It’s the last Wednesday in April and here’s a peek into how our backyard is shaping up. We see lots of green growth. I mowed the lawns on Monday and soon perennials will fill in much of the bare spots. We bought some solar lights that Dear installed around the shade structure. What’s fun about them is that we have a remote to turn them on and off.
1. What does the word values mean to you personally?
Something worthy and true that will guide me on the right path.
Where did your values come from?
My values initially were instilled in me by my parents, shaped by God and then deepened by the Word of God.
What are some of the values that have guided you throughout your life?
This verse I read at the end of Ecclesiastes sums it up:
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
2. Your favorite vanilla flavored something?
Haagen Daz Vanilla Swiss Almond Ice Cream.
3. What’s something you’ve seen/done recently that you found to be very difficult, very confusing, very helpful, very interesting, or very special. Elaborate.
I’ll pick very special.
On Easter day after church and lunch we traveled to the Kettle River for a very special baptism. You can read about it here.
4. Something you own and love that is violet in color?
Love is a strong word for what I own that is violet. This is the one display in our home that has some ‘violet’ items on it and it’s above our master bathroom toilet. The photo of me and Dear from 1973 is something I love.
5. Do you have vacation plans on the calendar this summer? Tell us more.
Nothing set in stone of any kind but we are toying with the idea of making it to England come September.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of the word value, I value good relationships that are tried and true. The kind that even when you haven’t seen each other for a long time you can step into easily and be in sync.
I value my role as a parent.
They are adults now and our relationship has changed as it should and it’s good to see them in loving relationships.
I value my role as a grandparent ‘baba’.
So thankful we only live 8 miles away from these two and that we have regular interaction with them.
I value my relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, three in one. The sacrifice Jesus made for mankind on the cross opened up the door of peace with God and through repentance and calling on the name of Jesus I was born again to a new life in Him. This is the most foundational and important relationship in my life. It’s value cannot be exceeded.
Well here we are in the last few days of April. Our April was filled to the brim with good things and some sad things, too. Looking forward to May flowers.
Here’s Engine #3! Our daughter in law created another fabulous cake.
Stop, Drop and Roll!
All the usual suspects and more were in the station enjoying each other before lunch was fired up on the barbecue.
The spotlight this day was on Fireman Jaymison.
Some people came dressed to the T with flames on!
We had our lunch of brats, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad and other goodies. We cleaned up after lunch and then we were all surprised to hear the fire alarm go off. The fire chief and fireman pulled on their boots and headed outside to see what the alarm was all about. Sure enough there was a fire that needed to be put out!
The Fire Chief supervised as Fireman #3 helped to put out the fire!
Fireman JJ was relieved of duty while the Fire Chief took over and was helped by other guests at the party.
JJ kept an eye on the action from a safe distance.
The fire was put out successfully.
All those from Fire District #3 posed for their photo.
After all that hard work it was time to light the candles and sing Happy Birthday!
Two fires put out in one day!
We had two other April birthdays to celebrate with a candle on this day. Our Andrew and Jamie D. had a dessert made in their honor.
Time for presents!
Fun with his very own Pop up Fire Rescue truck. Room for JJ and his friend David.
Now for all the guests.
Granny Great and Jim
Granny
Great Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda
Uncle Josh and Auntie Lolo.
Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew
The Dickinson family, long time friends.
Mylee and her family. Long time friend of the family.
Gramps and Baba
Brother and sister.
This 3 year old was a real trooper through all those photos and all the action of the day. His birthday this year landed on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Not every birthday will land on Easter weekend, thankfully.
Baba and Gramps love you JJ and we are thankful that you are growing strong and healthy. It’s fun to watch you build things with blocks and Construx. Bikes, your jeep, swings, sticks and rocks along with dirt keep you occupied outside. You love being outside and thanks to your mom and dad you are allowed to spend lots of time in the fresh air. Thank you for your cuddles and hugs. You are our favorite 3 year old in all the world!
After church we all gathered at Dan and Jamie’s for a delicious lunch of several different soups, chili and homemade bread. Before the day progressed to the Easter egg hunt and opening the treats in the Easter Baskets we stepped outside for our Easter photos.
There were some serious conversations going on while enjoying the soups.
Four baskets full of fun to dig into after the hunt. I found these cute baskets at the Dollar Store, which is now the $1.25 store.
The dad’s snuck out to hide all the eggs. Ready, set, go!
Everyone got a basket full.
There was lots of delight in opening the eggs to see what was inside.
The adults and kids enjoyed Dan’s creations. He is perfecting his macarons masterfully!
The day was not over yet because before dinner we all jumped into our cars and drove north several miles for Jamie D’s baptism. It was the perfect culmination on this Easter Day.
I still will be posting all the photos from our grandson’s 3rd birthday party that we enjoyed on the Saturday of Easter Weekend. That will wait until Monday. Happy weekend to all!
We have had wonderful days together and a glorious Easter day filled to the brim. This is our crew that have enjoyed several days together. Once I have some time for creativity to flow I’ll share more.
Lately in some of our family texts we prompt each other to continue the next line of a hymn we all know with a prompt like the following. Sing along with me if you would like and have a great day everyone!
1. Do you celebrate Easter? If so what are your plans this year? Did you have egg hunts as a kid?
Yes, indeed, we celebrate Easter, our risen Savior and what His death, burial and resurrection means to all of us. We will be in church Sunday morning and then gather at our kids home to watch the littles hunt for eggs and have a meal together. All of our family and our daughter-in-law’s family will be together and this year dear friends will be with us, too.
My growing up family did not have egg hunts. We did enjoy hard boiled eggs and hitting them on top of our siblings heads to crack them before we peeled them.
When our kids were little we had hunts of m&m’s and other candy in cupcake paper sleeves around the house before we went to church.
One Easter when our kids were married and before grandkids we had a hunt in the yard with a golden Easter egg that had $50 in it!
2. What’s your favorite bread to find in a bread basket?
Any bread that is fresh and soft. I have favorites that go with certain dishes. I love many kinds of bread, French, Italian, Rye, Farmers, Sourdough, Challah, Pita, Lavash, Flat Bread, Kulich, Paska, Pishky, Indian Fry Bread…
So thankful I’m gluten tolerant!
3. Your favorite chick flick?
Pride and Prejudice, the original BBC version with Colin Firth.
4.Tax day is rapidly approaching in the US of A…what’s something you currently find ‘taxing’?
There’s a thing I’m in charge of that is mostly out of my control. I just have to be there and make it work at the last minute. I’m in charge of other people who will show up and depend on me to tell them what to do for this out of my control event. That is not my comfort zone. I’m working hard to organize the un-organizable. I’m feeling taxed!
5. Have you ever ridden in a taxi? Do you have a funny-scary-crazy-interesting taxi story to share? Do you use any of the newer taxi-like services such as Uber?
Yes, I have stories. Dear and I had an awful, harrowing ride from O’Hare airport to downtown Chicago for one of his conferences. You know how you have to stand in line and wait for the next available taxi? Well we got a real doozie. We should have refused his ride and waited for another after he opened the trunk and there was no room for our luggage because he had a molded plastic outdoor chair in the trunk. What? Then the taxi smelled of tobacco. Ugh. Then his driving skills were horrendous. We think he might have lived in his taxi. Oye. We praised the Lord when we made it to the hotel.
When we were in D.C. for another conference I ordered a taxi to take me to a Hillwood Estate a Russian treasures house in the outskirts of D.C. When the taxi driver saw where I wanted to go he wasn’t pleased because it would take too much of his time instead of getting quick easy money making rides from the conference attendees. Short hops from the hotels to the convention center where the conference was being held. He drove me to the convention center stopped and had me get out. I was a wee bit shocked at this treatment. At least I was a little closer to the estate where I desired to go. The attendant they had outside the convention center managing all the taxis found me a willing driver to take me to the estate. I tipped him well.
We have used Uber services.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Last year’s Easter egg hunt at Baba and Gramps’. This year JJ’s 3rd birthday lands on Easter weekend which makes for a very full fun filled weekend.
Apologizing ahead of time if my visits are scarce this week.
With the help of my daughter we finished this huge puzzle Saturday the 19th of March. I started it well before and worked on it for a couple of weeks. It was good to have the help of Katie at the end. It was challenging but fun. I like this scene and the shades of blue and green.
Forest Gnomes by Jeff Tift. Item no. 36510
Me and my puzzler.
Oh…the weather outside has been lovely. We even pulled out a couple patio chairs to soak up some vitamin D.
We have a busy week and weekend ahead. How is life where you are?
This past weekend we celebrated Addy’s 5th birthday on Saturday and my belated birthday on Sunday since our whole family was together. Addy loaned me her birthday crown for my celebration. She’s wearing her queenly outfit that her Granny bought her for her birthday. Her favorite color right now is yellow.
1. What’s something you never seem to have enough time for?
Being retired, I have a lot of time to do a lot of things. It’s a lie that convinces me I don’t have time. It’s an excuse. Getting my heart behind something I need to do is the struggle. The thing that is the biggest struggle for me is consistency with exercise. I should be getting my heart rate up everyday with a 30 minute cardio workout. That ‘not enough time’ excuse is really time I wasted away doing something else that isn’t as important.
I’ve done a simple exercise in the past to show just how much I can accomplish in 15-20 minutes time. Set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes and get after a task you have been putting off. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in that time. Do that once an hour for 8 hours in a day and you’ll really be impressed with your accomplishments.
2. If you could turn back time and relive just one day in your life, which day would you choose and why?
Truthfully I wouldn’t want to relive any day just as it was. I’d want to go back with what I know now and improve on the day by being totally there, relaxed, aware of what was going on around me, engaged and content.
3. Something you enjoy making that takes a long time to prepare/cook?
Blintzes or what some call crepes. First we make the blintzes and then we fill them, roll them with either savory or sweet fillings and bake them to enjoy, with a crowd.
You can see the process and recipe by clicking here.
4. A time recently where you needed/gave yourself a ‘time out’? How do you do that?
I give myself a ‘time out’ at least once a week. I choose a day that is event free and stay in my robe for most of the morning. When there isn’t a scheduled event in a day it is a most relaxing day for me even if I end up doing a project or two or three with no time limits or deadlines.
5. Something you’ve done recently that you’d describe as a ‘good time’?
This past weekend all of our kids were together and that’s always a good time. We ate together, partied together, went to church together, listened to each other commiserating with one another, laughed together, and prayed everyone back home safely.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Our dear granddaughter Addy turned 5 this past weekend and we celebrated her with a wonderful Tea Party that her mom put together.
Addy’s mommy made the cake and in the next photo you’ll see the teapot pinata she made with Addy getting the first blows in to try and break it open for all the treats that were inside!
We enter Addy’s 5th Birthday Tea Party. Addy requested a Tea Party Theme and her Mama delivered big time!
I’ll mention it now that this post has an extraordinary amount of photos.
The Birthday girl’s brother hiding under the gift table.
Auntie Katie arrived to help with the party preparations. She was in charge of the balloons for the photo op!
Aren’t these the cutest paper tea cups and saucers?!
Jamie baked and decorated this amazing cake with layers of different flavors. Addy’s favorite color right now is yellow and she wanted yellow and pink at the party.
This is the teapot piñata (/pɪnˈjɑːtə/) that Jamie constructed. It is filled with treats that will be released once it is broken with a stick or bat.
Peanut butter and jelly mini sandwiches, rolled tortilla cheese and lunchmeat bites, bagel bites, cucumber sandwich bites, egg salad sandwich bites.
I loved this idea of bacon, lettuce and tomato bites with small cut out slices of bread.
West Coast Chicken Salad Croissant sandwiches, veggie cups and fruit cups.
Look closely and you’ll see that the strawberries have pretzel tea cup handles on them!
The birthday girl and friends table.
First we had our savory course.
After savories it was time to break the piñata open. No blindfolds for this age group.
The break open moment caught by Laura with her phone!
Time for cake and sweets!
Dan made the macarons! The lemon macarons were incredible!
Have you seen this Safari book? The animals featured are in motion. Photicular.
I wish I would have gotten a photo of the three pretty dresses that Addy will be able to twirl in from Uncle Josh and Auntie Lolo. The musical jewelry box was also a hit.
After the party was over and most guests had left mom and dad remembered they forgot to give Addy the present they bought for her. So much going on…
She was happy to have a new bike that is a better size for her.
Happy 5th birthday Addy. Baba and Gramps love you and we thank our God that you are surrounded by family and friends who love you, too. You are a quick learner and eager to help. We are thankful for all your learning experiences at Homeschool and Homeschool Co-op, Awana, Children’s church, Piano lessons. We pray that God will continue to ‘bless you and keep you, be gracious to you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.’
The first decade of my life was from 1951 until 1961. Born in East Los Angeles, moved to Montebello Gardens and then at the end of this first decade we moved up to Montebello. Warning up front that these decade posts will be a photo and information overload for many of you.
Somewhere in East Los Angeles possibly on Humphreys if my memory serves me right about the street name from our Pop. My sister Vera is telling me to shush. My brother Fred is not happy about me crying.
Yikes, I’m crying again. My little babushka is standing behind my mom. My parents good friend Zena Katkov next to her and my Uncle Paul holding my cousin Valia and then my Aunt Nina with my cousin Walter beside her. The lady sitting next to mom is a friend from San Francisco (Mrs. Hamzieff) with her son. Not sure who the lady is between her and my Aunt Nina.
These next photos are from our home in Montebello Gardens/Pico Rivera, California.
My sister Vera’s birthday party with many of our cousins on our Father’s side.
Camping in Big Bear, California with our maternal cousins.
The paternal side of our family.
Our cousin Johnny’s birthday on our Pop’s side of the family.
Maternal side of the family on Easter. Our Babushka with her grandchildren.
That’s a pigeon on my head.
Paternal cousins on another Easter.
Berry picking somewhere in southern California.
Paternal grandparents.
Our brother Tim was born and he usurped me of my title of being the youngest in our family.
My seventh birthday.
Cracking up at the way I lay my hands for photos.
I’m on the rug in front of my sister Vera, sister Kathy holding our new baby brother Tim and our brother Fred with the accordion. Love my goofy expression!
Easter 1958. We always got new clothes and shoes for Easter and Christmas.
Christmas 1958
Another photo from Christmas,1958. I’m on the left at seven years old. Our little brother Tim was 11 months old. There’s a reason I’m the only one who isn’t dressed in their Christmas clothes in this photo. I had some medical problems that I can only remember as some kind of kidney infection that I was hospitalized for. I ended up having to have a teacher come to our home for a couple months in the new year, (1959). By Valentine’s Day I still wasn’t back to school because I remember that my home school teacher brought me Valentine’s Day cards from my classmates.
Easter 1959
My birthday in 1961 and our last year in Montebello Gardens. Our next little brother, Steve is on the left barely in the photo. Cousin Vera and Johnnie on my Pop’s side of the family. Our cousin Valia, Tania and Walter on our Mom’s side of the family and my two little brothers, Tim and Steve and older brother Fred who is not quite visible.
My 5th grade photo. I sent this photo to Paul Kushnerov when he was in the service. His girlfriend at the time asked me to write him while he was serving our country in the 50’s. This little act inspired me to be more of an encourager with letters and cards. It was always a joy to receive something in the mail. Paul and Vera were married and would be our youth leaders for a time at Bethany Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Paul’s son shared this photo he found in amongst his parents keepsakes after Paul passed away a few years ago.
At the end of my first decade I was still in elementary school. We were living in Montebello and we walked to school crossing busy Whittier Blvd. There were six siblings and our parents living in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom home. In my next decade our family increased.
Because I skipped a grade (2nd or 3rd). I’ve always thought it was 2nd grade that I skipped but now with a little detective work I think it was third grade since I do not have a school photo for the third grade nor do I remember a teacher from the third grade. Now I’m also wondering a lot about 3rd grade. What is 3rd grade known for? 4th grade you have multiplication. From 4th grade on I was a year younger than most of my classmates.
In this first decade of my life my parents socialized mostly with our relatives or Russians who we went to church with. Both of the churches we were a part of had services in the Russian language. Our pop made friends that were non-Russian at work but not lifetime friends. Work is where he picked up most of his English. My mom became friends with an Italian lady who lived across the street named Lucille. Lucille gave me simple jobs around her home and paid me. She made the best Italian cookies. She would let me have some out of the oven, delicious! She baked them for weddings and I remember them iced green and pink and stacked on every surface of the house! When I cleaned the detached room that 2 of her sons lived in she said if I found any money under their beds I could keep it. I did find some! Maybe that was a way of getting me to clean thoroughly. My mom learned a lot of her English from Soap Operas. As the World Turns. Lucille helped her, too.
There was another friend across the street who had an Avocado tree in her backyard. We learned to really enjoy Avocado on toast in the 50’s long before the current trend.
We had a lot of Hispanic neighbors. Rosie was my next door neighbor who’s dog bit me on the mouth. Not a fan of Boxers to this day! Her mom seemed to have a pot of beans simmering on the stove most days I visited inside the home. It was an aroma I had never experienced. Rosie and her cousin betrayed our friendship one day by jumping me and beating me up and ripping my favorite blouse when we were walking to the store. Our friendship ended. Needless to say I didn’t smell beans simmering after that day until high school days with my very good and faithful Hispanic friends!
Speaking of being beat up there was a day that I angered someone at school who let everyone know they were going to beat me up when we got off the bus after school. There was more than one school bus stop in our neighborhood of ‘The Jardines’ and at the last minute I jumped off the bus at the stop before our stop and ran home avoiding the fight.
We would watch TV as a family. Shows like Art Linkletter, Micky Mouse Club, I remember Chucko the Birthday Clown (popular in L.A.) because I went on the show for Victor Katkov’s birthday party. I would like to have footage from that show. I ended up winning a prize on the show, too. Can’t remember what it was. Other L.A. based shows like Engineer Bill were popular, too. “On the green light you go, on the red light you stop because no engineer would ever run a red light” They used that to get kids to drink a glass of milk. Sheriff John was another popular show and here’s his birthday song!
We were able to go to Disneyland shortly after it opened. We also would get in our jammies and load up in the car to go to the Drive-in to see all the latest Disney releases. Bambie was sooo sad. I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the sad parts. Falling asleep in the car on the way home was a regular occurrence. Knott’s Berry Farm was another experience we enjoyed. If my memory serves me right the first time I ever ate in a restaurant was at Knott’s Berry Farm’s Chicken Dinner restaurant.
Many families that we knew had a story about one of their kids falling out of a car from leaning on the door or from the door opening going round a corner. No seat belts and no car seats in those days.
This post is an ‘all about me’ historical post and if you made it all the way to the end congratulations. Maybe my grandkids will enjoy reading about their Baba in the future when I’m not around to answer all the questions.
Happy Birthday to me and I thank the God who loves me and called me, Jesus who saved me from my sins and the Holy Spirit who indwells me, Three in One, that I have made it to my 7th decade 8th decade and to my 71st year. Thank you to Anneliese for noticing I’ve entered my 8th decade!!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 