January’s End Hodgepodge

1. Speaking of endings….at your wit’s end, at loose ends, a dead end, burn the candle at both ends, all’s well that end’s well, or no end in sight…which ‘end’ phrase might best be applied to your life lately? Explain.

I’m going with…no end in sight. Miles to go before we move. So many obstacles to work around. One of those obstacles is finding the best moving company option for our stuff. We were disappointed to find that no Pod companies deliver to the zip code we are moving to. We are now thinking seriously of getting rid of a lot more stuff instead of paying to have it moved. We are in “getting the house ready to sell” mode.

2. What was a must have accessory when you were growing up? Did you own one? If so tell us what you remember about it.

I don’t know how my brain brought this one up to the forefront. In junior high I had to have the latest fad/trend going around in southern California, suspenders. I nagged my mother relentlessly to be able to buy them. My family never had extra money and I’m sure this request seemed ridiculous to my parents. For me it was a “need to have”.

3. Something that made you smile yesterday?

The sun, the sun! The sun broke through and the rain stopped long enough for me to finish pruning the pear tree! Woohoo! And then I spotted my sweet Lenten Rose blooming!

4. January 30th is National Croissant Day. Do you like croissants? Sweet or savory? We’re having chicken salad for lunch…would you rather have yours served on a croissant, a wrap, a bagel, bread, or a roll of some sort?

Yes and yes, sweet and savory. We just had my “not your mamas chicken salad” on croissants last week. And we also had that filling on Belgium Endive as an appetizer for Josh’s birthday dinner.

5. Sum up your January in fifteen words or less.

From the first to the last we enjoyed celebrations of birth and marriage with thanks.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Besides birthdays, rain was a constant theme for the month of January. It was so nice to have a spell without that blessing from the sky on Tuesday. I want to remember to stay up and gaze on that Blue moon tonight.

Our little Addy is walking like a champ and next week I’ll have fresh photos to share of her because I get to fly to California with her parents and her to spend a few days with my extended family. This Baba is excited to see her face to face after more then a month. She’ll be meeting her only great grandfather who is alive, my dear old Pop while we are there, too.

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge. She asks the questions and we answer them. Thank you for reading my answers.

Barns and Birthday!

We spotted these red barns on Conway Hill road in Skagit County back in December of 2017.

Linking up with Tom The Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

Back to the present. We had a wonderful time catching up with our Western Washington kids over a belated birthday dinner for our son Josh.

Looking forward to some plans and ideas that we came up with to make moving easier for everyone! We also enjoyed lots of good food.

Appetizers, then salad and on to the main course of rack of lamb with rice pilaf ending with chocolate cake and ice cream.

How was your weekend? Was it quiet or filled with activity?

Weekend Roundup “D”

It’s just about time for Tom’s Weekend Roundup and the prompts for this week are.

1. Starts with “D” 2. A Favorite 3. Details

Starts with “D.”

Deer or…

my Dear.

A Favorite (or Favorites)!

Daughter, Daughter-in-laws, granddaughter and…

Our son Dan who is now a daddy with our granddaughter.

Details.

Dinner table decorated. It’s all in the details.

Our table is set for a belated birthday dinner on Saturday evening. Our sons and one of our daughter-in-laws had birthdays in January but we only get to set a table for Josh since Dan and Jamie can’t travel over the mountains at this time to be included. I love the DETAILS when setting a table and seeing how things come together. Josh, Laura, Andrew, Katie, Dear and I will be sitting at this table.

Here are the details: I wanted something a little more masculine so I chose the English Transferware dishes with English scenes on them. They are Royal Stafford, made in England. Pewter seemed like a good choice to add and I was able to scrounge up 6 Pewter tankards, which are manly. Dear and I purchased two of the tankards in London in 1974. The rest of the tankards although purchased here and there over time are all made in Sheffield, England. The sterling is 1810 International, a wedding gift from my parents back when sterling was less than stainless is now. Each of the napkin rings has a story. Two matching were souvenirs from a trip to England in the 70’s. The one with my name engraved on it was a birthday gift from Dear many years ago. One is from a set of 8 sterling rings (Gorham) gifted to us as wedding gifts from Dear’s parents. Two others I found at Goodwill. The metal candle holder in the center was something I picked up at Goodwill. The little flower pot name place holders were purchased at a junk trunk show in Monroe a few years back. Pewter salt and pepper sets have been around a long time and I can’t remember where we purchased them. The napkins, tablecloth and tablerunner all came from thrift stores. That’s probably way more details then you wanted to read.

One more thing, I hope I remember to take a photo of all of us sitting at the table enjoying the birthday meal we prepare for Josh.

Next week’s prompts.
Starts with “E.”
A Favorite
Evening.

Thank you Tom for hosting.

Still Blogging Hodgepodge

Crystal Cove Beach, California, January 2017 with my sister Vera.

It’s time to answer the Wednesday Hodgepodge questions…

1. What keeps you blogging?

I’ve thought about laying it aside and then I bump into someone who says they are reading my blog and enjoying it. I’ve been able to go back and read things I’ve forgotten over the years. If I look at it as a journal I’m content to keep going. From the beginning I’ve wanted my blog to honor and encourage and I hope that it has brought some glory to God and encouragement to others. I’m also interested in what’s going on in the lives of fellow bloggers.

2. Some people like to travel in the winter months. Do you enjoy the beach in winter? According to Southern Living the best U.S. beach towns to visit this winter are-

St Simons Island (Georgia), Hilton Head (South Carolina), Bald Head Island (North Carolina), Seaside (Florida), Bay St. Louis (Mississippi), Cape San Blas (Florida), South Padre Island (Texas), Folly Beach (South Carolina), Chincoteague (Virginia), Duck Key (Florida), Nags Head (North Carolina), and Fairhope (Alabama)

Well leave it to Southern Living to list Southeast beaches as the best in the U.S., LOL. I’m of the mind that any beach is great to visit in the Winter!

I love the beach in winter and most of the beaches I’ve visited in winter are West Coast beaches. From San Diego to Central California for me winter at the beach is best. Last January I spent time at Port Hueneme, Huntington Beach and Crystal Cove.

Port Hueneme with extended family staying at a VRBO to attend a family wedding north of Santa Barbara.

The Orchid Farm in Goleta, California at our nephew Joe’s wedding in January of 2017.

Huntington Beach pier in January 2017.

Have you been to any of the towns listed (in any season)? Which on the list appeals to you most this winter?

I have not been to any of the towns listed and they are not on my bucket list. When our son-in-law completed his Marine Corps grueling basic training, my daughter and I flew east and drove to Parris Island for his graduation. We stayed in Beaufort. Later when he was stationed in Jacksonville, N.C. at Camp Lejeune we helped our daughter set up their home on base just before Andrew returned from Afghanistan. While there we took a day trip to Emerald Isle.

Emerald Isle, North Carolina December of 2011.

3. What’s a song you’re embarrassed to know all the lyrics to? Are you really embarrassed or do just think you should be?

I’m not embarrassed about any song I know all the lyrics to and am quite excited if my memory serves me that well.

4. When you were a kid what’s something you thought would be fantastic as an adult, but now that you’re an adult you realize it’s not all that fantastic?

I’m kind of sad to admit this but I thought that being a teacher would be fantastic but when I finally made it into a classroom the federal requirements and paper work wore me down and it was a discouraging endeavor for me. I was happy to retire when our first child was born. My first classroom was on the stage of the cafeteria because the school was over crowded. Yikes. My second classroom was a portable which I got locked in once. My third classroom was a regular classroom with nice windows. Our school was in a low income area and was federally funded, keeping up with the federal paper work made it hard to teach and have good one on one time with the students. I loved the kids but didn’t like the federal meddling.

5. Share a quote you hope will inspire you in 2018.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It’s a big birthday week at this old house. Monday was our daughter-in-law Jamie’s birthday. Tuesday was our son Dan’s birthday and Friday is our son Josh’s birthday. We aren’t seeing any of them on their day since Dan and Jamie are in northeastern Washington and Josh and Laura are celebrating in Hawaii.

Miss seeing our little Addy, too. It’s been almost a month. I’m always a little worried she’ll forget us but she has a sharp fresh mind so I should just let those thoughts go…

Joyce From This Side of the Pond asks the questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you Joyce and thank you to those of you who took the time to read this post. I appreciate your visits!

A Birthday and a Treat…

Happy Birthday to our dear daughter Katie. So thankful that God surprised us with a little girl.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Click over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog to get the easy recipe for this tasty appetizer. A good addition to your New Year’s Eve festivities or game day.

Sixty Four

On Saturday we met our kids at the Edgewater Hotel on the waterfront in Seattle for a brunch to celebrate Dear’s Sixty Fourth birthday.

I married someone younger than me. God has blessed me dearly with this man and I thank him for that many times each year. And the blessings from this marriage continued with our three children and then their three spouses and now our little granddaughter Addy May. For God’s mercy and grace we are grateful.

The views were nice all around. Our kids chose this spot because of the Beatles tune, When I’m Sixty Four.

In 1964, during their first world tour, The Beatles stayed at The Edgewater Hotel, newly completed for the World’s Fair. At the time, no other hotel in the city would accept The Beatles as guests; however The Edgewater happily welcomed them.

Beatlemania so consumed Seattle that The Edgewater had to install cyclone fencing around the hotel to keep the screaming fans at bay. Some fans even tried swimming across Elliott Bay to reach the Fab Four. After their concert, The Beatles were rushed back to the hotel in an ambulance, while taxi cabs and stand-ins were used as decoys. During their stay, the band famously fished from the window of their suite, the photo of which has become legendary.

These next photos were taken after brunch in the Edgewater Hall of Fame. On a side note The Beatles were the first group as a young teen that I was smitten with. When Dear and I were in a Christian Rock Band we toured England and our group sang on one of the first stages the Beatles performed on in Liverpool. Lots of fun memories connected with this group.

We sang the Beatles tune to Dear during our brunch and for the record, I’ll still love him and I’ll still feed him now that he’s sixty four!

I had to share the beautiful skies we are enjoying now that the smoke has dissipated. We have beautiful views of the mountains again to the East of us and to the West of us.

And since I mentioned little Addy May I have to share the very latest photo we were just texted. She continues to steal our affections.

Now for some reason I can’t wait to take her to Disneyland, when she’s five or older! Happy Tuesday to all of you!

From California With Love…

For the last 5 days we have been enjoying visitors from California at our house. My oldest sister and her daughter Michelle along with Michelle’s hubby and two kids have been staying with us. On Sunday we gathered at Josh and Laura’s for a birthday celebration for their Aunt Lana, my sister. Three out of the four original sisters were able to enjoy this time together. Our oldest sister, Kathy, on the left was born in Iran. Lana and I were born in California. Kathy and her family have been caring for our dear old pop. He’s getting a little lonely since she’s been gone but Kathy’s husband and her other daughter are keeping a close eye on him. I hope it’s a nice break for Kathy.

Sisters, Aunts, Mothers, Nieces, Daughters…

The current batch of Californians visiting and celebrating with most of the Washingtonians.

The weather was just right for an outdoor event.

During the visit Pandemics were halted and the world was saved by different groups of players in different locations. There were fairy worlds to discover by others.

On Monday some of the ladies headed to Snohomish to do some shopping along First Avenue. Since we only managed to hit about 1/16th of what this shopping district had to offer a return trip in the future is on the to do list.

The youngest among us on this family visit enjoyed using the fruit picker to help Great Auntie out by picking a small fraction of our apples. Our white hydrangea has some huge blooms as you can see with Avery standing next to it.

This extended family photo from our nephew Joe and Hannah’s wedding just popped up on facebook. In this photo from my side of the family there are 11 Washingtonians, 4 Texans and the rest are Californians. This wedding was in January just north of Santa Barbara, California. It’s nice to have visits from our family a fraction at a time. We have another small fraction of family arriving on Monday!

The Pacific Northwest is bracing itself for a heat wave. It’s all the news up here. Hope you are staying cool and comfy where you are.

A Groovy Party

Thank you my Lord
For a beautiful day
Thank you my Lord
I’m so happy to say
Thank you my Lord
For the flowers that grow
There would be nothing I know
Without You
Thank you my Lord
For the sun in the sky
Thank you my Lord
I’m so grateful that I
Thank you my Lord
For the rivers that flow
There would be nothing I know
Without You

To God be the glory
To God be the glory
To God be the glory
For the things He has done

With His blood He has saved me
With His power He has raised me;
To God be the glory
For the things He has done

For all the music
And the songs that we sing
For all the laughter
And the joy that You bring
Thank you my Lord
I have nothing to fear
As long as I have You here
Beside me

Thank you my Lord
For the birds in the trees
Thank you my Lord
I am down on my knees
Thank you my Lord
For the rain and the snow
There would be nothing I know
Without You

Just let me live my life
Let it pleasing, Lord to Thee
And if I gain any praise
Let it go to Calvary

For all the mountains
That You give us to climb
For all the valleys
Yeah I say one more time
Thank you my Lord
I have nothing to fear
As long as I have You here
Beside me

Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend. Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend.
Oh, yeah, yeah, you’ve got a friend.

How can I say thanks
For the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved
Yet You gave to prove Your love for me;
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude
All that I am and ever hope to be
I owe it all to Thee

I mixed up some lyrics from a few songs from the 70’s to give words to this post about the wonderful birthday celebration for Herb and Anneliese in Canada last Saturday. It was a wonderful thought out celebration with a 70’s theme. Herb and Anneliese’s kids brought things together well for a lovely celebration. New friends and lifelong friends came together to celebrate. The lyrics are from songs by B.J. Thomas, Andrae Crouch and Carole King.

Our Little Warrior, David

This very special little guy had his 2nd birthday party on Saturday and we were happy to celebrate the miracle he is. He was born very premature and only weighed 1# 9oz. He spent well over 100 days in NICU with surgeries and emergencies along the way. The day he was able to come home was a huge milestone.

Family and friends gathered to celebrate. It was fun to see a few of our son’s high school friends with their fresh little ones, too.

We love this family and are thankful God brought us together in friendship 29 years ago.

If you’d like to pray for little David Daniel specifically, please pray that he gains weight. Thank You.

He’s Another Year Old Today…

Technically he was another year old yesterday.

My dear old Pop turned 94 years old on Thursday. This photo is from last year when he was 93 at his great granddaughter’s birthday party. Vera and I drove to Kathy’s yesterday to wish him a happy birthday and to have dinner with him and Kathy’s family. Before dinner we all prayed individually to our God to bless our dear Pop in his final days on this earth with peace and joy.

This is my pop and me in 1973 and 2017. We both have aged a bit. I’ve put on weight and he’s lost a lot of weight and muscle.

Last year he got cherry pie which he really enjoys.

This year Vera and I baked my mom’s signature nut roll called Roolyet. My pop talked about the fact that my mom’s Roolyet was the best. He said no one made roolyet like mom. We were hoping ours would measure up.

We put the candle in his birthday roolyet and he enjoyed blowing it out. He did say, “I’m 94 why only 1 candle?”

Pop loved our attempt and he teared up because it brought back good memories of his bride. He told us to make it again on Saturday when we have another party on the books. I’ll be posting the recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook on May 31st.

This is my sister Kathy’s family minus their son-in-law Ryan who is busy wrapping up his teaching year. Vera and me are flanking our pop with Avery. Pop got calls from his other kids and even got a call from our younger sister who is vacationing in Iceland to wish him a happy birthday. After dinner and all the excitement of the day he sat down to watch Jeopardy and then excused himself and retired to his room to read his Bible and pray for all of us like he does every night. Vera and I hit the four freeways we needed to take to get back home. There are a lot of freeways in Southern California!

Friday is sister day and the three sisters that are here right now will have some fun. Lana is on her way to Scotland with her hubby after spending time in Iceland which is an okay trade-off for not being here for sister day.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Birthday