…to celebrate our lovely daughter in law, Laura!
Happy Birthday dear Laura! We thank God for bringing you into the world and for bringing you and Josh together. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have you for a daughter in law. We love you and always hope for the best for you and for you and Josh together. God bless your new year!
It’s time to consider the past week and record 5 things that were your favorites. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story keeps us on track for this worthwhile event every week.
I pulled out some real oldies but goodies from my photo archives to share. This is Dear with our sons and with our daughter.
1. Dear is a faithful hard working man and that leaves me secure and content.
This mosaic is from our trip to Great Britain in 2006.
2. Dear is a handy man. He takes on most of the projects around the house and efficiently manages them.
3. Dear can cook and isn’t afraid of the kitchen.
4. Dear is a follower of Jesus.
5. Dear is smart and witty and wise…all things that attracted me to him. I thought he was rich, too. Oh well the smart, witty and wise gets us through a lot of tough spots!
Happy Birthday Dear!
I thank God that He brought us together and has kept us together for these past 37 years! You are the only one for me…
I’m making a special birthday dinner for tonight so it might not be until tomorrow when I can visit everyone’s favorites. Have a great weekend everyone. We’ll be flying our flag at half staff on Sunday the 11th.
1. Finally make it to the top of the Space Needle. Completed on Wednesday January 26th!
2. Dinner with the Mennonite Girls and their husbands. Met for dinner at the Chuckanut Manor on March 13th!
3. East Coast Trip. Things are shaping up for a trip to Washington D.C. (Any suggestions about what to see and where to eat would be highly appreciated) We were there from May 10th-18th. We saw more than our brains could take in!
4. Apply for my enhanced license so my trips to Canada will be easier. Completed in January!
5. Birthday getaway with my 3 sisters. Plans are afoot. Victoria B.C., April 1-3, 2011
6. Try one new restaurant every month of this year. Looks like this one is really going to be easy especially with trips planned. Eastlake Bar and Grill~ Lake Union. The Hitching Post~ Monroe. Racha Thai ~Seattle. Bishops Alehouse ~ Juanita. Chuckanut Manor-Bow. Barolo ~ Seattle. The Cabbage Patch ~ Snohomish. Pescatores ~ Victoria, B.C.
7. Send my parents a bouquet of flowers on my 60th birthday thanking them for loving me all these years. Sent on March 14th and my parents were thrilled.
8. Visiting a a new garden. Hillwood Garden in Washington D.C., Bishop’s Garden in Washington D.C. and Botanical Gardens in D.C.
9. Plant something new in my yard. I planted some Sweet Peas and 2 Top Hat blueberry bushes.
10. Have my flagpole installed. Installed on my birthday March 14th.
***11. Lose 10 pounds. Oh Nellie! I should have said gain 10 pounds! Woohoo!! Before I gain it back I want y’all to know that as of 7/18/11 I have lost 10 pounds. I started my program on June 12th. Now I’m moving on to lose 10 more. This past Sunday I fit into the jeans one size down that have been draped over the couch for a year waiting…
12. Enjoy a book by an author I haven’t read before. I’ve read a couple books by Jeanne Birdsall that I’ve enjoyed and I’m on the second book by Rick Riordan that I’m enjoying. I also read a non-fiction book by Lewis B. Smedes on Forgiveness.
13. Explore 6 cities/towns in Washington. Lake Union~ Monroe~ Snohomish~ Olympia ~ Lynden ~ Port Townsend
14. Try 2 new recipes every month. As you can see by my mosaic at the top of this update I have been trying lots of new recipes.
15. Go on a easy day hike.
16. Walk more.
17. Go to a new Tea Room. White Heather Tea Room in Victoria, B.C. (Oak Bay)
18. Purge 60 books off my bookshelves. Well on the way
19. Begin going through old boxes in the garage loft. Working on this with 4 boxes down to work on…
20. Go on an adventure with my daughter Katie. I’ve had many adventures. One fun one is going with her to register for her wedding! We just got back from a wonderful California adventure with family members. Our Bag-O-Rama Jamboree was a wonderful experience in Southern California from July 22nd to July 30th 2011~
21. Re-arrange some things that have been the same for 13 years in this old house. Moved antique hutch around and changed some wall hangings.
22. Buy a Welsh Sideboard. I’ve wanted one for years. Instead of a Welsh cabinet we found an Indonesian cabinet that fits our space perfectly.
23. Make and serve our Russian favorite recipes for family gatherings. Golubtsi, Pelemeni,
24. Find a couple new blogs to add to my favorites. Pondside, and more to be added soon…
25. Clean out my closet.
26. Take some time to journal.
27. Invite someone new over for a meal.
28. Invite old friends over for a meal. Had our dear friends over on April 8th for dinner.
29. Meet Dear downtown for lunch.
30. Do some volunteer work. Fulfilled on March 28th although I’d like to do more. United We Serve
31. Try baking a pie including the crust.
32. Bake cinnamon rolls from scratch.
33. Write some letters and mail them.
34. Surprise someone. Sent cookbooks to Dear’s Aunts and to a dear lady who encouraged me in college.
35. Get a manicure and pedicure. Fulfilled on July 18th, a gift from my brother’s family for my 60th.
36. Have more than one hour long massage. Fulfilled on June 20th, a gift from Josh and Laura for my birthday.
37. Use my sewing machine.
38. Be brave enough to get a new generation phone.
39. Call Dear’s Aunts on their birthdays. Called Aunt Audrey on April 14th ~ Called Aunt Carol on June 26th
40. Try something new with my camera. Tried doing some angled shots.
Now here are the final 20 of my list of 60 things to do in my 60th year!
41. Take a ride in a limousine with people she loves. Completed on my birthday March 14th with our sons, DIL, and Dear.
42. Treat people for her birthday. Bought drinks for all our season ticket neighbors at the opening game which was the day after my 60th birthday.
43. Find a purse that will accommodate my stuff plus my camera with a long enough strap to fit over my shoulder. Completed, I’ll share it soon.
44. Meet bloggy friends in person that she has never met in person before. Met the lovely Pondside in Victoria B.C. and she treated my sisters and I to a fine tour of her town. Met Jill from Jill’s World of Research, Reaction, and Millinery when she flew in to stay with us for the Lavender Farm Faire Tour.
45. Reorganize cabinets and purge some Chotskies.
46. Make those every so many year appointments you dread but need to do. Yearly-check, The Squeeze – check, Got my bone density done! check! Colonoscopy done!
47. Write a Psalm to God. Done!
48. Find a dress for our daughter’s wedding.
50. Learn to put the flagpole up and take it down. It’s not as hard as I thought and I’ve done it several times already.
51. Back up the files on my computer.
52. Create some photo books.
53. Mail a box of goodies to Katie’s Andrew while he is deployed. I’ve been adding things to Katie’s boxes.
54. Order a DVR. Got one March 24th!
55. Get a new modem that might actually make her internet work well. Got one and things have improved but we need more improvement! Finally got some good service and much improvement the week of May 23rd!
56. Send flowers to some unsuspecting person.
57. Detail my car.
58. Write poetic tribute of my history as seen on Debora’s blog.
59. Take a canoe ride on Lake Washington this summer with Dear. Him rowing, me taking photos.
60. Do a blog tribute to some of my favorite blog posts on other people’s blogs.
Coming up with 60 things was not an easy task. Maybe there will be some modifications along the way. It was a good exercise and I’ve already enjoyed the benefits of completing many of the 60.
Today my youngest brother and sister who are twins are celebrating their birthday. The Bag-O-Rama Jamboree invaded Disneyland yesterday and at one point we were 15 strong. We had the twins pose for these shots at the “Happiest Place on Earth”. I survived and even made it all the way to the fireworks before dragging myself home to bed.
We are having a barbecue at the beach to celebrate Leonard and Lana this evening.
Happy Birthday to you Leonard and Lana. We thank God for all the fun life experiences we have had with you all through the years!
…are all home again and resting their feet. We had a wonderful time and as soon as I get a chance to upload photos I’ll share more.
I’ve got quite a list of posts to check out in my Google Reader so I hope to get around and see what y’all have been up to while the sisters were walking about Victoria, B.C.
Blessings…
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
I’m consolidating all my 60 things in my 60th year in one post so I can access them easier.
Right now me and my sisters are in on our way to Victoria, B.C. for the weekend fulfilling #5 on my 60 things list. I also decided to check the completed items off instead of crossing them out…
1. Finally make it to the top of the Space Needle. Completed on Wednesday January 26th!
2. Dinner with the Mennonite Girls and their husbands. Met for dinner at the Chuckanut Manor on March 13th!
3. East Coast Trip. Things are shaping up for a trip to Washington D.C. (Any suggestions about what to see and where to eat would be highly appreciated) We were there from May 10th-18th. We saw more than our brains could take in!
4. Apply for my enhanced license so my trips to Canada will be easier. Completed in January!
5. Birthday getaway with my 3 sisters. Plans are afoot. Victoria B.C., April 1-3, 2011
6. Try one new restaurant every month of this year. Looks like this one is really going to be easy especially with trips planned. Eastlake Bar and Grill~ Lake Union. The Hitching Post~ Monroe. Racha Thai ~Seattle. Bishops Alehouse ~ Juanita. Chuckanut Manor-Bow. Barolo ~ Seattle. The Cabbage Patch ~ Snohomish. Pescatores ~ Victoria, B.C.
7. Send my parents a bouquet of flowers on my 60th birthday thanking them for loving me all these years. Sent on March 14th and my parents were thrilled.
8. Visiting a a new garden. Hillwood Garden in Washington D.C., Bishop’s Garden in Washington D.C. and Botanical Gardens in D.C.
9. Plant something new in my yard. I planted some Sweet Peas and 2 Top Hat blueberry bushes.
10. Have my flagpole installed. Installed on my birthday March 14th.
11. Lose 10 pounds. Oh Nellie! I should have said gain 10 pounds!
12. Enjoy a book by an author I haven’t read before.
13. Explore 6 cities/towns in Washington. Lake Union~ Monroe~ Snohomish~ Olympia ~ Lynden ~
14. Try 2 new recipes every month.
15. Go on a easy day hike.
16. Walk more.
17. Go to a new Tea Room. White Heather Tea Room in Victoria, B.C. (Oak Bay)
18. Purge 60 books off my bookshelves.
19. Begin going through old boxes in the garage loft.
20. Go on an adventure with my daughter Katie. I’ve had many adventures. One fun one is going with her to register for her wedding!
21. Re-arrange some things that have been the same for 13 years in this old house. Moved antique hutch around and changed some wall hangings.
22. Buy a Welsh Sideboard. I’ve wanted one for years. Instead of a Welsh cabinet we found an Indonesian cabinet that fits our space perfectly.
23. Make and serve our Russian favorite recipes for family gatherings. Golubtsi
24. Find a couple new blogs to add to my favorites.
25. Clean out my closet.
26. Take some time to journal.
27. Invite someone new over for a meal.
28. Invite old friends over for a meal. Had our dear friends over on April 8th for dinner.
29. Meet Dear downtown for lunch.
30. Do some volunteer work. Fulfilled on March 28th although I’d like to do more. United We Serve
31. Try baking a pie including the crust.
32. Bake cinnamon rolls from scratch.
33. Write some letters and mail them.
34. Surprise someone. Sent cookbooks to Dear’s Aunts and to a dear lady who encouraged me in college.
35. Get a manicure and pedicure.
36. Have more than one hour long massage.
37. Use my sewing machine.
38. Be brave enough to get a new generation phone.
39. Call Dear’s Aunts on their birthdays. Called Aunt Audrey on April 14th ~
40. Try something new with my camera.
Now here are the final 20 of my list of 60 things to do in my 60th year!
41. Take a ride in a limousine with people she loves. Completed on my birthday March 14th with our sons, DIL, and Dear.
42. Treat people for her birthday. Bought drinks for all our season ticket neighbors at the opening game which was the day after my 60th birthday.
43. Find a purse that will accommodate my stuff plus my camera with a long enough strap to fit over my shoulder. Completed, I’ll share it soon.
44. Meet bloggy friends in person that she has never met in person before. Met the lovely Pondside in Victoria B.C. and she treated my sisters and I to a fine tour of her town.
45. Reorganize cabinets and purge some Chotskies.
46. Make those every so many year appointments you dread but need to do. Yearly-check, The Squeeze – check, 2 more to go.
47. Write a Psalm to God.
48. Find a dress for our daughter’s wedding.
50. Learn to put the flagpole up and take it down. It’s not as hard as I thought and I’ve done it several times already.
51. Back up the files on my computer.
52. Create some photo books.
53. Mail a box of goodies to Katie’s Andrew while he is deployed.
54. Order a DVR. Got one March 24th!
55. Get a new modem that might actually make her internet work well. Got one and things have improved but we need more improvement! Finally got some good service and much improvement the week of May 23rd!
56. Send flowers to some unsuspecting person.
57. Detail my car.
58. Write poetic tribute of my history as seen on Debora’s blog.
59. Take a canoe ride on Lake Washington this summer with Dear. Him rowing, me taking photos.
60. Do a blog tribute to some of my favorite blog posts on other people’s blogs.
Coming up with 60 things was not an easy task. Maybe there will be some modifications along the way. It was a good exercise and I’ve already enjoyed the benefits of completing many of the 60.
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
In which she cheats and puts things on the final 20 list that happened before they appeared on the list and she knows will happen in the near future!
#22 was… Buy a Welsh Sideboard. I’ve wanted one for years. This isn’t a Welsh Sideboard but it fulfills it’s purpose and fits in my space well. It’s an Indonesian solid wood piece and we are pleased with it’s function.
Now here are the final 20 of my list of 60 things to do in my 60th year!
41. Take a ride in a limousine with people she loves. Completed on my birthday March 14th with our sons, DIL, and Dear.
42. Treat people for her birthday. Bought drinks for all our season ticket neighbors at the opening game which was the day after my 60th birthday.
43. Find a purse that will accommodate my stuff plus my camera with a long enough strap to fit over my shoulder.
44. Meet bloggy friends in person that she has never met in person before.
45. Reorganize cabinets and purge some Chotskies.
46. Make those every so many year appointments you dread but need to do.
47. Write a Psalm to God.
48. Find a dress for our daughter’s wedding.
50. Learn to put the flagpole up and take it down.
51. Back up the files on my computer.
52. Create some photo books.
53. Mail a box of goodies to Katie’s Andrew while he is deployed.
54. Order a DVR
55. Get a new modem that might actually make her internet work well.
56. Send flowers to some unsuspecting person.
57. Detail my car.
58. Write poetic tribute of my history as seen on Debora’s blog.
59. Take a canoe ride on Lake Washington this summer with Dear. Him rowing, me taking photos.
60. Do a blog tribute to some of my favorite blog posts on other people’s blogs.
Coming up with 60 things was not an easy task. Maybe there will be some modifications along the way. It was a good exercise and I’ve already enjoyed the benefits of completing many of the 60.
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
Monday March 14th was my birthday and I had no idea what was up the sleeves of my kids. I knew we were going out to dinner at an Italian Restaurant downtown and we’d be leaving just before 6:00 in the evening.
When we stepped outside to get into what I thought was going to be Laura’s car I saw this!
The kids had ordered up a limousine to take us to our dinner in Seattle. “No Way”, I said!
I never dreamed they would come up with this special treat. Dear and I had never had a ride together in a limousine before last night.
The kids weren’t the only ones with surprises. The restaurant managed to surprise us all, too.
We had a private area behind some sheers with this pretty chandelier and then we were handed our Menus.
A personalized menu just for my birthday. How great is that!? There even was a cocktail with my name on it. The cocktail is on their regular menu. They didn’t make it up just for me but I pretended they did and indulged!
The Ellen…
They turned the lights down very low in the restaurant so my pictures are all dimmed, too.
This is our table behind the sheers.
This made our meal together very private compared to other areas of the restaurant.
Dan and I had the Ossobuco di Vitello with saffron risotto. It was so delicious.
This was Dear’s dessert a ricotta cheesecake.
My complimentary birthday bite. I’m thinking at 60 all desserts should be this size.
I was impressed with the bathroom mirrors.
Such a wonderful evening and we still had our limousine ride home. When we got home there was more. Josh and Laura gave me a gift certificate for a massage with a handmade card that is priceless. Dan paid for dinner and also gave me a card that made me want to cry. I received other cards with gifts of manicures and pedicures and a handmade card from my BFF from junior high and high school. Before dinner I got a special phone call from Texas and my sweet little 3 year old niece sang Happy Birthday to me all the way through by herself. Oh my…that was precious. My heart is full and I am grateful for all the wonderful birthday treats and wishes I have received. I’m savoring my moments.
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
I keep thanking God for his goodness to me expressed in so many ways yesterday through family and friends. Truly it was a day full of joy and gladness for me from start to finish and I still get to celebrate today!
Our day started out with an invitation for brunch at Josh and Laura’s. What I didn’t know was that Dan had taken an extra day off so he could drive over the Cascades to help celebrate my birthday. I was so overjoyed to see him when he walked in the room. I just had to keep saying his name. Thank you Josh, Laura and Dear for surprising me! Thanks Dan for driving the 6 hours one way to celebrate my birthday. The last time we had seen Dan was at Christmas. Tonight the 5 of us are going out to dinner downtown.
From brunch Dear and I headed North to meet up with 5 of the Mennonite girls and their guys for dinner at the Chuckanut Manor.
We had a room to ourselves overlooking the Chuckanut Bay.
What fun to meet all the husbands. Thank you Anneliese, Marg, Lovella, Judy and Kathy for driving across the line with your husbands to join Dear and me for a wonderful evening. I’ll never forget it…unless old age messes with my brain.
The food was delicious and the conversations were lively.
There were songs sung and candles silenced. And if that wasn’t enough I got showered with cards and gifts from Canada and Africa. I also got showered with Loonies and Toonies to send to Willow for a classroom assignment. You might be wondering about that loaf of bread. It’s the Mennonite Girls Can Cook traveling loaf that began it’s journey the day the Mennonite Girls all met for the first time at the Abbotsford airport. Yep! It’s harder than a rock but it is traveling on…
The rain subsided for our dinner time and we were afforded some beautiful views.
Seriously I was overwhelmed in a good way and I don’t take for granted the gift of family and friends that God has blessed me with!
Sixty is looking real good!
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 