Tag Archives: Wednesday Hodgepodge

Just Peachy Hodgepodge

 

A peachy sunrise on the last Saturday in June in Richland, Washington.

Joyce has some summertime Hodgepodge questions for us this week. Are you playing?

1. What is an adult problem nobody prepared you for? 

Growing old and all the things that come with that like; balance issues, getting up off the floor, bruising, hot flashes. I could have just gone with hot flashes…

2. Without mentioning any tech, what’s your most prized possession? 

One thing? Can I say my home even though there are a lot of techy things in it? Not the actual structure but the idea of my own place where I can relax and be safe and enjoy. Also a place where I can invite people in for relationship and community.

3. It’s National Peach Ice Cream Day (July 17th). Will you be celebrating? 

I could make it happen since Wednesday is Farmer’s Market in town and they might have fresh peaches.

Do you like peaches?

Yes I do but nectarines are my favorite summer fruit.

Given a choice would you prefer peach ice cream, peach pie, peach cobbler, or just hand me a peach?

Fresh Peach Pie. Way back when I enjoyed a scoop of peach ice cream in the center of half a cantaloupe, delicious!

Do you own anything that is peach in color? 

Do our day lilies count?

4. What makes a friendship successful? 

Forgiveness. The ability to say…”I was wrong, will you forgive me?”

5. Let’s give our brains a rest and do a little summertime this or that…

beach or pool? In my older age and avoidance of sun exposure I’m going with pool. You’ll find me under the umbrella or close to the pool in whatever shade is available.

ice cream or snowcone? A snowcone is fun or a slurpy which is kind of like a snowcone.

amusement park or camping? The quiet of camping sounds better to me if someone else has totally set up the camping area. I could come visit for the afternoon and then go home to my own bed.

burger or hot dog? We had the best lamb burger last night. We bought the meat from a local rancher. A good Chicago Dog is always a treat, too.

watermelon or strawberries? I’ll save strawberries for Spring and say a good sweet watermelon.

get up early or sleep in late? Get up early while it is still cool and enjoy a cup of coffee with the birds singing.

sunrise or sunset? In these parts sunset comes late in the summer and we are sometimes in bed before sunset so it’s sunrise for me!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Catching up with some summertime swim lesson photos at the local pool.

Someone was brave enough to jump off the diving board in the deep pool!

Thanks for stopping by Hodgepodgers and others, too. Hope your summer is going swimmingly.

Older than You Think Hodgepodge

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Crater Lake way back in the 50’s.  Me, my sisters, younger brother and my mom. I’m in the middle.

HOT off the press are the Wednesday Hodgepodge questions. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Do you feel older or younger than your age? Elaborate. 

I feel younger than my age except when I look in the mirror closely.  I’m relatively healthy for someone my age. I’m not on any medications, can walk easily and most days have the energy to get things done. Hopefully my hips and knees will hold out for a long time.

2. What’s one thing you should toss right now, but just can’t? 

Some clothes that realistically I’ll never wear again. There are other things I should donate or sell, not toss.

3. Have you visited many of the 63 National Parks in the US of A? You’ll find a list here. Do you have a favorite? What National Park that you haven’t seen do you most want to see? 

I’ll work backwards on these questions. I would like to visit the Utah National Parks and Glacier. Glacier is the closest to us and more in my comfort temperature range.

I have been to the Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, Crater Lake, Badlands, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Olympic, and Redwood.

The Bible Camp I went to in my teens was in Kings Canyon.

4. How often do you get take out? What’s your favorite? 

We enjoy take-out from Thai to Go. It’s authentic and good. The owners will sometimes take a month off to go back to Thailand to visit family. They will also take a long time off in the winter and around holidays so we always have to double check to see if they are open.

When we are desperate we get take out from our local Chinese Restaurant.

We might get take out once every couple weeks.

5. Do you have many (or any) subscriptions? Not necessarily magazines, but thinking more along the lines of boxes or products that companies offer, and you can sign up to receive on a regular basis. Could be weekly, monthly, quarterly, even daily. Tell us about them. 

At this time we do not have any regular subscriptions. Greg was gifted a razor, etc., from Jeremy’s Razors and he still gets new blades every few months in the mailbox that were part of his gift.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A couple photos from the National Parks me/we have visited over the years…

Can you guess which one this is? 🙂

yellowstone day one 174

Or this one…

This photo is from 1988. *Hint* The mountain behind us is a volcano and is in Washington State.

Hope you Hodgepodgers are enjoying the heat of summer but staying cool.

 

Red White and Blue Hodgepodge

Joyce has the questions for our Wednesday Hodgepodge posted and ready for us to answer. Welcome!

1. It’s a big week in the US of A as we celebrate Independence Day. Do you have any special plans? How will you mark the day? BBQ? pool-lake-beach time? fireworks? homemade ice cream? If you’re not an American you can tell us what’s happening in your corner of the world on Thursday.

We are celebrating with a good crowd on the 4th. We bring our own meat to barbecue and a dish to share with the crowd, either a side or a dessert. The party starts at 4pm and ends after fireworks. In between there is a very competitive Corn Hole tournament. Fireworks are downplayed in our corner of the U.S. because of fire danger.

2. What’s your favorite ‘All-American’ dessert?

I’m going with Chocolate Chip Cookies and Strawberry Shortcake.

3. Does that patriotic feeling come easily to you, or are you having to work for it more these days? What’s something that makes you proud to be a citizen of your country?

If I think about how our country was founded and the principles that shaped our Constitution and governance I can be proud and patriotic. Our leadership these days brings me down in this area. I’m thankful my hope and future are in God’s hands.

4. Your favorite ‘patriotic’ movie? Favorite patriotic song?

Yankee Doodle Dandy for the movie and America The Beautiful for the song.

5. One simple pleasure on your July ‘bucket list’?

Besides the 4th our calendar is free of any big events so I’ll say relaxed mornings are on my July bucket list.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Our family of ten have been enjoying each other since Saturday in Walla Walla, Washington at a VRBO. Today, Tuesday, we are all traveling to our respective homes. It has been such a delightful 4 days and there will be several posts covering our time together. Today will be a day of laundry and yard work!

Happy July Y’all!

Awe Inspiring Hodgepodge

Joyce has posted the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge, some thought provoking and some easier.

1. What do you think has remained the same about you your whole life?

Being in church on Sundays was ingrained early and is a constant in my life. Having my Spiritual life nourished is a deep and consistent need that I have. This involves much more than just Sundays in Church. On many of our out of town weekends we end up in a local church and meeting Christians from around the U.S. and the U.K. has been a rich experience.

How has your perception of yourself changed over time? 

The more I know about myself the more I know about why I needed to be saved and why I need my Savior, Jesus Christ every day.

2. What was the first thing you learned how to cook?

This is a hard one for my memory bank. I didn’t cook with our mom in the kitchen. I’m guessing it was something in my Home Economics class in Junior High in the kitchen at school like biscuits or cookies or eggs. Later in my life our family started getting together to learn to make some ‘heritage’ foods with our mom. A cooking day with our mom, my sisters, sister in laws, and nieces was always such a fun event!

Do you prefer to cook or bake? 

I enjoy both. Cooking is always faster and something I do more of these days. Baking is something for special occasions.

3. What are some of your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate. 

Spending time with our children and Grandchildren is a huge priority.

4. How much time do you spend on your hair each day or, put another way, what’s your hair care routine? Do you get it cut regularly or just whenever the mood strikes? Do you go to the same stylist every time? Do you tell your stylist everything? Any other beauty treatments you indulge in throughout the year? 

A visit to my hair stylist happens about every 6 weeks. She works out of her shop on her home property so yes, it’s the same gal every time. I do not tell her everything because she’s a stylist to several other gals and guys from our church. LOL! I’m not a fan of beauty treatments. I do love a good massage and it’s been ages since I’ve had one of those. I spend about 1 minute on my hair everyday. If it’s freshly washed I spend under 10 minutes drying and shaping it into my same old hairdo, a ‘Bob’.

5. What is the most awe-inspiring place you’ve visited? 

I have been privileged to be in many awe-inspiring places in my life. Cathedrals always have the ‘wow’ factor. The Ark Encounter in Kentucky was awe-inspiring.

Last September when we walked around Fountains Abbey in the Yorkshires, the four of us just kept saying, ‘Wow!’. It was so awe-inspiring.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

California Girl Hodgepodge

The summery edition of questions are ready for Hodgepodge Wednesday. Thank you, Joyce.

1. It’s National Splurge Day…what’s something you might splurge on today? What have you splurged on recently? 

I’ll splurge on anything related to our grandchildren or children. I’ll splurge on fruit out of season. We splurge on buying good ice cream.

2. Do you have a beach bag? What’s in it? Is a trip to the beach on your summer bucket list? Do you have a summer bucket list? 

I have a bag that could work at the beach but the answer to all these questions is no.

Even though I was born and raised in Southern California spending many hours at the beach with family and friends, the beach is not on my bucket list for Summer. I now prefer the beach in winter. I love early morning walks along the shore. I do not foresee spending time at any beaches this summer. I do look forward to being on a beach or two in Scotland in September, Lord willing.

I have moved on from being a California girl to being a Country girl.

3. What’s a song that makes you think of a summer past? What comes to mind when you hear it? What memories does it stir up for you? 

California Girls by the Beach Boys and other songs that were popular from the 60’s. It brings back memories of the sand and sea and cocoa butter or baby oil, and playing ‘Hearts’ on the beach. If we knew then what we know now would we have slathered that stuff on our bodies to get a tan??

Here’s our California Girl…she was born in Ventura, California.

4. Sushi-yay or nay? Have you actually tried it? If you love it what’s your go-to order? 

Nay. A California roll might be something I’d eat.

5. I own a ridiculous amount of ________.

Tablecloths, napkins, napkin rings, plates, candle holders.

I have downsized some of these items lately!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of the beach…

Thankful for Fathers Hodgepodge!

Greg with our three in Ventura, California, 1987.

It is time for another Wednesday Hodgepodge and Jo From This Side of the Pond has the questions ready.

1. June 12 is National Simplicity Day. In what way is your life simple? What’s one way that it’s not? 

Since moving to the country our life has become more simple in a few ways. We entertain less. We don’t leave the house as often. When we drive anywhere in town we only encounter 2 traffic signals. There are many places we travel to without even going through one traffic light. The one way it’s not as simple is that we have more property to care for. We need a riding lawnmower and we have more weeds to pull!

2. Something you remember from a ‘simpler time’? 

One of the things we enjoyed doing way back before 9-11 was to drop travelers off at their airport gate and greet them when they returned at their gate. Nowadays you can barely get a hug in when you drop them off at the curb.

3. Do you like squash? If so what’s your favorite variety? What’s a favorite way to prepare squash? 

I don’t mind squash but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it or prepare it except for maybe Butternut Squash Soup.

4. Do you shop the warehouse stores (such as Costco, Sam’s B.J’s, etc)? If so how often do you go, and what’s something you always buy in this type of store? 

We do shop at Costco regularly and when we have a project we might shop at Home Depot. Monthly trips to Costco are normal. We always fill the gas tank when we first arrive at Costco. They have the cheapest gas prices around these parts. We regularly buy coffee beans, lemons, toilet paper, water, tissue, toothpaste, shaving cream, bar soap, liquor, rotisserie chicken, pure maple syrup, agave sweetener, ranch dressing, and nuts. We were there on Monday to pick up Dear’s hearing aides. He has never had them before so he is now getting used to them. I also check out their clothing piles to see any deals on items that will work for us. I regularly make purchases for the church kitchen at Costco, too. The items in italic come in multi-packs so we purchase them less frequently.

5. Father’s Day is this coming Sunday. Any plans to make the day special? Tell us something about your own father, or something about your hubs as a father, or about someone who stepped into your life and acted as a father if yours was not a part of your life. 

My older sister Kathy, Pop (working on a jigsaw puzzle) and me camping in Big Bear California in the 50’s.

My pop was a carpenter and he worked hard to earn enough money to feed and clothe us. When he immigrated to the U.S. just after World War II he had to get creative to find work, later he was able to get carpentry work regularly and he was part of the Carpenters Union. Although he was religious there was something missing until He heard the Gospel clearly at a Billy Graham Crusade at the Los Angeles Coliseum. He knew God was calling him to repentance and a new life following Jesus Christ as his Savior. When he asked God to forgive him, and he put his faith in Jesus Christ for his salvation, he knew immediately that something changed in him. He now had the help of the Holy Spirit to live this new life following Jesus. He desired this new life for all of us and for his parents and siblings, too. Sharing Christ with others was a priority in his life. When his papers were filled out for his legal immigration his name was translated to Moisi in English but it would have been more accurate to be spelled Moses. Our parents sacrificed for their children. They very rarely spent money on themselves. Pop lived to be 95 and outlived our mom by 5 years.

This photo is from a celebration we had for our parents in April of 2013 for their 90th birthdays and for their 70th wedding anniversary. Our brother Fred was missing from this celebration.  Our mom died in September of 2013 and our Pop lived for 5 more years.

Our kids will be giving their tributes to their ‘Pops’ on Sunday. He’s a good man and I’m thankful for him and our life together. While I’m sitting at my computer answering these questions, Greg is vacuuming our entire home! What a guy!

We will celebrate with our local kids on Sunday evening here in Colville.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Me and my Pop, 1973. This was taken at a Los Angeles terminal for chartered flights. Several family members and friends were all together with no restrictions at the departure gate.

Say Cheese Hodgepodge

Joyce has a new set of questions to get our brains going for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. It’s National Cheese Day (June 4)…does anyone not like cheese? What’s your favorite? Last thing you ate or made with cheese? 

We do keep cheese around and enjoy it. I enjoy sharp cheddar, gouda, swiss and a specialty cheese thrown in here and there. The last thing I ate with cheese was a cheese and meat roll-up. Not too exciting. We enjoy Mexican food that seems to have a lot of cheese. Cheese filled Blintzes or cheese filled Vareniki are my favorites. We do enjoy a good cheesecake, too.

 

2. Last time you were instructed to ‘say cheese!’? How do you feel about having your picture taken? 

This probably happened the weekend we were on the other side of the mountains with our ‘coast’ kids. I’m okay with having my photo taken digitally since we can see the results immediately and know right away if we need a re-do! 🙂

3. What’s your travel packing strategy? Are you typically a light packer or do you throw in everything but the kitchen sink?

Depends on where we are going and the form of transportation. If we are driving somewhere I’m not concerned with throwing in everything we might need on the trip. When we are traveling internationally the strategy is totally different. We try to take as little as possible and only take one small rolling bag and a backpack. We purchased smaller lighter weight bags with great rolling ease for our last trip overseas and didn’t regret it.

When flying do you check a bag or aim for carry on only? 

We generally are okay with checking a bag when traveling. When there are connecting flights we try to carry-on so our bags don’t get sent off to a different location than our final destination.

4. What is it about people’s cell phone habits that you find most annoying? 

It is annoying when people talk loudly on their phones in a restaurant or other indoor public space.

5. What will be your summer mantra/slogan? 

Eat less, exercise more.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The end of this week we are participating in a group garage sale and I’ve been busy pricing our stuff for that. Today we deliver all of our stuff to the site and set things up. Having a group that trades shifts to man the sale is a huge bonus. Continuing in the process of downsizing our stash of stuff has great rewards. I’ll be slow getting around to everyone this week.

Happy June, Hodgepodgers!

If the Shoe Fits Hodgepodge

On the Kirkland waterfront at Carillon Point for dinner on Friday night the 17th of May.

Another Wednesday has rolled around and Joyce has a new set of questions for Hodgepodge.

1. What are you currently juggling in your life? 

I’m juggling exercise, eating, yard care, trip planning, garage sale preparations and understanding apps and catching up with events on my blog now that I have a way to post photos again.

2. How often do you buy new clothes?

When I see something that I know will work on my current body size and is a reasonably priced item I purchase it.

What was the last piece of clothing you purchased? 

This past weekend was all about shoes! We were visiting our kids on the Westside of the mountains. There is a Brooks Shoe outlet that is convenient to where our kids live. I like a particular Brooks brand that works well on my feet. I bought a pair, Dear bought a pair, and a pair was purchased for each of our Colville kids. They gave Laura their sizes and pictures were sent back and forth and purchases made. I found a pair of Merrill waterproof shoes in my size at REI on the clearance table so those were purchased, too. Dear found a pair of dressier/casual Clark shoes at Nordstrom Rack. We had lots of shoe boxes to juggle! 🙂

I’m defaulting to shoes as a form of clothing. 🙂

3. What food festival would you most like to attend? If you need help here are links to some of the bigger and more popular food events around the world-

For many reasons food festivals do not call out to me.

4. May is the 5th month of the year. Tell us something you remember about your 5th grade year. 

Oh boy…fifth grade was a can of worms for me. There are only two teachers in my schooling experience that I had reasons to believe did not like me. One of those was my Junior High Geometry teacher (he’s the one that gave me a D even though my tests, etc. were a solid C) When I questioned him and tried to show him my test results, etc., he blew up in front of the whole class and said quote, “Are you calling me a liar?”. Then he sent me to the girls vice principal. She was sympathetic but I still received the D.

My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Helm, was the other teacher that gave me the impression that she did not like me. I was an avid reader in my elementary years and beyond and a quote that came into my head one day in her class when she told me to sit down was, “I might be sitting down on the outside but I’m standing up on the inside.” 

In 5th grade running out to the playground the girl right in front of me stopped and bent down to tie her shoe abruptly. I fell over her and ended up chipping a bone in my wrist. The office called my mother and they had to order a cab to take us to our doctor who x-rayed and put my wrist in a cast. Our mother never learned to drive. Our father was unreachable when he worked on different sites around the Los Angeles area.

The good thing I remember about 5th grade is that a girl from Scotland moved to our school and came to our class later in the year. I was fascinated by her and struck a friendship with her and enjoyed her friendship.

5. What are your favorite five words right now? 

Jesus ~ Truth ~ Lovingkindness ~ Rescued ~ Maranatha

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We enjoyed a long weekend on the Westside of the mountains with our ‘Coast Kids’. I’ll be posting about that and the other events I couldn’t add photos for in the month of May. Blog catch-up including this event…

A Rebel Hodgepodge

Joyce From This Side of the Pond has come up with an impressive group of questions for our hodgepodge this week. Click over to join in on the fun.

1. What impresses you? 

Well behaved children. Considerate people. A good meal. Old architecture. Stained glass windows. Cozy pubs. Good singing voices. Old hymns. Beautiful Worship music. Gardeners. Men with integrity. Faithful mothers. Marriages that stand the test of time. Spring. A good old cemetery. Law enforcement officers. The Military.

2.  Where are you in your family birth order? Do you fit the stereotype of that particular slot? In what way?

I was the baby (number 4) of the family for seven years and then our family grew with four more siblings. Supposedly that means I might be more adventurous and rebellious than the three older than me. I was called the black sheep at times and I made my parents worry more than my older sisters did even though unlike one of them I never tried smoking. Some of my teachers in junior high made comments like, ‘you aren’t like your sisters’. I was the first one in my family to bring home a D on my report card. There is a story that goes along with that. I was the first one in my family to ‘marry out’. I married a non-Russian. Such a rebel! I do love a good adventure.

3. What motivates you more-a reward or a consequence? Elaborate. 

I think a reward, like walking three miles to a bakery. We had a good discussion over this question. There are bad consequences in doing certain things that motivate me not to do them. I am very motivated not to break the law. I’m also motivated to do things that have a good outcome like mowing the lawn and then enjoying the beauty of it or cleaning the house and sitting down to enjoy the peacefulness of it. Right now I’m motivated to do a walking workout every day (except Sunday) so I’m in good enough shape to do a lot of walking. We are in the planning stages for a trip to Scotland in September, Lord willing. That’s what I call good motivation for a future reward.

4. May 14th is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. Who thinks biscuits deserve their own day? Do you like biscuits? Make your own? Grab one for breakfast at a drive-through now and then? Which drive-through makes the one you like best? What do you like to put on a biscuit? What’s your favorite food or dish that calls for buttermilk? 

Biscuits weren’t a thing in my Russian heritage growing up. The first biscuit I had was probably at Knott’s Berry Farm with their Fried Chicken meal.  I’ve made biscuits using Bisquick and maybe from scratch once. I have never had one in a drive through. I have had them at breakfast at a restaurant if I knew the restaurant was known for having great biscuits. Butter and berry jam would be my choice to put on a biscuit. Dear would choose biscuits and sausage gravy. I have made biscuits and gravy at home but not with homemade biscuits. Buttermilk pancakes would be my favorite food that calls for buttermilk.

5. Are there any weddings on your summer calendar? What’s your favorite part of a wedding/wedding reception? 

No summer weddings on our calendar. I love a good traditional wedding with the traditional Biblical vows and not made up ones. My favorite part is when the bride enters and everyone stands up. At the reception I enjoy getting to chat with folks I haven’t seen in a long time. I have to admit that I dread the toasts by the Best man and maid of honor  because we’ve been subjected to some really strange ones. That said, I appreciate the toasts when they are well thought out and appropriate and short.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Speaking of weddings, our home will host some special guests for a wedding this weekend at our church. We will be on the other side of the mountains enjoying time with our ‘Coast kids’.

Got Skills?

Our grandson turned 5 this week and his new bike is already getting a workout. Riding a bicycle is a good skill to have! JJ at 5 already has many good life skills! We enjoyed a fun bowling party to celebrate JJ this past Saturday.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for skillfully posting questions each week for Wednesday Hodgepodge! 

1. What’s a skill you think everyone should have? 

Tying your shoes. Personal Hygiene. Use of basic tools. Cooking skills enough to be able to feed yourself. Basic Math. Reading. Writing. Following a Map. Driving. Putting gas in a vehicle. Earning money. Making a bed. Cleaning a toilet. Running a washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. How to use a computer.

I could not stop at just one.

2. Do you have a special place or organizational system for gift wrapping?

I have a general bin with gift bags, wrapping paper and tissue and a separate Christmas bin with the same items. I also have a basic ribbon bin and a Christmas ribbon bin.

Do you still buy ‘real’ cards to send for birthdays, anniversaries, get-well, etc? 

I do still have real cards that I send for these events. TIP: Buy your cards at the Dollar stores where many cards are 2 for a dollar or a dollar each!

3. It’s National Banana Day…are you a fan? What’s your favorite thing to make with bananas or, if you’re not a cook, your favorite thing to eat that contains banana? 

We don’t keep bananas around here typically but when we do have bananas that have fully ripened we enjoy our favorite, Banana Bread.

4. Do you believe in second chances? Elaborate. 

Where would any of us be without second chances? We all fall, fail, make mistakes. We need to be forgiven and we need to forgive. We need reconciliation in this world.

Matthew 18:21-22  Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

5. What is your idea of fun? 

Fun for me is any event that makes me smile at the end of the day. The feeling of satisfaction that comes from time together, good conversations, worthwhile projects completed. Good things and good interactions that satisfy and improve your heart and mind. Time well spent.

Something specific that I enjoy is planning a trip. I like to research areas and consider all the choices of things to see and do. This is a fun exercise for me.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Besides all the birthday fun for JJ, Addy had her first Irish Dance Recital with the Haran Dancers.

Full post coming soon.