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.

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

8. 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!

The X in Xmas…

PM1909 (postmarked 1909)

X has a long and sacred history

The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That’s how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect. (from Ligonier, R.C. Sproul)

These are both antique postcards from Dear’s great great aunt Emma. I’m posting them to share with ABC Wednesday for the letter X.

X is for Christ. Thank you to Mrs. Nesbitt and her helpful elves, Roger and company for keeping our ABC meme moving along.

The Xmas news from this old house is that what is done is done except for preparations for our meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and some baking. I will wait to shop for the meat and side dishes early on Friday. On Wednesday I will do a little baking to make cookies to take to some neighbors with an invite to our church’s Christmas Eve services. I am also spending time adoring Christ and all He has done for us.

Vintage Christmas

Well, I do believe I’m done with any shopping I’m gonna do. Hope our adult kids enjoy their stocking stuff. I’m thinking about baking some cookies on Wednesday to take round to some neighbors with an invite to the Christmas Eve services at our church. It will be a wonderful mix of fun and wonder focusing on Jesus. A couple of the staff members from church donned in old time Christmas garb made a video in a neighboring city seeing if people could add the next line to Christmas Carols they prompted. If they could they earned a dollar. Can’t wait to see the whole video. Do you go to Christmas Eve Services?

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,
As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

O Savior, Child of Mary, who felt our human woe,
O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;
Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of Heaven,
And to the endless day!

Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)

Words: 15th Century carol (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen); verses 1-2 translated from German to English by // Theodore Baker, 1894. Verses 3-4, Friedrich Layritz, translated by Harriet Reynolds Krauth, 1875. Verse 5, translated or written by // John C. Mattes, 1914.

Mystery Tree 2016

This year while I was having fun downtown with our oldest, Dear did the honors of picking out the mystery tree and bringing it home. He set it up in it’s designated spot this year and waited for me to come home from gallivanting and to cut the string while I watched the reveal. Another stress free tree that will serve our purposes well.

Dear put the lights on and then I added the ornaments.

This will be the room that we discover what things are in our stockings and where we open the gifts from under the tree. This year our immediate family decided to draw names instead of buying gifts for each one. Dear is unemployed and has been unemployed for 6 months now. Our daughter Katie and Andrew are not employed. Andrew is going to school full time in Aeronautical Engineering courses at the University of Washington and Katie hasn’t found a part-time job yet. Dan and Jamie are moving into a new to them house right now. They are financially stretched and with the new baby coming Jamie will be quitting her job and staying home with our new granddaughter. Josh and Laura are still both employed and doing well. We all decided it makes sense to cut down on the gift buying. We will still have a wonderful celebration but with less wrapping paper to deal with.

Hope you are all in the midst of joy and wonder during this great time of the year. If not I hope you find that joy and wonder soon.

Sky of Blue, Sea of Green…

This is another one of those posts that is all about the history of my soccer enjoyment. For a Seattle Sounders Soccer fan and season ticket holder our 2016 season ended with our boys capturing the Gold Cup. The thing that makes it amazing is that we were in last place in the middle of the season with any hope of making the playoffs questionable. Then from the bottom we had a turn around, a new coach, a new player, a new inspiration. Injured players recuperated and came back strong. The team had a strong determination and new vision. On Tuesday December 13th Josh, Laura and I drove downtown to be a part of this history and enjoy the parade and rally. Josh and Laura just got back from Toronto on Sunday and were able to be at the final game and cheer on the Sounders with 2000 or so fans. It was now time for the Washington State Fans to come out and give the team the thunderous appreciation we wished they could hear in Toronto!

15492219_10154179358653589_437076264013511389_n This photo above is from their victory celebration in Toronto, Canada.

We found our spot close to Seattle Center and waited for the parade to come to us. Josh bought this flag to take to Toronto with him and Laura since it has a likeness to the U.S.A. flag.

I turned around at one point and saw some of our friends from Northshore Community Church.

This little guy was so cute. By the way Stefan Frei, our goalie, was the MVP of the game with his save of year that will go down in soccer history, too.

Finally the trolleys with the players approached with all the fans along the route joining in the procession.

Nicolas Lodeiro holding the MLS Cup out the window for all of us to see. The added flag is from his home country of Uruguay. Lodeiro is a player who came to our team at our lowest point and with his playing ethic and spirit helped our team make a turn around.

Some past players that the Sounders fans always enjoy seeing, Kasey Keller (former goalie) and Roger Levesque, a fan favorite for many years who is now retired from soccer.

We met up with more friends and joined the throng headed to the Seattle Center for the rally.

Look at that green beard! This is part of the Sounders band.

Walking under the monorail tracks to the center.

The Trolleys stopped and our team captain Osvoldo Alonso raised the MLS Cup Champions flag next to the statue of Chief Sealth (Chief Seattle), whom the city of Seattle is named after with historical controversy. Alonso is a Cuban born soccer player who defected to the U.S.A. and is now a citizen of the United States.

Our group selfie amongst the sea of green! You might be wondering how all these people were able to get off work to attend this parade and rally in the middle of a work day. Brad Evans issued this for all the Sounders fans…

Our daughter in law actually submitted this to her boss to fly to Toronto last Friday. He said it was a very compelling reason to miss work. This excuse form was used by some for the parade and rally, too.

This is Zach Scott, another fan favorite who has been with the team from the beginning. He led the crowd in the Jingle Bells Song the team has always sung in the locker room after an away victory. This was Zach’s last season with the Sounders. He will be missed.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to see Seattle win away, hey! It was fun to hear a crowd of thousands sing along.

15401060_1200744436629254_9196882971506577376_n 2016 Seattle Sounders MLS Cup Champions! Look at that sea of supporters behind them!

15390679_10154194292473589_572307301539503003_n The following day the Sounders flag was raised by Coach Schmetzer and Governor Inslee at the capitol building in Olympia, Washington.

It was a fun event to attend and we were happy to brave the crowds and the cold to be a part of history. For the record and in case anyone out there is concerned, I do not worship soccer or soccer players but I enjoy soccer and have an appreciation for the skill and stamina it takes to play this sport. Since watching our sons and daughter play soccer in the 90’s I’ve grown in the understanding of the game and have learned to appreciate the development of play between the players on the field.

Now I’m headed to the kitchen table to finish my Christmas cards so I can get them in the mail tomorrow! We are below freezing in temps here on our hill in the Seattle suburbs. Brrr. Good day to stay inside and work on our Christmas greetings. Hope you all are cozy and warm.

Mid-December Hodgepodge

1. Are you more task oriented or people oriented? Elaborate.

I am Martha not Mary… I’d love to be Mary and if I work at it I can be more like Mary but I fall back to being Martha-ish..

Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)

³⁸Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴²but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

2. December 15 is National Wear Your Pearls Day…do you own/wear pearls? If you’re a man answering the question, does your sweetheart own or wear pearls? Everyone share a ‘pearl of wisdom’ with us here today.

I have some fake pearls that I sometimes wear but only wear them at events like weddings, etc. I do not vacuum with pearls on.

My pearl of wisdom is if you can’t afford pearls don’t buy them!

3. Speaking of pearls…oysters? Are you a fan or not a fan? If you answered yes, tell us your favorite way to eat oysters? If you said no, be honest-have you ever tried one or does just the idea of eating an oyster make you gag a little?

Before 5 years ago I would gag if you talked about oysters. Now I can enjoy an oyster shooter with great spicy sauces. In the mosaic above my sisters and I are enjoying a weekend in Victoria, B.C. celebrating my 60th birthday in April of 2011. The top shot in the mosaic is an oyster shooter I ordered at the beginning of our meal.

4. Time Magazine has named President-elect Donald Trump Person of the Year. Let’s take presidents and presidential candidates out of the mix for a minute. If a political figure had not been chosen who would you name Man or Woman of the Year for 2016?

I’d nominate Cliff Barrows for man of the year. Cliff Barrows, music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, who once led congregational singing and Crusade choirs around the world with Billy Graham. Here’s a quote from him, “I’ve had no greater joy than encouraging people to sing,” said Mr. Barrows. “Every great moving of the Spirit of God has been accompanied by great singing. I believe it will always be so!”

Cliff Barrows, April 6, 1923 – November 15, 2016

5. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2017 has been announced, and it’s a vibrant green aptly named-greenery. Your thoughts? Is this a color currently in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in this shade for the new year? Click here to see the color.

We are ahead of the times at this old house. Our kitchen and hall ways are filled with greenery!

6. Today I’ve had too much…This hasn’t been a too much of anything day it was all just right.

7. Share a favorite lyric from a favorite Christmas carol.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

While I was downtown yesterday at the Seattle Sounders Victory Parade Dear chose our mystery tree. When I came home we cut the strings and had the reveal. Another great stress free tree. It’s not perfect but it smells good. I hope to have it decorated by the weekend and I also hope to have our cards mailed by Friday, too. Our noses didn’t freeze off at the parade and rally. It was fun.

Linking up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond. She supplies the questions and we provide the answers.

Bonus: I’ve got a simple Pear Soup recipe up on MGCC blog today. Click over to get the recipe.

The Wonder of it all…

O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.

Hope you are enjoying the Wonder of Christmas and the Wonder of it all…

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and now her elves are working hard keeping us on track.

I’m heading to downtown Seattle today for the Seattle Sounders Victory Parade and Rally. Hope my nose doesn’t freeze and fall off. Our deck is a sheet of ice right now. No snow or rain is forecast so that is good.

Seattle Sounders F.C. ~The Champions!

There was a lot of cheering going on at this old house on Saturday evening when our Seattle Sounders won in penalty kicks against the Toronto Football Club. This was our first ever win of the championship cup and Seattle is buzzing. There is a victory march and rally planned for Tuesday. It looks like the weather for the march and rally will be as cold as it was in Toronto for the game.

It’s no secret our family are huge Seattle Sounders Soccer fans and that we’ve been season ticket holders since the beginning in 2009. We’ve waited for 8 years to see our team win the MLS Cup Final! We are so happy for our boys and #thismoment in their franchise history.

Our Josh and Laura were able to travel to Toronto, Canada for the game. Their trip there got very complicated when their plane experienced mechanical issues. It ended up being a 24 hour trip to get to Toronto with delays and re-scheduled flights for them. They arrived in Toronto, checked into their hotel and took a nap before the Saturday evening game.

Brrr…it was cold. All the Sounders fans were tucked up in an upper tier in the corner of the stadium.

And at the end of 120 minutes they were able to take this happy photo having been able to experience the first ever MLS Championship Cup win!

Here are some photos from over the years of us enjoying games or representing with our Sounders gear in other parts of the world.

On the river Thames in England.

Dear with his Sounders jersey in a garden~ Cotswolds, England.

Dear outside Gloucester Cathedral in England.

Outside Old Trafford in Manchester, England.

… the Sounders simply willed themselves to the crown, and when Torres’ match-winner hit the back of the net it almost felt like a sort of destiny. For all the fire the Sounders came through to get here, what are a few more licks of flame?

Drink this in, Sounders fans. It gets no better than sitting atop the league. After the wildest season in MLS history, the trophy is coming home.

We are drinking it in here at this old house.

Joy and Advent

JOY!

The third candle, usually for the Third Sunday of Advent, is traditionally Pink or Rose, and symbolizes Joy at the soon Advent of the Christ. It marks a shift from the more solemn tone of the first two Sundays of Advent that focus on Preparation and Hope, to a more joyous atmosphere of anticipation and expectancy.

As believers we have the joy of Jesus in us. Joy is a recurring theme and response to Jesus and what he has done for us. Look at the joy in these verses from the Bible. Take a moment to ready through them.

Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD.
Zechariah 2:9-11

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Matthew 2:9-11

You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
Luke 1:13-15

For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:43-45

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:9-11

Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.
Luke 6:22-24

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
Luke 10:20-22

In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:9-11

These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
John 15:10-12

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
John 17:12-14

And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:51-52

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:11-13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:12-14

…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-3

and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
1 Peter 1:7-9

Remember this Christmas season when you see a star, fake or real, pause to rejoice.
When you see a babe think of our Savior and rejoice.
When you see gifts beautifully wrapped think of the very best gift of all we have been given from God through Jesus and rejoice.

REJOICE with the angels
REJOICE with the shepherds
REJOICE with Mary and Joseph
REJOICE and again I say REJOICE!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Hello Winter Hodgepodge

The X in Xmas…

Vintage Christmas

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Mystery Tree 2016

Sky of Blue, Sea of Green…

Mid-December Hodgepodge

The Wonder of it all…

Seattle Sounders F.C. ~The Champions!

Joy and Advent

JOY!