Author Archives: Ellen

Three Buck Monday

Last Thursday we had three bucks pay a visit to our back acreage.

They had a variety of head gear.

This fella’s was out of the ordinary.

This one was more typical.

Smile, you’re on candid camera.

They entertained us for a while and then they took off.

The Quail families we have on our property weren’t worried about them.

The babies are always well camouflaged.

Before July was over, I completed this wooden piece puzzle. It was fun.

I’m scheduling this post on Saturday morning while we still have power. We have been warned by our Power supplier that they are planning outages to different areas in our county because of the Red Flag warning and the existing major wild fires burning in our county and adjoining county. The concern is high winds and continued dry conditions. We might be one of the properties that will not have power for an extended period of time. Hopefully the outage won’t run into Sunday. We are completely dependent on electricity including our well/water. Time will tell if we can have a fresh shower for church on Sunday. We are not in the path of the current fires.

I’m happy to report we did not have our power shut off. The sad news are the devastating fires that burned through and are still burning in the Spokane area.

August is coming in hot and smoky and tragically. Continued prayers for all those in the path of the fires, those who have already lost their homes,  and to the firefighters!

Amidst us Our Beloved Stands ~Hymn

Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands 

Amidst us our Be­lov­èd stands,
And bids us view His pierc­èd hands;
Points to the wound­ed feet and side,
Blest em­blems of the Cru­ci­fied.

What food lu­xu­ri­ous loads the board,
When at His ta­ble sits the Lord!
The wine how rich, the bread how sweet,
When Je­sus deigns the guests to meet!

If now, with eyes de­filed and dim,
We see the signs, but see not Him;
O may His love the scales dis­place,
And bid us see Him face to face!

Our for­mer trans­ports we re­count,
When with Him in the ho­ly mount,
These cause our souls to thirst anew,
His marred but love­ly face to view.

Thou glo­ri­ous Bride­groom of our hearts,
Thy pre­sent smile a heav’n im­parts!
Oh lift the veil, if veil there be,
Let ev­ery saint Thy beau­ties see!

Words: Charles H. Spurgeon, 1866.

This and That

Marilyn at Mountain Top Spice blog had a generous giveaway of Lorrie’s freshly published book called Life is Short but Wide, a memoir of life in Ecuador. Lorrie’s blog is called Fabric Paper Thread. I won the giveaway and the book arrived this week.

If you haven’t visited either of these blogs, I think you’d enjoy them. I haven’t read Lorrie’s book yet but I know she writes well and it will be interesting.

To round out the end of July we had this handsome buck visit.

My friend Linda knows I enjoy jigsaw puzzles and she gifted me this acrylic puzzle. It was fun to put the pieces together into the round frame! Once the pieces are in there are little plastic screws to hold the two clear rounds together and to lock in the pieces. It comes with hooks and a chain to hang it.

Goodbye to July and welcome to August! Hope your weekend is off to a good start.

Truth for Today #197

Friday July 31st

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you.

Hebrews 7:21b-25

…but this one was made priest with an oath by the one who said to him: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’. This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

1 John 3:24

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

From Leonard:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;”

From Vera:

Jeremiah ‭32‬:‭1‬7 ESV

“‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” ‭‭

From Jan:

Hebrews 1:3 NLT

“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”

From Maristella:

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in heaven.

From Karen:

Isaiah 12:2

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Have No Fear…

I saw this artwork at Hobby Lobby and I had to buy it and bring it home. I’ll post the hymn that this short text comes from soon. I’m sure a lot of you can sing along, especially the refrain.

Matthew 10:29-33

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Eye of Tigger Hodgepodge

It’s time for the last Wednesday Hodgepodge of July. Thank you, Joyce!

1. What was the last thing you celebrated? 

The 4th of July and the 250th Birthday of the U.S.A.

2. July 29th is International Day of the Tiger. Besides the wild animal itself, when you hear the word tiger what’s the first  person-place-thing-whatever that comes to mind? 

I think of Tigger the Tiger. If there was a Tiger in my life I wouldn’t want to expose the fact here because they might just come after me! (Seriously) I’m happy to avoid tigers.

Our niece Hope and Grand Nephew Jackson with Tigger at Disneyland in 2009! Hope is headed to college in August and Jack is done with college and getting married in October.

3. The expression ‘eye of the tiger’ describes someone with intense focus, determination, and the drive to succeed. What area of your life are you currently bringing that kind of energy to? 

These are the lazy days of summer and I’m not bringing that kind of energy to anything. I am considering a special quiet project that is going to take all my quiet energy, digging and sorting and putting it together. When it materializes, I’ll share.

4. What was the last meal you cooked? 

I’ve been following Drew Cooks on Facebook lately and he shared a recipe that I made and my company really enjoyed. If you haven’t seen this guy cook a meal yet you might be entertained…or not. Go ahead…click on the link. 🙂

5. Describe your July using exactly five words. 

World Cup Soccer Ole Ole!

Soccer camp started up on the hottest week of the summer and next week soccer season will start. My evenings will be full. Time to put the folding chairs in the back of our vehicle!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

More lazy day achievements at our country bungalow.

I completed this jigsaw puzzle on Monday. Another thrift store puzzle that had all the pieces! Woohoo!

Vacation Bible School starts on this coming Monday. I’ll be selling the t-shirts and other accessories each evening.  We are hoping for cooler days and for more progress on our area fires so our air is not smoky. Praying for that end.

Happy Birthday to my youngest brother and sister, twins! We love you dearly.

Visitors

On Saturday morning, this fella came up behind me while I was watering and gave me a scare. I was happy that he was a friendly fella. He wanted to come inside but we set him straight. After we gave him a drink, Greg walked him down the road a piece and he seemed to get his bearings and trotted off home.

On Sunday afternoon these two fabulous human visitors were expected and we were happy to see them pull up. We welcomed them inside. 🙂

It is always good to catch up in person with one of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook and their husbands.

We had dinner together and solved many world problems.

It was a short visit and we waved goodbye on Monday morning.

These were the skies we woke up to on Monday morning.

Psalm 19 always comes to my mind when I see a sunrise or sunset that colors the sky. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”

It was nice to have a short reprieve from smoky skies.

Today we have ash floating in from the latest fire in our county.

Lord, please keep our firefighters safe. Give them wisdom in how to approach all the fires burning. Help them to escape when they need to. Bring them home to their families safe and sound. And, please send us some rain without lightning. Amen.

Easy Pasta Meal

In the carefree summertime it’s good to have a few no pressure, no fussing meals to fall back on.
This simple meal takes less then 20 minutes to prepare and can be served up with a simple green salad and some bread. Here’s my carefree pasta meal.

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounce package pasta of your choice
  • 24 ounce jar of Alfredo or other sauce of your choice
  • 1-2 cups ground turkey or chicken, cooked fully
  • 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions/scallions
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Cook 12 ounces of pasta of your choice in salted water to al dente and drain.
  2. Leave in pot.
  3. Add a jar of Spaghetti Sauce or your favorite sauce to the noodles.
  4. Add the cooked ground chicken or turkey.
  5. Add fresh chopped tomatoes and chopped green onion.
  6. Add fresh sliced mushrooms.
  7. Cook all ingredients together until sufficiently heated through.
  8. Season to taste and serve with garlic bread.

Sweet is the Work, My God, My King~ Hymn

Sweet is the Work, My God, My King

Sweet is the work, my God, my king,
To praise Thy name, give thanks and sing,
To show Thy love by morn­ing light,
And talk of all Thy truth at night.

Sweet is the day of sac­red rest,
No mor­tal cares shall seize my breast;
O may my heart in tune be found
Like Da­vid’s harp of so­lemn sound!

My heart shall tri­umph in my Lord
And bless His works, and bless His Word.
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep Thy coun­sels, how di­vine!

Fools nev­er raise their thoughts so high;
Like brutes they live, like brutes they die;
Like grass they flour­ish, till Thy breath
Blast them in ev­er­last­ing death.

But I shall share a glo­ri­ous part,
When grace has well re­fined my heart;
And fresh sup­plies of joy are shed,
Like ho­ly oil, to cheer my head.

Sin (my worst ene­my be­fore)
Shall vex my eyes and ears no more;
My in­ward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Sa­tan break my peace again.

Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I de­sired and wished be­low;
And ev­ery pow­er find sweet em­ploy
In that eter­nal world of joy.

And then what tri­umphs shall I raise
To Thy dear name through end­less days,
For in the realms of joy I’ll see
Thy face in full fe­li­ci­ty.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1719.

The Round Church Cambridge

This will be the last post of our travel journal for our time in Cambridge from March 8th-March 14th, 2026. This post will cover Friday late afternoon and evening into Saturday March 14th.

On Friday afternoon as we made our way back to The Wilde, we noticed the Round Church was open to visitors.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, universally known as the Round Church, is one of only four surviving medieval round churches in England. Built around 1130 by the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre, its iconic circular design was directly modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is currently managed by the educational charity, Christian Heritage.

This panel was such a great presentation of Christianity.

I missed seeing the images in the tiles.

The historical panels were extensive and so well done. You could spend a lot of time reading the history through the centuries.

 

This brings me to the wrap up of our Cambridge travel journal.

I loved walking in a town with Jesus Lane, All Saints Passage, Jesus Green, Trinity Lane, Trinity College, Christ College, Emmanuel College, Jesus College.

Such rich history and foundation of Christianity in the past. In the present day you wonder how many students have an inkling of all of this.

As is always the case, we came, we wandered, and in no way did we see all there is to see or learn all there is to learn. We are grateful for what we did see and what we did learn. Time will tell if we will ever return.

Our bus ticket was for 9:20 on Saturday March 14th. We were up early and had our showers and were all packed up and ready to go. I went down to the lobby to see what pastries were available to purchase to have with our coffee. The almond croissants were huge. (One would have been good to split) March 14th happens to be my birthday so the hotel manager of the morning gave us two on the house!

Our taxi got us to the National bus stop on Parkside and we were off for our 2-1/2 hour bus ride to Heathrow Airport.

We had time at the airport to enjoy a bite to eat before boarding our plane for our 11+ hour flight home. One weird thing about our boarding was that we were bused to the plane and had to climb up the stairs to board. Thinking back on that, we should have asked for assistance with our carry-ons! (Being over 70)

Woohoo! We had a window row to ourselves so we were able to stretch out our legs over the course of the flight. The attendants found out (I told them) that it was my birthday so champagne arrived almost immediately and then when we got off the plane in Seattle, a Happy Birthday announcement was made over the speakers. Arriving in Seattle, we went through customs and then waited for our short hop flight to Spokane.

In Spokane, our son was waiting to drive us home with our car decorated and stuffed with balloons to wish me a Happy Birthday. Our Grands included these sweet cards.

And that my friends, is the end of this travel story.

Life goes on and the ordinary continues and we thank God for that, too.