January’s End Hodgepodge

 
1. Speaking of endings….at your wit’s end, at loose ends, a dead end, burn the candle at both ends, all’s well that end’s well, or no end in sight…which ‘end’ phrase might best be applied to your life lately? Explain.
I’m going with…no end in sight. Miles to go before we move. So many obstacles to work around. One of those obstacles is finding the best moving company option for our stuff. We were disappointed to find that no Pod companies deliver to the zip code we are moving to. We are now thinking seriously of getting rid of a lot more stuff instead of paying to have it moved. We are in “getting the house ready to sell” mode.
 2. What was a must have accessory when you were growing up? Did you own one? If so tell us what you remember about it.

I don’t know how my brain brought this one up to the forefront. In junior high I had to have the latest fad/trend going around in southern California, suspenders. I nagged my mother relentlessly to be able to buy them. My family never had extra money and I’m sure this request seemed ridiculous to my parents. For me it was a “need to have”.

3. Something that made you smile yesterday?

The sun, the sun! The sun broke through and the rain stopped long enough for me to finish pruning the pear tree! Woohoo! And then I spotted my sweet Lenten Rose blooming!

4. January 30th is National Croissant Day. Do you like croissants? Sweet or savory? We’re having chicken salad for lunch…would you rather have yours served on a croissant, a wrap, a bagel, bread, or a roll of some sort?

Yes and yes, sweet and savory. We just had my “not your mamas chicken salad” on croissants last week. And we also had that filling on Belgium Endive as an appetizer for Josh’s birthday dinner.

5. Sum up your January in fifteen words or less.

From the first to the last we enjoyed celebrations of birth and marriage with thanks.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Besides birthdays, rain was a constant theme for the month of January. It was so nice to have a spell without that blessing from the sky on Tuesday. I want to remember to stay up and gaze on that Blue moon tonight.

Our little Addy is walking like a champ and next week I’ll have fresh photos to share of her because I get to fly to California with her parents and her to spend a few days with my extended family. This Baba is excited to see her face to face after more then a month. She’ll be meeting her only great grandfather who is alive, my dear old Pop while we are there, too.

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge. She asks the questions and we answer them. Thank you for reading my answers.

Barns and Birthday!

We spotted these red barns on Conway Hill road in Skagit County back in December of 2017.

Linking up with Tom The Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

Back to the present. We had a wonderful time catching up with our Western Washington kids over a belated birthday dinner for our son Josh.

Looking forward to some plans and ideas that we came up with to make moving easier for everyone! We also enjoyed lots of good food.

Appetizers, then salad and on to the main course of rack of lamb with rice pilaf ending with chocolate cake and ice cream.

How was your weekend? Was it quiet or filled with activity?

Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone? ~ Hymn

Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?

Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone,
And there’s a cross for me.

How happy are the saints above,
Who once went sorrowing here!
But now they taste unmingled love,
And joy without a tear.

The consecrated cross I’ll bear
Till death shall set me free;
And then go home my crown to wear,
For there’s a crown for me.

Upon the crystal pavement down
At Jesus’ piercèd feet,
Joyful I’ll cast my golden crown
And His dear Name repeat.

O precious cross! O glorious crown!
O resurrection day!
When Christ the Lord from Heav’n comes down
And bears my soul away.

Words: Thomas Shepherd, 1693.

Matthew 16:24-26 ~

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Weekend Roundup “D”

It’s just about time for Tom’s Weekend Roundup and the prompts for this week are.

1. Starts with “D”   2. A Favorite   3. Details

Starts with “D.”  

Deer or…

my Dear.

A Favorite (or Favorites)!

Daughter, Daughter-in-laws, granddaughter and…

Our son Dan who is now a daddy with our granddaughter.

Details.

Dinner table decorated. It’s all in the details.

Our table is set for a belated birthday dinner on Saturday evening. Our sons and one of our daughter-in-laws had birthdays in January but we only get to set a table for Josh since Dan and Jamie can’t travel over the mountains at this time to be included. I love the DETAILS when setting a table and seeing how things come together. Josh, Laura, Andrew, Katie, Dear and I will be sitting at this table.

Here are the details: I wanted something a little more masculine so I chose the English Transferware dishes with English scenes on them. They are Royal Stafford, made in England. Pewter seemed like a good choice to add and I was able to scrounge up 6 Pewter tankards, which are manly. Dear and I purchased two of the tankards in London in 1974. The rest of the tankards although purchased here and there over time are all made in Sheffield, England. The sterling is 1810 International, a wedding gift from my parents back when sterling was less than stainless is now. Each of the napkin rings has a story. Two matching were souvenirs from a trip to England in the 70’s. The one with my name engraved on it was a birthday gift from Dear many years ago. One is from a set of 8 sterling rings (Gorham) gifted to us as wedding gifts from Dear’s parents. Two others I found at Goodwill. The metal candle holder in the center was something I picked up at Goodwill. The little flower pot name place holders were purchased at a junk trunk show in Monroe a few years back. Pewter salt and pepper sets have been around a long time and I can’t remember where we purchased them. The napkins,  tablecloth and tablerunner all came from thrift stores. That’s probably way more details then you wanted to read.

One more thing, I hope I remember to take a photo of all of us sitting at the table enjoying the birthday meal we prepare for Josh.

Next week’s prompts.
Starts with “E.”
A Favorite
Evening.

Thank you Tom for hosting.

Misty Moisty Hodgepodge

1. January 24th is National Compliment Day. Is it easy or not so easy for you to accept a compliment? Share a recent compliment you’ve given or received.

Verbal compliments are harder to accept then written ones. I complimented my husband on the fine job he did painting the ceiling of our kitchen.

This question reminds me of this nursery rhyme…

One misty moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man,
Clothed all in leather.
He began to compliment
And I began to grin.
How do you do? And how do you do?
And how do you do again?

 

2. Ten little things you are loving right now.

Right now while I’m typing this or right now as in these days I’m living in? Here are some of both…

1. Soup on a cold rainy day. 2. Listening to sermons by John MacArthur from Grace to You. 3. Being home with my feet up from a rainy shopping trip to Fred Meyer and Costco. 4. Watching videos of little Addy May. 5. Having my own personal bartender. 6. Our weekly date to La Corona for lunch on Tuesdays. 7. Planning a belated birthday dinner for our son, Josh, on Saturday. 8. Coffee every morning made by my personal bartender. 9. The bread I picked up from a Persian bakery close enough to our home. 10. Comfy lounge wear.

3. Would people describe you as a positive person? Do you see yourself that way? I read here  a list/description of eight things positive people do differently

Positive people find something to look forward to every day, they celebrate the small stuff, they’re kind, they stay busy, accept responsibility for their actions, forgive themselves, know when to move on, and resist comparisons

Yes, I think I could be described as a positive person.

 Which action on the list would you say you do regularly? Which action could you add to your life to give you a more positive outlook? If you’re a positive person, what’s something you do regularly that’s not on the list?

I like to celebrate the big and the small stuff. Something that is not on the list is asking God to help me forgive others quicker. I think praying and giving thanks to God should be on the list.

4. Homemade chicken soup, beef stew, or a bowl of chili…what’s your pleasure on a cold winter’s day?

I like all three of those even on a hot summer’s day. Here’s what I made just before I sat down to type up the hodgepodge.

Mexican Chicken Corn Soup. Recipe for this soup can be found here.

5. The best part of my day is….

Makes me think of the jingle, “the best part of waking up is Folgers in my cup”.

The best part of my day is knowing I’ve accomplished something or finished everything on my list and I’ll now feel free to just relax and fritter away an hour or two.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Many random and not so random thoughts settle on this little one who is growing so fast it makes me a little sad. This latest photo shows her self feeding skills. Hopefully some of the food ended up in her mouth, too. That bib got a work out! Our dear daughter in law has made a lot of her own food for Addy and she’s careful to introduce things gradually or one at a time.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for coming up with the Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions and to all of you who visit and take the time to read my answers.

She’s 10 Months Old

She is now taking steps without thinking about it and while holding on to a toy. She likes to climb and doesn’t want to be deterred. It’s been a month since we’ve seen her in person. Addy’s mommy made this sign this last weekend. Addy looks proud as a peacock to be holding it up. Love her expressions. Baba and Gramps couldn’t love you more dear Addy.

We have had lots of rain with very few sun breaks and when the sun breaks through it lightens our outlook. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Red Barns

Some in great condition…

Others that are weathering and needing a little love. These are from Skagit Valley on the morning of December 11th. The morning was a little foggy/misty.

Linking up with Tom The Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

Quiet Sunday except for a nice windy storm blowing through. A good day for indoor projects. After a sleepless time from 1am until after 3am I slept right through our usual church service. We listened to a sermon online. My two kitchen experiments, a savory one and a sweet one, failed. Oops. They were edible but nothing I’d share with y’all. Hope your weekend is ending well.

All That I Was ~ Hymn

All That I Was

All that I was, my sin, my guilt,
My death, was all mine own;
All that I am I owe to Thee,
My gracious God, alone.

The evil of my former state
Was mine, and only mine;
The good in which I now rejoice
Is Thine, and only Thine.

The darkness of my former state,
The bondage, all was mine;
The light of life in which I walk,
The liberty, is Thine.

Thy Word first made me feel my sin,
It taught me to believe;
Then, in believing, peace I found,
And now I live, I live!

All that I am, e’en here on earth
All that I hope to be,
When Jesus comes and glory dawns,
I owe it, Lord to Thee.

Words: Horatius Bonar, 1845.

The Weekend Roundup “C”

Tom is hosting the Weekend Roundup. I’m joining in from the Seattle area.

This weeks prompts are:

1. Starts with “C.”
2. Week’s Favorite.
3. Clouds.

Let’s “C” what I can come up with…

Starts with C

Cabbage Rolls or Golubtsi, Голубцы, a Russian version of cabbage rolls. Recipe here.

2. This weeks favorite.

Cute climber!

3. Clouds

Wispy clouds over Elliott Bay Marina, Seattle. Seattle Space Needle in the distance amongst the masts.

Next weeks prompts: Starts with “D.”  A Favorite.  Details.

Time Was On Our Side…

Wednesday morning dawned with no constraints and a promise of no rain. I picked up Katie at 9:34 and we drove to a park in Seattle that we had not been to before.

We parked and headed down the trail at Carkeek Park that would eventually take us to the waterfront on Puget Sound.

This reflection in the huge puddle had to be memorialized. It’s been raining a lot in the Seattle area.

When we hit the end of the trail this bridge took us up and over the railroad tracks to the waters edge.

Don’t disturb resting seal pups! We did see one seal in the Sound coming up every so often and diving again but no seal pups were resting on the shore.

This seagull was enjoying a rest.

Incoming!

Interesting clouds forming over the Olympic mountain range.

Back to the car we stopped to take a shot of this stone bridge covered in moss and ferns. Seems like we should see a woodland faerie.

We left Carkeek and drove to Ballard stopping at the famous Larsen’s Bakery. We bought some sweet and savory treats and then headed to Golden Gardens.

This stand of trees on the shore of Puget Sound made us park the car and come closer.

We drove away from Golden Gardens through Shilshole Bay waterfront and up into historic Ballard along the Ballard Locks. Getting back to Katie and Andrew’s we passed through Ballard, Greenwood, and of course Sand Point pointing at several restaurants we’d want to try.

Speaking of food, I posted my mom’s recipe for Goluptsi (stuffed cabbage rolls) on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. Click over to get the recipe.