Category Archives: Winter

Marching On…

Even though we have webbed feet Seattleites are getting weary of the rain and lack of sunshine in these parts. On Wednesday we had a window of dryness with some sunshine so Dear and I took our standard walk about the neighborhood. The photo above is of one of our 5 Rhododendron plants budding. This is our state flower.

Along our walk there is a pond that our webbed feet friends enjoy. We are getting some nice signs that Spring will come like clockwork.

Friday morning it was warmer than usual so I went outside to do some planter clean up. I raked and trimmed some bushes with my nifty new hedge trimmer. I stopped to take some more photos of one of my favorites, the Lenten Rose (Hellebore).

Then on Friday late in the morning the sun broke through in all it’s glory and we were ready to leap like these youngsters but we chose to walk instead along the waterways in Kirkland Washington after enjoying lunch here. This sculpture is a bronze created by Glena Goodacre called “Puddle Jumpers”. Purchased for the city of Kirkland by city residents and businesses in 2001.

We have a bag partially packed and the gas tank full for when we get the call that our daughter-in-law is admitted to the hospital. Fun times. Thank you dear friends for your kind words and suggestions to us as we enter the world of grandparent land.

Hello Winter Hodgepodge

1. What’s left to be done on your Christmas to-do list? 
Buy the ingredients for our Christmas Eve and Christmas day menus. Dear will be making his famous Tomato Rice Soup for Christmas Eve and then on Christmas day we will have Swedish Pancakes for breakfast (Dear makes those, too) and Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding for dinner. Oh my, looks like Dear will have the lion’s share of cooking duties since he’s throwing the Prime Rib on the Traeger this year, too. I’ll work on the sides. Daughter in love is bringing the homemade pies.
2. The Hodgepodge lands on the first day of winter this year. What’s your favorite thing about winter? 
Since we moved to Washington State from Southern California twenty eight years ago I have enjoyed having 4 distinct seasons. I appreciate different landscapes throughout the year. Winter isn’t my favorite but I appreciate it’s difference.  Winter clothing is my favorite thing about winter. I like comfy clothes.
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3. In what area of your life are you immature? Feel free to elaborate or not. 
First I’ll choose this definition of immature; not fully developed.  I am not fully developed in my life as a follower of Jesus. I still have lots to learn about trusting God in this daily walk. Obedience does not come naturally and easily to me. So in this I am immature. I thank God He loves me and doesn’t abandon me. He will never leave me on the side of the road and drive away like I threatened my children I’d do on some of those road trips when they were little.
4. What was the most (or one of the most) important lessons you learned in 2016? 
I can live with my husband under foot every day and still have joy. He’s been unemployed since June and from January till June he was a consultant working out of our home.
5. It’s Fried Shrimp Day…are you a fan? What’s your favorite way to eat shrimp? Will there be shrimp somewhere in your holiday feastings? 
Shrimp is not a staple in my culinary world. My favorite way to eat shrimp is coconut crusted as an appetizer at a restaurant. No we will not have shrimp in our feastings.
6. What sound lulls you to sleep? 
The lack of sounds is what lulls me to sleep.
7. What one word best describes your 2016? 
Unemployment

PM19088.  Insert your own random thought here.

We wish you a Merry Christmas,  we wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Good tidings we bring to you and your kin, Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you Joyce for asking the questions. To see more hodgepodge click over to From This Side of the Pond.
Happy First Day of Winter y’all!

Tender Mercies…

icy 010God’s faithfulness is revealed anew every morning.  My Lenten Rose is poking up it’s tender shoots from the earth showing me that once again life will be renewed.

This is one of my favorite flowers and just to see it in all its stages brings me joy.

IMGP1064icy 013

The shrubs in the front planter are showing off their red berries. I’ll have to investigate the name of this shrub. It stays green all year round but only shows off the berries part of the year.

2014-01-07 icyMy Christmas card line reminds me of many lives and families that have been a part of our history. I love getting cards and updates in the mail at Christmas time. This is the last part of Christmas that I haven’t put away yet.

I’m also enjoying some new gifts from family and friends.

IMGP1078A nice container to store my salt to use while cooking right next to my stove top.

IMGP1077I’m always drawn to heritage items that remind me where my ancestors came from.

icy 003This new gift to us makes drinking coffee very easy in the morning and we never have a half pot of coffee to dump. Hot water is also easy to dispense for tea.

IMGP1081This drawer of pods for the coffee maker tucks away nicely and is out of sight until you want a cuppa.

icy 005I’ll never tire of the gift of a photograph of our kids. When they come framed it’s twice as nice.

It’s really been amazing to hear and see news about the weather across our nation and in other countries. I hope you all have power and can stay nice and cozy and warm in your home.

I forgot to mention that my arm and shoulder feel great. It must have been a pinch that got un-pinched and for that I am so grateful!

Primrose Delight!

On the first Tuesday of the month Fred Meyer Stores offer a 10% discount to anyone 55 and older for a variety of products sold in their store. I enjoy taking advantage of these simple perks. Pretty primrose varieties called out to me  with thoughts about a Valentine Day tablescape. I also bought some bird seed  for the upcoming GBCC ~ Great Backyard Bird Count. I think I found a purse that will hold my camera and travel documents for our upcoming trip to Milan, too.

When I got home I decided to take photos of the flowers in the lovely sunshine. An hour after I took these photos the clouds and rain rolled in.

Our little piece of property used to be part of a larger piece of property with a nursery on it called Primrose Acres. This information is from word of mouth (not documented) from an old gardener down the road from us. I choose to believe it and like the idea that my little part of the world had such a charming name in the past.

What’s going on in your corner of the world? This is a quiet week here except for our tax prep appointment but we never know what each new day may bring our way…

Signs of Spring…

On Monday when I stepped outside I had a nice surprise in our front planter. My Lenten Rose is showing promise of blooming just in time.

Such a nice day to be out in the yard. I was able to do some long overdue raking of leaves and cleaning out some of the planters. It was wonderful to see little evidences of new growth here and there. After filling our yard waste bin my only regret was that I did the work outside after my shower instead of before. Oh well, at least I looked more presentable as I labored in the yard!

Where man sees but withered leaves,
God sees sweet flowers growing.
~Albert Laighton

Hope your week is starting well. I’m preparing for a trip to see Mr. Taxman tomorrow. Blessings!

Snow & Ice ~ Tablescape

Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen hosts a weekly meme called Let’s Dish. This week she challenged us to come up with a scape using the theme of Snow and Ice. Here’s what I came up with…

We sat at a version of this table on Sunday night with our son and his wife to celebrate our son’s birthday. I’m sorry to say I forgot to take photos of our actual dinner…oops! Our dining chairs are off to the upholsterer and we aren’t sure when we’ll be getting them back so we are using some of our folding chairs for the time being.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we’ve had several foggy days. The sun finally made a breakthrough on Tuesday afternoon. We are going to have our rain pattern return for a few days with a dry weekend promised so far. With our freezing fog we’ve had some ice issues. Do you have snow and ice in your neck of the woods?

In the Blink of An Eye…

…it will disappear. Snow is not guaranteed in the Seattle area. Sometimes if it comes it hangs around for a little while but usually it’s gone before you can get your camera out. The freeze at our house is working on it’s 4th day now and before it leaves us I’ll post some more of my frosty photos. Many areas in the Seattle area didn’t get any snow.

This is a special week in our family. Both of our sons have birthdays this week on Wednesday and on Saturday.

Dear and I were working in the garage this past weekend. We were cleaning out the loft. We had lots of leftover debris from having our new roof put on. Dear did the brunt of the work. Clearing out, throwing out, vacuuming, re-packing, and making piles of what to shred and what to share. There were some fun discoveries (not rat related). Our kids now have their piles of memorabilia to sort through and decide what they want to keep. It was fun to see things from our sons and daughter’s growing up years. Baseball, Soccer, Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Mother Goose, Barbie, Beanie Babies and more!

It’s time to send the stash along to their grown-up homes or get rid of it. I sound real tough about the getting rid of the stuff but some things will be hard to part with…

Sunlit Sunday~

I’m trying something new today. I’m joining in with My Little Home and Garden for her Sunlit Sunday Meme. Here are my offerings from a very cold walk about the yard on Saturday morning when our temps tried to make it out of the 20’s.

I love the sparkly effect the sun has on the snow.

Brrr…

We had a wonderful frost effect on anything that had moisture on it overnight.

There’s nothing like a dry sunny day after a snowfall!

Psalm 18:28 (ESV) ~

For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

Hope you all have a good productive week and that you enjoy God’s light in your part of the world.

Winter in His Heart of Gloom ~ Hymn

Winter in His Heart of Gloom

Winter in his heart of gloom
Sings the song of coming bloom:
So over death our souls shall sing
’Lays of the eternal spring.

Then decay shall be no more,
And, the weary seed time o’er,
All the dead in Christ shall rise
For the harvest of the skies.

Wheresoe’er the faithful sleep
Angels shall go forth to reap,
From the dust and ’neath the foam
They shall bring the harvest home.

Bodies of the saints, whose bones
Rest beneath sepulchral stones,
Or are lost on every wind,
All, those messengers shall find.

All from earth to Heaven shall soar
In that flesh which once they wore,
Deathless now and glorified,
Like their Lord and at His side.

This is life’s eternal spring!
This the coming joy we sing!
Look we ever toward this day,
Be it near or far away!

’Mid the sorrow and the strife
’Tis the music of our life,
And the song hath this refrain—
Our Redeemer comes again!

Words: Samuel J. Stone, 1866.

Hello Winter…

I’m sharing some photos our son sent along of some true winter scenes at his new home in Eastern Washington. He’s talking about the need for some snow clearing equipment and I can see why…

The snow on top of the bird feeders reminded him of Marge Simpson’s hair. Too bad it’s not blue…

How is the first day of winter where you live? We are still having rain and it’s cold but no snow that sticks around.

a Mother Goose poem

Cold and raw the north wind doth blow,
Bleak in the morning early;
All the hills are covered with snow,
And winter’s now come fairly.

Have a great weekend everyone!