Category Archives: Addyson May

Sons and Daughters Hodgepodge

Jo From This Side of the Pond is taking time out of her busy schedule to come up with questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you Jo!

1. “A daughter’s a daughter all her life, but a son’s a son til he takes a wife.” What say you? Elaborate.

Thankfully we have daughters in law who aren’t threatened by our sons continuing a good relationship with us. We are thankful for our sons who protect their wives and give them the stability and love that makes for a strong enough relationship so they don’t have to be threatened. As parents we can give them the space to grow in their relationships and not demand undue attention from them.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

We are also so thankful for our son-in-law who loves our daughter and cares for her well.

We are thankful for each one of our children in their uniqueness and for each of our children-in-law/love who compliment each other well.

2. Something you’ve seen recently that was ‘cuter than a June bug’? 

Love the photos via texts we get of our kids and grandkids having fun and being cuter than a June bug…

3. ‘You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream and that’s pretty much the same thing.’ Agree or disagree?

I have lots of happy memories of ice cream growing up. Our Pop would stop at 31 Flavors when we were all in the car after church or somewhere else and he’d treat us to a 2 scoop cone. I would choose chocolate chip and orange sherbet. This always made me happy. One of my brothers always ordered vanilla.

Later in life I’d enjoy a good scoopage of chocolate ice cream in a glass add milk and enjoy it to the last drop.

And then there was the delicious concept of cooking up vanilla pudding and while it was hot pouring a good amount of pudding over a bowl of Chocolate Ice Cream. Don’t knock it till you try it. 🙂

Last time you had a serving of happiness ice cream?  Dish-cone-milkshake-sundae…which one do you choose? 

Sadly Ice cream doesn’t sit well with my digestive system these days. If I could, I’d pick a dish of Jamoca Almond Fudge, Vanilla Swiss Almond, or just plain old chocolate.

4. What is one way/area in which you’re currently ‘swimming against the tide‘? 

Hate to bring it up but I’m in the process of losing the same 10 pounds I’ve been losing and gaining these last several years. Hopefully this time around I’ll go beyond the 10 and lose another 10. The good news is that I’m just shy of the first 10 pounds and things are fitting better already.

Speaking of swimming our little 5 year old grand is learning to swim and has abandoned her life vest. Great job Addy!

5. Three things you’re looking forward to this summer?

Enjoying summer fruit like nectarines and peaches.

Spending as much time as possible with our kids and grands.

Entertaining visitors.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It was wonderful to see all the celebrations for the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee!

Spring is Moving Fast…

…and our Grands are growing fast! They are wondering how they are going to retrieve their ball that managed to leave their 20 acres and land in a neighboring property.

More fun events happening for them this Spring.

They have enjoyed some sunshine and pool time which is always a treat.

Lots of sunblock and time in sunhats.

JJ looks a bit miffed here. Maybe he didn’t like getting out of the water for the photo.

Time out of the heat at a very cool library.

I’m enjoying the seasons with these two and I’m glad I have photos and memories of the different stages of their growth.

And just like that we are at the last day of May. If I’m counting right we have 21 days until summer begins.

Memories Hodgepodge

 

borsch-snoqualmie-001

It’s Wednesday and that means Jo From This Side of the Pond is asking questions for us to answer. Thank you Joyce!

1. What’s something that makes you feel stressed? How do you cope? 

Confrontation makes me stressed. If I can I walk away, I do. One of my coping mechanisms is to avoid it altogether. That’s okay unless I’m the cause for the need of the confrontation. Asking for forgiveness is a good solution. There are other situations where being a peacemaker is the solution.

2. What’s a food you eat that evokes a memory? Explain. 

Borsch (Borscht) evokes lots of memories of growing up. I hated it when I was little. The cabbage was not a pleasant texture to my palate. Having to sit at the table until I finished my bowl is not a good memory. I sat there for what seems hours after everyone else left the table. My solution was rebellious and I suffered for it by the reprimanding from my mom. While I was alone in the kitchen I decided the solution to my problem was to pour my bowl back in the pot. This would have worked except for the fact that I had soaked lots of bread in the bowl of soup. It was clear to my mom that I dumped my bowl of soup back in the pot. Oye, was I in trouble!

I love borsch now! Here’s our mom’s recipe.

3. This week’s Hodgepodge lands on National Visit Your Relatives Day. Will you celebrate by visiting a relative? If so is travel involved? Geographically, who is your nearest relative (not counting those living in your own house)?

No, I will not be visiting a relative. Our nearest relatives live 8 miles away from us. They are enjoying sunshine elsewhere right now. I will travel to their property to water the garden and maybe check the chicken coop for eggs. Our other relatives (children, siblings, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins) live in Western Washington, California, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Illinois, Florida and Israel. Dear and my parents, grandparents, uncles and all but one aunt are deceased.

I will see some of our California relatives and friends when I travel to Southern California for a Memorial Service in June.

4. What’s your most frequently used emoji?

Probably a heart or smiley face.

Do you make more phone calls, send more emails, or mainly text to communicate with friends and family? 

It used to be phone calls and emails but now it’s mainly text. Phone calls are few and far between because our country connections are dismal.

5. Tell us the story behind a favorite piece of furniture. 

We have an eclectic collection of furniture with lots of stories behind them but one of our newer purchases of an old piece is my current favorite. I wrote about it here.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It’s Ice Cream weather for these two! Love seeing their faces via texts!

The Merry Start to May

April ended with a crockpot meal at Baba and Gramps’. We dug out our daughter’s University of Washington cheer outfit from the 80’s for Addy to try on and enjoy.

On the fourth of May we attended the Awana Awards night at church and Addy got her promotion from Cubbies to Sparks. In the Fall she will move on to the Sparks while her brother gets to start Cubbies. Here’s Addy helping to lead one of the Awana songs.

We are so thankful for the dozens of volunteers who make this program successful.

With the sunshine we are having at the beginning of May our dandelion crop has overtaken our grassy areas. The bees are happy. Maybe we should look into Dandelion Tea.

We are catching up with family and friends on the Westside of the mountains here in Washington State. A mix of good reports and hard reports. My computer time is scarce. The rain is plentiful. We’ve shopped at Business Costco filling up the rear of our vehicle leaving just enough room for our suitcases for our return trip. We’ve traveled roads we traveled for 20 years before we moved to the East side of the mountains. Things have changed and some things remain the same. We are still happy and content with our move.

This is Mother’s Day weekend in the USA and Canada. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms that visit here!

The Chaos of T-ball

There is a lot to learn at your very first T-ball game. One of the things is that when you are outfield you should wear your mitt not hold it.

Now we are ready, kind of.

Up to bat for the first time.

Safe on base but now what do I do.

Run!

Run Addy Run!

Up to bat for the second time and she’s got form!

Safe at first. Who’s on second?

Time to run again.

Safe on second.

Run to third. Run Addy Run. It’s okay to smile…

I see that smile forming.

And that’s T-ball. A learning experience with lots of laughs. So much to learn for a five year old. The highlight of the game was of course the treats for all the players when the three innings were over.

JJ was in my lap during the game so getting photos was an interesting challenge. It was fun to hear him cheering on his sister…’run Addy, run Addy!’ He had a lot to learn too, because he was cheering her on to run when she was outfield, too.

Wrap Up Easter Monday

On Easter Monday morning we and our company decided to walk the Rotary trail while the guys golfed the Rotary golf course. We were hoping to catch glimpses of each other along the way.

After Henry’s Pond we caught a glimpse of the guys across the way.

They drove over to get as close to us as they could.

The littles ran to their dads and Uncle Joshie.

I didn’t have my long lens camera but was able to catch some blurry long distance shots of this pretty bird that is blue.

We had a good time on this cold morning.

Today is the last day of April. It has been a busy April and today I’ll be in the kitchen at church again for the third funeral/memorial service this month. Our church tries to help in any way we can to take some of the burden off the family who’s loved ones have been ushered to heaven. Whatever you can do before your time comes to make arrangements and help with the financial burden would be good to do. My parents paid for their plots and other costs associated with their funerals ahead of time and that was such a relief. The best thing you can do is to make sure you know you are going to be with Jesus. The alternative is not good in any way shape or form. Today is the best time to make peace with God through Jesus Christ.

Goodbye to April and hello to May!

3 Alarm Fire!

Welcome to Fire Station #3!

Here’s Engine #3! Our daughter in law created another fabulous cake.

Stop, Drop and Roll!

All the usual suspects and more were in the station enjoying each other before lunch was fired up on the barbecue.

The spotlight this day was on Fireman Jaymison.

Some people came dressed to the T with flames on!

We had our lunch of brats, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad and other goodies. We cleaned up after lunch and then we were all surprised to hear the fire alarm go off. The fire chief and fireman pulled on their boots and headed outside to see what the alarm was all about. Sure enough there was a fire that needed to be put out!

The Fire Chief supervised as Fireman #3 helped to put out the fire!

Fireman JJ was relieved of duty while the Fire Chief took over and was helped by other guests at the party.

JJ kept an eye on the action from a safe distance.

The fire was put out successfully.

All those from Fire District #3 posed for their photo.

After all that hard work it was time to light the candles and sing Happy Birthday!

Two fires put out in one day!

We had two other April birthdays to celebrate with a candle on this day. Our Andrew and Jamie D. had a dessert made in their honor.

Time for presents!

Fun with his very own Pop up Fire Rescue truck. Room for JJ and his friend David.

Now for all the guests.

Granny Great and Jim

Granny

Great Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda

Uncle Josh and Auntie Lolo.

Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew

The Dickinson family, long time friends.

Mylee and her family. Long time friend of the family.

Gramps and Baba

Brother and sister.

This 3 year old was a real trooper through all those photos and all the action of the day. His birthday this year landed on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Not every birthday will land on Easter weekend, thankfully.

Baba and Gramps love you JJ and we are thankful that you are growing strong and healthy. It’s fun to watch you build things with blocks and Construx. Bikes, your jeep, swings, sticks and rocks along with dirt keep you occupied outside. You love being outside and thanks to your mom and dad you are allowed to spend lots of time in the fresh air. Thank you for your cuddles and hugs. You are our favorite 3 year old in all the world!

Celebrating Our Risen Savior

After church we all gathered at Dan and Jamie’s for a delicious lunch of several different soups, chili and homemade bread. Before the day progressed to the Easter egg hunt and opening the treats in the Easter Baskets we stepped outside for our Easter photos.

There were some serious conversations going on while enjoying the soups.

Four baskets full of fun to dig into after the hunt. I found these cute baskets at the Dollar Store, which is now the $1.25 store.

The dad’s snuck out to hide all the eggs. Ready, set, go!

Everyone got a basket full.

There was lots of delight in opening the eggs to see what was inside.

The adults and kids enjoyed Dan’s creations. He is perfecting his macarons masterfully!

The day was not over yet because before dinner we all jumped into our cars and drove north several miles for Jamie D’s baptism. It was the perfect culmination on this Easter Day.

I still will be posting all the photos from our grandson’s 3rd birthday party that we enjoyed on the Saturday of Easter Weekend. That will wait until Monday. Happy weekend to all!

Easter’s Coming Hodgepodge

It’s time to answer the questions of the week that Jo From This Side of the Pond has gathered for us.

1. Do you celebrate Easter? If so what are your plans this year? Did you have egg hunts as a kid? 

Yes, indeed, we celebrate Easter, our risen Savior and what His death, burial and resurrection means to all of us. We will be in church Sunday morning and then gather at our kids home to watch the littles hunt for eggs and have a meal together. All of our family and our daughter-in-law’s family will be together and this year dear friends will be with us, too.

My growing up family did not have egg hunts. We did enjoy hard boiled eggs and hitting them on top of our siblings heads to crack them before we peeled them.

When our kids were little we had hunts of m&m’s and other candy in cupcake paper sleeves around the house before we went to church.

One Easter when our kids were married and before grandkids we had a hunt in the yard with a golden Easter egg that had $50 in it!

2. What’s your favorite bread to find in a bread basket? 

Any bread that is fresh and soft. I have favorites that go with certain dishes. I love many kinds of bread, French, Italian, Rye, Farmers, Sourdough, Challah, Pita, Lavash, Flat Bread, Kulich, Paska, Pishky, Indian Fry Bread…

So thankful I’m gluten tolerant!

3. Your favorite chick flick? 

Pride and Prejudice, the original BBC version with Colin Firth.

4.Tax day is rapidly approaching in the US of A…what’s something you currently find ‘taxing’? 

There’s a thing I’m in charge of that is mostly out of my control. I just have to be there and make it work at the last minute. I’m in charge of other people who will show up and depend on me to tell them what to do for this out of my control event. That is not my comfort zone. I’m working hard to organize the un-organizable. I’m feeling taxed!

5. Have you ever ridden in a taxi? Do you have a funny-scary-crazy-interesting taxi story to share? Do you use any of the newer taxi-like services such as Uber? 

Yes, I have stories. Dear and I had an awful, harrowing ride from O’Hare airport to downtown Chicago for one of his conferences. You know how you have to stand in line and wait for the next available taxi? Well we got a real doozie. We should have refused his ride and waited for another after he opened the trunk and there was no room for our luggage because he had a molded plastic outdoor chair in the trunk. What? Then the taxi smelled of tobacco. Ugh. Then his driving skills were horrendous. We think he might have lived in his taxi. Oye. We praised the Lord when we made it to the hotel.

When we were in D.C. for another conference I ordered a taxi to take me to a Hillwood Estate a Russian treasures house in the outskirts of D.C. When the taxi driver saw where I wanted to go he wasn’t pleased because it would take too much of his time instead of getting quick easy money making rides from the conference attendees. Short hops from the hotels to the convention center where the conference was being held. He drove me to the convention center stopped and had me get out. I was a wee bit shocked at this treatment. At least I was a little closer to the estate where I desired to go. The attendant they had outside the convention center managing all the taxis found me a willing driver to take me to the estate. I tipped him well.

We have used Uber services.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Last year’s Easter egg hunt at Baba and Gramps’. This year JJ’s 3rd birthday lands on Easter weekend which makes for a very full fun filled weekend.

Apologizing ahead of time if my visits are scarce this week.

Leftovers

No Hodgepodge this week so I’m serving leftovers from our March Spring Birthday Weekend!

Sister teaching older brother how Wordle works.

After Addy’s birthday party and naps everyone gathered at our place for a Shepherd’s Pie meal. Addy came dressed as British royalty for the meal.

Brothers and Grands learning how to catch a Unicorn.

On Sunday after church we had our final gathering before Andrew and Katie hit the road and Josh and Laura flew home.

Uncle Andrew is a fun Uncle, Funcle.

Sunday the 20th of March was a perfect first day of Spring.

Another weekend packed with memories. Soon we’ll gather again to celebrate JJ and Andrew, our April birthday boys!