Friday’s Fave Five

If you haven’t already why don’t you join us in thinking back over this past week and picking out your 5 favorites. It’s a great exercize of counting your blessings. Susanne at Living to tell the Story is the hostess for this weekly meme.

 

1. On Saturday Dear and I returned to our favorite early morning walk and were rewarded with wonderful crashing waves.

2. After our walk on Saturday, Dear re-did the shelves in our condo pantry giving me an extra shelf. Oh the joy of an extra shelf in our little condo. Whoohoo!  Shhh, don’t tell dear I’m thinking I have more room for pretty dishes!

3. We’ve been eating “in” more to coincide with our daily exercise program we’ve started. Dear and I added resistance training this week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead of walking. We already are benefiting from our extra efforts.

4. I’m still walking with Willow every week day but Friday and with Dear on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Willow and I  blazed a new trail this week in her neighborhood and that was fun. Sunday is our day of rest…

5. Thrift store shopping continues to be something I really enjoy and I found a few goodies this week that I will change the original function for and show you in the future what I came up with.

We are having a heat wave here in Southern California. Dear and I are headed north on Sunday for an overnight and hope to enjoy cooler weather, at least down into the 70’s.  Have a wonderful weekend…

For more Favorites visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Friday’s Fave Five

It’s almost Friday again and time to ponder some favorites from the past week! Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in or to see other Favorites!

 

So on Sunday we flew back to Southern California from Washington. In a lot of ways my daily life in Southern California is easier than when I fly back to my house in Washington.

1. At the very top of my favorites this week, and probably for several weeks more, is the fact that my 911 neighbor, Summer, and her boyfriend are gone for good! I didn’t even realize the stress that their presence had on our quality of life until this week and the amazing difference we have experienced! We have peace. Peace is amazing. Peace with God is the most important thing in life but daily peace in your living conditions is way up there, too. I don’t have to tense up when I hear them come home. I don’t have to hear the yelling and screaming. I don’t have to get jolted out of a deep sleep with loud thumping on the floor and screaming. The photo of the empty deck in my collage is the deck that had their stuff on it before. That emptiness is such a welcome sight. Oh how sweet it is…

2. Starting to walk regularly again with Willow is another favorite. OK, so I put on way more poundage than I imagined and I need to cut back on food and increase my activity. On a more positive note,  it’s great here in Southern California to still see roses blooming and other plants flowering with lots of color. The Yellow rose is a photo from one of Willow and my walks.

3. Dear and I have also started walking together when he gets home from work and before we eat dinner. This has been a good time to talk and check out the neighborhood. The Sunset photo is from one of our late afternoon walks.

4. Meals for two. How easy that is. That’s one of the bonuses of my lifestyle in Southern California. We have actually eaten in for 4 nights in a row. That’s good for us. Don’t worry though, tomorrow we’re headed back to El Tecolote for our meal out!

5. The last favorite is seeing some beautiful sunrises this week. There’s something about the quiet of dawn that is wonderful to experience.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Fave Five on Friday!

 

1. Well it will be no surprise that at the top of my favorites for this past week is spending extra time with all my children. (And it hasn’t been a soap opera). On Saturday we did our belated family Christmas with stockings and Dear’s Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Later on that same day we had a birthday dinner for our daughter Katie. Since we will be in California for both Josh and Dan’s January birthdays we are celebrating tonight with a dinner for them.

2. It’s always great to see all the guys working together. Here they are shoveling snow off the drive to our house and two of our neighbor’s houses. We are really pleased the snow has almost disappeared.

3. I’ve been talking about wanting some more substantial nativities and Dear bought me both these sets for Christmas. They are both very different and I like them very much.

 

4. We revived a favorite dessert from days gone by this week that has always been enjoyed. You cook up vanilla pudding and while it is still hot you pour it over a generous scoop of good chocolate ice cream. Yum you get some great hot and cold and added creamy goodness in every bite!  Having Dear’s wonderful Tomato Rice Peasant Soup was so good, too!

 

5. On New Year’s Day we met our dear friends Dave, Jody, Bob and Jan at McCormick and Shmicks Restaurant in Downtown Seattle for Happy Hour. It was wonderful sitting and talking for a couple hours over great Happy Hour Menu food. We had Salmon burgers, Black Bean Chicken Quesadillas and Oysters for $1.95 each! We also tried the Cod sandwich which was $3.95 and delicious! Sheesh, can’t beat that with a stick! We love these friends who we’ve gone through thick and thin with…

 

To see more Fave Fives or to join on in visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Fridays Fave 5 ~ December 19th

 

Lots of favorites this week for ellen b. From the top collage…

1. I was able to finally see St. Johns Seminary in Camarillo when invited to a Christmas Music Program there. I’ll post more photos in the future of the beautiful church and grounds. The grounds are private and not open to the Public very often.

2. I met my beautiful niece Annie at a great British Pub in Fullerton, California for lunch. We don’t see each other often and it was nice to catch up. The Old Ship British Pub was great, too. They have authentic British food and ale in British Pints. I want to go back and have some Sticky Toffee Pudding.

3. That’s Willow taking her life in her hands to get a photo of the snow on our California Mountains on our walk yesterday. Bloggers taking photos no matter what the cost is a favorite of mine during any week!

 

4. Yippee, I get to see these three this very day! My brother Leonard, his wife Mandy, and Miss Hope, their almost 1 year old daughter, my niece. They are here in Southern California from Dallas until Christmas day. I’m spending the day and then spending the night in Huntington Beach because tomorrow is the big family cooking day. We are making Vareniki for our Christmas Eve celebration. I want to kiss Miss Hope’s sweet cheeks!!

5. Snow! Hearing about the snow at my home in Washington and seeing the snow on the mountains in Southern California!

To see more Fave Fives or to join in visit our fabulous hostess Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.

Fridays Fave 5 ~ San Francisco Style…

The lovely Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts Fridays Fave Five where we recap our favorites from the past week.

 

I met Dear in San Francisco on Saturday to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary so here are my Faves from the time we spent there and a couple from home.

1. Celebrating our Anniversary with a walk around the city and dinner at Scoma’s Italian Fish Restaurant in Fisherman’s Wharf and our lunches at Johnny Foley’s Irish Pub.

2. Walking into some old churches with the most amazing interiors and stained glass windows.

3. The 4 story Christmas Tree at Nieman Marcus in San Francisco and all the other wonderful Christmas displays in the city.

4. Coming home and seeing the Tumbleweed tumbling around the neighborhood!

 

5. Finding treasures at my favorite thrift stores in both Washington and Camarillo. These sweet Brambly Hedge Tea cups, 1 for each season, were found at Goodwill in Washington. Only the Autumn one has the saucer so I’ll have to be on the lookout for the other saucers. :0)

For more Fave Fives visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother.

Friday’s Fave Five

Susanne from Living to Tell the Story is the hostess for Friday’s Fave Five. Click on over to view more Fave Fives or to join in the fun…

Well it’s no secret that all my favorites this week are from the state of Washington. It’s been so good to spend some time in my home here with my children and extended family. So here are the 5 in no particular order.

1. Seeing everyone cuddled up on my couch in my Family room.

2. The view from my stairwell window of the maple tree and sky. The maple tree is in my neighbor’s yard but she shares all her fallen leaves in my yard. :0)

3. Family willing to pose in whacky places for this blogger!!

4. My home all decorated for Christmas with the fireplace on.

5. Goodwill in Washington. I bought 10 of these green goblets that we’ve used twice already! The Goodwills in Washington are so great compared to California…

Today is my last full day in the Seattle area with some last minute things that need to be done. I hope to get around and see everyones Fives sometime today. Have a wonderful weekend.

Fridays Fave 5

It’s time for recaping the week and sharing some of our favorites. Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join on in…

 

1. and 2. Today is our last day of Women’s Bible Study Fall session. I really enjoyed shopping at Homegoods this week and finding some little treats for the ladies at my table. The autumn mugs were in the clearance aisle and were marked down to $2.99. And while I was shopping I nabbed this fun fold up tin server for myself that was on clearance at $11.00. I like the charcoal grey and the design on it. The fact that it folds up for easier storage is great, too.

3. On Willow and my walks we’ve been treated to some new birds this week that we haven’t seen up close before on our walks. I had to really zoom in to catch this Road Runner but I was thrilled to see it. Beep beep!

 

The Hawk was another treat and I almost caught him flying away…oops, just not quick enough with the camera. We saw lots of deer again this week and this butterfly stayed put long enough for me to capture a shot.

4. I mentioned Bible Study. It’s been really great studying about God’s Transforming Grace this fall. I’ve learned a lot and I hope the Holy Spirit will imprint what I’ve learned on my heart.

5. Did I mention before that I’m flying home to the Seattle area for Thanksgiving next Tuesday?? Oh I have, well let me mention it again here. I’m so looking forward to spending time home with my family over the holidays. My packing list is getting long…

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

Fridays Fave 5

It’s time for Fridays Fave 5 where we think about the last week and what some of our favorite things were. You can join in anytime by visiting Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

 

1. Last Saturday we hosted an Open House at our condo for family and friends. A time to eat, drink and be merry. It was a fun encouraging time being with these wonderful people…

2. On Sunday we had the most wonderful church service. It was encouraging and Jesus was lifted high and given the praise and honor He alone deserves.

3. Willow had a day off because of Veteran’s Day/(Remembrance Day in Canada) so we had a morning walk and chose a new route. It was fun to see new things. There were poinsettias growing on the side of the road and we saw lions and tigers and bears oh my! Oops! I mean horses and pigs and sheep oh my! We also saw deer again on another walk this week…

4. I always enjoy going to our regular spots to eat here in town. It was fun going to El Tecolote with Dear and just sitting and relaxing and debriefing with him.

5. I’ve enjoyed thinking and planning Thanksgiving weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve been at my home in Washington and I’m looking forward to spending some time there with my kids. This just might be in my fave fives next week too! :0)

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

Fridays Fave Five

 

It’s that time again. Time to look back and remember some favorite things from this past week. The collage is not in order but here goes my 5.

1. On Saturday I woke up early to rain and thunder here in Southern California. When the sun was beginning to rise I stepped out of the condo and look what I saw. It was a fabulous sunrise and I’m thankful that I saw it.

2. On Sunday we drove South across L.A. to a Nifty Fifty Birthday party. On the way Dear and I stopped at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Woodland Hills to eat. I love that we have great Jewish Delicatessen’s here in Southern California.

3. It was fun to see old family and family friends. My cousin Tanya turned 50 and we attended a Birthday Dessert in her honor. The Families represented in the photo of the ladies have history together way back to Iran and Russia. It was great to talk and enjoy each other.

4. I popped into Goodwill this week (surprise, surprise) and I spotted this great blue and white creamer that was calling my name. I really like creamers and I like blue and white. This little pretty cost me $2.95.

5. I’m having an Fall Open House on Saturday. I decided to try a new dessert to serve. The recipe says to make it two days ahead so the flavors can moosh (they didn’t say moosh but you get the idea) I like how it turned out and I’ll post the recipe next week. There are lots of detail to type out. It’s a Pumpkin Praline Trifle. So if you live in Southern California you might want to pop on over on Saturday.

For more Fave Five’s visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

Fridays Fave Five

1. Dear and I were well enough to have our Saturday walk and this time around we opted to head north and have breakfast at Cold Springs Tavern tucked away in the San Marcos Pass above Santa Barbara. After breakfast we took a foggy/misty walk along the shore and to the Andree Clark Bird Preserve in Santa Barbara.

 

2. I made one of Dear’s favorite Italian dishes this week Puttanesca and I’ll be sharing the recipe soon.

 

3. I really enjoy finding a bargain and this week I bought a White French Ruffle twin duvet cover at Goodwill for $7.95. It’s from the Target Shabby Chic line. When I was in Target later in the week I saw it on the rack for $69.95! Oh and I don’t have any twin size beds. I bought it to use as a tablecloth. Here’s a photo of it on the table straight out of the package with some added pretties on top…

 

4. I got to see some great photos of my sweet niece and I’m sharing it today for my Happy Halloween post and my Pink Saturday Post combined! Pure Pink Sweetness happening here!

 

5. It’s been cooler this week so it’s been easier on Willow and I on our walks. The Mule Deer love it, too.

 

My computer is acting up and I’m hoping it fixes itself soon. When I access blogs from my WordPress blog things seem to work fine but if I go to the linkies or google reader and try to access blogs I get booted out and my page shuts down.  Where did all my great background color and design disappear to? Wah, wah, wah….

For more Fave Five Posts or to join in visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!