Tag Archives: Wednesday Hodgepodge

Taxes and Tulips Hodgepodge

Get your muck boots on and tiptoe through the tulips with me.

It’s not taxing to answer Wednesday Hodgepodge questions, thank you, Joyce!

1. Big week in the US of A…do you do your own taxes?

We don’t do our own taxes.

I am in charge of the books for our well that four properties share and I have to file an annual nonprofit tax form and I’m patting myself on the back for getting that done.

What’s something you’ve found ‘taxing’ lately? 

Exercising.

2. When it comes to travel are you a last minute packer or a lay it all out a week in advance type?

I don’t lay it all out but I do think about it and make lists.

Do you struggle to pack light?

For our trip this past March we packed very light and proved we could do it so we will be packing light for any trips in the future unless it is a road trip.

Share a packing tip that has worked for you. 

Pack your socks inside your spare pair of shoes that you are packing.

3. April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Hmmm…who knew it got its own month? Do you like a grilled cheese sandwich? What ingredient do you add to take yours to the next level? 

We do enjoy a good grilled cheese sandwich. A good slice of salami can take it to the next level.

4. There’s a well known quote that says-

‘A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” John A. Shedd  

Is constant growth necessary or do you think it’s more important to prioritize stability and peace in your life? 

As a Biblical Christian I am admonished to grow. Grow in my knowledge of the Word of God. Grow more like Christ. Grow in my love for God, my Savior. My peace and stability come from walking with God and knowing Him more and growing more and more like Jesus Christ. This does not happen overnight, it is a lifelong process of Sanctification.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:17-18

5. Let’s wrap this up with a fun spring this or that-

  • daffodils or tulips ~ first daffodils and then tulips!
  • lemonade or iced tea ~ lemonade
  • gardening or hiking ~how about walking
  • ladybugs or butterflies ~ butterflies
  • umbrella or raincoat ~raincoat
  • floral patterns or polka dots ~polka dots

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of tulips, you don’t have to travel all the way to Amsterdam to enjoy amazing tulip fields. When we lived in Kenmore, Washington we tried to make an annual trip to Mount Vernon, Washington for the tulip festival. That was just an hour to an hour and a half drive. It was worth the tulip traffic and dodging all the people like us who wanted to enjoy the glorious fields of tulips.

I could go on and on with the photos I have but this will give you a good taste of the variety and massive industry of tulips from this area of Washington State. Besides the fields there are several gardens to enjoy with many more unique varieties of tulips with gift shops, etc.

Sibs and Sips Hodgepodge

All my living siblings in 2003 in age order left to right, oldest to youngest. I’m in the middle.

Time once again for the Hodgepodge questions from Joyce!

1. Egg on your face, putting all your eggs in one basket, a good egg, walk on eggshells, nest egg, or a tough egg to crack…which eggy idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain

This one wasn’t easy for me. I’ll go with walk on eggshells because of my whole Plantar Fasciitis episode in 2025. I try to walk lightly and I don’t jump or run or stay on my feet in general for long periods of time. I threw caution to the wind on our latest trip in Europe and England where we walked and walked and were on our feet every day. So thankful that my feet survived.

2. April 7th is National Beer Day…are you a beer drinker? If so do you have a favorite?

I do enjoy a good beer once in a while and especially on a sunny day. (Don’t tell my mom…oh never mind she’s in heaven now and she doesn’t care anymore.) Speaking of my mom, today was her birthday when she was on earth. She was a good Russian Baptist…no drinking, no smoking, no dancing, no gambling, no cussing. 🙂

IPA’s and Dark beer, like Guinness, are favorites.

These photos, above and below, are from Bratislava, Slovakia. These are the two beers that are brewed at Bratislava Flagship Restaurant, a Slovak beer hall housed in an 18th century monastery.

I’ll have a full post soon about our time in Bratislava.

Beer battered fish, beer bread, beer can chicken, beer brats…which one sounds good to you? Have you made any of these?

Beer battered fish and beer can chicken sound the best to me.

3. Do you have siblings?

I have/had eight siblings. Our oldest sister died in Persia/Iran when she was only two.  I have seven living siblings, three sisters and four brothers. Four of my siblings still live in Southern California. Two (the twins) live in Texas. I’m the only one in the state of Washington.

Here is our oldest sister, Kathy, who died in Persia and what our Pop wrote about her in his life story.

On April 25, 1944 our first daughter was born.  She was the ideal baby – beautiful, happy, loveable.  Then in early 1946 she contracted dysentery and died. Our hearts were broken.  In addition we as parents were blamed for her death because we didn’t have a dedication ceremony for her when she was born – neither in the Baptist or the Molokan church – because we could not agree as to what church should conduct it.  This guilt added to our grief. But fortunately, it was mitigated with the birth of our second daughter, Kathy, in May of 1946.

Yes, they named their second daughter Kathy, too.

What’s the best thing about being your sibling? If you don’t have siblings, what would you say are the pros and cons of being an only child?

I keep in contact and check up on my siblings. On many occasions, I’m the communication link for us all. Over the years all of my siblings (but one) have stayed in our home for an overnight or longer visit.

My older brother has chosen to separate himself and his family from the rest of us for the past twenty or more years. It is hard to understand and sad for all of us.

4. How do you feel about floral scents in products? Do you have a favorite?

I’d rather enjoy real flowers with their scents. I’m not a big fan of manufactured scents in general. Subtle fragrance in candles are okay. I like a clean light citrus scent. If I was to pick a floral fragrance, I’d choose lavender.

5. What’s one thing in your home that begins with the letter G that you would say is a keeper, something you’ll hold on to? Tell us why.

I could have said the Grand Piano but that is slated to go to our daughter in the future.

I’m going with goblets. I like a nice goblet to set a table with. When we moved I scaled down on my goblets but I still have a nice collection in different colors and clear glass, too.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It has been so beautiful here the past several days.

I finished this very hard puzzle yesterday. It was a challenge and it felt good to put the last piece in!

I’m still basking in the celebration of Easter and my wonderful Savior who when I repented gave me immunity with his own life and not just immunity but I was delivered by God from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

March Was Lovely Hodgepodge

Thank you, Joyce for keeping the Hodgepodge questions coming.

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less.

Budapest, Bratislava, Czech-Republic, Austria, Cambridge, Seventy-Five, Nine…Travel and Birthday Joys!

2. Are you afraid of heights? No

When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

Besides flying at whatever thousands of feet, the highest was climbing with our own two feet to the Panorama Look-Out at St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest last month.

It did not make me nervous until we started down on these stairs.

3. What’s a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down?

Occassion , Ocasion, Ocassion, Occasion whew…finally I got it right.

Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar. 

We are looking forward to several occasions to celebrate in April starting with Resurrection Sunday and then two more family birthdays.

4. Love ’em or hate ’em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So… do you love ’em or hate ’em?

I neither love them or hate them, I ignore them.

Speaking of peeps, what’s your favorite way to have chicken? 

Chicken pot pie is a favorite.

5. This week’s Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite? 

The form of poetry I love are old hymns by people like Fanny Crosby, John Newton, Wesley, and others. I’ll share a stanza and refrain from Fanny Crosby’s, Like a River Glorious;

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest

This has been a favorite for years. It was a hymn we sang often at Bethany Baptist church in L.A. and in other churches we’ve been a part of. It has a great four part harmony and the alto part comes back to my memory easily when singing it with the congregation. The longer I’ve been following Jesus as my Lord and Savior, God’s peace gets fuller and deeper.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It’s Easter week and this is another hymn that speaks of Jesus Christ and what the cross, Good Friday and Easter are about. Happy Easter, Hodgepodgers!

 

Lamb of God, We Fall Before Thee

Lamb of God, we fall be­fore Thee,
Humbly trust­ing in Thy cross.
That alone be all our glo­ry;
All things else are on­ly dross.

Thee we own a per­fect Sav­ior,
Only source of all that’s good.
Every grace and ev­ery fa­vor
Comes to us through Je­sus’ blood.

Jesus gives us true re­pent­ance
By His Spir­it sent from Heav’n;
Whispers this trans­port­ing sen­tence,
Son, thy sins are all for­giv’n.

Faith He grants us to be­lieve it,
Grateful hearts His love to prize;
Want we wis­dom? He must give it,
Hearing ears and see­ing eyes.

Jesus gives us pure af­fect­ions,
Wills to do what He re­quires,
Makes us fol­low His di­rect­ions,
And what He com­mands, in­spires.

All our pray­ers and all our prais­es,
Rightly of­fered in His name—
He that dic­tates them is Je­sus;
He that an­swers is the same.

When we live on Je­su’s mer­it,
Then we wor­ship God aright;
Father, Son, and Ho­ly Spir­it,
Then we sav­ing­ly unite.

Hear the whole con­clu­sion of it:
Great or good, whate’er we call,
God, or King, or Priest, or Pro­phet,
Jesus Christ is all in all.

Words: Joseph Hart, 1759

Spring is in the Air Hodgepodge

Our families very first celebration in Spring is Addy’s birthday. She was born on the first day of Spring!

Springing in to Wednesday Hodgepodge where Joyce asks the questions and we all respond.

1. It’s officially spring in the northern hemisphere.

Does it feel like spring in your part of the world?

Spring is definitely in the fickle stages. We had temps up to almost 60 and now have below freezing morning temps!

If you’re in the southern hemisphere it’s officially autumn where you live. Does the weather say autumn? Which do you prefer-spring or autumn? Why? 

I enjoy Spring and Autumn. Spring might get an edge over Autumn because of Easter and our Grands birthday celebrations.

2. What’s your favorite thing about spring?  

The births of our grandchildren is a favorite. Seeing the flowers push up and brighten gardens is another favorite. Celebrating Easter has always been the ultimate celebration of Spring, the Resurrection and New Birth in Christ! It truly is the best event in the history of the world!

3. Spring into action, spring in your step, spring to life, spring to one’s feet…which spring idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain.  

I’ll go with spring to life because it feels like we were brain dead trying to recover from jet lag. We are slowly coming to life!

4. Which spring food from this list is your favorite?

From this list I’ll go with Strawberries and Artichokes

What’s a dish you like that includes your favorite spring ingredient? 

Strawberry shortcake or Strawberry Trifle.

asparagus, strawberries, salad greens like mesclun, artichokes, spinach, eggs, peas, spring onions

5. What’s one task on your spring cleaning list? Do you actually have a list? 

I do not have a list but we do have to hire a couple of teens to do a yard clean-up. After a major wind storm while we were abroad, small branches and lots of pinecones need to be raked up and gathered to our burn pile. Our kids and grands gathered the large branches that fell while we were gone.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We celebrated Addy in great survivor fashion and my belated birthday this past Saturday. You can see the epic Survivor birthday party if you click here where we had shelter building challenges and fire starting challenges, too.

Happy #9 and Happy #75!

A Celtic Hodgepodge

“May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.”
Luckily, Joyce from This Side of the Pond, has a fresh set of questions for us to answer for Wednesday Hodgepodge!
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1. St. Patrick’s Day lands on March 17th. Do you believe in luck? Are there things you do thinking they’ll  bring good luck or  things you avoid because they’re considered bad luck? 
Nyet, nyet, nyet. 🙂
I believe in the sovereignty and providence of God. This is a deep subject.
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Here is a quote (Daily Doctrine pg. 97, Providence, DeYoung) that sheds some light on this belief;
“If sovereignty is God’s power to do whatever he pleases, providence is the wonderful good news that this power is pro-us. “Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty–all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from the fatherly hand.” Therefore, we can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and have confidence for the future that nothing will separate us from God’s love (Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 27,28).
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2. Forest-lime-sage-mint-olive-emerald…what’s your favorite shade of green? 
Of these shades sage is my favorites. I really enjoy the combination of pink and green.
Purple/lavender and green is a lovely combo, too.
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3. In Ireland the meal on this day is often a hearty beef or lamb stew served with colcannon (mashed potato mixed with cabbage and leeks). In the US corned beef and cabbage is the more typical St. Patty’s Day meal. Will you/did you mark the day with one of these dishes? Baked-fried-roasted-mashed…what’s your favorite way to eat a potato?

We have enjoyed corned beef and cabbage on this day and other days, too.

 

On Monday, because my creative energy levels are at minus something,  I bought a package deal for a slow cooker corned beef and cabbage meal. I just have to open the package and put all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Everything is washed and ready to go, corned beef, carrots, potatoes and cabbage with a spice packet, too. On Tuesday morning I put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it prepare itself. The aroma was wonderful during the day. We enjoyed the meal when it was ready to eat.

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4. What color of the rainbow best represents your personality/mood today? Tell us why. 

I’m going with a lighter answer here after my deep one in question one!

Sisters wknd 076

Yellow is the color I’ll go with, as in daffodils and sunshine. I like to smile and share the light.  Daffodils and sunshine make me smile and tell me Spring is on the way. The photo is of  my sisters in a sea of daffodils, in the glorious sunshine from 2016 in Mount Vernon, Washington State!

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5. Which ‘lucky’ quote resonates with you. Elaborate. 

 ‘Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.’ E.B. White 

‘Diligence is the mother of good luck.” Benjamin Franklin 

‘Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.’ Seneca 

‘Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson 
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I’ll go with ‘Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.‘
We are just back from 16 days abroad and many good things culminated in the research that we made before we landed in all the places we visited. The preparation made the opportunities more meaningful and enjoyable.
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6. Insert your own random thought here. 

An Old Celtic Blessing

May the blessing of light be on you –
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

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Farewell to February Hodgepodge

March is coming, Hodgepodgers, and Joyce From This Side of the Pond is giving us a little tease. I’m posting this a day early because I’ll be busy until the evening of the 25th. I’ll be visiting y’all then.
My photos from Washington D.C. are all from a visit in May of 2011.
1. America celebrates turning 250 years old this year. Primary cities set to lead the celebrations on July 4th are Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. Other significant locations for celebrating will be Charleston SC and the ‘historic triangle’ which includes Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown Virginia. 

Of the cities listed how many have you seen in person?

I’ve had the privilege to visit Boston, New York and Washington D.C.

Of the cities listed which would you most like to visit this year?

I’d love to visit Charleston S.C. or Williamsburg some day.

Any plans to do so?

Not at the present.

What’s one place in America you think everyone should see?

Washington D.C. because there is so much history documented there and so much to see and enjoy.

If you’re not American what’s one place in the US you’d like to see? 

2. Three sounds you love to hear? 

I love to hear “hello mom” or  “baba!” I love the sound of any music that is honoring to God and lovely in general. I also enjoy pure natural nature sounds like birds and other animals or water flowing, etc.

3. Three sounds you hate to hear? 

Loud nonstop cussing. The screeching of brakes. Smoke alarms.

4. February 24th is/was National Tortilla Chip Day.

Are you a fan?

yes

With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain please?

Salsa and guacamole, please

Do you like nachos? With what on top?

Nachos are okay but not what I prefer to order or make.

Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips? 

Taco salad is good to have with chips.

5. We March into March with next week’s Hodgepodge…what’s one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? 

I cannot choose just one!

The following selfie is from this past Sunday, the 22nd of February.

Two March birthday girls, the oldest and the youngest girls in our family!

We have so much to smile about in March. In March we will visit Budapest and embark on a river cruise with stops in  Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and a bus trip to the Czech Republic, too,  and then we will end our international trip in Cambridge U.K.

We travel home from London on my birthday and then our family will gather to celebrate our granddaughter’s birthday which is in March, too. Whew!

And for the record the 14th of March marks my 75th birthday on this earth! We will be at airports and on airplanes for all of my birthday. I will count it all joy!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I didn’t think I’d be able to participate this week in the Hodgepodge but we’ll be hunkered in a hotel room this evening and I’ll have the time to participate. This won’t be the case for the next two Wednesdays. Cheers!

One more photo from Washington D.C. This is the Washington National Cathedral.

Pancake Hodgepodge

Rise and shine, it’s pancake time!

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our Wednesday Hodgepodge questions.

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?

This will be an as per usual time during Lent as in… morning devotions, reading through the Bible, Women’s Bible Study, Daily Spurgeon, and Daily Doctrine.  Growing in my love and devotion to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is an everyday thing and includes the 40 days of Lent.

From Spurgeon: ‘God, you see me.”  “May the Lord be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life.”

We have 17 days of travel during Lent this year which is very unusual for us. I will be absent from the Hodgepodge for at least a couple of Wednesdays.

2. Pancakes…are you a fan?

YES! All kinds of pancakes are enjoyed. These are yogurt pancakes. Potato pancakes at the top of this post.

Every time our whole family gets together we enjoy Greg’s Swedish pancakes. It’s a long standing tradition at our house and we always serve them with Little Smokies.

Greg has also made Aebleskivers, Danish spherical pancakes.

Syrup or no syrup?

Yes, please, real maple and fruit syrups.

Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? 

No to chocolate chips or bananas. Yes to blueberries or strawberries and always sour cream!

Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

Yes, in the blintz form, we had them last night for dessert since it was Pancake Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday!

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt ‘spread too thin’. 

I haven’t felt this way recently. I might feel that way after today as we are getting ready for an international trip so I’m getting all our ducks in a row starting now!!

4. What’s your favorite jewel or gemstone?

If I have to pick a favorite, I’ll choose a Ruby.

In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors? 

My wardrobe isn’t well planned and is a combination of all of these.

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge? 

Being a mom is a very hard responsibility, one of the hardest. Being a grandmother is so much easier.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I finally finished this most difficult puzzle just before Valentine’s Day. The pressure was on to get-er-done since we would be using the dining room table for company on the night before Valentine’s day and then again on the 17th of February. This was one of the hardest puzzles I’ve ever completed because of the very random shapes of the pieces.

See you in the middle of March, Hodgepodgers! I will try to post daily postcards of our journey here on my blog.

Hodgepodge Love

All about love for Hodgepodge this week. Thank you, Joyce!

1. What’s something recent that had you ‘tickled pink’?

I’m old and it’s the little things that can tickle me pink. I was able to add a couple apps to my phone recently that will help us in our upcoming travels. The fact that they are there and they are working tickles me.

2. A bed of roses, everything’s coming up roses, every rose has it’s thorn, stop and smell the roses, rose-colored glasses, a rose among thorns…which rosy expression might currently be applied to your life in some way?

I’m going with stop and smell the roses. Spending time with our grandchildren helps. It makes us step out from the daily grind and spend time with them or at their events.

Taking trips is a great way to stop and smell the roses, too. We’ll be smelling new roses soon.

3. What makes you feel loved and appreciated?

Spending time with loved ones, getting snail mail, and words of encouragement.

4. A box of chocolates or a bouquet of fresh flowers-what’s your pleasure?

A few years ago I bought myself this heart shaped box of chocolates from Sees. I picked each of the pieces to go in the box.

I’m a little picky about chocolates so I’ll say a bouquet of fresh flowers! They don’t have to be roses. I like the more humble flowers.

Any special plans for Valentine’s Day?

Our Colville kids and grands will be here for dinner the night before and that is special. Nothing planned for the actual day, though. We will be open to impromptu plans.

5. Share a favorite quote, scripture, or song lyric relating to love.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Have you seen these conversation starters. Our kids bought us this set for Christmas. They have the Parents and kids edition and have enjoyed it so much they bought us the Grandparents & Kids set.

Here is a sample of two of the questions.

Hope you can share some lovely moments the rest of this week!

Year of the Cabbage Hodgepodge

Weather or not Hodgepodge, thank you, Joyce!

Warning: You might end up hungry when you are done with this post.

1. I live in the south so we’re pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live.

We are in Northeast corner of Washington State very close to Canada. So far we are still cold and we still do not have any measurable snow. Forecast for Wednesday/today is for a 30% chance of snow with a 37 degree high. It’s warming up. 🙂

Does the kind of weather you’re having today affect your mood in some way? 

Not at the present.

2.  Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like?

When I was young I hated cabbage. I could sit in front of a bowl of borsch for hours trying to wear my mother down so I wouldn’t have to eat it!  Nowadays I really enjoy cabbage in many forms and it is in a lot of our traditional Russian dishes we grew up with.

If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?  


We grew up enjoying Golubtzi, Голубцы, a Russian version of cabbage rolls, above, and borsch, pictured below.

Click on any of these below to get the recipes.

Borsch, Golubstzi, Cabbage filled piroshky

Piroshky with cabbage, potato and ground beef fillings.

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood?

Not in my childhood.

Or maybe your children’s childhood?

All three of our children did own a Cabbage Patch Doll. It was quite the hunt to track them down back then.

What’s a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own? 

I really don’t remember anything from my childhood that was trendy and wanted. In Junior high for some reason suspenders became a ‘thing’ and I really wanted a pair of them!

4. Something you’ve spent a lot of time doing lately? 

Researching Budapest history and points of interest. Also learning about other towns/cities we’ll be making stops at on our river cruise like Bratislava, Krems, Linz, Cesky-Krumlov, and Vienna. After the cruise we’ll be in Cambridge so I’m studying up on this college town, too. I have a Cambridge Reformation Walking Tour book to take along. I watch YouTubes and ask questions on forums to make sure I don’t miss things I’ll kick myself for missing after returning home.

Speaking of Cabbage, one of the YouTube virtual guides I’m following has named his site, Stuffed Cabbage-Adventures. He is a great resource for Budapest!

5. Somehow it’s the last week of January…sum up your month in just three sentences. 

January was filled with family birthdays, some that were milestones like a fortieth and an eighteenth. We had no snow to speak but we did get rain and fog. It’s been a month of discipline for a good end.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

On the subject of cabbage let us not forget sauerkraut in a good Reuben and my take below which we called Rebekah not to be mistaken for a Rachel. Are you following? Click here to get more clarification.

A Deep Hodgepodge

This photo from January of 2016 (10 years ago) was from a few days spent in San Francisco while Greg was at an Oncology Conference. The words below the first photo are about that day in 2016.

Alice day S.F 030

Today was a full day of sight seeing with an old friend from my college days who grew up in San Francisco. She happens to be Russian/Chinese and knows the city well. We had several stops and enjoyed lunch and shopping in China Town where everyone is getting ready for the Chinese New Year. I don’t think I need to tell anyone what bridge they are looking at in my photo…

mohai34

My friend, Alice, at our delicious lunch in Chinatown. She did the ordering. My friend passed away in 2018.

Back to…

…Another winter Hodgepodge with a flashback to ten years ago thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

1. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, playing in the snow, or a snowy walk…which winter activity do you choose? Have you done any of these activities so far this winter? 

Nothing this winter. We have not had any measurable snow this season.

At this stage of life, the only winter activity I would choose are the walking kind.

When we have a good dump of snow I have gone out our door to snowshoe. This is from 2019.

This one is from 2022.

2. Everyone is posting pictures from ten years ago on their social media sites so let’s jump on the bandwagon too. Share one photo and one thought to go with said photo from the year 2016. And maybe everyone isn’t doing this, but many are and we’re going to be part of the fun. 

This was one of the best memories of 2016! This is the photo that was shared with us and I shared it on the Hodgepodge with the words below the photo.

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We have the best of news that we have permission to share now with the world. Dear and I are grandparents for the first time and will  be able to see our new little granddaughter for the first time in person sometime in March or April of 2017 depending on when she pops out. Even though our little granddaughter is not born yet we consider her our granddaughter already as God is wonderfully forming her right now.
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At the end of 2016, this review of the year from July to December was published on my blog. What a year!
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3. What’s a trend you hope disappears in this new year? 

Stalking, attacking and verbally assaulting Law Enforcement.

4. ‘They’ say there’s a day for everything and January 21st proves it. National Granola Bar Day. Do you like granola bars? How about just regular granola? Do you like bars of other kinds? 

I’ll have one if I’m desperate but they aren’t something that is purchased and available in my pantry. I do enjoy granola as a cereal with milk.

5.  A frozen lake, a trickling stream, a raging river, or a deep well…which one describes something about your life right now? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

A deep well. There is so much to learn that I do not know. So much to see that I haven’t seen. So much about God that I do not know. I believe the ache to know more, see more and do more comes from a deep longing from our inner being that wants to see God as He is. It is a hard thing to explain. Someday that will be a reality. Until then I’ll keep digging in God’s truth and in the world God created for us to enjoy and give glory to God in the discoveries along the way that show me more of Him. My deep desire will become reality when I graduate to heaven.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of 2016, this is another amazing memory and experience we had in September/October of that year.

shipshe-laughing

The “Girls” and most of our husbands have just returned from a seven day trip to Indiana and Ohio to see a production using our name in Amish/Mennonite Country. The Blue Gate Productions hosted us and treated us as VIP’s. All ten of the girls were together at the Blue Gate Garden Inn where we enjoyed “Faspa” on Sunday night before we had our cooking show and saw the production for the first time. As you can see from the first photo above we have fun together.

heritage-tour-179

We took this opportunity to get some photos of all ten of us since Betty and Charlotte live in Manitoba and miss many of our get togethers in British Columbia and Seattle.

blue-gate

I shared many posts about our time in Amish Country. This is the initial one here.

Happy Wednesday, Hodgepodgers and all who stop by here.