I finished this latest puzzle just in the nick of time before we needed the dining table for our dinner last Friday night. This was a fun puzzle to do. Garden scenes for each month of the year. There was enough variation in the patterns that it was easy to find where the pieces would fit.
We finally got some dry hours with sunshine breaking through on Wednesday the 7th and the grands enjoyed traipsing around their yard!
It made them giddy. Sunshine can do that to a person.
Josh and Laura arrived to our side of the mountains on Friday afternoon and we enjoyed a belated birthday dinner for Josh in candlelight. After we lit the candles JJ and Addy asked if we could turn off the other lights and just have the candles giving us light. It was a special dinner and weekend together. Friday night after dinner and cake, checkers and Legos and ‘Don’t Break the Ice’ were the entertainment.
On Saturday we gathered on the ‘Mountain’ and had a delicious lunch of Beef Stew with Jamie’s amazing sour dough bread creations. This time she baked regular and one with siracha.
After lunch Addy had her nails done and then wanted to polish our nails, too. She did a fine job.
Saturday late afternoon and early evening it was time for the Awana Grand Prix. Addy was pleased with her car the Silver Star.
We were all there to cheer everyone on. We weren’t winners this year.
On Sunday we filled a row at church. It was good to worship together. We had lunch out and too soon it was time for Josh and Laura to travel back over the mountains home. We love you, We love you, We love you. Thanks for making the trek and spending good times with us!
Thank you, too, for sharing your photos!
Tomorrow I’ll post photos of the Birthday Candlelight Tablescape.
Our weekend was full and I did not spend time on the computer or make any blog visits. I’ll get caught up soon.
Happy last day of January everyone. Here are the Hodgepodge questions we pondered by Joyce From This Side of the Pond this week.
1. January 29th is National Puzzle Day. Do you enjoy puzzles? What kind (crossword, jigsaw, sudoku, etc)? How often do you work a puzzle?
I am a jigsaw puzzle fan and I will work on them when the season is right and the time is right. While waiting for each of our grandchildren to be born we worked on a jigsaw puzzle in the hospital delivery waiting room to pass the hours away. I’ve completed two puzzles this month and am now just starting this one.
I have not gotten into sudoku or crossword puzzles. The photo at the top of this post are some of the jigsaw puzzles completed in the past year.
2. Something you currently find ‘puzzling’?
I’m in the throws of troubling and puzzling and am wrestling with my thoughts and feelings on this issue. It’s nothing to do with my family or marriage which is a blessing but it has captured a lot of my attention. I’ll be praying and watching and waiting on how it progresses.
3. What’s your go-to dish to take to someone who needs a meal (new baby, bereavement, etc)?
The go to was chicken thighs baked with Italian dressing and served with rice and whole green beans, not canned beans. Some of the ladies in our church are providing meals for someone who is undergoing aggressive treatment for breast cancer and who is too wiped out to think about cooking. I had to come up with more than my standard go to so I’m looking forward to reading what fellow Hodgepodgers share to help me come up with something new.
The photo above is a Teriyaki Glazed Skillet Chicken that I will make for the next meal for our friend. My recipe will post on Saturday.
4. Do you watch any HGTV and/or The Food Network? If so, what’s your favorite program there?
I watched more in the past but not so much anymore. In the past we enjoyed, The Kitchen on Saturday mornings. We thoroughly enjoyed all the Fixer Upper shows. When the new season of shows come on we’ll watch them. I’ve enjoyed the Food Truck challenges in the past. Flea Market Flip is another show I’ll watch once in a while if I’m sick and need to make the hours pass quicker in my head.
5. Wrap up your January in five words, with a five word phrase, or with a five word sentence.
I have two…
Celebrate Three birthdays and more.
Snow, Fog, rain, minus sunshine.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
The top view of this collage has been the norm around our parts for many days in a row. We are hoping to see more of that bottom view soon!
See you soon, Hodgepodgers.
We have had quite a stretch of foggy days with several days of rain, too.
And then a glorious couple hours of this…
The sun broke through the fog and we could see blue sky for just a few hours on Friday and now we are back to fog and rain. That couple of hours reminds us that the sky is still blue and the sun is still there and the fog will lift again.
How are the skies where you are?
If it’s Wednesday it must be Hodgepodge. Click over to Jo’s blog, From This Side of the Pond to join in.
1. Do you have a word for the year (WOTY)? If so, and you’d like to share, please share. How do you decide on a word? If you don’t have a word are you still on the hunt for one for 2024?
I did not pick a WOTY for the year but I did pick a phrase.
Love Jesus More in Twenty Twenty Four
2. January 23rd is National Pie Day…will you celebrate? Do you like pie? What’s your favorite?
We don’t celebrate except for in November before Thanksgiving our church has a pie and praise night. We enjoy pie but don’t have it often. My favorite pies were the fresh Strawberry or fresh Peach pies from Marie Callender’s. Growing up in Southern California it was a special treat to have boysenberry pie from Knott’s Berry Farm.
I just remembered Chicken Pot Pie and the all the great savory pies in Great Britain, yum!
The photo at the top of this post is of a Pear Custard Pie. Click here for the recipe.
3. Tipping. What are your thoughts, expectations, as to who, when where? Do you appreciate a store/restaurant giving a ‘suggested amount’? Have you ever left an extravagant tip?
We do tip and we try not to skimp. When service is over the top exceptional we tip even better. We have left large tips for some of our favorite waiters/waitresses but extravagant is in the eye of the beholder. Before we moved away from the Seattle area, Seattle instituted a set tip and service fee in their prices. That change was confusing and we stopped tipping in Seattle. These days we avoid driving into Seattle to dine.
Since we are talking about restaurants and trends I’m not a fan of using my phone or a table top device to order food. I like the personal touch of the waitstaff coming to the table to take our order. I haven’t mastered the whole take a photo of the thingie that looks like a weird puzzle piece (QR Code) so you can connect with your phone. (yes, I’m old)
4. Share with us one household ‘tip’ that works for you.
We got a tip from a dishwasher salesman that it is good to run the tap till the water is good and hot and then start your dishwasher cycle.
5. Influencers on social media are people who’ve built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular subject. Do you follow any influencers online? Have you made a purchase or tried something new because of that ‘influence’? If there’s one you particularly enjoy tell us who they are and why you enjoy them.
The type of influencers we follow online are well known and knowledgeable teachers of the Bible who have proven they believe and teach the inerrancy of the Bible for all areas of life. We regard them as the best influencers out there.
Grace to You, John MacArthur, Ligonier, R.C. Sproul, Master’s Seminary, Tim Challies, Sinclair Ferguson, Keith and Kristyn Getty, just to name a few.
We have purchased books, commentaries and music influenced by these folks. Keith and Kristyn Getty’s music is exceptional.
There are many ‘false teachers’ that we avoid like the plague.
The other type of following we do are the ‘how to people’, like ‘how to replace the hot water thermostat’, or ‘how to smoke a brisket’, or ‘how to clean your oven racks’.
On the lighter side of things this granny is fun to watch…
https://www.youtube.com/@memesrecipessc Meme is a hoot to watch and I love her closing line! She is a cooking in the kitchen influencer.
I also like the jewelry this young gal is creating for sale; Nicole Joy Jewelry Design
https://www.instagram.com/nicolejoyjewelrydesign/?hl=en
https://06e86a-2.myshopify.com/
6. Insert your own random thought here.
These two get to enjoy the snow with joy and then their mom adds more fun with these frozen colored water balloons to decorate their snow castle.
It’s still winter out there!
Update on our Water Heater, the parts arrived early and we should have hot water before this post is published on Wednesday. PTL! And yes, we do have hot water thanks to Greg!
Happy Hodgepodge, I’m looking forward to reading your tips.
It took longer than some and it was fun and satisfying to put in the last piece of this puzzle. Two more puzzles are on their way from my puzzle club present.
Another below freezing day here in the northeast corner of Washington State. Morning devotions, catching up on blogs (I always get behind from Friday through Sunday), washed bed linens, finished the puzzle, made a meal using up some stuff in the freezer (thankfully it was good), braved the freezing temps to throw out some food for the birds and that was about it. We didn’t have to trek out to the mailbox since it was Martin Luther King Jr. day here in USA and no mail was delivered.
That was yesterday. Today is our son Dan’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Dan!
Hope all is well in your corner of the world.
On Friday night we enjoyed an early birthday dinner for Dan and Jamie who have birthdays today and tomorrow. Josh has a birthday this week, too, and Laura sent a couple photos of them enjoying an amazing sunset on the other side of our state.
On Friday we served Lovella’s Arroz Con Pollo which was enjoyed by everyone. It’s a dish that Jamie orders most often at any Mexican restaurant. We enjoyed it with brown rice and both corn and flour tortillas. We also enjoyed Pico de Gallo with added chunks of avocado. For dessert we had a family favorite, Applesauce Spice Cake.
We have been below freezing here for a few days. We stayed inside all day Saturday and I worked on my latest puzzle. I’m getting close to finishing.
On the way to church on Sunday our car was registering -5 degrees F outside.
We had a great Vision Sunday with a ministry fair. Our church theme for the year is Take The Next Step.
Colossians 2:6, Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.
We are now heading into another week of very cold temps and snow promised from Tuesday evening through Thursday morning. We always wait and see if the predictions are accurate. We have seen that many folks in many parts of the country are experiencing severe cold. How is it where you live?
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Beatrix Potter and The Tale of Peter Rabbit and all his friends. For Christmas I received the sweet print above and the tea towel below from Josh and Laura.
Right now on our dining room table this puzzle is slowly, very slowly coming together.
It is very tough and I only have me to blame because I ordered it from my year long puzzle club Dan and Jamie gifted me for my birthday last year.
My collection of Beatrix Potter Figurines are here and here.
We had more snow and now we are having some frigid temperatures. We are celebrating our Dan and Jamie’s birthdays tonight. Making something new to me and I hope it turns out good for everyone! I’ll have to move that puzzle since it is on the dining room table at present.
Here are the latest questions Joyce From This Side of the Pond has come up with for Wednesday Hodgepodge.
1. What’s a change you’d like or need to make this year?
Physically, I need to be more active throughout the year, not just in fair weather. Mentally, I need to be less selfish.
2. Break the ice, on thin ice, ice skating, tip of the iceberg, ice cold...which icy idiom applies to your life right now? Explain.
I’ll go with ‘tip of the iceberg’. I need to continue my efforts in getting rid of many of my possessions! Decluttering the storage areas in our home.
3. What’s a project you’ve been putting off? Will you get to it this month? This year?
See #2
4. Of the fruits that grow well in winter which ones have you tried? Which is your favorite?
pomegranates, clementines, persimmons, passion fruit, pears, grapefruit, lemons, pomelos, kumquats
I believe I have tried all but a pomelo which looks like it’s pretty close to a grapefruit. Since I’m supposed to pick a favorite, I’ll go with lemons.
5. What do you think it means to be courageous?
To fear God rather than man and have my actions, words and lifestyle reflect that.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We had 6 inches of snow fall Monday night into Tuesday. Snow Hats are in fashion…
The first weekend in 2024 proved to be a busy one. On Friday we enjoyed a last minute open house at the home of our friends and met some of their neighbors. On Saturday a big pot of borsch was cooked from scratch with broth from a seven bone roast. A few quarts of borsch will be shared this week. One small pot was delivered to our neighbor.
On Saturday evening we attended a Karaoke party for a friend from church who turned 50. We met another couple from our community and had a nice time getting to know each other. There have been lots of predictions of snow that didn’t materialize until Sunday in the wee hours. We woke up to a pretty blanketed landscape.
The following collage is photos of our ride into church on Sunday morning. Our series in Colossians continues to be excellent.
We didn’t have anymore snow on Sunday but they are threatening us with more starting Monday Evening into Tuesday. Time will tell if they are right.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 