Air Quality

This will give you an idea of what very hazardous/unhealthy air quality looks like. Colville has been yellow and orange lately because of smoke from fires which isn’t good either but today we hit a new level of smokey and unhealthy. There are similar problems in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, California and our neighbors to the North in the Frasier Valley and in other parts of Canada. We are laying low today with no windows open. I really miss that great June view!

Our prayers go up for firefighters and people with homes in the path of all these fires. Thinking about countries and those in the path of Hurricane Irma, too.

Makes me want to say, Maranatha.

A Light Behind the Cloud ~ Hymn

A Light Behind the Cloud

Keep in heart, be ever patient,
There’s a light behind the cloud;
Be not gloomy or discouraged,
Let not mists your soul enshroud.

Refrain

Oh, be patient, ever patient,
When life’s cares around you crowd;
Oh, be patient, ever patient:
There’s a light behind the cloud.

You remember Christ had trials
That were many and were sore;
And you may be only passing
O’er the ground He trod before.

Refrain

You can rift the cloud with sunshine
If your heart is glad within,
And make brighter paths to travel
If you prayerfully begin.

Refrain

All the light of life eternal,
That has shone the ages through,
Still exists, and is but waiting
To illuminate the true.

Refrain

Words: Alfred Barratt

Flashback to September 2016

From the Other Side…

…of the Great Divide. The only side of Washington that is predominately red in their politics. The line between the blue and red counties cuts along the Cascade Mountain range. The blue side has the highest population, largest cities, with Seattle (652,405) being the largest. The red side has the most farmers and ranchers and many small cities. The largest city on the red side of our state is Spokane (210,721), then Spokane Valley (91,113) and Kennewick (76,762). All the population numbers I’m sharing are from 2013. The city I live in on the blue side of the state has a population of 21,611.

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Dear and I travel across the great divide when we visit our son and daughter-in-law. We enjoy our time on that side. We find it refreshing. There are lots of great fences and barns to photograph. Here are some of those fences and barns all taken in Stevens County.

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Happy First day of September to all of you! I started the morning off with fresh strong coffee in a new cup to me that I bought at the Habitat for Humanity Shop in Colville, Washington (population 4,668). It was half off and I only paid 40 cents for it. It’s Churchill made in England with a population of 53.01 million.

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May September bring good things to us all.

“The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.”
–   John Updike, September

Here is it September 1, 2017 and we are off again to the other side and I hope to share many photos with you as we travel a different road across the mountains to a wedding reception and then on to our kids home in Colville. Our little Addy May started crawling and I’m excited to see that new milestone and I’ll be getting lots more steps keeping her out of trouble. May September find new joy and fullness for y’all.

Apple Walnut Crisp

Click over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook for Flashback Friday featuring my Apple Walnut Crisp.

I think I’ll use the same recipe using some of our ripe pears. It’s a recipe we enjoy.

Yesterday Dear and I worked hard for several hours moving things around at this old house and taking some things out to the garage to store. Before I could take photos Dear had things moved about. I’ll share some before and after photos soon.

Hello September! We’ll soon be singing that great Beatles tune with these words in the lyrics, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me”.

Rolling On Hodgepodge

1. Can you believe we’re rolling in to the Labor Day weekend? What’s a project you’ll labor over this fall?

Our fall projects will include continuing sorting through and getting rid of stuff we really don’t need. We will also prune trees and clean out planters. Baking in the Fall is always a great project, too.

2. Tell us about the best perks you ever had in a job?

I really never worked at a job with perks except for when I was an elementary school teacher and enjoyed summer vacation and other holidays even though I wasn’t  paid extra. I enjoyed traveling with my husband with his job responsibilities but had to pay my way. I thought that was a great perk regardless. I traveled to places I’d never have planned on like Milan, Chicago, Washington D.C., Orlando, Atlanta and San Antonio.

Then with the Mennonite Girls for book launches and signings and play openings we traveled to Winnipeg, Steinbach, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Vancouver, Fresno, Indiana Amish Country and Ohio Amish Country. We had to pay our way for the most part but the perks were meeting lots of great people, funding our missions, and being with the “girls”.

3. August 31st is National South Carolina Day. Have you ever been to SC?

I have been to SC to go to our son-in-law’s graduation from MCRD and his successful entry into the Marine Corps. Our daughter and I stayed in Beaufort. The Marine Corps graduation was an amazing experience. We did enjoy our time there although my hair does not agree with the weather. Beaufort is a small southern town with great architecture and other southern charm to enjoy. All my photos from Beaufort are being held hostage at Photobucket. I do have the photos saved on CD’s and Memory cards that I’ll need to upload onto this computer.

Any desire to go? According to Southern Living, these are the top ten things to do in South Carolina…

Explore Charleston, bike, golf or relax on Hilton Head Island, see the beach and the boardwalk at Myrtle Beach, visit the state museum in the capital city Columbia, observe the wildlife and natural beauty of the Ace Basin, take a walk or hop on a trolley and check out Greenville’s charming main street, visit Fort Sumter where the Civil War began, stroll through Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden in Bishopville leaving time to check out The Button Museum, also in Bishopville, see Morgan Island (also known as Monkey Island)-home to nearly 4000 Rhesus monkeys. 

Which is most appealing to you today? If you’re a SC native, resident, or frequent visitor what would you add to the list?

Charleston is the most appealing to me but not in the summer!

4. Beef, pork, country-style, barbecued, baby back, spare or short…your favorite kind of rib? What’s a dish you enjoy that really ‘sticks to your ribs‘?

Barbecued Ribs please.

I love food and unfortunately it sticks to my mid section. But to answer your question I enjoy dishes like Stroganoff or Prime Rib with potatoes and Yorkshire Pudding. So I’m more of a beefy girl. Fish is rarely my choice unless it’s Fish and Chips or fish tacos.

5. What’s one important skill you think every person should have? Why?

I think everyone should be able to cook meals for themselves, that includes men and women. My dear old pop almost starved himself to death after my mom passed away. Dear and all of our sons and daughters can cook and I’m grateful for that. I’m sorry Home Economics is dwindling out in schools or completely eliminated. And Dear says if you drive a car you need to know how to change a tire!

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

This little one is always in our thoughts. Our Labor Day weekend will be filled with extended time with Addy and her parents. We are also going to be able to enjoy a wedding reception barbecue half way to our kids home. Our hairdresser was married last weekend in Seattle and she and her new husband will host a country barbecue reception on their 270 acres in the Okanagon area of Washington State.

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge. She asks the questions and the answers are up to us. Do you have Labor Day plans.

We continue to follow what’s happening in Texas and we pray for all the displaced people and for relief of the suffering that everyone is enduring.

Doors

Our prayers are with all the people affected by Hurricane Harvey and the rains that continue to cause flooding in so many coastal areas in Texas. So many people are in crisis. Praying for strength for all the First Responders and all the good Samaritans that are helping out, too!

I promised to show our new closet doors and the improved inner part of my closet, too. We used to have sliding mirrored doors on these closets but are enjoying being able to throw both doors open and see the whole closet all at once. Too bad I failed to take a before photo.

I’m brave enough to share the interior of the closet since it’s nice and tidy and just got refilled this weekend.

Dear installed a new shelf and new clothes bar. We had wire shelves and bars before with a smaller shelf with little depth. It’s interesting how few dresses I own but that gives me more storage options below my blouses, tops, and sweaters.

This last week I found this swiveling organizer at Goodwill and I put my necklaces on it. I was surprised at the necklaces I had totally forgotten about while they were tucked away in drawers. I don’t wear jewelry every day but when I want to it’s nice to see all there is to choose from in one spot.

Very soon we’ll be spending a few days with this little sweetie in her neck of the woods. Her mommy and daddy sent us the cutest video of Addy trying to get a hold of a cheerio and put it in her mouth. So much growth and fun in the first year of life!

We are entering the last week of August and Labor Day Weekend is coming up already. Do you have any plans?

O Church of God, Arise ~ Hymn

O Church of God, Arise!

O Church of God, arise!
Reach out thy helping hand,
And like a trumpet let thy voice
Go forth to ev’ry land;
Lay not thine armor down,
Nor cease by day or night,
To lift the sword of Gospel truth,
And wield it for the right.

Refrain

Then arise in thy glory, O Church of God, arise!
’Tis the dawn of the morrow that greets thy waiting eyes
But cloud and mist and shadow must all be rolled away.
But cloud and mist and shadow must all be rolled away.
Before the world will usher in the long expected day.

O Church of God, arise!
Thy borders wide extend,
And o’er the earth’s remotest bounds
Thy heralds quickly send;
Thine armies now are great,
But greater they must be,
For ev’ry nation, ev’ry clime
Shall yet rejoice in thee.

Refrain

O Church of God, arise!
The grand old choral strain
Of peace on earth, good will to man,
That rang on Judah’s plain,
O’er all the world shall ring,
And echo far and wide,
And then the King, thy Lord, shall come,
And claim His faithful bride.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby (1820-1915).