Category Archives: California

Goodbye Brita ~ Hello Reverse Osmosis

We are so excited around our little condo because we get to say goodbye to this

and say hello to this

Soon we’ll be getting the water we want to drink right from this faucet. On Saturday Dear installed this unit under our sink

 

Once the tank fills 3 times and we empty it three times we’re set to go with good drinking water. We will probably only have to change the filter once a year for the two of us here in the condo. If we used 10 gallons a day we’d have to replace the filter twice a year. It takes up a lot of room under the sink but it is well worth it. Our water here in Ventura county tastes bad and it is very hard. So tomorrow morning it’s water right out of my new tap for my pot of coffee!

Update: I had my first glass of water from this new reverse osmosis tap and I am so pleased. It is very good, indeed!!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

Encouragement ~

I Thessalonians 5:11 ~ “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

I Thessalonians 5:14 ~ “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

Romans 1:11,12 ~ “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you – that is, that we may be mutually encouraged “by each others” faith, both yours and mine.”

Romans 15:5 ~ “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews 3:13 ~ “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Hebrews 10:25 ~ “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

So here’s what I heard yesterday in our church service (we went to the Saturday evening service) that I found encouraging and want to pass along to you. Our hope looks forward to our inheritance. When Jesus was resurrected and was seated at the right hand of the Father we became heirs with Him (Romans 8:17, Gal. 4:7).  Our inheritance is unfading, death proof, sin proof, time proof. We will have a new body (I Cor. 15:50-58), a new home (John 14: 1-3), a new world (2 Peter 3:13), a new job (Matt: 25:21-23), a new relationship with God (Rev. 21:3-4). The Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13,14).

We need to keep looking to what Jesus has done for us and what we have to look forward to in Him in order to be grounded in our faith and anchored in this topsy turvy world. We don’t look at what is happening on the outside but what is happening in our inner man, daily renewal. We keep looking to what Jesus has accomplished for us. This is where our hope is, our living hope. We can’t focus on this life. I’m going to work on memorizing these next verses over the next couple of weeks. Do you want to join me? 🙂

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 ~ “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

My hope is that this will be encouraging to you…

ht: Steve Larson, pastor E.V. Free Conejo Valley

Sycamore Hike ~ Walking Club Totals

 

When we got to the Sycamore Canyon Campground Parking at 7:15 the gate was still locked. Hmmm see the sign that says gate open 7am – 10pm? The attendant finally arrived at 7:30 to open the gate…

 

We stayed on the main trail today and saw a few joggers and several groups of cyclists.

 

The trees are really interesting in this canyon.

 

The shrubs were blooming nicely. It was gloomy with a thick high marine layer.

 

These purple wildflowers deserved a photograph.

 

Spring is a great time to do this hike because of all the pretty blooms.

 

We even happened on some California Poppies.

 

Some of our old and new favorites. The wild fennel is an old favorite of ours. We love using fennel in cooking and the smell when we rub it between our hands is licorice wonderful. The coreopsis is such a interesting plant the way it grows on that stalk. In the Spring it’s all over the hillsides. The one downside to our hike today were the mosquitos! They were out in droves. Anyone know of an Avon distributor so I can order some Skin-so-soft?

 

This looks like a parrot to me.

 

At the end of the hike we strolled over to see the high surf.

My walking total steps for the week averaged out to 10,152.

I’m going to keep on walking. How about you?

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

One Misty Moisty Morning ~ Ладушки, Ладушки

On mornings like today this old Mother Goose nursery rhyme pops into my head and I say it again and say it again and say it again and again…

One misty moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man,
Clothed all in leather.
He began to compliment
And I began to grin.
How do you do? And how do you do?
And how do you do again?

When I was a school teacher we had a training session on how important nursery rhymes were to a child’s language development and future reading skills. So take that baby on your knee and have fun with all the nursery rhymes out there. Sing them instead of just saying them. I remember bouncing my kids on my knee with this one, too.

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes

There’s also a rhyme we would repeat in Russian that goes something like this…

Ладушки, ладушки
Pat-a-cake
Clapping Song
(Russian)
Ладушки, ладушки
Где были?
У бабушки!
Что ели?
Кашку!
Что пили?
Бражку!
Кашка масленька
Бражка сладенька
Бабушка добренька!
~
The loose translation into English
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake,
Where were you?
At granny’s!
What did you eat?
Porridge*!
What did you drink?
A little home-brewed beer**
The porridge is buttered,
The home-brewed beer is sweet,
Granny is kind!
~
The version we sang was a bit different at the end. I’ll need to talk to my mom today and update how we ended this rhyme.
~
*In Russia porridge is very famous, it can be made from wheat (millet), oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, fine-ground barley, etc.**This probably means kvas, a Russian home-brewed non-alcoholic drink, or it means that Granny gave the children some beer to try, she indulged her grandchildren. (and actually if it sits long enough Kvas turns into an alcohol drink)
~
I updated this post with photos from our trip to Banbury, England in July of 2014.
ht: Mama Lisa’s World for the Russian Rhyme.

Holdren’s Steak and Seafood Birthday Dinner

 

Wedge Salad, Martinis, Porterhouse Steak, Rack of Lamb and a free Birthday piece of Mud Pie. All the food here was very good. We’d go again for a special occasion.

 

The Birthday Girl

 

The Guy who supports me in everything I do and always shows me love. Thank you Dear!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

Birthday Memories from Montebello!

Today is my birthday and I decided to go down memory lane and post some older photos and show you a little of my history.

 

First I’ll surround myself with things I enjoy. I do know how to pamper me 🙂

 

I think this is my seventh birthday because of the candles on the cake which would make this 1958.

 

This is our dining room at 4635 Oak Street in Montebello Gardens. We lived here till I was in 5th grade. My brother Fred, sister Vera, me, my cousin Jim and my sister Kathy who got cut off when I posted this (sorry Kathy)

 

This birthday was either 1960 or 1961 because there’s my little brother Steve in the high chair and he was born in December of 1959. This is the kitchen and my cousins around me are Tanya, Valia, Vera, Johnny, and you can barely see Walter. These next 4 photos were taken just last Sunday when we ended up driving through Montebello to go to a family function in Whittier.

While we lived on Oak Street in Montebello Gardens (Pico Rivera) my 3 older siblings and I would walk to the Montebello library to check out books. We’d head to Whittier Blvd. and have to cross this bridge over the Rio Hondo River to get to the library. It was approximately 2 miles each way.

The library was located at Montebello Park. This is the building the library was housed in where I spent many happy hours looking at all those books and trying to choose just 4. Now it’s a senior center.

We moved from Montebello Gardens across the river to Montebello when I was in 5th grade. This is our house at 305 Los Angeles Ave. When we lived here there wasn’t a second story and there wasn’t a chain link fence. Although a chain link fence would have come in handy after the twins (escape artists) were born…

 

This was my high school. Montebello High home of the Montebello Oilers. It’s totally fenced in now so they can have Lock-downs. How sad is that?! That’s a reality of our times. No fences in the 60’s!

 

The football field that I spent most Friday nights at during football season in high school. It’s under renovation.

 

In my junior and senior year I was a Song-leader and part of the cheer squad. I’m in the bottom row on the right.  Judy, my best friend from junior high and high school is next to me. Debbie next to her. The top row left to right is Kathy, Bet (yes we called her Bet), and Judy. You can see those same stands behind us. This photo was taken in fall of 1967. We’re seniors here and will all graduated in June of 1968.

These are the photos I had access to while I’m here at the condo in California. Tomorrow I fly to Seattle to see my kids and celebrate Easter with them. I’ll be there for a couple of weeks. I haven’t seen them face to face since January 1st so I’m really looking forward to my time with them.

This was taken last Easter in Edmonds overlooking Puget Sound at our good friends Dave and Jody’s. They started the tradition of eating  fish on Easter because that is what Jesus ate after his resurrection to show the Disciples He was alive.
~
Thanks for indulging me and I couldn’t resist the Beatles singing Happy Birthday to finish off this post. Thanks Myrna.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

TT #25 ~ 13 Big Years in my 57!

 Friday March 14th is my 57th Birthday. For my TT this week I’m choosing 13 very memorable years in my 57!

1. 1951 ~ My birth year. I was born in East Los Angeles, California.

2. 1963 ~ At Hume Lake Christian Camps in King’s Canyon, California God called me to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and I started a new life following him.

3. 1968 ~ Graduated from Montebello High School in Montebello, California

4. 1972 ~ Went on my first date with Dear in October of this year.

5. 1973 ~ Graduated from Cal-State Los Angeles with a degree in Home Economics and an Elementary Teaching Certificate.

6. 1974 ~ Got married on December 6th to Dear and have celebrated 33 years of marriage so far. We were married on a Friday evening.

7. 1979 ~ Our first child was born in January. Josh is our firstborn weighing in at 10 pounds. Born on a Friday.

8. 1981 ~ Our second son was born also in January, also on a Friday. Dan was 8 pounds and 1-1/2 oz.

9. 1985 ~ Our third child was born on a Friday, too but not in January. Our first daughter (and last) Katie was born at the end of December even though her due date was in January also. She weighed in at 8 pounds and 12 oz.

10. 1988 ~ We moved from California to the state of Washington so Dear could go to Pharmacy School at the University of Washington.

11. 1996 ~ We gave our dream home and all of our equity back to the bank because of a major landslide on the slope behind our home.

12. 2001 ~ Our first born son was married to our beautiful daughter in law, Laura.

13. 2006 ~ Dear took a full-time job in Southern California and he and I find ourselves living in Southern California again but without our children close by. They are all still in Washington. Dan and Katie are taking care of our home while we’re in Southern California in our Condo.

I’ll leave you with this party image of me way back in the 50’s. I’ve always been one to love a good time…

 

For more TT click here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

ABC Wednesday ~ H is for…

 H is for Hiking

 

We went on a Hike early Saturday morning. We drove west to Pacific Coast Highway and South to Pt. Mugu State Park. We started at the Sycamore Canyon Campground and made sure to read the warning signs. We spotted Poison Oak at the very beginning of the hike. The only animals we saw were rabbits, lizards and birds.

 

We decided to take the scenic trail for our hike and we were rewarded with some beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and of the mountains of the Santa Monica coastal range.

 

We also were happy to spot many wildflowers.

 

To see the names of some of these blooms you can click here.

We are hoping to do this great hike again soon.

For more ABC Wednesday click on over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

Santa Monica Mountains Wildflowers

To be able to call the plants by name
makes them a hundredfold more sweet and intimate.
Naming things is one of the oldest and
simplest of human pastimes.

Henry Van Dyke in Little Rivers

 

Giant Coreopsis, Sea Dahlia                   Indian Paintbrush ~ Figwort Family
Sunflower Family

 

Wild Hyacinth ~ Amaryllis Family             Chocolate Lily ~ Lily Family

California Encelia ~ Bush Sunflower,  Sunflower Family

Wishbone Bush ~ Four O’Clock Family

Rattlesnake Weed ~ Spurge Family

Here comes Peter Cottontail!

Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin’ down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Easter’s on its way

And In the wonderful words of Swinburne –

Winter’s rains and ruins are over
—————–
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the Spring begins

~

The paths lead them in pleasant places who walk among the wild flowers.

March 1952  ~ John Kieran

Psalm 104: 24-25 ~

“O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures
innumerable,
living things both small and great.”

For more Wildflowers in Winter click here.

ht: quotes from  An Introduction to Wild Flowers by John Kieran

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.