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It will be good to be home again and to get our bearings.
Here are some birthday photos from the past.






The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Thank You, LORD!
Hello Monday and hello to the last week of February!

I took this selfie on the way home from church on Sunday. We watched the USA-Canada Men’s Hockey game before church and we were happy for the historic win for the USA men. I decided to wear my USA jacket to church as a nod to the Hockey team. I love that Addy leaned over to get into the selfie!
Congratulations to all the participants in the Winter Olympics!
I’m adding a couple of photos from my archives taken in Milan in March of 2013.


The soccer stadium in Milan.
Have a great week!

I’m enjoying the sun on the snow and how it sparkles.

The snow crown on the bird bath caught my eye. I like it even better with the sunshine on it.



Before our snowfall I got some shots of Quail. They love our Silver Spruce Bush.

When we step out on our deck at times upwards of twenty quail will fly out of that bush!

It wasn’t planned but when JJ arrived on Monday afternoon, his mom mentioned we were twins and needed to take a photo!
Today is Women’s Bible study morning and I made some Date Nut loaves to slice and share with the ladies. I’ll share the recipe and photos if they turned out good.
Before I close off this post I’m going to give you some unsolicited advice.
Do not buy furniture with a black finish if you do not like to dust!
If you are under 60, celebrate the fact that you can still get up off the ground easily.
When I have to kneel down it is a major event for me to get up again.
Enjoy the rest of the week!

On Valentine’s Day, these two cuties arrived at our door with their mom to deliver some Chocolate Covered Strawberries. They were making the rounds to their loved ones. So very thoughtful. They were delicious.
Our family exchanged greetings via texts. Greg and I enjoyed steaks off the Traeger for our Valentine Day Meal.

These were some of our views on the way to church on Sunday morning.


When the interesting bank of fog/low clouds burned off we had a beautiful Sunshine filled day. We received photos from the Western side of our State and we reciprocated with photos from the Eastern side.

From Kirkland where sunglasses were a must to Colville where sunglasses were optional.

Being out of doors was a welcomed treat.

The blue sky and sunshiny views were so appreciated! Thank you, Lord!

Our daughter sent a photo of her latest hair color just in time for Valentine’s day.
It’s the start of the third week of February already. Time is flying. Five more weeks of Winter! Maybe I’ll have some snow photos to share this week if the predictions are correct.
Hope all is well in your corner of the world.
Happy Valentine’s day to one and all!



We had our Colville kids over last evening for a Valentine’s Day Meal.




We had a lovely evening.
Just in case you are reading this post today, a very Happy Birthday to you, Beth!
Sometimes it just takes a little change to brighten your prospect.

This past weekend we decided to do a little jimmying of our furniture to see how we’d like it. Of course as soon as the huge heavy sofa was moved, the rug had to be moved, tables had to be moved, lights had to be moved and wall art went to more suitable locations.

I’m adding a daytime photo of the room after this post was published. I’ll share a couple more on my Hodgepodge post, tomorrow.
In total bloggy fail, I did not take a before photo.
We are happy with the change in that it gives us regular sitters a new prospect around the room and to the outside. We are looking forward to a full house to see how our ‘people’ like the changes.

Our ‘littles’ who aren’t so little anymore gave the room a thumbs up!
It was JJ’s afternoon yesterday while Addy was at Irish dance. He looked in the refrigerator and announced to me that he was making guacamole. He had the avocados out and said “Baba, I need onion powder and lime juice, and a little salt, please.”

“I don’t think we have any chips so you’ll have to use crackers.” He was good with that. He did end up having a favorite of the two crackers. Note to Baba.
I’m happy that our grands can come up with good snacks and have kitchen skills that will serve them well.
How is February starting off for you?

On Friday I took some photos of our country bungalow.

We finally got some sunshine and blue skies here. But…

Baby, it’s cold outside!

At the Irish dance studio it is cold inside, too. The dancers appreciate the coolness once they are dancing hard.
Friday was lovely on the other side of the state, too. We got this sunshiny photo from J & L enjoying the sun.


While being cozy inside, I finished the World of Jane Austen puzzle. It was fun to put together.

Here’s a closeup of some of the details.

I’ve been practicing with the panorama feature on my phone.

In the kitchen, I’ve been trying some easy lower calorie high protein meals for us. It’s been an adventure.
Late Breaking news on this Sunday is that our Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl LX. Brings back some memories.
The photo above is from 2014, the last time the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. In 2015 they went to the Super Bowl again but lost to the New England Patriots. This will be a repeat match-up. Truth be told we are fair weather fans. We don’t typically watch NFL Football. That said, we will root for the home team again this year from our comfy seats in front of the TV.
The photo below is from 2014, also. Greg worked in downtown Seattle back then and this was the building he worked in at the time with the nod to the 12th man. If you know, you know. Congratulations to the Seahawks for reaching another Super Bowl.
This is what it looked like in our family room the last time the Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
Back to the present…
Hope all of our bloggy friends and family in the path of the arctic blast are doing well and have power! Stay safe y’all.
This photo from January of 2016 (10 years ago) was from a few days spent in San Francisco while Greg was at an Oncology Conference. The words below the first photo are about that day in 2016.
Today was a full day of sight seeing with an old friend from my college days who grew up in San Francisco. She happens to be Russian/Chinese and knows the city well. We had several stops and enjoyed lunch and shopping in China Town where everyone is getting ready for the Chinese New Year. I don’t think I need to tell anyone what bridge they are looking at in my photo…
My friend, Alice, at our delicious lunch in Chinatown. She did the ordering. My friend passed away in 2018.
Back to…
…Another winter Hodgepodge with a flashback to ten years ago thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond.
1. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, playing in the snow, or a snowy walk…which winter activity do you choose? Have you done any of these activities so far this winter?
Nothing this winter. We have not had any measurable snow this season.
At this stage of life, the only winter activity I would choose are the walking kind.
When we have a good dump of snow I have gone out our door to snowshoe. This is from 2019.
This one is from 2022.
2. Everyone is posting pictures from ten years ago on their social media sites so let’s jump on the bandwagon too. Share one photo and one thought to go with said photo from the year 2016. And maybe everyone isn’t doing this, but many are and we’re going to be part of the fun.
This was one of the best memories of 2016! This is the photo that was shared with us and I shared it on the Hodgepodge with the words below the photo.
3. What’s a trend you hope disappears in this new year?
Stalking, attacking and verbally assaulting Law Enforcement.
4. ‘They’ say there’s a day for everything and January 21st proves it. National Granola Bar Day. Do you like granola bars? How about just regular granola? Do you like bars of other kinds?
I’ll have one if I’m desperate but they aren’t something that is purchased and available in my pantry. I do enjoy granola as a cereal with milk.
5. A frozen lake, a trickling stream, a raging river, or a deep well…which one describes something about your life right now? Elaborate as much or as little as you like.
A deep well. There is so much to learn that I do not know. So much to see that I haven’t seen. So much about God that I do not know. I believe the ache to know more, see more and do more comes from a deep longing from our inner being that wants to see God as He is. It is a hard thing to explain. Someday that will be a reality. Until then I’ll keep digging in God’s truth and in the world God created for us to enjoy and give glory to God in the discoveries along the way that show me more of Him. My deep desire will become reality when I graduate to heaven.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of 2016, this is another amazing memory and experience we had in September/October of that year.
The “Girls” and most of our husbands have just returned from a seven day trip to Indiana and Ohio to see a production using our name in Amish/Mennonite Country. The Blue Gate Productions hosted us and treated us as VIP’s. All ten of the girls were together at the Blue Gate Garden Inn where we enjoyed “Faspa” on Sunday night before we had our cooking show and saw the production for the first time. As you can see from the first photo above we have fun together.
We took this opportunity to get some photos of all ten of us since Betty and Charlotte live in Manitoba and miss many of our get togethers in British Columbia and Seattle.
I shared many posts about our time in Amish Country. This is the initial one here.
Happy Wednesday, Hodgepodgers and all who stop by here.

We gathered together to celebrate these two at the Rusty Moose in Spokane.

We enjoyed our meal and our time together.





This little guy had a cavity filled before our lunch time celebration so his smile was a little off kilter. He did great for the procedure but wasn’t a fan of the numbness and the ‘weird’ feeling as the novacaine wore off.
The restaurant that we gathered at was in the neighborhood of the airport so Greg and I took the opportunity to stop at the airport before our lunch and apply for our TSA Pre-check. It was a smooth process and we are happy to have it done.