A Lenten Hodgepodge

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and the Season of Lent. Head over to Joyce’s blog to join in the fun.

1. What do you find is the most boring part of your life at the moment? 

Right now there is nothing exciting on the calendar until our granddaughter’s birthday in early Spring. Our meals at home are probably the most boring thing at the moment. Tuesday was Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day so we joined in with a pancake meal, maybe that will take the boring out of our main meal for a day at least.

2. February 22nd is George Washington’s birthday. You’ll find his face on the US $1 bill. What’s the last thing you bought for roughly $1.00? (.94 €/ .83 £)

Greeting cards at the Dollar Store. Certain section of the cards are 2 for a dollar and another section they are a dollar each not like the rest of the dollar store that is now $1.25.

3. Is it ever okay to tell a ‘little white lie’? Explain. 

I don’t think it’s wise to tell lies little or big but there are times when I would tell a lie.

If I was protecting someone like Rahab did in the Bible or like many people did during the Nazi regime. I would lie if asked to reveal where people were hiding to worship God together and study the Bible together as some people have to do in China and some even had to do in Canada in recent years.

In general I find the truth a lot easier to deal with and justify then having to explain why I lied.

4. What’s the last thing you ‘chopped’?

I chopped chicken for a stuffed shell recipe I made for an event at church last Saturday. I also chopped some ice patches on the driveway with a shovel so the sections would melt easier.

Cherry pie, chocolate covered cherries, a bowl of cherries, cherry vanilla ice cream, maraschino cherries, a cherry lifesaver…your favorite cherry flavored something? 

Chocolate covered cherries or a bowl of cherries in season.

Speaking of lying, when I was in elementary school I stole money from the kitchen cupboard and stopped at the liquor store on the way to school to buy a box of cherry flavored cough drops (Smith Brothers) and then proceeded to tell the teacher I needed to have them in class for my throat. A sinner saved by Grace am I. 🙂 She didn’t buy my story. To walk to our elementary school we crossed Whittier Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare, and continued a couple more blocks to Fremont Elementary. I checked google maps and Sam’s liquor store is still at 3rd and Whittier Boulevard in Montebello.

This is a picture of me in the 4th or 5th grade, my thieving years…

5. Describe yourself with three words using your first, middle, and last initials. 

I do not have a middle name on my birth certificate. It is my parents’ Russian custom to give their children their father’s name as the middle name. That way when you are introduced to someone it will be clear who’s child you are. This is helpful in communities where the first names are common. Example: I have a sister named Vera and two first cousins named Vera and more Veras in the churches we attended. It was clarifying to say Vera, Moisi’s daughter, when introducing her.

My description using my E and my B:    Eternity Bound

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras meal.

Buttermilk Pancakes, Beef Kielbasa, a poached egg, sour cream and real maple syrup. Yes, we do put sour cream on our pancakes instead of butter.

We don’t observe Lent but we do prepare our hearts and minds for Easter and all that Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection means for sinners like us who repent, believe and are saved. We ponder this all year long not just during this time of year.

Shrove, Fat, Mardi Gras, Ash and Valentine’s

Tuesday of this week is Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday for our friends across the Pond and Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday for some in the U.S.A. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s day lands on this day this year. That’s a cruel calendar joke if you are giving up sweets or sugar for Lent.

My Christmas poinsettia that I bought for ninety seven cents after Christmas is now a Valentine’s day poinsettia with the glittery hearts I added to it. It’s holding up with no help from me.

I brought out the red and pink for Valentine’s day and I am ignoring the purple/green/yellow of Mardi Gras. I’m considering making a good batch of pancakes for Shrove Tuesday joining our friends across the pond for Pancake Tuesday.

Pigs in a blanket for Shrove Tuesday?

Or Potato Pancakes? I’ll probably try some yogurt pancakes because I got a free tub of plain yogurt this week.

No heart shaped box of chocolates this year but I will buy a couple bags of chocolates for our small group who will be gathering here on Valentine’s day evening. We gave them the option to cancel but no one had plans so we are forging ahead with the group gathering.

The vintage Valentine’s are the best…do you agree?

I haven’t decided if I’ll set something aside for Lent this year. I will do some reading and listening to devotionals that prepare my heart and mind for this Lenten season culminating with Easter.

Head over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog for my Ground Chicken Chili recipe.

Forty Days of Lent…

We are on the letter F for ABC Wednesday and it’s timely for Fat Tuesday and the Forty Days of Lent. Thank you to Denise Nesbitt and the ABC team.

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Today is Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday (feast of pancakes) which means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. I did not observe Lent growing up but I had lots of Catholic friends in my schools and was always curious as to why they showed up with a black ash mark on their foreheads on this particular Wednesday. When I found out they were giving up gum or candy for Lent I was more curious as to why. So here’s a little overview of what all this means. This article from the Liverpool Echo really covers things well.

During my school days I made a decision to follow Christ. This was the beginning of my faith journey. This decision and my changing of allegiance has not cost me much compared to the 21 Christians who were savagely beheaded by ISIS just because they were Christians. My cost has been mild compared. I’ve been mocked at times, disregarded, and made fun of. Among some people who view themselves as intellectuals I’ve been considered brainless.

I’ve also received many benefits that far outweigh the cost. As my faith grows and I deny some of my own selfish desires I’ve received the fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. I fail a lot but I’m forgiven and I carry on in faith that God will continue to lead me and help me fulfill all I’ve been called to do. Each day I have to decide to follow Christ or follow me me me. Some days, many days, it’s all about me! Every day He is faithful.

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When Dear and I were in Great Britain last year we visited Hereford Cathedral and I took photos of this Shrine that illustrates Luke 9:23.

And He said to all, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

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So…are you eating pancakes today? Do you observe Lent? What are your plans for Fat Tuesday?

Daffodils and Sunshine

Although we were short on sunshine this past weekend we had some nice sunshine last week. I bought some daffodils that always have a way of adding sunshine to a table. They also make me smile. Today is Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. The day before the season of Lent begins. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up leading up to Easter Sunday. In the U.K. this is Pancake Day. Shrove comes from the old word “shrive” which means to confess. Will you be eating pancakes today?

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daffodils 009We had a great visit with our middle son and his girlfriend this weekend. I did not take one photo. We ate, played games, ate some more. Now that Dan has his own house we are slowly sending over his leftover belongings from our house. You know how that goes if you have adult children. This time around he was able to load 2 motorcycles in the bed of his truck to take back with him. I really do hope he didn’t take Dear’s head cold back with him. The roads were quite nasty on their trip home and on Monday the pass that they took was closed to traffic most of the day.

Everyone was talking about March challenges this weekend. Maybe I’ll challenge myself to do something in March, too. I’m thinking along the lines of exercise. How about you?

Those daffodils are now 13 inches high. It’s amazing how fast they’ve grown.

Fat Tuesday…

…also known as Shrove Tuesday.

“While many enjoy Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, as a time of indulgence and possible gluttony, others spend the day in prayer, preparing their hearts and minds for the upcoming period of Lent.” You can read the rest of this interesting article here.

In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day (or Pancake Tuesday to some people) because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake. In keeping with the tradition of my favorite country to visit I’ll be making pancakes for dinner tonight.

The name Shrove comes from the old word “shrive” which means to confess. On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began.

On Monday Dear, Katie and I enjoyed a meal together at the BeachHouse Bar and Grill in Kirkland.

Later in the day Josh and Laura came over for dinner and we enjoyed getting caught up with Katie on her new life and her and Andrew’s road trip across the U.S.A.

In keeping with the theme of food, I posted an old favorite from peasant Russian kitchens for you today at our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Site. Click over for the recipe.

Do you observe Lent? Are you going to be eating pancakes today? I enjoy the thought of preparing my heart and mind for the season leading up to Easter. This year with the wedding filling up a lot of this time I’m going to have to try to catch those moments of preparation where ever I can.

Have a wonderful Tuesday whatever you do or enjoy today!

Starting Early!

I’m one of those people that gets to places early and starts planning ahead. So we had our Fat Tuesday dinner on a St. Patrick’s Day table last night. I’m sharing that table for Tablescape Thursday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and also linking it up with Kathleen’s St. Patrick’s Day Party next Tuesday.

 

 

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, ’tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.

 

 

 

 

 


 

Our Girls ~ Their eyes aren’t Irish but they were smiling last night. We had dinner together with Katie, Josh and Laura. We had an old Russian favorite for dinner and got caught up on what’s happening in our lives right now. Good times…

 

I’ll share the recipe soon on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.