Category Archives: Winter

A Deep Hodgepodge

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.

Alice day S.F 030

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…

mohai34

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.

15036604_1356018304417236_4867337359558403527_n
We have the best of news that we have permission to share now with the world. Dear and I are grandparents for the first time and will  be able to see our new little granddaughter for the first time in person sometime in March or April of 2017 depending on when she pops out. Even though our little granddaughter is not born yet we consider her our granddaughter already as God is wonderfully forming her right now.
~
At the end of 2016, this review of the year from July to December was published on my blog. What a year!
~

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.

shipshe-laughing

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.

heritage-tour-179

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.

blue-gate

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.

Our Road On Sunday

It has been, for the most part, a snowless winter for us here in Colville. This was our drive on our road home from church and lunch on Sunday January 18th with reflections on our sermon.

Our sermon was on Psalm 25. A Pattern of Prayer: Dependence on God and expressing and reinforcing that dependence in prayer.

God is always reliable and worthy of our trust. Our prayers should express trust.

God gives us our next breath.

We cannot live spiritually without God’s help and without waiting on God with patience.

I’m asking God to give me a teachable heart and guidance to live Godly while I put myself under God’s Truth.

God’s character is to be merciful to sinners. It is good to admit our sinfulness and receive fresh mercies every morning.

Turning into our driveway at the orange reflective triangle for a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for coming along on our drive home with some main thoughts from our Sunday sermon.

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.

15420786_10211421409552843_2489597613220187449_n

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

P1030567

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!

Winter Hodgepodge

I’m keeping up our Christmas and New Year cards for a little while longer.

If it’s Wednesday it is time for answering a new set of Hodgepodge questions that Joyce From this Side of the Pond is asking.

1. What kind of winter person are you-snow lover, fireplace snuggler, winter adventurer, or indoor hibernator? Elaborate.

I’m in the winter of my life here on earth and need to adjust to that reality. When we lived in southern California winter walks on the beach were my favorite. Living in NE Washington State my winter adventures are more in the fireplace snuggler or indoor hibernator realm. Slipping on ice is something that we really need to avoid at our age. I’ll still walk on the beach in winter if given the opportunity.

2. The Pantone color of the year is cloud dancer, described as a gentle, billowy off white shade. The color symbolizes ‘peace, clarity, quiet reflection, renewal, and a soft reset’. Of the terms just listed which do you need most in your life this winter? 

I’ll go with renewal, to restore to a good state.

3. Every cloud has a silver lining, on cloud nine, head in the clouds, storm clouds gathering, or cloud of suspicion...which ‘cloud’ idiom do you most relate to currently? Explain. 

Personally, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’, is my choice. My present and future are secure in my relationship with the God of the Universe so I can rest and see that He will keep me to the end not matter what storms brew.

State of the world, ‘storm clouds gathering’. So much evil intent and noise going on. Law and Order is being challenged like it never has before. Hats off to Ice, Border Patrol, Police Officers and National Guardsmen for keeping their cool as they do their jobs while subversive lawless individuals try to impede, attack and even kill them.

4. coconut, cauliflower, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, onions, ranch dressing…of the white foods listed, which would be the hardest for you to give up? Do you like all or any of the foods on the list? 

I can enjoy all of these white foods but the one that would be hardest to give up is onions. I love the flavor that onions add to meat, vegetables, salads, sauces. I could go on. I enjoy raw onion on a burger. Caramelized onions are so good!

5. Thomas Wentworth Higginson is credited with this quote-

“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year.” 

Agree or disagree? Tell us why. 

There are lessons of faith and beauty in every season including winter. I’m so happy for having all four and learning and growing in each season.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our Spider Plant has really taken off and it started tiny.

Have you seen these flower arrangements made out of wood? There is a gal in our area who makes them and sells them at one of our local stores and at Craft fairs.

This one is in one of our guest rooms.

Happy Hodgepodge y’all. See you soon.

 

Partying

Our church hosted a Princess Pajama Party this past Friday evening. It was a fun night for girls and their moms from our church and from our community. There were all sorts of stations of fun. Addy chose the Lego station and she along with some friends each built part of this Princess Lego Castle.

Granny, Addy and Mama chose some animal facials.

Addy won a prize for her coloring.

On Saturday on the other side of our state, our Westside kids all enjoyed our son’s annual employee appreciation party. Our daughter works for her brother so she gets in on the fun, too. Josh and his partners treat their employees well.

The theme was 80’s – Prom Night. It was fun to get photos from the event.

JJ has his own special party every Monday afternoon at Baba and Gramps’.

He found that our family room ottoman was just the right size for a cozy spot to watch TV.

I tried introducing him to the Lone Ranger which was okay for a bit but then we moved on to Silly Symphonies.

Here’s my kind of party…

I started my World of Jane Austen puzzle which was a Christmas gift from Andrew and Katie. This will be a fun one to put together.

Today is massage day. What does your day hold?

I’ll come around later to see what my blogging friends have been up to.

Boxing Day 2025

On Boxing Day (just a week ago)

After our traditional Swedish Pancake breakfast, the kids gathered at the Rotary trail for a walk. Greg, who is half Swedish, does the honors of cooking the pancakes at every special family gathering.

We all look forward to his Swedish Pancakes with Little smokies. They are enjoyed with sour cream and real or not so real Maple syrup plus fruit syrups, especially boysenberry which has been impossible to find in recent years!

Lots of stray golf balls were found in the brush.

Later that evening it was taco night at our country bungalow.

The dish washer was going full speed ahead for several days!

Snow Fun

We finally got enough snow for our Grands to enjoy sledding on their driveway.

JJ told me he learned how to turn the sled, too.

Meanwhile at our Country Bungalow we enjoy the views from inside.

We try to figure out what animals are leaving what tracks in the snow.

When our kids come to our place they pull around on our drive before they park by the front door. This next photo shows the fun result their truck tires made. This is what I see from our office window.

Double hearts!

Are you enjoying a winter wonderland?

Valentine’s Day 2025

Hope you are having a lovely Friday and Valentine’s Day. This is my catch-up post for this past week and the month of February so far with photos I’ve taken and photos that were sent to me. Trader Joe’s tulips were too pretty to pass up last Friday and after pulling my Valentine’s Day bin down I found the sparkly hearts to add to the bouquet.

When we were at Costco a couple trips ago the adidas warm-up sets were $10 and a set in size 6 made it into our cart. JJ is growing right on schedule into size 6!

Basketball is going on this winter and Baba finally made it to a practice.

My sister and her hubby flew into Seattle to surprise a close friend who was turning 50 and they had a bonus visit with our West side kids. Makes me happy to see them all together. They had a great time and sent us photos to prove it!

The first puzzles of 2025 got started and finished in the last couple of weeks.

JJ and I finished this glow in the dark puzzle during our Monday afternoon time. Later when it got dark we checked to see if it was glowing and it was. Woohoo!

This farm seasons quilt puzzle was a fun one to do. I finished it earlier this week.

A few close-ups showing the 4 seasons.

Addy and JJ went to a birthday party at Flying Squirrel in Spokane a couple weeks ago and we were sent these photos.

Tonight Addy and JJ are being dropped off at Gramps and Baba’s for dinner and a movie. Their parents are going to have some uninterrupted time together for a few hours.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. May love fill your hearts and minds and actions!

Speaking of Groundhogs

A while back this unwanted groundhog showed up on our property and we did not enjoy the thought of a colony moving in and making underground cities here. As cute as he is, he had to be eliminated.

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and we are starting with Groundhog Day! Thank you, Joyce.

1. What area of your life feels like you’re stuck in a Groundhog’s Day loop, doing the same thing over and over?

The only thing I can come up with is that once all our morning and afternoon activity is over we tend to sit down in front of the ‘box’ and go into relax mode. We don’t have any regular evening activities to attend these days.  Winter darkness contributes to this. We’ve talked about instituting a reading hour or two instead of doing a lot of watching. We usually retire between 8pm and 9pm so it isn’t hours and hours of TV…but still.

Does it bother you or is that just how life is in this particular season? 

Being in the winter of my life and retired this does not bother me. I do welcome any interruption to the regular evening mode and am ready to venture out when the calendar calls for it. I am happily active during the daylight hours. 🙂

2. Something that makes your heart skip a beat?

The Aurora light shows we had last year made my heart skip!

Holding our newborn children and grandchildren, a beautiful sunset or sunrise, an eagle soaring, any wildlife that suddenly appear in our back yard, our grandchildren’s hugs, a phone call from a loved one, a favorite worship song/hymn, hearing God’s Word expounded, a prompting of the Holy Spirit.

3. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve or are you more of a closed book? Elaborate. 

I don’t think either of those describe me. I’m generally up front and direct and ready to tell the truth. I’m not an overly emotional person unless you attack my loved ones.

4. According to Prevention Magazine, these are 25 of the best foods for heart health-

wild salmon, sardines, liver, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, coffee, red wine, green tea, soy milk, dark chocolate, raisins, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, avocado oil, olive oil 

Which five do you include in your diet most often?

Avocado, walnuts, almonds, oatmeal, coffee

Are there any foods on the list you simply cannot abide? 

My body does not react well to green tea so I avoid it like the plague.

5. What was the last piece of furniture you bought?

The last piece of furniture we bought was a new desk for Greg.

Is there a piece of furniture you need/want to purchase this year? 

NO

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Saturday was the annual Awana Grand Prix and our Grands vehicles did well, My 2 Cents, and Finger-ma-Bobber.

The Grand Prix helped us get out in the late afternoon and evening and change up our Ground Hog Day Loop, woohoo!

Here is a photo I love, taken on Monday and texted to our family group of our DIL and our Granddaughter. It’s still winter, y’all!

Happy February Hodgepodgers!

Snow and Winter Cleaning

We are finally getting a few inches of snow here in Colville. It was a great day to stay inside.  The inspiration came to do a deep cleaning of the kitchen cabinets, trim and the ledge that runs around the upper part of our kitchen filled with tchotchkes.

It is a very good feeling to have all the dust bunnies and the grime cleaned. I’m ready for a white glove inspection.

Spring will take us outdoors to take care of things we didn’t do in the fall so winter indoor cleaning will work nicely for us this year.

Welcome February!