Tag Archives: Wednesday Hodgepodge

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

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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!

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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!

Christmas 2020 Hodgepodge

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. It was very windy which made it icy cold! The big news from yesterday is that the siding on our new shop is complete! Still lots to be done but what a relief to have all the steel panels on the shop and off our garage floor. I can now park my car in the shop/garage that was already on our property when we bought this country home.

Time for Wednesday Hodgepodge #400! That’s a lot of hodging or podging or hodgepodging. Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions, all 2000 of them!

1. I feel like episode 400 cannot go without comment. That’s a whole lot of Hodgepodging folks. 2000 questions if my math is right. So, what’s something you feel like you do 400 times a week?

Good thing you added the feel part. At this stage of life, nearing 70, I feel like I double check a lot. Did I turn out that light? Why did I walk into this room? Did I put deodorant on? Are the doors locked?

2. Tell us where you were and something about what your life looked like in the year 2000?

Yikes, that was before blogging so I pulled out the photo album that had photos from 10/23/99 thru 5/27/01 to get my bearings for the year 2000. We had been living in Kenmore, Washington since October of 1998 in the same home we sold in 2018 to move to Colville. Our oldest turned 21 in January of 2000. We had two family weddings that we traveled to Southern California for in May and July. On December 20th our oldest, Josh, asked his high school sweetheart, Laura, to marry him and she said yes. We are forever blessed by their union.  Dear was working for Immunex in downtown Seattle. I was enjoying my last year in my 40’s.

3. Do you like cinnamon? What’s something you make and enjoy that calls for cinnamon? Of the cinnamon ‘foods’ listed which is your favorite-red hot cinnamon candies, cinnamon toast, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon toast crunch cereal, apple cinnamon oatmeal, churros, an Indian curry?

I do enjoy cinnamon. The Applesauce Spice Cake is a family favorite requested for birthdays and it has cinnamon in it.

Click here for the recipe for the cake.

In that list I’ll choose cinnamon toast as my favorite.

4. Does Christmas 2020 (or Hanukkah) look much like it has in years past, or is this year vastly different for you and your family? How so? How are you feeling about it all?

We are gathering with our children and grandchildren this Christmas as we have in other years so that isn’t changing. Other gatherings aren’t happening like our annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas dinner which was sad. Since that is something we travel to Canada for it couldn’t happen because of the border being closed and because of the lockdowns in our countries. I know many are not gathering as usual and I’m sorry about that and for many who are compromised and need to be extra careful. May God bring joy to your gatherings no matter how small.

5. What’s one thing you need or want to do before this year ends?

Plan our daughter’s birthday dinner which will be at our home while they are here for the Christmas celebrations. Her birthday is on December 27th.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Along with my morning Bible reading I’m slowly going through a work by Spurgeon called, Christ’s Glorious Achievements ~ What Jesus Has Done For You. Yesterday I wrote down this quote:

“Man’s books have usually far less in them than we expect, but the book of the Lord is full of surprises, it is a mass of light, a mountain of priceless revelations. We little know what yet lies hidden within the Scriptures.”

I’m hoping that more is uncovered in 2021!

Reminder: We won’t be having our Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge tomorrow or next Thursday. We’ll resume the first Thursday in the New Year!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Know Your Rights Hodgepodge

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1. What’s something about Christmas that most people like, but you don’t? Elaborate.
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Yearly Santa Photos. As a child I wasn’t raised with the notion that Santa was real. When we had kids we talked about Santa as a fun participant but we didn’t make them think he was real. We don’t have one photo of our kids with Santa through their growing up years. We do call the gifts in the stockings as being from Santa…again for the fun idea of it not reality.
My parents were Russian immigrants arriving in the USA shortly after WWII from Iran. Their families escaped out of Russia in the early 30’s into Persia. Russians have Dzed Moroz instead of Santa Claus.
Ded Moroz or Father Frost, the Slavic version of Santa Claus, long ago became the symbol of Russian winter, New Year’s and presents. He is usually accompanied by his granddaughter Snegurochka riding with an evergreen tree in a traditional Russian troika, a sleigh drawn by three horses abreast.
All that being said, we have some fun vintage Santa Christmas decor from Dear’s mother Verna.
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2. Tell us about one cherished tradition from your childhood and if you’ll make it happen this year?
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Cherished tradition from my childhood is going to my maternal babushka’s apartment for Christmas breakfast before church. We were in church every Christmas morning. Our little babushka lived in an apartment building a few doors away from our Russian Baptist church. Babushka has the yellow apron on next to our mom. Of course that can’t happen because those days are gone.
We added a cherished tradition in our home that we all count on for Christmas morning after stockings. Dear makes his Swedish Pancakes for all of us to enjoy with little smokies on the side. We’ve had to change this up as our “Coast” kids travel to us on Christmas Day so we have Swedish pancakes on Boxing day now.
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3. In 1941 FDR declared December 15th Bill of Rights Day. Citizens were encouraged to fly the flag and gather for prayers and other ceremonies as appropriate. Did you know this?
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I didn’t know this.
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Will you fly a flag?
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No we aren’t flying a flag today. Our flag pole is put away for this snowy season we are in.
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Can you name all the rights and protections guaranteed in the first ten amendments of the US Constitution?
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No I cannot.
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Of the ten, which two do you value most? If you need a list you’ll find one here. 
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The first and second amendments are the two I value most. In the first amendment I value freedom of religion which we are putting to the test during these times. The right to bear arms is important to us.
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4. Do you know someone named Bill?
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We had a cousin Bill on our Pop’s side of the family.
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Tell us something about him?
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Our cousin Bill was a troubled young man and died young from injuries in a bar fight. If any of my siblings read this and remember something different correct me.
Is there a famous ‘Bill’ you’d like to meet?
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I’ll meet him in heaven but it would have been nice to have a fireside chat with Billy Graham. He played a role in the salvation of our Pop.
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5. A step in the right direction, on the right track, bragging rights, be in the right place at the right time, get off on the right foot, right as rain, right side up, give your right arm for, have one’s heart in the right place…choose a ‘right’ that applies to your life in some way in recent days and tell us how it’s so.
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I’m going to say a step in the right direction. At the beginning of 2020 Intermittent Fasting became  a new eating lifestyle and I’m happy to say that it works for me. I’ve dropped some pounds and my face is not as puffy as it used to be. It’s something that I can do forever and even when I can’t adhere to the plan during a period of time it’s easy to jump right back in.
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6. Insert your own random thought here.
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We had a few inches of snow fall on Tuesday. Time will tell if we are in for a white Christmas.
Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions each week.

Christmas Spirit Hodgepodge

Wednesday Hodgepodge questions that Joyce From This Side of the Pond asks each week are not surprisingly Christmas themed in December. Here we go…

1. What do you think it means to have the holiday spirit?

Going deep on this one and deferring to my hubby:

“It’s having the Spirit of Christ, who convicts of sin and enables faith in that Jesus is who He says He is and has done what He has says He has done. Without the work of the Spirit of Christ we would have no hope for forgiveness, for eternity with Him, for glory.

Romans 5:1 (ESV)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

2. What’s one thing you’ve baked this month?

I baked a Chocolate Decadent Bundt cake last week for our card night.

Have you eaten the finished product?

Yes, at the card night last Friday night. It got very good reviews from those who ate it.

How much baking do you do around the holidays?

This varies from year to year. Some years I don’t make any cookies…shock!

What baked sweet something does your family insist is on the menu during this season of the year?

Roolyet is a Russian treat our mom would make every Christmas. A yeast dough rolled with a  walnut filling (walnuts, sugar, egg whites and vanilla). Now that my sister and I perfected the recipe I should make it every Christmas, too.

3. Your most recent ‘half-baked’ idea?

How about thoroughly baked. In January I clicked on the buy button for plane tickets from Seattle to London for September of this year. Then COVID-19 struck us all. Plane tickets, Air BnB deposits and many plans made that had to all be cancelled. Thankfully all was refunded.

4. Where were you the last time you ‘baked’ in the sun?

In my own backyard pulling weeds.

The top ten sunniest destinations in the world (most sun from January-December according to this site) are Dubai, Bali Indonesia, Los Angeles CA, Miami FL, Barbados, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Mauritius, Antiqua, and the Canary Islands Spain. Have you been to any of the cities listed?

I was born in East Los Angeles and raised in the “burbs” of Los Angeles and spent many summers baking on Southern California beaches slathered in Coconut Butter. Craziness!

Which one on the list appeals to you the most?

We do not choose sunny destinations these days. We do not lay in the sun. We look for shade and head straight to an umbrella when the sun is out and the air is hot. The only reason L.A. is appealing these days is because of our loved ones who live there and who we enjoy spending time with.

If the world were not upside down crazy and you could lie on a beach anywhere right now where would you go?

Never mind lying on the beaches, I would choose Jolly Old England any time of the year, walking down a lane instead of lying on a beach!

Now that said, we do enjoy walking on the beach at dawn in the summer and any time of day in the Winter.

5. Today I wish I had more _____________________.

Options for shopping in my little town of Colville.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This past Sunday to Monday we enjoyed a 46th Anniversary night at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Dinner at Beverly’s on the 7th floor made us feel like normal before all this craziness came upon us all.

Our complimentary Anniversary dessert! Vanilla ice cream wrapped in cotton candy with some fruit and dessert bark.

When the Christmas cards are all signed, sealed and delivered to the Post Office I feel like I should get an award. Do you still send cards?

Hugs Allowed Hodgepodge

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you Jo From This Side of the Pond for the questions!

1. Here we are entering the last month of the year 2020. 2020!! Every year The Oxford English Dictionary publishing team chooses a word that captures the general mood of the year we’re leaving behind, or the one word that will leave a lasting impact on the world at large. This year they needed sixteen words in order to cover the whole enchilada.

While two of the other major dictionaries selected pandemic as their word of the year, Oxford came up with a long list including-bushfire, impeachment, acquittal, coronavirus, COVID-19, lockdown, social distancing, reopening, Black Lives Matter, Cancel Culture, BIPOC, mail-in, belarusian, moonshot, net zero (read more about each word here)

Of the words listed which ONE would you say should be in the number 1 spot? Which word/phrase on this list would you be happy to never hear again?

I’ll have to go with COVID-19 in the #1 spot. 

Which word/phrase on this list would you be happy to never hear again?

There are several of these words/phrases I’d like to obliterate and have little tolerance for but since I can only choose one I’ll go with lockdown because mask wasn’t on the list.

2. What one word from your own list of words describing this year sums up/best reflects your 2020? Tell us why.

Hugs. The best part of this year was when hugs were allowed again in our family. The hardest thing was the few months with no hugging. 

3. Do you like peppermint? Peppermint mocha, a candy cane, peppermint bark, peppermint tea, York Peppermint Pattie, peppermint ice cream…of the peppermint treats listed, which one is your favorite? Will you bake anything featuring peppermint this holiday season?

Peppermint has it’s place. I do enjoy a York Peppermint Pattie in the form of Junior Mints. 

4. Besides Christmas, what do you associate the color red with?

Roses, stop signs, red light, the red carpet, Dorothy’s ruby slippers…

And in the world of soccer the dreaded red card that penalizes a player with ejection from the field and future games depending on how bad the violation was. 

How about the color green?

Grass, Spring, vegetables, Go!, legal immigrants (green card), Irish…

5. Is your tree up?

Yes because we stumbled upon a good deal on a fake tree that was a floor model so it went right up when we brought it home. It is not fully decorated yet.

Real or artificial?

This is the first year we have gone with artificial.

Is your house decorated?

It is on the way to being decorated fully.

Is your shopping done? Started? Wrapped?

Pretty much done because this is a stockings only year. Every other year we simplify Christmas gifts and try to plan a family trip instead. We have our family trip booked for Arizona in January already. Nothing is wrapped. 

On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being Scrooge-like and 10 being Buddy the Elf, how’s your Christmas spirit?

I’m going to go with a Tiny Tim 10 instead of Buddy the Elf. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Sunday December 6th will be our Forty Sixth Wedding Anniversary. 

Usually we would go out for a nice meal or even plan an overnight somewhere…sigh. We will still celebrate and choose joy and thank our God for sustaining and blessing our marriage.

Keep it Corny Hodgepodge

For the Wednesday Hodgepodge I’m going to try to keep it corny and light today just for the fun of it. Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for her faithfulness in coming up with the questions. I’m thankful for you dear Jo!

1. It’s Thanksgiving week in the US of A so let’s talk turkey. And by turkey I mean the elephant in the room because it’s still 2020 and our blogs are a record of sorts of the times in which we live.

Do you live in a state (or if you’re outside the US, a country) that’s instituted restrictions on the size of gatherings in your own home? What do we think about this? (keep it classy folks)
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Yes, we live in a very blue state and the guv likes to spread his wings on his hope to reach the White House some day.
Just 11 days before the Thanksgiving holiday, indoor social gatherings outside of someone’s household are prohibited.
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We are having a small gathering with just our family members (not just our household) and maybe three other young healthy folks who have no family in this area.
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The fun notice we received yesterday via social media is that our Steven’s Country Sheriffs office made an announcement that they will no way no how answer calls from anyone wanting to report neighbors who are having a gathering.

2. Let’s move in a cheerier direction. Will there be corn on your holiday dinner menu? How so? Cornbread-corn pudding-corn chips and dip-cornbread dressing/stuffing-corn chowder-or regular canned, frozen or fresh corn in a bowl…which of the ‘corns’ listed is your favorite?

As cute as all these corny postcards are we do not traditionally add any corn dishes to our Thanksgiving meals. I do remember a corn casserole that our friend Jan brought a time or two to our Thanksgiving gatherings on the West side of the mountains which was delicious!

3. What is there a cornucopia of in your home, job, or life currently? “An abundant supply of good things of a specified kind.”

Because of the age of our dear grandchildren we have an abundant supply of love and hugs and fun with them. And we have had a abundant supply of loved ones who have visited and stayed overnight or a week or two at our country bungalow in the midst of…you know what, with no ill effects! Thank you, Lord!

4. Have you ever quit something (such as a habit, a food, a time-sucker, a relationship) cold turkey? Is there something you need to quit cold turkey?

Yes and Yes. That’s all your getting…LOL!

5. Share a favorite verse, quote, saying, or song lyric relating to gratitude. 

Psalm 103: 1-5

 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Keeping with the corny theme. 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who live in the USA!

Happiest Place on Earth Hodgepodge

Three of our nieces, our son Josh and daughter in love, Laura at Disneyland in January of 2020 before the lockdowns. Happy Birthday Mickey!
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1. It’s Mickey Mouse’s birthday (November 18)…happy birthday Mickey! He reads here, right? Have you ever been to Disney, any of the parks at all?
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Yes, I’ve been to Disneyland in Anaheim. I was there shortly after it opened in 1955. I was there with my whole 9th grade class for a graduation from Junior High excursion. Went there on school busses. That would have been in 1965. I still have part of a ticket book from when rides were classified as A,B,C,D,E.  The E ticket was for the best rides and where the saying “e ticket”, the ultimate of thrills, came from.
Dear and I were there before we were married.
We took our kids there in the 80’s and 90’s and they’ve gone on their own now that they are adults.
I’ve also gone a couple times on my own with my extended family as an adult.
1986 with our two sons and Katie was a wee babe and slept a lot on this Disneyland adventure.
1995 Me with my sisters, our mom, my nieces and daughter, Katie.
2009 with our niece and grandnephew.
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Are you a Disney superfan or something less than that?
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I’m a fan of all the great memories but not a superfan.
Some of these loved ones are superfans!
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They’re open right now so tell us, would you go if you had the time/money/a free trip?
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I wouldn’t go until the mask mandates were lifted. Once that happens (please Lord) we’d love to experience Disneyland with our grandchildren. We were actually planning a trip to Disneyland for March of 2021 but we have cancelled those plans.
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2. Your favorite place to go when you want to be quiet as a church mouse?
Anywhere that there is no artificial noise.
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Would those who know you well describe you as more church mouse or perhaps more like mighty mouse?
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“Here I come to save the day, that means that Mighty Mouse is on the way…”
I’m neither a church mouse or a mighty mouse. Somewhere in between. I have had my “mighty mouse” moments in protecting my loved ones through the years.
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3. The day before Mickey’s birthday happens to be National Homemade Bread Day. Did/will you celebrate? Do you bake your own bread? Last time you had hot out-of-the-oven homemade bread? What’s your favorite kind of bread?
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I love good fresh bread of any variety. Last night we were at our Colville kids’ home and we enjoyed fresh rolls and the Instant Pot potato soup our daughter in law made. Both the rolls and the soup were delicious.
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4. What’s something you might say is ‘the greatest thing since sliced bread‘?
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I know I’m going to be saying “why didn’t I think of that?” when I read your answers. For now I’m going with remote controls. I do remember when we had to get up and go to the TV to change channels. Mind you there were only a very few channels back then.
And Dear just said, “how about luggage with wheels”?
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5. Let’s keep the gratitude theme we started last week rolling on through November. Share with us five little things you’re grateful for today. Small blessings. One catch-they all must start with the letter T. Gotta keep us thinking, right?
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Time with my family and friends.
Tall people at the grocery store when I need something at the back of the top shelf.
Trees, tall trees, tiny trees, trees that I can see from my windows.
Towels, large fluffy (but not too fluffy) and absorbent.
Texts. I didn’t used to text but now I really am a fan for keeping in touch with loved ones, especially when they are on the road.
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6. Insert your own random thought here.
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We made a last minute trip to Spokane yesterday for some electrical supplies Dear needs and we made stops at Costco, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby and At Home. We were relieved to see that people weren’t panic shopping because of the current mandates. We were even able to buy some Bleach wipes that were in stock but going fast.
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Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions!

‘The Few, The Proud’ Veterans Day Hodgepodge

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all our Veterans who are serving or have served in any of the branches of the military.

1. It’s the 11th day of the 11th month and bloggers often make lists on days like today. Let’s go with a list of eleven things you’re feeling grateful for today.

  1. My God and Savior Jesus Christ.
  2. My Bible or several of them.
  3. My dear Hubby, 3-1/2 weeks shy of our 46th wedding anniversary.
  4. Our three children, Josh, Dan and Katie.
  5. Their three beloved spouses, Laura, Jamie and Andrew.
  6. Our two grandchildren, Addyson and Jaymison.
  7. Parents who loved the Lord and trusted Him during their lifetime.
  8. A Bible believing and Bible preaching church and tried and true Bible teachers who I can access online.
  9. Like minded friends who spur us on in our faith.
  10. A comfortable home with all the creature comforts.
  11. Good food around a happy and grateful table full of people.

2. What’s something you decided to do or act on at the ’11th hour’?

During our move across the state of Washington there were a lot of 11th hour decisions to get rid of stuff instead of packing them up and moving them.

3.  Apparently the Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe contains 11 herbs and spices. What’s a dish you make that calls for exactly eleven ingredients? Feel free to share the list and/or recipe.

Here’s a Classic Macaroni Salad recipe with an added twist.

  • 4 cups uncooked small elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2-1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1 bell pepper seeded and chopped (I prefer a red, yellow or orange pepper)
  • 1/2 cup jicama chopped (the twist)
  1. Prepare small elbow macaroni as per package instructions, drain and rinse under cold water
  2. In large bowl combine mayo/mustard/vinegar/salt/sugar and pepper.
  3. Stir in onion/celery/bellpepper and jicama.
  4. Add macaroni and combine well.
  5. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
  6. If you’d like this to be a meal in itself you could add in a couple cans of Kirkland brand canned chicken breast meat or your favorite.

Cut recipe in half for 2 people

4. Something you remember about your 11-year old self?

 

When I was eleven I was a 7th grader in Junior High School. ( I skipped a grade) Sometime during that school year I convinced my mother to let me shave my legs. I come from a hairy stock of ancestors. When I arrived at school with my freshly shaven legs the news spread like wildfire all across the school halls. Yikes, how embarrassing. Back in those days (the 60’s) we were only allowed to wear dresses or skirts to school so the end to my hairy legs was news!

5. The 11th of November is Veterans Day in the US of A. This is a day to honor those who have served their country in war or peace-dead or alive-although according to the government’s website it’s largely intended to thank living veterans for their sacrifices.

Memorial Day is when we honor military personnel who died in service to their country.

Our brother-in-law Nick was buried on Veterans Day in 2015 at the Riverside National Cemetery.

Share a thought relating to Veterans Day or tell us something about a Veteran you know-love-admire.

Our son-in-law Andrew actively served with the Marines and had two tours of duty in Afghanistan. The photo above is of some of his Battalion in Afghanistan. The photo below was taken at the Marine Birthday Ball a few years back.

The next photo was taken at winter training on the border of California and Nevada.

We are proud parents (in-law) of our Marine. We are thankful for his service and that he came home to us and especially to our daughter. Even though he was honorably discharged from active service, once a Marine always a Marine.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This happened early Tuesday morning.

Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions each week.