Category Archives: Fave Five on Friday

FFF ~ Welcome Fall Schedules!

It’s that time of the week when it’s good to look back and consider the good things that have happened. Friday’s Fave Five is hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.  Click on over to join in this worthwhile exercise.

I enjoy this time of year… the end of summer and the beginning of Fall. I like the new order that Fall brings to my life.

1. Church was all a buzz on Sunday with the launching of all the Fall programs.

2. Women’s Bible Study started on Tuesday morning and I’m excited about the study on the Parables. I’m new to this group/church but I was put in a group with a friend from my past. We were bleacher/sideline buddies because our boys played soccer together in high school. It was great to see her and to catch up a little on Josh and David’s lives. The guys are in their 30’s now…

3. We have our wedding planner assigned for Katie’s wedding and we are looking forward to meeting with her about the details and having a food tasting with the chefs.

4. Woohoo I cleaned out my pantry! The benefit of that is that there were a few items that I really needed to use up before they were way too old for human consumption so I’ve been creative in the kitchen this week. We’ve had home cooked meals way too many nights in a row. Thankfully we are going out tonight.

5. I finished reading the Penderwicks book series by Jeanne Birdsall that I really enjoyed and am now reading a series by Gail R. Fraser about the little town of Lumby.

Before I sign off head over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook on Friday for the recipe to put this pasta salad together.

Hope you all had a good week. I hope to get around and see what has been happening in your neck of the woods…

FFF ~ Summer Roadtrip

It’s time to think back over the week and pick out some favorites to share. I’m thankful for Susanne at Living to Tell the Story…for who she is as a fellow blogger and for hosting this worthwhile meme each week.

Tuesday morning Dear and I took off for the Oregon Coast for a night and then swung inland and northward for a night at Bonneville Hot Springs. Here are a few highlights of our time. More to come next week…

Our first stop was Astoria, Oregon. Did any of you ever watch Goonies? Well Goonies was filmed here in this coastal city. We had breakfast here and then we found the Goonies House. The Flavel house museum looked interesting but one thing about traveling with Dear is that you start real early and usually get to your first destination before anything opens. We headed south along the coast after our heart attack on a plate breakfast.

We decided to stop at Tillamook Cheese in Tillamook, Oregon. It was interesting to see the cheese assembly line. Besides cheese samples and a cafeteria you could buy scoops of their delicious ice cream.

Our first night we stayed at the Salishan Spa just below Lincoln City, Oregon. It was in a lovely setting and had a golf course on the grounds. We enjoyed a quiet night here with a nice view of the water from our room.

We drove through many little Seaside towns on our way here.

For the second night of our roadtrip we stayed just across the Columbia river from Oregon at Bonneville Hot Springs Resort in Bonneville, Washington. We again had a lovely room and a great view. The mineral waters in the pool and hot tub were refreshing and relaxing. The great room at this resort is really beautiful with that floor to ceiling stone fireplace…

I’ll be posting a lot more photos next week from Cannon Beach and Multnomah falls and the amazing waves we heard and saw on our walk to the beach from Salashan spa. Those all deserved posts of their own. Hope you are enjoying the beginning of September. We are getting some real warm weather forecast for the next week or so…

FFF~ Evergreen State Fair

It’s time to link up at Susanne’s Living to Tell the Story with your favorites from this past week. It’s finally summer in the Northwest so we decided to go to the Fair!

This week my favorites are all from the Evergreen State Fair that my daughter Katie and I attended on Thursday.

#1 ~ Evergreen is a small fair close enough to our home with free admission on the first day of the fair until 1 P.M. You spend enough on food at the fair to make free admission a favorite for sure…

#2 ~ Yummy Fair Scones. The trailer was right at the entrance to the Fair and we were ready for a little breakfast treat at 10:00 when we arrived.

After we pigged out on some Fair Scones we decided to go to the Swine pavilion and check out the pigs.

#3 Fair animals were in abundance. We enjoyed the swine, the sheep, the goats, the bunnies, the cattle, and the horses, especially the Clydesdales.

4. All the crazy fair food choices, especially the deep fried choices. We tried to get deep fried cookie dough but they didn’t have it available. I had piroshky for lunch and Katie had a Gyro.

5. Lastly we had a little fun checking out all the fair goods like the amazing frosty shaker, the amazing cookware, the amazing knives, and all the rest of the amazing products available just for me. I did make one purchase at the amazing flag booth. I got a nativity flag to hoist on my flag pole at Christmas!

On our way home I commented that a small fair is probably the best kind of fair for me. Have you gone to a Fair this summer?

FFF ~ Lazy Days of Summer

It’s time to visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and share 5 favorite things from the past week. A good time to reflect on good things in the midst of troubled times around the globe.

1. Laura, Katie and I had a great afternoon at the Sounders soccer game last Saturday. It was good to catch up on what had been going on in our lives.

2. I had to give myself a pat on the back for harvesting the apples off our tree to make some applesauce that I’ll be able to use over the next year for some of our favorite recipes.

3. I’ve also been picking, using and freezing our great harvest of blueberries. I’ve made a couple blueberry dishes in the last week including Blueberry Clafouti.

4. My daughter Katie and I finally took a walk on the river trail. We both needed the exercise and it was a great accomplishment for the week.

5. Enjoying our sweet peas, hydrangea, and lavender blooms in flower arrangements in the home. Lovely!

6. We are finally enjoying sunny dry days that make it seem more like summer here in the Pacific Northwest. This has been a nice relief.

Are you still enjoying your Summer or are you ready for Fall?

FFF ~ The Pleasures of Home…

It’s time to stop and consider the good things that we enjoyed during this past week. You can link up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to share your favorites.

It’s a wonderful privilege to be able to travel and visit with friends and family but it’s always good to return home. Katie and I were in Southern California last week and we had a whirlwind of fun gatherings. On Saturday evening we returned home and Dear was very happy to have his chatty ladies in view. So here are my favorites…

1. On our way to the airport we were able to meet up with my walking buddy from when I was living in Southern California. We met Willow from Willow’s Cottage at a shopping center just South of the airport and we enjoyed a meal together while we caught up. Doesn’t Willow look good? During the year and a half that we have been apart she’s been losing weight while I’ve been gaining weight. Just so you don’t feel too sorry for me in the last month I’ve managed to finally lose some weight. Yippee.

2. On the plane trip home an acquaintance of Katie’s from our former church was one of the flight attendants. It was fun surprise to see each other and get caught up on news. Our friend treated Katie and I with champagne when she heard Katie had gotten married.

3. Oh the joy of sleeping in your own bed again after being away.

4. I’ve been picking blueberries off my bush which is loaded since I returned, too. Since the sun has been shining bright things have sped up in their ripening process. Speaking of growing things my Sweet Peas grew and flourished from the seeds I brought home from Butchart Gardens in April. Sweet Peas make me smile.

5. Driving my own car instead of a rental is another nice thing.

What things stand out as your favorites this past week?

FFF ~ Long Weekends…

The U.S. A. is headed into their long Independence Day Weekend and Canada is in full swing of their Canada Day celebrations. Happy Canada Day to all my friends across the line. Enjoy your camping and grilling! I’ll post more about the 4th of July on Monday.

Now the time is right to look back on the past week and list my favorites to join in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five.

1. Spending a day away with Dear this past Saturday.

2. Spending Sunday with Josh and Laura enjoying brunch, the Sounder’s game, and dinner out.

3. Changing some things around in the Living room for a fresh look.

4. With all my shows in re-runs or off the air, I’ve been enjoying reading in the evening. I’ve finished a couple of books this week and am in the middle of two others.

5. My collage up top shows some of my plants in containers on the deck that are finally starting to show their colors. I’m looking forward to getting the patio furniture down and out on the patio this weekend. Can’t believe the weather has not been good enough to do it sooner.

We are having a 4th of July get together with friends on Monday. Dear will be smoking a Boston Butt for pulled pork sandwiches. My company will be contributing dishes. We haven’t decided on everything we’ll serve yet but coleslaw and baked beans will be part of the menu for sure. My red, white and blue decor is out and our flags will be flying.

What are your plans for the long weekend?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ Lilacs and Peonies and Dogwood Oh My!

 

Last year we planted a lilac bush, a peony, and a Dogwood. We enjoyed one branch that bloomed this year on the lilac. The dogwood did bloom some pretty bright pink blooms. We are still waiting for the peony to bloom again this year. In the meantime I bought a bunch of peonies at Costco to enjoy.

 

Here are my 5 favorites from this past week.

1. My lilacs and the wonderful scent we enjoyed for a few days.

2. Seeing my dogwood blooms out my kitchen window.

 

3. Knowing we have finally found a church home and it’s only 3 miles away from our home. The closest we’ve ever been to our home church. It’s taken us a full year to find the right spot for us. We will go to a membership class in September.

4. I’m reading my third book in the last couple weeks. I read Shades of Earl Grey by Laura Childs. I read the first book in The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall. Both of these books were very enjoyable.  Now I’m reading the latest In the Company of Others by Jan Karon. I really enjoy Jan Karon’s writing…

5. I sent our new cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, to 3 of Dear’s aunts and to a dear old friend of mine that befriended me in college through a Baptist scholarship that I received from her church. What a dear she’s been to me over the years. She wrote to me and sent care packages while I was away from home in college. We’ve kept track of each other over these last 40 years. She is in her 80’s now, widowed and still a Sunday School teacher at her church. She called me this week after receiving the cookbook to thank me and to chat. Sweet times.

I got notes from Dear’s aunts also thanking me for their books and letting me know what recipes they would be trying first. His aunts are in their 70’s and 80’s.

This weekend I get to go on a walk with a dear friend and we are going to celebrate Father’s day this Sunday instead of next.

Thank you Susanne for hosting Friday’s Fave Five, a time to reflect on good things in our lives.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ June Already!

Time again for Friday’s Fave Five hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. When you get to my age it’s good to consider and document good things before they leave your mind forever…

We spent time remembering what Memorial Day Weekend is all about. When you have a loved one serving in the military it impacts you in a more personal way for sure.

Here are my Five Favorites…

 

1. On Sunday Josh and Laura joined us for smoked ribs, barbecued corn, beans and cornbread. For dessert we enjoyed angel food cake with pudding and fruit. We had a good time together eating and then discussing a book we had read that’s causing quite a stir in the Christian community.

 

2. On Monday Memorial Day Katie and I went to Sunset Hills Memorial Park and we were happy to catch a great Memorial Day Service with bagpipes, flag ceremonies, a flyover, and a traveling museum of military memorabilia. We enjoyed this framed artwork…

 

3. Our Rhoddies are blooming brightly!

 

4. My hairdresser talked about a dish drying mat and I found them at Bed Bath and Beyond. It really works great. It absorbs a lot of water and then dries well and hangs up to be stored.

 

 

5. I was happy to get a call from the doctor’s office to tell me everything looked fine from my procedure last Friday and I won’t have to do that again for 7 years! Yippee!

Hope all is well with you and I hope y’all noticed I only mentioned food once this week. If you haven’t entered my cookbook giveaway make sure to scroll down and check it out. The contest ends 6:00 P.M. Pacific Time on Saturday.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ I’m Hungry!

It’s time again to think about our favorites from this last week. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is our hostess for this weekly event.

I cannot tell a lie but I can hardly wait till Friday afternoon when I can finally eat again. I’m having one of those procedures Friday morning that most of us dread so I’ve had to fast all day on Thursday and drink all that stuff they give you to get your innerds ready for them to poke around in. Ugh! Anyways seems the only favorites I can come up with all revolve around food.

 

1. Top of the list this week is meeting our dear friends on Tuesday for Happy Hour together. We ordered lots of great 1/2 price appetizers and enjoyed each other over food and drink. Good times.

2. Lunch with my daughter Katie on our way to start a registry for her and Andrew at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

3. Dinner with Dear and Katie after we got back from D.C. at our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town.

4. Making breakfast Sunday after church for us all. The classic eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon with toast.

5. Going to a birthday/house warming party for a young friend and seeing lots of old friends we haven’t seen for quite a while. The food was good, too.

I’ll be gone very early Friday morning and don’t know when I’ll be back or how loopy I’ll be but I’ll try to get around after Dear takes me out to dinner on Friday night. How pathetic am I?

Oh and while I’m on the subject of food my recipe for this dish is on The Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog today.

 

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ D.C. and Home Again…

It’s time to reflect on our last week and pick out 5 favorites to share at Friday’s Fave Five hosted by Living to Tell the Story. Thanks Susanne for hosting this worthwhile event…

 

Dear and I just got back from 8 days in Washington D.C. Dear was one of the representatives of his company at the American Urological Association’s Annual Meeting. We left a couple days early so the two of us could do some sight seeing before his responsibilities began at the conference. So here are my favorites…

1. Being in our Nation’s capitol again after 40 years and having time to enjoy many of the major tourist spots.

 

2. Visiting Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. This is an out of the way gem in Washington D.C. I’ll be dividing up my day there in 2 or 3 posts soon. It’s the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post.

3. Having a visit from my brother Leonard while we were in Washington D.C. He happened to be in Baltimore for business so he drove south to see us in D.C. our last evening there. We sat around and talked for a couple hours before he had to head back. We live in Seattle and Leonard lives in Dallas. What a great surprise that our paths could cross.

 

Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz. I saw them at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

4.  “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” “Oh, but anyway, Toto, we’re home. Home! And this is my room, and you’re all here. And I’m not gonna leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all, and – oh, Auntie Em – there’s no place like home”

We arrived back to Seattle with Sunshine and fresh blooms all over the yard. We are finally getting Spring here! I was so happy to fall into my own bed. It’s great to travel but it’s wonderful to come home again.

5. Katie just got back from spending time with Andrew before he leaves on deployment. On Thursday we had lunch together and then we went to Bed Bath and Beyond so she could register for the wedding in January. It was fun to click on all that fun stuff.

We have another day of sunshine here in the Seattle area. So lovely and so appreciated. We’re off today to finish up Katie and Andrew’s registry at Macy’s and Target. Later tonight we get to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday. What’s on your agenda for the day?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.