Author Archives: Ellen

Valentine’s Day Adventures and Surprises!

We started our Valentine’s Day very early with a low tide walk at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura. This was a very cold morning for Southern California and we were layered well and I had my gloves on. Our faces were very cold when we walked into the wind. The only others up and paying attention to us were those 2 doggies in the window! We stopped for breakfast at Allison’s in Ventura then made a stop at Target where we bought 2 bookshelves for our living area (I wiill show how the space was transformed in my Metamorphosis post for Monday :0) Then we stopped at the Home Depot to buy an upper kitchen cabinet to put in our bathroom for some extra storage. I’ll show that project next week. Now Dear had the perfect Valentine’s Day ahead of him putting things together with his hand tools!

While we were busy recreating our space in the condo the doorbell rang and the florist brought this lovely bouquet from our children to us for Valentine’s Day. So unexpected and so appreciated. What wonderful thoughtful children God has blessed us with.

Can’t help but show you…Isn’t the vase they came in pretty with the etchings on it?

Then after all the projects were done and we got cleaned up we were ready for our Valentine’s dinner. A very lovely, fulfilling day filled with lots of love…

God is good to us! Blessings on your upcoming Sunday.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

If you happen to be on-line today and visit my blog a very Happy Birthday to you Dear Beth! I thank God for bringing our families together through Dan and Jamie!!

When I was at Von’s yesterday buying a few things I spotted these sweet pink heart bowls and plates that they had marked down 60%. I bought two of each and came home inspired to set the bar for a nice Valentine meal for Dear and I. So I’m thinking some steaks, baked potatoes and salad will be good. Got the bubbly chilled so we’re all set to go.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day and I hope you all feel loved and show love to those in your path today!

Friday’s Fave Five~

Oh my life has been busy since last Friday! It’s time to stop and think about our favorites from this last week and also to be thankful for all the good things God causes in our lives. So visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in or to see some favorites from around the world. Just want to give a shout out to our friends in Paraguay and Belgium that join in…

On Saturday we traveled across town to a friends Aunt’s funeral. You might wonder why a funeral makes my top 5 but funerals have been a natural part of my life from childhood. It was a good time of supporting the family and seeing friends and family that we haven’t seen for years. Reconnecting, encouraging and enjoying the company of loved ones from our past and present. It was especially good to see my parents, that cute couple in the collage.

On Wednesday I hosted a Tea for my Bible Study Group. It was another great time of fellowship with ladies that have had such a different life experience from me and each other. God has brought us together for a time and it’s always interesting to see how we connect and grow together.

Wednesday night Dear and I went to Ventura for a soccer game. We stopped at a restaurant for dinner first that we hadn’t been to since 1988. It was a fun evening. I’m a huge soccer fan and we got to see the Seattle Sounders our new MLS soccer team play a pre-season scrimmage game against a local Ventura team. We found one other fan from Seattle in the stands and I wore my Sounders Jersey that my son and DIL  gave me for Christmas. Fun times and we won 6-1!

I really enjoy walking every week. Willow and I spotted our little Dove again yesterday. We couldn’t walk Monday and Tuesday because “Life” got in the way but it’s always great to resume and continue this discipline…

Now for #5. Yesterday I posted some ingredients that I was putting together for an experimental meal. I said I would reveal the mystery ingredient and let everyone know if it was edible. Well here’s the reveal. The not so surprising ingredients were whole grain pasta, pasta sauce, and basil. The surprising mystery ingredient was my leftover chicken salad mix from my tea on Wednesday.

Strange but true it was very good! Dear went back for seconds. It gave a creamy and crunchy texture to the pasta that was surprisingly good. So my 5th favorite thing from this week is experimenting in the kitchen and having good results! :0)

To see more favorites visit Susanne from Living to Tell the Story.

 

Mystery Pasta…

I just called Dear at work to warn him that I’m experimenting for dinner. I always like to warn him ahead of time just in case it’s one big flop! I’m using these basic ingredients and then throwing in something very unconventional. I’ll let you know what happens and what the mystery ingredient is tomorrow.

 

 

Seattle Sounders FC, and this Old Gray Mare!

Oh, the old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be,
Ain’t what she used to be, ain’t what she used to be.
The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be,
Many long years ago.
Many long years ago, many long years ago.
The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be,
Many long years ago.

So ellen b. is tard today, really tard. (tard is tired with one syllable). I just had way too much fun yesterday and it wiped me out. I had my Bible Study Table over for an English Tea at 11:00. Walked with Willow at 2:30. Went to Ventura with Dear at 4:30 for dinner and a soccer game at 7:00. Got home with the light of the moon. So much fun takes it’s toll these days.

I’ll post more about the tea another day with recipes for the things that worked well. But let’s get to my other passion…SOCCER! I learned to love soccer when my boys played. Some people find soccer/futbol boring but not me. I love to see the plays progress and that golden moment when everything connects just right and the ball goes into the net!

Seattle got it’s very own MLS team this year and the Seattle Sounders F.C. are training in Ventura right now and playing some pre-season games. My son Josh called to let me know that they would be playing in Ventura last night just 20 minutes away from us. We bought tickets on line and headed out to Ventura last night to see them play. Dear and I decided to have dinner at Ferraro’s, an Italian Restaurant that has been in Ventura a long time and one we used to go to in the mid 80’s when we lived in Ventura. We are trying to figure out how they make their meatballs so soft, they melt in your mouth. We decided to have Chianti instead of Burgundy because we’d probably cheer for an Italian soccer team before the French team. :0) Just checking to see if you’re still reading this. It was fun to see a game in person again. It’s been a long time. We spotted one other Seattle fan with a jersey on and did our high fives and cheered together. Seattle won 6-1, so we got to see a lot of great goals scored and I’ve picked out two favorite players so far…#17 and #19.

But here I am today, tard, just plain old tard, but happy!

 

Tablescape Thursday ~ Pink & Black

It’s time for Tablescape Thursday which used to be Tablescape Tuesday. Visit our hostess Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to join in or to see lots of different tablescapes from around bloggy world.

This is a table setting in my living room in the State of Washington. When I was there over Christmas I pulled in one of our folding round tables from the garage to set this scape. I really love to be able to set a round table. It really is a lot better for conversation and eye contact with everyone it seems.

I combined my Royal Albert Moss Rose dinner service with some new and old pink depression glass.

I bought this great black and white polka dot round table cloth years ago at Wight’s Nursery after Christmas Sale. If you live in the Seattle area you might be familiar with Wight’s in Lynwood/Edmonds. They always have wonderful decor available along with their plants and gardening departments.

I made the chair covers with some black fabric I bought. The covers only go over the backs of the chairs not the seats. I used pink tulle and ribbon to make a bow around the chair top. Some of my camellias were blooming in December so I floated them in this Depression Glass bowl from Dear’s great, great, Aunt Emma. The pink rose napkin rings are from Target Shabby Chic Collection.

To see more tablescapes visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

WFW ~ Matthew 28: 18-20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

For more Word Filled Wednesday visit Amydeanne at the 160 Acre Woods.

I’m going to be late getting around y’all. I am hosting a tea today at 11:00 for my Bible Study Table and then tonight I’m headed to a Seattle Sounders Soccer Game close by in Ventura. I’m so excited to see the Sounders play in a pre-season game. Blessings…

Busy in the Kitchen

I’m busy in the kitchen today. Tomorrow 6 ladies from my Bible Study Table are coming for tea at 11:00. If you don’t see me around you’ll know why. I’ll be putting little tea sandwiches together, making scones, brewing tea, and setting the table. I’ve made the chicken salad for sandwiches, the cream cheese and chives for the cucumber sandwiches, little heart red velvet cake, and dream cookies. The Mock devonshire cream looks ok and I bought the lemon curd. Now I’m off to mail my Valentine Cards so they get to Washington and to buy some flowers for the table. Hope your day is going well. If I don’t get the “last minute panics” I’ll even take some pictures to show. See you soon.