Category Archives: Birthday

Happy Birthday Dear ~ September 9th!

Happy Birthday Dear!

It’s been so wonderful spending so many birthdays with you. We all wish we could celebrate in person with you today. You are a wonderful husband to me and a great example to your children.

Here are some hats that Dear wears.

Husband, Father, Brother, Uncle, Pharmacist, Provider, Musician, Teacher, Mechanic, Painter, Carpenter, Scholar, Science Fiction Buff, Welder, Brewer, Listener, Servant, Plumber, Electrician, Builder, Great Friend!

Before Dear became a Pharmacist at the ripe old age of 39 he worked in a gravel pit in one of these…

Praying for God to continue to richly bless you and to give us many more years to celebrate together!

Julienne ~ Birthday Breakfast

My photos are being held hostage at the Photobucket site as of July 2017.

 Happy Birthday Melissa!

 I met my sister Kathy and her daughters, Michelle and Melissa, and my mom for breakfast this morning at Julienne. It is Melissa’s birthday and we love to have celebrations at this wonderful restaurant in San Marino, California.

Mom (Baba), Ellen b, Kathy, and Melissa the birthday girl

Michelle, Kathy and Melissa

The menu is amazing and the ambiance lovely. We don’t mind the drive to meet here. We kick back, forget our figures and eat wonderful things like,

Lemon Creme Brulee Scone

Blueberry Pancakes with Lemon Curd Sauce

Spinach Crusted Quiche Provencal with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes,

Parmesan Crusted Potato Cake with Poached Eggs, Guacamole and Pico de Gallo,

Open Face Omelette with Chicken Sausage, Gruyere, Tomatoes; Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Now we can watch our calories till we meet at Julienne again…say in September for Michelle’s Birthday! Lana G, we have to time this next celebration just right so you are in town!

Michelle, Baba, and Melissa…

Happy Birthday Lana and Leonard! ~ The Sixties

twins.jpg

The Twins, my youngest sister Lana and youngest brother Leonard (#7 & #8) were born on July 29, 1963. You can go on over to Lana G.’s blog and wish her a happy birthday!

A Very Happy Birthday to You

Here’s the decade of the 60’s in a nutshell for you to enjoy…

1960 ~ John F. Kennedy is elected.
1961 ~ The Berlin wall is built.
1961 ~ Freedom Rides are organized to promote racial integration on buses, trains, and in terminals.
1961 ~ Roger Maris of the New York Yankees breaks Babe Ruth’s record by hitting 61 home runs in one season.
1962 ~ John Glenn is the first American to orbit earth.
1962 ~ Cuban missile crisis escalates the cold war.
1963 ~ Publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique marks the beginning of the feminist movement.
1963 ~ Zip codes are instituted.
1963 ~ President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in.
1964 ~ The Olympics are telecast via satellite from Tokyo.
1964 ~ Surgeon General issues the first cigarette warning.
1964 ~ Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act.
1964 ~ Martin Luther King Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
1964 ~ Johnson is re-elected.
1965 ~ LBJ’s peace offer is rejected; the Vietnam War escalates.
1965 ~ More than 14,000 National Guardsmen control rioting in Watts, South Los Angeles. Your older sisters were at Bethany Baptist Church in Los Angeles for Youth Night when the riot was in full swing. Scary!
1966 ~ “Black Power” enters the civil rights movement, introducing the militancy of Stokely Carmichael.
1967 ~ Detroit riot becomes largest U.S. riot of the century.
1967 ~ Apollo 1 blows up, killing three. Space program halts for several months.
1968 ~ Nixon is elected.
1968 ~ Assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.
1968 ~ Your sister Ellen graduates from high school.
1968 ~ Computer RAM arrives on the market.
1969 ~ Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.

Some great quotes from this era…

“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (The Wall Street Journal, November 13, 1962)

“America wept tonight not alone for its dead young President, but for itself…Somehow the worst prevailed over the best.” ~ James Reston (Columbia Chronicles, 1963)

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” ~ Neil Armstrong (Televised broadcast, July 20, 1969)

Enjoy your special day. I love you both dearly and thank God that He added you to our family in 1963, what an amazing day in history that was!

Vinegrette ~ Russian Salad

Happy Birthday to my sister Kathy today May 23rd! You’ve been a wonderful daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother and grandmother. May God bless you richly all the days of your life on this earth!

Her version of this Russian Salad is posted below.

Kathy’s Vinegrette Recipe (cut recipe in half for smaller families)

Although the Russian name for this salad is Vinegrette it shouldn’t be confused with the salad dressings called Vinaigrette. This was a traditional salad that we enjoyed growing up. It could be our version of potato salad. I’m sharing an easier version using canned beets but you can also cook and julienne your own beets. The photo is my sister Lana’s.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans (15oz.) julienne beets (partly drained)
  • 2 cans (15oz.) kidney beans (drained well)
  • 3/4 – 1 cup sauerkraut (drained and squeezed)
  • 3 boiled potatoes
  • 3 large kosher dill pickles, diced
  • 1/4 onion, grated
  • vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • pickle juice from the jarred dill pickles

Method:

  1. Dice potatoes while warm then salt and coat with oil and chill.
  2. Once the potatoes are chilled add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine, add enough pickle juice to taste.
  3. Chill until ready to serve.
  4. Serves 8-16

Our family prefers using the Clausen Dill Pickles found in the refrigerator section. You will find some versions of this Russian salad using carrots and not kidney beans. This is the version our family has always enjoyed.

This is such a colorful salad, it goes well with meat of any kind. At our house it goes with lamb or a juicy steak or sometimes all by itself. Simple, pretty and delicious! Bon Appetit!