Be back soon to visiting your blogs. Enjoying quality time with our family on the west side of the Cascade Mountain Range. This side of the mountains is still in Stage Two of the COVID-19 re-entry guidelines. Our town in the northeastern corner of Washington State is in Stage 3. Uploading photos has been so wonderful here in broadband dream land. See you soon!
Photo taken somewhere along highway two in Central Washington heading east towards the Cascade Mountain Range.
1. The US of A celebrated Memorial Day this past Monday. Does your family have any military ties? If so, tell us about them.
We do not have any family member who died in combat but we do have Veterans. Our daughter has educated us on the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. Memorial Day is not a day to honor anyone who has served but it is for military members who have died in combat. Our son in law is a non-active Marine who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He saw some of his Marine buddies die. The collage above shows Marines who were serving the same time as Andrew and who died while serving. These are those who we honor on Memorial Day. My father in law served in World War II. My brother in law served in Viet Nam and it took a toll on his life. My father-in-law and brother-in-law are both buried at the same cemetery, Riverside National Cemetery in California. They were buried 30 years apart.
2. Cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, potato chips, mac and cheese, macaroni salad…your favorite BBQ side? How many of these do you make from scratch vs. buying from the deli?
Does opening up a can or a box qualify as scratch? 🙂 I enjoy potato salad from scratch but I’ll go for Coleslaw from the deli. I have never made potato chips. I’ve doctored up a can of beans.
3. I enjoyed asking this question back when the Hodgepodge was a regular thing…Lake Superior State University posts a list each year of words they think should be banished from the Queen’s English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. The 2020 list includes-quid pro quo, artisanal, curated, influencer, literally, I mean, living my best life, mouthful (word used by foodies to describe texture of food in their mouth), chirp (basically an insult, you can read more on the website), jelly (short for jealous), totes (short for totally), vibe, and OK Boomer (internet response from millenial to older generation).
Of the words/phrases listed which would you most like to see ‘banned’?
Well I’m happy to say I haven’t heard most of these. Something about Living my best life doesn’t ring true to me. It seems like something that comes out of the mouth of health and wealth false teachers/charlatans.
4. I’m sure next year’s list will be filled with words springing out of this weird season we’re all in currently. What word or phrase associated with the Corona would you be happy to hear less often?
“Social Distancing” “Self Quarantine”
5. The month of May wraps up in just a few days. Bid her adieu in ten words or less.
May, thank you for opening welcome doors back to normal.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Here in Northeastern Washington where the population is low and the COVID-19 numbers are low, too, we have some normalcy returning. Dear and I went to a local eatery on Sunday for a burger and it felt as if things were normal in the establishment except for a table here and there that they had a sign on that said “Governor’s Table”. Made us chuckle. Something that is not normal yet is my COVID-19 hair. Oye and ouch. My mop needs a lot of help!
Photo from Mother’s Day with some gifts from our kids.
Thank you to Joyce for asking the questions and managing Hodgepodge.
Yesterday May 25th, 2020 would have been Moisi’s 97th birthday. I threw together these collages from photos I could access off my current computer. They are not in any particular order from the Nineteen Forties thru 2018.
This was Moisi’s last birthday on this earth. He was 95 in 2018 and he died in June of 2018.
The Fellowship of the Unashamed
I am part of the “Fellowship of the Unashamed.”
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.
~
The Author of this work is a Rwandan man in 1980 who was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the commitment “The Fellowship of the Unashamed” which was found in his room. Bob Moorehead had written this in his book “Words Aptly Spoken” c. 1995
Paul said: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…Romans 1:16
Our pastor quoted this piece at the end of his sermon for Memorial day this past Sunday. I thought it was appropriate to post on this Tuesday With Moisi. Moisi never looked back after becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ his Lord. He was not ashamed of the Gospel.
Mother’s Day weekend was such a treat with not only weather but a chance for some of our family to finally be together again. We soaked up every minute! After tea time and brunch we had some sunshine playtime.
This collage above was from Saturday evening not Mother’s Day.
All hands on deck to entertain the little ones!
All the family but two were able to gather on Mother’s Day Weekend. Such a good sweet time for all.
1. In a single sentence tell us something about your 40’s. If you haven’t reached that milestone yet tell us (in a single sentence) something about whatever decade you’re in now.
The decade in my 40’s (1991-2001) was the most tumultuous of my life.
(Photo above taken at 2nd rental home 1998ish)
2. Life begins at forty. Agree or disagree? Tell us why. And if not at forty, when?
I don’t agree. I’m too black and white. Life began for me in my mother’s womb. From birth on life has been shaping who I am now. I was born again in 1963 so I’ve been in the sanctification process for 57 years. I wish I had been more obedient in this process.
Sanctification: When you were justified, you were declared righteous by God. Now that you are justified, there is a process of growth and transformation in which you are enabled more and more to grasp the reality that you are dead to your old sinful life and that you actually become more and more like Christ. There are three aspects to our sanctification: definitive sanctification, progressive sanctification, and ultimate sanctification.
3. Share a favorite book, song, or quote with a number featured in it somewhere.
I didn’t remember this great song with a number in the title but Theresa posted it on her post and it really has meant a lot to me over the past several years so I’m adding it in here. Thank you, Theresa!
4. A picture’s worth a thousand words, a stitch in time saves nine, back to square one, catch-22, on cloud nine, my two cents…pick a number phrase and tell us how it applies to your life currently.
I will pick “A picture’s worth a thousand words” or 1,000 pieces and 500 pieces. One of our COVID-19 stay at home activities has been putting together jigsaw puzzles. Some of these puzzles we’ve had for years and others were acquired before COVID at garage sales. The Fireside Embroidery one was a purchase during COVID-19. I was happy to see our local grocery store had a rack of puzzles a couple weeks ago and I grabbed this one.
Buying a threefold poster board has really aided our puzzling endeavors. We can move it off the dining room table easily if we are having the kids over for a meal. It also gives a nice flat surface.
5. Last time you drove more than 40 miles from home? More than 400 miles from home? Where were you going? Was it before or after this current season of social distancing?
Today bright and early we are driving to Spokane for a follow-up eye appointment. My surgery was last August. This will be a 70 mile drive from home. This one is during social distancing and Dear will have to wait in the car when I go in for my appointment.
The last time we drove closer to 400 miles from home was December 2019 when we drove to the Seattle area to stay overnight with our “Coast Kids” and then continue on to Chilliwack, British Columbia for our annual MGCC Christmas Party. This was before we knew about this Pandemic.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I’m going to go deeper into that decade in my forties. Dear’s mother was living with us in a Mother-in-law apartment in our basement. In that decade Dear completed his Pharmacy degree at the University of Washington, had a year of residency, got a job at Immunex Corporation in Seattle Washington. While he was in school I started a house cleaning business and added a medical clinic and dental clinic at night as part of the job. Dear and I worked together in the evenings at those clinics. Because Dear’s mother was living with us we could leave at night after the kids were in bed. I was the skinniest I had ever been with all that aerobic scrubbing.
When Dear’s new career was going well I retired my cleaning business just in time to pull our daughter out of public school and home school her for 4th, 5th and 6th grade. She was experiencing heart wrenching persecution at school. During those homeschooling years with our sons in high school we had a major landslide on our back slope and long story short we walked away from our dream home and started the very new to us need to rent homes while still having all of Dear’s mother’s stuff in our possession. When the major slide forced us to walk away from our home, Dear’s mother moved out of our home to Yuba City, California to live close to her younger sister.
In May before our oldest son graduated from high school, Dear’s mother passed away and we were in Yuba City for the funeral and then having to divide up her stuff between Dear and his older brother and haul it back to our place. In August I drove Josh to Westmont College in Montecito , Califonia. (Santa Barbara), on my own. An emotional time for this mom. We were in our 2nd rental home at this time.
In Dan’s senior year we moved to our third rental home in October of 1998. In November of 1998 just one month after moving all our stuff to this third rental home the owner of the home told us he had to sell the home. We were devastated with this news not knowing where we could move next. We decided to try to buy this rental and were amazed to find out that there was nothing on our record showing we had defaulted on our landslide house loan! We bought our home in Kenmore not because we chose it but because we couldn’t face moving again. We enjoyed 20 years in that home and made some amazing upgrades to the property. Dan graduated from high school in 1999. We had Josh and Laura’s rehearsal dinner at this home in August of 2001 and then in September of 200l life changed for all of us because of 9-11. And that my friends was my decade in my forties.
That’s just a little of the story of my 40’s! I’m happy to say my fifties and sixties have been less tumultuous and filled with some wonderful adventures and travel. In my late fifties I was connected to the Mennonite Girls. In my sixties we enjoyed the weddings of our daughter Katie and our son Dan. We made a major move again this time to the country from the city. Blessed with two grandchildren in our sixties. And now Dear is officially retired.
But…we press on to the upward call…
Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Thank you to Joyce for coming up with the questions for Hodgepodge!
On Mother’s Day weekend we met up at the Rotary Trail at the Golf course in Colville for a morning walk. Josh and Laura were part of the Virtual World Concern 5K to raise money to fight human trafficking, Free Them 5K.
It was a beautiful morning for a walk.
Addy walked most of the trail but she also was able to climb into “Bob” when she got a little weary.
Laura and Joshua’s Company were able to raise a good chunk of money for the cause.
Addy is telling Uncle Josh that this sign says, “no dog pooping here”.
Back to the car and it was time for a nap for this little guy. So nice to get snuggles! We all headed back to our house for Swedish Pancakes and Little Smokies, thanks Dear!
In future posts I’ll share the birds and other things we saw from the trail. We will definitely take advantage of this nice trail in the future.
My friend Judy at My Front Porch wrote a post about her story during this Pandemic to document this time in history and it inspired me to do the same.
The first note in my journal is a prayer request on Wednesday March 11th during our weekly Prayer meeting at church. Item #9 ~ Corona virus. It wasn’t at the top of the list…yet.
On February 27th I flew to Southern California for our sister’s Leap Year birthday and there was no one on the flights with masks on. I had my disinfecting wipes with me because even prior to the COVID-19 scare I always wipe off the fold down tray and arm rests. The gal next to me asked to use one of my wipes and I gladly obliged.
While in Southern California there still were no restrictions in place so we enjoyed eating out and my sister’s birthday party with about 30 or so guests. The first out of the ordinary thing we saw were hoards of people at Costco over stocking. On my flight home on March 3rd the conversation stemmed around people not being able to find toilet paper. More people around me asked to use a wipe.
Now we are back to the week of March 8th. We went to church without suspecting it would be our last time in the congregation for many weeks. On Thursday March 12th we heard that President Trump halted all travel to and from Europe excluding the UK as of Friday the 13th of March. We were heading to Spokane Valley on this day to use reservations at the Hampton Inn that friends could not cancel. Little did we know when we said we’d use the 2 rooms that were paid for already that we would be there with just a handful of other people.
Our kids were out of toilet paper and we got to the Costco on Sprague in Spokane a little before they opened. We noticed right away that the parking lot was full already and it was 30 minutes before opening. Yikes. There was a line up and we got in line with less than 6 feet between us. When the doors opened everyone made a beeline to the paper goods section. Costco figured out some ways to alleviate bottle necks in the paper section and they stacked the TP in the frozen aisle with an attendant that handed each member their package. Our kids wanted baby wipes, which was another premium item and we were able to put two boxes in our cart. Two boxes of diapers added to the cart and we were home free. We made it into a line and out the door before the lines were reported to be to the middle of the store. Yikes.
Costco was so strapped that they couldn’t cash our Executive earnings check so they had to write us a check that we could cash at our bank. On the way to the hotel we stopped at a branch of our bank and cashed the check. The folks at the hotel were very welcoming and we were able to check in early. I had brought my own jug of Clorox disinfecting wipes and I set about to disinfect both of our adjoining rooms to our satisfaction.
After lunch at a Mexican Restaurant close to the hotel, we spent the rest of the afternoon doing some shopping at the Cabella’s in Idaho (Spokane Valley is just a few miles from the Washington/Idaho border) and then TJMaxx, Nordstrom Rack, Barnes and Noble and last a stop at Krispy Kreme for a little snack to take back to the hotel.
On Friday the thirteenth we started hearing about more closures due to the Virus threat. The hoarding of disinfectant, hand sanitizer, TP and other paper products was at a fever pitch. We shopped at Fred Meyer, Hobby Lobby, Total Wine, and Party City. We were still hoping Addy’s Daniel the Tiger 3rd birthday party would happen.
For my early birthday meal out we chose The Clover in Spokane near Gonzaga University. What a gem of a restaurant it is and we hope to return when things get back to semi-normal.
The Dungeness Crab and Artichoke Dip was so delicious! Because it was my birthday they added this dessert for free. Yum! The biscotti was made in their own bakery.
While at the restaurant we heard that all schools in Washington State would be closed through April.
Saturday the fourteenth of March (my 69th birthday) our kids made the journey from Colville to Spokane Valley to join us at the hotel. We got had some lunch and then got them settled into their room.
We had the hotel pool all to ourselves and it was a fun time with Jaymison and Addy. We all got cleaned up and headed to a couple shops (still no restrictions) and then out to dinner for my birthday. This was a snow blowing freezing day.
On this day we heard about the Disneyland closure, all hotels around Disneyland closed. All public gatherings over 250 people prohibited. No flights to and from Europe.
Sunday was a leisurely morning before we checked out to go home. We stopped at Costco on our way home for gasoline and to pick up a few more things. (Gluttons for Punishment) We stopped at Super 1 once we were in Colville to get what we’d need for our Corned Beef and Cabbage meal on Tuesday the 17th of March, St. Patrick’s day. Hints of what was to come…no carrots or potatoes.
Now we were hearing no meetings over 50 people, no sports, no restaurants except take out, and then no meetings over 10 people.
Everyone was scrambling to put plans in place on how to proceed with church services. Non-essential services were shut down. Interesting what the powers that be deem essential. Non essential included hair salons, many retail shops, golf courses, bowling alleys, gyms, elective surgeries, dental services except for emergencies, optometrist, etc. My eye surgery 6 month follow-up was cancelled.
The kids came over for St. Patrick’s Day meal and we talked about Addy’s birthday having to be cancelled. Our kids from the Coast would not be coming over for the weekend. This is the point where the Pandemic really hit home.
The Pandemic Part 2 coming in the future.
Here’s hoping it will be the Merry Month of May. Here’s a real oldie but goodie.
We are still waiting to see when our stay home orders will be lifted. In the meantime we have simple pleasures to enjoy. This new addition in our home makes me smile every time I walk by it.
I’ve always wanted a cabinet similar to a Welsh Cabinet that I could display my plates on.
This pine cabinet has some fun accents. We bought the cabinet at a second hand shop in the city of Colville called The Red Barn.
When we brought it home we applied a lot of elbow grease to clean it up. Trust me when I say a lot of elbow grease.
Pure enjoyment to pick some of my favorites to display. To make it even more busy I’ve added about 28 of my Beatrix Potter Figurines on the plate rack, too. Future photo coming.
On these days where we are stuck at home I’m so thankful and happy to get little sneak peeks on what’s going on with our kids during their isolation time and I copy their photos to enjoy.
Our youngest “Coast Kids” working from home. Thankful that they both still have jobs. In her current job Katie has always worked from home so this is nothing new for her. The new thing is having Andrew work from home for some of the time. He has been going into the office to do things he can’t from home. He works at a company that is deemed essential.
Our oldest “Coast Kids” are enjoying walks most days and they send us photos which we are so thankful for. A friend knowing their love for our Sounders Soccer team sewed Sounders Face masks for them! Josh owns a business with partners and they have been able to keep all their employees and even hired new ones. He is still working hard and Laura works as a support for her family.
Our middle kids who live 8 miles from us are enjoying driveway walks and any time they can work in the garden. Jamie is coming up with lots of creative activities for our dear grands to enjoy. Our son Dan still works as he is considered an essential worker.
It’s easy to social distance in the country as it’s hard to see the other properties close to them.
On Thursday Addy decided a foot soak would be nice. Her mom set her up nicely with a potty chair just the right height.
Making the most of our isolation days!
Dear continues working on his shop when the weather is dry and above freezing!
I’m back to mowing and weeding and getting a good dose of vitamin D!
What are you doing at home to keep your sanity? I know a lot of friends who are baking bread and several who are keeping sourdough starts alive and baking sourdough bread items including pancakes and bagels!
Happy May day!
“Come, my soul, put on your springtime clothes and gather garlands of heavenly thoughts.”
~Spurgeon
L is the letter for the day and my bandwith is low, low, low so I can’t upload any new photos right now. I’ll have to look to my archives and decide on a subject for the letter L. I chose my Labors of Love post from 2016.
I love Easter and all that it holds and all that it means. I like the idea of new Life, a resurrected Life. The greatest Love that was demonstrated on Good Friday and the Life that was resurrected on Easter Sunday.
Here are photos of our Easter weekend labors of love and celebrations 2016.
This was the end result of our labors on Easter Saturday 2016. Top left an Russian Easter sweet cheese spread called Seernaya Paska. The X and the B stand for Christ is Risen. On the right is the finished and frosted Russian Easter Bread called Kulich or Paska surrounded by Russian shrink wrapped eggs. The sign in Russian on the bottom left says Christ is Risen so you see where the X and B comes from. Now I’ll show you some of the process of getting here.
First you gather your labor force. This is my sister Lana who arrived early so that we could get the Russian Easter Bread (Kulich/Paska) started.
The rest of the laborers arrived and donned their aprons and head scarves.
At one point in the process of mixing the dough I thought I made a big boo boo so we prayed over the dough and Lana and I laid hands on the KitchenAid. I didn’t want to start over again. All turned out well…
Lana showing how her slippers match her apron.
The other photos in the collage are of kneading the dough and shrink wrapping the boiled eggs. While the dough was rising we enjoyed lunch together. Home made tamales and beans with guacamole, chips, and Dan and Jamie’s home made salsa.
After lunch it was time to prepare the cans and to punch down the dough after it’s first rise. The Peter Rabbit bunting was completed by Katie and hung by Laura and Katie. Josh and Laura gifted me the bunting kit for my birthday last week.
After the second rise we punched again and prepared the dough by hand for the cans pinching off enough or almost enough for each can we picked for this time around. Short, medium and tall.
The guys were busy outside in the sunshine solving several world problems.
The finished eggs and kulich on Easter day. I’ll show more from our Easter table in another post.
When the baking was done and the cheese mold was in the refrigerator setting up for our Easter Sunday meal the kids went out to dinner with their aunt and uncle. Dear and I stayed at home and crashed…
All of our kids together enjoying each other and extended family fills us with joy and not having to make dinner for them after a full day in the kitchen was a bonus!
We love and treasure these traditions and hope to carry them on through the years and pass them on to the next generation. I’m happy to report three of our nephews wives took on this labor of love alone in their homes and had very successful outcomes!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 