I finished this latest puzzle just in the nick of time before we needed the dining table for our dinner last Friday night. This was a fun puzzle to do. Garden scenes for each month of the year. There was enough variation in the patterns that it was easy to find where the pieces would fit.
We finally got some dry hours with sunshine breaking through on Wednesday the 7th and the grands enjoyed traipsing around their yard!
It made them giddy. Sunshine can do that to a person.
Thursday February 8th
On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!
The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!
Since Valentine’s day is just around the corner here are the verses I’m sharing for this week:
From Lauren:
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
From Dianna:
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9
From Leonard:
Proverbs 30:2-3
“Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.”
“human wisdom is limited, the wisest people recognize their ignorance.”
From Vera:
”For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
Deuteronomy 4:7-8 ESV
Our first Wednesday Hodgepodge in February is bringing back special memories of our dear Babushka Vera. We also called her our ‘little babushka’. The photo above was taken at Greg and my wedding in December of 1974.
Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for her questions this week.
1. Something you’ve waited for recently?
Dependable hot water.
2. What’s something you loved to do as a child?
So many things: Hide n Seek, Jacks, Tetherball
One of the best family memories is stopping at 31 Flavors (Ice Cream shop) on Beverly Blvd. after a church event for our two or three scoops! I chose orange sherbet and chocolate chip. One of my brothers always chose vanilla.
3. Something you learned from a grandparent?
From our little babushka Vera we learned you could still do amazing things with only one hand. Her left arm was amputated at the elbow when she was very young. With one arm and hand, she managed raising children, cooking blintzes, baking piroshky and creating beautiful embroidery just to name a few. The photo of her above was taken at Greg and my wedding shower at Bethany Baptist Church in Los Angeles.
She made all those goodies on her kitchen table for Christmas breakfast before we walked a few doors down for church. All her ‘people’ would stop into her apartment before church for a treat and the most Merry Christmas start to the day.
This embroidered tablecloth and napkins was my little babushka’s wedding gift to us.
4. The most visited cities in the world last year (according to this site) were-Bangkok, Paris, London, Dubai, and Singapore. Have you been to any of the cities mentioned? Which would you most like to see? How do you feel about international travel in general these days?
Of these cities, I’ve only been to London and would choose London to see again from this list of cities. Still hopeful for travel to the United Kingdom. I’m a comfort traveler so I’d avoid any country where I wouldn’t feel comfortable about language barriers, etc. There are enough wonderful International adventures for me in the UK.
5. February is the perfect month to ______________________.
February is the perfect month to be loving and kind to one another.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Our Babushka Vera was promoted to heaven to be with her Savior in March of 1980. She was a Godly woman who prayed for all her grandchildren and for all her grandchildren’s future spouses. She prayed for our Pop’s salvation and for the salvation of her own husband. After they were married and he became a follower of Christ, our Dzedushka Fedot became a Baptist Minister. He was killed in Iran just after our parents immigrated to the USA after World War II. Our little Babushka immigrated to the USA with my Uncle and his family without her husband. I am so looking forward to seeing Babushka in heaven and seeing Dzedushka for the first time in heaven.
A long post about our Little Babushka is here.
I’m way behind this week after a busy full and wonderful weekend and then our Hot Water Tank repair job that took our son Dan and Greg all morning into the afternoon on Monday to fix. Hey…but we have some hot reliable water now and it will hopefully last a while.
It was fun to set this table and a lot more fun to enjoy most of our family around it for a belated birthday dinner. I wanted it sparkly. After I lit all the candles Addy and JJ wanted the other lights off so we could just have the candles give us light. We had a wonderful candlelit dinner.
Monday got away from me because of some further work Greg and our son had to do on our Water Heater. They had to empty the water tank and replace the elements which were in horrible shape. New ones are in so we should be good for a few years or at least we hope for that. Our grands were here during the work on the tank and they kept me very busy. Hoping for a quiet day today so I can catch up!
Hope your week has started well.
Josh and Laura arrived to our side of the mountains on Friday afternoon and we enjoyed a belated birthday dinner for Josh in candlelight. After we lit the candles JJ and Addy asked if we could turn off the other lights and just have the candles giving us light. It was a special dinner and weekend together. Friday night after dinner and cake, checkers and Legos and ‘Don’t Break the Ice’ were the entertainment.
On Saturday we gathered on the ‘Mountain’ and had a delicious lunch of Beef Stew with Jamie’s amazing sour dough bread creations. This time she baked regular and one with siracha.
After lunch Addy had her nails done and then wanted to polish our nails, too. She did a fine job.
Saturday late afternoon and early evening it was time for the Awana Grand Prix. Addy was pleased with her car the Silver Star.
We were all there to cheer everyone on. We weren’t winners this year.
On Sunday we filled a row at church. It was good to worship together. We had lunch out and too soon it was time for Josh and Laura to travel back over the mountains home. We love you, We love you, We love you. Thanks for making the trek and spending good times with us!
Thank you, too, for sharing your photos!
Tomorrow I’ll post photos of the Birthday Candlelight Tablescape.
Our weekend was full and I did not spend time on the computer or make any blog visits. I’ll get caught up soon.
Savior of the Nations, Come
Savior of the nations, come;
Virgin’s Son, here make Thy home!
Marvel now, O Heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.
Not by human flesh and blood;
By the Spirit of our God
Was the Word of God made flesh,
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.
Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child
Of the Virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in Heaven enthroned.
From the Father forth He came
And returneth to the same,
Captive leading death and hell
High the song of triumph swell!
Thou, the Father’s only Son,
Hast over sin the victory won.
Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?
Brightly doth Thy manger shine,
Glorious is its light divine.
Let not sin o’ercloud this light;
Ever be our faith thus bright.
Praise to God the Father sing,
Praise to God the Son, our king,
Praise to God the Spirit be
Ever and eternally.
This is a pasta dish based on eggs, bacon or ham, and cheese.
Method:
Oops, on my Wednesday Hodgepodge I said I’d be sharing the Skillet Chicken today but that was scheduled for next Saturday.
What if I say
“The Bible is God’s Holy Word,
Complete, inspired, without a flaw”
But let its pages stay
Unread from day to day,
And fail to learn there from God’s law;
What if I go not there to seek
The truth of which I glibly speak,
For guidance on this earthly way,
Does it matter what I say?
What if I say
That Jesus Christ is Lord divine;
Yet fellow-pilgrims can behold
Naught of the Master’s love in me
No grace of kindly sympathy?
If I am of the Shepherd’s fold,
Then shall I know the Shepherd’s voice
And gladly make his way my choice.
We are saved by faith, yet faith is one
With life, like daylight and the sun.
Unless they flower in our deeds,
Dead, empty husks are all the creeds.
To call Christ, Lord, but strive not to obey,
Belies the homage that with words I pay.
Maud Frazer Jackson
Happy February everyone!
Thursday February 1st
On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!
The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24:
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
From Vera:
”Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.“
Psalm 28:6-7 ESV
From Karen:
Proverbs 1:10
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Happy last day of January everyone. Here are the Hodgepodge questions we pondered by Joyce From This Side of the Pond this week.
1. January 29th is National Puzzle Day. Do you enjoy puzzles? What kind (crossword, jigsaw, sudoku, etc)? How often do you work a puzzle?
I am a jigsaw puzzle fan and I will work on them when the season is right and the time is right. While waiting for each of our grandchildren to be born we worked on a jigsaw puzzle in the hospital delivery waiting room to pass the hours away. I’ve completed two puzzles this month and am now just starting this one.
I have not gotten into sudoku or crossword puzzles. The photo at the top of this post are some of the jigsaw puzzles completed in the past year.
2. Something you currently find ‘puzzling’?
I’m in the throws of troubling and puzzling and am wrestling with my thoughts and feelings on this issue. It’s nothing to do with my family or marriage which is a blessing but it has captured a lot of my attention. I’ll be praying and watching and waiting on how it progresses.
3. What’s your go-to dish to take to someone who needs a meal (new baby, bereavement, etc)?
The go to was chicken thighs baked with Italian dressing and served with rice and whole green beans, not canned beans. Some of the ladies in our church are providing meals for someone who is undergoing aggressive treatment for breast cancer and who is too wiped out to think about cooking. I had to come up with more than my standard go to so I’m looking forward to reading what fellow Hodgepodgers share to help me come up with something new.
The photo above is a Teriyaki Glazed Skillet Chicken that I will make for the next meal for our friend. My recipe will post on Saturday.
4. Do you watch any HGTV and/or The Food Network? If so, what’s your favorite program there?
I watched more in the past but not so much anymore. In the past we enjoyed, The Kitchen on Saturday mornings. We thoroughly enjoyed all the Fixer Upper shows. When the new season of shows come on we’ll watch them. I’ve enjoyed the Food Truck challenges in the past. Flea Market Flip is another show I’ll watch once in a while if I’m sick and need to make the hours pass quicker in my head.
5. Wrap up your January in five words, with a five word phrase, or with a five word sentence.
I have two…
Celebrate Three birthdays and more.
Snow, Fog, rain, minus sunshine.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
The top view of this collage has been the norm around our parts for many days in a row. We are hoping to see more of that bottom view soon!
See you soon, Hodgepodgers.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 