Category Archives: Fave Five on Friday

FFF ~ Blossoming…

It’s time to find blessings to share from this past week and then join in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five!

This week is a sort of calm before the storm week for me. I’m getting random things done in anticipation of our B.C. ~ D.C. days coming up. Here are my favorites…

 

1. While sitting at my computer making my lists and getting things taken care of that need taking care of I see this bright spot in the distance in one of my neighbor’s yards.

 

2. Walking from the house to the garage to get last minute things for our daughters trip to Florida so she can spend a week with her husband before he leaves on his deployment we stop and enjoy the apple blossoms that are finally coming out in all their glory.

 

3. While trying to kill off the several hundred dandelions that are appearing with a vengeance in our yard I notice the hope of these blossoms on my azalea bush. Spring really is here…kind of.

 

4. While mowing the lawn and having to duck when I mow under the pear tree I thank God for these beautiful pear blossoms and the promise we have of pears appearing in the future.

 

5. While leaving my house in my car that is paid for with gas in the tank I thank God and then smile at my neighbor’s pansies. Pansies always make me smile and I’ve enjoyed them ever since I was little growing up in a low income area of Los Angeles.

Tomorrow Dear and I are headed to Canada to get together with all the Mennonite Girls Can Cook for a cookbook celebration party at Lovella’s. It will be fun to be together again and for our husbands to be there, too. I’ll be sharing more next week…

After Friday morning I don’t know when I’ll be on the computer again so have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!

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 ~ Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

Time to choose our favorites from this past week and to link up at Susanne’s Living to Tell the Story to share them with our friends in bloggy world.

March has proved to be a month of wonderful experiences at our house. While we were in Seattle enjoying and celebrating my 60th birthday with our sons and daughter in law, our daughter Katie and Andrew were in North Carolina with our blessing on their plans to be married! This was going to be a secret until their wedding next winter but yesterday they decided to go public! I’m so happy to be able to share this and not keep it a secret for a year! So my #1 favorite for this week is …

1. …the announcement that we have a new son Lance Corporal Andrew and that our daughter Katie has changed her last name. We are still planning an official wedding with my brother who is a pastor officiating and our family, Andrew’s family, and friends witnessing their vows and covenant promise to each other.

These are their temporary rings which will be replaced at their wedding.

2. Katie and I have spent a lot of time together this week at the different government agencies that need her new information. We have made sure to enjoy nice lunches together after spending lots of time in waiting rooms people watching.

3. On Saturday Dear and I spent a day in Snohomish eating and shopping and buying a new piece of furniture that was delivered on Sunday.

 

4. Josh and Laura came over for brunch on Sunday and we enjoyed their company. Waffles, ham, and strawberries were on the menu.

5. Finding out our cookbook Mennonite Girls Can Cook is now available on Amazon for pre-order! It’s due for release on May 1st!

Our household is thankful for all God’s goodness to us. My cup continues to overflow.

What were your favorites this past week.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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.

Birthday Week Favorites!

What a week it’s been and there are so many favorites we’ll see if I can keep it to 5. Click on the pretty tulips to join in the fun with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.
This week was my birthday week and I turned 60 on Monday March 14th. I was surprised, honored, and loved to overflowing and I’ll never forget the wonderful events of this past 7 days!
1. My husband and kids surprised me with a visit from our son Dan to help celebrate my birthday. We hadn’t seen Dan since Christmas and I had no idea he worked out some extra time off to be able to travel across the mountains to join in the fun. I was SHOCKED in a good way when he walked into the kitchen at Josh and Laura’s house on Sunday morning!
2. Dinner with the Mennonite Girls and their husbands at Chuckanut Manor in Bow, Washington. This was the first time all our husbands met and what a great time we all had!
3. A surprise limousine ride to dinner with Josh, Laura, Dan and Dear on my birthday!
4. The third surprise was our dinner menus personalized for my special day.
5. All the wonderful cards, gifts, phone calls, e-cards, and tributes on blogs that I read including my 3 year old niece singing Happy Birthday to me all the way through by herself over the phone. Some cards made me cry but this card just made me laugh! Thanks Leonard and Mandy and Hope.
All of you who ever have used your pedometers should be laughing right now!
6. Yes, I’m going over but this was also opening season week for Major League Soccer with the Seattle Sounders and L.A. Galaxy and we had our first game the day after my birthday and the day after my flagpole was installed and my flags were waving proudly!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who made this week so special for me. I am so grateful for new friends, old friends, family, bloggy friends I have never met in person. Thank you for your kindness and encouragement to me. God bless you all richly!
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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 ~ Marching Along…

It’s that time of the week when we look back and choose our favorites. Susanne at Living to tell the Story is our hostess and you can click on the logo above to get to her site and join in this worthwhile exercise. Here are my 5 for this past week.

1. Dinner with our kids on Tuesday evening. I made a Russian favorite Golubtsi Голубцы (stuffed cabbage).

 

2. Elizabeth Goudge books. I re-read The Bird in the Tree and now I’m continuing on with the 2nd book in the series called Pilgrim’s Inn/Herb of Grace. The 3rd book is Heart of the Family. I also was able to check out one of her books I’ve not read yet called The Castle on the Hill.

 

3. More books including travel books for Washington D. C.  After checking out different travel guides from the library to determine which guides I liked best I ordered my own copy last week. I also ordered a box of 50 cards that spell out 50 different walks around D.C. The cards are great because they are easy to follow with a map and the route outlined on one side and a description of what you will see on the other. Groupon, an online site offers deals via email that alerts you to special deals in the many cities across the U.S.A. Besides Seattle I signed up to get Washington D.C. deals emailed to me. I’m concentrating on the dining deals since we’ll be eating all of our meals out. I’ve gotten 2 great half-price deals already.  Along with my travel books I ordered The Amish Cook’s Baking Book and I’m looking forward to trying some of the recipes.

4. Road Trip on Saturday with Dear to Cabela’s and the state capitol. It’s been a while since Dear and I took off on a Saturday. It was a good diversion from the regular. The weather was nice, too. We shopped, had a wonderful meal, and saw some great sights!

 

5. Whoohoo! My 2011 packet with my season tickets and new Sounders Season ticket member scarf was delivered by our son Josh. The season begins at Qwest field on Tuesday evening against the L.A. Galaxy. Happy Days are here again.

 

So how did your week go and what are some of your favorites?

I’m watching what’s going on in Japan and the countries affected by the Tsunami warnings this morning. Praying for the people of Japan and that the Hawaiian Islands stay safe.

Psalm 46: 1-3 (ESV)

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

From The Message

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
the tremors that shift mountains.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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 ~ Finally!

It’s time once again to look back over the last week and come up with 5 favorites to share. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is the hostess for this event each week.

Finally someone is selling a Chocolate Chip Ice Cream that is as good as I remember the Chocolate Chip scoop I’d get at 31 Flavors growing up.

 

The key to the great flavor I was missing must be the semi-sweet chocolate. Thank you Private Selection for taking me back to the good ole days of stopping in at 31 flavors and being able to choose 2 scoops.

2. These new place card holders that I’m looking forward to filling in names for a meal soon.

 

3. New shoes for Zumba! These shoes should make the moves easier on my knees. The great thing is that I get to try them at a Zumba class and if they aren’t good I can take them back. See the round pivot point on the bottom. Should be good for twisting and turning.

 

4. Time spent with my daughter Katie this week.

5. March is one of my favorite months and I’m happy that March 2011 is here. March favorites include MLS soccer season starting up, my birthday, the start of the season of lent, beginning of Spring, and daffodils. If I was in Southern California I’d add fresh strawberries from the local strawberry stands to the list!

What were your favorites this week?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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 ~ Late Snow

It’s time to look back and choose favorites from the past week. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is our hostess for this weekly event.

I’ll intersperse my Fave 5 amongst these snow shots. We had some late snow for our parts. It’s always a surprise around here and we get all worked up over an inch or two of snow. Last night some areas north of Seattle got 14 inches of snow which is unusual. One of the things that makes snow in the Seattle area very hard to deal with is our hilly terrain. We are not flat like Chicago!

 

1. Well since that’s our apple tree in the snow I’ll start my favorites with the fact that we finally got all our tree pruning done!

 

2. When it snows I tend to stock up and cook meals at home. Right now I’m smelling the great aroma of chicken cooking in my Crock pot.

 

3. Another favorite from this week was a telephone call from our son in Eastern Washington just to let us know they got another 10 inches of snow out at the cabin he’s living in. He also made arrangements for us to use some of his Marriott free nights at a hotel we’ll be staying at in Washington D.C. Thanks Dan!

 

4. My father passed out for no reason last Friday and ended up in the hospital for a couple nights. They tested him out for heart and brain issues and everything came back negative. The doctor thinks the problem was a medication issue and gave him instructions. He’s home and I’m glad it wasn’t something major. My mom was so cute she said “I tested the lonely life and it didn’t pass” That was after only one night without my dad at home. My dad also told us he didn’t need his Bible at the hospital because he just recited all the Psalms he’s memorized when he couldn’t sleep. I’m so thankful for my parents and the love they have for each other and all of us.

 

5. My Friday cleaning schedule is going well. I’m always thankful when I stick to a plan. It was also very satisfying to see my daughter thoroughly clean the main bathroom. It’s her bathroom for the most part so it’s her responsibility. She even cleaned out all the drawers, etc. Scary what she found in there. One of the funny things was that there was enough dental floss for a family of 25. I won’t even mention the retainers she found….

 

So what were your favorites this past week? I’ll be around really early before my cleaning schedule starts or late in the day to see your favorites.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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 ~ Friends, Food, Felicity…

Looking back over this last week again reminds me that I have so much to be thankful for. On Fridays we join Susanne at Living to Tell the Story with our 5 favorites.

1. Last Friday we went to our son’s open house for his new business. Dave, Jody, Bob and Jan were at the Open House the same time we were so Dave and Jody invited us all over for an impromptu dinner along with my sister Lana and her husband Steve. We had a wonderful time. The photo is from our trip to England in 2006 with Dave, Jody, Bob and Jan. Bob is taking the photo.

 

2. On Sunday night Dear and I met Bev and Harv for dinner at a local Mexican Restaurant. Bev is part of our Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. Bev and Harv hosted me while the Mennonite Girls had their summit in Canada. They were in Seattle for the weekend. It was fun to have our husbands meet each other. During the evening we found out that our lives intersected more then we thought with Bev, Harv, one of their sons and DIL and our good old friends Dave and Jody that we had dinner with in #1.

 

3. Bev was very thoughtful to give me two bundles of beautiful hand made cards that she created. I will really enjoy using them. Thank you Bev!

‘

 

4. Valentine’s Day was a very nice day around here. I got beautiful red tulips from Dear with a card that really touched my heart. He also decided to cook a Valentine’s Day dinner for us which was wonderful. Steak & asparagus with a Bearnaise sauce, baked potato, and salad with a Persian dressing were on the menu. Katie helped with the salad dressing and sauce. It was all very yummy. After dinner the power went out for a few hours and we enjoyed each others company in the dark with candles and Katie reading to us.

5. All of a sudden it seems too many of my favorite shows are on T.V. again. Survivor started last night and the fun new twist with this show is that my sister Lana knows one of the contestants! We’ll be watching just to see how he does. He’s the nice looking older guy, Steve. Amazing Race starts on Sunday and I’m still watching Top Chef which is down to 6 contestants. Then there’s American Idol. Sheesh! Good thing some of the shows are on demand and we can watch at our convenience.

I’ve started a house cleaning routine on Fridays so I’ll be around to see your favorites later today when I’m sitting with my feet up after my cleaning workout!!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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 ~ Five in One

It’s Friday and time for counting blessings one by one. Any day is a good day to do that but we have the privilege of joining in together with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and documenting them on Fridays.

All five of my favorites are from one day. There were lots of blessings on the other days of this past week but I’ll share 5 from yesterday.
1. The sun was shining and the time was right for an impromptu jaunt to the Seattle Center. Katie and I had tried to go to the Harry Potter Exhibit in January but it was sold out on the day we happened to be at the Seattle Center so we decided to give it a try yesterday. We decided at 10:30 a.m. that we’d go and by 11:20 we drove up to the Space Needle for valet parking and walked the short distance to the Science Center.
2. The exhibit was fun with lots of great props from the movies. There were very few people in the exhibit which made it easier to get around and see everything. No photography was allowed in the exhibit. One lady was caught taking a photo with her phone and they made her delete it!
3. After we were done with the exhibit we walked across the way to the hands on section of the Science Center to see their butterfly exhibit. We went through double doors and into the 80 degree butterfly habitat. It was fun to have so many beautiful butterflies flying around us. You had to be very careful where you stepped and before they let you leave you had to be checked to make sure no butterflies decided to land on your clothing. I’ll be sharing more of my butterfly photos next week.
4. I mentioned what a wonderful clear sunny day it was right? Well this view was fun to see. Those are the Olympic mountains showing their glory across the Puget Sound.
5. We were treated to this view as we walked to our lunch destination and my last favorite, enjoying lunch at a new Thai Restaurant with my daughter.
All that fun and I still had time to prune a few branches off our apple tree when we got home from the Center.
What are some of your blessings from this past week?
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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 ~ February Begins…

…but before January was over we had one last January birthday celebration!

 

Little Miss D. turned 1 and we had a fun time watching her eat a cupcake for the first time. She also is quite the dancer and gave us some great moves that made us smile! I left my good camera at home so my photos were not great. We are friends with little Miss’ grandparents and our son Dan is best friends with her dad.

 

Sunrises were beautiful this week with our clear cold weather.

 

My daughter and I had fun checking out another wedding venue on Lake Union.

 

After checking out the venue we found a local eatery and had a very tasty lunch with a nice view.

 

Last but not least it was good to hear about answered prayers for health issues from friends this past week.

Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in with Friday’s Fave Five!

I was able to check off a few items on my 60 in 60 list. I made 3 new recipes last weekend and ate at a new restaurant (see above) and explored a new neighborhood in the Seattle area. YeeHaw!

So are you having a Superbowl party this weekend?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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 ~ The Needle & The Dress…

Time to look back and find 5 favorites from the past week. If you want to join in visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and sign in with your link.

The Space Needle, Wedding Dress and the family time around them were my favorites from this past week.

 

1. On Saturday Katie and I traveled to the Seattle Center for a wedding show. The most famous landmark in the Northwest is located at the Seattle Center. It was a beautiful day to walk around and get some good shots of the Space Needle.

 

2. On Wednesday Dear, Katie and I went to Katie’s first wedding dress fitting. There were needles and pins involved here, too. This was Dear’s first time to see the dress on Katie and he wholeheartedly approved of the gown. Good thing since it’s his hard earned cash that payed for it.

3. After the fitting we went to Z Tejas for a bite to eat before we headed across Lake Washington to a Wedding Open House at the Space Needle. This time we got to see it up close and personal in the evening.

 

4. We got some great VIP attention and enjoyed appetizers and drinks on the house while we considered the space for a possible wedding venue.

 

There wasn’t a bad view in the house.

 

5. This was my very first time up in the Space Needle. It also is on my 60 things to do in my 60th year. So I’m on my way in completing my 60. I’m still working on the list and as soon as I complete it I’ll share it. We completed the evening by going up to the observation deck and checking out the 360 degree view of Seattle.

 

What were the favorites from your past week?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes 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.