Author Archives: Ellen

A Peaceful Day

After a very busy Saturday we had a relaxing Sunday. We had our Colville kids over for dinner Saturday evening. We enjoyed savory blintzes, rice pilaf, and salad. For dessert we had some Christmas cookies. On Sunday after church we enjoyed leftovers and put our feet up for a good portion of the day. Since it was above freezing we took a break from relaxing and washed the windows in our dining room inside and out. Me in, Dear out. We also did the family room slider. We missed our regular fall window appointment so our windows are quite a mess. Most of our Christmas celebrations will be around the dining room table and the family room so those windows are now clean and clear for now. But just like that they are forecasting rain instead of snow today so we’ll see how the wind blows and what those windows look like tomorrow.

Twelve more days till Christmas. How are things shaping up at your house? Hope things are joyful!

Luke 2:10-11

And the angel said to them,

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”

Angels From the Realms of Glory

Angels From the Realms of Glory

Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

Refrain

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn king.

Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with us is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light:

Refrain

Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations;
Ye have seen His natal star.

Refrain

Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear.

Refrain

Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.

Refrain

Though an Infant now we view Him,
He shall fill His Father’s throne,
Gather all the nations to Him;
Every knee shall then bow down:

Refrain

All creation, join in praising
God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To th’eternal Three in One.

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn king.

The Halls are Decked…

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

There are a few other spots in our home that are decorated for Christmas but I failed to take photos of them. It’s always fun to ‘Deck the Halls’.

Today I’m happy to say I’m headed to the Post Office in town to mail off our Christmas Greetings for 2021. Next up is considering what to bake and when to wrap.

Fly away little letter, keep the bond of friendship strong,

may the Lord lead and guide you, and keep you from all wrong.

Christmas Party Centerpieces

Our annual First Baptist Church Ladies Christmas Party was on Friday December 3rd. There were 13 tables in total with chairs enough for 130 gals 4th grade and up. You could sign up to do a centerpiece for one of the tables.

Mine was #7 and my favorite was #6.

There were a little over 120 ladies/girls who attended. Everyone brought a savory or sweet holiday treat to share. The party committee planned a nice program with solos, duets and reflections on Christmas. The sound of 120 female voices singing Christmas Carols together was lovely. It was a fun evening and it was nice to have longer conversations that a Sunday morning doesn’t afford.

It’s hard to see all the details on this centerpiece but they were well thought out and executed. Table #2 won the ‘Most Fun’ award.

We still have snow on the ground. This morning our low was in the teens. We will get above freezing today so some snow will melt and the roads will be a sandy dirty snow mess. I’m off to town while things are still frozen to get our Christmas letter copied. If I drive when things are still frozen my white car avoids looking like a brown car after my 6 mile roundtrip to town. Our family decided on stocking gifts only this year so all my shopping is done. Funny thing, most of the gifts we bought will not fit in a stocking. Maybe we didn’t follow the rules.

How is the wonder of it all shaping up at your place? For myself I need to pause and spend some time reflecting on the miracles of Christmas from the realms of glory!

All creation, join in praising
God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To th’eternal Three in One.

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn king.

Be Merry Hodgepodge

Be Merry

It’s Hodgepodge Wednesday when Jo From This Side of the Pond asks the questions and we get our brains fired up to answer.

1. ‘Tis the season to be jolly….so are you? 

Yes, yes I am.

2. Do you trim a tree this time of year, and if so is yours all done?

I did and it’s done.

What’s something in your home-closet-life that needs to be trimmed in the new year? 

Oh boy! So many things including my body. I need to weed out my closet and drawers of things ‘I hope to fit in again’!

3. Are you ‘dreaming of a white Christmas’? Is that a possibility where you’ll be celebrating? According to this site the top ten places in the US you can count on for a white Christmas are- North Pole Alaska, Crater Lake Oregon, Yellowstone National Park, Winthrop Washington, Aspen Colorado, Ketchum Idaho, Mt. Washington New Hampshire, Whitefish Montana, Duluth Minnesota, and the Lake Tahoe town of Truckee California

It is totally white right now. It is a good possibility to be white again at Christmas.

Of the snowy spots listed which would you most like to visit? 

Whitefish, Montana is on my list. We have had a White winter experience in Winthrop, Washington back in the 90’s.

4. December 8th is National Brownie Day…will you be celebrating?

No.

How do you like your brownies-chewy or cake-like, frosted or plain, nuts or no nuts, a piece from the middle or give me the corner?

Give me a middle piece cake-like, plain, with lots of nuts.

As a child were you a member of a brownie troop? 

No. My parents were fresh immigrants from Iran after escaping out of Russia in the early 30’s. They did not trust any organizations involving children with uniforms. Too close for comfort (for them and their understanding) to Lenin’s Young Pioneer groups!

5. Share a favorite line or two from a Christmas carol or holiday tune. 

I have soooo many favorites and there are so many great lines. Here’s just one.

…”Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled” 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of snow…

We went to Idaho (Coeur d’Alene) for an overnight on Sunday to Monday. We returned to this view of our home on Monday, the 6th of December. The 6th of December was our 47th Wedding Anniversary. 

Our Christmas letter is tweaked and it’s ready to be copied. Time to address all the envelopes and get the cards in the mail. We have received some Christmas greetings already. So good to hear hear from far and wide. 

The Wedding

Get ready for a photo overload. A friendly warning. Our niece’s wedding took place on Friday October 1st at the Providence Cotton Mill in Maiden, North Carolina. It was a lovely spot for a wedding.

Where’s JJ?

He followed me when I got up to take the photo of the group waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin.

Mother of the bride.

Giving the instructions that everyone will follow but one…there is always at least one in a crowd who doesn’t think the rules apply to them.

Jenna was the first to make us Uncle and Auntie.

Sisters of the bride and our nieces.

Sisters of the bride and our grand niece.

Our grand nephew and our nephew by marriage.

Christina (mother of the bride) and Terry (father of the bride). Terry is Dear’s older and only sibling. Terry and Chris were in our wedding as Dear’s best man and my matron of honor.

It was good to get photos taken before the southern humidity transported my hair to another dimension.

She is one of two of our newest grand nieces and we now have a brand new grand nephew, too.

A cousin shot with the Bride and Groom.

All the extended Bayles’ to date!

Congratulations Chris and Kacie. That’s a wrap!

I’m adding some more photos that I overlooked before to this post.

 

 

 

Happy 47th Anniversary to Us

For our 47th Anniversary which is today we drove to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho after church on Sunday for an overnight stay. We made dinner reservations on Sunday at Cedars Floating Restaurant. It was a good choice and we enjoyed our meal and time there.

When love is true, There is no ending. We hope to celebrate with you for years to come…

Tempura asparagus with balsamic and blue cheese crumbles. I love tempura veggies! Prime Rib for Dear, Scallops for me and then we shared with each other.

Complimentary Huckleberry Ice Cream.

We are going to do some shopping today in Idaho and then head on home. Coeur d’Alene is only 100 miles from Colville. It’s a great place for a getaway. Sales taxes are lower and gas prices are lower, too.

All of our Christmas decorations are up, the tree is trimmed, we had some snow in the early hours on Saturday so things are looking like a winter wonderland. I’ve been working on our Christmas letter so next up is addressing and mailing our Christmas Greeting for 2021.

Happy New Week to all of you!

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus ~ Hymn

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Words: Charles Wesley

Pool Time in Hickory

There was a pool at the house we rented on Lake Hickory and even though it wasn’t heated to a comfortable temperature some of our crew had a crisp good time.

 

 

Fun family time on our Land That We Love Tour. Next up a photo overload from the Wedding ceremony on Friday October 1st.

Back here in Colville our temperatures are taking a cold turn with highs below 40 degrees and lows in the 20’s. In the next several days the highs will be below 30 degrees. Brrr. As I type this the temperature outside is 28 degrees. Time to pull out the warm woolen mittens!!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Have a good weekend everyone!

Family Time in North Carolina

On Thursday September 30th we captured all the minutes we could being together. Four days was the longest staying put time we had on our Land That We Love Tour and it was packed.

Our niece Annie with her little girl, the newest addition to the Bayles’ extended family.

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All the Bayles women/girls/baby together except for the bride on Thursday the 30th of September. Some of this side of our family has been together over the years, here and there, but all of us have not been together for many years.

Added this photo to get more perspective on the house we rented. This is the middle/main level of three full levels of space. Besides the family room, kitchen, 2 dining areas, and laundry, this main area was where the master suite was. There was a kitchen on the lower level of the house, too, along with 2 bedrooms, bath, and living area. The upper level had 3 bedrooms and a bath.

She’s checking to see if I’m as great as I say I am, Great Auntie E.

The guys went out and got lunch for all of us and for the most part we all got what we ordered. It was a crazy scramble. Got the right sauce for those fries?!

In the evening we enjoyed the Rehearsal Dinner and met the groom’s family and other friends at Novel Taproom in Newton, North Carolina.

Dear’s only brother, the father of the bride.

The groom and bride inviting us to eat, drink and be merry.

The Bayles’ girls with the bride included this time, cousins.

The guys who carry on the Bayles name. Rex, Verna, Roy and Nettie would be so proud.

This little guy and I sang ‘pat a cake, pat a cake, baker man’ over and over and over again. Patting it and marking it with a B!

Again Baba, Again.

It was a nice party before the wedding on the following day, Friday October 1st.

Speaking of parties, we have our annual Ladies Christmas Party at church on Friday evening. Young ladies 4th grade and up are invited to attend. Let Heaven & Nature Sing is the theme. I’m in the kitchen today baking a cheesecake to share at the party.  While the cheesecake is baking maybe I can finish the Christmas decorating at Our Country Bungalow this morning. This afternoon I’ll be decorating one of the tables in our church gym for the event.