Category Archives: Family

Lost and Found July 2007

In July of 2007 my brother and his wife who live in Texas came for a visit to Seattle. They had been married for almost 1 year. We had fun doing all the touristy things we love to do with visitors, Pike place market, the troll, Kerry Park, Whidbey Island, etc.

One of the evenings they were in town our friends who live on the Sound in Edmonds invited our clan over for the evening. The post about this event has disappeared from my blog and I’m reinstating here. The photos aren’t the best but the memories are.

Our dear friend Jody was the hostess with the mostest and knew how to feed a crowd.

We enjoyed a fire pit in Jody’s beautiful English garden. Jody is married to Dave who was our doctor for years! He’s the fire starter in the orange shirt.

I did mention that they live on the Sound.

Mandy would have been meeting Dave and Jody for the first time. Our brother Leonard knew our friends well.

I wonder who is in the Dunn Lumber sweatshirt behind Josh and Laura?

Leonard, Mandy, Greg, Lana, Josh, Laura and I think the profile is Bridget, another one of Dave and Jody’s daughters.

Me and my sister, Lana, who happens to be Leonard’s twin. I see Jan in the background.

One of Dave and Jody’s daughters.

Another missing piece of Leonard and Mandy’s visit for our dinner gathering in Kirkland on the waterfront.

There will be a few more Old Lost and Found posts appearing fresh on my blog in the coming year.

Scary Angels

 

Broadway Day 7 044Uncle Joshie had a conversation with JJ that was too good not to document for the sake of my failing memory skills and for the joy it brought. Here is how it came over the family group text:

Josh: Fun JJ story from today. I was chatting with Daniel and JJ on the phone. 

JJ: I learned about what the Bible says angels looks like and it’s actually pretty scary sounding.

Josh: I agree. Do you remember what every angel says when a person encounters them in the Bible?

JJ: yes, “Do not be afraid”.

Josh: That’s right, so it makes sense they’re probably pretty scary looking. It’s funny how cute and cuddly most cherubs look in paintings.

JJ: well, if a little cute cherub appeared out of nowhere, I think it would probably still be a little scary. 

We all were sending back the laugh till we cry emojis. Love the thoughts our 7 year old grandson shares! Also pleased that Uncle Joshie makes the effort to have intelligent conversations with his nephews and niece.

California in September Finale

On Sunday morning 12 of us gathered in Pasadena at a restaurant on E. Colorado Blvd. for brunch. The name of the restaurant is Old Town Caffe and don’t let looks deceive you, it was a fabulous establishment serving great food and specialty coffees. The service was top notch, too.

It was a fun and laid back morning and good for some recovery time after all the labor of putting on the Bridal Tea. Even though Vera’s car got locked in the wrong parking structure and she had to call attendants to let her out, all worked out in the end and we made it back home for a little rest time before we dropped off Katie at the airport for her trip home.

Later on Sunday evening…

…five of us gathered at Mario’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Lenny, Vera’s son-in-law, thought it would be fun to say it was Vera’s birthday. She was treated to a birthday balloon crown for this fictitious day.

Monday last before I flew home on Tuesday, I met my dear recently widowed friend at a restaurant in Tustin. We spent 3 solid hours at our table in conversation good for both our souls. We didn’t think to take a photo of the two of us.

My trip to California was filled with people time. No beach time even though I was staying in Huntington beach with my sister.

And now it’s time to enjoy Autumn!

Bridal Tea 2

This is a photo overload post with all the people who gathered and made this beautiful Bridal Tea event possible.

The bride to be, Delaney and her future Mother-in-law, Michelle, the hostess and visionary for the event.

Soon to be family on the groom’s side.

Laney and Avery, Jack’s only sibling.

Some of my tribe with Laney

Showered with family from Jack’s side of the family (AKA: my nieces and daughters)

Jack’s Maternal Grandmother and Great Auntie’s

Me with my two older sisters

Delaney and our Laura

Our Laura with Jack’s Auntie Meem

Our sister Vera’s ‘girls’ and our Laura

Cousins through thick and thin!

Michelle’s very special friend ‘tribe’ and ladies that have been in Jack’s life for many years!

One of the bride’s sisters and some of her bridal party.

Friends from our Russian Baptist Church days

My sisters and our sister-in-law Kelly and friend Svetlana

Hooray! Jack showed up at the very end of the event just in time to load up all the presents and to take them to their future apartment.

Some of us got a sneak peek to how the apartment is shaping up!

It was a full and glorious Saturday with more fun planned for Sunday!

Bridal Tea 1

When someone puts so much thought and energy in making an event so special it needs to be documented. I choose to document it here on my blog. I was blown away at the vision our niece had for showering her soon to be daughter-in-law and for the tribe of helpers who came along side her to make it all come to life. As guests we were treated to a very special time at Delaney’s Bridal Tea. Our niece’s ‘tribe’ were there before the event and well into the night when the event was over cleaning up and washing tea cups and tea pots. What a wonderful community!

The shower was held in Ryan and Michelle’s yard in Newhall. Michelle is our sister Kathy’s oldest daughter. The groom, Jack, is Ryan and Michelle’s son.

Jack’s grandmother (my sister Kathy) and Jack’s auntie (my niece Melissa) gathered flowers at the L.A. Flower Mart the day before the event. They brought the flowers to Michelle’s the day before the event and many hands arranged the bouquets in the tea pots.

Kathy baked the meat filled piroshky and they were delicious and transported those of us with Russian heritage back to our Mother’s kitchens.

The father of the groom was the scone chef!

Cousins of Michelle’s came early and assembled the tea sandwiches.

Another cousin made Gluten Free tea goodies for those who are gluten intolerant.

A dear friend made these melt in your mouth meringue kisses!

Michelle’s ‘tribe’ helped from before the shower began through and to the end with all the details that help create an celebration to remember.

Lemon curd and Clotted cream were added to each table for the scones.

Our daughter-in-love, Laura, flew in early to be a support and helper for Michelle.

Another lovely detail were the shower favors that were on each guests place setting.

It was a love filled event from beginning to end.

My Bridal Tea II post will feature all the guests and the ‘tribe’ that made it all come together.

Hello Fall Hodgepodge 2026

 

It’s time for the first Autumn Hodgepodge of 2026. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Fall arrives this week in the northern hemisphere. Does it look/feel like fall where you live?What’s something you love to do this time of year that makes you feel its officially fall? 

*If you’re answering today from the southern hemisphere feel free to sub spring for the word fall. 

The corn maze is a Fall event we love to do. The Marcus Cider Fest is another event in our area that definitely screams Fall!

2. What’s a small daily task or chore that always seems to fall through the cracks when your schedule gets busy?

Planning and making meals.

3. What’s something you’re falling for lately? 

Scones with clotted cream and lemon curd. They were served at the Bridal tea I attended on Saturday and it is confirmed that I’m a fan!

4.  Pumpkin is a popular flavor this time of year.  Are you a fan? What’s your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage?  

Pumpkin flavor is okay but I’m not crazy for the flavor especially in drinks. I can enjoy pumpkin in cookies.

5.What’s something you wish would never change? Explain. 

The love our family has for each other. Our dear Pop/Dzeda would say to his family members, “Love each other, stay together”

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I was in Southern California until yesterday getting home in the late afternoon/evening. I did not visit blogs while I was away. Our family was taking our dear old pop’s advice. We had a lot of together moments!

The Bride to Be…

I’m still in Southern California and it has been such a rich time with more to experience on this Monday and my last full day here. I have so much to share and hundreds of photos to go through. As per usual there is joy and sorrow that goes hand in hand in our community of believers. But for now the joy…

We gathered to celebrate the bride of our great nephew. Their wedding will be in October. What a special time we enjoyed with all these beautiful people!!

Our niece and her soon to be Daughter-in-law!

I will hopefully catch up with all of you soon.

Sunday at the Feis

Auntie Lolo captured some great stills…

 

This dance competition was a ‘shuffle’ where the dancers are grouped with dancers from other schools of dance that they’ve never danced with before. Addy’s group earned a third place for their performance together.

This was the final dance of day.

What a enjoyable Feis. It was great toe be together to cheer for our Addy!

Uncle and Auntie flew in on Saturday morning and flew back home Sunday afternoon.

Some of us gathered for lunch at an Irish Pub just down the street from the convention center before we dropped Josh and Laura off at the airport. It was a appropriate finale to our Irish Dance Weekend!

I had just enough time to recuperate from our busy dancing weekend and now I’m on a plane today to Southern California for a Bridal Shower! It will be another weekend where I’m absent in bloggy world. September has been and will end as the busiest month in a long time for me. I’m leaving the PNW in the Summer and returning on the first day of Fall!

Saturday at the Feis

First there were some soft shoe reels and jigs.

A quick shoe change and it was time for the hard shoe dances.

Here are Addy’s people who came out to watch this time around.

The first day of Feis At the Falls was in the books for our crew. Sunday would be another morning filled with dancing.

We all drove to a great Mexican spot, Birriería El Sazón Spokane on Sprague in Spokane Valley for our lunch. Addy was the most famished of all of us after all her nonstop dancing and shoe changes! We highly recommend this spot but beware…the portions are huge!

Back at the hotel there was an afternoon of swimming before the crew landed in our room for Charcuterie that Dan and Jamie hauled to Spokane in their trusty cooler. It was quite a spread that we all enjoyed including home made pickles, sourdough and summer sausage!

The orange watermelon from a friend’s farm was so delicious!

We had a nice large corner room in the hotel so it was comfortable to gather and enjoy each others company before we called it a night. An early night since our little dancer would be on stage bright and early on Sunday.

Since our hotel room only had 3 chairs available both Josh and Dan rolled the office chairs from their rooms to our room for our gathering. Josh and Laura were 9 floors up from us and Dan and Jamie were 5 floors up from us so they made quite a sight rolling their chairs and the cooler down the elevators and down the hall to our room!

The littles decided they would ride on their way back to their rooms.

Uncle is always ready to accommodate these two.

 

Blog Restoration August 2007

For whatever reason this birthday celebration for Greg in 2007 got removed from my blog and I’m adding the photos here for the sake of history. This celebration happened on the 31st of August instead of on his birthday because he would be back in Southern California on his actual day.

The dinner and dessert gathering happened on Friday evening the 31st of August in Edmonds, Washington.

A birthday trifle for a crowd was his cake this year.

Some memories are a little tougher than others. 🙂

Our friends who hosted this gathering live on the Puget Sound shoreline.

As per usual Jody made enough food for the crowd and to send home leftovers.

Thankful for memories of this time and of our dear friends.

Before this celebration Josh, Laura, Katie, Greg and me were at our favorite Mexican Restaurant to celebrate together. It was our famous Tequila/Taco Tuesdays at La Corona in Kirkland.

Early on in our weekly tradition, Leticia was our waitress. In later years, when we switched to afternoons instead of evenings, Lilianna became our most favorite waitress ever!

I probably put together this next collage to post on Greg’s actual birthday in 2007. This was his 54th birthday!

Meanwhile back to 2026…

We enjoyed the cheesecake I made to celebrate Greg’s special day. Greg was with our middle son on his birthday hauling firewood and when unloading at their house our grands and DIL were able to wish Gramps a happy birthday. Our oldest and youngest called with birthday greetings for their dad. Greg’s brother and sister-in-law who live in North Carolina also called with birthday wishes. Greg was thankful, too, for all the greetings for his day on my blog and on Facebook and Instagram and texts!