Category Archives: Colville

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 Flying Saucer

Something odd appeared in a field across the road and to the north of us…

…a flying saucer that raised lots of questions in our heads.

The saucer is between the two middle trees far off in the distance.

One day after Dear crossed the road to get the mail he walked further north to inspect it. He met a new neighbor who filled him in on the story behind this bit of yard art.  This new neighbor commissioned someone to build this Flying Saucer for him. Before the Flying Saucer arrived we watched a shop/barndominium go up and lots of vehicles arrive. Don’t know if a house will be built on this piece of land or if the neighbor has made a place to live inside the shop.

Country/rural properties lend themselves to odd yard art and just plain junk yards. I’d rather see a flying saucer instead of some of the junk piled up on properties around here. You can see pristine properties to junkpile properties along our roads. I keep threatening to find an unusual piece of yard art to stick in our front acreage. I’m not really sure I want to draw unwanted attention to our property, though.

Have a good new week y’all.

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!

May, the Present and Past Hodgepodge

At the end of April and beginning of May in 2014 me and our daughter were on a journey from Seattle to Jacksonville North Carolina to set her up in an apartment before her husband returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. On May 3rd we were at the Biltmore Estate and Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina. Talk about beautiful May flowers!

Speaking of May flowers Jo From This Side of the Pond has some timely questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. May Day! May Day!…last time you shouted for help? Or maybe just asked? 

I was shouting for help the whole month of April and mostly from my spouse. There were others I called into service to help me but the best help by my side for huge functions is Dear. We can depend on each other for good consistent effective help in getting an event ready and done. If my sisters lived nearby I’d call on them. There’s a level of good help that comes instinctively. People who walk into a situation and know what needs to be done without asking a million questions. Someone who doesn’t have to ask but sees and gets the task done. When I can’t depend on that kind of help I’m learning to write out detailed instructions and steps to execute an event. I tape those instructions on the kitchen cabinets at church so all can follow along and get things done step by step.

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

I may schedule myself a massage.

3.  ‘April showers bring May flowers’...is this true where you live? What’s blooming? What’s your favorite springtime blossom?

The daffodils have bloomed and are waning with the Lily of the Valley starting to sprout. The Johnny Jump Ups are showing. The first harvest of rhubarb is just about ready. The peonies are sprouting but won’t flower for a bit yet. The most healthy blooms right now are the dandelions! By the end of May we will see lots of beautiful blooms.

Some of my favorite Springtime blossoms are lilacs, azaleas, peonies, and wisteria.

4. What’s something you learned at your mother’s knee?

That the Bible is the book to cherish.

5. Share a thought about motherhood. 

Motherhood is a privilege to cherish and not take for granted and grandparenthood is one of the rewards for enduring, the cherry on top!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

More beautiful blooms from the Biltmore 8 years ago…

A very Happy Mother’s Day is wished for any mom who visits here!

And…

May the fourth be with you! 🙂

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!

A Valuable Hodgepodge

It’s the last Wednesday in April and here’s a peek into how our backyard is shaping up. We see lots of green growth. I mowed the lawns on Monday and soon perennials will fill in much of the bare spots. We bought some solar lights that Dear installed around the shade structure. What’s fun about them is that we have a remote to turn them on and off.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking all the volumes of questions for the Hodgepodge!

1. What does the word values mean to you personally?

Something worthy and true that will guide me on the right path.

Where did your values come from?

My values initially were instilled in me by my parents, shaped by God and then deepened by the Word of God.

What are some of the values that have guided you throughout your life? 

This verse I read at the end of Ecclesiastes sums it up:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. 

2. Your favorite vanilla flavored something? 

Haagen Daz Vanilla Swiss Almond Ice Cream.

3. What’s something you’ve seen/done recently that you found to be very difficult, very confusing, very helpful, very interesting, or very special. Elaborate. 

I’ll pick very special.

On Easter day after church and lunch we traveled to the Kettle River for a very special baptism. You can read about it here.

4. Something you own and love that is violet in color? 

Love is a strong word for what I own that is violet. This is the one display in our home that has some ‘violet’ items on it and it’s above our master bathroom toilet. The photo of me and Dear from 1973 is something I love.

5. Do you have vacation plans on the calendar this summer? Tell us more. 

Nothing set in stone of any kind but we are toying with the idea of making it to England come September.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Speaking of the word value, I value good relationships that are tried and true. The kind that even when you haven’t seen each other for a long time you can step into easily and be in sync.

I value my role as a parent.

They are adults now and our relationship has changed as it should and it’s good to see them in loving relationships.

I value my role as a grandparent ‘baba’.

So thankful we only live 8 miles away from these two and that we have regular interaction with them.

I value my relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, three in one. The sacrifice Jesus made for mankind on the cross opened up the door of peace with God and through repentance and calling on the name of Jesus I was born again to a new life in Him. This is the most foundational and important relationship in my life. It’s value cannot be exceeded.

Well here we are in the last few days of April. Our April was filled to the brim with good things and some sad things, too. Looking forward to May flowers.

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!