Category Archives: California

Back Then and Now Hodgepodge

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and I’m recovering from a full to the brim extended weekend of activity. Joyce From This Side of the Pond has the questions ready and also let us know we will take next Wednesday off. Thank you, Jo!

1. What’s one thing you’re excited about in the coming month? 

At the end of July we are traveling and joining several extended family members and friends to celebrate our youngest siblings’ 60th birthday. The party is at a ranch in Texas so we are getting our ‘yeehaw’ on and packing our boots and new duds for some line dancing and heat!

The picture above is of the twins at their 40th birthday celebration, a luau. That party twenty years ago was in Downey, California in our brother’s backyard.

My siblings and me twenty years ago in order of age. I’m in the middle in the dress. All of us but the brother in white will be traveling to Texas.

2. What was your life like when you were ten years old? 

The Spring of 5th grade and beginning of 6th grade was when I was ten. I skipped 2nd grade. John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as president of the U.S.A. Things were a mess in the world as they are now, too. 5th grade was not one of my favorites. My teacher, Mrs. Helm, seemed to dislike me. I broke my first and only bone in the 5th grade at school and my mother had to get a taxi to take me to the doctor for x-rays and a cast on my wrist. My 6th grade teacher was kind to me. He got me a job as cafeteria helper and I enjoyed a free cafeteria meal each day for my service.  He also noticed that I was struggling to see the chalk board and suggested that I get my vision checked. It was determined that I was nearsighted and the distant world became clearer to me with my first pair of prescription eye glasses.

3. What’s something from your childhood you still enjoy today? 

Music, watermelon, a double scoop of ice cream.

4. What state (that you haven’t been to) do you most want to visit? Tell us why. 

I think it would be lovely to explore Maine and cross the border into New Brunswick and on to Prince Edward Island. From what I’ve seen in photos it is a beautiful part of our world.

5. Do you like to drive? Tell us how you learned to drive. 

Yes, I do like to drive. I honestly can’t remember who taught me to drive but it was probably one of my sisters. I was driving before I got my official license. After I had my license my brother, surprisingly, offered to teach me to drive a stick shift using his VW bug.

The VW above was the first car I purchased through my credit union and payed off over the course of a couple years.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We are recuperating from a wonderfully packed weekend of events and celebrations. The highlight was our family being all together in church on Sunday to see our sweet Addy May get baptized. A full post with lots of pictures will be coming soon. On this weekend of her baptism we also had a Pastor candidate preach along with several meet and greet opportunities with him and his wife. Our church body will be voting on July 16th as to whether we will call him to be our new Pastor.

Those Were the Days Hodgepodge

It’s time again for Wednesday Hodgepodge and Joyce is challenging our brains to remember high school among other things.
Happy Flag Day for those of you who live in the U. S.A.
1. What does productivity look like to you? 
We are retired so our putting in effort for a yield is different from the true definition of productivity. Right now our weeds are the most productive thing staring me in the face because our weeds are taking over and they are being much more productive than me. On the positive side of things our Clematis and day lilies are being very productive, too, thankfully. I can look above the weeds in some areas of the yard. 🙂

2. What was your fondest (or one of your fondest) memory of High School?

In the Spring of my first year of high school tryouts were held for the different cheer squads. We had Yell leaders, Song Leaders and Flag Twirlers. Historically Juniors were Flag Twirlers and Seniors were Song Leaders or Yell Leaders. I wasn’t great at twirling a flag so I made the bold move to try out for Song Leader. We had grueling tryout sessions where we learned the routines that we’d have to perform in front of a panel of teachers who would narrow down the field to perform in front of the whole school and then put the vote to the student body for the final team and alternates. I remember how hard it was to walk up stairs after those training sessions. After the first tryout I made the cut and then the decision went to the student body. When the votes were counted they put up a sheet of paper with the results in the main hallway at school. I was thrilled to see my name on the list as one of the six! There were also 2 alternates. My future sister-in-law was one of the alternates. The other Song Leaders weren’t as thrilled as I was that I made the team. Oops. Lest you think I was sooo popular with the student body let me explain that I had a brother a year ahead of me and a sister 2 years ahead of me who were popular and our family name was well known in school so I’ll give lots of credit to that fact in my success in getting the popular vote! 🙂

My Junior year with the other Song leaders who were Seniors.

In this photo my future sister-in-law is behind me. This was our Homecoming rally and she is wearing a homecoming corsage that my brother gave her.

You had to try out every year so in my Junior year I tried out and made the cut again for Song Leader in my Senior year. This photo above is in my Senior year with my good friends who moved from being Flag Twirlers (as Juniors) to Song Leaders (as Seniors).

We’d probably lose 3-5 pounds every Friday night from all the aerobics.

3. What did you do the summer after High School? 

I worked and got ready to go off to college at the University of Redlands.

4. June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day…are you a fan, and if so will you celebrate? How do you make yours? Have you been strawberry picking? If so what do you do with all those berries? 

We enjoy Strawberry Shortcake with sugared strawberries that have made a little of their own juice and we’ll have them with different bases like angel food cake, pound cake, or our Russian Easter Bread, with whipped cream or at Easter with Seernaya Paska (a sweetened cheese).  I have been strawberry picking but didn’t pick more than we could enjoy within a couple days. In California when we lived in Camarillo we had Strawberry fields close by and what a treat it was to go and buy baskets of fresh strawberries to enjoy. So good and sweet unlike some of the grocery store variety.

5. What’s something you always splurge on? 

Besides our kids and grandkids? We’ll always splurge on Birthday and Anniversary meals and/or nights away during those events.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our master shower project is underway.

Happy Flag Day everyone! Our flag is waving!

 

Double that Plus Two Hodgepodge

At the age of thirty-five in Ventura with our three kids. Double that thirty-five and add two years and that is where I am today but not in Ventura!

I missed the Hodgepodge last week but am on track for this week. Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. Tell me something you remember (or if you’re not there yet, something you look forward to) about being 35.

In my 35th year, which was 1986, I was nursing our third and last child who was our first daughter. We were living in Ventura, California. Greg was working in a quarry running a front end loader close to our home. He was taking night classes at Ventura College to see if a change of career path was right for him. Our boys were five and seven finishing up Preschool and 1st grade. We were in the busy time of parenting which would last for several years!

2. Last time you ‘burned the candle at both ends’? 

Last week was a burn the candle at both ends kind of week. Getting ready for a garage sale is hard work. A good distraction was our bookend overnight company at the beginning of the week and end of the week. It was wonderful to see them and get caught up. Thankfully those guests are the kind that take care of themselves and don’t need fussing. The kind you are ‘real’ with. My brother in law even mowed the lawns for me because he enjoys that. Saturday our 92 foot tree was felled while I was finishing up at the garage sale. Then on Sunday was a tearful send-off of our beloved Pastor Dennis and Miss Lori which made for some emotional tiredness. On Monday Greg started the demolition of our master shower! I’m fine, we’re fine, everyone is fine. LOL!

BTW: We made a significant amount of money at the garage sale which made the hard work acceptable. 🙂

Here is our granddaughter giving a going away picture she drew for Pastor Dennis and her beloved Cubby teacher, Miss Lori during their Going Away Open House.  Old and young will miss these two.

3. Are you someone with the ‘gift of gab’? Elaborate (which shouldn’t be a problem if you answered yes teehee).  

I have the gift of gab on paper (which you might have noticed when I answer questions here) but not so much in verbal communication.

4. Do you request a special meal on your birthday, and if so tell us what that meal is?

I enjoy going out on my birthday and having a special meal. That special meal depends on the menu offerings. If there is Osso Bucco on the menu I will probably order it.

Do you want the same kind of cake year after year or will any flavor work? Do you want cake at all?

Cake is optional. We might order some dessert off the menu and have bites around the table.

Growing up were birthdays a big deal in your house?

Birthdays were not elaborate at all but they were celebrated. It was hit and miss on how they were celebrated. My older sisters and I got birthstone rings on our 16th birthday from our parents. I honestly don’t remember many of my birthdays growing up.

Are they a big deal now? 

Our kids have made our birthdays of late a time to celebrate with a meal out which we have enjoyed. I don’t need a big deal and the best thing is being together enjoying a meal together. Our kids made a very big deal of my 60th birthday and my 70th birthday which was very special.

My 60th birthday with a limousine ride to the restaurant. Our daughter was busy getting married at the Justice of the Peace in Jacksonville, N. C.  before Andrew’s first deployment to Afghanistan.

My 70th birthday celebrated in Spokane and Colville. The decade between my 60th and 70th grew our family with a son-in-law and another daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

5. ‘Age is just a number.’..agree or disagree? Tell us why. 

There are some significant numbers when it comes to age all through our lives. Turning one is a big deal and then turning 5 which signified the beginning of public education. Becoming a teenager at 13 is another landmark. Sweet 16 was special in our family and then there is 18, when some of my friends left home and some went to college, the age of independence. Twenty One was a popular age and the legal drinking age here in most of the states. After that the decades were noted, like 30-40-50-60-70! The age of retirement was 65 and now that is more fluid. And then there is that dreaded age when the car keys should be taken away and all ladders removed from our homes!

I’m surprised at how different sixty or seventy looks on different folks. Those who have had a very hard life and made many poor choices in life look older.

I enjoy being around older people who are ‘young at heart’ and who are content and at peace with their age.

Not sure I answered the question but I did prove I have the gift of gab on ‘paper’!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Photos from when I was thirty five years old and busy with these three gifts from God.

Thanks for reading my ‘gab’.

Pass the Torch Hodgepodge

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It’s Hodgepodge time again and Joyce is celebrating Hodgepodge #500!! Congratulations to Joyce and Hodgepodgers everywhere. Click over to join in the fun.

1. Last time you drove/flew 500 miles (ish)? What’s a place you’d like to visit that lies approximately 500 miles from your current location? 

In December of 2022 we drove to Abbotsford, B.C. Via Bothell Washington and once we arrived in Abbotsford we drove on to Chilliwack with friends for our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas party. That was just under 500 miles worth of driving.

It would be a nice vacation with Family to stay at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast for a few days and enjoy the sand and sea just beyond our doorstep. Cannon Beach is 500 miles from us.

2. Tell us about a time recently it felt like you were ‘racing against the clock’. 

Being retired and older I don’t race much. I have felt the need to clear out things and let things go before our kids have to sort through it all.

3. Have you ever attended any really large sporting events?

Yes!

What was your impression of the experience?  

We have enjoyed memorable experiences at some large sporting events. I attended my first Rose Bowl Game on January 2nd in 1967 (USC v. Purdue). The Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game are always on New Year’s Day unless that day lands on a Sunday. When January 1st lands on a Sunday the parade and game are moved to Monday. My second Rose Bowl Game was in 1992 when Greg was a student at the University of Washington and the Huskies played at the Rose Bowl against Michigan. The Huskies won this game which made the experience very exciting.

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In 1984 the Summer Olympics were hosted by Los Angeles and we were able to get tickets to some rowing events at Lake Casitas. The most exciting part of these Olympic Games was the fact that my husband Greg was able to represent his company as an Olympic Torch Bearer!

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In 1994 our sons got tickets for World Cup games in Los Angeles and Stanford. The USA was hosting that year. The photo above was at the Rose Bowl for one of the games we attended.

Dan and I attended Brazil v Camaroon at Stanford Stadium. Attire was colorful and the party atmosphere was very lively. Both those countries know how to celebrate.

We were able to track down where the US team was staying and training and our sons met every player on the team and got all their autographs. That’s Alexi Lalas with our sons. That’s not a cigarette in his mouth.

When Dear and I were traveling with Josh and Laura in England in 2013, Josh got us tickets to a Manchester United game v. Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. That was a great time! Josh also made it into an Arsenal game on that trip.

The Superbowl, The Kentucky Derby, The World Series, FIFA World Cup, The Indianapolis 500, The Daytona 500, The Olympics, The Masters, Wimbledon, The Boston Marathon, March Madness, Tour de France, Monaco’s Grand Prix, The Open (golf), The Ryder Cup, The Stanley Cup Finals..of the events listed which would you most like to attend in person? Or maybe one that’s not listed? 

Fifa World Cup, it will be hosted by the USA/Canada/and Mexico in 2026.

4. Are you an iced tea drinker? If so, do you drink it year round, or only in the spring and summer months? Do you make your own or buy it bottled? Sweet or unsweet? Flavored? Lemon or no lemon? How about a Long Island Iced Tea? 

Not a usual for me. If I do have an iced tea it would be lightly sweetened with some fresh lemon squeeze or the last variety.

5. April 20th is Volunteer Recognition Day…do you volunteer in some way? Tell us about it. If not, tell us about a volunteer you appreciate. 

I volunteer at church under Women’s Ministry. I’m the branch leader of Hospitality serving the church family in planning, supplying, and carrying out fellowship opportunities involving the entire church body. Responsibilities include: Maintaining the kitchen and supplies. Helping with food serving and cleanup for church events like potlucks, Easter brunch, pie and praise, and funerals.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We celebrated our grandson’s 4th birthday this past Saturday. We had a T-Rex crash the party and we had a cute dinosaur and delicious dinosaur cake. If you want to see more of the surprise T-Rex entry click here.

I’ll be sharing more from JJ’s Dino-wonderful party on Friday.

Thanks for stopping by for #500!

Under the Pier

The beach in winter is a favorite of mine. These were some photos from our time at Huntington Beach during our family vacation in January that I haven’t shared yet.

I find the underside of a pier interesting and love watching the waves roll through.

Our niece Debbee and Lenny were married in 2013 in Huntington Beach and they took their engagement photos here so it was fun to try to recreate that moment.

This day was also Lenny’s birthday.

Today we are nowhere near the coast and we still have that white stuff on the ground and it’s not beach foam.

Our Colville kids are coming over for dinner tonight. Speaking of dinner, tonight will be the third dinner in a row that I’ve made. It’s a Notable February for that reason and others, too. Wednesday we had an Asian Stir Fry with actual vegetables. Here’s the dinner we had Thursday night. Leg of Lamb with vegetables in my Jamie Oliver Retro Roaster. We like lamb and I know many people don’t.

Tonight we’re having Oven Baked Tilapia with rice and vegetables or salad.

Speaking of food, 18 eggs were $4.24 at our local Wal-Mart on Wednesday. They were not the brown eggs, or free range eggs, or Beverly Hills Eggs, just the white caged bird eggs.

What have you been eating these days? Happy First Friday in February.

Not so Fast, February Hodgepodge

February, I’m still cherishing the memories of January, so slow down. 🙂

The Hodgepodge is back for the start of February. Thank you Joyce, From This Side of the Pond!

1. Tell us anything you want about your January. 

From January 13th until January 19th we had our DisneyCaliFam Vacation and it was packed with great interactions with our extended people! Twelve of us spent one day at Disneyland and a great birthday celebration dinner out at Orange Hill Restaurant and quiet times in our VRBO. Ten of us spent some hours with my siblings and our kids’ cousins in homes, at the beach and bowling alley. The two of us spent an afternoon and evening with my bestie from the 70’s. A rich time of relationship sharing and growing.

All of these peeps are ‘Moisi and Nadia’s People’.

2. Lake Superior State University posts a list each year of words they think should be banished from the Queen’s English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. The 2023 list includes GOAT, inflection point, quiet quitting, gaslighting, moving forward, amazing, Does that make sense?, irregardless, absolutely, and it is what it is.

Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly?

amazing

Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why?

It is what it is…because it is more than it is. LOL!

Is there a word/phrase not on the list you’d like to add? 

Racist, because lately it is used to gaslight people.

3. February 2nd is Groundhog Day. What’s something that feels repeated in your life right now? 

Waking up to snow on the ground that has not melted.

4. What’s a food you love that’s named after a place?

Mexican food is my comfort food, but I think maybe you want us to be more specific. I do enjoy a good Boston Cream Pie and how about German Chocolate Cake. Now I’m on a roll since I just remembered Belgian Waffles, French Toast, oh, and our family favorite, Swedish Pancakes!

5. What’s the best season of the year to visit your city or your part of the country? Tell us why. 

Fall is a wonderful time to visit our area. Not too hot, not too cold, and full of beautiful color.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We planned our time for our DisneyCaliFam Vacation this past November in lieu of Christmas gifts. Our time in California also spanned 3 birthdays, Jamie’s, Dan’s and Josh’s. Gifts were purchased for the birthday ‘kids’ at Disneyland. Meals were paid for to celebrate the three of them while we were in California. They each got Birthday badges to wear at Disneyland. Addy and JJ got their Disneyland 1st Time Visitor Badges. Special times with memories to store.

Looking forward to catching up with Hodgepodgers!

The Finale

The finale of our DisneyCaliFam vacation was on Thursday January 19th, which is the birthday of our firstborn, Josh. His birthday was spent in service to the rest of us. He made an early morning run to the Orange County Airport to deliver our Daughter-in-law’s mom and granny for their morning flight back to Spokane, Washington.

The remaining ten of us packed up and cleaned up our VRBO and headed to my sister Vera’s home in Huntington Beach to see what leftovers we had that she might be able to use. She definitely wanted the 18 count package of eggs. Our flight out of Orange county was at 8:40 pm so we had some time to kill. Vera joined us for a trip to Fiesta Grill for our reminiscent Mexican meal. All the years Nick and Vera lived down the road from this great Mexican Joint, we enjoyed walking to get take out to bring back to their place. Nick is with his Savior now in heaven and Vera is in a new home but we cherish the memories.

Back at Vera’s, JJ and Addy were laid down for a nap and the ‘kids’ enjoyed playing UNO.

Vera had a meal in the slow cooker for us for dinner. Our sister Lana would be joining us for dinner.

Up from their naps there was a rainbow to enjoy. JJ was in Lana’s room napping and quietly got up and went about discovering some things like her radio to which he declared “I did not touch any buttons”. When I walked in the room he had a water bottle with the top off and declared to me, “Baba, this water tastes funny.” He also thought the 20# weights were too heavy for him, but the 5# weights were fine. OYE.

When Lana arrived she had animated stories of some events at her new home in Dallas and everyone gave her their full attention.

From bursting water pipes to destructive squirrels, she had everyone’s attention.

Three of our four sisters, Me, Lana and Vera.

Too soon it was time to head to the airport to turn in our trusty 15 passenger van and check in for our flight back to Washington.

Did you know there was a pilot shortage these days?

These two enjoyed meeting the pilot and sitting in the co-pilots chair!

The flight home was non eventful which is the best kind of flight and we made it into Paine Field in Everett at 11:45ish and home in bed at Josh and Laura’s by 1am. We would still have a 5 hour drive to Colville later that day, Friday the 20th. We slept as long as our bodies allowed, got up, packed the car, had some breakfast and got on the road at 9:30am. We were home after a stop in Spokane for gas and a meal in Chewelah. We made it home before dark.

A very meaningful trip for all of us. Thanks for following along.

Orange Hill Celebration

On our last full day in our rental home during our DisneyCaliFam Vacation, we spent some time relaxing in the spa in the morning.

When the Minneolas were hanging over the fence onto the property we were staying at, was it okay to pick them? Asking for a friend.

These two shared a muffin treat that was purchased at Disneyland the day before.

During naptime Josh drove some of the gals to Downtown Disney for a little shopping venture. He dropped us off at the Disneyland hotel and then picked us up a couple hours later. We enjoyed walking through the lobby of the hotel to get to the entrance of the shopping area. We had to go through extensive security to get into the area.

The Lego structures at the Lego store were impressive! No Lego purchases on this trip. Everyone made purchases at a couple of the other stores but me.

Josh picked us up where he dropped us off and we went back to get ready for our fancy dinner out at the Orange Hill Restaurant. Did I mention we only had the one vehicle for the twelve of us during our time in Southern California and that Josh was our trusty chauffer back and forth to everywhere?!

The skies were putting on a show of God’s Creation and Glory. The twelve of us arrived in our van at the door of the restaurant in time to further enjoy the sunset and views.

Cheers to our extended family and our three birthday kids, Josh, Dan and Jamie! The Twelve of us enjoyed our food and our time here.

Our grands’ Granny and Granny Great. Granny Great picked up the tab for our drinks. Thank you, Florence!

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy! Or in Colville. 🙂 Crispy Whole Snapper above and Half-chicken below.

I had the Short Ribs, and most of the rest of us had the Prime Rib.

The Sticky Toffee Pudding was so good. And the restaurant brought out 3 complimentary desserts for the three birthday kids we were celebrating.

I would have said this was the grand finale of our trip but we ended up having another full day of fun our last day before we flew home.

Fast Forward to the present here in Colville, Washington.

We had another light dusting of snow here on Friday and Saturday. Starting Sunday our highs have been below freezing. So far the predictions say we won’t make it above freezing until Thursday, February 2nd.

These are some of our views from our windows!

We finally enjoyed a full day of sunshine on Sunday with clear skies. Hope your week moving into February is a good one.

Sand and Water

After we walked the pier on Monday the 16th we headed down the steps to the sand and on to the shoreline.

Brothers born while we lived in Huntington Beach over 40 years ago in January.

And yes, JJ ended up falling in the water and getting soaked so we stripped him of his wet clothes and wrapped him in some dry coats before hypothermia set in.

Monday afternoon Josh, our trusty 15 passenger Van driver made a trip to the airport to pick up Jamie’s mom and her granny who would spend the next few nights with all of us. We enjoyed soup for dinner. We made a special trip to Rockwell’s Bakery to pick out a cake for Dan’s birthday.

Addy chose the cake. Her daddy bakes the best macarons and Addy spotted this cake and decided it was the one.

Good choice Addy! Happy Birthday Dan. The birthday celebrations keep coming.