Category Archives: Family

More or Less Hodgepodge

My sister Vera, Me, and sister Kathy on the couch with our mom in the kitchen above us.

Joyce has some new questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge this week even with a house full!

1. What was your after school routine like when you were a kid?

To get home from the bus stop without getting jumped. (Okay…that only happened once) I made someone mad at school and they announced they would be jumping me at the bus stop after school. They had their own gang group of friends that were all excited to gather and watch this happen. Instead of getting off at my regular bus stop, I quickly jumped off the bus at the stop before my regular stop and ran home!

Growing up there really wasn’t a routine. Mostly we were on our own to fill the time before dinner.

2. January 26 is National Green Juice Day ( I guess it’s true everything really does have it’s day). Do you juice, as in make your own in an attempt to get healthy? Do you do the green juices? What’s your favorite kind of juice (home blended or store bought, either one)? 

No, nope and nyet to green juices!

A favorite juice is fresh squeezed orange juice. I enjoy cranberry and pink grapefruit, also.

3. What’s something trivial about which you have a strong opinion? 

Green juice! LOL!

4. What do you need more of in your life? Less of? 

More of…

Less of…following my own heart.

5. Give us three adjectives to describe your January.

Jubilant ~ Joyous ~ Devoted

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

We ventured to Spokane on Saturday to return an item to Lowe’s and do some other shopping. On our way home we stopped at our usual spot in Deer Park and were met with this special of the day.

We decided to try it and it was good. I had the soup of the day, Beet Soup, as my side and it was delicious.

Winter Treasures Hodgepodge

Thank you to Joyce for another Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. What’s a winter memory you treasure (can be from any winter in your lifetime)? 

All three of our children were born in the winter and their births are memories that I will always treasure.

2. Tell us about the last time or a recent time you were caught up in red tape. Does it send your frustration level off the charts or is it something you’ve come to expect when dealing with any sort of bureaucracy?

No red tape issues lately that I can think of. We did have a time back in 1996 with major landslide issues with the first home we owned in Washington state. Lots of red tape with FEMA and banks and city agencies…the list goes on. It was freeing to walk away from that home and leave all that behind us.

Some art that friends and our daughter drew for us during this traumatizing time in our lives.

The impact this crisis had on our children and us was a hard trial that God brought us through.

This is a lousy photo of the rear of our home and the hillside after the major slide showing how it came right up to our foundation.

3. Do you eat/like fish? Do you cook fish at home? What’s your favorite fish dish? Ever been ice fishing? 

For me personally, fish is an after thought and thought about infrequently. Growing up, fish was not part of my diet.  I do not like to mess around with little fish bones. I would go as far as admitting I’m concerned about swallowing a fish bone. If I’m going to eat fish I prefer a white chunk of meat like swordfish or halibut. I enjoy fish tacos. When we are in the United Kingdom I do enjoy ordering fish and chips. I have not been ice fishing but our son here in Colville has been ice fishing.

4. Did you watch any of the US President’s Inauguration coverage on Monday, Jan 20?

Yes, we watched the first hour of the ceremony in the Rotunda with Josh and Laura. We got to clap and holler a bit together which made it more memorable. The first lady was stunning in her outfit as was the second lady. Franklin Graham’s prayer was meaningful and good to agree with. Cheers to Carrie Underwood for stepping up and singing acapella when the music malfunctioned. Josh and Laura left for their 5ish hour drive back to the West side of the Cascades shortly after 11am here on the west side of the country.  After they left we kept the TV on for the rest of the afternoon to see all the pomp and ceremony.

On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being not at all and 10 being very very) how interested are you in politics in general?

I used to be more interested but for several years it has been so disheartening to follow politics and all the ridiculous attempts by politicians to control too much of our lives.

Do you follow/keep up with/ get involved with local politics? 

I follow and use my privilege of voting.

5. What’s the coziest thing you own and what makes it so? 

My jammies, robe, and ugg slippers…all three together because when they are all on it means I’m relaxed and have nothing urgent to do!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My sisters with our cousin Bill at the funeral of a friend. This was in Southern California this past Saturday. Hi cousin Bill, thank you for reading my blog! Good to see you in this photo. God bless you.

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!

Scotland Travel Journal ~ Dunfermline 3

On September 21st which was a Saturday and our journey from St. Andrews to Edinburgh we stopped to visit the Dunfermline Abbey and Palace. Although I’ve posted the exterior and interior of the Abbey already we toured the palace grounds first on this day. The kiosk to pay for our visit was located in the palace ruins area. This part of our visit involved going up and down different elevations within and along the ruins of palace.

In the cellars with some great acoustics we had an impromptu moment of worship as Laura began to sing ‘Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow’. We all joined in and it was a sweet time together.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Amen.

The Abbey was obliged to offer hospitality to pilgrims and to other travelers whether rich or poor. The guest house was built here in the 1200’s and later became part of the royal palace. 

Not all overnight visitors would stay in this guest house; those of lower social rank would be given beds in nearby hostels. Because Queen Margaret founded the monastery and later monarchs chose to stay here, what you see is frequent alterations and additions to provide comfortable royal apartments. 

After the union of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603, these buildings were abandoned and robbed of stone leaving the spectacular south wall with its windows overlooking the glen.

St. Benedict required the abbot dine with all visitors to the abbey. ‘Let the abbots table always be with guests and travellers’, he directed. However, when nobles knocked on the door, the abbot probably arranged for poorer pilgrims to eat elsewhere, while he enjoyed lavish feasts with his high-ranking guests.

This was such a worthwhile stop on our way back to Stirling to drop off our rental car and take a train to Edinburgh for the last few days of our Scotland Trip. Our sunshiny days were behind us.

Back to the present:

Today, January 20, 2025, in the United States is the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald J. Trump. We will be watching the ceremony. We hope for the best for our country and it’s people and our world. For us as believers, the very best is yet to come and it’s not happening here. In the meantime, we pray, we hope for the best, and we remain good citizens of our country doing our part as citizens. We acknowledge that we are not in control of the world and what is happening around the world but we know the One who is in control and who holds our world together.

As the song resounds, ‘This World is not my home I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue, the angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.’

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.

The Days Between

After Christmas day we had two and a half more days filled with full family fun before our Western kids made the trek across the state and over a major mountain pass home.

Thursday morning after Christmas day we had our traditional Swedish Pancake breakfast with little smokies. Greg is the cook for this meal and we appreciate his efforts!

It’s a nice casual morning for the rest of us. After breakfast the party shifted to Bayles Mountain for the rest of the day and evening. Usually there would be sledding involved on this day but for 2024 we didn’t get a white Christmas.

Many new ‘toys’ were enjoyed by everyone.

Hardy Boys books are the current favorites.

Gramps and Baba left for home before it was time for Some-mores.

On Friday we all met for lunch at the new Mexican Restaurant in town. Friday was Katie’s birthday so in the afternoon Greg made his famous Tomato Rice Soup for dinner and I baked a cake. Jamie baked three different loaves of Sourdough bread to enjoy with the soup, plain, rosemary garlic, and siracha!

This year the cake was a lemon cake with lemon curd filling and lemon frosting.

After dinner and cake a new game was played that had us roaring with laughter during some key moments!

Some teams of players were involved.

It was a full rich day and everyone retired with plans to meet up for one more hoorah before travelers headed home on Saturday morning and afternoon.

Hope you all had a good New Year’s Day. We laid low and watched the parade, some games and had some long distance conversations with family.

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.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Happy Birthday to our dear daughter, Katie. We will be celebrating her today. She was a sweet surprise born in Ventura, California thirty nine years ago.

She is the avid reader in our family and loves to read out loud to others.

Her love of reading started very early.

She read this sign to our friend, Jody, when she was three. ‘Caution, low head clearance’

We are thankful to God that He surprised us with a beautiful daughter to love.

Dear Lord God Almighty,
“As she traces out the trails you put before her; may she pray and strive to follow straight and strong,”
“Give her wisdom at each turning, Lord we pray”
Give her grace and understanding and more love for You in this coming year!
~
and from Spurgeon:
“There are no dilemmas out of which you will not be delivered if you live near to God and your heart is kept warm with holy love. You will not go astray in the company of God.”
~
We love you, we love you, we love you!

Smile, Your On Wednesday Hodgepodge

Blogging…where everyday is Candid Camera day.

Time for a holly jolly candid Hodgepodge. Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. What’s one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

There is not one thing that stands out to be accomplished. I was considering weeding out some Christmas decor before everything is put back into the bins for next year. Some of our stuff is tired looking. Maybe I’ll designate one bin for the things I can let go.

2. What’s something that brought a smile to your face this year?

Thankfully there were many things. I am a smiley person in general. Our family times together always brings a smile on my face and generally there are belly laughs, too. The wonderful weather we enjoyed in Scotland in September brought many smiles and gratitude! We have our children’s play/musical this coming weekend and I know that will keep me smiling. It is called The Loaned Manger, a western themed presentation. Both Addy and JJ will be performing. Addy has some key singing parts and JJ is Joseph this year.

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

We really enjoyed Jo’s Cranberry Jalapeno dip at Thanksgiving and when JJ was here on Monday he said “I’ll get the crackers for the cream cheese” as if I kept that dip around every day. Hilarious! (JJ is Five)

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

We have entered the dud zone when it comes to New Year’s celebrations. We are typically in bed and the fireworks might wake us up at midnight! In our part of Washington state it is generally too dry with fire danger on July 4th so people around these parts stock up on fireworks to shoot off on New Year’s Eve instead.

5. What are three words that describe your 2024? 

Celebrating Fifty Years! 

We were married in 1974 so 2024 marks our 50th wedding anniversary. We have celebrated well starting at the end of June with a getaway to Walla Walla for a weekend of fun with our family of 10. We celebrated again in Scotland in September and we celebrated on the actual day with an overnight trip to Coeur d’Alene.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I saw that common phrase this year on facebook, ‘keep Christ in Christmas’ and my reaction was a new one. There is no way anyone can keep Christ out of Christmas, even if you don’t know Christ or celebrate Him. The darkness (Satan) has been trying to eliminate God from the beginning of time. It started in the Garden of Eden. The light of the world will always overcome the darkness. Christ brought His light into the world and will continue to shine till one day the darkness will finally be cast away. Herod tried to kill Christ as a babe and did the unspeakable by killing all the male children in his realm thinking he could eliminate Jesus. God in His mercy preserved Jesus Christ for His role in becoming the Savior of the world by his sacrificial death on the cross so that man can be at peace with Holy God. Because of Jesus Christ’s perfect life and righteous sacrifice and resurrection our repentance, turning from sin, makes us acceptable to God and makes us redeemed in His sight. Christmas is all about Jesus Christ’s incarnation, Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus, fully God, became man for us. He condescended with love to make it possible for us to be reconciled to God and have eternal life with Him instead of eternal damnation in hell.

Praying that God is calling you to repentance and opening your spiritual eyes to see His Truth today.

Merry Christmas Hodgepodgers!