Author Archives: Ellen

Let the Gospel Light Shine Out

Let the Gospel Light Shine Out

Standing like a lighthouse on the shores of time,
Looking o’er the waves of darkness, sin, and crime,
Open up your windows, there’s a work sublime,
Let the Gospel light shine out.

Refrain

Let the Gospel light shine out;
Let the Gospel light shine out;
Keep your lamp in order, trimmed and burning bright—
Let the Gospel light shine out.

There are human shipwrecks lying all around,
O, what moral darkness everywhere is found;
Warn some other vessels off from dangerous ground,
Let the Gospel light shine out.

Refrain

Do not let the bushel cover up your light;
Keep your lamp in order, trimmed and burning bright;
Try to be a blessing, brighten up the night,
Let the Gospel light shine out.

Refrain

Try to live for Jesus, till this life is o’er,
For along this pathway you will pass no more;
Till He bids you welcome on the other shore,
Let the Gospel light shine out.

Refrain

Words: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1900.

Stars and Stripes Barn

This barn was spotted off Douglas Falls Rd. in Colville, Washington on September 3rd.

I’ll be linking up to The Barn Collective hosted by Tom The Backroads Traveller.

While we were in Colville over Labor Day weekend we visited a friend of our daughter in law’s family who lives alone and is getting on in age. I took these next photos at her charming older home. She has a nice grape arbor and we picked several clusters of her seedless grapes to take back to D and J’s.

I’ll also be linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

We are over half way through September already. Autumn is upon us and we are seeing the seasonal changes around this old house. Soon we’ll be raking leaves. Do you see changes in your neck of the woods?

Early September

Sunday September 3rd. I want to jump, Gramps!

Monday September 4th (Labor Day). Cheerios are hard to catch and they taste funny.

Tuesday September 5th. I hear the water running. I think it’s splash time (bath time).

It was so much fun watching sweet Addy May enjoying her bath time. It’s a mommy and daddy job and I was happy to be around to take photos. I have a vow not to share any photos of anyone on social media without their clothes on so I won’t be sharing the bath photos except with Addy’s parents and her aunts and uncles. I can share the elephant towel cuddles after her fun time splashing in her little bathtub. That was the last bath time next to the kitchen sink because her splashing skills have far reaching results!

‘

Wednesday morning September 6th. Daddy went back to work and now Baba and Gramps are leaving, too. Look at me crawl.

And the latest greatest from a text. Addy is moving forward a bit too fast for all of us. This was September 13th so she is 7 days shy of 6 months.

We are happy to say we’ll be seeing our kids from Eastern Washington a week from today. They will fly this time instead of driving. It’s a very short 1 hour flight. Addy will be 6 months old by then. After seeing her moving about skills we have purchased a safety gate and the floors will be washed again just before she arrives. We have a borrowed car seat that we spent some time figuring out how to secure in our car. These days you need a degree in baby to keep up. During their 4 day stay we’ll be babysitting on Saturday night when D & J will join friends for a concert in Seattle.

Today we completed our clean-up of the ash that blew through our windows while we were in eastern Washington. We vacuumed floors, sills, blinds, furniture, chotskies, paintings, pillows, cabinets,  and wait for it…all the books on our bookshelves in the living room. Oye. So happy to have had the assistance of Dear for this thorough job. So we have had a Fall cleaning instead of a Spring cleaning. I have this Christmas time photo of the bookshelves from 2016 to show the stuff/books we vacuumed. Oh and btw it’s 102 days until Christmas.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

A Wordy Hodgepodge

1. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.

Yes! Don’t tell me, show me. I’m a visual person and a visual learner.

And I have many words for the photo above of little Addy May chasing cheerios. Look at those sweet fingers and the concentration!

2. Have you ever driven any part of the Pacific Coast Highway? If so what was your favorite stop? If not, is this sort of trip on your bucket list?

It probably would be easier to say which parts we’ve never driven on. Dear and I were born and raised in Southern California. He grew up right next door to Santa Monica. On our honeymoon we traveled up the Pacific Coast as far as San Francisco. We lived in Huntington Beach and Ventura in the 70’s and 80’s before we moved to the Seattle area. In the mid 80’s we went on a bike ride and traveled on the coast from Mendocino down to the Russian River. For our 25th wedding anniversary we met our friends in California and stayed at Bodega Bay (The Birds) for the weekend. When we lived in Camarillo, Ca. from 2006-2010 we made a few weekend trips up the coast to Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach and beyond. We’ve made a few trips to the coast of Oregon and Washington.

The collage above is from our trip to the Oregon Coast where we came home via Multnomah Falls and across the Columbia River to Bonneville Hot Springs. The falls were in the path of a huge fire recently and the brave firefighters saved the historic lodge situated at the base of the falls.

Too many great spots to pick a favorite.

3. How do the changing seasons affect you? As the seasons change do you find yourself looking more forward or backward? Which season-season transition bothers you most? Why do you suppose that is?

I’m so thankful to finally have landed in a state where I can enjoy all four seasons and the changes they bring. Growing up in Southern California there were only slight differences. I can get a little blue in the winter if it has long stretches of bleak and dreary. Light has a good effect on my mood. I think for the most part I look forward instead of backward.

4. It’s your birthday and you get to pick the dinner menu. What are we having? Do you ever lie about your age?

I do not lie about my age since I’ve been an adult. In my youth I tried to sneak an age or two older for certain privileges. Now about that dinner…We are having a butter basted barbecued rib eye, some roasted root vegetables with lots of onion and seasoning and a fluffy souffle for dessert with red wine for the main course and a glass of champagne with the dessert.

5. What’s a life lesson you’ve learned recently?

I’ve been reading and listening to lessons on prayer these days and on being persistent in it like the parable of the persistent neighbor from Luke 11…

9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Today, September 13th is my parents wedding anniversary. On my mom and pop’s 70th wedding anniversary my mother died. That was four years ago today. My mother was ready to go to her eternal home and to see her Savior.  I’ll be calling my dear old pop today to talk to him and hopefully encourage him. It’s hard for him as he lives these days on earth without his wife and companion of so many years. Thankfully my oldest sister and her husband are gracious in giving him room in their home to live and thrive as best he can at 94 years of age.

I’m linking up to Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce From This Side of the Pond. She comes up with the questions and we answer them.

Sixty Four

On Saturday we met our kids at the Edgewater Hotel on the waterfront in Seattle for a brunch to celebrate Dear’s Sixty Fourth birthday.

I married someone younger than me. God has blessed me dearly with this man and I thank him for that many times each year. And the blessings from this marriage continued with our three children and then their three spouses and now our little granddaughter Addy May. For God’s mercy and grace we are grateful.

The views were nice all around. Our kids chose this spot because of the Beatles tune, When I’m Sixty Four.

In 1964, during their first world tour, The Beatles stayed at The Edgewater Hotel, newly completed for the World’s Fair. At the time, no other hotel in the city would accept The Beatles as guests; however The Edgewater happily welcomed them.

Beatlemania so consumed Seattle that The Edgewater had to install cyclone fencing around the hotel to keep the screaming fans at bay. Some fans even tried swimming across Elliott Bay to reach the Fab Four. After their concert, The Beatles were rushed back to the hotel in an ambulance, while taxi cabs and stand-ins were used as decoys. During their stay, the band famously fished from the window of their suite, the photo of which has become legendary.

These next photos were taken after brunch in the Edgewater Hall of Fame. On a side note The Beatles were the first group as a young teen that I was smitten with. When Dear and I were in a Christian Rock Band we toured England and our group sang on one of the first stages the Beatles performed on in Liverpool. Lots of fun memories connected with this group.

We sang the Beatles tune to Dear during our brunch and for the record,  I’ll still love him and I’ll still feed him now that he’s sixty four!

I had to share the beautiful skies we are enjoying now that the smoke has dissipated. We have beautiful views of the mountains again to the East of us and to the West of us.

And since I mentioned little Addy May I have to share the very latest photo we were just texted. She continues to steal our affections.

Now for some reason I can’t wait to take her to Disneyland, when she’s five or older! Happy Tuesday to all of you!

9-11-2001

A day we’ll never forget.

This flag that I unfurled out the window of our daughter’s room in 2001 is the flag that was presented to my mother-in-law, Verna, at Dear’s father Rex’s funeral in 1985. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII. This window is on the street side of our home. Things have changed on this side of the house but the memories are the same. This flag is folded and in a special flag case in our living room.

This photo was taken 9-11-11. Whoever was alive that day in 2001 will never forget that day and all the evil that unfolded. We’ll also never forget the people aboard flight 93 that defended us and after reciting this Psalm stopped that plane’s flight and lost their lives rallying around the cry, “Let’s Roll”.

A Psalm of David. Psalm 23 (ESV)

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
   for hisname’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
   I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever.

Highway Nine Barns

A few weeks ago we traveled on highway 9 to get to the Mt. Baker Scenic Highway and back home again. These are some of the barns we saw along the highway. This one above is tucked among lots of nice greenery.

Weathered red a-frame barn.

A brand new barn.

A clean white barn.

An advertising barn.

A weathered barn with two silos.

Linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

At church this morning we prayed for all those suffering from the disasters around the world and the U.S.A., earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, flooding, tsunamis and tornadoes. The good news from the Puget Sound Area is that we are seeing blue skies again and we can see the mountains in the distance again because the smoke has been washed away. I am so grateful to see this improvement and to take a good deep breath. While I type I’m watching Fox News with their full time coverage of Hurricane Irma.

Now Again the World is Shaken ~Hymn

Now Again the World is Shaken

Now again the world is shaken,
Tempests break on sea and shore;
Earth with ruin overtaken,
Trembles while the storm winds roar.
He abideth who confideth,
God is God forevermore.

Thrones are falling, heathen raging,
Peoples dreaming as of yore
Vain imaginations, waging
Man with man, unmeaning war.
He abideth who confideth,
Christ is King forevermore.

Human wisdom in confusion,
Casts away the forms it wore;
Ancient error, new illusion,
Lose the phantom fruit they bore.
He abideth who confideth,
Truth is truth forevermore.

Right eternal, Love immortal,
Built the house where we adore;
Mercy is its golden portal,
Virtue its unshaken floor.
He abideth who confideth,
God is God forevermore.

Words: Henry J. van Dyke, Thy Sea is Great, Our Boat is Small

Long Weekend Mosaics

On Saturday of Labor Day weekend we left our home bright and early and headed east over the Cascades on highway 2.

We stopped at Apple Annies in Cashmere for breakfast at the 50’s Diner and then shopped through the huge antique mall. After breakfast we connected to Highway 97 north to Tonasket. We enjoyed views of the Columbia River as we rolled along.

Reaching Tonasket we turned off the highway in search of Jim’s Ranch. We were celebrating Jim and Sherri’s marriage with a country barbecue reception. Jim and Sherri were married in Seattle on August 25th but wanted a casual country reception, too, at Jim’s Ranch in Tonasket. We were happy to make the drive and enjoyed our time with some of their family and neighbors. The neighbors arrived on their 4 wheelers since properties aren’t that close together. Jim and Sherri’s ranch is 270 acres. Oh and by the way Sherri has been my hairdresser for several years now.

After a few hours of enjoying good food and conversation we said our goodbyes and continued east along highway 20 to Colville to spend the rest of the long weekend with our kids. This leg of our journey was about 2 hours. We arrived at their place just as they pulled in from an afternoon of boating on Lake Roosevelt.

We had dinner together and enjoyed some Addy time before we all hit the sack early because we would have an early start on Sunday.

Our daughter in law and her mom had signed up for the Country Roads half marathon which started at 7am on Sunday. Thankfully this was a day where the smoke levels weren’t hazardous and the event could go on. I was in the support vehicle for Jamie, Linda and Addy. Jamie carried Addy in her front pack for half the event.

As I drove ahead to wait for them at different mile posts I enjoyed country scenes and some critters, too.

I’m not sure what those larger furry animals are beyond these goats.

I waited at the entrance to Douglas Falls Grange Park for Jamie, Linda and Addy. At this point I would take Addy off Jamie’s hands and head back to the finish line. While waiting I enjoyed the falls and a talk with the Ranger.

Then these folk and their buggy came along and we enjoyed a bit of conversation, too, before they headed off.

Back at the finish line Addy’s daddy met us and we waited for mommy and Addy’s other grandmother to complete their first half marathon walk. Jamie’s Uncle and Aunt were at the finish line, too, with some flowers for their big accomplishment.

Back at home you can see that Addy survived quite nicely and still had energy to jump up and down while gramps held on tight.

Time will tell if I manage to do any link-ups with this post.

I’m happy to report that today Friday the 8th of September it has just started raining here in the Puget Sound area. We are so happy to see those raindrops and hope they will wash away the smoke and ash. Speaking of ash, we left our windows open while we were away last weekend until Wednesday so we are in the process of doing a thorough vacuuming at this old house. We are vacuuming screens windows, window sills, furniture, and floors. Yikes, that soot settled everywhere. I’m getting my exercise in today. Hope you are having a good Friday.

We are keeping all the folk in the path of Irma on our hearts and minds and especially in our prayers. Stay safe friends.

Home Again, home again…

…jiggity jig!

Hang in there as I have a lot to share from the last several days. Today we drove through approximately 356 miles of smoke filled skies from Colville to our home in Western Washington. It was a hard traveling day with nothing to see on the horizon but smoke. I hope to be back online and at the top of my game soon. We had so much fun with our little grand girlie. Praying for all the fires that are not contained, for the devastation from Hurricane Harvey and now Irma barreling down on us. Here’s a sweet photo of the little one we enjoyed…

Her fresh lungs are being challenged by the very unhealthy air quality because of all the fires and the smoke that has no where to go. Please pray for some relief soon. Thank you!