Summer is Flying Hodgepodge

Another Summertime Hodgepodge is here with thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

1. August 19th is National Aviation Day…do you like to fly?

I do enjoy reaching special destinations by plane.

Last time you were on an airplane?

We flew to Southern California in May for our dear friend’s Memorial Service.

The date is chosen in honor of the history and development of aviation, and celebrated on the birthday of Orville Wright. Have you ever been to the Kitty Hawk area of North Carolina? The city of Dayton in Ohio (their birthplace)

No to both.

2. In what area of your life do you tend to ‘wing it’? Is this an area you should be winging? 

Lately I’ve been in winging mode for meals at our country bungalow. I don’t know about should be, it is a phase.

3. A favorite book, song, or movie that relates to flight in some way?   

I do still enjoy Leaving on a Jet Plane by Peter Paul and Mary and later sung by John Denver.

This video was from August 19th, 1972!

4. Soft serve, gelato, sherbet, frozen yogurt, or good old fashioned ice cream…what’s your pleasure? Your favorite flavor? How often do you indulge? 

Orange sherbet is a favorite. As far as old fashioned Ice Cream goes, Häagen-Dazs Coffee chip is a favorite.

5. I never get tired of______________________. 

I never get tired of seeing our family and spending time with them.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Tried and True

I’m linking up to Talking About it Tuesday with Slices of Life for this post.

It’s hot and muggy outside and there is not much to share here. We have a family wedding of a Grand Nephew coming up in October and I’ve been checking out their registry to see what we’ll pick to gift them. My thoughts went back to our wedding registry.

We were married in December of 1974 and these were some shower and wedding gifts we received. They are still serving us well. These high quality stainless steel bowls have been used over and over again for mixing anything from cookies to cakes and brownies and for savory things like egg scrambles. Fifty two years old and it is accurate to say, ‘they don’t make them like they used to’.

My tried and true stand mixer has been a faithful friend over all these years beating up ingredients for me and saving my hands and wrists and arms a lot of wear and tear.

My aluminum pans have made so many cakes, crumbles, breads, brownies, and other wonderful treats.

We don’t have all the Pfaltzgraff Yorktowne dishes anymore. I did keep a couple of the teapots, the sugar and creamer and the cookie jar. I use the cookie jar as decor. We do have a full set of Moss Rose by Royal Albert that we collected after we were married. I purchased the Moss Rose Tea Set in Oxford in 1973 on our summer music tour before we were married and that inspired us to buy the dinner set, too. My parents purchased service for 8 of our sterling. Since our wedding we added 4 more place settings.

In walking about the house to see what other wedding gifts are still visible this pewter oil lamp came into view.

We both enjoyed and enjoy pewter. This gift was from friends from my Bethany Russian Baptist days. And these pewter gifts below were from mutual friends.

Looks like I have some silver polishing to do on those sugar tongs!

This sent me way down a rabbit hole that I’ll continue closer to our anniversary in December.

Are you still using gifts from your wedding showers and wedding day?

Along the Road

On Saturday we made a trip to Spokane for some big store shopping. On our way home we stopped in Deer Park for a meal at Master’s Brewhouse. We had their Teriyaki Rice Bowl and their soup of the day. The rice bowl was delicious and especially the fresh Asian spiced coleslaw. It’s hiding under the chicken. The soup of the day was a Mexican corn chowder. We always enjoy their soup of the day.

Along the highway from our lunch stop there were some sunflower fields and we pulled off to enjoy some closer views. The fields were a little past their prime but it was a nice sight nevertheless.

 

From the fields we continued north into Chewelah. We are still basking in the views without smoke.

This mural honoring Veteran’s is on the front of the American Legion building in Chewelah right on the highway. We get a good view when stopped at the one signal in the whole town.

We continued home and enjoyed a quiet evening.

On Sunday we had a great morning church service and then a relaxing afternoon and evening at home.

Happy Monday to you all.

Lord Jesus Christ, All Praise to Thee ~ Hymn

Lord Jesus Christ, All Praise to Thee

Lord Je­sus Christ, all praise to Thee,
That Thou wast pleased a man to be;
Our low es­tate Thou didst not scorn;
And an­gels sang to see Thee born.

The hea­ven­ly Fa­ther’s on­ly Son,
He left His right­ful glo­ri­ous throne;
The Lord through whom the worlds were made
Is in the hum­ble man­ger laid.

The bright­ness of the light di­vine
Doth now into our dark­ness shine;
It breaks up­on sin’s gloo­my night
And makes us child­ren of the light.

The Fat­her’s Son, for ev­er blest,
Becomes in His own world a guest,
To lead us from this vale of strife
Into the ev­er­last­ing life.

Words: Martin Luther, 1523.

Good Things

I started another thrift store puzzle and it’s a tough one.

I’m making slow but good progress.

Josh and Laura surprised me with this puzzle in the mail. They chose this one because our VBS theme this year was centered around Psalm 23. I’m looking forward to starting it soon. Thank you, Laura and Josh for your thoughtfulness!

On Thursday Addy and JJ were over in the afternoon so we made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with walnuts. They are at an age where all I have to do is watch while they mix and load the cookie sheets. They are experienced in the kitchen. We threw caution to the wind and enjoyed a little cookie dough, too.

The big news is that the skies were not smoky on Thursday because of our rain. That meant that soccer games were not cancelled and we could finally watch Addy and JJ play soccer. There games were on adjoining fields. It was a cool evening on the soccer fields.

The skies continue to be glorious and the air is good to breath. We are over the top grateful. It is exhilarating to say the least to have our clear skies again.

Have a great Saturday!

Truth for Today #199

Friday August 14th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you.

Psalm 9:1-2

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Isaiah 45:8 (ESV)

“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.”
~
From Vera:
~
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭148‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬
~
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created.” ‭‭

 

At Last Rain

We had quite the thunderstorm roll in last evening, a heavy downpour. We hope the lightning was not an issue anywhere. It was so good to hear the patter of the rain, though. We hope it washes away the smoke filled skies and especially that it aides in fire containment.

I’ll add a photo during the day tomorrow to see how our skies look.

Thank you, Lord, for the rain!

These next photos are from 6:30 am on the 13th of August.

The atmosphere has improved. Can you see our morning visitor enjoying the berries off our Aronia Bush?

Hopefully our storm that lasted for several hours through the night and into the wee hours of the morning did good even though the lightning put on quite the show!

We are so thankful for this good soaking!

A DIY Hodgepodge

This Hodgepodge Volume that will not be numbered is coming our way thanks to Joyce.

1. I saw a meme on Instagram that went like this-‘The movie Dirty Dancing came out in 1987 and was set in 1963, so if remade in 2026 it would be set in 2002. Now I need a little lie down in a dark room for a while.” 

Time is crazy isn’t it? So…what were you up to in the year 2002? 

(Apologies up front, this question sent me down a rabbit hole and all of these projects and photos are from our old home in Kenmore. We moved to our current home on the other side of Washington in 2018)

2002 was a quieter in between year with less major happenings in our family. Our oldest got married in August of 2001 after graduating college in May of 2001. Those events made for a lot of activities and planning and the building of a deck. In 2002, our second born son was working and living at home and our daughter was still in high school. The major house project this year was the enclosing of our covered porch and making it our family room. Greg did the work himself with help here and there from friends and our sons. It was a great project that made our home more functional.

Some outside before and afters…

There already was a room above the porch which made it a covered porch.

Before August of 2001, Greg built stairs and a deck off the porch on this side of the house in preparation for a rehearsal dinner for Josh and Laura. It was great motivation for this project.

The 2002 project started in earnest in July. Greg with our dear friend Dave who is with Jesus now.

The next outdoor photos are several years later with many more improvements made.

tri tip patio 033

Some inside before and afters…

Behind the vertical blinds was a slider onto the out door porch.

In the photo above you can see the doorway that used to be a slider to the outside porch transitioned into the doorway into the family room.

I don’t have many great photos of the family room. This one above shows the transition from the kitchen dining area into the family room.

2. “Me? I’m scared of everything…” What’s something that scares you that you’d like to try anyway? 

Honestly, I can’t think of anything. I’ll probably get some good ideas from the rest of you Hodgepodgers.

There are things I’m scared to do but I’m not interested in trying anyway like sky diving or deep sea diving or jumping over a crevice.

3. Watermelon-yay or nay? Which melon is your favorite-watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew. Of the watermelon food/beverages listed which would you say yes to…

Yes to watermelon!

watermelon salsa~watermelon feta salad~watermelon sorbet~
a watermelon Jolly Rancher~a watermelon margarita 
~
Of these items the one that sounds best to me is watermelon feta salad.

4. August 12th is National Middle Child Day. Are you a middle child?

Not technically.

If not, where do you fall in the birth order in your family of origin?

Top row and on the right, that is me in my younger days. Two older sisters, an older brother and four younger siblings.

I was the baby of the family for 7 years before the last 4 arrived spaced out over the next 6 years. Siblings 7 and 8 are twins.

Do you think this has influenced your personality? Elaborate. 

Possibly, my junior high teachers kept telling me I was different from my older sisters. I was a little more carefree. They were less talkative and more compliant than me.

5. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time, or have a significant conversation with two people? Explain. 

After leaving a crowded party, I feel dissatisfied about good connections with folk because I don’t settle down with anyone in particular. It’s more of flitting about like a hummingbird. I’d prefer to have a significant conversation with two people but not in the middle of a crowded party. That conversation would be good in a comfy chair and in a comfortable quiet setting. Does that make sense?

Another thought is when at a large noisy function standing or sitting around a reception table it is really hard to hear anyone well especially if there is also music being played.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

In this post you have already seen and heard enough. Have a beautiful day in your corner of the world.

Horsetail Falls

On our way home from Cannon Beach in June of this year I forgot to create a post about our waterfall stops along the Historic Columbia River Hwy. We had tried to get to Multnomah Falls on this day but it was overcrowded with sightseers and they were monitoring how many people would be allowed. We continued up the highway to the next exit and got on the Historic Columbia River Hwy. It was misty and wet with giant puddles to navigate.

We didn’t make it down the puddled steps to get better views because we didn’t have our muck wear on.

We continued on the narrow Hwy back to Multnomah Falls but there was no parking available so we turned back the way we came to get on the interstate.

2011 was when we had visited Multnomah Falls and were able to climb up to the bridge and get an up close view.

During our time in Cannon Beach we met a couple who were on a waterfall trip. That would be a fun road trip to plan out.

It sounds like a broken record but we are still under smoky skies with poor to dangerous air quality. Our community is thankful to all the firefighters who are enduring in the fight to get the fires under control.

Mac and Cheese Salad

This macaroni salad can be served hot or cold and it can also be kicked up by adding cooked and seasoned ground beef to make a more hearty meal.

Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces of small elbow macaroni cooked in well salted water
  • 5 ounces of crumbled feta cheese
  • 4 ounces grated fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup or more of fresh baby spinach julienned
  • 3 green onions chopped
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Bring a big pot of water to boil with a good amount of salt.
  2. Add the elbow macaroni and cook to a nice al dente stage.
  3. Drain water and add a little olive oil to slightly coat the elbow macaroni.
  4. Immediately add the feta and Parmesan cheese while macaroni is still hot.
  5. Add green onions and spinach.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Toss and serve hot or you can refrigerate to serve cold at a later time.

If you want a more hearty meal instead of a nice side dish add some cooked seasoned ground beef to the salad and top with a little more Parmesan cheese. If you want the dish to be cheesier just add more feta and Parmesan cheese. You can also add more green onions or spinach. It’s up to you and your taste buds.