A Merry Hodgepodge to You

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

1. What does Christmas mean to you?

First and foremost that Jesus, the Son of God came to earth as a babe/man because we were all held captive and separated from God because of sin. Jesus was sent to pay the ransom for our sins so that we could be forgiven and freed from the bondage of sin. His death paid our debt to God in full. He could pay that debt because he was the perfect/unblemished/pure Lamb of God. Sin is the reason for the season and Christ’s worthy life and sacrifice is the solution and the amazing ransom gift of the season. This makes for the merriest reason to celebrate with joy and gladness and light. Be merry you who believe and have your sins forgiven completely and in full!! For anyone else believe and receive life in Jesus Christ the Lord, who was sent, who lived, who died for the sins of the world and rose victorious over sin and death. You can have new life in Him. The best gift of Christmas.

2. What’s your favorite cozy holiday activity?

Dressed in my comfy clothes and having nothing to do but put together a jigsaw puzzle with Christmas carols playing in the background.

3. Is all your shopping-wrapping-baking done?

No…no…no.

Tell us about your holiday plans.

Our kids from the west will travel to the east opposite direction from the Wise Men. Our Colville kids and our Westside kids will all be together Christmas late afternoon and evening for stockings, a prime rib dinner (tradition) and all things jolly and bright.

4. If you were Santa what treat would you like to have left for you (it doesn’t have to be milk and cookies!) What sweet or savory treat do you most look forward to indulging in around the holidays?

My mom’s Roolyet (Russian nut roll)

5. Next Wednesday is the first official day of winter (in the northern hemisphere). How does that make you feel?

It’s makes me feel like we’ve been way ahead of the game since Winter arrived here early in November.

Tell us what you love most about winter?

I love winter clothing over summer clothing.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This photo from 2017 shows our sweet granddaughter (her first Christmas) with the best dog around children, Rayna. We got the sad news that Rayna died on December 6th. We were on the road at our breakfast stop in Cle Elum. I shed a good amount of tears and the waitress was probably wondering what was going on. I tear up even now.

Rayna checking out the new human that came home to her house.

Such a wonderful gentle dog that our grandchildren were safe around. Our daughter-in-law, Jamie, rescued Rayna when she was 9 months old. Our son married Jamie in 2015 and Rayna came along with that union.

Rayna on our deck a couple summers back while we doggy sat her when our Colville kids went away for a few days.

I think Ember is missing Rayna, too.

Rayna found a way into all our hearts. This photo above was in September with the new puppy Ember. Rayna was able to give some good doggy training to the new young pup. Rayna will be missed.

Joy and sorrow seem to always coexist in this world we live in.

Merry Christmas to all my Hodgepodging friends since the next Hodgepodge will be the Wednesday after Christmas. Hope you enjoy times of wonder and love and joy!

From our house to yours Merry Christmas!

Quail and Chewbacca…

We always get a big kick out of watching the quail around here year round.

I’m taking these photos from our family room slider zooming in.

There always seems to be a leader that everyone else follows.

They are on the move…

Away they go.

Couldn’t resist sharing this fun photo of our son Josh getting a surprise embrace from Chewbacca at Disneyland today. Our kids enjoyed the day there with a few of their cousins. It was fun seeing what they enjoyed and the people they bumped into. Looked like an absolutely magical day at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Mosaic Monday

Who knew a helium balloon could bring so much delight. On Boxing day, in the evening, we stopped at our local Safeway market and after we rang out at the check stand the checker asked us if we could use this balloon. We said sure and took it home with us for free. When Addy came over with her parents last Thursday for dinner she had a delightful time with this free gift.

It’s been fun watching the birds hop and flit about in the snow. The really good hoppers are the quail.

We took a walk about the back acres to check out all the animal trails in the snow. We think we might have had a feral cat (it was looking at us one night through our family room slider), deer, mice and other critters. It might be time to get that critter night camera!

Today was a glorious sun filled day. We joined our kids at church and then had lunch with them. On our way home from their place we took this shot from their driveway. The best of views!

Linking up with Angie from Letting Go of the Bay Leaf for Mosaic Monday.

Purple Haze Hodgepodge

1. ‘Hurry less, worry less’…what’s your strategy for making that happen this holiday season? How’s it going so far?

Well, we threw in an overnight getaway to La Conner to celebrate our 43rd anniversary and that included lots of country roads less traveled instead of the interstates. It was good to take the time away from our renovations and decorations. Our leisurely walk along the waterway in La Conner was relaxing. So far so good.

2. Do you have a list of to-dos that need accomplishing in order to prepare your home and/or property for the winter season? What are some of the jobs on your list? Are you a do-it-yourselfer or do you hire someone to accomplish these tasks?

Winter is not that harsh in the Puget Sound area. Generally all we need to do is lock the windows so they are shut tight and disconnect the water hoses so they don’t freeze. Sometime after Christmas and before Spring we need to prune the apple and pear tree. We do all these things ourselves. I still need to cut back my lavender plants!

This is what the apple tree looks like before pruning and all the branches that are growing straight up need to be cut. After pruning it looks more like this with still a few more branches to cut. Ignore the evergreen in the background.

3. According to dietitians surveyed, the most popular health foods for 2018 will be -turmeric, sprouted foods (bean sprouts, breads with sprouted grains, etc), veggies in place of grains, dairy free milk, and pulses (lentils, chickpeas, etc). What’s the first thought that ran through your head when you read this list? Of the foods listed which one might you add to your regular diet? Also, can milk really be dairy free? Is it still milk?

The first thought I had was healthy trends aren’t my thing. Maybe I’ll add more veggies.

4. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2018 is Ultra Violet. According to the Pantone site ‘Ultra Violet communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking pointing us to the future.’ What say you? Do you like the color purple? Did you see the movie or read the book-ha!? Is purple a color you wear often? Describe for us one purple item in your home without using the word purple. If you were in charge of such things what color would you select for 2018?

I don’t mind the color purple. I did see the movie. We have three University of Washington alums in our family and we live in Husky country where slogans like “let purple reign again” are alive and well.

Purple evokes passionate pride. It’s the color that stands out as most quintessentially to our University and is therefore the dominant color in our communications. Gold symbolizes excellence. It’s a sophisticated hue that speaks to our extraordinary standards and immense quality. And when you combine the two? That’s the UW.

Sometimes I wear purple. The little girl with the W on her shirt is now an alumnus of Udub and her husband will soon be a graduate of the Udub, too. I helped put my Dear through the UW school of Pharmacy so I wear my purple with pride.

We do have some walls at this old house that remind me of lavender sprigs . Not the vibrant variety.

You can see that color in what used to be my master bathroom?

If I was in charge of such things the color of the year would be China Blue.

5. Favorite book read this year?

Glass Houses by Louise Penny

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Today I’ll be mailing our Christmas cards. We’ve received a few already and I always enjoy being brought up to date on what is happening with friends from far and wide. We still do not have our tree and that’s the last purchase we need to make for Christmas. Once the tree is up I’ll start thinking about wrapping the presents that will be going under it.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you to whoever takes the time to read the answers.

My “Burb” with Fences and Blooms!

I’m linking up to Good Fences #52 with TexWisGirl at Run*A*Round Ranch Report.

I had a lovely walk out my door, out of my immediate neighborhood, up the hill, and all around the way in a large square route coming down hill on my way back home. Have you noticed that walking down hill is a lot harder on your knees than walking uphill?

We’ve enjoyed a mostly dry Winter this year although this past Sunday we had the most rainfall in a single day since the 70’s. It was nice to wake up to sunshine on Monday.

Winter Note Cards

It’s time for Vee’s January Note Card Party.

I’m going back to 2009 and our walks on the beach at Emma Wood in Ventura. While Dear and I were living in Camarillo, California we would get up very early on Saturday mornings to head north to Ventura for a walk at the beach. These shots are all from January 10, 2009. I’m adding a poem by Ralph Spaulding Cushman from his Hilltop Verses and Prayers.

The Secret

I met God in the morning
When my day was at its best,
And His Presence came like sunrise,
Like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered,
All day long He stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O’er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,
Other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them
Brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings,
With a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the moorings,
With the Presence left behind.

So I think I know the secret,
Learned from many a troubled way:
You must seek Him in the morning
If you want Him through the day!

A prayer of the fisher folk:

Help me, O God, for my boat is so small and Thy ocean is so wide! Amen

We are so happy to be back in Washington State but I do miss our early Saturday beach walks. Thank you Vee for hosting the monthly Note Card Party.

Photobucket replaced many of my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

A Good Start…

On Sunday afternoon of day 5 of the New Year Dear pipes up and says, “do you want to go out and take a walk?” I said, “let’s go while it’s still light and dry.”

The morning started in the 20’s and there was lots of frosty ice on the deck, roofs, lawn, and sidewalks so we bundled up before we headed out.

Not too much excitement here in the neighborhood to report but here are some things I took photos of…

Little varmints have been busy in the neighborhood. They sure were digging in a straight line!

She did not fly south and she was squawking up a storm upon our approach. She was perched on the roof of an out building.

By the time we got way up this hill I was breathing quite heavily and used the excuse to stop and take a photo of where we had come from and the view from the top to catch my breath. Those mountains are in the Cascade Mountain range.

The trees are in full winter mode. This weeping willow has so much character.

We got home as the sun was setting and casting a wonderful glow onto the maple in our neighbor’s yard.

We really need to make walking a habit for this new year. We used to walk more regularly but have fallen way out of the habit. Do you walk regularly?

(I stayed up way too late watching the season 4 opening of Downton Abbey. I’m still hooked and very tired.)

I’m Melting…

…or the time in between Winter and Spring in Chewelah. There was a lot more snow on the ground at our son’s place before we arrived. I was happy to visit after the fact. I shared Fall scenes from his property and here are some winter scenes.

This was our daughter Katie’s first visit to her brother’s home so we all trekked about the property for her to get a good picture of his property.

We ended our stay with breakfast at The Chalet Restaurant and Alpine Room in Chewelah, a great place to eat.

We had a wonderful time together at Dan’s place. After breakfast we said our goodbyes and reminded each other that we’ll all be together again in late April when we travel to our niece’s wedding in Southern California from 3 different airports. We’re at that stage in life when our kids are a bit scattered and enjoying life as they should apart from us. We always welcome the times we can come together and enjoy each other. Do your grown children live far or near?

Hello There…

We’ve been enjoying the birds flitting about here. Sunshine has been hard to catch but we have had some. Will you be enjoying a holiday on Monday? Maybe we will get a lovely sunrise.