I think this cake could qualify for my plate of beige food!
A new set of Wednesday Hodgepodge questions have come our way From This Side of the Pond. Thank you, Joyce.
1. What do you make more complicated than it needs to be?
Answering some of the Hodgepodge questions! 🙂
2. What impresses you?
Hard working young people.
3. On a scale of 1-10 how picky of an eater are you? (1=extremely and 10=not at all)
I’ll go with an 8. No liver for me, thank you. Not a fan of raw fish, either.
If you had to eat a meal made entirely of one color what color would you choose?
Beige or light brown as in a Thanksgiving plate of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes covered in beige gravy and a beige soft roll on the side. Also…see photo up top!
4. What does balance in life mean to you? Does your life currently feel ‘balanced’?
A good combination of home life responsibilities, keeping relationships at peace, and adding in some good adventures is a good balance in life. Giving freely and receiving graciously are important, too. Knowing the God who created me and having peace with Him through Jesus Christ gives me spiritual balance and security.
Currently things are seemingly balanced.
5. If you could travel the world for a year what would be your first destination?
The United Kingdom would be my first and my last destination. It would be amazing to travel all about that Kingdom with that much time. A whole year could be doable if our kids and grands and friends would meet up with us through the year.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
While we were away these three came by our house to water since we were having dry and warm days which isn’t typical for Spring.
This little guy was pleased as punch to find the snacks I left for him and his sister!
Ken’s Memorial Service was held on May 8th, 2026. We traveled to Southern California for the service.
Ken and Heidi’s son, son in law, daughter and grandsons all spoke, read scripture, in honor of their dad’s, pop pop’s, memory. They spoke much of Ken’s love for his Savior, Jesus Christ.
Old Testament Readings:
Isaiah 40:31 ~ …but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 45:22 ~Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
Isaiah 12:2 ~ Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.
Psalm 56:3-4 ~ When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
Joshua 1:9 ~ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
New Testament Readings:
John 14:1~ Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
1 Peter 5:7 ~ …casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Philippians 3:20-21 ~ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
My brother-in-law led the congregation in singing. We sang, How Great Thou Art, It is Well with my Soul, and “God be with you till we meet again”.
God be with you till we meet again; By His counsels guide, uphold you, With His sheep securely fold you; God be with you till we meet again.
Refrain
Till we meet, till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus’ feet; Till we meet, till we meet, God be with you till we meet again.
Our kids and our nieces with Ken’s daughter.
After the beautiful service we had time to catch up with friends and family at a reception at the church. It was so good to see old friends we haven’t seen for ages. I should have taken more photos.
All my sisters in order of birth.
My college bestie who was married to my cousin.
My dear friend, Ken’s beloved wife, Heidi.
The memorial for Ken was held at the same church that Ken and Heidi got married in back in November of 1978. I was the matron of honor, pregnant with our firstborn son. Greg and I were both in the wedding. We met Ken when he started dating Heidi.
The photo above is after the wedding reception at our home in Huntington Beach. Ken and Heidi opened wedding gifts and then changed and headed off for their honeymoon. That’s my dear old Pop watching on. Heidi and I spent so much time together that she was part of the family.
The upper photo in the collage was Christmas 1979 when they were expecting their first baby and the two lower photos were of our last time together as couples in November of 2025. Ken and Heidi traveled to our home to visit. It was a precious time of catching up and of also understanding that these were Ken’s final months on this earth. We had a glimpse of the suffering that they were in the midst of. It helped us to know how to pray for them in the months after this visit and leading up to Ken’s death.
This next song was one that Ken listened to the last months of his struggle and one that comforted him. He shared it with his dear family. It was played at the end of his memorial service.
It is such a comfort to know that Ken is with his Savior, Jesus Christ and that his suffering on earth is over.
This is personal and for my memory here on my blog. Our Daughter-in-love, Laura, put requests out to my friends and family to make a little video greeting for my 70th. She gathered them all and put them together in this 26 minute video and then surprised me with it after our family dinner in Spokane back in 2021. We all watched it together at Dan and Jamie’s house cast onto their TV. It is so meaningful to me and brings tears to my eyes as I recount the goodness of the Lord to me by giving me loving family and friends.
I’m finally adding it on my blog 5 years later!
Thank you, Laura and thank you to each one of you who took the time to deal with the internets and the recording and sending your clips to Laura!
My extended family will often sing when we are together and two of our favorites to sing are Great is Thy Faithfulness and Bless Thou the Lord. You’ll hear those songs at the beginning and at the end of the video.
But wait…that’s not all. This is another video put together from a very old reel to reel from Greg and my church wedding shower. My brother in law, Nick filmed it. It took place in 1974 at Bethany Baptist Church in Los Angeles. No one will love this video as much as I do. Our kids showed it to us at our Family 50th wedding anniversary weekend in Walla Walla in 2024. There is no sound and the quality is poor but the memories are priceless. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers are in the footage and they both gave us their blessing and how I wish there was audio for those words. It was our little Russian Baptist church tradition to have this church shower with both the Bride and Groom present. This is where the wedding gifts were given, not brought to the wedding. Greg’s parents and my parents were present along with Greg’s Brother and his family. A few other men were present like my uncle Paul because they were the chauffeurs. My brothers were there and brother in laws. You’ll see them in the kitchen helping with the dishes.
So many of the people in this footage have passed away. The church is still in existence in Los Angeles.
Note: It was so much fun to watch this with our kids and to fill in some commentary on our own. Hilarious with belly laughs. Thank you, Josh and Laura, for sending off the reel to get it in a visible format.
Here are some stills from our shower which aren’t the best quality either.
My paternal grandmother in the background with the pink and my maternal grandmother in the blue.
Thanks for going down this rabbit hole with me.
I’m working on my posts from our trip to California and will share them soon.
Sing to the Lord with joyful voice,
Let every land His name adore;
Let every isle send forth the noise
Across the ocean to the shore.
Let nations stand before His throne
With solemn fear, with sacred joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone;
He can create and He destroy.
His sovereign power, without our aid,
Made us of clay and formed us men;
And when, like wandering sheep, we strayed,
He brought us to His fold again.
We are His people, we His care,
Our souls and all our mortal frame:
What lasting honors shall we rear,
Almighty Maker, to Thy name?
We’ll crowd Thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heav’ns our voices raise;
And earth with her ten thousand tongues
Shall fill Thy courts with sounding praise.
Wide as the world is Thy command,
Vast as eternity Thy love!
Firm as a rock Thy truth must stand,
When rolling years shall cease to move.
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!
Philippians 1:27-30
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents-which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
From Maristella:
Psalm 143:8
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
From Vera:
Isaiah 58:11 ESV
“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
From Karen:
Mark 16:15
And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
1. What’s one piece of advice you would you give a recent or soon-to-be graduate?
We have a great nephew that graduated from The Masters University in California and we have a niece who is graduating from a private high school in Texas. In their cards we wrote these words of encouragement;
“May you use the amazing gifts God has given you for His glory” and
“Praying that God will lead and guide you and protect you from choices that draw you away from Him.”
2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain.
I would have said brains as mine seems to be holding less information these days but I’m going with a trip back home, since that is exactly what we are doing today, traveling back home. Clicking the heels of my magical Danskos and repeating ‘there’s no place like home’ 3 times should do it!
3. “There’s no place like home” is an oft repeated line from Baum’s book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement?
We felt that way when we got home from our trip to Europe and Great Britain this past March.
4. May is National BBQ Month…do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What’s your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What’s the last thing you grilled?
We own a Traeger. Greg does the grilling. Steaks are a favorite to throw on the grill and that is the last thing we grilled. Porterhouse steak is a favorite followed by Ribeye steak.
5. What’s a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy?
Any memory about our family brings joy and a photo memory adds even more!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We are returning today after a week in Southern California. We had a Memorial Service, a graduation and then of course, Mother’s Day. On Mother’s Day we were with all my sisters and some of their kids. We were able to see many family and friends during our stay. More posts coming on our time away.
We came up with a last minute plan for Mother’s day with a gathering at my sister’s home. The decision to order takeout from a Chinese restaurant made it easy on everyone. A niece and nephew were able to make desserts and pick up another dessert and we were all filled and grateful for our time together.
I’m adding this collage after the fact. On Mother’s day when we were all together at our sister/auntie Vera’s home we learned a new way to slice a cake and we were able to live stream the Master’s Chorale (Jackson) singing in a Romanian church in the Chicago area. Jackson’s mom took the selfie with our whole crew watching for Jackson in the livestream. The Romanian church service was classic old school and we had lots of insider reactions which made for fun viewing!
One of our tour guides suggested that to find a more authentic good Austrian restaurant we should stay off the large streets and follow some of the narrower side streets in Vienna. We took her advice and found Reinthaler’s Beisl after our tour of Schönbrunn Palace on Friday morning, March 6th.
At first we were sharing a table with an older woman who was finishing up her lunch. The restaurant was filled with (from what we could tell) locals not tourists.
We shared an order of schnitzel and it was the perfect amount for us after our ‘appetizer’ of apple strudel at the Palace.
This print above was in the Public Domain so I’m sharing it here. It’s an old and very cool print of the outside of the National Library of Austria in Vienna.
I took this photo above as we passed the library on our carriage ride. I didn’t know as we passed that this was the library.
After our great lunch we ventured out on foot to find the library. After a few twists and turns we made it. We got a senior discount for entry.
It was a jaw dropping experience to walk around and take it all in. If you would like to learn more click on this link.
Europe’s largest Baroque library houses over 200,000 historic books on its richly decorated wooden shelves. The State Hall is rightly one of the most beautiful library rooms in the world.
Secret bookshelf doors were a fun surprise, too.
We were glad we could visit this beautiful library.
After the library we made our way to the designated bus shuttle service that would take us back to the river boat. We would leave Vienna for our final leg back to Budapest on this evening.
What wonderful words in the Gospel of grace Our loving Redeemer has giv’n! How happy are they who in spirit are pure, For theirs is the kingdom of Heav’n!
Refrain
Tho’ all that is earthly will fade, And vanish away from our view, We know that as sure as the Savior lives, The words He has spoken are true.
He maketh the lilies to bloom in the field, And shelters the bird in its nest; He calleth the weary to come unto Him, And find the sweet blessing of rest.
Refrain
To those that are thirsting and longing for Him, The water of life He will give; And they that with patience endure to the end, Forever in glory shall live.
Refrain
Then why are we fearful, and where is our faith? His own He will never forsake; And tho’ He may lead them where waters are deep, His promise He never will break.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 