Category Archives: Addyson May

Hello May Hodgepodge!

It’s the Merry Month of May and time for our first May Hodgepodge. Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for the timely questions.

I’ll be using photos from my archives for many posts until I can figure out how to be able to add more media to my site. Such a revolting development.

1. Mayday! Mayday!…when was the last time (or a recent time) you literally or figuratively needed to call for help? Elaborate. 

A few months back we had to call our son to help with our water heater that wasn’t putting out any hot water. Brrr. He was a huge help scraping out a bunch of residue and helping Greg with draining the thing and installing some new parts.

2. May Day…when was the last time you danced?

At our brother and sister’s 60th birthday party at a ranch in Texas on July 29th 2023 we enjoyed some line dancing.

Do you have a lot of baskets?

I have a few baskets.

What’s something you keep in a basket?

Napkin rings. I have a lot of napkin rings, y’all. I have sets in ziplock bags. Sets of 4, sets of 6, sets of 8, sets of 10, sets of 12 and some sets over 12. Sets of 6 and under are in a basket. Sets of 8 are in a basket. Sets of 10 and over are in a basket.

What’s your favorite purple flower? 

Oh, this is a hard one. I love purple flowers. I’ll go with lavender even though we won’t see fields like these until July.

This collage is from several years ago at the Annual lavender festival held in Sequim, Washington.

3. What’s something you may do this month? 

We might be putting out our outdoor furniture soon.

4. Do you like eggplant? Quick topic changes lol? If you said yes in answer to the eggplant question how do you like yours prepared? Of the following purple foods, which one is your favorite…plums, purple carrots, purple asparagus, eggplant, acai berries, blackberries, purple cauliflower, elderberries, purple potatoes, or passion fruit? 

Not a huge fan of eggplant and I don’t think I’ve ever cooked eggplant. In my Russian culinary heritage there is a dish called Ikra that is a popular dish to spread on bread or crackers to enjoy, an eggplant caviar. My mother did make it and my sister Vera has made it. The recipe is in our family cookbook that Vera put together.

  • 1 eggplant, peeled and chopped
  • 1-2 carrots, grated
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  1. Saute onion in oil until tender.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until eggplant is soft, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
  3. If it gets too dry, add more tomato sauce.
  4. Another method is to bake the eggplant in the oven until it is soft and then peel and chop it. This will reduce the simmering time.

From the list of purple things, Blackberries are my favorite.

5. The calendar turns on Hodgepodge Day…

“Then you have to remember to be thankful; but in May one simply can’t help being thankful that they are alive, if for nothing else.”-L.M. Montgomery

Tell us one thing you’re thankful for today. 

Just one!? I’m thankful for how our Grands are growing and learning about our God who created them and loves them.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Tonight is Awana Awards night. These photos are from the last couple years. JJ graduates from Cubbies tonight and next year he’ll be a Sparky. Addy will get some awards tonight because she finished all her books and all her verses and then did some extra books and verses! She will still be a Sparky next year.

This is Addy two years ago when she was still a Cubby.

Happy May everyone!

Hurrah for Ice Cream

On Sunday these two enjoyed a scoop of ice cream in an ice cream cone after our dinner.

Such a simple good dessert.

What is your favorite brand and flavor? We are partial to Häagen-Dazs. One of our favorite flavors is Vanilla Swiss Almond. We only buy it when it goes on a good sale.

The grands above are enjoying Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Dance Recital

On Saturday after JJ’s birthday party some time was spent on braiding and curling Addy’s hair for her dance recital. Addy, her mommy and Auntie Lolo left early and we followed later. We waited with anticipation to see Addy come on stage.

The lighting was difficult but I was able to get some photos to show some of the dance moves.

 

 

 

 

 

In this shot you can see the braids and curls that held well throughout the performance. Hats off to Auntie Lolo and her mommy.

She really danced her heart out and it was great to see her confidence on stage. I wish I could have gotten the video to load onto my computer but it just didn’t work for me.

 

 

Baba and Gramps thought you did a wonderful job. You worked hard at your practices and it showed on stage! Well done, Addy!

Home to have a good rest before her next performance on Sunday afternoon.

We found out after the show that there were a few of the young performers who had challenges to overcome and they did it brilliantly. There was one young dancer who was completely deaf. Another amazing young man with a cochlear implant from the same family who was one of the stars of the show. Another performer came to the Haran Dancers without being able to jump or hop. All of these challenges were overcome with practice and patience. We are pleased that our granddaughter can learn and perform in this wonderful school of Irish Dancers with gifted teachers.

Got Skills?

Our grandson turned 5 this week and his new bike is already getting a workout. Riding a bicycle is a good skill to have! JJ at 5 already has many good life skills! We enjoyed a fun bowling party to celebrate JJ this past Saturday.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for skillfully posting questions each week for Wednesday Hodgepodge! 

1. What’s a skill you think everyone should have? 

Tying your shoes. Personal Hygiene. Use of basic tools. Cooking skills enough to be able to feed yourself. Basic Math. Reading. Writing. Following a Map. Driving. Putting gas in a vehicle. Earning money. Making a bed. Cleaning a toilet. Running a washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. How to use a computer.

I could not stop at just one.

2. Do you have a special place or organizational system for gift wrapping?

I have a general bin with gift bags, wrapping paper and tissue and a separate Christmas bin with the same items. I also have a basic ribbon bin and a Christmas ribbon bin.

Do you still buy ‘real’ cards to send for birthdays, anniversaries, get-well, etc? 

I do still have real cards that I send for these events. TIP: Buy your cards at the Dollar stores where many cards are 2 for a dollar or a dollar each!

3. It’s National Banana Day…are you a fan? What’s your favorite thing to make with bananas or, if you’re not a cook, your favorite thing to eat that contains banana? 

We don’t keep bananas around here typically but when we do have bananas that have fully ripened we enjoy our favorite, Banana Bread.

4. Do you believe in second chances? Elaborate. 

Where would any of us be without second chances? We all fall, fail, make mistakes. We need to be forgiven and we need to forgive. We need reconciliation in this world.

Matthew 18:21-22  Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

5. What is your idea of fun? 

Fun for me is any event that makes me smile at the end of the day. The feeling of satisfaction that comes from time together, good conversations, worthwhile projects completed. Good things and good interactions that satisfy and improve your heart and mind. Time well spent.

Something specific that I enjoy is planning a trip. I like to research areas and consider all the choices of things to see and do. This is a fun exercise for me.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Besides all the birthday fun for JJ, Addy had her first Irish Dance Recital with the Haran Dancers.

Full post coming soon.

Five Today!

Happy Birthday to our favorite 5 year old!

Warning: This post is loaded with photos and could have been even more loaded!

Great Uncle and Auntie came prepared.

Granny and Granny Great watched all the shenanigans.

Auntie Katie pulled out the overall win with the best score and enjoyed beating out her brother with the most flamboyant of shirts.

She does own her own bowling ball and shoes!

I came in with the lowest score…too bad this isn’t golf.

Some of us have really good form!

 

And style…

 

 

The oldest bowlers.

 

 

One of the youngest first time bowlers!

The youngest first time bowler and birthday boy!

Sometimes he used the dino helper to roll the ball.

JJ waited patiently for Cake and Gifts!

Finally…time for cake!

It was worth the wait to see his new bicycle!

He ripped through the rest of the presents with ease.

His great uncle Scott made this holster and belt for him!

What a great keepsake!

JJ jumped up from opening all his presents and gave a thank you hug to us all.

We gathered up all our belongings and headed up to JJ’s house to spend a few hours before Addy’s Irish Dance Recital!

JJ ran into the house to change clothes and get his helmet on so he could ride his new bike! When he entered the house he exclaimed, “home at last”! What a character!

Happy birthday dear grandson of ours. Baba and Gramps love you so much. You are full of life and have an adventurous spirit. You are great at building things and coming up with ideas to hold things together. You give the best hugs. We love your vocabulary. You have the best laugh! We look forward to seeing the new things you learn while you are 5! God bless you and keep you all the days of your life!

 

April Birthday Weekend

We all gathered on Friday afternoon and evening when all our family arrived from Colville and across the mountains for the beginning of a big weekend to celebrate JJ’s 5th birthday and Addy’s first Irish dance recital. We were able to celebrate Andrew’s birthday, too!

I will post the photos from JJ”s Bowling party tomorrow. Addy’s recital photos will come later in the week. A full happy weekend.

On Friday evening we enjoyed Thai food and desserts which included Andrew’s favorite Pecan birthday pie!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

The rest of these photos are from Saturday and Sunday between the other major happenings. Thank you so much to Laura for all these wonderful captures!

Addy was very excited to show Auntie Lolo the frog or whatever they are called when they are this small. They may be small but they fill the night air with their songs in Spring. It can be deafening.

Addy and JJ are also excited to show us all their small chicks that they hatched from an incubator.

The weather was amazing with sunshine and temps up into the 70’s.

What is that and where are you going with it?

All too soon the weekend was over and our ‘coast’ kids headed home.

We again have happy thoughts and full hearts as we recuperate from all the fun!

Happy U.S. tax day to all of my friends in the USA. Happy Monday to my friends from other parts of the world!

Co-op Cultural Day

The week leading up to Easter our Grands Co-op had a cultural day with presentations from each family. I was invited to be part of that presentation since their country was Russia. It was good to be at Co-Op the whole day and see and hear from all the family units. Several families presented interesting facts about their countries that were new to me. In between presentations there were breaks and a lunchtime potluck with dishes from all the countries/cultures represented. Our DIL served Piroshky and Perog.

It was a full Thursday for everyone.

This is a new puzzle I completed before Easter forgetting to take a photo when it was finished. It is one from the collection of The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady. There was so much going on between Addy’s Birthday weekend and Easter weekend!

Are you anywhere in the clear path of the Total Eclipse today?

Make sure you protect your eyes! We wore these for the 2017 Solar Eclipse.

Have a great week everyone!

O How I Love Jesus ~ Hymn

O How I Love Jesus

There is a name I love to hear,
I love to speak its worth;
It sounds like mu­sic in mine ear,
The sweet­est name on earth.

Refrain

O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
Because He first loved me!

It tells me of a Sav­ior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His pre­cious blood,
The sin­ner’s per­fect plea.

Refrain

It tells me of a Fa­ther’s smile
Beaming up­on His child;
It cheers me through this lit­tle while,
Through de­sert, waste, and wild.

Refrain

It tells me what my Fa­ther hath
In store for ev­ery day,
And though I tread a dark­some path,
Yields sun­shine all the way.

Refrain

It tells of One whose lov­ing heart
Can feel my deep­est woe;
Who in my sor­row bears a part,
That none can bear be­low.

Refrain

It bids my tremb­ling heart re­joice;
It dries each ris­ing tear;
It tells me, in a still small voice,
To trust and ne­ver fear.

Refrain

Jesus, the name I love so well,
The name I love to hear!
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart con­ceive how dear.

Refrain

This name shall shed its frag­rance still
Along this thor­ny road,
Shall sweet­ly smooth the rug­ged hill
That leads me up to God.

Refrain

And there, with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sor­row free,
I’ll sing the new eter­nal song
Of Je­sus’ love to me.

Refrain

Oh Glorious Day!

Far too busy setting up our Church Coffee Fellowship on Easter morning to think about taking some photos of the tables of goodies. Coffee, pastries and fruit were the order of the morning and many strolled through the buffet of goodies and had good visits with one another. Good help made the work light and good.

And then we had our Resurrection Sunday Worship service. It was glorious from the Choir number that started off the service to the sermon full of the Gospel. Jesus, Our Lord and Savior, was the theme from beginning to end.

After church we traveled the short distance to our Colville Kids’ home for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt.

Jamie’s special Easter Sourdough bread.

Our Seernaya Paska took on a different form this year. I used my coeur à la crème molds that are heart shaped. Addy colored the cross to place on the completed sweet cheese heart.

We enjoyed Zuppa Toscana, sourdough bread, cornbread, deviled eggs, dried apples, an Easter Colomba panettone with our Seernaya Paska and strawberries for dessert. I was not on top of my photo game!

Addy and JJ’s Easter outfits were gifts from Auntie Lolo and Uncle Josh.

Empty baskets…time to fill them up with eggs from this years Easter Egg hunt.

Success!

It was so nice to have a sunny dry day.

Our kids on the ‘Coast’ had a glorious Resurrection Sunday, too!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

And just like that April has arrived!

Full to the Brim

Our kids from the ‘Coast’ arrived this past Thursday and Friday for a weekend of celebrations. The title of this post is accurate and be forewarned that this is a loaded post, full of photos. These days I don’t put together photo albums anymore. I use my blog as my photo album. This is a special birthday album.

On Friday we worked on potato and beef filled piroshky using Jamie’s sour dough, delicious! Our Grands have a presentation coming up at their Homeschool Co-op on Russia and these goodies will be part of the International pot-luck. A labor of love.

We gathered on the mountain on Saturday morning to create a heart filled atmosphere for Addy’s 7th birthday celebration. She chose the theme of hearts.

Addy’s mommy baked and decorated the three tiered heart cake which was so good!

Addy’s daddy made these heart shaped macarons, delicious!

Chillin with uncle until the festivities begin.

Addy loves her Aunties!

 

Auntie Lolo and Uncle Joshie

Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew

Granny

Granny Great

Four generations!

Great Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda

Lifetime friends

Baba and Gramps

Mommy, Daddy, Addy and JJ.

Gramps prayed over our meal and said a special prayer for the birthday girl.

Hooray for presents!

 

She received wonderful presents and was so excited when her special wish for a pair of roller skates came true!

Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew were in on the surprise present from Addy’s mommy and daddy and bought her all the safety pads for her wrists elbows and knees!

Time for Cake!

 

Let the games begin. We had a quiz on Addy’s 10 favorites. Afterwards we had to create some critters with our eyes closed.

Addy got to choose the winners.

I’m sure by now I’ve lost several of you dear readers out there, but there is more! When all the guests departed we drove back to our country bungalow to chill a bit before all the family arrived at our place to make dinner and dessert to celebrate me. We had to take advantage of all of us being together.

The kids prepared a wonderful stir fry with chicken and veggies with a sauce from scratch. I sat in my recliner and listened and enjoyed the aromas coming from the kitchen. Strawberries were prepped for Strawberry Shortcake dessert. Happy Birthday to me! I received lovely gifts, too. My favorite gift is being together.

Our weekend was not over yet. We had one more surprise in store for us at our church service on Sunday.

Addy had been practicing a piece on the piano to play at church on this Sunday. Our church has a place for special numbers from the congregation from time to time.

Addy was announced and went up to the Baby Grand and played the piece she had prepared, O How I Love Jesus. She is so brave and confident and played sweetly in front of 300+. It brought tears to my eyes.

A perfect song to play on Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. It is all about Jesus and His love and sacrifice for us!

The sermon on this Sunday was a continuation of our series in Colossians. From Colossians 3:18-21 we heard about Home~Where we live like Jesus. Christ changes the home and how we live in it.

Katie and Andrew had to hit the road for home right from church. The rest of us enjoyed another meal on the mountain before Josh and Laura headed back home. Greg and I headed home to put our feet up. Our local kids had one more party to go to for Great Uncle Scott. Full to the brim is what this weekend was. I’ll save the Elk herd we saw on the way home for another day and post. I will post the words from the hymn Addy played a stanza from here for the sake of context.

O How I Love Jesus

There is a name I love to hear,
I love to speak its worth;
It sounds like mu­sic in mine ear,
The sweet­est name on earth.

Refrain

O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
Because He first loved me!

It tells me of a Sav­ior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His pre­cious blood,
The sin­ner’s per­fect plea.

Refrain

It tells me of a Fa­ther’s smile
Beaming up­on His child;
It cheers me through this lit­tle while,
Through de­sert, waste, and wild.

Refrain

It tells me what my Fa­ther hath
In store for ev­ery day,
And though I tread a dark­some path,
Yields sun­shine all the way.

Refrain

It tells of One whose lov­ing heart
Can feel my deep­est woe;
Who in my sor­row bears a part,
That none can bear be­low.

Refrain

It bids my tremb­ling heart re­joice;
It dries each ris­ing tear;
It tells me, in a still small voice,
To trust and ne­ver fear.

Refrain

Jesus, the name I love so well,
The name I love to hear!
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart con­ceive how dear.

Refrain

This name shall shed its frag­rance still
Along this thor­ny road,
Shall sweet­ly smooth the rug­ged hill
That leads me up to God.

Refrain

And there, with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sor­row free,
I’ll sing the new eter­nal song
Of Je­sus’ love to me.

Refrain

God bless you with knowing and believing in what Jesus has done for you as we begin Holy Week 2024!