Concrete, Washington

On a road trip we took early in October we drove through the little town of Concrete along the Cascades Highway and Skagit River. Concrete is a town in north-central Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 732 at the 2010 census.

St. Catherine Catholic Church.

Community Bible Church

Mount Baker Presbyterian Church

Concrete Assembly of God. This is one of three oldest wood structures in Concrete that survived several fires prior to 1921. After all the fires the city decided to use their ample supply of concrete for future commercial buildings.

How Concrete Got Its Name

Early settlers came to the Baker River in 1871, originally calling the settlement on the west bank “Minnehaha.” In 1890, the townsite was platted by Magnus Miller, a post office was set up, and the name “Baker” was adopted. On the east bank of the river, the community that sprang up around the Washington Portland Cement Company (1905) was named “Cement City.” After the Superior Portland Cement Company plant (1908) was built in Baker, it was decided to merge the two towns, and in 1909, after much discussion, the new community settled on the name “Concrete.”

The Concrete Fire Dept. and Police Dept. stand side by side sharing a mural on the front of their buildings.

I’m linking up to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally and to Monday Mural at Oakland Daily Photo.

We are having a quiet Saturday as predicted. All outdoor surfaces are wet but not puddly. The rain is just a mist so far. Have you started shopping for Thanksgiving day? I haven’t yet since we are going to friends for the big meal. We are thinking of making our own turkey after Thanksgiving on the Traeger grill this year. Time will tell. Hope your weekend is going well.

Everything Nice Five…

1. For my Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice Friday post I’ll start with this Pumpkin Spice Cake that’s easy to make. I posted it on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog this week and you can click HERE to get the recipe.

In tandem with my cake above is this collage. Do you have a Jiffi-Sift? We’ve never given ours a name but everyone in the family knows what to grab when you want to lightly dust powdered sugar on anything like French Toast and Spice Cake. I have a post about my Tupperware Jiffi-Sift here. Some of you call powdered sugar icing sugar.

2. On a nice day it’s good to take a little drive to see something different from your regular views. This was taken from the car while we traveled on Highway 9 north past Snohomish. That’s Mount Baker covered with snow and just beyond are our Canadian neighbors.

3. Never stop singing! That’s my motto amongst a few others. This is our little girl (sweet and sassy) singing at her wedding. Photo credit to Jeremy Leffel.

4. Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice that’s what little girls are made of. Continuing on with my Friday theme this week I’m sharing this news again because it’s worthy of repeating. We are grandparents for the first time and our granddaughter should be born sometime in late March or early April if she decides to be late. We are praying for a healthy babe and uncomplicated delivery.

5. And here is this next photo my sister took of my dear old pop who is 93 and is carrying on. Still enjoying his recliner and making jigsaw puzzles. When I call him he says “I’m getting weaker, but I’m okay dochenka”. Dochenka is an endearing word for daughter in Russian. Then he always asks us to pray for him.

Thankful for these nice things in my life: Cake and other sweet treats, views to enjoy, daughters that delight, new life to anticipate with joy, old Pop to cherish.

What are some of your favorite things that you are thankful for?

Linking up to Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne and Foodie Friday and Everything Else at Rattlebridge Farm.

Happy News Hodgepodge!

1. Let’s all think happy thoughts…share one of yours here.

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We have the best of news that we have permission to share now with the world. Dear and I are grandparents for the first time and will be able to see our new little granddaughter for the first time in person sometime in March or April depending on when she pops out. Even though our little granddaughter is not born yet we consider her our granddaughter already as God is wonderfully forming her right now.

2. There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “If you want happiness for an hour take a nap, if you want happiness for a day-go fishing….” What say you? If you want happiness for a day _____________.

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This is my 93 year old Pop and what he’ll tell you is if you want happiness you need to Love the Lord your God and follow Him all the days of your life because He will give you the contentment you need everyday whatever comes your way.

3. Where do you go to decompress from the world around you?

One of my favorite things to do to decompress is go out into a part of the world I haven’t seen before. A little day trip works better than Calgon in a bath! In the last couple months we explored Discovery Park in Seattle and took a Fall drive to the Skagit Valley north of us.

4. What song never fails to make you happy?

Our daughter, the bride, singing heartily at her wedding.

Songs/music are one of my love languages. I’m tempted to have conversations using lyrics. I met my husband in a music group. My church youth choir has an album and recordings that were broadcast behind the Iron Curtain back when there was an Iron Curtain. Whenever my extended family gets together we end up singing at least one or two songs in harmony, in Russian and English. We passed out music to two songs (The Battle Hymn of the Republic -groom’s choice and Come Thou Fount -Bride’s choice) at our daughter’s wedding during the reception and had the guests all sing together and then my family sang one in Russian, too.

This Beatles tune always makes me smile and especially so on my 64th birthday!

“When I’m Sixty Four”

When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I’d been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four? You’ll be older too
And if you say the word
I could stay with you I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four? Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight
If it’s not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck & Dave Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four?
Ho!

5. Wednesday is National Fast Food Day. Should that be a thing? Apparently it is, so tell us what’s the last ‘fast food’ you consumed? If you were putting together your own version of a ‘happy meal’ what would you include?

Does a Costco rotisserie chicken count as fast food? Now that we are empty nesters and almost retired we don’t do fast food unless we are desperate or have a craving for fries. Now if I lived close to an In n Out I’d be really tempted for one of their burgers and fries. The animal version. An Animal Style burger also includes extra Thousand Island spread, mustard grilled patties, and extra pickles.

6. In a few sentences tell us why you blog.

My younger brother encouraged me to start a blog way back in March of 2007. At that time he had a blog and knew I visited many blogs and left comments. I also would send emails of encouragement to family. He basically said that I already was blogging but I just didn’t have a blog yet and needed one. Blogging gives me the opportunity to use my gift of encouragement and also an outlet for creativity. My blog is more interesting than I am in person.

The above photo was taken on the day my brother set up my blog back in 2007.

7. List seven things you’re feeling especially grateful for today.

Here are my seven: Our developing granddaughter, Our home church, Our children and their spouses, Friends that we can be ourselves with, my dear old pop and his love for the Lord, My sister and her family who are caring for my pop in their home, my husband “Dear” and his integrity.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am looking forward to our Thanksgiving days next week. Our kids from Eastern Washington are traveling across the pass to spend a few days with us. We will enjoy a huge Thanksgiving gathering with friends on the day of and then some smaller celebrations with our immediate family here in our home.

Thank you to Joyce from This Side of the Pond for Hodgepodge Wednesday. She comes up with the questions and we come up with the answers.

Sedro-Woolley

Sedro-Woolley was founded on a can-do spirit brought by hard working folks as they made their way into the great forests of the area. This tradition of hard work and community was well documented by photographer Darius Kinsey whose works are on display in town and at the Sedro-Woolley Museum. The downtown is decorated with historical murals, large cedar statues carved by chainsaw and hand finished, and attractive gas lamp replicas.

This mural artist signs his name with a Bible verse. On this one it’s Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”

This signature is hard to see but it’s Fredrick Sutliffe again and the Bible verse posted on this mural was John 3:16~

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Until it closed in October 2010, Holland Drugs of Sedro-Woolley was the oldest continuously operated business in Skagit county outside of LaConner. Its roots began in 1889 in the old town of Sedro on the north shore of the Skagit river as one of the first businesses near Mortimer Cook’s original general store. Seventeen-year-old Albert E. Holland arrived in old Sedro on July 15, 1886, and was immediately hired by Cook to be his clerk. Holland parlayed his original drug store into one of the largest pioneer fortunes in Sedro-Woolley.

1 John 4:8 ~ ^“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

This looked like the newest mural on the side of a Mexican Restaurant.

The Bible reference from Fredrick on this one is Rom. 6:23 ~ ^“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This very large mural is painted on the side of a building that defines part of the outdoor space called Hammer Heritage Square in honor of the Hammer family, pioneers here from the 19th century.

The artist signed his work in the form of a wanted poster. Madd Artist. Name: John Maddox-Alias: The Bald Dude-Last Spotted: Fighting the Mural Deadline-Crime: Brush onslaught with the intent to paint- Gang Members: I won’t list them all. At the very bottom it says In Memory of Bill Bowley +.

This chain saw carving by Phil Finton won 4th place in 1999 at the Loggerodeo Chainsaw Carving Contest.

Loggerodeo is an annual event held on July 4th in Sedro-Woolley, the chainsaw carving capitol of Washington State and the Pacific Northwest.

Daddy’s Little Logging Princess. I didn’t get a closeup on who carved this one. There were several other carvings along Metcalf Street in the historic business area of Sedro-Woolley.

Sedro-Woolley was a fun stop on Dear and my Fall drive in the early part of October to areas of the Skagit Valley. It would be interesting to head out to this town on the 4th of July with ear plugs to see the chainsaw carving contest in action.

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for S is for Sedro-Woolley. Thank you Mrs. Nesbitt and Roger’s team of ABC’ers for keeping us all in line.

I’ve decided to add one more link for this post called Our World Tuesday.

Speaking of saws, there is a noisy one in action in our basement today as Dear is framing out a niche that has needed attention for a long time. He will be adding shelves to the space that I get to fill up. That’s dangerous. Before and after photos to come after completion. Yikes! Thanksgiving is next week!

Discovery Park Seattle

We woke up to a beautiful day on Friday November 6th and decided to explore a part of Seattle we had never been to before. Discovery Park is located in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood, and is the largest park in the city. Entry is free. The Discovery Park Loop Trail is a designated National Recreation Trail, 2.8 miles long with an elevation change of just 140 feet. It passes through both forest and open meadows, offers extensive views, good prospects for bird watchers, and can be hiked or jogged year-round.

We walked to the highest point on the Loop Trail. A sign points right toward a viewpoint near the old chapel that looks out over the South Meadow. What you see from this viewpoint is the Puget Sound, The Olympic Mountain Range and Bainbridge Island.

The little white World War II chapel perched on the hill at Discovery Park has been given historic landmark status and given a second chance to remain standing on a spot that overlooks Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Before there was a park here, this area was Fort Lawton and it is thanks to the fort that this large park is available to Seattlites who wish to explore an urban trail.

While Fort Lawton was a quiet outpost prior to World War II, it became the second largest port of embarkation of soldiers and materials to the Pacific Theater during the war. The fort was included in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list. Fort Lawton officially closed on September 14, 2011.

One of our goals while at Discovery Park was to see the light house on West Point. We stopped at the visitor center and asked about driving to the lighthouse and we were happy to learn that since we were 62 or over we could get one of 8 special parking permits to park at South Beach close to the West Point, otherwise we would have had to hike there. If we were prepared it would have been easy enough for us to take the South Beach Trail and walk/hike but on this day we were happy to drive.

The West Point Lighthouse has a Victorian-era Beacon. It was built in 1881.

North Beach on Shilshole Bay.

South Beach on the Puget Sound looking towards the West Seattle Bridge with Mt. Rainier barely visible. Squint and you can see it.

This last mosaic is a photo of South Beach with a couple navigating the rocks on the left of the photo. I zoomed in on my photo to get a closer look at them. When I took this photo I didn’t realize we’d have a nice encounter with this couple. They had hiked down to the beach. When we made it to our car and started back to the visitor center to hand in our parking pass we saw them starting their walk back and we decided to roll our window down and ask them if they wanted a ride back. They were happy to accept and we learned they had just arrived the day before to the Seattle area from Milan, Italy. They were here for a very short time to see their daughter who was attending a special course at the University of Washington. We were happy to share our experiences in Milan with them. They were navigating our city by bus and other public transportation.

We would like to visit Discovery Park again in the future to see more of the park in a different season.

I’m linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life. Click over to see more mosaics from around the world.

We have enjoyed a quiet weekend with a mix of rain, high winds and a little sunshine. We were home mostly except for church this morning and have eaten all of our meals in. Why do I feel like I need a pat on the back for that or that you even need to know that? Hope you had a good weekend in or out!

I’d Rather Have Jesus ~ Hymn

I’d Rather Have Jesus

I’d rather have Jesus then silver or gold;
I’d rather be His then have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus then houses or lands;
I’d rather be lead by His nail pierced hands;

Than to be a king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway,
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out of the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

I just heard the history behind this old favorite hymn of mine and I wanted to share it with you. I sang this song for my final in an elementary voice class I took in college.

I’d Rather Have Jesus is a song written by Rhea F. Miller with the tune written by George Beverly Shea. This poem, written in 1922, was left on a piano in the Shea home by Bev Shea who wanted her son to find it and change the course of his life.

The words, I’d rather have Jesus, moved George so much and spoke to him about his own aims and ambitions in life. He sat down at the piano and began singing them with a tune that seemed to fit the words. Shea’s mom heard him singing it and asked him to sing it at church the next day.

George’s life direction did change. He was offered a popular music career with NBC, but a few years later chose to become associated with evangelist Billy Graham and sang this hymn around the world.

ht: All About God

The Buckeye State

Ohio country roads. We didn’t make it to the larger cities in Ohio like Cleveland or Columbus. On this drive we were headed to the airport in Detroit to fly back to Washington State.

It was always a treat to see a horse and buggy although it was scary to see scenes like this next one.

A tanker passing the buggy on the road.

Millersburg

We stopped at this General Store near Sunnyslope before we drove through Nashville, Ohio.

Word of Truth Bible Church in Nashville, Ohio.

First Presbyterian Church in Loudonville was having a Ham and Bean Supper. Loudonville is in the heart of Mohican Country.

Just after Hayesville we connected to Highway 30 to head west and connected to 75 north onward to Michigan. We stopped in Toledo, Ohio for lunch. Toledo was the largest city we navigated on this trip.

Holy Toledo! Many of us have heard the expression, but where did it come from?

The origin of the exclamation “Holy Toledo!” is the subject of much speculation. One suggestion is the name came about because of the heavy concentration of churches located on Collingwood Boulevard, according to the Greater Toledo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Also, the City of Toledo, Spain, after which the American city is named, is often called “the Holy City of Toledo.”

Other suggestions of origin are not religious, but may be more likely. Holy Week has always been the worst week at the box office for show business; old-time Vaudeville actors contended that any week in Toledo was Holy Week. Toledoans Joe E. Brown and Danny Thomas popularized the term as they became nationally known performers.

This Ghost Sign says Lucas County Board of Elections.

After driving around this area looking for a spot that was open to have lunch we settled on the Ye Olde Durty Bird. It was open and there was parking across the street. Sometimes those are the best reasons to choose a spot in a downtown area. Thankfully it was good.

Time will tell if I link up to any memes this weekend. Got some laziness going on. How’s your Saturday going?

I will link up to InSPIREd Sunday and to the Barn Collective and to Monday Mural and signs, signs.

Thank you to Beth, Sally, Tom, Oakland Daily Photo and Lesley.

Veterans Day Five x Five

They Did Their Share

On Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.

Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years;

In the jungle or the desert,
On land or on the sea,
They did whatever was assigned
To produce a victory.

Some came back; some didn’t.
They defended us everywhere.
Some saw combat; some rode a desk;
All of them did their share.

No matter what the duty,
For low pay and little glory,
These soldiers gave up normal lives,
For duties mundane and gory.

Let every veteran be honored;
Don’t let politics get in the way.
Without them, freedom would have died;
What they did, we can’t repay.

We owe so much to them,
Who kept us safe from terror,
So when we see a uniform,
Let’s say “thank you” to every wearer.

By Joanna Fuchs

For the record and something I learned from family experience is that soldiers is not a term that describes all of our military.

United States Marines don’t like to be called soldiers. Unless you wish to cause mild offense, refer to them as Marines (usually capitalized). Members of the U.S. Army and National Guard are soldiers. Members of the Air Force are airmen. Members of the Navy are sailors.

The Veteran on the left served in 3 wars, World War II, Korean War, and Viet Nam. The Veteran on the right served in Viet Nam and is now part of the Patriot Guard Riders.

Our daughter Katie married her husband while he was in the Marine Corps and before his first deployment to Afghanistan.

Every year, on 11 November at 11 am – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we pause to remember those men and women who have died or suffered in all wars, conflicts and peace operations.

This is our Marine with our daughter. This was taken at the Marine Ball.

Thank you to all our Veterans from all branches of service! Thank you for your service to your fellow man! We appreciate your sacrifice.

A year ago today we laid to rest a Veteran and brother in the Lord surrounded by other veterans from the Southern California Patriot Guard Riders.

My brother-in-law Nick served in Vietnam and suffered deeply. He died last October 29th and he was buried at the Riverside National Cemetery on November 10th, the day before Veterans Day.

Our son Josh wrote this tribute after Nick’s funeral that we all attended on Tuesday November 10th. This will be the first of a few posts from our time together celebrating Nick’s life on this earth.

“Celebrated the life of my uncle, Nick Titov yesterday. He was a hero for God, Country, and others by serving each sacrificially with Love. A veteran of the Vietnam War, who was laid to rest among 200,000 flag laden graves of fellow servicemen and woman, including my grandfather, Rex at Riverside National Cemetery in California. Thank you for your service to our country Nick! Thank you for your service to our country Titov family. Thank you Veterans and families! Your service and sacrifice can never be repaid, will never be forgotten, and is appreciated more than you know!”

The Patriot Guard Riders of Southern California attended Nick’s services. The Patriot Guard attends Fallen Soldier military funerals to show honor and respect to our country’s fallen heroes, their families, and their communities, and to shield them from protesters. They attend the funeral as invited guests of the Fallen Soldier’s family.

Nick enlisted in the United States Army and proudly served his country during the Vietnam War. His years of service were from 1967 to 1969. Nicholas’s job in the service was with Army Intelligence. He had obtained the rank of SP5 at the time of his honorable discharge.

Our niece Debbee and nephew David delivered Nick’s eulogy during the service. They shared some memorable times growing up with Nick as their dad. We cried and we laughed at some of the stories they shared. Our niece Michelle sang “No More Night”. Our brother Steve delivered a poignant message about death. One thing I took away from the message is that Jesus is the one who rescues us from our body of death.

No More Night

The timeless theme, Earth and Heaven will pass away
Its not a dream, God will make all things new that day
Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell
Evil is banished to eternal hell

No more night, no more pain
No more tears, never crying again
And praises to the great, “I AM”
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb

See all around, now the nations bow down to sing
The only sound is the praises to Christ, our King
Slowly the names from the book are read
I know the King, so there’s no need to dread

No more night, no more pain
No more tears, never crying again
And praises to the great, “I AM”
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb

The Patriot Guard Riders escort!

A United States flag drapes the casket of deceased veterans to honor the memory of their service to America. The flag is placed so that the blue field with stars is at the head and over the left shoulder of the deceased.

Riverside National Cemetery is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the internment of United States military personnel. The services are performed at one of several pavilions located on the cemetery grounds. The actual burial is performed at a later time. Because Nick’s funeral was scheduled on the day before Veteran’s day each grave site was honored with an American flag.

Dear has one brother and some of their family and our family were together at Nick’s funeral so we searched the rise above the ceremony for Nick in search of Dear’s father Rex’s grave at this same cemetery. Rex, Dear’s father, a veteran of the 2nd World War was buried here in 1985 a couple months before our Katie was born. These are Rex’s sons and their families except for our niece Jenna with her husband Justin and Rex’s great grandchildren Skylar and Travis.

I thank God this week for our Veterans, for our son in law and for God protecting him during his service and two tours of duty in Afghanistan, for God’s comfort and protection of my sister Vera widowed when her Veteran who suffered for our country died last year, for my father in law who served his country and loved his wife and family, for our country-the home of the free and the brave.

Forgive me for giving you more than five for.., Friday’s Fave Five, and Foodie Friday and Everything Else but Veterans Day is worth it. Thank you Susanne, and Michael Lee.

Photobucket is holding many of my photos from this post hostage. I apologize…

Roads Less Traveled

All these roads, signs, and fences are from our trip to Amish Country at the end of September. These roads are in Holmes County, Ohio.

^{Matthew 7: 13-14 –}“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Linking up today for ABC Wednesday with Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger and the team. R is for Road Less Traveled.

Also linking up later in the week to signs, signs with Lesley and Good Fences with TexWisGirl.

Mosaic Monday

On Friday we drove to Discovery Park in Seattle to see what we could see. It was a beautiful day with no rain promised till late in the evening. I will have a full post on what we saw but for Mosaic Monday I’m showing a bit of this tug boat and her journey out into the Puget Sound from Shilshole Bay. The mountains you see in the background are the Olympic Mountain Range, west of Seattle and between us and the Pacific ocean.

With the time change we are now sitting in the dark at 5:00 pm and so the shorter days begin.

Linking to Mosaic Monday at Normandy Life. Thank you Maggie for hosting.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Author Archives: Ellen