My kids are coming over for dinner, corned beef and cabbage. I’ll be making some fun green drinks and we’ll eat and celebrate being together and surrounded by green. I’ll post the people photos later! 🙂
I tweaked the table some more before my guests arrived.
It was dinner for four with one of our children missing.
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.
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 birthday image of me in the 50’s.
For more TT click here.
We got together on Saturday night at Moreno’s in Orange to celebrate my sister Vera’s bigger than the last big birthday party!
Vera the Birthday Girl and Me, Leticia my SIL and Tim my brother, The Mariachis, and the table conversation with David, Debbee (Vera’s kids) Noah, Melissa and my sister Kathy at the end of the table.
The Matriarch and Patriarch of the family…
There were these great old trees in the patio. The original part of this restaurant was a Friends church (Quaker) and built in the late 1800’s! Click here to read the interesting history.
If you like non-spicy Mexican food that any Gringo can eat and enjoy this is the place for you. For us spicy hot Mexican food lovers this was fun for the history, fun being with family, fun with the mariachis, but not memorable for the food. 🙂
Welcome to my Blog Party. You have arrived at The Happy Wonderer. I’m ellen b and I’m so happy to welcome you here. I’ve made a cake for the occassion and I’m sharing the recipe with you. My birthday is March 14th so this is a great week for a party around here. I would like to give you a taste of what my blog is like. I’m posting some regular kind of things you’ll see if you come back to visit. So relax and enjoy as you scroll on down…
Applesauce Spice Cake
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. 4 serving size jello instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. oil
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. all-spice (optional)
1/2 raisins finely chopped (optional)
Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl of electric mixer and blend then beat at medium for 4 minutes. Pour into well greased and floured 10 inch tube or fluted tube pan. (I’ve used a bundt cake pan and angel food cake pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. DO NOT UNDERBAKE. Cool in pan for 15 min. remove and cool on rack. When the cake has cooled and before I serve it I give it a dusting of powdered sugar.
This goes really well with whipped cream or a good vanilla ice cream, too. This has become a favorite in my house and is requested for birthday cakes very often.
I like to share my recipes and I really enjoy inviting table settings like these…
Special times with family and friends are shared on my blog as well.
I enjoy walking and I share photos from these walks and I’m part of a Bloggy Walking Club. The bloggers who participate keep track of their average steps for a 5-6 day period each week and share their totals. My husband who I call “Dear” on this blog and I walk most every Saturday at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California.
I’m also a Brown Plate Special participant which is a sensible challenge for some of us older bloggers to eat smaller quantities and add more activity in our lives and be accountable to each other.
I participate in a few weekly blog carnivals like ABC Wednesday, Word Filled Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Sky Watch Fridays and Photo Hunters. I post a Hymn or Worship song on Sunday. Sometimes during the week I’ll share a devotional or a quote from a book I’m reading.
A fun experience I’ve had since I started blogging is meeting a fellow blogger who lives in the same city as me. After meeting we decided to walk together. We try to walk every weekday which has been great. Here’s a photo from the day we met at a local Coffee shop in town.
This is Willow from Willow’s Cottage. I’m the brunette (I think brunette sounds so much better than I’m the old lady on the right with brown hair)
I will also share photos from travels here in the states and abroad.
My sister Lana and I started blogging about the same time. We talk most everyday (mostly about our blogs). It’s fun to have a bosom bloggy buddy who doesn’t get tired of “blog talk”. We laugh all the time. Her blog is called Above the Clouds because she travels weekly by air.
I post a lot, at least one post a day sometimes 2 to 3 posts a day on bloggy carnival days.
I choose for my blog be an encouraging blog and to honor the Lord so you generally will not hear me ranting and you will not find bad language and things that I find objectionable to my heart and mind here.
Whew! My posts are not this long generally unless it’s all photos (Did I say I’m visual and love photos!?)
Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you come again. Blessings on you…
You can see more blogs that are participating in the party at 5 minutes for Mom. I’ll add the link when they have it up later tonight. Well as soon as 5MFM fixes their site you can click and get there we all crashed it I think. For now you can google Ultimate Blog Party and find some sites!
My sister Vera was born on Leap Year Day in 1948. That means she’s 15 years old today. Well this is just the 15th time that her actual birthdate has occurred in her lifetime.
Vera is the one on the bottom row holding the cake. I’m next to her holding the skirt of my dress. My sister Kathy is in the top row between our cousins June and Nancy. My brother Fred is the the one in the overalls on the bottom row. My cousin Vera is next to me and my cousins Mike and Bill are in the top row as well.
This has to be Easter judging from the dresses and the white patent leather shoes. Vera, Kathy and Me.
This is Vera kneeling with our brother, our older sister and me with friends from San Francisco sometime in the 50’s. Fall or Winter judging from the black patent leather shoes! 🙂
This is a photo of the 4 of us sisters a year ago at another birthday celebration. Kathy, Lana, Vera and Ellen. We also have 4 brothers.
VERA! I hope your day is filled with love, joy and happiness. Looking forward to celebrate with you soon. Praying for God’s continued blessings in your life…
Week 5 – February 13 – 19. Stitching up wildflowers – creations made with textiles (fabric, yarn, thread etc.) and featuring wildflowers in some form, made by you or someone else.
I didn’t realize how many embroidered or stitched items I had to share in this category! After ironing and taking photos and making collages, I’m finally ready with my post for this week.
The first collages I’m going to share are very special to me because they are of 2 Tablecloths and a set of napkins that my dear little Babushka Vera embroidered for me. My little grandma (we called her little because she was only about 4’11” tall) embroidered this first one as a wedding gift for us.
I went shopping with her and picked out the size of tablecloth and the napkins. Then we chose the embroidery threads together, too. Sweet memories. Did I mention that my Babushka only had one hand. One of her arms was amputated from the elbow down when she was a young girl. That never slowed her down.
The flowers on this cloth look similar to this one.
This cloth that my Babushka also embroidered was given to me probably when I graduated from High school. These two Tablecloths are my favorite of all my stitched items because of the love and time it took for my dear Babushka to make them for me.
This photograph of our Babushka was taken in 1969 at my sister Vera’s wedding. Isn’t she the cutest little thing?! She’s looking up at my sister Vera here. She went home to be with her Lord in March of 1980.
To see more stitched Wildflower goodies click on over to Elizabeth Joy’s at Wilflower Morning.
I drove Southeast through Ventura County into Los Angeles County to the suburb of Whittier, east of Los Angeles to visit my sister Kathy. Whittier is home to Whittier College, Richard Nixon’s alma mater. He majored in History. We decided to combine a nice healthy walk up the hills and down in the older beautiful neighborhoods of Whittier so we could then have a guilt free nice lunch as a reward. Kathy chose the Crepes and Grapes Cafe on Greenleaf Ave. in Uptown Whittier. I have a few photos of our time. The first photo is of the great Avocado tree that keeps me well stocked by Kathy when the avocados are in abundance. Then we walked along such wonderful canopied streets and we saw some beautiful blossoms. The last photo is of my yummy crepe. This was a build your own crepe for $6.95. I chose turkey, red onion, tomato, green pepper and a ginger lime sauce on the side. Kathy chose a white sauce, chicken, spinach, tomato, and Jack cheese. Duhlicious!
This is my sister Kathy with her grandson Jackson. She is my oldest sister, a wonderful friend and Godly woman. Thanks Kathy, that was fun…
My extended family is overjoyed today because of the arrival of a new baby. Our new little niece was born this morning to my Brother and his Wife. It has been 22 years since the last niece was born and 16 years since the last nephew was born so this is monumental! So what’s an Auntie to do? Why go to the mall and shop at the adorable Janie and Jack to find a little something to stick in the mail today for our sweet little niece to wear. Since my brother and his wife are way to busy to check my blog I’m posting a picture of what I bought and am shipping off…
Question 1
What is your favorite fairy tale?
I think my favorite fairy tale is Snow White. It might have been the first one I saw when I was little and it made an impression on me. I also like the 7 Dwarfs.
Question 2
If you could be guaranteed a spot on the reality show “Survivor”, would you go?
No, I really would not want to expose myself to the elements in that way. I’m past my physical prime and I wouldn’t want to be without my hormone pills. 🙂 I also wouldn’t want to be at the whim of the producers manipulating and exposing me in a bad light.
Question 3
Meanest thing you ever did to a sibling??? I know…. what kind of question is this 🙂
This one is easy for me. I would hide in the closet or under the bed and when my older sisters would come home from dates I’d grab at their legs from under the bed or I’d grab their hand when they reached in the closet for their nightgown! Made them scream bloody murder every time.
Question 4
Best Fashion Era… 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or now…
I think the 60’s were great. I loved the classic Jackie Kennedy look.
Question 5
Have you ever skipped to the end of a book before you finished reading the book?
Maybe once. It is not a habit of mine to do that. If the book drags on at the end I might skim through to get to the end.
Bonus Questions (I found these questions through a website, and boy are these challenging…) ~
Question 6
What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year? ~
To be able to move back to Seattle. ~
Question 7
What is one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? ~
Talk to Him like He’s real and my best friend. ~
For more Know and Tell click over to To Know Him.
