It’s time to link up again with Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee for some photo prompts.
November Prompts – Everyday Images #75
~~~~~
layers
We enjoy the layers of mountains here in Colville and beyond.
remember
This is a fun time to remember when all three of these guys laughed till they cried.
texture
Lots of textures in this photo op at our Mother’s Day event at church.
at home (monthly)
At home in November with our Thanksgiving and Fall decor.
prepare
Preparing to toast slices of baguette to go with a salad.
Time to start thinking of all the traditional dishes we are going to prepare for our Thanksgiving meal.
cozy
A flashback to our daughter Katie sitting cozy with her Dzeda (Grandfather) many years ago.
~~~~~
We were in Spokane yesterday for most of the day so I’m a little behind in visiting. We made 8 stops and managed to find everything on our lists! Woohoo.
1. Let’s do our gratitude question first this week…what’s the best thing about your home, and have you taken time to enjoy it lately?
Our views are one of the best things about our home. After living for years in tract homes where you could almost touch your neighbor it is wonderful to see trees and fields and mountains out of our windows. We are also entertained with wildlife out our windows.
2. Do you like squash? Of the varieties listed, which one’s your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Is squash of some sort on your Thanksgiving menu??
Sweet Potatoes/Yams baked with butter and brown sugar topped with marshmallows is a favorite at Thanksgiving.
acorn, butternut, delicata, spaghetti, zucchini, crookneck (yellow squash), patty pan
Butternut Squash Soup is another favorite.
3. Last time you were ‘squashed in’ somewhere, or felt squashed?
My favorite kind of squashed.
4. Have you ever played squash? What about other ‘racquet sports’ such as racquetball, tennis, pickleball, badminton, table tennis (ping pong)? Are these sports something you enjoy?
In a time long long ago I played some tennis, badminton, Ping Pong and pickleball. I might have even tried to play racquet ball once. I enjoyed them but that is in the past tense.
5. Something in today’s society or culture that feels like a ‘racket’ to you? If you don’t like that one, tell us about a place you’ve been recently where there was a lot of ‘racket’.
There is always a lot of racket when I’m at Irish dance class with Addy on Thursdays. This is true especially when they are practicing with their hard shoes!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
My first Fall puzzle was not easy. A thousand piece puzzle of Shakespearean Insults.
‘Leave thy vain Bibble Babble’
And with that I’ll say adieu, Hodgepodgers and all who visit here.
Here is my first Fall puzzle and it was a doozey! I bought it at Union Gospel Mission Thrift store in Spokane for $5.
I’ve been working on it for a couple weeks.
Hooray! No missing pieces. I finished this up on Monday before JJ arrived for his afternoon at Baba and Gramps.
JJ lost his first tooth on Monday morning so we had to document that! It’s a little harder to bite into his snacks. This boy loves snacks.
Out for a trek to the mailbox with Gramps.
G.I. Joe with Gramps. The same G.I. Joe show his dad and uncle watched when they were boys. I remembered and mentioned to JJ that I thought his dad or uncle had their old G.I. Joe sleeping bag. JJ wanted me to call Uncle Joshie to see if he still had it. I said I would text instead. Then JJ added that if he still had it he could maybe bring it at Thanksgiving. Later that evening we got this photo with Uncle Joshie’s answer.
Yes! He will bring it at Thanksgiving!
Before we knew it, Jamie and Addy got back from Irish Dance to collect JJ. Addy always wants a rundown of all the snacks JJ had while she was at Dance.
Thankful in this season of thankfulness for the opportunity to spend time with our grandchildren and that we live in the same town.
Our first event of the day was Addy’s basketball game.
Those dribbling skills are really coming along this year.
After lunch we piled into our vehicle with Dan doing the driving for the rest of the day. We were headed to Spokane for an afternoon performance of the Nutcracker. Granny Great bought the tickets as a Christmas present for each of us.
As soon as the show began there were no more photos. The sets and performances were top notch.
Addy appreciated the dance moves and JJ enjoyed the more acrobatic part of the show. We all enjoyed the show and were ready for dinner. We managed the extra traffic leaving the show and all gathered for dinner in North Spokane.
At dinner our selfie taker, Addy, stepped in for Auntie Lolo since Auntie was on the other side of the mountains.
Since it was a long day these two started fading and needed cuddles with mom.
We got home at bedtime for most of us! Thankful for safe travels there and back again.
It was a full day and we were thankful for good times with family and friends of family.
Come, O come, Thou quickening Spirit,
God from all eternity!
May Thy power never fail us;
Dwell within us constantly.
Then shall truth and life and light
Banish all the gloom of night.
Grant our hearts in fullest measure
Wisdom, counsel, purity,
That we ever may be seeking
Only that which pleaseth Thee.
Let Thy knowledge spread and grow,
Working error’s overthrow.
Show us, Lord, the path of blessing;
When we trespass on our way,
Cast, O Lord, our sins behind Thee,
And be with us day by day.
Should we stray, O Lord, recall;
Work repentance when we fall.
With our spirit bear Thou witness
That we are the sons of God
Who rely upon Him solely
When we pass beneath the rod;
For we know, as children should,
That the cross is for our good.
Prompt us, Lord, to come before Him
With a childlike heart to pray;
Sigh in us, O Holy Spirit,
When we know not what to say.
Then our prayer is not in vain,
And our faith new strength shall gain.
If our soul can find no comfort,
If despondency grows strong,
And the heart cries out in anguish, Oh my God, how long, how long?
Comfort then our aching breast,
Grant it courage, patience, rest.
Holy Spirit, strong and mighty,
Thou who makest all things new,
Make Thy work within us perfect
And the evil foe subdue.
Grant us weapons for the strife
And with victory crown our life.
Guard, O God, our faith forever;
Let not Satan, death or shame
Ever part us from our Savior;
Lord, our refuge is Thy name.
Though our flesh cry ever: Nay!
Be Thy Word to us still Yea!
And when life’s frail thread is breaking,
Then assure us more and more,
As the heirs of life unending,
Of the glory there in store,
Glory never yet expressed,
Glory of the saints at rest.
On Tuesday November 11th I was able to capture some of the colorful night sky with my phone camera.
“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.” Psalm 19:1-2
During this past week we got some photos of our loved ones via text. I am so grateful this kind of communication is available at our fingertips.
Addy getting a kick out of herself and her Skyjo skills! She was “getting ready for her victory dance”.
Katie and Laura on the other side of the mountains at ‘nail time’ that they enjoy together. Our westside beauties!
Woohoo! Look at who is Clubber of the month. Great job, Addy, memorizing all your verses! Baba and Gramps are thankful you enjoy learning about our God and Savior and storing up Scripture for your heart and mind.
Leaving off with a beautiful sunset viewed through the window at Addy’s Irish Dance studio on Thursday the 13th.
What are some of your ‘thankfuls’ this time of year?
On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during 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 dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!
The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!
I’m adding a little note here for the verses I’m sharing today from John 17.
My First Anchor:
On November 24, 1572, John Knox, as he lay dying, said to his wife, Margaret, “Go, read to me where I cast my first anchor.” Margaret knew immediately what to do. She reached for a Bible, opened to John 17, and read to her husband the first three verses. Margaret knew this text was where Knox first met Christ as his Savior. The passage served as both the first and the last anchor for Knox.
John 17:1-3
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
From Vera:
“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
Ephesians 2:14-18 ESV
From Dianna:
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.
Joyce From This Side of the Pond made this announcement; “ I’m hosting a link up here for anyone interested in sharing a Day In The Life post. These are always fun to read and help us remember all the ways we’re connected as we go about the everyday ordinary business of living. Hope you’ll join us!
Joyce’s plan going forward is to do these seasonally, so maybe four a year. Watch for the next date sometime in the early part of 2026.
This is the first she’s hosting and my first endeavor. I chose to share the events of my day on Veterans Day, November 11, 2025 which was Tuesday. I took a couple of the morning photos on Wednesday which show accurately what happened on Tuesday, too.
Up at 5am and my dear hubby makes my coffee when he sees my groggy face walk in.
Our Bunn coffee maker excels at a fast brew time.
Coffee in hand this is my morning first stop. Yep it’s still o’dark’thirty outside.
The rest of these photos were taken on Tuesday, A Day in the Life. 🙂
I had an early eye appointment in Spokane and we set out from our home at 7am. It was a foggy drive. It takes roughly 1-1/2 hours for us to get to Spokane. We arrived a little early for my appointment and since Trader Joe’s is across the street from the office we did a little shopping.
Check in and wait times were over the top on this day because the offices are introducing a new computer system, ugh. We did have a nice chat with a man who was waiting with us. Come to find out he had a connection to a couple who are part of our church.
With eyes dilated we stopped at Hobby Lobby (no purchase), Home Goods (2 small items purchased), and Costco for gas and to order new glasses (big purchase$$). We also bought a King comforter and some real maple syrup that were both on sale.
This is Master’s Brewery in Deer Park. We usually stop here on our way home from Spokane for a meal. Deer Park is about 20 miles north of Spokane and on our route home.
Stroganoff Soup was the soup of the day and we enjoyed it with a salad and bread stick. The daily soups at this spot are always excellent!
I’m adding many views from the road home from our lunch stop. We had about 55 miles more to go to get home.
These shots are from us coming down into Chewelah.
Chewelah is about 20 miles from Colville and it has the only stoplight we encounter once we are on Highway 395 from Spokane and before we reach Colville.
Coming into Colville. We love seeing the big C on the mountain along with the Cross.
Stopping to pick up mail even though it is Veterans Day and there is no mail delivery. LOL! That’s our home in the distance. We made it home at about 3pm.
We had a delivery to our front door while we were gone. It was a very heavy box. We drug it in and then emptied the contents in our entry and brought all the parts into one of our spare rooms. Assemblie will commence on Wednesday. Mystery will be revealed soon.
Greg had a meeting at church that started at 4:30. While he was gone, I worked on this tough puzzle. I’m a glutton for punishment.
Time to put my feet up and enjoy a little ‘Escape to the Country’ until Greg came home. I noticed that people all across the states were posting photos of an ‘Aurora’ event in the night sky. When Greg got home at 8ish, we went on the deck to try to capture some of the images.
This is one of my favorites. What an end to the day!
“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.” Psalm 19:1-2
Thank you for coming along for this day in my life.
It means honoring and obeying the laws of my country and doing whatever is in my power to insure the freedoms our founding fathers established. I love singing the National Anthem at sporting events. A little flag waving is good, too. Displaying the flag on holidays and other key times during the year.
2. September-October-November…your favorite fall month? Tell us why. If you live in the southern hemisphere use these months but sub spring for the word fall.
I’m cheating and naming something that is special to me for each of these months.
September ~ it always seems like the fresh start back to routine activities that make me feel grounded and we get to celebrate Greg’s birthday in this month.
October ~ where Fall colors shine the best and we enjoy the annual corn maze.
November ~ the Thankful month. gathering with family on Thanksgiving.
3. A song you love with the word thanks (or some form of that word) in the title or lyrics?
I’m sharing one of many songs that make me say thank you, Jesus!
My hymn of Praise shall always be forever Jesus! In Jesus I have sooo many reasons to say Thank You!
4. November is National Peanut Butter Month. Are you a fan? What’s the last peanut butter bite you had? Fill in the blank: peanut butter and _____________________ .
Oh, and you can’t say jelly.
It is peanut butter and honey for me. I had a piece of toast with peanut butter and honey for breakfast on Monday.
5. This week’s gratitude question-What event from this past year are you most grateful for?
The year started out with an epic surprise visit from Josh and Laura. We were having our local kids over for a birthday dinner on a Saturday. Dan and Jamie have birthdays 1 day apart and Josh has a birthday 3 days after Dan. Dan and Jamie arrived and 5 minutes later Josh and Laura came in the house with shouts of surprise!! It was such an epic surprise and so much fun to be able to celebrate all our January family birthdays together! I’m so grateful to God for the love he extends through our family.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of patriotism I’m copying a post here from 2011. This is from the Orange Circle Flag Ceremony, a weekly event, in Orange, California.
Before they lowered the flag and folded it properly Mark Wayland acknowledged 5 veterans in the audience that had served in World War II. One of the veterans was celebrating his 90th birthday and his family brought cupcakes for everyone at the ceremony. We got to sing Happy Birthday to him. This vet with Mark in the photo above, served in WWII, Korea, and the Vietnam War. He comes to the ceremony every week. It was great to meet him.
Mark also acknowledged a young bride in the audience who’s Marine husband was serving in Afghanistan right then…our Katie. He made her cry but the tears were good tears and then when the big burly Vietnam Vets came over to give her a hug with tears in their eyes we knew they understood and we cried some more. It was great to hear these Harley riders tell her they would be praying for her and Andrew.
Dear’s brother Terry and wife Christina with one of their 3 daughters with Katie and me. Christina got to know Mark while working with the Orange County School Board. She invited Katie and me to attend this ceremony.
I got the following information from an Orange County Register article written by David Whiting although my sister-in-law who knows Mark from working with him at the Orange County School board also filled me in about Mark and his giving heart, a Purple Heart retired Marine.
“Mark Wayland, Marine Vietnam vet, retired firefighter and Orange school board member, looks like a biker with his denim vest and bushy mustache. And he is. So are many of the men in the Circle.
Most are members of the Patriot Guard Riders. In particular, they ride to remember fallen military brothers and sisters and to ensure things go smoothly at military funerals.
With his black Harley Electra Glide decorated with Marine logos parked just 50 yards away, Wayland explains tonight’s mission.
Every Wednesday night, Wayland, his buddies, their wives, friends and supporters gather in the Orange Circle. They come to lower the flag at 6 p.m. and honor, as Wayland puts it, “those who are in harm’s way.”
What an honor to be able to meet these folks and to honor them and others who have sacrificed so much for all of us. Thank you Mark for all you do and may your sacrifices return to you tenfold.
ht: Orange County Register, David Whiting.
The Patriot Guard Riders honored our brother-in-law at his burial on Veterans Day in 2015.
Thanks for the time you took to visit this very long and wordy Hodgepodge. I’m grateful for all who stop by here.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 