Author Archives: Ellen

An Adoring Hodgepodge

1. Where have you found unexpected magic or delight this holiday season?

See collage above. We decided last Friday night to take a quick trip to northeastern Washington state to see our kids who can’t make the trip to be with us on Christmas day. It was worth the drive to enjoy the day and a half and to see all Addy’s new skills and expressions and to enjoy time and meals with her fabulous parents.

The other delight for me is sitting in view of the Christmas tree with it’s lights on and enjoying Christmas music.

2. What’s your favorite type of holiday gathering? Will you/have you gathered in your favorite way this month?

Gatherings that include good food and Christian fellowship are my favorite. Besides my immediate family gatherings on Christmas Eve and Christmas day my favorite is our annual Christmas gathering with the Mennonite Girls and our husbands. The only thing that would make it even better is if our Manitoba girls could fly in for the party.

3. Time has named ‘The Silence Breakers’ (women who came forward with stories of harassment)  ‘person of the year’ for 2017. Would you agree? If not, who do you think deserves the title?

I’ll consider the source for this yearly announcement and honor in giving my opinion. I don’t expect high standards from “Time” anymore. It really is the season of discontent and finding fault in our nation. I don’t discredit women who have suffered harassment. I hope women in the future will be able to speak up boldly as it happens and not hold onto the grief for years.

Who I think deserve the title this year are Firefighters and other First Responders who have come to the aid of so many during hurricanes and wild fires, sacrificing their own lives!

Then from a Christian perspective I’d have R.C. Sproul on the cover, the founder of Renewing Your Mind, who went to be with His Lord this past week. He was a faithful servant and teacher of God’s Truth.

Renewing Your Mind is an outreach of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization founded in 1971 by Dr. R.C. Sproul. We know that God uses his Word to change lives. In Romans 12:2, Paul tells Christians to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” That is our aim. We’re committed to faithfully presenting the unvarnished truth of Scripture, helping you to know what you believe, why you believe, how to live it and how to share it.

4. How did you spend your time this year? Are you happy about that? Elaborate

Accepting and embracing changes that have come to us. Accepting the retirement stage and the reality of what comes with that. Accepting the fact that we will be making a major move across our state next year and preparing for that. Accepting the new aches and pains that come with our stage of life. Embracing our freedom of doing what we want each day without many time restrictions. Totally embracing our new family dynamic with the addition of sweet little Addy into our family. This has been fun from a grandparenting perspective but also amazing to watch our children in a parenting role and our other children in an auntie/uncle nurturing role.

Yes, I am content and happy about it.

5. Bid farewell to 2017 in ten words or less.

Thank you for introducing us to the world of grandparenting.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

As I’m typing this my tree is getting it’s last string of lights so I can start putting the ornaments on it. I’m okay with the delay since our 3 day travel diversion yielded some sweet memories of Addy’s new skills.

We finally figured out her little tongue was feeling a new upper tooth that was trying to pop out.

Yum, unsweetened canned pears from Baba’s and Gramps’ pear tree.

She’s standing a lot more without holding on and still only takes a couple of steps at a time. Walking isn’t far off.

I just want to clap my hands! She really is enjoying clapping.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my answers.

Yahoo! The tree is finally decorated so soon I’ll have my Mystery Tree post ready to go.

Last Minute Trip…

…over the mountains and through the woods to see this little one and her parents!

We decided Friday evening to hit the road on Saturday morning to see our kids in northeastern Washington. We wanted to see them since they won’t be traveling to be with us at Christmas this year. I’ve been absent from visiting blogs because all my time has been spent chasing and enjoying our little Addy.

Addy recognized us and was willing to come to us with no hesitation. That is always a relief since there are weeks that pass between our visits.

Addy is cutting a new tooth and she continues to take a few steps at a time. Snow fell for most of the day on Sunday. We are heading home on Monday because of weather forecasts and the conditions on the roads and…I still need to decorate our tree.

It was a short and sweet trip getting caught up on all the new things Addy is enjoying from food to chatter to movement.

Fun times with gramps!

The Christmas tree was found and cut down on our kids’ property.

You have to catch a photo of her fast as she’s always on the go! She’s enjoying “pat a cake” and she can really move about in her walker!

It was fun to visit and have some sweet cuddles until next time.

The adults were able to complete a couple of projects, too, with extra hands keeping an eye on Addy.

We are hoping for clear sailing on the roads between Colville and Seattle today. Christmas is just one week away. Are you ready? We are more ready now that we’ve spent time with our kids in Colville.

Update: Thank you all for your good wishes and prayers. We made it home in great time and with very nice conditions most of the way home. We are very thankful we decided to come home on Monday as Tuesday welcomed snow and bad conditions on most of the roads we traveled yesterday. Today I will finally put the ornaments on the tree and since it is so rainy and blustery outside maybe I’ll even start wrapping some gifts.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.

Refrain

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy.

In Bethlehem, in Israel, this blessèd Babe was born,
And laid within a manger upon this blessèd morn;
The which His mother Mary did nothing take in scorn.

Refrain

From God our heavenly Father a blessèd angel came;
And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same;
How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name.

Refrain

Fear not, then, said the angel, Let nothing you affright
This day is born a Savior of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s power and might.

Refrain

The shepherds at those tidings rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding in tempest, storm and wind,
And went to Bethl’em straightaway this blessèd Babe to find.

Refrain

But when to Bethlehem they came where our dear Savior lay,
They found Him in a manger where oxen feed on hay;
His mother Mary kneeling unto the Lord did pray.

Refrain

Now to the Lord sing praises all you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas all others doth deface.

Refrain

God bless the ruler of this house, and send him long to reign,
And many a merry Christmas may live to see again;
Among your friends and kindred that live both far and near—

That God send you a happy new year, happy new year,
And God send you a happy new year.

Saturday’s Critters

Our little Addy loves Rayna. Addy’s mom says that Rayna tolerates Addy. I’m sure when Addy is older Rayna will appreciate her more.

It’s been almost a month since we’ve seen little Addy face to face. Hope a trip across the mountains can be accomplished before too long.

Here’s some other critters Dear and I saw on our overnight trip to La Conner. These lovelies were very curious when we stopped on the road to take photos of them at South Fork Farms in Mount Vernon, Washington. Love their faces!

The alpaca is a member of the camelid family, which also includes the llama, guanaco, vicuna and the camel.

Alpaca produce a specialty fiber in 16 different natural colors – white, beige, lt. fawn, med. fawn, dk. fawn, lt. brown, med. brown, dk. brown, bay black, true black, lt. silver grey, med. silver grey, dk. silver grey, lt. rose grey, med. rose grey, dk. rose grey.

Alpaca fiber is five times warmer than sheep wool and more durable than cotton.

Linking up to Saturday’s Critters at Viewing Nature with Eileen. Thank you Eileen!

Happy to say our mystery tree is up with most of the lights on it. As soon as another string of lights go up I’ll be able to put the ornaments on and show you what it looks like this year. Are you ready for next weekend? We’re enjoying our Christmas music and worshiping the one who came for us to live among us and to die on the cross to save us, Emmanuel.

Christmas Past and Present

These vintage cards are from my mother-in-law’s stash of Christmas goodies that ended up with us.  Happy to know our cards with our Christmas greetings are on their way to friends and family. We also have antique postcards from Dear’s great great aunt. The postmarks are from 1908-1912.

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We still need to buy our tree to bring home and decorate.

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We’ve had several dry and very cold days. That is about to change so I’m telling myself that today might be the day to go buy our Mystery Tree before the rains come. For those of you new to my blog our Mystery Tree tradition is an idea I borrowed from my sister-in-law Kelly several years ago. We go to the local big box home improvement store and grab a tree that is wrapped with netting and throw it into our truck or car and bring it home without knowing what it will look like. The one thing we look at carefully is how straight the trunk at the bottom of the tree is. When we get it home we set it in it’s tree holder in the right spot in our living room before we cut away the netting and see what we got. We choose to enjoy it no matter what. We’ve found it to be a tradition that works well for us instead of searching for that perfect tree that caused a lot of stress in the past. (The only problem with this reveal is that we don’t get the chance to shake out all the needles that might have accumulated in the netting)

Do you have traditions that carry on from year to year? Do you still send out Christmas cards? Do you do live or artificial for your tree?

Happy Hanukah to any of my Jewish friends who stop by here.

Purple Haze Hodgepodge

1. ‘Hurry less, worry less’…what’s your strategy for making that happen this holiday season? How’s it going so far?

Well, we threw in an overnight getaway to La Conner to celebrate our 43rd anniversary and that included lots of country roads less traveled instead of the interstates. It was good to take the time away from our renovations and decorations. Our leisurely walk along the waterway in La Conner was relaxing. So far so good.

2. Do you have a list of to-dos that need accomplishing in order to prepare your home and/or property for the winter season? What are some of the jobs on your list? Are you a do-it-yourselfer or do you hire someone to accomplish these tasks?

Winter is not that harsh in the Puget Sound area. Generally all we need to do is lock the windows so they are shut tight and disconnect the water hoses so they don’t freeze. Sometime after Christmas and before Spring we need to prune the apple and pear tree. We do all these things ourselves. I still need to cut back my lavender plants!

This is what the apple tree looks like before pruning and all the branches that are growing straight up need to be cut. After pruning it looks more like this with still a few more branches to cut. Ignore the evergreen in the background.

3. According to dietitians surveyed, the most popular health foods for 2018 will be -turmeric, sprouted foods (bean sprouts, breads with sprouted grains, etc), veggies in place of grains, dairy free milk, and pulses (lentils, chickpeas, etc).  What’s the first thought that ran through your head when you read this list? Of the foods listed which one might you add to your regular diet? Also, can milk really be dairy free? Is it still milk?

The first thought I had was healthy trends aren’t my thing. Maybe I’ll add more veggies.

4. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2018 is Ultra Violet. According to the Pantone site ‘Ultra Violet communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking pointing us to the future.’ What say you? Do you like the color purple? Did you see the movie or read the book-ha!?  Is purple a color you wear often? Describe for us one purple item in your home without using the word purple.  If you were in charge of such things what color would you select for 2018?

I don’t mind the color purple. I did see the movie. We have three University of Washington alums in our family and we live in Husky country where slogans like “let purple reign again” are alive and well.

Purple evokes passionate pride. It’s the color that stands out as most quintessentially to our University and is therefore the dominant color in our communications. Gold symbolizes excellence. It’s a sophisticated hue that speaks to our extraordinary standards and immense quality. And when you combine the two? That’s the UW.

Sometimes I wear purple. The little girl with the W on her shirt is now an alumnus of Udub and her husband will soon be a graduate of the Udub, too. I helped put my Dear through the UW school of Pharmacy so I wear my purple with pride.

We do have some walls at this old house that remind me of lavender sprigs . Not the vibrant variety.

You can see that color in what used to be my master bathroom?

If I was in charge of such things the color of the year would be China Blue.

5. Favorite book read this year?

Glass Houses by Louise Penny

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Today I’ll be mailing our Christmas cards. We’ve received a few already and I always enjoy being brought up to date on what is happening with friends from far and wide. We still do not have our tree and that’s the last purchase we need to make for Christmas. Once the tree is up I’ll start thinking about wrapping the presents that will be going under it.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you to whoever takes the time to read the answers.

Angels From the Realm 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.

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

 

This little one continues to delight us. We were texted a video of her taking steps already. The video showed her taking three steps. Yikes! She’s not even 9 months yet. Mommy and Daddy are going to have to be on their toes to keep track of her.

All our Christmas decor is up now and all that is left is the purchase of our mystery tree and decorating that mystery tree. In the meantime Dear and I are escaping  for a night away to celebrate our anniversary. Hope you all have a good week and that you are enjoying holy nights with the bright lights of Christmas.

O, Come, Little Children

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Oh, Come, Little Children

Oh, come, little children, oh, come, one and all,
To Bethlehem’s stable, in Bethlehem’s stall.
And see with rejoicing this glorious sight,
Our Father in heaven has sent us this night.

Oh, see in the manger, in hallowèd light
A star throws its beam on this holiest sight.
In clean swaddling clothes lies the heavenly Child,
More lovely than angels, this Baby so mild.

Oh, there lies the Christ Child, on hay and on straw;
The shepherds are kneeling before Him with awe.
And Mary and Joseph smile on Him with love,
While angels are singing sweet songs from above.

Words: Christoph von Schmid, 1794

A friend of ours faxed me the music and words for O Come Little Children in the Russian language. I learned this song by heart in Russian and it’s been fun to sing it this week. We have started the Advent Season and I’ll be posting Christmas Music for the rest of the month. Some of the words in Russian translate different than the English version.

Be Merry…

Things have finally settled down enough in our kitchen renovations so I could start decorating for Christmas.

I’ve acquired a few new nativity sets over the last few years. I’ve had a conversation with myself and have agreed to not purchase any more.

Looks like the theme this year at this old house is to Be Merry!

You can see my neighbors lights out the window. They really light up the night! We have not purchased our Mystery Tree yet.

My extra motivation for decorating was our small group Christmas Appetizer potluck. I made Lovella’s Cocktail Sausage Wreath again.

I’ve been real slow in catching up with visits to blogs. I hope to come by soon.

Slowly and surely with long work days things are getting done. The kitchen backsplash is all done and the last thing to do is the new trim around the window above the sink.

Anniversary Hodgepodge

1. What title would you give this current chapter of your life?

Preparing for Change

Today is our 43rd wedding anniversary and we are preparing for another major change in our lives. We were married in 1974 and in 1975 we bought our first home moving to Huntington Beach from West Los Angeles. In 1976 we moved to our second home in Huntington Beach where our two sons were born. The photo above is from our first Christmas in that home. In 1984 we moved from Huntington Beach to Ventura, California with our two young sons (our hearts and minds are with the people of Ventura during the latest Thomas Fire). In 1988 we made the huge move from California to Washington State with our two sons and 3 year old daughter so Dear could go back to school (University of Washington) to become a Pharmacist. We settled into Washington State nicely but in 1996 we experienced a major landslide behind our dream home and after many setbacks and huge costs mounting on saving our home we walked away and gave the home and all our equity to the bank. We lived in 3 rentals. A month after moving into our 3rd rental home in 1998 the owners told us they needed to sell the home even though we had a 1 year lease. We could not face another move and offered to buy the house and were surprised that the bank would give us a loan since we had defaulted on our landslide home. We have been in this old house, the only house we didn’t really choose to buy for almost 20 years. I’ll need to add that because of a job change we moved to Camarillo, California for 4 years from 2006-2010. We did not sell this old house but left two of our adult children to live in it and to care for it while we were gone. Now we are making some extra improvements on this old house to get it ready to sell in Spring of 2018 and make a major move across the mountains to a small country town in northeast Washington. I have to say that change at this stage of life is a little more scary then when we were in our twenties, thirties, forties, or fifties!

But…the consolation is that we will be close to one of our sons, daughter-in-law and little miss Addy!

2. December 6 is National Microwave Oven Day. Who knew? Besides popcorn and coffee reheats, what’s the most common thing you microwave? Could you get along without a microwave?

Frozen entrees like lasagna or corn on the cob or artichokes. Yes, I’d be able to survive without a microwave.

3. If you could insert yourself into any Christmas carol and experience the lyrics in real life, which Christmas carol lyric would you choose and why?

Away in a Manger

4. Describe the most beautiful drive you’ve ever taken.

We’ve experienced so many beautiful drives that it’s very hard to choose one. I’ll choose drives in the Cotswolds on narrow lanes that were so scary but beautiful.

5. What’s something on your Christmas list this year? (an actual list or figuratively speaking, either one)

I went with actual. Gift cards to nice restaurants in Seattle. We are moving to a very small country town 6 hours from Seattle and I want to get my fill of the restaurants I’ll miss.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance,
baptism without church discipline,
Communion without confession….
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for providing the questions and to all of you who take the time to read our answers.

This morning we see that there are multiple fires in Southern California fanned by Santa Ana Winds. A few freeways have been shut down. I’m sad to see the fires near the Getty Center, Santa Clarita, San Bernardino and of course Ventura. Prayers are up for the people in the paths of these fires and all those who have to evacuate. So frightening, thinking of all my family and friends down there. Go outside and water down your roofs! Be wise about evacuating!