Choices Hodgepodge

It’s Wednesday so that means the Hodgepodge is here with new questions to answer. Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for keeping our brains challenged!

1. Where do you get your news these days?

We follow more conservative voices. I limit my news intake since they prove themselves to be misleading so much of the time. I get so tired of all the opinions and talk show formats instead of your good ole news like; there was a flood today in such and such city or it’s real hot in Texas today. During this war I get information from our missionary associations that are in the midst helping like FEBC, SGA, and others who are there.

2. It’s National Crab Day…do you like crab meat? What makes you crabby?

A good Crab Cake is a treat.

Stone faced liars make me crabby.

3. Does freedom mean more choices?

From the Oxford dictionary;

the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

Another definition is; the state of not being in prison. 🙂

So…if we all have freedom there are going to be a lot of choices.

Have you ever felt there were too many choices? Elaborate.

Some restaurants have way too many choices making it very hard to choose. Then you wonder…can they really do 40 different dishes well?

Seriously though, choices are important in life. We will all live with the choices we make and their consequences.

I’m with Joshua on this one…

Joshua 24:14-15 (ESV)

¹⁴“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

4. Barbara Millicent Roberts was introduced to the world on March 9, 1959…that’s Barbie to most of us. Did you have Barbies as a kid, or did you let your own children play with Barbies?

Madame Alexander Dolls are more my style and it was one of her dolls I bought our daughter for her 1st birthday.

I was 8 years old when Barbie was born. I never owned a Barbie. I can only remember having one doll when I was little. It was small rubber headed one. Nice and chunky and nothing like a Barbie. I was not a big fan or pro Barbie but our daughter had a collection of them. I did not appreciate how hard they were to dress and undress. Oye! Our daughter was gifted a special edition Russian Barbie from her Uncle and Aunt one Christmas. That doll disappeared from our home a few years later when we had a Russian traditional dance troupe visit for a meal. Hmmm…

I still have some of our daughter’s Barbie collection in a bin that I pull out for Grand nieces or other little girls to enjoy when visiting.

What well known Barbara (living or not) would you most like to meet?

We did know a real life Barbie (named Barbie) that could stand in for Barbie and model those outfits and afford them!

Truth be told I’m not interested in meeting any ‘well known’ Barbara.

5. What are three things you value most in another person?

A person of integrity who is faithful, honest and dependable.

Someone who is generous with their time, talents and money.

A person who I can belly laugh with. Not a fan of grouches.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of Barbie, I didn’t walk away from this one that was in our local Goodwill store for under $12.00 back in June of 2017. If our granddaughter is ever interested in Barbies, I’ll give this one to her. If not interested I’ll have to offer it up for sale. It wasn’t Barbie that drew my interest. I’m a huge fan of Beatrix Potter and her collection of Tales!

The sticker price on the bottom of the box is $44.00.

Who You Calling Old Hodgepodge

We had to have the “we were here” photo taken! This door is in Stow on the Wold in the greater Cotswold area of England. This door is at the back of the Parish Church of St. Edward built within the 11th and 15th century.

Jo From This Side of the Pond has some ‘old’ questions for us this week. Click over to join in.

1. How would you define ‘old’? At what age is someone old?

I define old as ten years older than me. The older I get the older ‘old’ becomes. I only feel old when I look in the mirror or try to stand up off the couch. 🙂

2. A place you’ve been that’s old? Tell us something about your visit there.

Jolly Old England. Oh how I hope to be able to enjoy that land at least once more in my lifetime. There is something old around every corner…really old. Ancient doors and hall ways. Old majestic cathedrals. Cobblestones and thatched roofs. The oldest pub or Inn in all of England. Many pubs and Inns claim that fame. Old church yards and graveyards and churches.

c.947AD

3. Something you miss about the ‘good old days’? When were they anyway?

I’ll pick the ‘good ole days’ before computers and cell phones. The days where you had to catch up with a letter or have a long catch up conversation after church or on the phone. When you got information by reading the newspaper. The days when you actually got news during the news hour and not just opinions and made up stuff.

4. In what way are you a ‘chip off the old block’? Or if you’d rather, in what way is your child a ‘chip off the old block’?

I have some chips off both blocks. Our dear mom would get inspirations to do things and have to scramble to gather up the materials and get er done. I do the same. Our dear old pop had to be on time or early to events and made sure to leave the house in plenty of time to get there. My Dear always makes the comment to me when I say ‘time to go’; “okay Moisi”.

photo credit: Jeremy Leffel

5. Old fashioned, Old Testament, old timer, same old same old, old glory, good old boy, old wives tale…choose an ‘old’ phrase that relates to something in your life or the wider world currently and explain.

“Don’t guilt trip me.” It’s the way of some leaders and media and general population right now. It’s divisive and I don’t like it. When my head hits the pillow each night I want to have a clear conscience. It’s most important for me to have a clear conscience before God. That’s the best way for me not to suffer from someone trying to impose a guilt trip upon me.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of England let’s not forget about the delightful world of Beatrix Potter.

We knew about this shop in Gloucester and were determined to visit it while we were in Gloucester 41 years after I started my collection. We were there in 2014.

There are lots of shops relating to Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit in England.

Happy middle of September everyone. Next week…Glorious Fall begins!

Beatrix Potter ~ A to Z Challenge

I’m stretching the letter X in the A to Z challenge to include it’s part in the name Beatrix.

On July 28th in 1866 Helen Beatrix Potter was born. She lived to be 77 years old.

Here is my collection of Beatrix Potter figurines to date in the following collages…

I bought most of the figurines in England in 1973 and 1974.

This little rabbit made her famous with The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

“I don’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter….”

“And that – a letter to a small boy called Noel- was the beginning of the Beatrix Potter Books.”

I started my Beatrix Potter Collection in the summer of 1973 while touring England. I bought the Biography The Tale of Beatrix Potter by Margaret Lane in Oxford July of 1974.

Dear and I bought two full sets of Beatrix Potter Story Collection at Foyle’s in London and had them shipped home to us. One set for us and one set for our first niece born in 1973, Jenna. I suppose technically she wasn’t my niece until Dear and I were married in December of 1974. You can see our set is well used and loved.

The fun story behind The Tale of Little Pig Robinson revolves around our firstborn son, Josh. We would let him pick a bedtime story for us to read to him each night and he caught on real quick that The Tale of Little Pig Robinson is one of the longest tales in the Beatrix Potter collection. He’d request it each night to extend the time before bedtime! Each of our three children are brilliant in their own way…

In the summer of 2014, Dear and I made a 40th anniversary trip to England and on this trip we spent an afternoon in Gloucester and of course had to visit this sweet shop close to Gloucester Cathedral.

We knew about this shop in Gloucester and were determined to visit it while we were in Gloucester 41 years after I started my collection.

There are lots of shops relating to Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit in England.

This shop had a lot of fun displays filled with memorabilia.

I’ve enjoyed all these books about Beatrix Potter. The latest book I received was from Josh and Laura, Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life. The book on Beatrix Potter’s Derwentwater was a great resource for a walking trip we took with good friends in 2006 staying at a farm on the Derwentwater for a few days during our time in Great Britain. So sad that while we were in the Lake District we didn’t visit Hilltop! Maybe on a future trip we’ll take the time to visit.

This was a sweet surprise from my mother when they sorted through my dear Babushka’s apartment after she died. I sent her this postcard trying my best to communicate in Russian from England in 1973. In 1973 and 1974 Dear and I toured England and beyond singing with a Christian Rock Band. I share this here even though it’s not directly linked to Beatrix Potter but it was during the summer where my love for all things Beatrix Potter started!

A little update on the water situation at our country bungalow. Dear is heading under the house to start the process of pumping out the accumulated water from our leak of “who knows how long”. There is a very tough woven plastic liner that covers the whole bottom of our home. The plumbing and insulation are above that liner. The water has accumulated in the liner and it is sagging from the weight of the water. We have to poke a hole in the liner and try to catch the water in a large tub and pump it out. Dear spent Monday talking to an engineer from the manufacturer of our home. He was very helpful. We then tracked down a flat discharge hose (100 ft.) to use to pump our the water. We are fortunate to have the very efficient pump from our pond that will be almost too powerful in pumping out the water. More news to follow.

The Peeps and Daffodils…

This Easter we were blessed to have a table of ten. Five couples including Dear and me. It was good to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ together at an Easter service and around our celebration table. On Saturday before Easter Sunday we had a baking and creating day that you can see here. And if you are interested in seeing the table we sat at you can see it here.

Jamie and Dan traveled over 5 hours to be with us for the weekend. They were married last summer. Dan is our second son.

Dan with his dad.

Steve and Lana with a stand up daffodil photo and a silly one, too. Lana is my youngest sister and the only sibling of mine that lives in Washington State.

Laura and Josh are the longest married of our children. Josh is our firstborn.

Dear and me.

Katie and Andrew were under the weather on Easter day and we didn’t find a time to get them to stand behind the daffodils so I pulled up this great photo of them as they were on their way out to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago. Katie is our youngest.

And here’s my new Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter) bunting that Katie put together for me including making what the kit called radishes that look like carrots and flowers. Josh and Laura gifted me the bunting kit on my birthday.

I’m linking up with Amy for Five on Friday and with Susanne for Friday’s Fave Five even though I added #6!

I’m happy to report that I’m feeling well again with enough energy that I conquered the lawn today with the lawnmower. No fooling! But because I was spent after doing that the king of this old house had to take his gardener out to dinner! It got up to the 70’s today and it is going to be up to 70 degrees on Friday, too, woohoo!

Hope no one tries to fool you on April Fools Day.

Aunt Anna and the Amiable Guinea Pig

Have you guessed yet that we are at the beginning of the alphabet again for ABC Wednesday #18 (Rolling On) a meme created by Mrs. Nesbitt and now administered by Roger and the ABC team. I was in my archives and saw my very first post for this meme was for the letter D posted February 12, 2008!

Today I’ll be combining two memes with my letter A post. A new meme is starting today hosted by Tom the Backroads Traveler called Tuesdays Treasures where you can share all things old, old and lovely or old and junky!

My Aunt Anna and Pop and my Amiable Guinea Pig are old treasures that are old and lovely. I’ll save junky for another week!

When I first visited Jolly Old England in 1973 and 1974 I started a collection of Beatrix Potter figurines. This is the Amiable Guinea Pig!

He is featured in Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes book by Beatrix Potter originally published in 1917.

There once was an amiable guinea pig,
He brushed back his hair like a periwig-
He wore a sweet tie,
As blue as the sky-
And his whiskers and buttons were very big.

Now for real treasures…

…my Aunt Anna and my dear old Pop. Aunt Anna will be 91 in April and my Pop will be 93 in May! Aren’t they cute? They are having lunch at a favorite Armenian Restaurant in Montebello, California. A town I grew up in. I graduated from Montebello High School in 1968! Armenians cook their lamb the way my Russian family enjoys it. I didn’t take the photo since I’m way up here in Washington state but I’m glad my niece thought to take it and share it on Facebook.

Aunt Anna and my pop are the only surviving siblings in their family. My paternal grandparents died several years ago and my father’s other brothers and their spouses are all deceased. My Aunt Anna survived her husband and all three of her children and a granddaughter, too. She has had a rough life on this earth. Aunt Anna is in a care facility and she still has one granddaughter that stays in close contact with her. Three years ago the doctor gave my aunt a few months to live…guess she showed him!

My Pop lives with my oldest sister’s family and they are close to the care facility where Aunt Anna is cared for. I’m glad my sister thought to invite my Aunt Anna and pick her up to join them for lunch at Golden Skewers! A thoughtful daughter and niece and sister, too!

Looking forward to seeing what A’s and Old Treasures you all came up with.

The First…

…baby expected to arrive in January for Tim and Jess.

The first grandchild for each of these soon to be grandmothers.

The first sweet little dresses!

The bunting says “Welcome Baby Girl!

I think it will be the first time these two sister-in-laws to Jess, my nieces will be aunties, too.

Jess and her mom.

Cousins and more of my nieces.

Jess and our grand niece, Avery.

Jess and her friend Michelle who was also her maid of honor.

The shower favors were hand made candles by my niece Michelle, All Good Things Candles.

We are all looking forward to meeting you Baby Girl!

The Tailor of Gloucester

I started my Beatrix Potter Figurine collection on my first trip to England in 1973. I also bought a complete set of the books that Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated. We knew about this shop in Gloucester and were determined to visit it while we were in Gloucester 41 years after I started my collection.

There are lots of shops relating to Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit in England.

This shop had a lot of fun displays filled with memorabilia.

Here is my “Tailor” and the books I purchased in 1973. Some of them are a little worn. I have 27 figurines. I’m just going to share a couple more for this post.

Here is Pigling Bland. The book to the right of Pigling Bland is Little Pig Robinson and when Josh was a little guy he figured out that this book was one of the longest in the series so he’d ask to have that one as his bedtime story knowing sleep would be delayed just a tad longer.

Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle is one of my favorites.

Of course Peter Rabbit is the most recognized of Beatrix Potter’s beloved characters.

Have you read Beatrix Potter’s books? Who is your favorite character?

Cheers From England ~ Day #8

Today is Friday and it was moving day for us. We moved from our quiet sprawling cottage in the Cotswolds to a small 2 story cottage near Ross on Wye. We are just off a B road so this little spot will be a little noisier during the day. On the way to our new location we stopped in Bourton on the Water and in Gloucester to visit the cathedral and The Tailor of Gloucester Beatrix Potter shop close to the cathedral.

Bourton on the Water

Gloucester Cathedral

After we spent some time in the cathedral that was magnificent we found the Beatrix Potter shop and made a little purchase and then headed to our second lodging spot close to Ross on Wye. We got settled in and headed to Ross to find a bite to eat. We ate at a cafe and made at stop at the butcher for sausages and the supermarket for eggs, bread, tomatoes, and mushrooms as we’ve missed our traditional breakfasts the last few mornings. We are now relaxing in the wee cottage.

The view from our upstairs bedroom window looking east. Not too shabby!

And here are the stairs I will have to navigate if I need to use the facilities in the middle of the night…oh my…

I’ll let you know how it goes. We have two areas we want to explore while we are in this part of England and time will tell which towns we will visit first.

We are in touch with family and friends via the internet and so thankful that we have that luxury being across the world from them. So much happens when we are apart and it’s good to be able to communicate daily if we need to. I specifically chose places that offered free wifi and am very glad I did since I do not use my cell internationally. We’ve heard that Heathrow security is confiscating cell phones if the batteries are dead so I will need to turn my cell phone on airplane mode before we hit security to make sure they can see that my battery is just fine.

We also hear the the temps in at our old house in Washington State are hitting the 90’s this weekend. Maybe it will stunt my grass and weeds from growing too much while we are gone. How are things going in your neck of the woods. Speaking of woods we are close to the Forest of Dean.

Cheers!

Up Close…

A Crown for my King.

Old and Primitive.

A landmark from England.

The Amiable Guinea Pig ~ Beatrix Potter

Hunca Munca ~ Beatrix Potter

Frosted Window Panes from Russia.

Katie, 1986

Our First Nativity, small and wooden. This one has been well used and some parts have been glued together. One of the animals is missing a leg.

The controversial blond Mary.

Ded Moroz Father Frost from Russia.

Just a few of our Christmas things up close and personal. I’ll be sharing a few more in the near future.

I shared a story earlier in December about our church Toy Shop Project for needy families in our community. Our church was able to help 315 families with grocery gift cards and toys for their children. We had over 2000 new toys that we gave away. Our goal was 1800. What a wonderful experience to be able to share in this way in our own community.

I’m so thankful for a quiet week leading up to Christmas. How are your days?

Todays Thrifty Treasures ~ Beatrix Potter Books

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality is our hostess for this weekly event. Click on over and see what great buys people all over bloggy world found.

In 1973 when I was in England I began a collection of Beatrix Potter Figurines and purchased a full set of her sweet little books for children. There are 23 books in the full set. Whenever I see a Beatrix Potter book at a thrift store in good shape I buy it. I found these 23 books at Goodwill for 79 cents each and I bought all 23 of them. They are in perfect shape and look as though they have never been read. A full set of Beatrix Potter books for under $20.00.

Table linens are another weakness of mine and I didn’t walk away from this either. I’ll have to see what occasion comes up for a table setting on this cloth.

Looking forward to see lots of Thrifty Treasures. See you soon and thanks for visiting…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Beatrix Potter

Choices Hodgepodge

Who You Calling Old Hodgepodge

Beatrix Potter ~ A to Z Challenge

The Peeps and Daffodils…

Aunt Anna and the Amiable Guinea Pig

The First…

The Tailor of Gloucester

Cheers From England ~ Day #8

Up Close…

Todays Thrifty Treasures ~ Beatrix Potter Books