Author Archives: Ellen

Sweetly the Holy Hymn

Sweetly the Holy Hymn

Sweetly the holy hymn
Breaks on the morning air;
Before the world with smoke is dim
We meet to offer prayer.

While flowers are wet with dews,
Dew of our souls, descend:
Ere yet the sun the day renews,
O Lord, Thy Spirit send.

Upon the battlefield,
Before the fight begins,
We seek, O Lord, Thy sheltering shield,
To guard us from our sins.

Ere yet our vessel sails
Upon the stream of day
We plead, O Lord, for heavenly gales
To speed us on our way!

On the lone mountain side,
Before the morning’s light,
The Man of sorrows wept and cried,
And rose refreshed with might.

Oh, hear us then, for we
Are very weak and frail,
We make the Savior’s name our plea,
And surely must prevail.

Words: Charles H. Spurgeon, 1866.

Cruising on Lake Union

On Tuesday after a hike to the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls in the morning our kids decided a 2 hour cruise on Lake Union in an Electric Boat would be a nice thing to do with our company from Southern California. Our niece Debbee and her husband Lenny were with us for 2 days before heading north to spend time with friends in Surrey, British Columbia.

These Electric Boats hold up to 10 people. Josh started the journey as our skipper and soon we were wondering how to avoid the float planes landing and taking off over, beside and in front of us!

We headed to calmer water. The sights we saw were varied. The Space Needle was shrouded in smoky skies as was Gas Works Park. The floating hot tub had us laughing. There are floating home all along the shores of Lake Union including the home used in Sleepless in Seattle. I didn’t get a photo of it.

We were warned that after five we’d probably be dodging sailboats. They have the right of way.

Soon Lenny took over as the skipper. What are you trying to hide Skipper?

We went under several bridges that we normally only drive on. The blue and orange bridge is the Fremont Bridge and it’s a drawbridge. The larger bridge is the Aurora Bridge.

Behind Dear and me is the University Bridge.

We headed toward the Montlake Cut but the Electric Boats aren’t allowed through the cut. The Montlake Bridge is also a drawbridge.

As we headed back to port Laura tried her hand at steering the boat and decided Lenny could take over again. Two hours went by quickly and our time on the water was refreshing even with the smoky haze that has settled on the Pacific Northwest.

On their way back to our house the cousins stopped at Brooks for Debbee to get some running gear. Debbee is a marathoner. She has run the Boston Marathon twice. You know you can’t just sign up for the Boston Marathon you have to have a documented qualifying running time from another marathon to qualify to run in the Boston Marathon. The picture on the right of the collage is her during the Boston Marathon in April of this year. She’s a high school math teacher and she also coaches track and cross country at her high school.

We had a nice two days with Debbee and Lenny.

Another summer weekend is upon us. Dear is scrapping and painting overhang and freshening up the shingles on 3 areas of our house. I try to do a few chores in the cool of the morning and am waiting for more serious household projects next week when we are promised cooler days and cooler nights. Happy Friday and Happy Weekend to you.

Blueberry Cobbler

Head on over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook to see the recipe for this cobbler. I like it because you can use frozen or fresh fruit and the cake topping doesn’t get soggy. I made a larger one with a mix of apples and blueberries, too. Serve it cake side up or cake side down.

They say we are finally going to get some relief from our dry days and heat and smoke filled skies soon. I hope so.

Light My Way Hodgepodge

1. Do you try to set rules for yourself about how you use your time? Explain.

Sometimes. Right now Dear and I have set rules on our eating and drinking habits. The rule is not to eat after five and not to drink after six. This works well when we don’t have overnight guests.

When I’m in a slump I like to use the fifteen minute timer rule. Set the timer and get busy for 15 minutes. It’s amazing what you can get done in fifteen minutes and sometimes this is just the kick start I need to get going and finish a project.

2. Monday was National Lighthouse Day. Have you ever visited a lighthouse? If not, do you have any desire to see one up close? Of the 10 Most Beautiful that made this list which would you most like to see in person-

We have visited a few lighthouses in Washington State, see collage above. These are from the far southwest edge of Washington, the Northeast edge of Washington and the Puget sound area of Seattle.

Lindau Lighthouse (Germany), Fanad Lighthouse (Ireland), Portland Head Light (Maine), Yaquina Bay Light (Oregon) The St. Augustine Light (Florida), Peggys Point Lighthouse (Canada), Start Point Lighthouse (England), Tower of Hercules (Spain), Bass Harbor Head Station (Maine), and White Shoal Light (Michigan)

I’d like to visit Portland Head Light in Maine and Fanad Lighthouse in Ireland.

When you’ve been away, what’s your ‘lighthouse’ telling you you’re on the right road home?

When we are on the road on a longer than usual trip the “lighthouse” for me is turning on Simonds Road and heading up the hill to our street and finally our driveway.

My spiritual lighthouse leading me to my ultimate home is Jesus.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

3. What have you unintentionally stopped doing? Is this something you need to pick back up and begin again, or is it something you need to let go of for now (or even permanently)?

Counting calories and cutting down on what I’m eating has stopped because of our summer company. We’ve had three different groups of loved ones come from far away to enjoy time at this old house and what the Seattle area has to offer. I intend on picking it up again tomorrow since we have no more company coming, that we know of.

4. We’ve had a full week of August. Share a GRAND moment from your month so far.

We had a grand time on Lake Union yesterday late afternoon into the evening on an electric boat. I will share a full post about it soon.

5. Tell us one song you love with the word ‘baby’ in the title.

Baby, Baby by Amy Grant

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

I’m late to the Hodgepodge party as I’ve been busy with our latest company.

We won’t be seeing our eastern girls and our eastern son till September…boohoo. So thankful for text messages with photos attached!

See what others are posting for Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond. I’m sure you’ll get to see Jo’s new little grandson who has freshly arrived this August!

Dredging up the Past…

What’s In A Name? ~ Meme

A name game to lighten up and cool off the summer heat and humidity:

I’m re-posting this from August of 2007 because I’ve got nothing else right now and I’m still going back and cleaning up all my posts from the photobucket assault on my blog photos.

 WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

Back in 2007 Lana tagged me after she used my middle name. Well it’s hers too because in our Russian culture girls and boys get their father’s name as their middle name. So Lana and I do not have a middle name on our birth certificate but when we are introduced to anyone in our Russian community we are called for example Ellen, “Moisi’s daughter”, Bagdanov. So everyone knows then that I’m a Bagdanov but I’m further identified as belonging to Moisi Bagdanov, not John Bagdanov. Thank God from whom all blessings flow. (oops did I just say that?) So now I have to make up a middle name to use for this meme. I’m not going to stray too far. I’ll use Moses which is pretty much Moisi anyway. So here we go. This is a picture of Moses (Moisi) with me and my younger brother Tim in the very late 50’s.

M ~ Married ~ I’m married to a non-Russian. I was the fourth one of my siblings to be married and I was the first one in my family to marry out! I’m so glad I did.

O ~ Observant ~ I see things I wish I wouldn’t see sometimes. I can see danger on the street or on a playground. I’m very visual. When I had my house cleaning business some of my clients would call me to ask if I’d seen this or that. I could usually tell them exactly where the thing was.

S ~ Shopper~ I love to shop for a bargain. I think I could have made shopping a profession. Shopping for other people is what I enjoy the most. I have to admit though, since I started blogging I haven’t been shopping as much.

E ~ Extravagant ~ I love to be extravagant. I love to treat people. I love to buy gifts for people.  I enjoy going over-the-top.

S ~ Sister ~ I’m a sister 7 times over. I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters. I’m also a sister-in-law to several. I take my title seriously. I love being a loyal sister/sister-in-law  and I’d fight to the death for any of my siblings, just ask my brother Steve…

This was a fun exercise.  If you play along let me know.

Back to 2017…This morning I drove to the airport and picked up my niece and her hubby who are spending a couple nights with us before they head north to Vancouver, B.C. to visit with friends. We met the rest of the family that could for a Sushi lunch. Early this morning I put a Pork Butt in the slow cooker for a Carnitas Taco dinner.

I’m happy to report that the leak we had in our water pipe on our side of the meter has been repaired with the help of a dear friend this past Saturday, woohoo. Thank you Jamie D. and thank you Beth for encouraging him to call us. It’s amazing how great it was to have running water again after the water was shut off for several hours. We’re still praying that the B.C. Fires and the Washington State Fires will be extinguished soon and no new fires will start. Hope all is starting off well for you this week.

Before the Lord We Bow ~ Hymn

Before the Lord We Bow

Before the Lord we bow, the God who reigns above,
And rules the world below, boundless in power and love.
Our thanks we bring in joy and praise, our hearts we raise
To Heaven’s high King.

The nation Thou hast blest may well Thy love declare,
From foes and fears at rest, protected by Thy care.
For this fair land, for this bright day, our thanks we pay,
Gifts of Thy hand.

May every mountain height, each vale and forest green,
Shine in Thy Word’s pure light, and its rich fruits be seen!
May every tongue be tuned to praise, and join to raise
A grateful song.

Earth, hear thy Maker’s voice, thy great Redeemer own;
Believe, obey, rejoice, and worship Him alone.
Cast down thy pride, thy sin deplore and bow before
The Crucified.

And when in power He comes, O may our native land,
From all its rending tombs, send forth a glorious band.
A countless throng, ever to sing to Heaven’s high King
Salvation’s song.

Words: Francis S. Key, 1832.

The Barn Collective

Saw this barn in the distance on a walk at Evans Creek in early July. I zoomed in for a closer look. Evans Creek Preserve is in the city of Sammamish, Washington.

If time permits I’ll link up with Tom the Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

I’m thankful for a breeze this morning and hoping it helps to blow the smoke away. There was an advisory I saw yesterday saying that the air quality in Washington State is the worst in all of the USA. We can’t see our mountains to the east or to the west. People are now hoping for some rain to help clean up the atmosphere. The heat and the air make for a very unproductive ellen b. My daughter in law sent a photo yesterday from the same spot I took the photo in my header. They cannot see any of the layers of the mountains or the hills!

Our Charity Video

Lovella from Mennonite Girls Can Cook with the help of her son put together this video explaining what Mennonite Girls Can Cook do and where 100% of our author royalties go. This video was created as a promo to a play that was written bearing our name and being performed as a musical this year in 3 different Blue Gate venues in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The musical is fun and entertaining but didn’t represent what our mission has been and it is nice to shed some light on the real Mennonite Girls Can Cook with this video. Our talented Lovella has again done a fine job of representing all of us girls. I’m thankful to God for being included as their American cousin and being part of this giving group of Canadian “girls”.

Sifting Through…

…the piles and getting around the roadblocks. I will be back soon once I get to the bottom of the pile and am free to visit y’all.

In the meantime, I love this photo from the fifties of my pop and mom at Knott’s Berry Farm in California.

It’s hotter than we like it here in the Seattle Area and on top of that the smoke from the fires in British Columbia have moved into our area so the air is not as clean and clear as it usually is. We do hope the fires will be extinguished soon and that no new fires will threaten that area and areas in Eastern Washington. Hope you are enjoying your summer.

 

From California With Love…

For the last 5 days we have been enjoying visitors from California at our house. My oldest sister and her daughter Michelle along with Michelle’s hubby and two kids have been staying with us. On Sunday we gathered at Josh and Laura’s for a birthday celebration for their Aunt Lana, my sister. Three out of the four original sisters were able to enjoy this time together. Our oldest sister, Kathy, on the left was born in Iran. Lana and I were born in California. Kathy and her family have been caring for our dear old pop. He’s getting a little lonely since she’s been gone but Kathy’s husband and her other daughter are keeping a close eye on him. I hope it’s a nice break for Kathy.

Sisters, Aunts, Mothers, Nieces, Daughters…

The current batch of Californians visiting and celebrating with most of the Washingtonians.

The weather was just right for an outdoor event.

During the visit Pandemics were halted and the world was saved by different groups of players in different locations. There were fairy worlds to discover by others.

On Monday some of the ladies headed to Snohomish to do some shopping along First Avenue. Since we only managed to hit about 1/16th of what this shopping district had to offer a return trip in the future is on the to do list.

The youngest among us on this family visit enjoyed using the fruit picker to help Great Auntie out by picking a small fraction of our apples.  Our white hydrangea has some huge blooms as you can see with Avery standing next to it.

This extended family photo from our nephew Joe and Hannah’s wedding just popped up on facebook. In this photo from my side of the family there are 11 Washingtonians, 4 Texans and the rest are Californians. This wedding was in January just north of Santa Barbara, California. It’s nice to have visits from our family a fraction at a time. We have another small fraction of family arriving on Monday!

The Pacific Northwest is bracing itself for a heat wave. It’s all the news up here. Hope you are staying cool and comfy where you are.