Author Archives: Ellen

Misty Moisty Hodgepodge

1. January 24th is National Compliment Day. Is it easy or not so easy for you to accept a compliment? Share a recent compliment you’ve given or received.

Verbal compliments are harder to accept then written ones. I complimented my husband on the fine job he did painting the ceiling of our kitchen.

This question reminds me of this nursery rhyme…

One misty moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man,
Clothed all in leather.
He began to compliment
And I began to grin.
How do you do? And how do you do?
And how do you do again?

 

2. Ten little things you are loving right now.

Right now while I’m typing this or right now as in these days I’m living in? Here are some of both…

1. Soup on a cold rainy day. 2. Listening to sermons by John MacArthur from Grace to You. 3. Being home with my feet up from a rainy shopping trip to Fred Meyer and Costco. 4. Watching videos of little Addy May. 5. Having my own personal bartender. 6. Our weekly date to La Corona for lunch on Tuesdays. 7. Planning a belated birthday dinner for our son, Josh, on Saturday. 8. Coffee every morning made by my personal bartender. 9. The bread I picked up from a Persian bakery close enough to our home. 10. Comfy lounge wear.

3. Would people describe you as a positive person? Do you see yourself that way? I read here  a list/description of eight things positive people do differently

Positive people find something to look forward to every day, they celebrate the small stuff, they’re kind, they stay busy, accept responsibility for their actions, forgive themselves, know when to move on, and resist comparisons

Yes, I think I could be described as a positive person.

 Which action on the list would you say you do regularly? Which action could you add to your life to give you a more positive outlook? If you’re a positive person, what’s something you do regularly that’s not on the list?

I like to celebrate the big and the small stuff. Something that is not on the list is asking God to help me forgive others quicker. I think praying and giving thanks to God should be on the list.

4. Homemade chicken soup, beef stew, or a bowl of chili…what’s your pleasure on a cold winter’s day?

I like all three of those even on a hot summer’s day. Here’s what I made just before I sat down to type up the hodgepodge.

Mexican Chicken Corn Soup. Recipe for this soup can be found here.

5. The best part of my day is….

Makes me think of the jingle, “the best part of waking up is Folgers in my cup”.

The best part of my day is knowing I’ve accomplished something or finished everything on my list and I’ll now feel free to just relax and fritter away an hour or two.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Many random and not so random thoughts settle on this little one who is growing so fast it makes me a little sad. This latest photo shows her self feeding skills. Hopefully some of the food ended up in her mouth, too. That bib got a work out! Our dear daughter in law has made a lot of her own food for Addy and she’s careful to introduce things gradually or one at a time.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for coming up with the Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions and to all of you who visit and take the time to read my answers.

She’s 10 Months Old

She is now taking steps without thinking about it and while holding on to a toy. She likes to climb and doesn’t want to be deterred. It’s been a month since we’ve seen her in person. Addy’s mommy made this sign this last weekend. Addy looks proud as a peacock to be holding it up. Love her expressions. Baba and Gramps couldn’t love you more dear Addy.

We have had lots of rain with very few sun breaks and when the sun breaks through it lightens our outlook. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Red Barns

Some in great condition…

Others that are weathering and needing a little love. These are from Skagit Valley on the morning of December 11th. The morning was a little foggy/misty.

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

Quiet Sunday except for a nice windy storm blowing through. A good day for indoor projects. After a sleepless time from 1am until after 3am I slept right through our usual church service. We listened to a sermon online. My two kitchen experiments, a savory one and a sweet one, failed. Oops. They were edible but nothing I’d share with y’all. Hope your weekend is ending well.

All That I Was ~ Hymn

All That I Was

All that I was, my sin, my guilt,
My death, was all mine own;
All that I am I owe to Thee,
My gracious God, alone.

The evil of my former state
Was mine, and only mine;
The good in which I now rejoice
Is Thine, and only Thine.

The darkness of my former state,
The bondage, all was mine;
The light of life in which I walk,
The liberty, is Thine.

Thy Word first made me feel my sin,
It taught me to believe;
Then, in believing, peace I found,
And now I live, I live!

All that I am, e’en here on earth
All that I hope to be,
When Jesus comes and glory dawns,
I owe it, Lord to Thee.

Words: Horatius Bonar, 1845.

The Weekend Roundup “C”

Tom is hosting the Weekend Roundup. I’m joining in from the Seattle area.

This weeks prompts are:

1. Starts with “C.”
2. Week’s Favorite.
3. Clouds.

Let’s “C” what I can come up with…

Starts with C

Cabbage Rolls or Golubtsi, Голубцы, a Russian version of cabbage rolls. Recipe here.

2. This weeks favorite.

Cute climber!

3. Clouds

Wispy clouds over Elliott Bay Marina, Seattle. Seattle Space Needle in the distance amongst the masts.

Next weeks prompts: Starts with “D.”  A Favorite.  Details.

Time Was On Our Side…

Wednesday morning dawned with no constraints and a promise of no rain. I picked up Katie at 9:34 and we drove to a park in Seattle that we had not been to before.

We parked and headed down the trail at Carkeek Park that would eventually take us to the waterfront on Puget Sound.

This reflection in the huge puddle had to be memorialized. It’s been raining a lot in the Seattle area.

When we hit the end of the trail this bridge took us up and over the railroad tracks to the waters edge.

Don’t disturb resting seal pups! We did see one seal in the Sound coming up every so often and diving again but no seal pups were resting on the shore.

This seagull was enjoying a rest.

Incoming!

Interesting clouds forming over the Olympic mountain range.

Back to the car we stopped to take a shot of this stone bridge covered in moss and ferns. Seems like we should see a woodland faerie.

We left Carkeek and drove to Ballard stopping at the famous Larsen’s Bakery. We bought some sweet and savory treats and then headed to Golden Gardens.

This stand of trees on the shore of Puget Sound made us park the car and come closer.

We drove away from Golden Gardens through Shilshole Bay waterfront and up into historic Ballard along the Ballard Locks. Getting back to Katie and Andrew’s we passed through Ballard, Greenwood, and of course Sand Point pointing at several restaurants we’d want to try.

Speaking of food, I posted my mom’s recipe for Goluptsi (stuffed cabbage rolls) on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. Click over to get the recipe.

 

New Talents!

You think turning that activity station upside down is going to slow me down? I’ll show you!

Such determination. Made it to the top again!

So, so proud of myself.

Yes, I am.

So thankful to see the latest greatest from the other side of the mountains. I’m hoping she doesn’t follow in her father’s footsteps in regards to visits to the ER for stitches!

Still Blogging Hodgepodge

Crystal Cove Beach, California, January 2017 with my sister Vera.

It’s time to answer the Wednesday Hodgepodge questions…

1. What keeps you blogging?

I’ve thought about laying it aside and then I bump into someone who says they are reading my blog and enjoying it. I’ve been able to go back and read things I’ve forgotten over the years. If I look at it as a journal I’m content to keep going. From the beginning I’ve wanted my blog to honor and encourage and I hope that it has brought some glory to God and encouragement to others. I’m also interested in what’s going on in the lives of fellow bloggers.

2. Some people like to travel in the winter months. Do you enjoy the beach in winter? According to Southern Living the best U.S. beach towns to visit this winter are-
 St Simons Island (Georgia), Hilton Head (South Carolina), Bald Head Island (North Carolina), Seaside (Florida), Bay St. Louis (Mississippi), Cape San Blas (Florida), South Padre Island (Texas), Folly Beach (South Carolina), Chincoteague (Virginia), Duck Key (Florida), Nags Head (North Carolina), and Fairhope (Alabama)
Well leave it to Southern Living to list Southeast beaches as the best in the U.S., LOL. I’m of the mind that any beach is great to visit in the Winter!
I love the beach in winter and most of the beaches I’ve visited in winter are West Coast beaches. From San Diego to Central California for me winter at the beach is best. Last January I spent time at Port Hueneme, Huntington Beach and Crystal Cove.
Port Hueneme with extended family staying at a VRBO to attend a family wedding north of Santa Barbara.
The Orchid Farm in Goleta, California at our nephew Joe’s wedding in January of 2017.
Huntington Beach pier in January 2017.
 Have you been to any of the towns listed (in any season)? Which on the list appeals to you most this winter?
I have not been to any of the towns listed and they are not on my bucket list. When our son-in-law completed his Marine Corps grueling basic training, my daughter and I flew east and drove to Parris Island for his graduation. We stayed in Beaufort. Later when he was stationed in Jacksonville, N.C. at Camp Lejeune we helped our daughter set up their home on base just before Andrew returned from Afghanistan. While there we took a day trip to Emerald Isle.
Emerald Isle, North Carolina December of 2011.
3. What’s a song you’re embarrassed to know all the lyrics to? Are you really embarrassed or do just think you should be?
I’m not embarrassed about any song I know all the lyrics to and am quite excited if my memory serves me that well.
4. When you were a kid what’s something you thought would be fantastic as an adult, but now that you’re an adult you realize it’s not all that fantastic?
I’m kind of sad to admit this but I thought that being a teacher would be fantastic but when I finally made it into a classroom the federal requirements and paper work wore me down and it was a discouraging endeavor for me. I was happy to retire when our first child was born. My first classroom was on the stage of the cafeteria because the school was over crowded. Yikes. My second classroom was a portable which I got locked in once. My third classroom was a regular classroom with nice windows. Our school was in a low income area and was federally funded, keeping up with the federal paper work made it hard to teach and have good one on one time with the students. I loved the kids but didn’t like the federal meddling.
5. Share a quote you hope will inspire you in 2018.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
6. Insert your own random thought here.

It’s a big birthday week at this old house. Monday was our daughter-in-law Jamie’s birthday. Tuesday was our son Dan’s birthday and Friday is our son Josh’s birthday. We aren’t seeing any of them on their day since Dan and Jamie are in northeastern Washington and Josh and Laura are celebrating in Hawaii.

Miss seeing our little Addy, too. It’s been almost a month. I’m always a little worried she’ll forget us but she has a sharp fresh mind so I should just let those thoughts go…

Joyce From This Side of the Pond asks the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you Joyce and thank you to those of you who took the time to read this post. I appreciate your visits!

Grey and Weathered Barns

These photos were taken on December 11th on our way to La Conner for an overnight. We drove some back roads from Conway to Skagit City. Skagit Valley is known for their Tulip Festival and Daffodils, too. Next time I’ll share the red barns.

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

We’ve been so happy to have two sunny days in a row here in Western Washington. Today I enjoyed a walk along the Burke Gilman Trail with my friend Beth after church. This week I’ve been getting out between rain showers to continue pruning our apple tree. I can only do a little at a time, just as much as my neck can take. It’s a looking up kind of job. It was nice to do the pruning in the sunshine yesterday and today. In the photo above the branches that are growing straight up still need to be cut.

The work on our master bath continues with forward progress but we are still weeks away from completion. We’ve picked the tile for the shower and all the fixtures. We also have the flooring chosen. The electrical is done. What’s going on at your house?

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns ~ Hymn

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light triumphant breaks;
When beauty gilds the eastern hills,
And life to joy awakes.

Not as of old a little child
To bear, and fight, and die,
But crowned with glory like the sun
That lights the morning sky.

O brighter than the rising morn
When He, victorious, rose,
And left the lonesome place of death,
Despite the rage of foes.

O brighter than that glorious morn
Shall this fair morning be,
When Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
And we His face shall see.

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And earth’s dark night is past;
O haste the rising of that morn,
The day that aye shall last.

And let the endless bliss begin,
By weary saints foretold,
When right shall triumph over wrong,
And truth shall be extolled.

The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light and beauty brings:
Hail, Christ the Lord! Thy people pray,
Come quickly, King of kings.

Words: Unknown au­thor; trans­lat­ed from Greek to Eng­lish by John Brown­lie in Hymns of the Russ­ian Church, 1907.

ht: cyberhymnal