Forty Days and Forty Nights ~Hymn

Forty Days and Forty Nights

Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.

Sunbeams scorching all the day;
Chilly dew-drops nightly shed;
Prowling beasts about Thy way;
Stones Thy pillow; earth Thy bed.

Should not we Thy sorrow share
And from worldly joys abstain,
Fasting with unceasing prayer,
Strong with Thee to suffer pain?

Then if Satan on us press,
Jesus, Savior, hear our call!
Victor in the wilderness,
Grant we may not faint nor fall!

So shall we have peace divine:
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us, too, shall angels shine,
Such as ministered to Thee.

Keep, O keep us, Savior dear,
Ever constant by Thy side;
That with Thee we may appear
At the eternal Eastertide.

Words: George H. Smyttan, March 1856.

I’m linking this post to InSPIREd Sunday. The Angel statue was on a tomb in Italy at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan.

February Feathered Friends

Ducks at Bothell Landing taken February 10th.

Red Winged Blackbird at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland, Washington.

I believe this is a Wood Duck. We spotted it on Juanita Bay February 11th.

This last photo is from northeastern Washington. A couple of these Grouse would come to this tree outside our son and daughter in law’s in the low light of evening and early morning. They were really enjoying the buds on the tree. It was hard to get a great shot from the window. This was taken on Tuesday morning February 28th.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters at Viewing Nature with Eileen.

We have been on a slow return to whatever might be called normal at this old house. We need to get out and have a good walk again soon. We arrived home from Eastern Washington on Wednesday. We are observing Lent which began on Wednesday. Our weekend should be relatively quiet. Hope your March is starting well.

Baby + House = Love

We were happy to help Dan and Jamie celebrate their growing family and their new home with their family and friends.

This winter their area is experiencing more snow than usual. The above photos were taken from the front porch. When I visit sometime without snow on the ground I’ll be able to take more extensive photos of their property.

Their new home has more open space and larger views. One great feature is their Russian Fireplace. You can see the fire glowing on the front of the fireplace. On the right side you see another glass door that can be used for baking or proofing or slow cooking. One of their open house gifts from friends was a cord of wood! Slapping my hand because I did not take a picture of the pantry which is amazing.

Of course I had to show some photos of the nursery again.

Morning views out the windows at the rear of their home.

Sunset views.

Their new place can fit at least 45 people milling about. I got some not so great photos of the crowd while Jamie opened presents.

Jamie with her mom and granny.

There’s a story behind that chicken that has been passed around the family as one of “those gifts”. We think we know who is getting it next.

Josh and Laura were able to fly over to make it to the party on Saturday and we enjoyed part of Sunday together before they flew back to Seattle. I’m glad Laura thought to have a picture taken of the four of them.

When we return we hope the path through the garden to the chicken coop will be easier to navigate.

We are home getting things organized at this old house so that we are ready for another quick trip across the mountains to welcome Addy in person. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Safely Home

A funny thing happened while we were in Colville. We weren’t able to drive home on Tuesday as planned because of the conditions on the pass. On Tuesday while doing errands with our daughter in law we stopped at the Toyota dealer and bought a used Rav4(2014). It was a local trade in and well maintained. Our daughter in law even knew the people who traded it in and gave us a thumbs up. We drove home today and are pleased with it’s performance. Since our kids and soon to arrive granddaughter live across a mountain range from us we thought this was a good purchase for future trips. I was even able to drive it up our kids snowy road to their house on the way home from the dealership.

On Wednesday morning we felt confident in our new ride to make the trek west and over the pass and on to home. One last look at the snowy view on our way down to the road from our kids home.

The last stretch before reaching the county road that is plowed. We made it home without any problems at three in the afternoon. Our return trip for the birth of Addy will be in just a couple short weeks.

Goodbye to February and hello to March and hello to the days leading up to Easter (Lent). Hope to do some visiting to your blogs the rest of this week.

Nesting

The nursery for Addy is taking shape. Dear painted the wall in three colors that will match the bedding for the crib. Our son painted the grey trim on the white crib. The mattress arrives soon. There will be an elephant decal to the left of the crib blowing pink bubbles over the crib on the brown part of the wall. Should be real cute.

These fabrics above are going to be the bedding for the crib.

If you haven’t guessed already there is an elephant theme for the nursery. The little car used to be red and blue and Dan’s Dzeda built it for him for Dan’s first Christmas. All the grandsons got one that year. Dan and Jamie decided to use the nursery colors to repaint it. I like the teal hubcaps.

Dear also painted the dresser drawer fronts grey. They were brown. The rustic bookcase needs completing with a few more shelves.

While we’ve been here we were able to enjoy a Baby Shower/ House Warming party at their new home with about 45 friends and family. I’ll share some photos from the event later.

We are busy helpers over here and helping to get some projects done before Addy arrives. Today Dear and Dan put garage door openers up and installed a new toilet. They also put in a new outlet for charging devices. We hope to be able to drive over the pass tomorrow for home. It all depends on the weather and the restrictions posted. We don’t have 4 wheel drive or traction tires so we have to catch a good travel window. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Barns in Snow

We are spending some time in Northeastern Washington with some significant snow still on the ground. We are helping our kids get more settled in their new home before their baby, our first grandchild arrives in March. Many things look great with a snow backdrop.

Linking up to the Barn Collective with Tom The Backroads Traveler. Just want to show Tom what he’s missing while he’s basking in the sun in Hawaii!

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior ~ Hymn

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

Words: Kate B. Wilkinson, before 1913.

I’m a little late in posting my Sunday Hymn this week. We are busy busy at our son’s home. A friend shared this hymn in an email this morning and it’s a good prayer for me today.

Walking the Dog…

…is not my usual vocation.

Both Dan and Jamie were at work on Thursday and when the temperature got above 20 degrees Rayna and I went for a walk so I could see the lay of the land.

Looking back at our kids new home on 20 acres.

If you look down through the trees you can just see the main road below with the stand of mailboxes.

Here’s a zooming in shot of the mailboxes on the opposite side of the road. From the house to the mailboxes is about 1 mile taking the drive. If you want to slide down the hill I suppose you could shave off some distance.

Looking back at the second switchback.

Continuing on to the first switchback. Getting closer to the mailboxes.

We stopped at the first switchback instead of going all the way to the street and headed back uphill for home.

Uphill all the way back home.

Coming back up to the second switchback.

Looking back before we head into the trees.

Almost there. We can see the house up through the trees.

Welcome home. The thing about walking a dog on gravelly roads that were covered in snow and ice but are now muddy in the melt is their paws and fur get real dirty. I had to do a little coaxing to get Rayna to lay down so I could wash off her paws and fur before coming into the house. A little paw bath contraption in a mud room would be a nice addition to a home in these parts.

On Thursday I had no problems getting my steps in. Today is a busy day at this new to our kids house. Later today I’m invited to go for the ultrasound to see how Addy is growing in the womb. That will be a first for me. The painting of the nursery is almost done. Today Dear is painting a stripe. Yesterday he painted the upper color and different color on the lower part of the wall. Today is the stripe in between those two colors which is a third color. Yes, once it’s all done I’ll show you. The dresser drawer fronts got painted and the little toy truck that Dan’s Dzeda built for him when he was one is getting a fresh coat of paint (3 colors).

I’m going to be scarce on the internet for the rest of our time here. Tomorrow is an open house here and there will be a nice flood of friends and family in and out so my computer will be packed away. Thanks for visiting. I’ll get caught up when I’m back in my corner of the world.

Road View Report

So happy to report our drive over Snoqualmie pass was uneventful and smooth sailing.

The Ryegrass rest area was our first stop to change drivers. From this point to Vantage there was an Elk migration warning. We kept a keen eye on the road and the hillsides for Elk but didn’t see any.

The worst conditions we had were on Division driving through Spokane where the potholes were huge! Hwy 395 also had some potholes to watch for. Yikes. This winter has really taken a toll on the roads!

We made to our son and daughter in laws just before sunset and this is the view from part of their driveway (minor road) after switchback #1 and before switchback #2 and #3 that leads up to their home. Glad our 2 wheel drive did not get stuck in a rut on the driveway!

Today Dear is starting to paint the nursery and a dresser and toy box truck. I’ll be taking the dog for a walk when I see the outdoor temperature gauge rise above 20 degrees. Here’s a “good morning” view from Dan and Jamie’s world.

Being on the road most of the day yesterday made for a dismal amount of steps for me. We’ll see what today yields. I hope to get around to blogs later this afternoon. Hope your Thursday is starting nicely. So pleased the sun is shining today and it’s not snowing here right now. How’s it in your corner of the world?

That’s Fishy…

It’s time for Hodgepodge Wednesday and Joyce has some fishy questions for us this week. I’m eight or nine in this photo and my father was back from a deep see fishing trip where he caught this huge Yellowtail off the coast of Southern California.

1. Have you ever been fishing? Did you catch a fish? If so did you keep it or throw it back? If you haven’t been fishing is that something you’d like to try?

The only fishing I have done is Grunion hunting on the beaches in Southern California when I was very young in the late 50’s. We’d line the beaches in the moonlight and then you’d hear the cry “the grunion are coming, the grunion are coming!” You could see little silvery fish emerge from the waves onto the beach and they would start digging into the sand to lay eggs. We’d have buckets ready and catch them by hand and put them in our bucket. We would then go back to our campground and my mother would cook them on the camp fire.

First, do you know what grunion are? For those not familiar, Grunion are a species of fish that leave the water at night to spawn on beaches during the spring and summer months throughout Southern California. For four consecutive nights, beginning on the nights of the full and new moons, spawning occurs after high tides and continues for several hours. Peak spawning is from late March to early June. Here’s a link to see what grunion looked like on the sand.

Fish out of water, big fish in a small pond, living in a fishbowl, packed in like sardines, this is a fine kettle of fish, plenty of fish in the sea, or cut bait…which fishy phrase most recently applies to some area of your life?

This one is easy, I’m a Fish out of water. We are still trying to figure out if we are truly retired or just unemployed. Every day but Sunday is Saturday at this old house. It’s weird. Dear is here every day instead of leaving to work so my days are up in the air and my roles are up in the air. We are on hold. I know things will come to light sometime in the future. I do enjoy this next kind of fish out of water and on my plate!

2. What’s something you’re always fishing for in your purse, wallet, desk, or kitchen junk drawer?

A pen and something to write on.

3. Your favorite fish tale or movie?

Most fish tales are not my favorites and I find them disturbing like Jaws and Jonah. I did really enjoy the show Flipper!

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,
No-one you see, is smarter than he,
And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder,
Flying there-under, under the sea!

4. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight or night? Explain why you chose your answer.

I think I’m daylight because of my sunshine tendencies with a smile and always wanting to keep things light.

5. What’s the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear?

Thankfully it’s not my underwear. I have a pair of vintage warm-up pants I wear for my exercise classes that are my son’s from their junior high and high school soccer days.

6. We’ve got one more month of (officially) winter here in the Northern hemisphere. Are you feeling the need for a getaway? What’s been the best and worst part of your winter so far?

Our trip to California in January for a beautiful wedding, sweet baby shower, family and friend time and beach walks was the best. The worst part of winter is if I have to drive in snow or ice. Not a fan of slip sliding in a vehicle.

7. The Wednesday Hodgepodge lands on National Margarita Day…will you be celebrating? Frozen or on the rocks? Are you a Jimmy Buffet fan? If so, what’s your favorite JB tune?

Once we get to our son and daughter in law’s tomorrow evening a margarita will be in order for sure. On the rocks with no salt, please. Not a Buffet fan that I know of. Do you ever wonder who makes up these National whatever days?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We are close to the season of Lent and I am always so thrilled to see my Lenten Rose blooming during this season. Lent begins on March 1st and I’m considering what I might set aside during this time. Growing up and beyond we did not observe Lent. We always observed Good Friday and Easter in special ways but never really talked about Lent. Lately we have been more contemplative, adding readings and choosing to do without certain things during the 40 days of Lent. Do you observe Lent?

Linking up with Joyce from This Side of the Pond for Hodgepodge Wednesday. Thank you Joyce for asking the questions!

I hope to visit later tonight as we’ll be on the road much of the day. Hand/wrist update: It’s something that should get better without any major intervention. It is feeling better already. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage