Author Archives: Ellen

Tablescape Thursday ~ Checkers Anyone?

Time for table setting fun. Please click over and visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to see lots of great tables around the world.

 

I’ve set the table early in anticipation of my brother and SIL’s visit on Saturday. We will be celebrating my brother’s birthday.

 

I’ve decided on Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder for sandwiches. We’ll have a salad alongside. For dessert we’ll have a choice between both my brother’s favorites…carrot cake or cheesecake.

 

The martini glasses are Target clearance and the cut glass are hand me downs from my aunt.

 

The napkins are Martha Stewart K-mart clearance. The napkin rings are from Pier 1 and were a gift from my kids.

 

The dishes are from the thrift store and are Royal Stafford. The flatware is from Target clearance. The chargers are from Tjmaxx.

The candle holders are from a garage sale.

 

Hope you are all having a good week. I’ve been staying close to home out of the storms that are hitting Southern California one after another…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

OW ~ Calleguas Creek

This creek is generally bone dry most of the year.

 

After one day of rain it flows like this.

 

 

 

This is a storm drain/culvert in our neighborhood that is always bone dry, too, except after the kind of rains we’ve had these last couple days…

Two more storms are pushing through on Wednesday and Thursday that promise even more water. I’ll have to get out and see how much more water comes flowing down our creek…

To see more Outdoor posts please visit Susan at A Southern Day Dreamer!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Flashback to the Summer Olympics 1984!

For my Canadian friends, especially Marg who is going to experience the Winter Olympics in her own backyard and Susanne who kind of  missed the torch going through her city, I decided to pull up this photo of my husband with an Olympic Torch from the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. I’ll have to dig up some photos of him doing his actual run in Ontario, California. He entered the chance to represent his company and his name was drawn. It really was an exciting time for our family.

We also were able to see some Olympic rowing events at Lake Casitas.

Today I’m off running to take care of some things for Dear and then I’m driving across town again for an evening event with my family. Hoping the rain doesn’t interfere too much with my visibility while I’m driving. It doesn’t mist here in Southern California or rain lightly like in Washington. Rain here is always an event of ginormous proportions and ramifications…

UPDATE: ellen b. is staying put at her condo. We cancelled our event in Huntington Beach because the weather is deteriorating and a tornado watch has been issued! Yikes..

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

When it Rains it Pours…

After all the fires that burned so many hillsides in Southern California a rain event here can trigger mudslides and flash floods without much warning. The rain here in the Camarillo area has been coupled with heavy winds so eucalyptus debris is just flying through the air. The air smells of eucalyptus which is a nice change from other smells we can get because of the extensive farming in this area. Weather advisories are streaming across the television.

 

 

 

Looks pretty scary! Hopefully the predictions won’t come through…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Family Blues…

 

On Sunday I drove across Los Angeles to my sister’s house for a family gathering in honor of Avery and Jackson’s  grandparent’s from Michigan. Avery is my sister Kathy’s granddaughter and Jackson is Avery’s big brother. Jackson and Avery’s grandparents flew out to meet Avery and spend some time with both of them.

 

Is there any doubt that this is Avery’s father… Look at the shape of their eyes…

 

 

 

The great grandparents (my parents) were also there to enjoy the festivities.

 

 

My sister Kathy with Avery(Jackson and Avery’s nana), my sister Vera, MLou (Avery and Jackson’s grandmother from Michigan), and Ellen b.

It was so much fun to finally meet MLou in person. We have interacted with each other for a long time via my blog and Facebook.

Please visit Sally at Smiling Sally for more Blue Monday posts…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Mosaic Monday ~ New Dishes…

 

Got some new dishes that make me smile. Now to come up with a tablesetting for dinner on Saturday…

Thank you to Mary at the Little Red House for hosting mosaic Monday.

Thanks for your visit and hope you have a week filled with love and joy…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Hot Tea Month Blog-a-thon ~ Week 3

Click on the image to get to the Hot tea Month blog…

Week Three: January 17th-23rd
Our topic for week three of the blog-a-thon is:

“If I could have my own Tea House this is how I would run things…..”

If I ran my own tea room I would want it to be a wonderful experience for anyone who walked through the door. I would not want my guests to feel hurried or ignored so I would limit my tea room to one seating a day. That seating would be for a group of 6 to 12. I might consider two groups of 4 or 2 groups of 6. It would only be open on Saturday. Hey since we’re being hypothetical I have the freedom to plan unrealistically. My tea room would not make any money but I would be happy at the end of the day. Everything would be fresh and made to order. The food would be something that people would remember. Everyone’s tea would be served hot for every cup they sip. Cups would not be dry for longer then a few seconds. My guests would be treated well and their experience would put a smile on their face.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.


O God of Mercy! Hearken Now ~ Hymn

O God of Mercy! Hearken Now

O God of mercy! hearken now
Before Thy throne we humbly bow;
With heart and voice to Thee we cry
For all on earth who suffering lie.

We seek Thee where Thou dwell’st on high;
Beyond the glittering, starry sky:
We find Thee where Thou dwell’st below
Beside the beds of want and woe.

O let the healing waters spring,
Touched by Thy pitying angel’s wing;
With quick’ning pow’r new strength impart
To palsied will, to withered heart.

Where poverty in pain must lie,
Where little suffering children cry,
Bid us haste forth as called by Thee,
And in Thy poor Thyself to see.

Words: Emily V. Clark, 1891

January is Very Significant…

…in our family! Both of our sons were born in January. Katie’s due date was in January, too, but she decided to come at the end of December. All three of our kids were born on a Friday.

 

Josh was born on January 19, 1979 at 7:34 a.m. weighing in at a solid 10 pounds!

 

Daniel was born on January 16, 1981 at 12:30 P.M. weighing in at 8 pounds 1-1/2 ounces.

 

Daniel loved to have a Choo Choo Train cake. I even made him one for an adult birthday of his. :0)

 

Our boys have always been good friends to each other and I thank God for that. Happy Birthday Josh and Dan. We’ll celebrate when we can all be together!

Other family birthdays in January include my brother Tim on the 22nd and our sweet niece Hope on the 25th!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Round Robin Photo Challenge is Back!

Round Robin Photo Challenge is back for the new year today Saturday, January 16th!

The topic of the challenge is “Candlelight.”

 

 

To see more Round Robin participants visit the Round Robin Photo Challenge Blog.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.