…from my regular scenery.
I’ll be back to city life on Monday with lots to share from the country.
Author Archives: Ellen
Five More Hats!
Five more hats that I have worn from college on…
# 1 ~ I was part of a Christian Rock group where I met Dear and we fell in love with each other and with Great Britain in the early 70’s.
“Hymns give way to Jesus Rock in morning assembly at St. George’s Church of England School, in Meadow Road, Gravesend yesterday. The concert was given by the Contemporaries, 14 musicians from the United States who are in the middle of a world tour. They have already completed a number of successful “gigs” in Liverpool. They are all professional musicians but they are giving their services free”…
Dear and I are in the center of the photo on the bottom row. 1974 was the last summer tour Dear and I participated in.
#2 – I was a bride and became a wife to Dear and changed my name in December of 1974.
#3 ~ I was an elementary school teacher in the Montebello Unified School District until our first son was born.
#4~ I’m blessed to be a mother to these three children and my mother in law sheet is complete with two daughter-in-laws and one son-in-law.
#5 I’m an auntie and great auntie to so many lovely human beings! I’m sharing a few photos so I can get all of the nieces and nephews and great nephews and nieces in. I haven’t met two of the latest greats in person yet.
Our family and Dear’s brother’s family from Katie and Andrew’s wedding in 2012.
Dear’s only brother’s family and our family in 2015 at Riverside National Cemetery (missing Jenna, Justin, Skylar and Travis).
My kids and nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews surrounding my pop at my mother’s memorial service in 2013.
Our kids plus my nieces and nephews with my youngest niece Hope and youngest nephew Andrew in 2015 at my brother-in-law Nick’s funeral. So let me count. 7 brothers and sisters. 7 brother and sister in laws. 19 original nieces and nephews. Many of those nieces and nephews are married now and I have 9 grand nieces and nephews. I have 4 nieces and 2 nephews who aren’t married yet.
I have one brother (out of my 7 siblings) whose family has estranged themselves from all the rest of us siblings and our families. They are not enjoying the love and support and comfort that the rest of us enjoy when we are together. I’m adding this truth here to let my dear readers know that things aren’t all rosy in my family relationship category. My brother and his wife have 4 kids and we know for sure 3 of them are married. We aren’t sure about our oldest nephew from this family. We have at least 3 grand nephews or nieces that I’ve never met. I also have never met two of my nephew’s spouses and the oldest niece’s spouse. They have chosen to cut off all ties and relationship with us. Haven’t seen my brother since 2009 and haven’t seen my sister in law since 2004. So sad but true. We pray that there will be reconciliation in the future. Gott Kann!
I have a few more current hats to share before I totally bore you to tears.
I’m linking up with Amy at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday and with Susanne for Friday’s Fave Five.
I’ll be on the road for most of Friday and hope to check in once we arrive at our son’s house in Eastern Washington for the weekend later on Friday. Blessings…
Good Fences…
These photos are from Rosedale in British Columbia from a friend’s home.
Linking up with Good Fences hosted by TexWisGirl #109.
We’re getting ready for a little road trip over the mountains and through the farmlands of Washington state to our Eastern Washington kid’s home to work on some projects. Hoping to see some fun things to take photos of…
Signs in Cle Elum and Roslyn Washington
We left early in the morning and our first stop was for breakfast in Cle Elum.
Friendly people and good food if you need someplace to eat on your way across the Cascades we recommend this cafe. They have “acres” of parking…that cracked me up but I suppose if you are traveling in R.V.’s and pulling trailers filled with bikes and camping gear this is the place for you!
We got some great inside information from the family sitting next to us on visiting Roslyn and Ronald. After breakfast in Cle Elum and a stop at the small town hardware store we headed West to Roslyn.
Incorporated in 1886 the coal-mining town of Roslyn played an important role in Washington State History. The extensive coal fields in the area fueled the Northern Pacific Railroad’s trains during construction and early operation of a direct rail line through the Cascade Mountains.
Roslyn also claimed fame because of the T.V. series Northern Exposure. It was called Cicely on the show and suppose to be in Alaska but the filming was done on the streets of Roslyn, Washington.
The Brick is Washington’s oldest continuously operating bar established in 1889. They are also known for Northern Exposure being filmed there and a movie called The Runner Stumbles with Dick Van Dyke. The Runner Stumbles was also filmed at the Immaculate Conception Church in Roslyn shown below.
This was a fun day trip for us and we enjoyed seeing this little towns. Driving around you are always sure to find some interesting yard art, too.
Rust in Peace…clever.
We are still having a heat wave here in the Pacific Northwest. Of course since this is so out of the ordinary everyone’s talking about it. I’ve never had to water plants in April before but I’ve been busy dragging the hoses around and watering the last couple days.
How are things in your corner of the world?
Linking up to Signs, signs with Lesley.
Out of Doors!
We spent a lot of time outdoors with a string of good weather we’ve been having. Here are some photos of what is blooming outside in our yard.
Our pink Dogwood.
Some sweet pansies.
Our lilac and bleeding hearts.
Dogwood with Lilac in the background.
Our azaleas and rhododendrons are getting ready to show us all they have to offer soon.
Yesterday I brought some of our outside beauties in to enjoy their fragrance.
We had a record breaker heat day yesterday at 90 degrees. They expect another record breaker for today at 86. Unheard of in April.
Linking up with ABC Wednesday originated by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by Roger and and team. O is for out of doors, outdoors, outside.
Tuesday’s Treasures…
This is a treasured work of art we have that a friend painted. Here is a link to her website. The work was inspired by a small nook in the crypt of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
This is a collage of the actual nook on the left and our painting on the right. We owned this painting before we visited the Cathedral and it was like a treasure hunt for us to find the nook.
If you ever find yourself in Washington D.C., the National Cathedral is a must see. It’s on one of the hop on hop off trolley lines.
I’m linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveler for Tuesday’s Treasures.
We are having a Spring heat wave here in the Seattle area. We are breaking heat records for April with highs in the 80’s! We barbecued tonight and we’ve had to do a lot of watering that we don’t usually do in April. Thinking of those of you who live in the Houston area and I do hope you are above water.
Snow Geese and Barns…
When my sisters and I were in Mount Vernon, Washington to see the daffodils back in March we also were treated to a large invasion of Snow Geese. I just realized I never shared these photos and since there are some barns in the background in some of the shots I’ll link up to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveler.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Here’s a closer view of a barn in Mount Vernon that we drove by on a different weekend.
We are getting some fine sunny weather in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. There are predictions of it hitting 80 tomorrow. We are tempted to put up our patio covers and get the patio furniture out. I had a good week of Zumba at the gym and I’m happy to say my muscles aren’t screaming at me anymore. On Saturday we worked in the yard and I got some new shrubs planted. Later my son and I had a fun evening watching the Seattle Sounders beat Philadelphia Union 2-1. It’s always more fun to win. Quote of the night from coach Zigi: “You can’t score your second one until you get your first one … It was a big weight off his shoulder.”
Hope you all have a good week and that your tax returns are mailed or electronically submitted!
How Good it is To Thank the Lord ~ Hymn
How Good It Is to Thank The Lord
How good it is to thank the Lord,
And praise to Thee, Most High, accord,
To show Thy love with morning light,
And tell Thy faithfulness each night;
Yea, good it is Thy praise to sing,
And all our sweetest music bring.
O Lord, with joy my heart expands,
Before the wonders of Thy hands;
Great works, Jehovah, Thou hast wrought,
Exceeding deep Thine every thought;
A foolish man knows not their worth,
Nor he whose mind is of the earth.
When as the grass the wicked grow,
When sinners flourish here below,
Then is there endless ruin nigh,
But Thou, O Lord, art throned on high;
Thy foes shall fall before Thy might,
The wicked shall be put to flight.
Thou, Lord, hast high exalted me
With royal strength and dignity;
With Thine anointing I am blest,
Thy grace and favor on me rest;
I thus exult o’er all my foes,
O’er all that would my cause oppose.
The righteous man shall flourish well,
And in the house of God shall dwell;
He shall be like a goodly tree,
And all his life shall fruitful be;
For righteous is the Lord and just,
He is my Rock, in Him I trust.
Words: The Psalter 1912, Music: St. Petersburg ~ Dimitri S. Bortniansky
Five Hats I’ve Worn…
It’s time for Five on Friday with Amy at Love Made My Home and Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.
I’m sharing five of the hats I’ve worn and continue to wear over the years. These are the earlier years before marriage.
Daughter to Moisi and Nadia Bagdanov, Russian immigrants whose families escaped out of Russia into Persia and immigrated to the U.S. after WWII.
Younger sister to Kathy, Vera and Fred.
Kathy, my mom, me in front of her, Fred and Vera. I was the baby of the family for 7 years before the siblings doubled!
Fred, my Pop, me, Kathy and Vera.
Older sister to Tim, Steve, Lana and Leonard (twins).
Student in the Montebello Unified School District. Schools I attended were Montebello Gardens, Fremont Elementary, Montebello Junior high and Montebello high school. I grew up in suburbs east of Los Angeles with many Hispanics and a fair share of Russian, Armenian and Jewish families, too. A great melting pot.
Mrs. Nicolaus my 1st and 2nd grade teacher was one of a handful of my teachers that I knew were fond of me. I was a voracious reader and she recommended that I be skipped from 2nd grade to 3rd grade. (Top Row left with my curly “do”)
Graduate: Junior high graduation with my little maternal babushka (grandmother) and High School graduation with my little babushka.
College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Home Economics and a Elementary teaching credential. On the left me and dear before we were married and on the right me and my brother Fred. We graduated the same year and from the same college.
So daughter, sister, student, graduate and number five for this week is part-time employee. All through the end of my senior year of high school and through college I worked part time to save and pay for my college education. My parents could not afford to pay for my college education.
This photo is from the parts department of Montgomery Ward in Rosemead, California. I worked here during the years I attended Cal-State Los Angeles my last 4 years of college. College was 5 years for me as I had an extra year to earn my teaching credential. My first year of college I worked as a Teacher’s Assistant in the Russian department at the University of Redlands. In my high school years I worked as an office assistant at Link-Belt in Montebello. See the huge Icthus I’m wearing? I was never shy about the fact that Jesus Christ was and is my Savior. This was also the early 70’s when the Jesus movement was going strong in Southern California.
Thanking God today for how he’s been with me all these years leading and guiding and protecting me. All the way my Savior leads me…
Fences with Flowers…
On my neighborhood walk in the Spring these are the flowers and scenes I see with different fences.
The start of my walk on this sunny morning is from the front of our home on the drive that leads out to the neighborhood. That’s our pear tree on the left at the beginning of the drive. Me and my shadow…
This is the first lilac that I pass along my route with white plastic fence sections you can buy at the big box hardware stores.
At the middle of my walk I see these beautiful rhododendrons against a wooden fence. I want to buy one of these varieties for my yard.
Tulips blooming with a wooden fence in the background across the street from the pretty rhoddies.
Home again, home again, chain link fence. This is the back of our property that happens to back up to the street. Our house is backwards where all the other houses in this neighborhood face the street we turn our back on it! We fool a lot of new delivery people. Our home was the first one in this neighborhood tract. Our old house used to be a nursery with no properties around it at all. The streets and the rest of the neighborhood were added when whoever owned this old house sold it for development.
I’m linking up with TexWisGirl for Good Fences. #108
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 