The Last Three Days…

After pulling some weeds early on Friday morning we were inspired to hit the road and go a little north and then west about an hour to the little town of Republic, Washington.

We had lunch at the Mexican Restaurant in town and then poked around the few shops on the main drag. We found the thrift store in town and then found the park where there was a Farmer’s Market and a Library book sale.

Republic, Washington is a city with an early 1900s look and a heritage based in the mining and logging industries. Originally named Eureka Gulch, Republic had a population of 954 in 2000. Noted for its fossils, natural beauty and recreational possibilities, it is nestled in a valley between Wauconda and Sherman Passes at the intersection of Washington State Routes 20 and 21 in the north central part of the state.

On the way back to Colville.

When we spot the Columbia River we know we are close to home. The weather was great for our quick trip to Republic and back home but things began to turn after we got home.

On Saturday we got some mighty winds and thunderstorms with some hail and rain. At one point the temperatures inside our home dropped five degrees. We also saw that the same roads we had taken to Republic that were clear and dry had snow and slush on Saturday and into Sunday at the highest point on Sherman Pass! Sherman Pass has an elevation of 5574 feet.

On Father’s day we had clear weather again as we headed to church and after we got home from church this was the view we had out our windows.

It didn’t dampen our little Father’s Day meal on Sunday evening with our Colville kids.

Happy Father’s day to our son who is faithful and loyal and cares for his family well.

The two dads got nice gifts and we enjoyed our time together.

Dear got phone calls from our out of town kids wishing him a happy Father’s day.

Happy Father’s Day to Dear. A good Father with integrity and faithfulness.

Today we are scheduled to have our windows washed. We didn’t anticipate all this crazy weather. Hopefully the day will be dry and we’ll be able to enjoy the clean dry windows for a few hours.

Tomorrow I’ll be helping in the kitchen for our Church High School camp and I’ll be gone from home from 6am till after 6pm. I won’t be visiting blogs. Time will tell if I’ll be able to muster for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Hope you all had a good weekend and have a good week ahead.

This Is My Father’s World ~ Hymn

This is My Father’s World

This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world,
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong
Seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done:
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.

This is my Father’s world,
Dreaming, I see His face.
I ope my eyes, and in glad surprise
Cry, The Lord is in this place.
This is my Father’s world,
From the shining courts above,
The Beloved One, His Only Son,
Came—a pledge of deathless love.

This is my Father’s world,
Should my heart be ever sad?
The lord is King—let the heavens ring.
God reigns—let the earth be glad.
This is my Father’s world.
Now closer to Heaven bound,
For dear to God is the earth Christ trod.
No place but is holy ground.

This is my Father’s world.
I walk a desert lone.
In a bush ablaze to my wondering gaze
God makes His glory known.
This is my Father’s world,
A wanderer I may roam;
Whate’er my lot, it matters not,
My heart is still at home.

Flag Day

Flag Day is a holiday celebrated on June 14 in the United States. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress replaced the British symbols of the Grand Union flag with a new design featuring 13 white stars on a field of blue and 13 red and white stripes—one for each state

The American flag, also nicknamed as “Old Glory” or “star-spangled banner”, has changed designs over the centuries. It consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars. Each of the 50 stars represents one of the 50 states in the United States and the 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies that became the first states in the Union.

The rest of the photos show some new blooms around our country bungalow.

I brought in some of the white peonies to enjoy their scent and some of the first of the pink peonies, too.

Have a nice Father’s Day weekend everyone.

Truth for Today #105

Thursday June 13th

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! 

Romans 15:5-7

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

From Vera:

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭62‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Willow:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

From Karen:

Psalms 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Thankful for Fathers Hodgepodge!

Greg with our three in Ventura, California, 1987.

It is time for another Wednesday Hodgepodge and Jo From This Side of the Pond has the questions ready.

1. June 12 is National Simplicity Day. In what way is your life simple? What’s one way that it’s not? 

Since moving to the country our life has become more simple in a few ways. We entertain less. We don’t leave the house as often. When we drive anywhere in town we only encounter 2 traffic signals. There are many places we travel to without even going through one traffic light. The one way it’s not as simple is that we have more property to care for. We need a riding lawnmower and we have more weeds to pull!

2. Something you remember from a ‘simpler time’? 

One of the things we enjoyed doing way back before 9-11 was to drop travelers off at their airport gate and greet them when they returned at their gate. Nowadays you can barely get a hug in when you drop them off at the curb.

3. Do you like squash? If so what’s your favorite variety? What’s a favorite way to prepare squash? 

I don’t mind squash but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it or prepare it except for maybe Butternut Squash Soup.

4. Do you shop the warehouse stores (such as Costco, Sam’s B.J’s, etc)? If so how often do you go, and what’s something you always buy in this type of store? 

We do shop at Costco regularly and when we have a project we might shop at Home Depot. Monthly trips to Costco are normal. We always fill the gas tank when we first arrive at Costco. They have the cheapest gas prices around these parts. We regularly buy coffee beans, lemons, toilet paper, water, tissue, toothpaste, shaving cream, bar soap, liquor, rotisserie chicken, pure maple syrup, agave sweetener, ranch dressing, and nuts. We were there on Monday to pick up Dear’s hearing aides. He has never had them before so he is now getting used to them. I also check out their clothing piles to see any deals on items that will work for us. I regularly make purchases for the church kitchen at Costco, too. The items in italic come in multi-packs so we purchase them less frequently.

5. Father’s Day is this coming Sunday. Any plans to make the day special? Tell us something about your own father, or something about your hubs as a father, or about someone who stepped into your life and acted as a father if yours was not a part of your life. 

My older sister Kathy, Pop (working on a jigsaw puzzle) and me camping in Big Bear California in the 50’s.

My pop was a carpenter and he worked hard to earn enough money to feed and clothe us. When he immigrated to the U.S. just after World War II he had to get creative to find work, later he was able to get carpentry work regularly and he was part of the Carpenters Union. Although he was religious there was something missing until He heard the Gospel clearly at a Billy Graham Crusade at the Los Angeles Coliseum. He knew God was calling him to repentance and a new life following Jesus Christ as his Savior. When he asked God to forgive him, and he put his faith in Jesus Christ for his salvation, he knew immediately that something changed in him. He now had the help of the Holy Spirit to live this new life following Jesus. He desired this new life for all of us and for his parents and siblings, too. Sharing Christ with others was a priority in his life. When his papers were filled out for his legal immigration his name was translated to Moisi in English but it would have been more accurate to be spelled Moses. Our parents sacrificed for their children. They very rarely spent money on themselves. Pop lived to be 95 and outlived our mom by 5 years.

This photo is from a celebration we had for our parents in April of 2013 for their 90th birthdays and for their 70th wedding anniversary. Our brother Fred was missing from this celebration.  Our mom died in September of 2013 and our Pop lived for 5 more years.

Our kids will be giving their tributes to their ‘Pops’ on Sunday. He’s a good man and I’m thankful for him and our life together. While I’m sitting at my computer answering these questions, Greg is vacuuming our entire home! What a guy!

We will celebrate with our local kids on Sunday evening here in Colville.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Me and my Pop, 1973. This was taken at a Los Angeles terminal for chartered flights. Several family members and friends were all together with no restrictions at the departure gate.

Busy Start to June

June has started off with full weekends and good family days. Our Grands and their mom enjoyed some sweets with Granny Great. I love this photo of all of them.

Josh and Laura were in Nashville for a business trip and got to enjoy the Grand Ole Oprey.

Our Garage sale started Wednesday with 15 families bringing all their stuff together so we were ready for the early birds on Thursday morning. All the participants signed up for shifts to help at the sale.  When our Grands and their mom came for their shift, Addy and JJ and the other littles were able to cuddle the new pups. The family that hosted the garage sale raise and sell golden retrievers.

We had a very successful sale with many families earning over $200 and some earning a whole lot more. We earned close to $400.

On Saturday I put in some time at the sale before Gramps and I headed to Kettle Falls to watch Addy’s Irish Dance group perform at Town and Country Days. It was hot with limited shade. We were happy that the stage was a covered stage so the kids didn’t have to dance with the sun beating down on them.

Finding some shade before the performance.

It was fun to watch Addy again on stage. When the performance was over they got her changed into cooler clothes quickly so they could enjoy some of the Town and Country festivities.

While waiting for the performance to begin we popped into an establishment next door to the stage to cool down and it was fun to spot this customer.

This guy was part of a group that performed in the Town and Country parade earlier on this day. When you are planning a trip to Scotland, you notice people dressed like this.

After the performance we headed back to the garage sale that was in it’s final minutes to gather up our stuff that didn’t sell and collected our money. We had three days in the sun and I was spent.

Another thing happened this weekend. When we put our A/C on it wasn’t working properly. We’ll have to call today and try to get someone out soon before the real heat starts!

Sunday morning after a good time at church we had a true day of rest.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

O Father, We Would Thank Thee ~ Hymn

“Go forth today, by the help of God’s Spirit, vowing and declaring that in life—-come poverty, come wealth, in death—come pain or come what may, you are and ever must be the Lord’s.  For this is written on your heart, ‘We love Him because He first loved us.”

~ Charles Spurgeon

O Father, We Would Thank Thee

O Father, we would thank Thee
For all Thy love has given,
Our present joy of sonship,
Our future joy in Heaven;
The life which sin had blighted
So wondrously restored
By our mysterious union
With Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rich gifts of life and gladness—
A new and heav’nly birth,
Baptismal waters flowing
To cleanse the sons of earth;
The strength in which to follow
The steps that Jesus trod;
And love beyond all knowledge
Which calls us sons of God.

O mercy all abundant
Bestowed on us today!
O hope of future glory
Which fadeth not away!
By God’s great love begotten
To living hope and sure,
May we at Christ’s appearing
Be pure as He is pure.

For all Thy gifts, O Father,
Our hymns of praise arise—
The love which calls us children,
The hope which purifies;
The grace by which we offer
A service glad and free;
The earnest of perfection,
Of fuller life with Thee.

Words: Ada R. Green­a­way, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1904.

Tea Time Puzzle

This is the last puzzle from the puzzle club my kids gifted me for Mother’s Day or my birthday in 2023. It really has been a super gift that just kept giving over the year! Thanks Dan and Jamie.

This one is a fun one to work on. I’m moving along in between pricing garage sale items. I’m a fan of puzzle companies that include a puzzle poster!

Today I’m on early shift at the garage sale. Have a great weekend!

Truth for Today #104

Thursday June 6th

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! 

Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

From Willow:

He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

From Vera:

“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭143‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Susan:

Psalm 27:4

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.”

From Karen:

Psalm 133:1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Say Cheese Hodgepodge

Joyce has a new set of questions to get our brains going for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. It’s National Cheese Day (June 4)…does anyone not like cheese? What’s your favorite? Last thing you ate or made with cheese? 

We do keep cheese around and enjoy it. I enjoy sharp cheddar, gouda, swiss and a specialty cheese thrown in here and there. The last thing I ate with cheese was a cheese and meat roll-up. Not too exciting. We enjoy Mexican food that seems to have a lot of cheese. Cheese filled Blintzes or cheese filled Vareniki are my favorites. We do enjoy a good cheesecake, too.

 

2. Last time you were instructed to ‘say cheese!’? How do you feel about having your picture taken? 

This probably happened the weekend we were on the other side of the mountains with our ‘coast’ kids. I’m okay with having my photo taken digitally since we can see the results immediately and know right away if we need a re-do! 🙂

3. What’s your travel packing strategy? Are you typically a light packer or do you throw in everything but the kitchen sink?

Depends on where we are going and the form of transportation. If we are driving somewhere I’m not concerned with throwing in everything we might need on the trip. When we are traveling internationally the strategy is totally different. We try to take as little as possible and only take one small rolling bag and a backpack. We purchased smaller lighter weight bags with great rolling ease for our last trip overseas and didn’t regret it.

When flying do you check a bag or aim for carry on only? 

We generally are okay with checking a bag when traveling. When there are connecting flights we try to carry-on so our bags don’t get sent off to a different location than our final destination.

4. What is it about people’s cell phone habits that you find most annoying? 

It is annoying when people talk loudly on their phones in a restaurant or other indoor public space.

5. What will be your summer mantra/slogan? 

Eat less, exercise more.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The end of this week we are participating in a group garage sale and I’ve been busy pricing our stuff for that. Today we deliver all of our stuff to the site and set things up. Having a group that trades shifts to man the sale is a huge bonus. Continuing in the process of downsizing our stash of stuff has great rewards. I’ll be slow getting around to everyone this week.

Happy June, Hodgepodgers!