A Love-ly Recap

On Valentine’s day we had a surprise delivery of flowers from Josh and Laura. It was unexpected. We were thankful for the thoughtful gift. Addy and JJ came over in the afternoon for a movie and dinner while their folks enjoyed some time on their own. We watched Milo and Otis and then enjoyed tacos for dinner. JJ made guacamole out of the one avocado we had on hand. Ice Cream Cones for dessert and then we had some story time and just got started watching Davy Crockett and their folks came to pick them up.

Earlier in the day these photos were texted to the family.

Sending love across the miles!

Before Valentine’s day Katie and Laura met up for nail day getting ready with just the right color for Valentine’s day.

We are grateful for technology that allows us to see and enjoy what our loved ones are doing miles away and closer to home!

We had a nice dump of snow on Sunday. We couldn’t see our mountains and hills on the way to church.

After church the Grands had fun in the snow.

Don’t shake those limbs!

A targeted snow shower.

My Monday and Tuesday will be full of activity from morning to night as our church is having a Going Away plus 10 Year celebration for our Youth Pastor’s Family. I’m overseeing the food preparations for that event. My computer/blog time will be scarce over the next couple of days.

Happy President’s Day if you live in the states and if you live in Canada, Happy Family Day.

Valentine’s Day 2025

Hope you are having a lovely Friday and Valentine’s Day. This is my catch-up post for this past week and the month of February so far with photos I’ve taken and photos that were sent to me. Trader Joe’s tulips were too pretty to pass up last Friday and after pulling my Valentine’s Day bin down I found the sparkly hearts to add to the bouquet.

When we were at Costco a couple trips ago the adidas warm-up sets were $10 and a set in size 6 made it into our cart. JJ is growing right on schedule into size 6!

Basketball is going on this winter and Baba finally made it to a practice.

My sister and her hubby flew into Seattle to surprise a close friend who was turning 50 and they had a bonus visit with our West side kids. Makes me happy to see them all together. They had a great time and sent us photos to prove it!

The first puzzles of 2025 got started and finished in the last couple of weeks.

JJ and I finished this glow in the dark puzzle during our Monday afternoon time. Later when it got dark we checked to see if it was glowing and it was. Woohoo!

This farm seasons quilt puzzle was a fun one to do. I finished it earlier this week.

A few close-ups showing the 4 seasons.

Addy and JJ went to a birthday party at Flying Squirrel in Spokane a couple weeks ago and we were sent these photos.

Tonight Addy and JJ are being dropped off at Gramps and Baba’s for dinner and a movie. Their parents are going to have some uninterrupted time together for a few hours.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. May love fill your hearts and minds and actions!

Speaking of Groundhogs

A while back this unwanted groundhog showed up on our property and we did not enjoy the thought of a colony moving in and making underground cities here. As cute as he is, he had to be eliminated.

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and we are starting with Groundhog Day! Thank you, Joyce.

1. What area of your life feels like you’re stuck in a Groundhog’s Day loop, doing the same thing over and over?

The only thing I can come up with is that once all our morning and afternoon activity is over we tend to sit down in front of the ‘box’ and go into relax mode. We don’t have any regular evening activities to attend these days.  Winter darkness contributes to this. We’ve talked about instituting a reading hour or two instead of doing a lot of watching. We usually retire between 8pm and 9pm so it isn’t hours and hours of TV…but still.

Does it bother you or is that just how life is in this particular season? 

Being in the winter of my life and retired this does not bother me. I do welcome any interruption to the regular evening mode and am ready to venture out when the calendar calls for it. I am happily active during the daylight hours. 🙂

2. Something that makes your heart skip a beat?

The Aurora light shows we had last year made my heart skip!

Holding our newborn children and grandchildren, a beautiful sunset or sunrise, an eagle soaring, any wildlife that suddenly appear in our back yard, our grandchildren’s hugs, a phone call from a loved one, a favorite worship song/hymn, hearing God’s Word expounded, a prompting of the Holy Spirit.

3. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve or are you more of a closed book? Elaborate. 

I don’t think either of those describe me. I’m generally up front and direct and ready to tell the truth. I’m not an overly emotional person unless you attack my loved ones.

4. According to Prevention Magazine, these are 25 of the best foods for heart health-

wild salmon, sardines, liver, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, coffee, red wine, green tea, soy milk, dark chocolate, raisins, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, avocado oil, olive oil 

Which five do you include in your diet most often?

Avocado, walnuts, almonds, oatmeal, coffee

Are there any foods on the list you simply cannot abide? 

My body does not react well to green tea so I avoid it like the plague.

5. What was the last piece of furniture you bought?

The last piece of furniture we bought was a new desk for Greg.

Is there a piece of furniture you need/want to purchase this year? 

NO

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Saturday was the annual Awana Grand Prix and our Grands vehicles did well, My 2 Cents, and Finger-ma-Bobber.

The Grand Prix helped us get out in the late afternoon and evening and change up our Ground Hog Day Loop, woohoo!

Here is a photo I love, taken on Monday and texted to our family group of our DIL and our Granddaughter. It’s still winter, y’all!

Happy February Hodgepodgers!

Snow and Winter Cleaning

We are finally getting a few inches of snow here in Colville. It was a great day to stay inside.  The inspiration came to do a deep cleaning of the kitchen cabinets, trim and the ledge that runs around the upper part of our kitchen filled with tchotchkes.

It is a very good feeling to have all the dust bunnies and the grime cleaned. I’m ready for a white glove inspection.

Spring will take us outdoors to take care of things we didn’t do in the fall so winter indoor cleaning will work nicely for us this year.

Welcome February!

Surprise!

We had the very best surprise this past Saturday the 18th of January. We had a meal cooking for a celebration of Jamie and Dan’s birthdays that were on Wednesday and Thursday of this past week. Dan, Jamie, Addy and JJ arrived a little after 4:30 for our meal together. About 5 minutes after they arrived and we were pulling the roast out of the oven for our meal the doorbell started ringing and we heard the front door open with shouts of surprise from Josh and Laura! They decided to hop in their car and drive over to Colville to join our dinner and celebration without letting any of us know. It truly was such a wonderful surprise. I had to add a name to our birthday sign…

Josh’s birthday was on Sunday. What a joy to celebrate all three of our January birthdays together.

JJ was so happy to have his Uncle Joshie  and Auntie Lolo in the house! His excitement was evident as he chattered throughout our meal together.

Our beautiful daughters in law.

This event called for confetti!

 

Being introduced to chess.

On Sunday we all met up at church and were encouraged with a powerful worship time with music and sermon. We enjoyed lunch together at our newest restaurant in town and then spent the rest of Sunday on Bayles Mountain.

There was exercise time outside and games inside.

 

The age of missing your front teeth…and the joy of reading in your fort with uncle.

A starry night with planets visible was the grand finale for Sunday.

On Monday morning before Josh and Laura drove back over the mountains for home we watched some of the Inauguration together. It was good to share this historic event with them.

Thank you, Josh and Laura, for your epic surprise! We all loved every minute of being together!

Our Own Backyard

As the saying goes here is what has been going on right here in Colville.

We made it out in the cold to the Rotary Trail on Tuesday last week. We lasted for a good 30 minutes before our faces got too cold to go on. It was invigorating.

Our backyard quail have been visiting regularly.

JJ is enjoying Taekwondo. His uniform was a Christmas present. He also started Basketball and is enjoying it. These indoor activities help to give him the added exercise he needs when winter weather keeps him inside.

All the Christmas bins are up and away. This morning I’m having a house cleaner in for the first time ever. That appointment got me motivated to do some organizing and clearing surfaces here. That snowballed into me working on the kitchen cupboards and the pantry. While doing that our pile of garage sale items got larger and larger. I have only put a dent into downsizing our possessions but it feels good. At least I didn’t vacuum before the cleaner comes! 🙂

This will be a busier week than usual with meetings, appointment in Spokane, more meetings and a birthday dinner here on Saturday. How is your week shaping up?

A Winter Walk

On Saturday the 28th of December our kids and grands started the day off with a nice walk along the Rotary Trail in Colville. Andrew and Katie left for home right after the walk but Josh and Laura hung around for a few more hours before heading back west.

The resident eagles still grace the tops of the power poles.

She didn’t get those two front teeth for Christmas!

Thank you, Laura, for all these wonderful photos!

After the kids left I pulled out one more puzzle with a Christmas Carol theme and was able to finish it before the New Year rolled around. This one wasn’t tough and was fun to complete.

2025 has started quietly for us at our country bungalow.  On New Year’s day I made Eggnog pancakes with a Vanilla sauce that we enjoyed on that day and then we had enough left over batter and sauce to repeat that breakfast on Thursday. The recipe was good and you can find it here. I chose this recipe because we had a lot of left over eggnog.

On Thursday we pulled down all the Christmas bins so we could put Christmas away but then we got side tracked in the kitchen re-organizing several of our cupboards and our pantry. Our garage sale/donation pile is getting larger and larger! Several very outdated items got thrown out, too. Friday (today) will be put away Christmas day.

Enjoy your first weekend of 2025.

Happy New Year, Hodgepodge!

Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth.
~Martin Luther

С новым годом!

Joyce has a brand new set of Hodgepodge questions for a brand new year. Thank you, Joyce, and Happy New Year everyone! Happy 2025!

1. Oxford’s Word of the year for 2024 is ‘brain rot’. Are you familiar with this term? Do you suffer from the condition? Ha! This is a term used to ‘capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media’. If you were choosing a word to capture 2024 (for the nation/world, not your own life personally) what word would you choose? 

I have to be honest and admit that I am suffering from brain rot because of smart phones, computers, and social media. It is easy to get into the habit of using my phone or computer for everything. I want to read more good books in 2025 and master some good questions to engage friends and loved ones into good conversations.

My pick for a phrase to capture 2024 for our nation would be ‘from downhill to hope’.

2. It’s National Polar Bear Plunge Day (January 1)…will you be participating in one of these events (or even your own)? How will you spend the first day of this brand new year? Do you have a traditional New Year’s Day menu? 

No plunging in the frigid waters for me but some of our kids do that more than just on the 1st. No traditional menus for New Year’s Day. Because I grew up in Southern California I got into the habit of watching the Rose Parade and and the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day. There were even years that I enjoyed both in person.

3. What’s something that brings you joy and how will you do more of it in this new year? 

Spending time with family whenever we can brings me joy and I will do as much as is possible in the new year.

4. Do you struggle with the January blues? What’s one thing you can/will do to keep them at bay? 

Thankfully, I do not suffer much from the blues. We have several family birthdays in January and I will concentrate on being thankful for these family members and celebrating them which will keep those blues at bay.

5. Will you choose your own personal word of the year for 2025? What about a goal, resolution, or maybe even a bucket list? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

No personal word but some of the same old goals like losing some pounds which means eating less and exercising more. A new devotional with a reading the Bible plan as part of it is on my desk.

Bucket list is always about adding a place to travel to. We already have airfare purchased for Dallas but where else will we go, LORD willing. Still pondering that.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Another antique postcard Happy New Year Greetings to you all.

Christmas Day 2024

On Christmas Eve after our Church service our Colville kids got ready for Santa’s arrival.

They enjoyed Christmas morning on their own before Jamie’s family arrived for Christmas breakfast and gift exchange.

We were at our home preparing for Christmas dinner and waiting for our westside and Colville kids to arrive for our festivities.

Our westside kids pulled into the driveway minutes apart at 2:13 and 2:26 on Christmas day.

Our Colville kids headed to our place at about 2:51. By 3:15 we were all together and ready for our Christmas Meal.

Gramps read the Christmas story from the Bible in Luke 2 while we waited for the Yorkshire Pudding to cook. After our prayer for our meal we served up our Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Creamed Corn, Roasted Vegetables, and Brussels Sprouts salad and enjoyed this once a year treat together.

Before dessert we opened stockings and presents.

After all the presents were opened it was time for dessert.

Jamie with some inspiration from Addy and JJ made a Happy Birthday Cake for Jesus with a chocolate creche and marshmallow and candy Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Shepherd, sheep, shepherd crooks (candy canes), and the three wise men still on their journey.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

We also enjoyed the Russian Roolyet (nut roll) that we (Jamie, Addy, JJ and me) made on Monday afternoon.

After dessert we took photos and enjoyed playing with some of the gifts.

We enjoyed every minute with each other and we made plans for our traditional breakfast on Boxing day before our Colville kids headed home for the night and our household retired for the evening. It is always a treat to have our guest bedrooms full with our children from the Westside.

More posts coming for our Boxing day adventures, Katie’s birthday, and our Saturday finale before our westside kids traveled over the mountains for home.

Looking back at Christmas Preparations

On Monday afternoon Jamie and the Grands came over to do a little baking. I remembered to take a few photos.

First up was making our mom’s Roolyet, Russian nut roll.

Icing cookies and adding sprinkles was next on the agenda. We also made Russian Tea Cookies that look like snowballs.

I got some help with this puzzle while they were here and I had to finish it up on Christmas Eve since I wanted to set the table for Christmas dinner.

On Christmas Eve the table was set early for our Christmas dinner. On Christmas day our west side kids were driving over the mountains and through the valleys to meet up with our Colville kids and us for dinner and stockings.

Stockings were all hung and ready for Santa. He has to be creative to since we don’t have a fireplace.

We’ve enjoyed hearing from friends and family near and far!

Christmas Eve we attended the candlelight service at our church and had a quiet evening with our feet up anticipating lots of standing and prepping of the Christmas meal on Christmas Day.

It’s always a joy when we see the two cars from the west pull into our driveway along with the car from just 8 miles away in the East.

Hope your Christmas was filled with the wonderful reality of the Incarnation and the wonder of God becoming Man and being with us.

Happy Boxing Day!