Tag Archives: Wednesday Hodgepodge

Another Milestone Hodgepodge

Another Milestone Birthday is on it’s way (March14th). Boy we’ve aged in 10 years but…that’s the way it is supposed to be. Cheers! The photo above is from one of my 60th birthday celebrations.

Time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and Jo From This Side of the Pond has some deep questions for us this week.

1. March 9th is National Get Over It Day…what’s something you need to ‘just get over already’? 

For years we’ve all been able to live under the radar when it comes to people not holding the same convictions as us. Today there is blatant disagreement on how to live our daily lives. I’m working on how to respond to those who are polar opposites. Most of the time no response is the best response. Sometimes it is good to engage in some dialogue.  Wisdom and discretion are needed.

2. Something you’re currently ‘over the moon’ about? 

I’m looking forward to March 14th through the 22nd when some celebrations will be happening on this side of the mountains. See #5.

3. What’s something you’re ‘chewing over’ these days? (meaning-thinking over carefully)

Christ’s substitutionary atonement for believers; “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21)

And…

“God’s gift of redemption brings salvation from both sin’s oppression and sin’s consequences-and one day from its very existence. Hence, we no longer need to fear our former master; neither should we fear the wrath of God. Christ defeated sin and Satan at the cross, and He also bore the full punishment of God’s wrath for all who believe in Him. His death set us free from sin, condemnation and fear.”

Quote from the book; Slave-The Hidden Truth About Your Identity In Christ by John MacArthur

4. The last thing you cooked or ate that was overdone? 

Can’t think of anything. We have had some under seasoned meals at one of the restaurants in town.

5. In celebration of hitting volume 411 in the weekly Hodgepodge, give us the 411 on something happening in your life in the next 30 days. 

On Sunday, March 14th, I’m hitting a milestone birthday, turning 70! How did that happen? Dear and I will celebrate with a couple nights in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho at a nice Inn and with some nice meals out in open restaurants. On Friday the 19th our Coast kids are flying over and we will meet up in Spokane for a birthday meal with all of us except for Andrew who has to fly somewhere for his job. Then on Saturday we will celebrate little Addy who turns 4 on the first day of Spring. The kids will be around for the whole weekend so there will be lots of fun and frolic. It will be good to be together.

In the next few days we will have a new grand niece join the world. She’s due on my birthday but she’ll probably come sooner.

Also within this time frame Spring arrives! Aren’t we all ready for Spring?

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

These photos are from March of 2011 when we celebrated my 60th birthday. We had a delicious meal in downtown Seattle. Our son Dan hadn’t met his bride to be yet. Our daughter Katie was in North Carolina marrying Andrew at the Justice of the Peace before he was deployed to Afghanistan.

We had a wedding for them a year later on their anniversary in Seattle after Andrew returned from his tour of duty and got a few days leave. Their 10th Anniversary is tomorrow, March 11th!

Happy 10th Anniversary Andrew and Katie!

Hello March Hodgepodge

If it’s Wednesday it must be Hodgepodge. Jo From This Side of the Pond is coming in like a lion with these questions for the first Wednesday in March.

1. Is March coming in like a lion where you live?

So far March is not coming in like a lion here in the northeastern corner of Washington state.

Aslan, Simba, Elsa, The Cowardly Lion…your favorite ‘famous’ lion? 

Aslan is my favorite lion introduced in the Narnia series of books by C.S. Lewis.

When a young girl from America wrote C.S. Lewis a letter asking what name Aslan used in our world, he replied:

“As to Aslan’s other name, well, I want you to guess. Has there been anyone in this world who

  1. Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas?
  2. Said he was the Son of the Great Emperor?
  3. Gave himself for someone else’s fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people?
  4. Came to life again?
  5. Is someone spoken of as a lamb?

Don’t you really know His name in this world? Think it over and let me know your answer.” 

2. In what way do you ‘march to the beat of your own drum’? 

I don’t wait around for my dear husband to plan special events for us. I’m more of a planner and schemer and he is perfectly happy to enjoy and pay for my schemes. This has worked well in our relationship. He’s happy for most of the roads we’ve traveled because I plow ahead.

3. What item that you don’t have already, would you most like to own? Any chance of that happening soon? 

The only thing that I can come up with that seems a little alluring in times like these is a very small self contained camping vehicle. Maybe something like this…

Something that is easier to drive than a huge motorhome. There is no chance of this happening soon or ever.

4. March is National Flour Month…are you a baker? Cookies-cakes-or pies…your favorite sweet treat to bake?

I like to bake cookies and cakes…not pies.

What’s the last non-sweet thing you made that called for flour? 

Potato pancakes.

5. There are 31 days in the month of March…where were you and what were you doing when you were 31? If you haven’t hit that milestone yet, then tell us where you were and what you were doing 31 months ago? (if math is not your thing, that would be August 3, 2018)

I’ve hit that milestone 2 times over. When I was 31 our two sons were 3 and 1. I was busy being a full time mother/homemaker. We were living in our second home in Huntington Beach, California. We lived around the corner from my sister Vera and her husband Nick. They also had two children who were 6 and 4. Lots of fun cousin times happened in Huntington Beach. We all attended the same church, Huntington Beach E.V. Free. Before I was a full-time mother/homemaker I was an elementary school teacher in the Montebello Unified School District east of Los Angeles.

This photo was taken at Forest Home Christian Camp in California. We signed up for a work weekend at the camp over Mother’s Day in 1982. We worked on various projects to get the camp ready for summer camping season. Dear’s folks came up and shared a Mother’s Day lunch that the camp provided on Sunday of the weekend. I am 31 in this photo.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Here’s a real lion. I took this photo at the zoo in Dallas, I think.

Check for Cobwebs Hodgepodge

Since Jo From This Side of the Pond brought up the subject of cleaning in this weeks Wednesday Hodgepodge I had to dig up this photo of me ready to clean the house sometime in the past. Thank you Jo for asking the questions!

When serious cleaning needs to be done including washing the floors on my hands and knees this would be a picture of readiness. LOL. Knee pads. Three pocket apron where I like to keep glass cleaning rags in one side and on the opposite side non glass cleaning rags. Never mix chlorine and ammonia as in bleach cleaners and window cleaners! Middle pocket I use for trash and other things I pick up along the way.

People have a wide range when defining clean.  When we rent a place to stay and someone says it’s clean and I can see dust bunnies and all other kinds of things that are not clean, I get miffed, especially when they add in a $200 cleaning deposit!

That said, I enjoy a cozy home, it does not have to be perfectly cleaned, unless I’m paying for it to be clean.

On to this weeks questions!

1. Your favorite cleaning product?
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Amway used to have a product called Zoom and it was a great all purpose cleaner. I have different favorites for different tasks today. Dawn for dishes, Comet for toilets, Tide for laundry, Windex for glass or Vinegar and water. Kitchens are a little more complicated now with the added granite surfaces that you need a special cleaner for, stainless surfaces with their own special cleaner, glass top ranges with special cleaner. OYE! 
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Do you clean your own house or hire out?
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I clean my own home.  We do hire out window cleaning since we moved to the country…twice a year. 
I used to have a housecleaning business, Fresh Start, back in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
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Most disliked household chore?
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Dusting has always been a bit tedious for me but at this country bungalow with hard well water our shower that has 10 years of deposits on the glass doors etc. is very frustrating to clean. I’m looking forward to replacing the whole thing. 
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What one chore do you not mind so much? 
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Believe it or not, I don’t mind toilets. They are small and straight forward. 
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 2. It’s Canned Food Month…do you use a lot of canned goods?
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We use a fair share of canned goods.
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What are the three canned items you purchase most often?
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Many varieties of beans, many varieties of tomatoes, and chilies.
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Last thing you made using a canned ingredient? 
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A pot of chicken chili with black beans and pinto beans and chilies. 
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 3. Can of worms, anything can happen, can you imagine?, as best I can, kick the can down the road, more than one can take, no can do, not if I can help it…choose an idiom and tell us how you currently relate.
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I’m going with ‘can you imagine’. Lately more and more I’ve been wondering about the Rapture and find myself saying, come Lord Jesus come;
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“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (ESV)
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4.The last Tuesday in February is National Spa Day. Are you someone who enjoys a day at the spa?
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I’m really not a spa kind of gal but I do like a good massage. I’m not comfortable being naked anywhere but home! 
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Last time you visited a spa? Do you have a favorite spa?
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May of 2014 in Orlando Florida was the last time I visited a Spa. Dear was at a conference and I tagged along. His company booked him at the Hyatt Regency and I scheduled myself a massage at the hotel spa which had a sauna, etc. I relaxed by the pool all by my lonesome after the massage. I do not have a favorite spa.
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Are salons open for business in your area?
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Yes, salons are open.
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Have you made changes to your hair and nail routine since Corona hit? In what way? 
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I probably could count on one hand the number of times I’ve had a manicure or pedicure. That happened generally in relation to the weddings of our children. I’m the kind of person who messes up the polish before it dries without even trying. 
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Since Corona hit I have gone back to single length of hair instead of layered. 
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 5. Believe it or not this is the last Hodgepodge of the month. In one sentence sum up your February. 
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February: A month of freezing and thawing, then in mid span some love thrown in with restaurants finally re-opening and ending with a sigh of relief. 
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 6. Insert your own random thought here.
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Here’s our latest ‘Corona’ puzzle and let me tell you it’s a dousy!
Thank you to everyone who came by here and took the time to read and an extra thank you to anyone who commented!

In the Pink Hodgepodge

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge where Jo From This Side of the Pond asks the questions and we rack our brains for the answers! Thank you, Jo!

1. Something little you are loving right now? 

I was tempted to say our little grandchildren but I’ll love them forever not just now. The little thing I’m going with is a jigsaw puzzle. It’s been fun to conquer those little pieces putting them all together to form the whole of the picture. Here is our 11th C****19 puzzle. The 1000 pieces were extra large so the completed puzzle was very large.

2. Red roses or pink peonies?

Pink Peonies.

Red wine or pink lemonade?

Red Wine

Red lipstick or pink polish?

Pink Polish

A cotton candy colored sky or a fiery red sunset?

Fiery Red Sunset

A book-movie-song you love with the word red or pink in it’s title? 

Love is a strong word for these choices I made.

Book: Redwall       Movie: The Hunt for Red October      Song:  When the Red Red Robin

3. What’s something you currently have your heart set on doing-going-seeing-or experiencing?

It would be amazing to walk along the sand at a beach before summertime. We enjoy the ocean beaches in winter. 

4. Who would you most like to have a heart to heart with right now? Is that possible? 

An in person heart to heart with our estranged brother. All things are possible but it would be difficult for sure. For me this would only work face to face, not on the phone or in an email or text. 

5. Write an acrostic for the word L-O-V-E. 

Love–One–Valentine–Exclusively 

Here’s my exclusive Valentine

Now and then…

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of Love…

The Snowball Effect Hodgepodge

A new month of Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for coming up with the questions for us to answer.
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1. Feb 2nd is Groundhog Day in the US of A. Tell us about one day you wouldn’t mind living over again, and why you chose that day. 
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 I’ll pick July 9th, 2014.  This was a day Dear and I spent in Oxford, England. I chose this day because it’s impossible for us to visit Oxford at this time in virus history and it is something we dream to be able to do again. Here’s a link to part of our day in Oxford in 2014.
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 2. Something you know beyond a ‘shadow of a doubt’?
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God created me a woman and he created my husband (Dear) a man. Those are the only two genders that God has created. 
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3. Give us an example of history repeating itself in some way, in your own life or the lives of your children.
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It’s fun to see our little grandson doing some of the things our son did when he was little. 
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4. Snowed under, snow job, not a snowball’s chance, snowbird, on thin ice, snug as a bug in a rug, tip of the iceberg, snowball effect, run hot and cold….choose a wintry idiom and tell us how it best applies to your life right now. 
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I’ll choose snowball effect. Building a shop on our property has had it’s own snowball effect. Once I think the hard part is over and done with another hard part presents itself. One thing leads to another. I think I should plan a huge completion party to celebrate once it is all done and all our stuff from our son’s shop finds it’s way into Dear’s shop. 
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5. Your favorite sign of spring? 
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It’s hard to choose just one. 
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There is Easter and all that it means. Easter is my favorite holiday to celebrate. So much promise, so much hope because of Jesus’ resurrection. He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed! 
Our very first grandchild was born on the first day of Spring four years ago. We get to celebrate her at the beginning of Spring every year!
Our grandson was born in Spring, too, in April of 2019. We have so much to celebrate in Spring! 
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6. Insert your own random thought here.
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All this talk of Spring makes me want to go out and find a bunch of daffodils to bring in for cheer and the good promise that Spring is on it’s way!

Hit the Road Hodgepodge

Speaking of travel the photo above is of me behind the waterfall in the pool at our son’s Airbnb in Arizona a week ago, sigh.

Jo From This Side of the Pond has come up with the weekly questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you, Jo! Click on over to join in on the fun.

1. Have you done more binge watching this past year than in ‘normal’ years? Any plans to break that habit in 2021? Tell us one or two shows you binged last year that you really liked. 

Our satellite connection for tv and the internet is temperamental and works better some parts of the month over other times. When it is working well we’ll binge some of our favorite shows on Acorn or BritBox. Since many of the British seasons are 4 to 8 episodes it’s not tough to binge. We’ve enjoyed Murder in Paradise, and we always enjoy going back to Midsomer Murders and the Great British Baking Show. Murder in Paradise had a new season in 2020 and we binge watched it. We enjoy other shows like Endeavor and Vera, too. If in 2021 there are any new seasons of these shows we’ll watch them when the internet is working well.

2. January 26th is Australia Day. Have you ever visited or lived in Australia?

No.

Have you ever tasted Vegemite, and if so what did you think? 

No thank you.

Is a trip down under on your bucket list?

No and I’ll tell you why…it would take far too long on an airplane to get there. If I could afford business or first class with the opportunity to lie down flat for much of the trip I might consider it.

We answered a question about travel three months ago (the October 21st Hodgepodge), but let’s revisit now…where are you when it comes to planning or even imagining travel this year? 

Our youngest niece on Dear’s side of the family is getting married on October 1st of this year in North Carolina. We are planning and imagining what a road trip from Washington State to North Carolina would look like with possible stops at some National Parks on the way. On the way back we are considering a route that would take us through Dallas to visit my youngest brother’s family then home via Colorado with a detour to some National Parks in Utah, Lord willing.

3. Something that zaps your energy?

Unconfessed sin, misunderstandings and confrontations.

Something that energizes you? 

Planning a trip, Spring, having company.

4. On a scale of 1-10 what are your eating habits like these days? (1=all junk food all the time and 10= juicing every green thing in the frig)

Dear says, “we’ve been juicing all the junk food in the fridge”. Haha.

I’m gonna say we are a 5 in eating habits these days.

Healthiest meal you’ve eaten in the last week or so? 

White meat chicken tacos with corn tortillas that weren’t fried with cabbage.

5. What’s your most often ‘Back in my day….’ thing to say? 

Back in my day we did not have cell phones to call anyone.

This phrase comes up a lot, “well we didn’t have cell phones then”.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Psalm 39:1 (ESV)

Consider joining in for Truth from A to Z, a Bible verse challenge for Thursdays on my blog. Tomorrow we are on the letter R. You don’t need a blog for this challenge.

Family Hodgepodge

Thank you to Jo for coming up with questions this week even though her daughter’s wedding was this past weekend!

For Hodgepodge Wednesday questions we were with all our kids and grands in Arizona, flying out later on Tuesday afternoon. I posed  some of these questions to them for fun.

1. What’s something we’d find you doing most afternoons?

Dear and I eat dinner most afternoons, not in the evening.

2. Who do you take after? In what way(s)?

I’m more like my mother, snarky but willing to feed a crowd.

Joshua takes more after me, more of a people person and more adventurous and willing to spend money. Dan is a mix of me and his dad, jumps in to get things done more introverted like his dad with the best one liners coming out of nowhere. Katie is mostly her dad, more introverted, the brightest in the bunch and smart cracking.

3. ‘After every storm comes a rainbow’ or ‘the calm before the storm’...which phrase do you relate to more right now? Tell us why?

Most of the group was ‘after every storm comes a rainbow’. I tend toward looking on the bright side and knowing things will turn out in the end. Because Jesus is our Savior and Lord we know who holds the future and that Hope brings us through the storms of life.

Our daughter says…”how about in the eye of the hurricane?”

4.What are your plans for the day after tomorrow?

We will be back home after a week in the sun trying to catch up with laundry and mail and bills, etc.

5. Complete this sentence-“After all is said and done_____________________.”

From Andrew: …naptime.

Laura: …it’s over.

Joshua: …atta boy.

Jamie: …,satisfied.

Ellen: …time to relax.

Greg: …I wouldn’t change a thing.

Katie: …the best is yet to come.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The parties are over and it’s time to come back home to Winter…

Be My Guest Hodgepodge

1. When were you last a guest at an event or in someone’s home?
The last time we were guests was in December.
Tell us about it.
It was a fun informal dinner and card night. Three couple, six of us for pizza and salad and then a great game of Hand and Foot.
Do you enjoy having guests in your own home?
We do enjoy having guests in our home. Despite what’s going on we have had overnight guests and week long guests and one family were our guests for a few weeks. Great times!
2. What has you ‘tied up in knots’ currently or recently?
Thankfully I can’t think of anything that has had me ‘tied up in knots’.
Are you any good at tying actual knots?
I am not good at tying knots but Dear is and I let him tie the knots that we can depend on.
3. What’s something you’ve been wanting to do and have decided 2021 will be the year you ‘take the plunge’?
Trying to sell off some of my dish collections.
4. Something in your home that’s old?
We have a lot of old things that got passed down from Dear’s parents. This baby grand piano is a 1906 Chickering.
Our kids enjoyed it in years past.
And now a new generation is enjoying it.
Something new?
Dear’s shop is something new.
Something borrowed?
The one thing we borrow now that we live in the country is our son’s tractor about twice a year.
Something blue?
Lots of blue in our home. It is hard for me to walk away from a pretty blue plate. Both of our guest rooms have some blue in them, too.
blue-danube-002
5. Share a favorite quote, a verse of scripture, and/or a bit of wisdom for couples getting married in this challenging and seemingly unpredictable season we’re currently/still experiencing.
Even Jesus came to serve and not to be served and in marriage it would be good for both the husband and wife to have an attitude that is ready to serve each other and not have the expectation to be served. With this attitude gratitude for the selfless acts each one will do for the other will be genuine and this will contribute to a joy filled home.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We are traveling today and I might not be able to get around to all the hodgepodgers until tomorrow.
Thank you Jo From This Side of the Pond for coming up with the Hodgepodge Questions each week.

Time to Party Hodgepodge

Sticky Toffee 017

It’s Wednesday so it’s time to answer the Hodgepodge questions from our gracious hostess Jo From This Side of the Pond. 

1. What advice would you give yourself as we begin this new year?

I’ll borrow this paragraph from our Christmas letter and say continue doing this!

“We are digging deep in our Bibles and some trusted commentaries, soaking up the Truth of the Gospel and asking God to increase our faith and our love for God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son who is our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter. We don’t want the ‘oil in our lamps’ to be nonexistent when the “Bridegroom” returns.

2. If you could throw a themed party for yourself what would the theme be?

Oh how I love a themed party! I’ll choose a British Pub Party with all the trimmings and don’t forget the bunting!

Pub Night 034

Pub Night 045

Pub Night 013

Way back in November of 2013 we put on a British Pub dinner party as a thank you to our friends who let us use their parents home in Cornwall for a few nights on our trip to England in September of 2013. We traveled with our son Josh and DIL Laura.  It was so much fun to try to turn our home into a British Pub. We called it The Three Birds Pub and I added the link to my post if you’d like to see our old house converted to a pub.

3. Tell us where you were and something about what life was like when you were 20- 21.

I was living in my parents’ home in La Mirada, California. I was commuting to college at Cal-State L.A. completing my degree in Home Economics with a fifth year program of student teaching to earn my Elementary (K-8) Teaching credential. I was working part-time for Montgomery Ward at their appliance servicing center. In late Spring of 1972 when I was 21, I met Dear who was part of a Christian Band that my best friend auditioned for. The band toured England that summer. When they returned they needed to replace an alto and I auditioned for the group and became part of the band. Something sparked between Dear and me and we went on our first of many dates in October of 1972.

4. What’s on the menu at your house this week?

What menu? We fly by the seat of our pants.  It might be high time I planned for a week. I know that part of our meal on Tuesday will be artichokes and a Caesar salad with leftover chicken. On Wednesday I think I’ll pick up a couple curry dishes from ‘Thai to Go’ since I’ll be in town for a portion of the day. Red Curry for Dear and Yellow Curry for me. We do have a birthday dinner party planned for Sunday evening in honor of Dan and Jamie who both have birthdays soon. I’ll let them choose the entre they would like.

5. What should you do more of this year?

Walk

Less of?

Wasting time…

6. Insert your own random thought here.

21 and in love…

Thank you Lord for creating us as man and woman and loving us and sustaining our love all these years!

Family Moments Hodgepodge

1. Tell us about your favorite moment or share one of the bright spots from the year we’re leaving behind.
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My favorite moment was when our Colville kids decided enough was enough and we were allowed to hug our grandchildren again. Oh Happy Day!
2. What do you wish you’d known at the start of 2020? Elaborate.
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I wish I’d known that travel would be so adversely affected because of the COVID. I wouldn’t have booked our flights to London and our lodging in Oxford. Then I wouldn’t have had to spend any time cancelling and wondering if we’d get our money back. Thankfully we were refunded for everything.
3. Best book you read this year? If you did not read any books this year, what’s the best thing you ate all year? We’ve all eaten, right?
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Nonfiction: Besides the Bible which is by far the best, Only Jesus (What It Really Means To Be Saved) by John MacArthur
Fiction: All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
This was the only nonfiction book I read all year and it wasn’t until December that I read it!
4. The Pantone Colors of the year for 2021 are ultimate gray and illuminating yellow (a bright shade)…are you a fan? Would we find either of these colors in your home or wardrobe?
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The ultimate gray could be found but I would not choose the illuminating yellow. We have some gray in our home and wardrobes but no illuminating yellow.
5. If you were/are making a list of 21 things to do/accomplish in 2021 what is one thing that would be on it?
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Weeding out things that I don’t want to leave to our children to deal with is one of the 21 things to accomplish in 2021!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
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Our family of 10 had a wonderful few days together over Christmas and we are so thankful for the relationship strengthening time we had!
Our 4 kids from the other side of the Cascade Mountain range left on Tuesday for home. We are thankful for how they honor us, their parents, and how they contribute to our family unity!
Addy asked our “Coast Kids”, “Why don’t you live here with us?” She loves spending time with her aunts and uncles. Addy had several deep questions during our times together. Out of the mouth of Babes…
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Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond for your faithful weekly questions that add a midweek boost to our blogging!