Author Archives: Ellen

Market Day

On Tuesday some of the crew had a shopping day in Woodinville and then we re-grouped with a couple carloads going downtown on the way to deliver Melissa to the airport. She had to fly home on Tuesday for work responsibilities.

My sister Kathy and I stayed behind. We picked up Katie who was done with her workday and enjoyed lunch together at La Corona our favorite Mexican joint on the west side of the Cascades. Sadly because of COVID our favorite waitress only gets 3 days of work and Tuesday was not her day. After lunch we shopped for some dinner items and headed back to Josh and Laura’s to relax before we started cooking dinner. Taco night with pies for dessert.

A very random shot of the clean up after dinner.

On Tuesday night I was feeling under the weather so I made the decision to stay away from the rest of the family gatherings on Wednesday and planned to drive back home on Thursday morning instead of Friday. Even though I didn’t get the chance to see Liliana at La Corona on Tuesday I was able to see her on Wednesday and it was good to get caught up with her and the owner of La Corona. It’s not an easy time for restaurant owners and their waitstaff.

It was good to see Lily!

Wednesday was pumpkin patch day for the rest of the crew.

Are you going to a Pumpkin Patch this year and do you have a Corn Maze near you?

Back in Colville we had our first good frost and this week is bringing more freezing temps so we’ve disconnected all our hoses, closed the crawl space vents, and rolled up the patio cover cloth. On a dry day I’ll be clearing out all the beds and our burn pile will be stacked and ready for the burn ban to be lifted.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to our Canadian neighbors and Happy Columbus Day here in the USA!

Over the Columbia and Through the Cascades…

…to fa-mi-lies homes we go.

We arrived at sister Lana’s and BIL Steve’s house about 5:30 in the afternoon on Monday the 5th of October where dinner would be delivered by the family crew staying at our son Josh and DIL Laura’s.  My sister Kathy’s family was staying at Josh and Laura’s home. My brother Leonard’s family would be staying at Steve and Lana’s for their time on that side of the mountains. I would be staying with our daughter Katie and her hubby Andrew.

Our crew that drove the 400 miles brought a special cabbage salsa our Daughter in law Jamie made for our meal together. We all enjoyed it with chips as an appetizer. Sadly our Colville kids could not make the trip this time around. Addy was disappointed that I would be seeing Auntie LoLo but she could not. Everyone found a spot to sit and enjoy their chili, cornbread, honey butter, and fruit salad.

This was the beginning of several days packed with activities, meals together and many good conversations.

God of Grace and God of Glory ~ Hymn

God of Grace and God of Glory

God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Crown Thine ancient church’s story,
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour,
For the facing of this hour.

Lo! the hosts of evil ’round us,
Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways.
From the fears that long have bound us,
Free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the living of these days,
For the living of these days.

Cure Thy children’s warring madness,
Bend our pride to Thy control.
Shame our wanton selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.

Set our feet on lofty places,
Gird our lives that they may be,
Armored with all Christ-like graces,
In the fight to set men free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
That we fail not man nor Thee,
That we fail not man nor Thee.

Save us from weak resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee whom we adore,
Serving Thee whom we adore.

Words: Harry E. Fosdick, 1930.

Family on the Trail

I’m posting some of our gatherings in order of happenings here for the sake of history.

Before we headed to meet up with extended family on the Westside of the mountains we had some good times together in our neck of the woods with my brother’s family who are Wholly Rollin around the USA. On Saturday the 3rd of October we enjoyed breakfast together and after breakfast we hit the Rotary Trail to get some exercise.

We were still experiencing smoky skies this past weekend and the beginning of the week.

Jaymison warmed up to my brother in record time for him.

After naps on Saturday everyone gathered at our place again for dinner.

On Sunday we enjoyed dinner at Dan and Jamie’s and had a tour of their garden.

On Monday morning the kids had their home schooling (History Lesson outside) before we hit the road to the Western side of the Cascades to meet up with more family.

My brother’s family is still on the West side of the Cascades and I’m back home on the Eastside. Hope to catch up with your blogs soon.

Regrouping

Back home after spending a few days on the “Coast” with all these loved ones. It took me seven hours to get home on Thursday with a couple stops at Home Depot and Costco in Spokane. I’m a bit slow in the brain but I hope to be refreshed soon to share some of the joy that has been experienced this past week.

Truth from A to Z ~ E is for…

Today is October 8th and we are on the letter E in our Thursday Bible Verse Challenge. Feel free to add a verse or verses in the comments or on your blog and I will share the verses here below and add a link to your blog as well. Looking forward to the verses you share! This is a traveling week for me so I might be late in adding verses.

E is for Endures

1 Chronicles 16:34:

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 106:1:

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

1 Corinthians 13:7:

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

From Mrs. T: E is for Encourage

Click over to her blog, Across My Kitchen Table to be encouraged by her post!

From Maristella: E is for Earth

“Heaven and EARTH will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Matthew 24:35 | NIV

From Sue: E is for Enter

Psalm100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

From my sister Vera:  E is for Elect, eternal, entrusted

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Patsystitch: E is for enduring

James 1:12. Blessed is the man that enduring temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

From Willow at Willow’s Cottage: E is for Eternal

Click over to see her verse!

From Bethany at Raindrops and Rainbows: E is for Earnestly

Click over to see her verse.

I’ll try to check in later when I arrive home after my 5+ hours of driving across the state of Washington!

At the RV Park

Last Thursday we met up with my brother’s family at the Tamarack RV Park in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for an overnight before we guided them up to our home. It was so good to finally see them in person. The last time we were together was at our Pop’s funeral in 2018.

We were impressed with all the steps that need to be taken to settle a RV in.

Andrew was excited to show me his skateboarding skills.

We made a quick trip to Costco and brought in a meal of Rotisserie Chicken, Mac n Cheese, Caesar salad and fresh baked bread. We had the meal together in the cabin that Dear and I rented in the same RV park.

Me and my brother.  I’m #4 in our sibling order and my brother Leonard is #8. There’s a twelve year difference in our ages.

We all made it safely to Colville and the Reflection will be parked in our front acres for a few weeks before my brother’s family leaves for their journey south through Oregon and California.

While they are in Washington they will travel without the RV to a couple of our National Parks and of course get their obligatory family selfie photo in front of the Capital building in Olympia. They are trying to see as many National Parks as they can and they are also trying to make it to the capital of each state they visit. While on the West side of the Cascades they are staying with our sister Lana and her husband. Leonard and Lana are twins.

More to come from our time in Colville and the Western part of Washington.

I’m on the road again today so I won’t be participating in the Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Pear Custard Pie

I found the recipe for this Pear Custard Pie at https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/pear-custard/

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 firm pears of any variety cored, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup of unsalted butter melted
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar for garnish
  • Cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 inch round pan with cooking spray.
  • Arrange the pear slices in the pan.
  • Put the butter, eggs, milk, salt, granulated sugar, flour and vanilla into a blender; process until smooth.
  • Pour the batter over the pears. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the custard is golden and firm to the touch. Dust the top with powdered sugar before serving.

It is a recipe that was very successful and I’ll make it again. Enjoy. Bon Appetit!

Whatever Dims Thy Sense of Truth ~ Hymn

Whatever Dims Thy Sense of Truth

Whatever dims thy sense of truth
Or stains thy purity,
Though light as breath of summer air,
Count it as sin to thee.

Let not the world thy God dethrone
Or from His smile divide;
And count compared with heavenly wealth,
As dross all things beside.

Dim not the crystal of thy soul
By sin’s destroying breath:
There lurks beneath the siren smile
Dark treachery and death.

Preserve the tablet of thy thoughts
From every blemish free,
For our Redeemer’s lowly faith
Its temple makes with thee.

And pray of God, that grace be given
To tread time’s narrow way:
How dark soever it may seem,
It leads to cloudless day.

Words: Mary W. Hale, 1840.

Whatever weak­ens your rea­son, im­pairs the ten­der­ness of your con­science, ob­scures your sense of God, takes off your rel­ish for spir­it­u­al things, what­ev­er in­creas­es the au­thor­ity of the bo­dy ov­er the mind, that thing is sin to you, how­ev­er in­no­cent it may seem in itself.

Susanna Wes­ley, mo­ther of John & Charles Wes­ley