center Rm 315 Shore Cliff Hotel

The view from our balcony; late afternoon

View from Balcony of Rm 315

and a welcome party of one came to our room shortly after our arrival.  He flew up to the balcony and stayed for awhile then he flew down for a swim and bath in the pool after leaving our balcony. (I’m saying he but don’t know for sure.)   🙂

Seagull balcony Rm 315 Shore Cliff Hotel

I think that might be the Mrs. watching to make sure he gets behind his wings.  🙂

Seagull in Pool Shore Cliff Hotel_IMG_6672

We went to dinner next door where I found a great door which I’m saving for a future Thursday Doors post.

We had a lovely week-end, and enjoyed our stay at Shore Cliff Hotel and love this part of California’s coastline.

Top image: Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Delkin Digital Film|

Hotel Images: iPhone 7 Plus

All developed in PS CC 2017

I’m behind on emails and blogs again. I hope to catch up this week!

More to come…

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