Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hodgepodge

It’s another week with fresh questions for Hodgepodge Wednesday. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Do you make an effort to see/hear live music? Last time you went somewhere for the live music?

We enjoy live music every Sunday at church.

We haven’t made an effort to enjoy live music elsewhere lately except for attending evensong while in Great Britain, Scotland or Ireland and our Church’s Children’s Musicals at Christmas.

We are looking into attending a live performance of The Messiah this year.

2.According to HGTV the colors of the year for 2026 are mostly decided. Top paint companies declare a color of the year, and decorators will incorporate that into their new year home and room designs. Here’s what’s on tap in terms of paint trends for 2026 (check out the link here to see photos)

Sherwin Williams-universal khaki (inspired by heavy canvas and outdoor gear)
Behr-hidden gem (a confident shade of teal)
Valspar-warm eucylyptus (a warm sliver tinted green)
Dutch Boy-melodious ivory (a honey tinted beige)
Glidden-warm mahogany (a classic brick red)
Krylon-matte coffee bean
Clark and Kensington -Hazelnut Crunch (warm reddish-brown)
Graham and Brown-Divine Damson (cherry red with a subtle violet undertone)
Dunn and Edwards-midnight garden (the green that works everywhere)

First question-did you know there were so many different paint manufacturers?

Yes, I’m married to a former painter and his first job was with his father in a painting business.

Which color on the list most appeals to you in terms of your own decorating style?

Decorating style is not a term that I would use for me or my home. 🙂 The base color in our home is Khaki Shadow with white trim.

Do you have plans to do any painting in your home in the coming year, and if so might you choose a color from this list?

The only plan is to complete some areas that were started awhile back. Just a little trim here and there.

Now, forget painting walls, which color name appeals to you most?

Hidden gem is appealing.

3. What’s something in your life you have to do-watch-or participate in that’s about as exciting as ‘watching paint dry’?

For this one, I’m going with drying my hair.

4 . Tuesday, October 14th is/was National Dessert day…did you/will you celebrate? Tell us how? What’s your absolute favorite dessert. Yes, just one. I know!!

I would pick roolyete. A traditional nut roll our mom made and we have now duplicated. I like pastries that have a soft chew to them. Here’s the recipe.

5. Perhaps today is the day I will…

Sort through my clothes and purge.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Tuesday October 14th was also Charlie Kirk Day. It was a day to wear red in remembrance of this young man who would have been 32 on that day and I was happy to participate.

We also watched the White House ceremony to honor Charlie Kirk’s memory with President Trump awarding him the Medal of Freedom, posthumously.

Scotland Travel Journal ~Edinburgh 3

Continuing our sight seeing experiences in Edinburgh on Sunday September 22nd we traveled by Uber from the Grassmarket area to St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral for evensong. On this Sunday evensong was from 3:30 to 4:30. We arrived a little early so we had time to take some photos outside and inside before the service began.

St Mary’s Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Edinburgh, the largest Cathedral in Scotland, and the only one to maintain the tradition of daily Choral worship. With its three spires dominating Edinburgh’s western skyline, St Mary’s is a renowned masterpiece of Victorian Gothic architecture. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the Cathedral was consecrated in 1879, and has been open daily for public and private prayer ever since.

Some History of the Cathedral can be found here.

We weren’t able to visit the interior of the Song School but found this YouTube that shows the beautiful panels!

We appreciated the beautiful singing and the scripture readings during the Evensong but to be honest and transparent some of the prayers given at the end of the service made our heads snap up. Bottom line they didn’t line up with Biblical accuracy and were bent toward human speculation. It put our Berean mindset to the test.

When Evensong was over we decided to walk a short distance to see picturesque Dean Village.

Dean village is a picturesque quiet village in Edinburgh. A beautiful hamlet!

We again decided on an Uber to get us back to our apartment to see how Greg was doing and if he was up to walk to dinner. He was ready for a meal so we walked down Thistle Lane looking for a likely spot for dinner. Again we didn’t have reservations. We walked by a Thai restaurant that looked very popular. After a short distance further we decided to go back to the Thai Restaurant and see if we could be seated. The owners took pity on us and found a spot for us explaining they needed the table soon for a reservation. We assured them we didn’t need a lot of time to eat. The food and service was excellent and we were pleased. We were done in good time and went back to our apartment with our ‘doggie bags’. We highly recommend Dusit Thai Restaurant.

Correct me if I have my day off for our Thai meal being on Sunday and not Monday, Laura or Josh. 🙂

Our Sunday was complete. I will share Josh and Laura’s photo travelogue of their time at Edinburgh Castle next. Monday would be our last full day in Edinburgh.

Dublin Day Three ~ Sunday

Sunday the 17th of September was our third day in Dublin. We were in for rain most of this day so it was good that we had several indoor experiences planned. We met up in the lobby of our hotel to walk to Lemon Jelly Cafe for our breakfast. We timed things well for getting seated quickly before the crowds started showing up.

We all enjoyed our choices and were happy with this little spot tucked away from the main roads.

We had ordered a taxi to pick us up at 10:00 so that we could make it to a 10:30 AM church service. The taxi came after ten and we drove to the south of downtown Dublin to Grosvenor Road Baptist Church. The taxi had some mechanical issues but we made it to church on time.

The rain continued.

The sermon was taken from I Corinthians 1:18-2:5, True Spirituality, A Cross Centered Church.

The points covered were, The Message of the Cross, The People of the Cross and The Preacher of the Cross. Some points taken; “True wisdom of the cross does not meet the world’s expectations.” “Boast in the Lord-because all we have is because of Him.” “Simply preach the Word of God.” This service was also a Communion service so we ‘broke bread together’. The last song we sang together was ‘My Worth is Not in What I Own’.

It was good to be with fellow believers in Ireland.

After church our son arranged for an Uber to pick us up and take us to our Sunday Roast destination, The Old Spot east of downtown Dublin. We were early and ended up having a little walk around this neighborhood and the rain had died down for our stroll.

We all had our fill of food and we added two desserts to share. I know one was Sticky Toffee Pudding with the most lovely of sauces but I forgot what the second dessert was. Hmmm. From The Old Spot Josh ordered another Uber to take us to St. Patrick’s Cathedral where we would attend Evensong which would begin at 3:30pm.

The rain was coming down again so it was not easy to get some good photos of the outside of the cathedral.

The Choral Evensong was beautiful and moving in song with a special commemoration of the Battle of Britain (1940).

Shout out and thanks again to Laura who took so many great photos and put together collages on our stops each and every day!

We had one more indoor stop on this day with reservations for entry at 4:45. Another Uber transported us from St. Patrick’s Cathedral to The Guinness Storehouse. That will be another post.

Inside Wells Cathedral

We were hoping we’d make it to Wells Cathedral in time for their Choral Evensong at 5:15 on Monday September 16th. We were so happy that we did and enjoyed a very meaningful hour…

Evensong: (Boy Choristers and Vicars Choral)

Preces and Responses: Smith

Psalms: 82, 83, 84, 85

Canticles: Byrd Fauxbourdon Service

Anthem: Byrd Justorum animae

Wells had lots to offer photo wise so there will be a few posts from this Cathedral City. Next week I’ll continue with photos of the outside views of the cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace, Vicar’s Close, and the Inn where we stayed.

“Wells is the smallest city in England with about 12,000 inhabitants. It can call itself a city because of the famous 13th century Cathedral. It remains remarkably unspoilt and has many other historic buildings including the moated Bishop’s Palace, Vicars’ Close, St Cuthbert’s Church and a good local museum. The Wells Market Place, with lively markets twice a week, the narrow streets and an eclectic mix of building styles all reflect on the continuing development of the town throughout the ages.”

We are enjoying a very leisurely Friday and plan the same for Saturday here in the Pacific Northwest. Hope all is well in your domain…

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Evensong

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hodgepodge

Scotland Travel Journal ~Edinburgh 3

Dublin Day Three ~ Sunday

Inside Wells Cathedral