…to wish our Katie a very Happy Birthday today.
It’s hard keeping track of what day of the week it is. I’ll be back to normal, whatever that is, in 2015! How are you doing?
Category Archives: Birthday
Celebrations…
We have lots of fun celebrations this month and we started last night going out to dinner for our DIL Laura’s birthday. After dinner at a new restaurant in our neighboring town we popped over to Katie and Andrew’s apartment for cake and presents. It was fun to see Katie’s creative tree on the wall since they won’t be buying a real one this year. On Monday we had a fun shopping day in Snohomish with Katie and that’s where the photo of her by the Snohomish River was taken.
I’m still working on getting all the decorations up for Christmas. Thursday we have a dinner here with our small group.
I’m having a hard time keeping up with blogs right now so I won’t be joining memes until I am sure I can get around and comment.
Life is rich! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
Joy!
J is for…JOY
If I made this sign I would have left off the It’s All Good part. There are things that are not good and in fact quite evil that happen every day, but today I’m concentrating on Joy. You can have joy in the midst of hard times.
Joy is contagious!
So today as I experience another 100+ day in Southern California I will choose Joy in my journey, especially since I’m journeying home to the Seattle area and cooler temperatures today. While down here I have found a lot of joy spending time with my dear old pop (91), visiting with sisters, brothers, and nieces and nephews and old friends. I’ll leave you with a photo of the joy my little grand niece showed when we celebrated her 5th birthday.
I’m linking to ABC Wednesday with thanks to Denise Nesbitt and the ABC Team.
I hope you find Joy today!
Some Painless Therapy…
Dear and I have decided to “cut our losses” and give up on the bathroom renovation being made right by the company we hired. It is better for our peace of mind to give it up and let Dear fix things that need to be done better. After several tries to get them to do things right we’ve decided no more. When you see the photos of the bathroom you will wonder what we are complaining about because you will see the beautiful cosmetic fixes. Unfortunately we had to live with the process and it will take some time for me to bond with the beauty of it all. When Dear finishes the painting and the rest of the window parts come in I promise to show you the before and after. Until then here is a sneaky photo of some wall art that is going to go up that I bought at Hobby Lobby today.
Yes, a little shopping therapy was in order for today so I made stops at Hobby Lobby, Goodwill, and Trader Joe’s. Hobby Lobby had a 50% off sale going for all their wall art so I bought that metal piece to mount on one of the walls of the bathroom. A tree branch with birds.
Their fall decor was on sale for 40% off so I bought these Place Cards that I’ll enjoy using at Thanksgiving.
These Le Creuset ramekins were in the collector section of Goodwill marked at $14.95 for all 6. Because Wednesday is Senior discount day I got 20% off and paid $12.50 for all 6. I saw them at Williams Sonoma for $13.00 each. Now I’ll need to come up with a fun recipe to use them for. If you click on these smaller photos you can see them in their larger format. Speaking of Senior Discount day the employee at Goodwill who came on the sound system to remind us what discounts were available on Wednesday said “If you are 62 or Better you get 20% off” I love that and when I went to the register I told them I was better!!
We had a very nice evening on Tuesday celebrating Dear at a restaurant in Bellevue called Lot #3. They had the most interesting names for their drinks. I had a Left Turn at Albuquerque.
After dinner we took a couple family shots outside the restaurant.
Our son Dan is off hunting in the wilderness so he couldn’t join us.
Tomorrow is the 13th anniversary of 9/11, I’m praying that God protects us against evil…but that prayer is nothing new at this old house!
Welcome April!
We aren’t big on April Fool’s Jokes around this old house and I’m happy about that. We have friends that have enjoyed quite elaborate jokes on this day.
Here’s how March went out like a lamb in my neck of the woods.
On Sunday Josh and Laura took us out to dinner at The Wild Ginger in Bellevue. We enjoyed a view of the city from our table.
After dinner we stopped by Whole Foods to check out their bakery to choose some sweets to enjoy at home together. On the way home we traveled along the northeast shore of Lake Washington and stopped to take a photo of the sun setting.
I love the gifts Josh and Laura gave me.
Framed photos of some of the highlights of our trip to England in September of 2013 and these great Cd’s from Wells Cathedral. We had a real good chuckle over the title on the Christmas Cd, Jingle Wells. I might not wait till Christmas to listen to it. We really had a memorable time at Wells Cathedral so these Cd’s are very appreciated.
On Monday, the last day of March, it was warm enough to go out in the yard and complete a project I started last Monday. I planted two Rose bud Azaleas in the spot where I pulled out another plant I wasn’t enjoying. I purchased the two Azaleas with a gift card my friends gave me to purchase a plant in honor of my mom, she died last September 13th. My mom loved soft pink flowers and I thought these two Azaleas would be perfect.
My mom’s birthday was April 8th and I was glad I could plant these before that day arrived this year. I have been successful with the other Azaleas in our yard so I felt these would be a good choice. I wouldn’t want to choose something that might not thrive.
April is a very eventful month at this old house. This Saturday I’m hosting a table at a Friendship tea, Easter is coming, and then Katie and I have to be packed up and ready for a road trip across the U.S.A. We leave on Sunday April 27th. I hope your April arrived nicely and that no one made a fool out of you!
A Week Later…
…we are still celebrating.
This time it was just Dear and I who went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday which was a week ago. Greg searched on line to find a restaurant that served some good sounding lamb dishes.
We ended up at Pogacha Restaurant in Bellevue. Dear had the Lamb T-Bone Chop and I had the Lamb Shank. The meat was falling off the bone on my Lamb Shank and that’s the way I like it. Dear enjoyed his chops…a lot. We had a pear cobbler like dish for dessert. We shared. It was nice to share a meal together at the end of a week filled with ups and downs.
What a beautiful day we had on Friday. This was one of our views driving home from the restaurant. The mountains you see are in the Cascade Mountain Range. We are hoping for a few more dry sunny days so we can do a major clean up of our yard.
What are your plans for the weekend?
Another Year Older…
…and I do hope wiser.
My life started when I was little.
I was a real swinger.
I started out a brunette and then became a blond and then switched back to brunette.
Kindergarten at Montebello Gardens Primary School. This school only went to the 3rd grade at this time. Starting in the 4th grade we were bused up to Montebello (over the Rio Hondo river) to Fremont Elementary. Montebello Gardens (not a garden by any stretch of the imagination) is part of Pico Rivera. (Top Row Left with my Buster Brown “do”)
Mrs. Nicolaus my 1st and 2nd grade teacher was one of a handful of my teachers that I knew was 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”)
The majority of the children I went to school with in my primary school days were Mexican/American. Of course now the politically correct title is Hispanic. My growing up experiences were not in the era of political correctness. (Top Row right with my Buster Brown askew)
I tried to count the candles on this cake to see what birthday it was. It looks like 7 but I’m not sure. This was at our house in Montebello Gardens/Pico Rivera, 4635 Oak Street. It’s funny how the old addresses stick in my head. My sister Kathy on the right with my cousin Jim Loscutoff. On the left is my brother Fred and my sister Vera.
I know this is later than the photo above since my brother Steve is sitting in the highchair and my cousin Tanya is sitting at the table. My best guess is that this is 1960 since my brother Steve was born in December of 1959 (my 9th birthday). My cousin Valia, cousin Vera, cousin John, and cousin Walter blurred along with my brother Fred blurred. Looks like a store bought cake for this year…
When I was in the 5th grade we moved across the river into Montebello and I was able to walk to school. During my 4th grade year I was bused. Speaking of 4th grade, I talked too much and my handwriting was messy. Funny how the criticisms stick with you all your life. My 5th grade teacher gave me the distinct impression that she did not like me at all. She made me stand up once in class to chastise me and I remember thinking in my head “I may be standing up on the outside but I’m sitting down on the inside!” My 6th grade teacher was a gem who encouraged me with his kindness. I worked in the cafeteria in the 6th grade and got free lunches. The cafeteria ladies were another group of adults who encouraged me.
God has brought me through these 63 years with so much tenderness and care. I’m forever grateful.
We are heading across the mountains to our son’s home for the weekend. We’ll have my birthday dinner in Chewelah. Dear will be helping Dan with some projects and I’ll see what mischief I can get into. Don’t know if I’ll be checking in to the internet until Monday. Have a great weekend!
Rain Won’t Stop…
…our parade!
We had a full day of celebrating this past Saturday and we didn’t let the pouring rain dampen our spirits or our celebrating.
The opening game for our Sounders Soccer season was at noon on Saturday. The first thing I noticed as we entered the Club level of the stadium was this great new vendor addition. They really know their team colors. This is good marketing.
Opening the game with the National Anthem and all the branches of the military represented is one of my favorite parts of being at the game instead of watching it from home. Our soccer crowd sings along and it’s great to hear close to 40,000 people singing.
There are lots of creative ideas to get the fans behind the team and to keep us cheering. The blue and green plastic squares were in our cup holders and they had blue sections and green sections and had us all hold up our squares at once. Fun times. At every kickoff the green streamers fly. Our most expensive player, Clint Dempsey, has lots of fans and someone created a Dempseyland banner using Disneyland printing. Fun times.
We are fortunate to have our season tickets under some cover so the rain does not fall freely on our heads. If the wind picks up we can get some rain blown our way but for the most part we stay dry when others in the stadium get soaked.
Of course it would have been a bummer if after all this we would have lost the game but I’m happy to say we won. It took till the very last minute of the game but we won and we left elated and ready to face the horrible downpour and slick roads home. Once home we got ready for our next fun event.
Our Laura’s grandmother, Wilma, turned 90 this week and we all got together to celebrate her 90 years at her favorite restaurant.
Wilma is such a sweet lady and we are so happy to have gotten to know her since Josh and Laura got married.
Isn’t the cake great?
These two events on the same day really brought a lot of sunshine into my world.
I’m linking up with Sunlit Sunday at My Little Home and Garden and Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.
What is brightening up your world these days?
In the Midst of Fog…
…there are still favorites. Things to be thankful for that shine through no matter what. I’m joining Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five.
1. January is a big birthday month at our house. Joshua’s birthday was on Sunday. We celebrated earlier in the month and the photo above was part of our celebration. Our Son Dan’s birthday was on the 16th and his girlfriend’s birthday was on the 15th. This year we celebrated Dan from afar while he celebrated in Eastern Washington. My brother Tim celebrated his birthday and our niece Hope will celebrate her birthday on Saturday. We love to celebrate our loved ones and that’s my first favorite this week.
Our son Dan and his girlfriend Jamie
2. My dear old pop has been having a hard time with a lot of shoulder pain and when he’s in so much pain he misses my mom even more. I was happy to see this photo of him with my niece Melissa enjoying a meal out and looking so alive and pain free. He has been feeling better and the pain with medication has been more manageable. I’m so thankful my father’s pain has been relieved.
3. We’ve been in quite a foggy overcast pattern here in the Puget Sound area. The afternoons where the sun finally broke through were another favorite of mine this week.
 4. An early morning walk with Dear on Saturday was a blessing. It’s always good to get out and get some exercise in the Winter when we tend to want to stay inside and be couch potatoes. We were treated to some Eagle sightings.
5. Another favorite is visiting my bloggy friends each week. This week one of my favorite posts was this one from Gumbo Lily. I love seeing how other people live in different environments than my own and thrive “Day by Day”.
What were your favorites this week?
Update: I posted this last night and this morning I woke up to beautiful clear skies and amazing sunshine! Woohoo!
Full of Thoughts…
In my college years which happened to be the late 60’s and early 70’s I bought this album to keep me organized in my thoughtfulness. Appropriately the album is called…
These sweet illustrations called to me back then. Remember Holly Hobbie?
Each month has a page with a pocket and each day of the month is in a list form for you to add birthdays, anniversaries and other events.
I cherish this old album that is worn with age and use.
It’s time for me to go through that drawer in my desk…you know the one, where you throw everything in for future organization. I have wedding invitations and birth announcements and funeral leaflets to put into the appropriate month of the year pocket. These monthly pockets are wonderful now all these years later because so much has happened and I forget more and more about when these events took place. Each month I can flip the page and not only see who’s birthday and anniversary fall in that month but what year the event took place. Everything all in one book.
How do you keep organized when it comes to birthdays and anniversaries?
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 