Author Archives: Ellen

Valentine’s Weekend

Not only is Valentine’s Day on Sunday this year but today (Friday) is Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox) and on Monday we are celebrating Presidents Day. When I was in elementary school and beyond we celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12th and George Washington’s Birthday on February 22nd. We had both days off from school.

Sending love here there and everywhere.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Presidents Day which now covers Washington and Lincoln and others. The above collage is of the statue of George Washington in the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

We have a devotional from Lincoln that I found on our bookshelves today. Here is an excerpt from it;

The True Believer;

The Believer the Object of Divine Love

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 1 John iv. 9.

Pause, my soul, adore and wonder,
Ask, Oh, why such love to me?
Grace hath put me in the number
Of the Saviour’s family:
Hallelujah!
Thanks, eternal thanks to thee.

Today our morning started at 6 degrees f. Right now it has only gone up 1 degree. It is cold. Freeze your face cold. We are doing some indoor things. My sister and her hubby are due to travel over the mountain pass and arrive at our place sometime before five. We have dinner reservations at 5 so we’re hoping they have an uncomplicated drive.

In other news, our King Governor of Washington State has granted Eastern Washington a move to Stage 2 for reopening businesses. Our small businesses especially restaurants are breathing a sigh of relief.

Have a great Friday and weekend everyone!

Truth from A to Z ~ T is for…

On this Thursday we are on the letter T. The only thing tough about this letter will be narrowing down the choices!

Leave your verse/verses in the comments and I’ll add them here. Thank you in advance for contributing!

T is for Trusts and Thanks:

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

From Vera: T is for Truth, True

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Maristella: T is for Trouble

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:34
AND:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
AT LAST:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27

From Patsystitch: T is for Trusts and Thanks

Proverbs 29:25
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

From Happyone: T is for Tears

Revelation 21:4 KJV
And God shall wipe away all TEARS from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

In the Pink Hodgepodge

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge where Jo From This Side of the Pond asks the questions and we rack our brains for the answers! Thank you, Jo!

1. Something little you are loving right now? 

I was tempted to say our little grandchildren but I’ll love them forever not just now. The little thing I’m going with is a jigsaw puzzle. It’s been fun to conquer those little pieces putting them all together to form the whole of the picture. Here is our 11th C****19 puzzle. The 1000 pieces were extra large so the completed puzzle was very large.

2. Red roses or pink peonies?

Pink Peonies.

Red wine or pink lemonade?

Red Wine

Red lipstick or pink polish?

Pink Polish

A cotton candy colored sky or a fiery red sunset?

Fiery Red Sunset

A book-movie-song you love with the word red or pink in it’s title? 

Love is a strong word for these choices I made.

Book: Redwall       Movie: The Hunt for Red October      Song:  When the Red Red Robin

3. What’s something you currently have your heart set on doing-going-seeing-or experiencing?

It would be amazing to walk along the sand at a beach before summertime. We enjoy the ocean beaches in winter. 

4. Who would you most like to have a heart to heart with right now? Is that possible? 

An in person heart to heart with our estranged brother. All things are possible but it would be difficult for sure. For me this would only work face to face, not on the phone or in an email or text. 

5. Write an acrostic for the word L-O-V-E. 

Love–One–Valentine–Exclusively 

Here’s my exclusive Valentine

Now and then…

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of Love…

Feed the Birds…

Gambel’s Quail?

This looks like the Black Capped Chickadee.

This one I couldn’t find in my bird book with the full black head.

These photos were all taken on Monday February 8th. We had a fine dusting of snow overnight.

Well our HVAC guy came yesterday and it looks like they’ll need to order a new part to correct the problem so we’ll be on emergency heat for a while longer. We want it fixed right so we are happy to wait instead of having a patch up job.

Busy Week Ahead

Back in 2016 we celebrated Chinese New Year on February 8th which happened to be Super Bowl Sunday, too. This year Chinese New Year is this coming Friday, the 12th of February.

At our Super Bowl Chinese New Year Party at our house in 2016  I made this simple soup that many Chinese Restaurants serve. Several recipes were very similar online so I really don’t know who to credit this recipe to. Our local restaurants call this soup Egg Flower Soup and another name is Egg Drop Soup.

Ingredients:

4 cups prepared chicken broth
2 Tablespoons chicken stock reserved from the 4 cups
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 green onions chopped
Salt and white pepper to taste

Method:

1. Make a slurry of the 2 Tablespoons broth and 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, set aside.
2. Pour the remaining broth into a medium sized pot.
3. Add the soy sauce and grated ginger to the broth.
4. Bring the broth to a boil.
5. Add the slurry slowly and stir to incorporate it all until the broth thickens for at least 2 minutes.
6. While the broth is boiling and the slurry thickens the broth add the beaten eggs slowly in a stream while stirring the broth in one direction.
7. Keep stirring and adding the egg as it becomes feathery in the broth.
8. After the beaten eggs are added turn off the heat.
9. Taste and see if you need added salt or white pepper.
10. Add the chopped green onions and serve.
Serves 4 people.

We brought in Chinese takeout for our meal which we enjoyed after this homemade soup. It made hosting this party very easy. We added some panko shrimp from Costco with some Sweet Chili Sauce, too.

Back to the present and our busy week.

Monday our Heat Pump is being worked on. It is a major job and we feel sorry for the technician who will be working in below freezing temperatures here. Monday night our weekly home Bible Study is starting up again after a two month break. We are in 2 Thessalonians. On Tuesday we have a casual dinner and Canasta with some friends. On Friday my sister and her husband arrive for an overnight and they are taking us out for a Valentine’s Day meal. This is busy busy for us.

What’s new in your corner of the world?

On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand ~ Hymn

On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.

Refrain

I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.

O the transporting, rapturous scene,
That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight!

Refrain

There generous fruits that never fail,
On trees immortal grow;
There rocks and hills, and brooks and vales,
With milk and honey flow.

Refrain

O’er all those wide extended plains
Shines one eternal day;
There God the Son forever reigns,
And scatters night away.

Refrain

No chilling winds or poisonous breath
Can reach that healthful shore;
Sickness and sorrow, pain and death,
Are felt and feared no more.

Refrain

When I shall reach that happy place,
I’ll be forever blest,
For I shall see my Father’s face,
And in His bosom rest.

Refrain

Filled with delight my raptured soul
Would here no longer stay;
Though Jordan’s waves around me roll,
Fearless I’d launch away.

Refrain

Words: Samuel Stennett, 1787.

Nadia’s Pishky (Russian Rollkuchen)

I’m posting two versions of my mother Nadia’s Pishky that my family grew up with. Mennonites call them Rollkuchen. There are some variations in the ingredients. I’m gathering more of our family heritage recipes on my blog.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 3 eggs (beaten)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • vegetable oil to fry the Pishky in

Method:

  1. Make well in center of flour. Mix sour cream, beaten eggs, salt, sugar, and orange juice.
  2.  First blend the soda in a tablespoon of hot water then add it to the wet ingredients. Mix into flour and knead the dough.
  3.  Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Cut in strips. Then cut strips on the diagonal about 4″ long and cut a slit in the center of the 4″ length.
  4. Fold the top of the piece through the hole and up again. Fry in oil until golden brown on both sides.
  5.  Before serving sprinkle with powdered sugar.

My kids loved to have these hot out of the pan when they would come in from playing in the snow.

These are great right out of the pan and for a few hours but after that, they aren’t as wonderful. Make small batches that you’ll gobble up quickly is my recommendation. The other thing you can do if you have more than you want to eat right away is to make a french toast casserole for breakfast with the leftovers.

This recipe is still easy to make and a nice treat similar to Rollkuchen.
I made a small batch using the following recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups sifted flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 cup powdered sugar (frosting sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon soft butter
  • 1/2 tablespoon brandy
  • 2 eggs
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • powered sugar for dusting

Method:

  1. Sift flour, sugar and salt together. Cut in butter.
  2. Beat eggs and brandy together well.
  3. Add egg mixture to flour and mix well. Knead thoroughly.
  4. Divide into two portions keeping one portion covered while working on the first portion.
  5. Roll out thin.
  6. Cut strips approx. 2 inches wide and 3 inches long.
  7. Make a slit in the middle of each strip, pulling one end through the slit.
  8. Continue with the second portion and following the same steps.
  9. Fry in hot vegetable oil turning until both sides are light brown.
  10. Drain on paper towels.
  11. Dust with powdered sugar.

Yield: 20 Pishkey

A Quiet Beginning

It’s been a relatively quiet start to the month of February at our Country Bungalow.  The biggest excitement was this delivery we had from Home Depot on Thursday.

We would have had to make two trips to Spokane to be able to haul this material and we were thankful we could have it delivered for a $79 delivery fee. Forty sheets of drywall, some 2×4’s, primer, paint, drywall compound, tape, screws and nails! It would have cost Dear around $100 dollars in gasoline to do that trip to Spokane twice in his truck, not to mention loading and unloading. 2100 pounds of stuff. Dear’s truck is rated for 1500 pounds.

And…he doesn’t have a nifty forklift to unload all that drywall! We are so thankful for this delivery service and what it saved us in time and labor. The driver managed to set that stack of drywall inside the new shop with a little maneuvering. It was below freezing here for this delivery.

Earlier in the week we had a warmer than freezing day and we got this photo via text. So thankful to get texts with photos from our Daughter-in-law!

Today in Colville we are suppose to get up to 47 degrees!! Quite a change from the 20’s and 30’s we have been experiencing. As you can see from the photos most all of our snow has melted. Today is definitely a day to spend outdoors before the next snow pattern comes our way. While Dear takes advantage of not having his fingers frozen while working in the shop I need to come up with an outdoor activity to enjoy the warm 40’s and sunshine!

What’s new in your corner of the world?

Truth from A to Z ~ S is for…

Hello February! Today we are on the letter S in our Bible Verse Challenge. The sky is the limit on the verses you can come up with. As usual leave your verse/verses in the comments and I’ll add them to this post. Thank you in advance!

This passage from Psalm 28 is loaded with words that begin with S.

S is for Strength, Shield, Song, Saving, Save, Shepherd

Psalm 28:6-9 ~ Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

From Vera: S is for SUFFICIENT

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Bethany: S is for Sing and Song

Click over to her blog Raindrops and Rainbows to read her post and verses!

From Patsy: S is for Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (NASB)

12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

From Maristella: S is for SHINE :

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
And :
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”
Isaiah 60:1
And :
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5

The Snowball Effect Hodgepodge

A new month of Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for coming up with the questions for us to answer.
***
1. Feb 2nd is Groundhog Day in the US of A. Tell us about one day you wouldn’t mind living over again, and why you chose that day. 
***
 I’ll pick July 9th, 2014.  This was a day Dear and I spent in Oxford, England. I chose this day because it’s impossible for us to visit Oxford at this time in virus history and it is something we dream to be able to do again. Here’s a link to part of our day in Oxford in 2014.
***
 2. Something you know beyond a ‘shadow of a doubt’?
***
God created me a woman and he created my husband (Dear) a man. Those are the only two genders that God has created. 
***
3. Give us an example of history repeating itself in some way, in your own life or the lives of your children.
***
It’s fun to see our little grandson doing some of the things our son did when he was little. 
***
4. Snowed under, snow job, not a snowball’s chance, snowbird, on thin ice, snug as a bug in a rug, tip of the iceberg, snowball effect, run hot and cold….choose a wintry idiom and tell us how it best applies to your life right now. 
***
I’ll choose snowball effect. Building a shop on our property has had it’s own snowball effect. Once I think the hard part is over and done with another hard part presents itself. One thing leads to another. I think I should plan a huge completion party to celebrate once it is all done and all our stuff from our son’s shop finds it’s way into Dear’s shop. 
***
5. Your favorite sign of spring? 
***
It’s hard to choose just one. 
***
There is Easter and all that it means. Easter is my favorite holiday to celebrate. So much promise, so much hope because of Jesus’ resurrection. He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed! 
Our very first grandchild was born on the first day of Spring four years ago. We get to celebrate her at the beginning of Spring every year!
Our grandson was born in Spring, too, in April of 2019. We have so much to celebrate in Spring! 
***
6. Insert your own random thought here.
***
All this talk of Spring makes me want to go out and find a bunch of daffodils to bring in for cheer and the good promise that Spring is on it’s way!