Category Archives: Meme

Number Your Days Hodgepodge

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!

This quote from the Bible is one I wrote down after reading it.
Jeremiah 32:39 ~I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever for their own good and the good of their children after them.
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And this quote that I forget who said it…maybe Steve Lawson: “Don’t let your feelings get captured. Your feelings can suffocate your understanding of God. Gaze on the Lord 10x more than you concentrate on your feelings.”

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!

No Risks Hodgepodge!

 

1. Ever played the game Farkle? Are you a risk taker? In games only or also in life?

When I asked Dear if we had ever played Farkle, he said no, he paused and then said, “Sounds like a fairy fart.” Chuckle, chuckle.

In games I’m not afraid of taking a risk but in real life I tend to cling to the sure thing. I do like an adventure but even with an adventure I need to have some control. I think that’s one of the reasons I’m not enamored with the idea of a cruise. Too much is out of my control…

2. What’s your favorite thing about your yard or whatever outdoor space you may have?

I like the fact that whatever window we look out of, we see yard, trees, plants, birds, bugs. One of my desires when we moved from our city home was to purchase a property where I wouldn’t be staring into someone’s carport when I was outside or when I was looking out a window. I wanted nice views and I’m thankful for those nice views.

3. Tell us about the most interesting building you’ve seen or been in.

Old cathedrals and churches fascinate me more than anything modern. We’ve been in several amazing Cathedrals in Great Britain. Today I’ll choose Gloucester Cathedral in England to share. Amazing architecture and details that I could take hundreds of photos of. The Cloisters in this building boggle the mind. Questions pop up like, “How did they do that?”, “How long did it take to build this?” “How has it survived all these years?” Here’s only six of those hundreds of photos!

4. In this current season of social distancing, what’s something you’ve come to realize you take for granted in more ordinary times? Do you think you’ll make a conscious effort to appreciate whatever that ‘it’ is once normal life resumes?

There is so much that we take for granted. That’s a lesson all in itself. What a carefree life we’ve been afforded for so many years! I could list many things that I hope to take a conscious effort to appreciate. Going to church and worshiping with others is one for sure. Making traveling plans with ease instead of wondering about restrictions is another. Jumping in the car and heading to a restaurant to enjoy a meal out is another.

5. Share a favorite song with a springtime flower in the lyrics somewhere. 

Drew a blank with any springtime flower in the lyrics but here is Springtime from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons!

And then I came across this one which will work, too.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Our little family here in the northeastern corner of Washington State where we’ve had very few cases of COVID-19 felt that we could be together again.

This right here is the best feeling in the world. A sweet hug and cuddle!

Thank you to Joyce for providing the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Seis de Mayo Hodgepodge

1.  Question day this week lands on Cinco de Mayo. Are/were tacos on your Tuesday night menu? Hard shell, soft shell or just gimme all the tacos? Are you even a fan of Mexican food? Do you like your salsa mild, spicy, or somewhere in between? Margaritas-Frozen, on the rocks, or no thank you? Have you ever been to Mexico?.

No tacos on Taco Tuesday/Cinco de Mayo this year! I enjoy Street tacos (soft shell) but I would eat any taco. Mexican Food is my comfort food, so yes, I am a fan. Spicy salsa or in between not mild. Cadillac Margarita on the rocks please, no salt.

Yes we have been to Mexico before we had children and while we were living in Southern California. We drove to some little village just outside of Tecate, Mexico to pick up tile for the house my cousin was having built. After we got the tile safely back to the U.S. side of the border in a panel van that belonged to Dear’s father we went back into Tijuana (I forget how we got into Tijuana without the van, maybe a taxi) to do some shopping and then we decided we could walk back to the border but the police pulled up and thought we were nuts so we got escorted back to the Border by the local police who befriended us instead of arresting us when they found out my cousin was a Huntington Beach Policeman. It was hilarious to see my cousin sitting between the two policemen in the front seat and Dear, myself and Jeanie were in the back seat of the cruiser.

2. What’s something you may do this month?

Since we are still on stay at home orders I may just finish Jaymison’s First year scrapebook. 

3. Tell us what’s happening in your state or town as far as restaurants/salons/parks/beaches/businesses opening up.

Our beaches and parks and golf courses are opened up but other businesses are still on hold until our county can convince the governor that we are an area of our state that has only had one death and our medical facilities have not been stretched so maybe he will okay more services to open up.

How do you feel about it?

I feel that we could be at the stage 2 reopening at this time instead of stage 1.

Are you out and about or hunkered down? Do you wear a mask?

We go to the grocery store about once a week. We do wear masks. Another thing I’m doing is taking the very minimum with me when I go out. A license, credit card, keys and my phone. No purse. I’m using my pockets for my stuff. When I get home I take off the clothes I wore, wash my hands thoroughly, and put on fresh clothing.

4. Mother nature, everybody and their mother, mom jeans, like mother like daughter, soccer mom, mother hen, mother lode, necessity is the mother of invention, stay-at-home mom…pick one and tell us how it applies to your life right now.

Having to come up with meals everyday has made me more of the mother of invention. Although Mother nature is calling me outside a lot to weed and mow. 

5. April showers bring May flowers…what’s blooming in your yard or garden today?

A lot of plants are ready to burst forth but these are showing their color first.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We’re still lighting our star of hope each evening. This star is for our earthly hopes. Our eternal hope is set!

We hope that we can gather together again with our church family and have Communion together again.

We are in a stage that we are seeing and hugging our grandchildren again and that brings us such joy that is hard to explain. Post coming soon.

We hope we can travel to see our “Coast” kids again, soon.

We really miss not being able to go out for Cinco de Mayo or other times when we want to enjoy Mexican food. The two photos above of Katie and Andrew were taken at two different Mexican Restaurants that we have been regulars at. La Corona in Kirkland, Washington close to our Kenmore home was our weekly Tuesday date for early dinner. Our favorite waitress, Liliana, would see us drive up and have our Cadillac Margaritas ready for us. Now that we live in Colville our Mexican restaurant of choice is El Ranchito in Chewelah. We enjoy the friendship we are developing with Hector and Sergio. The photo of Andrew in the birthday hat was taken at El Ranchito. We hope for a time when we can comfortably go out to eat again.

Thank you to Joyce for coming up with the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Superhero Husband Hodgepodge

This photo of our daughter Katie was taken at a rest stop somewhere between Seattle and Jacksonville, North Carolina on a cross country trip to get Katie situated in an apartment before our Marine Son-in-law returned from his tour of duty in Afghanistan. It was an epic trip for the two of us and we both could have been awarded a superhero title!
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1. Expect the unexpected on From This Side of the Pond. Here’s my x-ray question…when was the last time you felt like Superman? What’s your superpower? Explain.
There are a few things that make me feel super satisfied. One of the things is to be able to recreate something special that our dear mom would make. One of her specialties is this nut roll we call Roolyet. My sister and I went about perfecting a recipe for it and we were very happy that it came out looking and tasting like our mom’s. We took it over to my sister’s house to share with her family and our dear old pop a few years back and he raved about it tasting like Mom’s.
Getting things checked off of my to-do list makes me feel like superwoman, too. It’s the little things…
2. Are you a fan of the ‘superhero’ type movies? If so what’s your favorite?
Not a fan generally of superhero movies. If I had to pick a favorite superhero of the fiction variety it would be Superman. I am a fan of these three in the photo above! Our grands with their uncle Joshie!
3. Have you postponed or cancelled a trip to the dentist in recent weeks, and if so when do you think you’ll feel comfortable going back? How about other routine medical procedures?
No, because I haven’t made an appointment to see a dentist. Oops. I have gotten an alert this week that I can make an appointment for my yearly medical.
4. What’s something that makes you feel youthful? Something that makes you feel ‘not so youthful’? Tell us why.
Singing and dancing makes me feel youthful and not looking in a mirror. Trying to get up off the floor when I play with the grands lets me know I’m not a youth anymore. There’s no hopping up anymore.
5. I feel compelled to include some sort of corona related question in the HP these days. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen in relation to the virus? Something that really struck you as odd, made you stop and think, ‘Dorothy we’re not in Kansas anymore?’
This photo of a few of us adults watching Jaymison Joshua from a distance while he opened birthday gifts and ate his first birthday cupcake. Definitely not in Kansas anymore!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
This man, my Dear, is my real life superhero. He has been by my side for over 45 years. He was our main provider for most of our married life and our very efficient handy man. There have only been a handful of home improvement jobs that we hired someone for. He’s painted, replaced siding, built fences, installed back splash, remodeled a bathroom, added on a room, replaced windows, put in walkways, installed flooring, just to name a few. He also has helped all our kids with home projects, too. He’s my personal bartender. Did I mention that he’s a good cook, too? We love him for his smarts, too. He’s not a fool, he loves God and believes in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and that’s the main reason why I married him. Everything else has been a bonus. We’ve had bumps along the road because we are two human beings living life together and that is bound to have it’s challenges. Nevertheless, I’m thankful for this man and for how God is working in our lives individually and together.
The latest greatest is that he located the hot water leak and repaired it having to crawl under the house and do the repairs in a crouched position. We have hot water again and we didn’t have to call a plumber! We used walkie talkies to communicate while he was under the house. There was less accumulated water than we had expected. We didn’t have to pump out any water. Now we will have to assess how much of the insulation got soggy and needs to be replaced. It was great to take a nice long hot shower after our work today. Thank you, Dear!!
Thank you to Joyce for asking the questions and for any of you who take the time to read my post. Click here to see more.

Variety

For this last Saturday of April we are on the letter V. I have a variety of things I’ll share for today.

We’ve had a variety of visitors to our country bungalow in the last month.

Can you see the beard on the larger turkey?

Some verses from the Bible I noted in my readings over the past couple of weeks. These are from the English Standard Version.

Proverbs 18:2 ~ A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Romans 12:12 ~Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

And this is a portion of Psalm 19 that we have memorized and continue to keep in our memory, verses 7-11.

The law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever,
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping of them there is great reward.

One last verse from Psalm 19,

Psalm 19:14 ~ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

This week we finished our last puzzle that we had in our stash. This one is an old one we’ve had around for years since the Soviet Union fell in the early 90’s and became Russia again. This was a tough one and at the end we thought we had one piece missing but were happy to find it under the table. Have you been putting together jigsaw puzzles while being sequestered in your home?

Have a good Saturday y’all. We are predicted some rain later this morning. I mowed the lawn on Tuesday and it already looks ready to mow again.

Use It or Lose It Hodgepodge

I’m combining Wednesday Hodgepodge with the A to Z Challenge for the letter S today. Strength, Survivor and Sinner are enough S’s to qualify. Sigh and snicker…

1. What’s something you resolved to do this year? Have you done it?

My motto for the the next few years is “Use It” or “Use It Up”. Ribbons, paper, stationary, stickers, paper napkins, paper plates, etc. etc. Instead of stashing these things away and forgetting about them I want to use them. If I have no intentions on using aforesaid items then I want to give them away.

2. Where do you go to find quietude?

The place that I go for my quiet time activities is our office at our big oak desk that sits in front of our bookshelves. I like being surrounded by the books we love. Bible reading in the Old Testament, a chapter in Proverbs, and finishing up in the New Testament. Then I move on to books written by authors I trust like Spurgeon or MacArthur or Sproul or some of the Puritans to dive deeper into understanding Bible truths. One thing I want to improve on is being more faithful in prayer.

3. A friend asked this question on her Facebook page and said I could borrow it for the Hodgepodge…you’re only allowed to buy 5 things at the grocery store, and all must start with the first letter of your first name. Whatcha’ buying?

I was surprised to find a lot of things that start with the letter E.

  1. Eggs
  2. Enchiladas
  3. Elderflower Cordial
  4. English muffins
  5. Eclair

4. The television show Survivor, the Gloria Gaynor song ‘I Will Survive’, survival mode, survival of the fittest…pick one and discuss.

Survivor, the television show. It has been a show I’ve watched since the beginning. That’s a lot of seasons. I am fascinated by how the human race interacts in this setting. I’d love to reference this show to that professor of mine that wanted us to write a paper on how all humans are inherently good. Haha…no, Mr. So and So, all humans are not good but they are sinners in need of a Savior and I’m one of the chief sinners. So thankful that God provided a way out! I also know I’d never survive on that show. If I ever made it to the island I’d probably be voted off first thing if I didn’t collapse and have to be medivaced out of there!! To other Survivor fans…wasn’t last week’s show one that was so emotional and amazing to see all those children that they flew in!? I was in tears and a little concerned on the welfare of those kids having to leave their parents behind…

5. Share a favorite quote or saying about strength.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This little guy turned 1 last week and we had fun with a lumber jack photo shoot. I will be posting 1,000 photos as soon as I can upload them all. We had his social distancing party last Thursday and then when the weather warmed up on Sunday we managed a social distancing photo shoot. You have been forewarned.

Thank you to Joyce for coming up with the questions and to all who read my answers! Click here to read more Hodgepodge answers.

Wednesday Hodgepodge~ Music (A to Z)


I’m combining the A to Z with Wednesday Hodgepodge on this tax day that isn’t really a tax day. Our taxes were filed but we won’t be sending that big fat check until July 15th. How nice to have that delay! Hopefully we won’t have to delay the Hodgepodge and Joyce will have her internet up and running in time. For A to Z we are on the letter M and Music is my M in this Meme.

1. In Monday’s post I mentioned I would incorporate the word I was given for letter K into this week’s questions. That word was karaoke. On a scale of 1-10 how excited would you be to find out there was karaoke happening at your next gathering/outing with friends? 10=gimme that microphone!, and 1=I suddenly remembered there’s somewhere else I need to be. Have you ever actually done karaoke? If you had to perform karaoke what would be your ‘go-to’song?

I’ve only done Karaoke once. I have been on stages singing with a mic right up to my face several times, long ago and far away. If I was on stage doing karaoke with my friends it would be a 10. If it was a solo it would be a 1. The photo above is of the Christian “Rock” group Dear and I were part of in the 70’s.  I’m the one on the right and Dear is next to me. I am not a soloist except for in the shower and in the privacy of my own home. I love the idea of Karaoke. My go to song would be…

2. How do you listen to music these days? Favorite app or do you listen the old fashioned way? Do you have music playing often in your home? Is there still a CD player in your car?

This is my old fashioned playlist and my CD changer. I’m so thankful to still have a CD changer that works and is connected to nice speakers so I can hear my music from anywhere in our country bungalow. We have a relatively new 2019 Highlander and I’m also thankful to be able to say it does have a CD player. I know most new vehicles do not have a CD player as standard equipment. On road trips we enjoy listening to books on CD.

3. The HP lands on US tax day this year. Or what used to be tax day before everything including filing your taxes was cancelled, delayed, postponed or extended. FYI- filing your taxes has not been cancelled, only delayed for a bit.

Besides staying away from anyone and everyone, what have you found taxing lately?

I have found it is hard to know what day of the week it is.  Concentration has been taxing.

4. You’re without power so no oven, and you can’t open your frig or freezer in order to keep what’s in there from spoiling. And you don’t have access to take out. What will you make us for dinner?

I will go to the outdoor barbecue that is powered with propane and use the side burner to heat up a can of pinto beans, a can of black beans, a can of green chilies, a can of chopped tomatoes all together, add some chili powder and cumin. I’d serve that in a bowl with tortilla chips unless I had a fresh package of flour tortillas that haven’t been opened. I’d toast those tortillas on the grill. If I had an avocado and tomato in my fresh basket I’d cut them up to add on top. It you don’t have a propane powered barbecue you could do this over an open fire.

5.  I’ve seen this exercise going around Facebook and thought it would be a good one to include in the HP…what are five things everybody seems to love and go crazy for that you personally don’t care for?

Don’t Judge!

  1. Sushi
  2. Cruises
  3. Protein Drinks
  4. “Facebook Chain Letters” example “If you love your sister copy and paste”
  5. Women in Power (I could explain this better in person)

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of old school/old fashioned this is an album that some of our family and friends were part of.

The Russian Sacred Singers of Los Angeles are a group of California young people of Russian background. They sing in English and Russian under the inspiring leadership of director Leonard Wozniuk. The unique bi-lingual choir responded to our challenge to record their selections for radio use. Today, their joyful singing is heard world-wide over several short-wave radio stations and over local broadcasts in North and South America.

Hymns of Praise was recorded in stereo in the Lorin Whitney Studios with the creative accompaniment of organist Bill Fasig and pianist John Innes of the Billy Graham Association. Tom Keene on guitar and Paul Stilwell on bass add their distinctive sound to several selections. ~ Andrew Semenchuk, Producer.

The songs sung in Russian include: The Lord is my Light, Like a River Glorious, Jesus Name I Love, Hallelujah What a Saviour, The Good Shepherd, What A Friend, Glory in the Highest, Blessed Assurance, Submission, Let the Beauty of Jesus, Praise Ye the Triune God, Why Not Now, and Peace Perfect Peace.

Five of my cousins and two of my sisters sang on the album along with a future cousin-in-law and the director became my brother-in-law. 

We now have the album on CD so we can listen to it more easily. We don’t have a phonograph anymore.

Music has been a big part of my life and it has enriched my life in so many ways. Being part of music groups I met some of the most important people in my life namely my dear husband. Music took me across the pond to Great Britain. I would have never traveled as extensively as I did were it not for music. Music that honors God and is true in lyrics moves  me to worship my God and Saviour. I hope to be singing when my time comes to leave this earth. I know I’ll be singing when I get to heaven.

Thank you to Joyce for coming up with the questions! Click here to see more answers.