Puzzle Me World Cup

Josh and Laura gifted me this puzzle on their last visit and it was a fun one to put together during World Cup Fever here in the USA/Canada/Mexico and the world!

The World Cup posters for each city hosting games are so clever.

Seattle

Boston

Atlanta

Miami

Vancouver

Houston

Dallas

Los Angeles and more…Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterey, Toronto, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco, and New Jersey.

The USA played Australia yesterday in Seattle and Josh and Laura were able to be there and enjoy all the glory of World Cup Fever with a 2-0 win for the USA. From the fan excitement in the stadium, the patriotic clothes and costumes worn (Uncle Sam, Eagles, Lincoln etc.), 60,000 people singing the National Anthem the cheering was deafening. And then when the game was over the whole stadium sang ‘Country Roads, Take Me Home’. It was a blast of energy that was so refreshing to see and hear!

What a joy to vicariously enjoy being at the game with these two!

Hope all is well in your corner of World Cup Soccer and that your team is performing well!

Soccer or Futbol Quotes

It’s no secret that we have soccer/futbol fans in our family and I’m one of them. We are excited for World Cup 2026 here in the USA/Mexico/Canada.

This is a collection of Soccer Commentators comments during games in the past in honor of World Cup 2026. The photos are from games through the years from our travels and at home. Some are from World Cup 1994 which was the last time and first time World Cup was hosted by the USA. This post is very random and jumps around near and far and wherever soccer/futbol has taken us.

“He’s already written his name in lights here”

“That was a chance to put the game to bed”

“That goal keeper is a mere spectator” “It’s one way traffic at the moment”

“Every road is a cul de sac at the moment” ~ Ian Darke announcer for the Slovenia/USA game.

“England is running around like flies at the moment”

“He is a new name among the old soldiers”

“The giants can be knocked out by the minnows!!”

“Suarez, next time you get hungry take a bite of a Big Mac”

Quote of the match: “His ears look quite normal.” :0)

another great one…”couple years past their sell by date in the premier league” :0)

“So many of these players now on the wrong side of 30” Adrian Healey

“It really is keystone cops stuff here”

“The last drop of the drink in the last chance saloon”

“The North Koreans are a toughish nut to crack”

“The ball got smuggled away”

“So many of these passes going astray”

“Made rather a mess of it”

“Events conspiring against them”

“They need a win to tie up an almighty knot”

“That tall beanpole striker”

“Over the bar with a goal gaping at her”

“Columbia just had a sniff of something”

“Solo could have brought a portable TV and watched her favorite Film”

“Like a hot knife through butter!” I love Arlo White!

“A slender advantage”

“The cruelty of sport” nice way to describe the own goal…

A sport announcer’s most stupid statement of all time “It’s going to come down to who wants it more” As if one or the other team doesn’t want to win. It’s going to come down to a lot of factors in the run of play but there’s not anyone on the field who wants to lose! And that’s my personal opinion. Thanks for letting me vent!

“He was the meat in that sandwich” ~ English Premier League soccer announcer. The meat in this challenge happened to be the ref! He’s still down on the pitch…

Go U.S.A.!

Vámonos!

The Birthday Finale

Today is our firstborn’s birthday and that brings our family January birthdays to their finale. He is a joy to us and to so many others.

Happy birthday, dear Joshie! Here’s to a year filled with many good things and lots of love and growth in the Lord.

Every good and perfect gift comes from above.

Glad we could celebrate you in person back in December.

Here’s a celebration from a few years back.

Seahawks are in the playoffs so this collage with you sporting your Seahawk Jersey seemed appropriate to share.

Of course soccer and the Sounders have a lot of extra loyalty for you and our whole family.

You are loyal fans when they are home and away.

I love that you and Laura made it all the way to Toronto to see the Sounders win the MLS cup!

Family times at the games are a great memory.

With FIFA World Cup coming to the USA again it brings memories from 1994 when the USA hosted this popular world event. Seeing prices and how hard it is to get tickets for games this year makes the fact that both you and Dan got ticket packages for less than $100 for a few games in each package seem like a miracle. Not only did you get tickets but we were able to meet the whole U.S. team at their practice field and their hotel. What fun that was to experience.

Hopefully, tickets will become available for you this time around!

Another memory is popping up for the year.

Looking ahead to October, this experience from 1997 comes to mind. You and Dan have been back to Hawaii since 1997 but it will bring back memories when we are all back there together again. I won’t be renting any beach rafts this time around!

Hope you have a special day today and that you know how much you are appreciated and loved.

Go Sounders…oops…Go Seahawks!

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.

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.

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

Wrapping Last Week Up

At soccer camp last week we had intermittent showers and winds and a beautiful rainbow!

It was a very full week with soccer camp in the evening and golf camp in the morning, not to mention Irish Dance practice, too!

Our road is being asphalted from highway 395 all the way to highway 25. That’s about 20 miles worth. There are times where we have to wait at our driveway for a pilot car to let us out. We have to plan our trips wisely and also leave plenty of time in advance if we have an appointment. The road is looking real nice and it will be great when it is all done.

We have been enjoying my brother and his son being with us since Saturday afternoon. I will have lots of posts to share soon.

I’ll leave you with some flowers that are blooming in our planters right now.

Enjoy the final days of July!

Hello Summer Views and News

We’ve had a mix of blue skies and rain showers for the beginning of summer. It has been a banner year for our clematis varieties.

The yellow day lilies are always the first of the lilies to bloom.

Addy and JJ had fun at Golf Camp. We visited the camp on Wednesday held at the Chewelah Golf and Country Club.

On Thursday they were able to play nine holes of golf.

On the other side of the mountains, the Seattle Sounders had tournament games with international teams and Josh and Laura were able to attend.

Our kids had uninvited visitors on their mountain. The farmer/rancher was called to lead this girl back home…but she must have told her friends that the grass was greener here because later in the day this crew arrived. There are fencing repairs needed by the owner of these cows.

We finally decided to give this Mexican restaurant a try since the ownership and management changed. We gave it a thumbs up. For our small town with limited restaurants it’s interesting that we have three Mexican Restaurants.

We are still enjoying the many shades of green with pops of color on our property.

We had some rain on Saturday and on Sunday in the late afternoon we had thunderstorms and a real good soak.

This Monday morning would be a great time to do some weeding since the soil is very wet and softer than usual.

Quote of the week:

“Never start with your problems. Never! Never start with earth; never start with men. Always start in heaven; always start with God.”

(Martin Lloyd-Jones, Seeking the Face of God: Nine Reflections on the Psalms)

Psalm 71:1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge…

S is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Tuesday, April 22nd, and we are on the letter S.

S is for Soccer and for Seattle Sounders Soccer Team

A couple of Joshua’s teams.

A couple of Dan’s teams.

Katie’s team.

There were a couple years in Junior High and High School that the boys played on the school team together. That was a fun treat.

It’s no secret that I have been a soccer fan since our kids started playing in their early years and continued into high school.

World Cup 1994 was in the United States and that solidified our national and international love of the sport. World Cup is coming back to the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

After their soccer glory days were over we became fans of the Seattle Sounders and our son has had season tickets from the beginning, since 2009.

In 1994 our boys were 15 and 13. We flew to Southern California to catch all the World Cup excitement we could. We found the U.S.A. training facility in Southern California and were able to see some of the team practice and get an autograph.

After finding the training ground we also found the hotel where they were staying and managed to meet up with most of the players who were very approachable and happy to sign the team poster.

Dan and I were able to attend a game between Brazil and Cameroon at Stanford Stadium.

Josh had tickets for games at the Rose Bowl.

Participating in this historical event was thrilling for our family.

After World Cup the boys still had years of soccer left to play before their Soccer glory days were over.

Since 2009 we’ve enjoyed professional soccer in person in the United States, Canada, in England and Scotland and Italy. Whenever we travel to the United Kingdom with Josh and Laura, a futbol match is in the itinerary.

Josh and Laura have been able to attend a few Major League Soccer Championship games along with regular games in several states. I was able to attend two of the championship games that ended up being in Seattle, 2009 and 2019. In 2009 Seattle hosted but didn’t play. We’ve all been to Seattle Sounders games but Josh and Laura have enjoyed the most games in person.

Josh and Laura trying not to freeze in Toronto in 2016! We won the championship!

Then in 2019 the kids got me a ticket to enjoy the MLS Cup Champions game and Seattle won again! It’s amazing to win a championship on your home field!

And now I get to watch our ‘Grands’ play soccer.

Great Uncle Arnold wrote this poem in a letter to Greg’s mom about our boys playing soccer.

Playing Soccer in the Rain

It’s raining steadily and hard,
So puddles, growing in the yard
Spill over, and run down the street
Past where this street and others meet.

The boys play soccer in the rain
They run and strive with might and main
To kick the ball into the net
In spite of getting soaking wet.

The teams they play on won 1st prize
It’s good that they could realize
Success for all the joy and pain
Of playing soccer in the rain.

The letter S was covered satisfactorily here today.

Hope your week is starting well.

Spread the Love Hodgepodge

Joyce From This Side of the Pond is sharing the love with our new set of Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions.

1. Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did your team win? What’s your favorite game day snack for whatever sport is happening?

We did watch the game and were so surprised at the blow-out. The Eagles played a great game. I’m glad the Chiefs finally got some good plays in. We really didn’t have a favorite team. For game day snacks I like Charcuterie with meats and cheeses and veggies with dips like artichoke and a baguette cut up in thin rounds and nuts and I could go on and on.

2. What’s your ‘superpower’?

Detective work is one of my super powers and along with that comes spotting danger. Those powers made me a real good Playground teacher.

Another super power, because I love to do it, is planning a trip.

3. Will you do anything special on Valentine’s Day? If so do share. Any thoughts on/about this particular holiday?

I’m thinking I’d like to do a chocolate fondue again.

Chocolate Hazelnut Fondue

1-1/2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 pounds bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped. (I used 2 bags of semisweet chocolate chips that I didn’t need to chop)
1/4 cup Frangelico liqueur (If you do not want to use this you can substitute 1/4 cup of strong brewed coffee)
1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (as always you can omit the nuts if you’d prefer)

Method:

Place the half and half and heavy cream in a double boiler.
Heat the creams until they bubble.
Reduce the heat and gradually stir in the chocolate chips 1/2 cup at a time whisking while adding. When the chocolate is completely blended in, add the liqueur.
Keep warm and sprinkle with hazelnuts just before serving.
You can divide the chocolate into individual dipping bowls and serve with dipping fruit and other items or you can put the chocolate into a fondue pot at this time, too, to keep it warm.

Some dipping suggestions: cookies, biscotti, cubes of cake, dried apricots, pineapple, fresh berries, sliced pears, orange slices, and marshmallows.

This recipe easily served 8 people with leftovers. If you are serving a smaller group half the recipe.

I enjoy hosting a little Valentine dinner and decorating in pink, white and red for a change.

Share a favorite verse or quote relating to love.

1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loves us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

4. Are you a fan of the rom-com genre? If so what’s one of your favorites?

Not a fan of this genre in movies or books. Give me a good murder mystery with a faithful loving relationship in the plot line and I’ll be happy.

If you’re not a movie go-er then what about a book you love that features a great love story?

Going back to murder mysteries the relationship between Gamache and Reine-Marie in the Inspector Gamache series of murder mysteries is a great love story. Their relationship is loving, faithful and an everyday kind of relationship, not far fetched but inspirational.

How about a favorite love song?

This song about God’s love in sending Christ to save us is a current favorite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a more earthly note, from my high school days, I’ll go with Cherish by the Association. There were so many popular love songs in the 60’s.

I love good music sung by talented singers. Even if they sing something that isn’t necessarily classified a ‘love song’, it brings out the love in me. Andrea Bocelli can be singing anything and it sets a amazing mood. Nat King Cole is another singer who’s voice is ‘music to my ears’. Music is very key in my personal history. God has used it in powerful ways in my life.

5. Let’s get creative…write an acrostic using the word L-O-V-E.

Living in love

On the cusp of heaven

Visualizing with hope

Eternity

6. Insert your own random thought here.

My favorite Valentine’s! Photo from Valentine’s Day 2024.

Our Own Backyard

As the saying goes here is what has been going on right here in Colville.

We made it out in the cold to the Rotary Trail on Tuesday last week. We lasted for a good 30 minutes before our faces got too cold to go on. It was invigorating.

Our backyard quail have been visiting regularly.

JJ is enjoying Taekwondo. His uniform was a Christmas present. He also started Basketball and is enjoying it. These indoor activities help to give him the added exercise he needs when winter weather keeps him inside.

All the Christmas bins are up and away. This morning I’m having a house cleaner in for the first time ever. That appointment got me motivated to do some organizing and clearing surfaces here. That snowballed into me working on the kitchen cupboards and the pantry. While doing that our pile of garage sale items got larger and larger. I have only put a dent into downsizing our possessions but it feels good. At least I didn’t vacuum before the cleaner comes! 🙂

This will be a busier week than usual with meetings, appointment in Spokane, more meetings and a birthday dinner here on Saturday. How is your week shaping up?

End of the Season

The last game of the summer soccer season for the Bobcats! Jamie captured this great photo with Addy doing her little kickback move with her dad in the background being the coach and the referee. Great season Bobcats and coach Dan!

I have the cutest video of JJ and his end of season scrimmage but I wasn’t able to share it with my photo platform.

These next photos are of the roads we travel back and forth to get to the play fields and to the high school for our Stair climbing fitness times.

We had some sprinkles on the morning I took these.

I love the layers of mountains that we get to enjoy. We are so thankful for our peaceful country views with most of our traffic pauses because of animals crossing the road!

Here in the USA we have our Labor Day Weekend with the Monday holiday. The last hurrah of summer for many. Our schools start next week here in Colville. Our Fall programs at church begin next week, too.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Sports