Category Archives: Fave Five on Friday

Friday’s Fave Five ~ Changes…

It’s Partay time at Susanne’s because this is the 52nd Fave Five! Visit her at Living to Tell the Story to link up with your favorites. Thank you Susanne!!

 

Changes are afoot in our family. If and when I can share specifics I will. Our middle son is embarking on a new adventure in his life. He is leaving that jackhammer and concrete work behind him. Because of this change things have been buzzing here in Southern California and at our home in the state of Washington. Lots of fun calls, lots of plans, lots of prayers, lots of excitement. So here are my favorites. First three to do with the new adventure and the last three from my week here in So.Cal.

1. A fulfilling achievement for our son.

2. Friends and siblings around him that have been spending all the time they can with him before he leaves on his new journey.

3. Older brother stepping in to take care of what we can’t from miles away.

4. Walking early morning most days with Willow and seeing some fun sights. It really has made a difference to get back into this regular routine. It’s also good because as we huff and puff we share and support each other.

5. Having a day with Dear without any “have tos” except for stopping at a donut shop and feeling like we’re kids again eating a really good donut!

6. Oh yes and my extra fave is very “sweet” indeed. Our Seattle Sounders F.C. won their first trophy by beating D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday night. I watched the game on the soccer channel and was a screaming fan in my condo with my Sounders t-shirt on!

For all of you who live in the U.S. Happy Labor Day weekend to you. Enjoy your extra day off. For everyone else have a great weekend.

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Friday’s Fave Five ~

Time to think back just 7 days and remember your favorites. Once you’ve done that head over to Susanne’s at Living to Tell the Story and join in the fun of Friday’s Fave Five!

A boring week would be very nice but I might not see that for a little while.

It was so nice to have my daughter here with us along with her boyfriend. They flew back to Seattle on Sunday.

 

My daughter having lots of time with her cousins and grandparents is another favorite.

Being with my brother’s family from Dallas for more then one day makes my favorites, too. We had time at Disneyland, time at our open house on Saturday and then a few more hours on Sunday at my niece’s shower before they flew back to Dallas.

Putting on an event with my family is always a lot of fun. On Sunday my sisters and nieces and I put together a Tea Baby Shower for the next little girl who will be joining our family later in September. The time together with my nieces and all my sisters and SIL’s was wonderful.

Lastly is that yummy meal you see in the collage. Dear barbecued all that for dinner on Wednesday and it was oh so good. The Corn on the cob was my favorite. So buttery garlicky corny good.

Thanks for visiting. I really do appreciate the cyber friendships blogging has afforded me!!

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ The Happiest Place on Earth…

FRIDAY!! This week got away from me. Thank you Susanne for encouraging us with this weekly exercise of “looking back” and being thankful for our favorites from the past week. Click on over to Living to Tell the Story to join in…

 

1. So we made it safe and a little bit crazy back to Southern California on Sunday. My favorite part of our 18 hour trip in the car was listening to Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix on cds. There are 23 cds and we only got up to #15. Listening to books on cd really helps me endure the boredom of road travel especially through Central California.

2. Came home to a nice clean condo which quickly had every inch of floor space filled with inflatable beds because my daughter and her boyfriend made the trip with us and are staying here for a week.

3. On Wednesday I met up with 10 family members to enjoy the day at Disneyland. My sister Lana G! treated me royally that day paying for my ticket and all my food.

4. Spending time with my brother Leonard, his wife Mandy and my niece Hope. We get to see them once or twice a year since they live in Texas.

5. Watching Miss Hope (my niece) and Jackson (my grand nephew) interact with each other. Miss Hope really enjoys having Jack in her sights. She is pointing out his nose for him in the collage.

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ The Great Northwest…

Thank you to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for starting this weekly event where we consider the last week and share some of our favorite things.

My favorites this week are the things I love about being home in The Northwest. On Sunday we leave the Seattle area bright and early and drive 1200 miles back to Southern California where Dear and I have been living the last 3 years.

 

One of my favorite things about the Northwest are the trees. I really enjoy big trees. When I look out the windows of my house I can see sky and trees. I can see the sun setting from my bed in my upper story. Early for bed you think? Maybe, but remember in the summer the sun sets later in the great Northwest!

I enjoy pampering my kids and feeding them when I’m here even though they are adults and can fend for themselves. I probably run the dishwasher once maybe twice a week at our little condo in Southern California. When I’m home in Washington I run it once sometimes twice in one day! It’s also fun to see the kids spend one on one time with their dad. Each of our kids is so unique and it’s fun to see this come out in what kind of things they do with their dad…

 

I love my hairdresser here in Seattle and Friday I’ll get my hair cut and roots taken care of  before I head back South.

 

This is Sherri cutting my daughter Katie’s hair…

Some of my favorite places to shop are Goodwill in Washington and the Fred Meyer stores. I know there are Goodwill stores in every state but the ones in Washington just seem to be cleaner and better organized.

I really enjoy the space I have around my home in Washington. It’s not huge just about 1/3 acre but that affords privacy and quiet that I don’t get in Southern California.

 

Now just to be fair to Southern California I will post my favorite things about Southern California and my little condo soon!!

Click on over to Susanne’s on Friday to see more favorites or to join in the fun!

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A Week Filled With Favorites!

It’s time to visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in the fun of remembering our favorites from this past week.

 

At the very top of the list is the good extended time we’ve had with our kids this past week. We had meals together, went to church together, traveled to Canada together, enjoyed sporting events together, and cared for each other.

 

On Tuesday when Dear, Katie and I traveled to Vancouver Island and back we saw a great Sunrise and Sunset.

 

Finding great places to eat when we’re traveling is a favorite thing of mine! We really enjoyed our eating adventures on Vancouver Island and back home, too.

 

Seeing signs that remind us of good books we’ve read  is always fun.

Enjoying all of God’s creation intensified in a beautiful garden and out on the waterways…

Looking forward to seeing all your favorites from this past week!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Friday’s Fave Five ~ Beat the Heat Style…

Welcome to Friday’s Fave Five where we look back over the last week and remember our favorite things. Please visit the lovely Susanne in Canada at Living to Tell the Story to join in the fun!

 

Even though it’s hard to think about anything but the heat here in the Pacific Northwest I’m pushing myself to change the subject a little. So onward and upward to my favorites from this past week.

1. On Saturday after reuniting with my walking buddies on our 6 mile walk Jody and Dave picked me up for a West Coast Reception for a friend of ours who got married on the East Coast in June. It was so much fun to see former church friends that we hadn’t seen for a while and to catch up a little. It felt like a 10 year reunion.

2. On Sunday I met my kids at their church and went out for brunch afterwards with them and Grandma Wilma to the Maltby Cafe, home of the ginormous cinnamon rolls. Josh and Laura spent the rest of the afternoon at our house and it is always so much fun to listen to the fun and laughter the 4 of our kids have over a board game. This time they pulled out Risk.

3. The heat came in and my absolute favorite thing has been our fans!! I know it’s hard for people from hotter regions to understand our whining about the heat but because of our more typical mild climate very few homes in Washington have air conditioning. The other cooling favorites have been Popsicles! Today I bought an inflatable mattress to put in the basement so I can sleep more comfortably down where it is generally 10 -15 degrees cooler. Of course I looked just like this model on the bed last night…LOL!

 

4. I have also enjoyed planning a whirlwind trip for my husband, daughter and me to Vancouver Island next Tuesday. I like planning and investigating the details for a trip.

5. Tonight Dear arrives from Southern California. We will enjoy the next 2 weeks in the Northwest together and then we will drive back to Southern California together on August 15th. I’m looking forward to our time together here.

6. My extra favorite is all the fun hours I’ve had leisurely shopping at Goodwills here who have very good air conditioning. I’m going to blame my purchases this week on the unbearable heat!!

Good news! I woke up this morning cold in the basement and went upstairs to my bedroom at 5:00 am and crawled into bed and even covered up with the blanket to get warm!! There’s a cool breeze blowing this morning and the house is all cooled down, yippee!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Friday’s Fave Five ~ Where’s My Brain?

When I woke up today and wondered what day of the week it was it dawned on me that I forgot all about Friday’s Fave Five. Scramble, scramble here we go. Thank you Susanne for helping me keep my days straight! Visit Living to Tell the Story for more favorites or to join in.

 

1. On Sunday I was still in Southern California and Dear and I met his brother and wife for a birthday brunch at the Tam O Shanter in L.A. We don’t get together very often with T and C and it was fun to catch up a bit and enjoy a good meal together. Turning 60 is a very good excuse for a nice meal.

2. On Monday Willow and I were able to get a early morning walk in and it was hot, hot, hot already. It was good to catch up since we hadn’t walked for a couple weeks. What a surprise to see the  Jacarandas still blooming.

3. Monday evening I flew to Seattle in a smaller plane where the seats were closer together and smaller then usual (is that’s possible?) but I had a window seat and got some fun shots of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. I arrived in Seattle to warm temps, too.

4. Tuesday evening I joined my kids and a friend at the U.S. Open Cup game at a small venue to see the Sounders beat Houston 2-1 in overtime. It was an exciting game and fun to be right on the field. Again it was very hot.

5. Making blueberry muffins with blueberries from my bush was another fun treat this week.

My daughter’s sunburn is finally in a tolerable stage and it’s good to see her feeling so much better. Wednesday was a very hard day around here. Friday is really looking up!!

Blessings and I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve been up to.

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ Seattle?, L.A?, Where Am I?

Thanks to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story we’re encouraged to look back over the last 7 days and remember a few of our favorite things.

 

My life confuses me some times. Dear and I are living in Southern California right now and for the past 3 years because of his work but we still call the Seattle area “home” and that is where our house and kids reside. For the past couple years I’ve spent about 6 weeks in July and August at our home in Seattle. After 2 weeks in Seattle I unexpectedly had to fly back to Southern California this week to attend a funeral. I’ll be in So. Cal. for 6 days and head back to Seattle on Monday night. So here are 5 of my faves…

1. My blueberry bush has ripe blueberries and every morning in Washington I go out in my jammies with weird hair and in front of the birds and the early going to workers and pick a good bunch for my cereal. I love this ritual.

2. My daughter and I had a great time transforming our deck gazebo into a Moroccan tent for a shower she gave her friend. It’s fun to work along side each other and enjoy the time and the results.

 

3. Being unexpectedly reunited with Dear for 6 days. It breaks up our time apart which is a good thing. He’ll be flying to Seattle on July 31st for two weeks and then we’ll return to Southern California together.

4. Attending Sophie’s funeral. I know this probably sounds weird to a lot of you that it is a favorite but this great old lady (95-1/2) wanted to die and be with Jesus and she finally got her wish. The wonderful part of attending the funeral was being reunited with church family from 35 years ago and singing together again and boy did we sing a lot and every stanza and with music and a cappella.

5. It was also nice to see my older brother at the funeral. I hadn’t seen him for at least 5 years and it was good to see him face to face.

Looking forward to seeing your favorites!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Friday’s Fave Five ~ NW

This past week has been filled with activity and adventures and fun. It’s time to narrow it down to my 5 favorites and join in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and share. Thank you Susanne for hosting this great weekly event!

 

1. It was great to have family and friends over for a 4th of July barbecue!

2. My niece Debbee arrived on Sunday afternoon and the adventures began. On Monday my kids and I went to Happy Hour in downtown Seattle for dinner before the Mariners game at Safeco field. It was “Salute to Japanese Baseball night so that’s why we are saluting! :0)

3. On Tuesday the girls went shopping in the University District and walked around the University of Washington campus then we met the guys for dinner on the waterfront in Kirkland.

4. 3 mornings this week I walked along our beautiful Sammamish River/Burke Gilman Trail while my niece Debbee ran for an hour. She’s in training for her cross country high school coaching job and the Boston Marathon. Her main job at the high school is teaching math.

 

5. Having a nice day out with my daughter shopping in Bellevue and discovering this great Irish Pub for lunch!

6. I’m adding a favorite this week!! I really enjoyed this great wine ad in a Thai Restaurant my niece and I had lunch in. If you can’t read it too well it says “I finally remembered…red with hunter, white with fisherman. Too cute!

Looking forward to seeing your favorites this week.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Friday’s Fave Five ~ July 3rd

Welcome to Friday’s Fave Five hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. This weeks favorites come from the State of Washington.

 

1. My first favorite was crossing the Columbia River into Washington from Oregon and knowing we had just 3 more hours to be at our home. We made the road-trip from California to Washington on Sunday. I will be in Washington for the next 6 weeks.

2. Having all our kids around the dinner table. It’s always fun to enjoy a meal together.

3. Getting the patio put together and ready for our 4th of July party.

4. My old double oven was getting questionable so we ordered a new one. It arrived on Thursday and Dear installed it. I’m going to bake some cookies on Friday to break it in and test it!

5. I love summer fruit. My favorite is a Nectarine. I’ve been enjoying some this week.

If you are living in the U.S.A. I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.