Four Days on the Westside

On Tuesday the 13th of May we drove west across the state to Bothell to stay four days and four nights. Our niece and grandniece had arrived from Southern California the day before. They traveled to see our niece’s son, Jack, perform with the Master’s University Chorale on their West Coast Tour. The bonus was that we all had time together with them, too. The concert on Tuesday night was in Marysville at Grace Bible Church.

Jack hadn’t expected to see so many of us for this concert.

The music was exceptional and we were moved to tears and worshipped along with joy.

Jack’s rendition of Amazing Grace was performed and the director gave him acknowledgement for his work. The choir sang it beautifully. I’m sad I can’t add it here.

Jack’s mom is our kids’ cousin so Jack must be a cousin once removed? We are happy to claim him as our grandnephew.

We had some time together before the choir headed off to homes to spend the night before their bus took them south to their next concert on Wednesday in Gig Harbor. Their tour would take them through Washington, Oregon and California stopping at several churches along the way.

On Wednesday morning before it was time to take Michelle and Avery to the airport the ladies enjoyed brunch at The Rusty Pelican in Woodinville.

Everything we ordered was delicious!

I drove with Laura to drop Michelle and Avery off at SeaTac airport. It was a bonus to be able to ride in the carpool lane. Laura made tacos for dinner on Wednesday night.

On Thursday we spent a few hours at Katie and Andrew’s. Their cats entertained us. We enjoyed some Thai food together and had a short shopping run. Later that evening we had dinner with Josh and Laura at one of their favorites, Azul, in Mill Creek.

Friday we went to our old standby in Kirkland, La Corona, to say goodbye and cheers because we found out that the restaurant was changing hands at the end of May.

We had our finale dinner with Josh and Laura on Friday night at Emory’s in Silver Lake (Everett).

After dinner Katie and Andrew came over to Josh and Laura’s and we enjoyed playing the card game, Sky Joe. When we were done with cards we hugged and said our goodbyes. We would leave Saturday morning before anyone was awake.

We packed as much as we could on Friday night and then we snuck out on Saturday morning at 5:30 AM for our journey back home.

We are so thankful that we could enjoy this time with many of our loved ones. We are also thankful for safe travels there and back again. God has been good to us in small and big ways and we don’t take it for granted.

Over the River…

We drove to Bothell last Tuesday early and spent several days with our Westside kids and we had a bonus visit with our Niece and our Grandniece. We were able to see our Grandnephew, too, at a choral performance. We drove back home on Saturday. I’ll post soon about our time away.

The photo collage is from our drive home on Saturday as the sun was rising and as we crossed the Vantage bridge over the mighty Columbia River.

On Saturday after we got home and unpacked this beauty entertained us.

Then during our relaxing afternoon after church this hawk paid a visit probably looking for that chubby quail!

Happy Victoria Day to our neighbors to the north in British Columbia.

Tea ~ Country Village

Welcome to Tea Time 2025. These posts will be about Tea Rooms we’ve been to, Teas we’ve given for friends and family, Church Tea events, and High Tea in restaurants from 2008 to the present. Tea in the U.S.A., Tea in England and Tea in Canada. Many of the Tea Rooms are no longer in business, which is sad.

Back to the year 2008 and to Madam Fifi’s with more of our family.

After our very successful trip to Goodwill the ladies arrived at Madam Fifi’s Tea Room at Country Village in Bothell for an Afternoon Tea. This was the day after Thanksgiving in 2008.

Madam Fifi (Christine) had our lovely room all ready for us. The usual after Thanksgiving Goodwill shoppers were in attendance and this year we inducted Pat (my DIL Laura’s mother) into the group. Katie, Laura, my sister Lana, sister-in-law Letty, Pat and me for tea.

We each chose our tea and enoyed a relaxing time.

Our sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, lemon curd, and sweets were divine!

All the Things

It wasn’t just Mother’s Day Celebrations like a Ladies Tea this past Saturday. We had other events stretching our calendars on Saturday and Sunday. Our First Baptist Ladies Tea and Blooms Luncheon was on from 11am to 1pm. My Beatrix Potter Tea Table was put together on Friday afternoon.

At 10am JJ had a Taekwondo promotion so his mom wasn’t able to be with us at the tea. (JJ’s daddy was working on Saturday). Uncle Andrew was able to be at JJ’s promotion, too, and JJ passed!

Uncle Andrew treated JJ to this monster of a sugar delight while we were enjoying our dainty tea sandwiches. We wrapped up our early events and spent a couple leisurely hours in the afternoon before we all met up for a Mother’s Day meal at a restaurant in Kettle Falls.

When our meal was done, Jamie and Addy left to get ready for Addy’s Irish Dance recital while the rest of us visited a local park for JJ to let off some steam before having to sit for two hours at the dance recital.

The park we picked had this great sculpture and tribute to the lady who started the school of Irish dance that Addy has enjoyed for a couple years now.

JJ had a lot of exercise while the adults kept a watchful eye on him and then we were off to the Woodland Theatre to get our seats for the performance.

Addy performed brilliantly for her dance routines and then as a leprechaun in the Giant potato play. I was busy with videos and did not get a photo of her in her costume but these group photos were shared with Jamie and she shared them with me. The narrated drama was fabulous and had us all in stitches!

Our Monday was full, too, with a drop in reception for our Assistant Pastor Candidate in the afternoon and then a Q & A in the evening with an ice cream social afterwards. It was good for many or our church members to be able to get to know the candidate and his family in a casual setting.

I’m sure many of you had busy weekends, too. I’ll be away from my computer most of Tuesday. Hope y’all have a great day!

Tea ~ Madam Fifi’s

I recently posted a Tea Room we enjoyed with our mom in Northridge, California in 2008.

Today’s Tea Room is Madam Fifi’s which was in Country Village, Bothell, Washington. This Tea Room didn’t last long and now Country Village is also gone and replaced with condos.

In August of 2008 I took my little sister Lana G! to Madam Fifi’s in Country Village for her belated birthday lunch.

The following was written in 2008…

We went to Madam Fifi’s Tea Room in Bothell at Country Village. I was wanting to share this Tea Room with Lana and since this is a rare day when we are both in Washington at the same time we took the opportunity. We were both delighted with the Grand Tea.

Madam Fifi’s Grand Tea

Pot of loose leaf tea or iced tea of the day

Cup of soup or garden salad

Fresh seasonal fruit

scones with cream & lemon curd

Generous tea sandwiches—

Smoked salmon cream cheese with cucumber

Crab salad

Chicken curry salad

Turkey with raspberry cream cheese

Grand assortment of decadent tarts, cookies and pastries.

We had the soup of the day and it was wonderful. We also chose the Lady Londonderry Tea. We really enjoyed it and both ended up buying some to take home to savor. It is really hard to treat Lana to a meal. She is very sneaky about picking up the tab. Today I was going to finally win but Madam Fifi thwarted me and insisted on giving us her Grand Tea on the house! Thank you Madam Fifi. We love your establishment and we will be back.

Tea~ Port Gamble

This next post was from July 17, 2008.

On Wednesday afternoon Josh, Laura, Michelle and I took the Ferry from Edmonds to Kingston for High Tea in Port Gamble. The Tea Room at Port Gamble is in an old Victorian house on the main street in this little town. You get off the ferry at Kingston and follow the road to Highway 104 headed for the Hood Canal Bridge. When you get to the 25 mile an hour speed zone you know you are close. You can’t miss it and it’s a delightful afternoon stop!

The name of this Tea Room was, The Tea Room at Port Gamble.

Josh was such a good sport to play along and don a hat, too. He had never been to High Tea and we discussed just how civilized it is. Of course none of us had to wear hats but we were just in the mood.

I think the highlights for us were the wonderful scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream and then the chocolate fondue at the end of our tea. Duhliscious!! (I miss-spelled that on purpose!)

We strolled through the little town and enjoyed the architecture and unique little shops. Took the picture of the Artful Ewe for you Willow!

My son Josh and our DIL Laura

Do you see the sign the antique dealer has under her cash register in her shop? It says “YOUR HUSBAND CALLED – And said you can buy anything you want” On the way out of town we stopped at the Anglican Church.

From the cemetery we could see the Hood Canal Bridge and we commented that we should drop in on Dave and Beth but we didn’t call ahead and our afternoon was turning into evening. Maybe you can meet Katie and I for tea sometime in Port Gamble Beth!?

At the cemetery Josh spotted this engraving on one of the tombstones. “Remember friend as you pass by, As you are now so once was I, As I am now you soon will be, Prepare for death and follow me”

Sobering thought or it could be taken as an encouragement to prepare ourselves for the inevitable by making decisions today that guarantee our future in Glory when we meet our Creator…

Well we decided it was time to head back to the ferry dock and journey across the Puget Sound to Edmonds and onward. But what did we spot on the way back…

CB’s Nuts! A small Roasting operation right off the main highway. We made a U-turn and headed back after we zoomed by too fast to stop. We are glad we turned around. We met Mr. Roasting Guy and he sold us some fresh peanuts, pistachios, and peanut butter.

Can’t get too much fresher than this!

At the ferry dock while we were waiting for our boat I zoomed in for this shot of Mt. Rainier and downtown Seattle. If you look closely you can see the Space Needle to the right of the rest of the buildings.

Another fabulous day in the Greater Puget Sound! To end the day we met my other kids, Dan and Katie, at PF Chang’s for dinner. A very full day that made this lady pretty tired but joyful.

There is a current open tea room in Port Gamble.

Tea ~Bridal Shower

This looking back post is from June 9th 2008.

My extended family came together to host a bridal shower for our future niece, cousin, granddaughter. June 28th is the wedding day. I put together some photos from the event. Good food, Fellowship, and blessings all around. A lovely colorful afternoon.

Can you guess the color scheme we chose for the shower? Yep, lavender, green, and cream.

I’m happy to say the fondant cake turned out and if the fondant had been fresher (confession time: I had this box of fondant in my cupboard for over a year) it would have been easier to work with and a lot more pliable. I will try fondant again, fresh fondant.

My niece Michelle getting the Mojito Punch ready. We love details, so my niece Melissa made ice-cubes with mint in them. That’s my niece Debbee in the kitchen. The Mojito Punch was virgin (no rum), but it was very good and refreshing.

Speaking of nieces, here they are ~ Jessica, Michelle, Debbee, and Melissa.

Jessica ~ Jessica and her mom, Connie ~ Jessica with Kelly (my Sil) and Kelly’s mom, Lynn ~ Jessica with my mother.

We had savory blintzes filled with chicken and broccoli, tabbouleh, fruit salad, Italian Wedding cookies, and Kefili cookies filled with apricot and plum jam. My mom made the cookies. The Kefili are one of her russian recipes. Growing up we had a great Italian friend living across the street, Lucille. She always made these Italian wedding cookies for showers and weddings. My mom hunted down her recipe to make them for this shower.

Details, details, we placed sprigs of lavender on each of the blintzes.

My sister Kathy had these great vintage snack trays that we used for the food.

The shower was wonderful. We ended up making each other cry (a good cry). Don’t you think that sometimes if there are tears that are shed we are being real with each other? We thanked God and prayed for Jessica and Tim and prayed for all of us. We wanted to give God the honor for all He has done for our family and friends.

I was exhausted but happy that everything came together well. I had left my condo at 9:30 am and returned at 8:30 pm. 181 miles round-trip. Today I’m a little brain dead. I hope to get around and see what you are all up to sometime today after I empty my trunk and put everything away…

Tea ~ Mad Hatters Tea Shower

In April of 2008 my sisters and mom were invited to a Mad Hatter Tea Party Bridal Shower. This will be the original post from April 27, 2008.

On Saturday I drove 90 miles from Camarillo to Newport Beach to attend a shower for our future niece, Jessica, who is marrying my brother Steve’s son, Timothy. Timothy’s lovely mother is my SIL Kelly.

Oh, the destination and the setting and the beautiful ladies that we got to spend the afternoon with made the 180 mile round-trip so worth it.

The table was set perfectly for our Mad Hatter Tea. We gave thanks to the Lord for this wonderful occasion and began the festivities.

Jessica with her friends and most of these ladies will be her bridesmaids. Our hostess, Michelle, to the left of Jessica

Michelle, the maid of honor, was our hostess and the setting was in her parents gated community in Newport Beach. I can’t even begin to guess what the HOA fees are in this wonderful setting. Did I just say that out loud?

Ellen b. in a hat, you won’t see that everyday.

It was a Mad Hatter Tea which meant we were all required to wear hats. My SIL Letty and me. Jessica, the Guest of Honor. Jessica opening her Samovar from my mother and a tablecloth that my mother made when she was 12 years old (that would have been in Tehran, Iran) The last photo is of the daughters and daughter in laws with my mom. Letty, Vera, My Mom, Kathy, Ellen b, and Kelly.

Three of my lovely nieces, Melissa, Debbee and Michelle.

After we had our Tea/Lunch we walked over to the Rose Garden in the Community.

My hat won me a prize along with the great hat on the right that the mother of the hostess wore! I won a wonderful lavender scented candle.

We are having a very hot weekend in Southern California. See that 100 degrees for the outside temperature next to my odometer. That registered when I was driving home and reached the San Fernando Valley. Hot, hot, hot for Spring around here! (Looks like I need to dust off my dash!)

Made it home in good time praising our God for the blessing of family and friends to enjoy life with on this earth.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
~2 Thessalonians 2: 16,17

V is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Friday April 25th and we are on the letter V.

V is for Vareniki or Vareniky~ A Russian traditional cheese filled dumpling. I will add a recipe at the end of this post.

The first sets of vareniki day in Southern California are when our mom was still on this earth.

I think this set of photos is from 2004.

In 2008 while Greg and I were living in Camarillo I was able to join in for the family day of making Vareniki for our Christmas celebration.

This photo above is from 2012, the last Vareniki day with our mom. Our mom was promoted to heaven in September of 2013.

The next set of photos are from Vareniki day in 2020.

Vareniki are a Russian treat we’ve enjoyed at Christmas for many years. Vareniki can be enjoyed any time of year but our family has made it our Christmas dessert tradition. This year the crew included my two older sisters, one sister-in-law, 4 of our nieces and one grandniece. My mom would be so proud of them all!

My oldest sister Kathy with the finished product which is first boiled and then ready to freeze and then bake in half and half and butter on Christmas Eve. Our family tradition is to stuff these dumplings with a cheese filling and serve them as a dessert or for breakfast in place of pancakes. We serve them with a dollop of sour cream and maple syrup.

Pierogi and Vareniki are actually the same thing. Again, stuffed dumplings, they are common throughout Central and Eastern Europe and most of the old Eastern Bloc states. While Vareniki is the more commonly used term in Russia, pierogi are the national dish of Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia.

Here’s the recipe from our family cookbook that our sister Vera created.

U is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be. Disclaimer: this has been a lot more than a photo a day. It has been more like a theme for the day.

Today is Thursday April 24th and we are on the letter U.