Category Archives: California

Our Little Girl is 22 today!

Happy 22nd Birthday Katie!

Photos from Katie’s 1st ~ 21st Birthdays
1st in Ventura with family & friends
2nd in Ventura, California
3rd in Downey, California. She’s pretty happy even with that tiny cake!

 

4th  in Bothell, Washington.

5th in Bothell

 

6th at Baba and Deda’s sharing the day with Aunt Nina and cousin Stephen both born on the 27th too.

7th in Bothell, Washington
7th with family, Titov’s and Spiro’s
8th at Discovery Zone
9th with fam and Spiro’s

 

10th at the Skating rink where your dad broke his wrist…

11th in Bothell (1st rental) with Jamie, Christie, and Johanna

 

12th bowling with fam and Hiller’s

 

13th with Jamie, Kristen, Heidi, and Christie (sorry Christie this was the only photo I had)

 

14th with Jamie, Heidi, Kristen, and Christie (very nice photo this time Christie!)

15th with Kristen, Heidi, Christie, and Katie K.

16th Ice Skating with fam, Katie K, Christie, Heidi, Jamie, Kristen, Brad and Joe
17th ~ fam, TCL crowd, school crowd
18th smaller TCL and School crowd

 

19th ~ the year of the ice cream cake…

 

20th ~ The year of the maple bar cake!

 

21st the Spice Bundt cake and another small crowd with Kristen, Christie, Jamie, Heidi, Ben and fam.

22nd will be another wonderful celebration with Bowling, Tacos and another Spice Cake!

We love you dear Katie and are so happy that God brought you into our lives 22 years ago. May your birthday and everyday be filled with an awareness of who created you and who you are in Him.

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos and is holding them hostage. I’m slowly cleaning up my posts to remove the ugly black and grey blocks that photobucket has inserted instead of my photos.

December 6, 1974 ~ 33 Years later

Today is our 33rd Wedding Anniversary!

December – When December’s snows fall fast, marry and your love will last.

Here are 33 things about Dear and Myself since we’ve been married…

1. Dear was 21 and I was 23 when we got married.

2. My engagement ring was an opal ring. We had matching wedding bands. When I was pregnant with our third (Katie) Dear bought me my first diamond ring.

 

3. We honeymooned up the coast of California .

4. Our first home was a 1 bedroom apartment in West Los Angeles.

5. We bought our first house in Huntington Beach in 1975 for $45,000. We lived in Huntington Beach until 1984.

6. In 1977 we took a road-trip to visit extended family and to see some sights. We first stopped in Denver to see Dear’s mothers side of the family. Then we went to Peoria, Illinois to meet Dear’s fathers side of the family. We headed north to the Detroit area. We took a ferry to Canada and headed to Toronto where we found my china from England and added to my set so we would have 12 place settings. Then we headed to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Fun carefree times in a little yellow 1976 Honda Civic.

7. We have three children. Josh was born on Friday, January 19, 1979. Dan was born on Friday, January 16, 1981. Katie was born on Friday, December 27, 1985. (Katie came early she was due in January also!) “Friday’s child is loving and giving”

8. Dear’s professions while we’ve been married were, a Painting Contractor, a Conveyorman at Cal-Mat, A Loader/Operator at Cal-Mat, A hospital Pharmacist, Professional Services at a Biotech company, Medical Information at a Biotech Company.

9. My professions since we’ve been married were, a File Clerk, an Elementary School Teacher, a SAHM, a Playground Teacher, House Cleaning business, Substitute Teacher, SAHM, and now I’m a SAH wife…

10. Churches we attended the last 33 years earliest to present: Grace Community Church in Panorama City, Huntington Beach Evangelical Free Church, Bible Fellowship Church in Ventura, Sunrise Christian Fellowship in Seattle, and Evangelical Free Church Conejo Valley.

11. We took our first 2 camping trips with our boys and some of their cousins before Katie was born. We camped at Refugio State Beach, north of Santa Barbara. Fun times in a tent in 1983 and 1984!

12. While living in Ventura we met our good buddies the Spiros who are like family to us.  Dr. Spiro delivered our daughter Katie in Ventura while he was doing his residency. Their 3 daughters and our 3 kids got along well and are still great friends. After the residency they moved to Washington where Dave joined a family practice. When we moved to Washington for Pharmacy school they adopted us into their family since we were so far from ours. We share many holidays together.

13. Dear’s Father Rex died in 1985 a couple months before our daughter Katie was born.

14. In 1986 we went on a bicycle touring trip in the Wine Country with our friends Dave and Jody and we met our dear friends Bob and Jan for the first time on this trip. (Geyserville to Mendocino, down the coast to Gualala and inland to Monte Rio then back to Geiserville) Oh the tales we can tell. We did not have a support vehicle.

15. We moved to the state of Washington in 1988 so that Dear could attend the University of Washington and then apply to Pharmacy School there.

16. While Dear attended the University of Washington the Husky football team had some glory years and we were able to get student season tickets along with tickets to a Rose Bowl game where the Huskies beat Michigan in 1992.

17. While in Washington Dear’s mother Verna lived with us for 9 years.

18. Our first home in Washington was a 4600 square foot home where we finished a 650 square foot self contained apartment in the daylight basement for Dear’s mother.

19. After moving to Washington in 1988 we made several road trips to California. I was tempted to write a book about driving I-5 from border to border.

20. I started a home cleaning business while Dear was in school full-time. I’ve cleaned a lot of toilets!

21. In 1994 we took the family to Los Angeles and San Jose to experience the World Cup. This was a wonderful experience especially for Josh and Dan (and ELLEN, too)

22. In 1996 we gave our home back to the bank when a serious landslide came right to our foundation and threatened the stability of the home. The costs for shoring up and saving the home ended up being more than we could ever afford. We lost all of our California equity and started over by first renting homes till we were able to purchase a home again. Moving yearly with all of our stuff and all of my MIL’s stuff was quite the challenge.

23. Dear’s Mother Verna died in 1997.

24. One of our memorable family trips was to Hawaii in 1997 after Josh graduated from high school.

25. We rented 3 different homes in 3 years after giving our house back to the bank. We bought our 3rd rental house when they tried to sell it out from under us after only being in the house for a month. We couldn’t face the trauma of moving all our stuff again in such a short time. We didn’t think a bank would give us a loan after we had given a house back to the bank. God intervened for us and the bank did not fault us in their records for defaulting on our loan.

26. Our son Josh was married to Laura on August 25, 2001. We had some wonderful days celebrating with family and friends.

27. Dear and I have had some great trips since our kids have become adults. Our favorites are our trips to London in 2003, Great Britain with our daughter in 2004 and a Walking tour of Great Britain with our best friends in 2006.

28. We took a few trips to Chicago area before and during our daughter Katie’s 3 semesters at Wheaton College.

29. Cars we’ve owned while married: ’71 Datsun, ’70 Volkswagon, ’75 Courier Pick up, ’76 Honda, Buick Station Wagon, ’81 Honda, ’84 Nissan Pick-up, ’86 Toyota van, ’92 Toyota Corolla Wagon, ’74 GMC pick-up, ’99 Camry, ’73 Chevy Pick-up. ’07 Camry.

30. I’m the sports fan in the family and Dear is gracious to put up with me since he is not a big fan of watching sports.

31. Dear is the handiest guy to have around. He has always tackled any hard job around the house and completed it well. He’s an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a mechanic, a painter. He’s helped other people out with their projects, too.

32. Dear is a learner and is blessed with lots of knowledge. He is a very wise man and he’s a great teacher.

33. We made a pact when we got married that whoever decided to make the stupid choice to leave, the other of us would shoot them in the back with our 357 Magnum as they walked out the door! We always said to each other and to others that death would be easier to deal with than divorce. Harsh, yes, but after 33 years neither of us has ever thought about walking away from this marriage.

Whew! That wasn’t easy. Thank you Lord for 33 years of mercy and grace in our marriage. And thank you for so many blessings we have received all from your hand. We are especially thankful for a family that loves you and loves us and for dear friends who do the same.

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos I was storing on their site and they are holding them hostage. I am working on updating my more than 4000 posts.

Eucalyptus Trees ~

 As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them. 

 I’ve always enjoyed the Eucalyptus trees in California. My experience with them in my early years was driving along Highway 99 and seeing these interesting trees with their unique foliage. The most impressive thing about them was the Eucalyptus fragrance that would burst forth in the heat of the summer. I was surprised to find out that they are not native to California but were brought from Australia where they are a native plant. I took these photos one morning on my walk just outside my neighborhood in Southern California. I’m including part of a study on the Eucalyptus tree from a University in California with a link to the full study below.

 

FROM DOWN UNDER IT CAME

While traveling along the roads and highways of California, especially along  its coast and inland valleys, one will see the usual oak, pine, and scrubbrush. Yet there is another member of the plant family whose presence is dominating and charismatic. Its size is lofty; its silhouette captivating; its smell clean and antiseptic like the scent unfurling from a medicine cabinet. Many think it is a California native, but it is not. It is really an immigrant from Australia that arrived as many immigrants have in this wonderful country, surreptitiously.

It is the remarkable eucalyptus of which we speak that came from the virgin forests of that vast land down under, Australia. It is as curious as that land with its pouched animals and mysterious aborigines. Its adaptability and its hardiness can be seen in its groves which cling to the California hillsides and fill the crevices of the landscape. It is difficult to imagine what California would look like without the seemingly omnipresent eucalyptus.

It has had a checkered history though in California. At first it was a tree of promise stirring the imagination, and then later becoming a tree of disappointment and ultimately disdain. In its homeland of Australia, it was a true friend to the settler supplying material for a pioneer’s needs. Its almost mythical reputation came with the Australians to the California goldfields and with the American travelers who had seen the colossus in Australia.

In Australia, the eucalyptus has been the tree of folklore where children sing of the “kookaburra in the gum tree.” Where also children and aborigines, enjoy the sweet flakes of the manna gum. Medicine is found in its oils which has been used to cure everything from an upset stomach to a nasty laceration. Doctors and primitive cultures have both used it as a healer. The eucalyptus provided the early Australian settler materials for buildings, implements, and desperately-needed fuel. Its powers, its versatility was virtually unchallenged by anything else on the Australian continent.

The purpose of this study is to tell the story of this amazing tree and its impact on California. There is an array of literature, both scientific and historical, that gives only segments of the story. This study is an attempt to fashion those segments into a tailored narrative that has clarity and imparts information to the reader. It is by no means comprehensive. The focus is on important facts, major personalities, and key issues. The documentation is provided for further research and study of this fascinating immigrant tree.

To read more about the Eucalyptus click here.

 

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be

This is just one verse of the song…

This song was written in 1936, and introduced at a Scout Jamboree in Melbourne, Australia. In case you’re wondering, a kookaburra is an Australian bird, and a “gum tree” is what Americans know as a eucalyptus. The “gum drops” that the kookaburra eats in the song are beads of the resinous sap.

 

My sister Lana has some great photos of the Kookaburra that she took when she was in Australia. Check them out here. You can learn more about the Kookaburra by linking here.

ht: http://library.csustan.edu/bsantos/euctoc.htm

 

Friday Show & Tell ~ Chanticleer

Welcome to another Show and Tell Friday. This time I’m showing a fun pitcher that comes from Dear’s mother.

On the bottom of the pitcher it says “Patented Chanticleer USA”

This is where it lives…

For more Show and Tell head over to Kelli’s.

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Thankful Thursday ~ Post #500!!

I’ve been trying to be more disciplined these days and I have set out each morning to walk along the paths of my neighborhood. I’ve put on some “storing up for the winter” weight and because the prospects of eating less over the next month are miniscule I decided I needed to add activity to my day. This has been good and walking alone in the morning hours affords me time to talk with God and to try to memorize my verses for Bible Study. I was struck by all the beautiful paths that I have to walk in and it made me think and be thankful of the way God has led me along the one and only path to Him through His Son Jesus. I am so happy that my 500th post lands on Thankful Thursday. I am truly thankful for how God has led me on His path and that He continues to lead me. So take a walk with me and be thankful for how He leads us in this life we live…

Psalm 119: 105 ~ “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Psalm 25:4 ~ “Make me know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

Psalm 16:11 ~ “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Proverbs 10:17 ~ “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads other astray.”

Isaiah 30: 20-21 ~ “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

Proverbs 4:18 ~ “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”

Psalm 119:35 ~ “Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.”

Proverbs 3:5,6 ~ “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

Psalm 121 ~

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever more.”

For more Thankful Thursday posts click here. Thank you Crystal for hosting…

Monarch Butterflies ~ Honeymoon Memories

I’d like to go back to the Butterfly Inn when the Monarch Butterflies are in full residence in this part of California. Dear and I stayed there during our honeymoon in December of 1974. Bottom two photos of this collage.

In all the world, no butterflies migrate like the Monarchs of North America. They travel much farther than all other tropical butterflies, up to three thousand miles. They are the only butterflies to make such a long, two way migration every year. Amazingly, they fly in masses to the same winter roosts, often to the exact same trees. Their migration is more the type we expect from birds or whales. However, unlike birds and whales, individuals only make the round-trip once. It is their children’s grandchildren that return south the following fall.

To read more about the Monarch butterflies in California click here.

 

This is the Butterfly Inn in Pacific Grove, California. When Dear and I stayed there in 1974 we had a little detached 1 room cabin to stay in. It’s been upgraded since then probably a few times but as you can see it’s still pretty low key and quaint.

I’m also inspired to try to get our honeymoon shots from their slide state (negative state) to a disc state!! Has anyone done that and do you have any tips for me???

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Jackson’s Party ~ #3

Happy Birthday

Jackson!

Michelle made this great cake!

 

Ryan, Michelle and Jackson greeted all the guests…

Aunt Me-me and Jack

Vera, Letty, Tim, and Nick

Tim, Letty and Dear…

 

Jack delighting in the wonder of helium…

 

Taking time to savor each gift…

Watching Jack

 

Ducks  Cars in a row…

Where are we going?

Great Grandma (Baba) and Alice

Steve and Lana G!

Pretty young girls… the 3 M’s

Lovely older girls… Sisters…

Jack and Deb, time for cake!

 

Great grandma and grandpa and Jack! [Baba and Deda].

We had a wonderful time being together. Catching up, encouraging, talking about Jesus. Our evening ended with Deda (Great Grandpa) praying a prayer of thanks to our God for the salvation that He extended to us through Jesus Christ His Son and praying a blessing on his great grandson Jack and praying for our son Josh as he heads to China today. What a wonderful blessing and heritage we have. Then we all sang How Great Thou Art together robustly! Amen!

Hebrews 10:24 ~ “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Friday Show & Tell ~ Knott’s Berry Farm

 

This photograph  was taken of my parents at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California in the 50’s. A big treat for my family was going to Knott’s Berry Farm and eating one of the famous Chicken dinners and finishing off with boysenberry pie. We very rarely (almost never) ate out as a family so this was a big treat.

 

These are some newer photos of the amusement park.

View of the entrance of Knott’s Berry Farm

View of the attractions at Knott's Berry Farm from the Sky Cabin

View of the attractions at Knott’s Berry Farm from the Sky Cabin

In the 1920s, Walter Knott (December 11, 1889–December 3, 1981) and his family sold berries, berry plants and pies from a roadside stand beside California State Highway 39, near the small town of Buena Park. In the 1930s, Walter Knott was introduced to a new berry which had been cultivated by Rudolph Boysen. The plant was a combination of the red raspberry, blackberry, and loganberry. Walter planted a few plants he had received on a visit to Boysen’s farm, and later started to sell them at their roadside stand. When people asked him what they were called he said “boysenberries”.

In 1934, Knott’s wife Cordelia (b. 1890 – d. 1974) began serving fried chicken dinners, featuring boysenberry pie for dessert. As Southern California developed, Highway 39 became the major north-south connection between Los Angeles County and the beaches of Orange County, and the restaurant’s location was a popular stopping point for drivers making what at the time was a two-hour trip. Until the development of the 605 and 57 freeways in the late 1960s, Highway 39 (now known in Orange County as Beach Boulevard) continued to carry the bulk of the traffic between eastern Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

Within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter began to build a ghost town in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old west towns such as Calico, California and Prescott, Arizona. They added attractions such as a narrow-gauge train ride, a pan-for-gold area, and the Calico Mine Ride. Frequent activities at what Knott called a “summer-long county fair” included — naturally — boysenberry pie eating contests. When Disneyland was built in nearby Anaheim, the two attractions were not seen as direct competitors, due to the different nature of each. Walt Disney visited Knott’s Berry Farm on a number of occasions, and hosted the Knotts at his own park. The two Walters had a cordial relationship, and worked together on a number of community causes.

In 1968, the Knott family fenced the farm, charged admission for the first time, and Knott’s Berry Farm officially became an amusement park. Because of its long history, Knott’s Berry Farm claims to be “America’s First Theme Park.”

For more Show and Tell head over to There’s No Place Like Home.

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knott’s_Berry_Farm