Category Archives: Family

Food and Friends Hodgepodge

Sticky Toffee Pudding at Tom Morris Bar and Grill in St. Andrews, Scotland.

It’s the middle of the week and time for Wednesday Hodgepodge thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. What’s worth standing in line for? 

I’m going with Greg’s answer here. :0)

A Restroom!

2. Tell us about a favorite food related memory. 

We have many food related favorites and it is hard to choose just one but here goes.

In 2006 we along with two other couples (our doctor and his wife and our pastor and his wife) took a trip to Great Britain together. This was dubbed a ‘walking tour’. One of our over the top favorite and delicious eating experiences was at Conwy Bistro in Conwy, Wales. I had the most delicious shoulder of Welsh lamb and my mouth still waters when I think about it. We were also treated by the owners/chef with special treats while we dined. A remarkable food experience.

On this same self guided tour we decided to try Sticky Toffee Pudding at every food establishment we visited and to rate them against each other. This one above that we had in a Pub in York was a favorite.

3. What are some things you find particularly peaceful or calming? 

Quiet mornings with nothing pressing on the agenda watching the wildlife on our property.

4. Is there something you do now that gets you just as excited as it did when you were a child? 

Going on a trip. Now it’s the planning of a trip that gets me excited.

5. To what degree are you in touch with friends from grade school?

I am not in touch with any of my grade school friends.

high school?

There are a group of friends from high school that I’ve been in contact with, especially during the short years we lived in Camarillo (2006-2008). We had several mini reunions. I attended our 50th high school reunion in Montebello in 2018. We still exchange Christmas cards with two of my high school friends.

college if you attended college? 

My best friend from Cal-State LA married my cousin. (She’s on the left in the photo) We’ve had a lot of contact the past fifty plus years.  During my college years my friendship with Heidi developed not from school but from our Russian Baptist Church in L.A. (She’s on the right) We continue our friendship and cherish each other even though we live far apart.

I’ve also kept in contact with my first college roommate from the University of Redlands.

Having friends that are ‘forever friends’, ‘through thick and thin friends’ or ‘a friend that sticks closer than a brother’ are a treasure. We have a few of those kinds of friends we’ve made since college, too.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of Sticky Toffee Pudding…

From The Turf in Oxford, England.

From Dublin, Ireland, we ordered the pudding to go promising to return the plates and utensils.

We’ve enjoyed versions of it here in the USA, too.

SeaJack #6 141

This Sticky Toffee Pudding was enjoyed on the Sunset Terrace at The Grove in Asheville, North Carolina.

SeaJack #6 142

We made homemade Sticky Toffee Pudding for a British Pub Sunday Roast at our home. You can find the recipe here.

Pub Night 034

Sticky Toffee 017

Pub Night 045

 

Swinging with the Hodgepodge

Our son, Josh, golfing at St. Michaels golf club in Scotland before we visited St. Andrews.  Our dear DIL, Laura is the photographer.

Since Joyce informed us that August is National Golf month, I’m adding some photos of some favorite golf shots involving our family.

It is Wednesday and time to post answers to Joyce’s weekly Hodgepodge questions.

1. August is National Golf month…do you play? Do you enjoy following golf? Have you ever been to a professional tournament? 

When our kids were in high school and I was part of the PTA, we raised money by serving at snack bars for a professional tournament in our town at the Inglewood Golf Club.

In 2024 while travelling in Scotland with Josh and Laura we toured one of the most famous Golf courses in the world, St. Andrews.

I don’t follow golf except for enjoying photos of our sons or nephew from the golf courses they enjoy a round of golf at. Just this past week our son, Josh, enjoyed a course in Otsego, New York. Josh and Laura traveled for a Baseball tournament that Laura’s brother and nephew were participants in at Cooperstown Dream Park.

Otsego Golf Club was established in 1894 and is one of America’s oldest courses. it is located on the shores of Otsego Lake and just nine miles from Cooperstown, NY.

In 1904 the club was taken over by Arthur Ryerson who as history tells traveled to St. Andrews golf course in his lifetime. Ryerson, traveling back from Great Britain, died heroically in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

2. Astronaut Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame passed away this past Thursday. Are you interested in outer space and what’s happening today in terms of space exploration? If space travel became common in your lifetime would you go? How do you personally relate to the idea of exploring something vast and mysterious…does the idea excite you, intimidate you, or something else? 

I’m not leaving the earth until the Rapture occurs or until God calls me home. I do admire space travelers. I’ll stick to exploring less vast and mysterious places like abbeys and cathedrals and ancient towns.

3. Describe your communication style in three words. 

I might need 4 words. Better written than spoken. 

My spoken words can get jumbled and aren’t as clear to my intentions as my written words can be. I’m not a great verbal communicator.

Our present culture is so divided that I’m passive in my communication amongst those with certain ‘strong feelings’ about things that do not pertain to eternity. I’m amending what I said before here with the fact that although it is not politics that set the standard for salvation, there are moral issues in policies and laws that go against the Bible and will be a hindrance to peace with God. I do speak up about these issues that do matter and applaud others with a strong voice.  It does matter who you are spiritually.

I’ll still be bold in communicating things that matter eternally regardless of ‘feelings’. Every person in the human race has only two destinations eternally. The Bible is clear about these two destinations, heaven and hell.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Jesus Christ will return to this world in judgement. The only way to be saved from the eternal consequences of your sin is to enter through the narrow gate, repenting (turning from your sin) and calling on the Son of God who gave his life for you, taking the penalty for our sins.

There was one door into the ark that saved Noah and his family from the flood. Similarly, there is only one door that can save us from eternal judgement. Jesus Christ is that door. The Bible states that now is the day of salvation. If you have not already done so, will you turn from your sins and call on the risen Lord Jesus to save you?

By faith, enter the only door that leads to eternal life today. Here’s a link that gives life saving information.

4. Do you have a favorite cookbook?

I’ll have to toot my own horn and say that the cookbooks that I’m part of with the Mennonite girls are my favorites, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, Celebrations by Mennonite Girls Can Cook and Bread for the Journey.

A favorite celebrity chef?

Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten are two celebrity favorites and I’m happy to say I’ve met both of them in person. We met Jamie Oliver at one of his restaurants in London and I met Ina Garten at a book signing in Kirkland, Washington at Sur La Table.

Do you watch any cooking shows on TV? 

I do enjoy the Great British Baking Show but we do not have Netflix so I haven’t been able to watch it recently.

5. As a child did you have any back to school traditions? If so, did you carry on those same traditions with your own children? Do you have any back to school traditions you’ve started on your own? 

Growing up our back to school traditions involved new outfits and a new pair of shoes to wear for school. Our children were given the option to wear something new for back to school.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

More golfing favorites.

dave and daniel

Our son, Dan, golfing with our dear friend, David Dickinson (1950-2016), who shared his love of golf with his sons and our sons. This was the day before Dan and Jamie’s wedding, June of 2015. Dave died a year later.

dave and daniel2

Our boys golfing with Jamie Dickinson, Dave’s youngest son and a best friend to our boys. This was just a couple weeks ago.

I can take great joy in vicariously enjoying golf through our loved ones experiences.

“Hit em long and straight, boys!”

I went to play golf and tried to shoot my age, but I shot my weight instead. – Bob Hope

Of Boats and Birthdays…

Tuesday July 29th was my brother and sister’s birthday. They are twins. It was fun to have one of the ‘twins’ with us to celebrate his birthday this year. Our Colville kids own a boat and the plan for this Tuesday was for them to treat their uncle and cousin to a day on the water. Their boat is not a yacht so Greg and I stayed home for boat time.

While the crew were boating I baked a cake and prepared our taco dinner. The candle on the cake had a small explosion of edible confetti that was fun. Note to self: read the directions before you light the candle. For the first candle I didn’t read the fact that I was supposed to put in the edible sprinkles ahead of lighting the candle. Thankfully there were two candles in the package and Jamie loaded up the second candle and Dan lit it for a successful ‘second take’ on singing and lighting and exploding!

The evening was capped off with a game of SkyJo which has become our ‘go to’ card game this year.

Wednesday morning was pack up day with a trip to the airport for our visitors. We stopped for breakfast at Frank’s Diner and another stop at Spokane Falls for a quick view before we continued on to the airport.

The Spokane International airport was a short ten minute drive from here. We dropped off my brother and nephew with hugs and good wishes. ‘God be with you till we meet again’.

We still had to make a couple shopping stops on the way back to Colville for supplies for our Vacation Bible School. After stopping at the Chef’s Store and Costco we drove the rest of our 70 mile trip to Colville with views of clouds that warned of Thunderstorms that were ready to burst at any minute.

We are thankful for the time we could all spend with my brother and nephew in our corner of the world.

Tee Time and Museum Time

While my brother and nephew were visiting a week ago we had a few activities planned. On Monday the 28th of July we had a Tee Time of 8:30 am. Greg, Leonard and Andrew golfed and I drove one of the golf carts. Dominion Meadows Golf Course in Colville is a great resource for our county. We enjoyed our time. The scores would have been real good if they were for 18 holes instead of 9.

After golf we enjoyed lunch at Rancho Grande Mexican Restaurant. After lunch we made a last minute decision to visit the Colville Museum run by the Steven’s County Historical Society.

We had a great introduction to the history of our area by a volunteer before strolling through the museum.

I have a more thorough post about the museum from another visit we made in 2020. You can see it here.

This time we took a tour of the lookout tower.

It was a good uphill trek to get to the tower and then a couple sets of stairs that showed me how out of shape I am from my sedentary time with Plantar Fasciitis.

The views were worth the huffing and puffing. It was nice to see these views of Colville.

The volunteer who took us up in the tower was a great resource of information about the history of the tower. You can read the information here.

The museum had some resident deer that we call city deer. They are less concerned by humans than the deer out in our part of the country.

It was a good full day and with the heat we were beat and stayed in for the evening.

This week we are supposed to have lower temperatures than last week which is fortunate since we are having Vacation Bible School this week. I’ll be busy selling t-shirts each evening again this year. It’s always fun to see the kids arrive each evening.

What’s new in your neck of the woods?

Tea ~ Fullerton

Welcome to Tea Time 2025. These posts will be about Tea Rooms we’ve been to, Teas we’ve given for friends and family, Church Tea events, and High Tea in restaurants from 2008 to the present. Tea in the U.S.A., Tea in England and Tea in Canada. Many of the Tea Rooms are no longer in business, which is sad.

This post was from October 17th of 2009. That was sixteen years ago!

Southern California is having a weather event and we are HOT HOT HOT. Back in April of 2009 my family planned a nice afternoon at the Rose Tree Cottage in Pasadena for my mother’s 85th birthday. It was a disappointing day for my mom because she fell on an uneven sidewalk when she arrived and had to spend the afternoon and evening at the hospital instead of having tea.

My mother giving us some words of wisdom at her birthday tea in 2007.

We decided it was high time to get together for tea again and thought we’d have some nice Fall weather for our get together. Well it’s Fall but we are having some summer weather. This time my mom, all my sisters, a SIL, nieces, and little grand niece are gathering in Fullerton. We’re praying for an accident free day!

Half the ladies in my family met for tea yesterday in Fullerton, California. We had the Senior member of our family, our 85 year old mom and the youngest member of our family, our 1 month old Grand Niece/Great Granddaughter in attendance.

The venue was the Spring Tea Garden in Fullerton, California. We were treated well during our time there.

Avery was born September 17th

This venue is still open for events.

That was 16 years ago which means this Fall our Grandniece Avery will be turning 16!

Dallas to Colville

My brother and our nephew traveled to Colville to enjoy a Father/Son time with us. Leonard is the youngest of my siblings being born 6 minutes after his twin, Lana. Andrew has an older sister, Hope. Hope was enjoying some cousin time in California. We stopped at The Master’s Brewpub in Deer Park on the way home from the airport for a meal.

As we continued home, we passed many sunflower fields. Andrew was born in the Ukraine so we pulled off the highway to get a photo of him with the sunflowers. They are Ukraine’s national flower and are associated with peace, the sun, and the warmth of the Ukrainian spirit.

Once home we had a walk about and played some Corn Hole.

On Sunday we met up with our family at church.

After church we enjoyed Greg’s famous Swedish Pancakes.

Sunday dinner was on Bayles Mountain. What a treat we had, lamb gyros with homemade gyros and tzatziki. Homemade Ice Cream with huckleberry sauce was our dessert. Our kids picked all the huckleberries themselves.

Jamie remembered to take the group shots and we are grateful for them. Andrew is our children’s cousin. He is cousin once removed to our grands.

Driving down our kids’ driveway for home we stopped for our traditional spot for a photo.

I’ll share our Monday and Tuesday doings in another post.

We had some intense thunderstorms yesterday and our temps dropped by 20 degrees by the time the storms ceased.

Happy August to you all.

The Great Exchange #4

We are calling the long weekend of July 17th-20th, The Great Exchange. Dan flew west and Laura flew East, exchanging planes.

After the celebration at Yep Kanum Park in Colville we gathered at our country bungalow for some water fun and for dinner.

After cooling off in the water, we enjoyed an Asian noodle dish with chicken that was easy to throw together and a salad. We had a blueberry lemon loaf for dessert with a dollop of ice cream.

Sunday morning we gathered at church filling a row and then came back to our place for Greg’s famous Swedish Pancakes with little smokies and fresh fruit.

Addy and JJ have moved on to enjoying Legos.

There was some epic tug of war battles under the dining room table! They left our bungalow with more events planned before Auntie left for the airport.

Time with Auntie was coming to a close.

Meanwhile on the other side of the mountains.

Saturday morning started early with a game of golf for our boys and Jamie D. These three have been friends since elementary school.

The brothers weekend was a relaxing hit!

We are so thankful to the LORD for our two beautiful daughters in law.

It was time to say goodbye. Auntie LOLO drove Dan and Jamie’s truck to the airport, parking it for Dan to pick up when he arrived on his flight. He had driven LOLO’s car to Seatac for her to be able to drive it home when she arrived. That was the plan anyway but there was a huge glitch to this great plan.

Both of their flights were part of the huge Alaska Airlines Snafu on Sunday night. All flights were grounded with no hope of them traveling this night. LOLO found a hotel next to the airport to spend the night in and Dan drove back to Josh and Laura’s for the night. They decided the best thing for the two of them to do on Monday morning was for each of them to drive and meet up halfway, exchange cars and continue to their homes. That worked great and they were both back at their own homes in the early afternoon.

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and find a new plan. Thankful it worked out in a good way for both of them to get home safely. Thank you, LORD!

Today, a week later we are heading to the airport to pick up my brother and his son for a 4 day visit here. We have some events planned and are looking forward to extended time together. I will be scarce on the internet for several days. Enjoy the last days of July, everyone!

Just Beachy Hodgepodge

Three generations at the beach in Southern California in the early 70’s.

It’s time for another summertime Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you, Joyce!

1. When does time pass slowly for you?

When waiting on news from a loved one. When flying from Seattle to the U.K.

When does time pass quickly for you? 

When spending time with loved ones and watching how fast our grandchildren grow from stage to stage.

2. Do you have a favorite beach? What’s your favorite ‘beach’ activity? Tell us what we’d find in your beach bag.

Laguna Beach in the early 70’s.

Over the years favorite beaches included, Newport, Huntington, Laguna, Emma Wood (Ventura), San Clemente, and Refugio (campground on the beach above Santa Barbara).

In my 74 years of life, over half of those years were lived close enough to a beach to spend a day there or just a few miles from a beach. Our sons were born while we lived in Huntington Beach and our daughter was born in Ventura which is also a ‘beach’ town. In my younger years I loved to be in the waves or do a little body surfing. In high school, I enjoyed playing ‘Hearts’ on a beach towel with friends slathering on the cocoa butter to get a tan (I know…dumb). With small children, I didn’t like the beach because of all the sand I had to clean off everyone, the sand in the food and the panic I’d feel about them being swept away in the waves. In my older days we lived temporarily in Camarillo a short distance to the beach. I loved to have a walk on the beach before dawn and watch the waves and the sea birds. Currently, I’m not a fan of being on the beach on a hot day. If I’m going to spend any amount of time on the beach it will be in the Winter, at sunrise or sunset.

My bag is most likely in the car and I would be hands free except for my camera or my cell phone. I would be taking photos of the birds and the surfers and the waves. I’d have sunblock on and a hat. I would be walking along the shore and not sitting. 🙂

Cousins camping at Refugio State Beach in California, 1984.

3. Your favorite book or movie with a beach setting? 

Flipper and Voyage of the Dawn Treader

4. What’s a food you love, but find it’s a pain to eat? Is it worth it? 

Love is a strong word. I enjoy mussels and they aren’t the easiest to eat. Caramels are delicious but they might pull out a crown. Peanut brittle is another thing that can be dangerous for teeth but is delicious.

5.  Do you like roller coasters? What’s the best (or worst) roller coaster you’ve been on? 

Big Thunder Mountain January of 2023.

I enjoy the Disney rides that are roller coasterish like, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, or Space Mountain. I’m not a fan of carnival rides.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Addy and JJ below the Huntington Beach Pier in the town where their Dad and Uncle were born.

Great Exchange Weekend Recap #1

Our family had a full fun weekend on both sides of the mountains. I’ll call it the ‘Great Exchange Weekend of July 2025’. Our Son flew West and our Daughter-in-law flew East passing each other at the Spokane airport.

Auntie LoLo arrived to spend the weekend on our side of the mountains and our son Dan took off to spend the weekend with his brother on the west side.

Jamie and the kids waited for Auntie after dropping Dan off for his flight to SeaTac. The kids were so thrilled to have Auntie here for the weekend.

Our westside kids got together after Dan arrived for a meal together. Although it was a ‘brother’ weekend, Katie got to see her brothers. too.

Here in Colville there was hours filled enjoying Auntie Lolo. First up, time spent in the garden unveiling all the incredible produce.

Some of the crop goes right into the mouth.

Checking how tall the vines have grown. “How does your garden grow?”

Speaking of growth our Grands are growing into more independence in their leisure time. They still like to have the company of the adults they love but they can play on their own knowing the adults are close by.

There were many more ‘events’ over the weekend that I’ll need to save for another day.

I’m ever so thankful to Auntie Lolo for all the photos she shares!

Adding the latest from the Hope Fire:

7/21/2025 Hope Fire Quick Facts
🔥 Size: 7,891 Acres
👷‍♂️ Personnel: 1,027
✅ Containment: 45%

Happy Monday to you all.

Name Dropping Hodgepodge

One of the Hodgepodge questions asked us if we’d been to a Disney Park. This photo is from the end of 1991 just before we attended the 1992 Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena on New Year’s Day 1992, University of Washington v. Michigan. Many college football fans represented their colors at Disneyland before and after the Rose Bowl game.

A fresh week of Wednesday Hodgepodge questions thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

1. What’s a characteristic you admire in others? Elaborate.

I really admire people who can engage others in conversation by asking good questions. I’d like to develop the art of asking good questions in order to get to know people better.

2. Do you have a favorite mug? Let’s see it. Why is this one your favorite?

The mug on the left is my favorite daily mug. It greets me in the morning with a good 16 ounces of coffee. I bought that mug in Windsor, England at a TKMaxx.

3. July 15th is/was National Give Something Away Day…will you (or did you, depending on what day you answer these questions) give something away? If so what? Do you regularly give away or do you tend to  ‘accumulate’?

We will be donating even more stuff from our garage sale to ‘The Bridge’ here in Colville. The back of my vehicle is filled with stuff.

4. You’re planning a trip. Do you prefer exploring big cities or smaller, more off the grid towns? World Atlas lists these 12 ‘off the grid’ towns to see in 2025. How many on the list have you seen? Of those listed which one would you most like to visit? Tell us why?

Boothbay Harbor Maine, Middlebury Vermont, New Hope Pennsylvania, Rehoboth Beach Delaware, Brevard North Carolina, Saugatuck Michigan, Medora North Dakota, Ouray Colorado, Lamoille Nevada, Neah Bay Washington, Hood River Oregon, or Cambria California

We’ve only been to the West Coast areas listed in California, Oregon and Washington states.

We saw Neah Bay on our way to Cape Flattery in Washington State. It is part of the Makah Reservation.

We crossed the Hood River Bridge from Oregon to Washington State to go to Bonneville Hot Springs.

In September of 2009 we were in Cambria. It is a charming little seaside town on the California Coast.

*You can read more about each destination by clicking the link above.

5. Have you ever…ridden a motorcycle? Yes, in high school.

I had a ‘boyfriend’ that gave me a ride.

been to a Disney park? Yes

Collage above is with photos from 1986 and 1991.

Growing up in Southern California and living there until 1988 afforded us lots of trips to Disneyland over the years. Our 9th grade end of year party was at Disneyland. The last time I was there was a family trip to Disneyland in January of 2023.

met a celebrity? Yes, and I have a lot of shameless name dropping to add here. 🙂

In 2013 when Josh, Laura, Greg and I were in London we stopped in at one of Jamie Oliver’s Restaurants and he happened to walk in while we were there. He came to our table to say hi and we got a photo with him.

Greg and I also had the interesting experience of sitting in the VIP box for an Elton John concert at Dodger Stadium for his performance there in 1975. We didn’t meet Elton but we met his mother who was seated there, too. The office manager for Elton was a friend of ours and we were hosting John and Jan and their toddler at our apartment in Los Angeles. We drove John to the concert and he flashed his ID/VIP passes for parking and to get us seats.

In November of 1960 my older sisters and I walked the block and a half to Whittier Boulevard in Montebello to watch John F. Kennedy come by in a convertible and we were able to shake his hand. He was campaigning in the Los Angeles area.

Greg met Peter Falk (Columbo). Greg, his dad and brother painted Columbo’s house in Beverly Hills 1972ish.

One of our favorite famous people who never aspired to fame and who was a humble servant of God, died on Monday, John MacArthur, the pastor of Grace Community church for 56 years. He was our first pastor after we were married. His fame centers on his faith in Jesus Christ and faithful expository preaching of the Word of God. We spent a more intimate time with both him and his father Jack at a Christmas dinner party in the Hollywood Hills in the home of a famous Hollywood set designer, Bob Keene. Bob and Sharon invited us to the dinner while we were still living in Huntington Beach in the 1980’s. We met and became good friends with Bob Keene while singing in the Christian band that Bob’s brother was the leader of. Bob’s brother Tom, an arranger/ composer and musician was also famous in L.A. for his musical skills. Tom Keene has arranged and produced hundreds of albums and played for such artists as Ralph Carmichael, Bill Gaither and Andrae Crouch. But, back to Bob…

This tribute was written about Bob Keene after he died in 2003. His funeral service was held at Grace Community Church.

won a contest? Yes

The school district our kids were part of had a contest to name a new school. The new school was taking in students from Woodin Elementary and Moorlands Elementary so I came up with Woodmoor for the name of the new school and they chose it over all the other entries.

Woodmoor Elementary School ~ Home of the Dolphins

Tell us something about whatever you answered yes to on this list.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

A beloved pastor who finished his race and is with his Savior (1939-2025).