Our Easter preparations are on their way.
Katie colors the eggs each year.
I decorate the show piece of our food celebration, the Kulich (Russian Easter Bread). I did say decorate. I didn’t say I baked it. That is still on my list to do before I die.
We will celebrate all day tomorrow with friends, family, food, hallelujahs and hosannas to our Resurrected King.
Blessings on all your preparations and celebrations…
~~~~
The Legend of the Dogwood
There is a legend, that at the time of the Crucifixion the dogwood had been the size of the oak and other forest trees. So firm and strong was the tree that it was chosen as the timber of the cross. To be used thus for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the tree, and Jesus, nailed upon it, sensed this, and in His gentle pity for all sorrow and suffering said to it: “Because of your regret and pity for My suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross. ..two long and two short petals. And in the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red, and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see it will remember.”
I recognize that this is just a legend but I wanted to post this entry because I’ve always loved the Dogwood blooms. If I look at them and think about what my Savior did for me that’s a good thing. He created the tree, the beautiful bloom, and you and me to enjoy it! Praising God this Easter season for His sacrifice on behalf of us.
Here are some interesting facts about the dates that Easter falls on;
Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox. This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman Calendar.
Here’s the very full moon from last night 3-21-08 that caused Easter to be so early this year!
This year is the earliest Easter any of us will see for the rest of our lives! The next time Easter will be this early is in the year 2228 (220 years from now).
The earliest calendar date on which Easter can fall is March 22nd and the latest date it can fall is April 25th.
Next year in 2009 Easter will be on April 12th!
Happy Easter Everyone…
Today was my first real walk since I broke my toe and have been in Washington. I get to do this same walk again on Saturday, a reunion with my two Washington walking buddies. Jody and I did the walk today and it was nice to be on this trail again. The Spring scenery here in Washington is very different from my California walks. There are signs of Spring but it’s still quite cool and dreary with welcomed sun breaks here and there.
The Burke-Gilman trail in the Seattle area of Washington runs from Shilshole Bay 18 miles partly along Lake Washington and then intersects with the Sammamish River Trail that runs all the way to Marymoor park in the city of Redmond along the river. We start at Log-Boom Park in Kenmore on Lake Washington and head east on the trail.
There were some pretty signs of Spring along the Sammamish river part of the trail in Bothell.
These huge birds looked like buzzards but we couldn’t get focused in close enough to really identify them. They were very large like a buzzard.
I took a shot of the willow tree for you Willow! The last photo is looking north along a creek that crosses underneath the trail. This was the first day this week that I put my pedometer on for the walk and it was over 15,000 steps and after my stops on the way home I’m up to 17,430 steps!! On the way home from the walk I had to stop at a thrift store because I’ve done some cleaning out since I’ve been here and wanted to donate some stuff, but I couldn’t leave without doing a little shopping…hmm, counterproductive?!
I found this sweet little mug for 50 cents with a bird and I think dogwood blossoms and the reversible table runner with blue flowers and green leaves on one side and blue and white stripes on the reverse for $3.20. I added it to my Easter table and am ready for our brunch on Sunday. We will enjoy brunch after the 8:30 service on Easter. I so love anticipating celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ each year…
Have a wonderful day!
When I arrived in Washington on Saturday Afternoon this bouquet of Lily’s was waiting for me from Dear for my birthday. Thank you Dear!
I was anxious to look around my yard Sunday morning and see if any of my plants had survived and bloomed since I’ve been gone. I was so excited to see some pretty blooms.
My friend Beth gave me this Lenten Rose for my birthday a couple years ago and look at how beautiful it has bloomed. Thanks again Beth for this beautiful plant that blooms during the season of Lent and thank you for my beautiful hanky that you sent this year. I use hankies these days to catch my tears of joy especially at church, weddings, baptisms, etc. I’ll make sure to bring it to Jamie’s wedding in August!
How sweet it was to spot these perfect waxy looking blue blooms with the yellow centers and the yellow with orange. Are these primroses? My clematis that my friend Jody gave me has survived too and is full of blooms. This is the first year that it is blooming so profusely. (I left it in it’s container too long before planting it in my planter and I was afraid I killed it but it revived, probably because it was from Jody’s hands to me)
What a fun stroll it was and boy do I need to do some weeding!
My kids are coming over for dinner, corned beef and cabbage. I’ll be making some fun green drinks and we’ll eat and celebrate being together and surrounded by green. I’ll post the people photos later! 🙂
I tweaked the table some more before my guests arrived.
It was dinner for four with one of our children missing.
Today is my birthday and I decided to go down memory lane and post some older photos and show you a little of my history.
First I’ll surround myself with things I enjoy. I do know how to pamper me 🙂
I think this is my seventh birthday because of the candles on the cake which would make this 1958.
This is our dining room at 4635 Oak Street in Montebello Gardens. We lived here till I was in 5th grade. My brother Fred, sister Vera, me, my cousin Jim and my sister Kathy who got cut off when I posted this (sorry Kathy)
This birthday was either 1960 or 1961 because there’s my little brother Steve in the high chair and he was born in December of 1959. This is the kitchen and my cousins around me are Tanya, Valia, Vera, Johnny, and you can barely see Walter. These next 4 photos were taken just last Sunday when we ended up driving through Montebello to go to a family function in Whittier.
While we lived on Oak Street in Montebello Gardens (Pico Rivera) my 3 older siblings and I would walk to the Montebello library to check out books. We’d head to Whittier Blvd. and have to cross this bridge over the Rio Hondo River to get to the library. It was approximately 2 miles each way.
The library was located at Montebello Park. This is the building the library was housed in where I spent many happy hours looking at all those books and trying to choose just 4. Now it’s a senior center.
We moved from Montebello Gardens across the river to Montebello when I was in 5th grade. This is our house at 305 Los Angeles Ave. When we lived here there wasn’t a second story and there wasn’t a chain link fence. Although a chain link fence would have come in handy after the twins (escape artists) were born…
This was my high school. Montebello High home of the Montebello Oilers. It’s totally fenced in now so they can have Lock-downs. How sad is that?! That’s a reality of our times. No fences in the 60’s!
The football field that I spent most Friday nights at during football season in high school. It’s under renovation.
In my junior and senior year I was a Song-leader and part of the cheer squad. I’m in the bottom row on the right. Judy, my best friend from junior high and high school is next to me. Debbie next to her. The top row left to right is Kathy, Bet (yes we called her Bet), and Judy. You can see those same stands behind us. This photo was taken in fall of 1967. We’re seniors here and will all graduated in June of 1968.
These are the photos I had access to while I’m here at the condo in California. Tomorrow I fly to Seattle to see my kids and celebrate Easter with them. I’ll be there for a couple of weeks. I haven’t seen them face to face since January 1st so I’m really looking forward to my time with them.
For more WW click here.
So Dear and I decided we’d stray from our usual beach walk at Emma Wood and we headed to the Santa Monica Mountains. We decided on Big Sycamore Canyon starting at Point Mugu State Park. Here are some of our breathtaking views!
We picked the Scenic Trail to the Overlook Fire Road. Besides the gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains we were very excited to spot one of these…
This is a Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria biflora Lindl.) Lily Family. LILIACEAE
Chocolate Lily is local on clay slopes, often under shrubs and blooms from February to April. This has been called the Cleopatra of the Fritillaries – darkest and the loveliest. It is our only species, although there are 16 California natives in this genus. We were first introduced to a Fritillaria in Oxford, England on Addison’s Walk. We were there in April and there was a field of blooming Fritillaries.
We did enjoy our hike and we will return again. I’ll show more photos of our hike later in the week and add another wildflower post for Wildflowers in Winter.
But now to my step totals for 6 days this week for Lovella’s Walking Club. My average was good again at 11,283.
We’re headed off to Orange County now for my older sister’s Leap Year Birthday Celebration with the family. Have a great weekend and keep on walking…
Welcome to my Blog Party. You have arrived at The Happy Wonderer. I’m ellen b and I’m so happy to welcome you here. I’ve made a cake for the occassion and I’m sharing the recipe with you. My birthday is March 14th so this is a great week for a party around here. I would like to give you a taste of what my blog is like. I’m posting some regular kind of things you’ll see if you come back to visit. So relax and enjoy as you scroll on down…
Applesauce Spice Cake
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. 4 serving size jello instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. oil
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. all-spice (optional)
1/2 raisins finely chopped (optional)
Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl of electric mixer and blend then beat at medium for 4 minutes. Pour into well greased and floured 10 inch tube or fluted tube pan. (I’ve used a bundt cake pan and angel food cake pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. DO NOT UNDERBAKE. Cool in pan for 15 min. remove and cool on rack. When the cake has cooled and before I serve it I give it a dusting of powdered sugar.
This goes really well with whipped cream or a good vanilla ice cream, too. This has become a favorite in my house and is requested for birthday cakes very often.
I like to share my recipes and I really enjoy inviting table settings like these…
Special times with family and friends are shared on my blog as well.
I enjoy walking and I share photos from these walks and I’m part of a Bloggy Walking Club. The bloggers who participate keep track of their average steps for a 5-6 day period each week and share their totals. My husband who I call “Dear” on this blog and I walk most every Saturday at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California.
I’m also a Brown Plate Special participant which is a sensible challenge for some of us older bloggers to eat smaller quantities and add more activity in our lives and be accountable to each other.
I participate in a few weekly blog carnivals like ABC Wednesday, Word Filled Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Sky Watch Fridays and Photo Hunters. I post a Hymn or Worship song on Sunday. Sometimes during the week I’ll share a devotional or a quote from a book I’m reading.
A fun experience I’ve had since I started blogging is meeting a fellow blogger who lives in the same city as me. After meeting we decided to walk together. We try to walk every weekday which has been great. Here’s a photo from the day we met at a local Coffee shop in town.
This is Willow from Willow’s Cottage. I’m the brunette (I think brunette sounds so much better than I’m the old lady on the right with brown hair)
I will also share photos from travels here in the states and abroad.
My sister Lana and I started blogging about the same time. We talk most everyday (mostly about our blogs). It’s fun to have a bosom bloggy buddy who doesn’t get tired of “blog talk”. We laugh all the time. Her blog is called Above the Clouds because she travels weekly by air.
I post a lot, at least one post a day sometimes 2 to 3 posts a day on bloggy carnival days.
I choose for my blog be an encouraging blog and to honor the Lord so you generally will not hear me ranting and you will not find bad language and things that I find objectionable to my heart and mind here.
Whew! My posts are not this long generally unless it’s all photos (Did I say I’m visual and love photos!?)
Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you come again. Blessings on you…
You can see more blogs that are participating in the party at 5 minutes for Mom. I’ll add the link when they have it up later tonight. Well as soon as 5MFM fixes their site you can click and get there we all crashed it I think. For now you can google Ultimate Blog Party and find some sites!
Week 8 – March 5 – 12. The First Wildflower of Spring photo challenge.
Be searching for wildflowers in your area. Try to find the first one blooming and post a photo of it on your blog.
On our walks along the coast the most abundant wildflower we see is the Sea Fig. They come from the Carpetweed family. The yellow one is a Hottentot Fig and I think the more purple colored one is just called Sea Fig.
I’m hoping to get the names correct for this collage of flowers. I searched my Coastal Flowering Plants book but some were hard to identify. Here’s what I came up with from left to right. Purple Nightshade, Sea Rocket, more Sea Rocket, California Encelia (Bush Sunflower), Not sure maybe Wild Morning Glory?, more Bush Sunflower, Again not sure but think it’s Wild Morning Glory, Our Lord’s Candle (Yucca whipplei) Agave Family, Turkey Mullein Dove Weed.
An extra note on Our Lord’s Candle, the flower stalk is 4 to 8 feet tall. There is a basal rosette of spine-tipped, sword-like leaves 1 to 3 feet long. The white flowers sometimes purple-tinged, appear in a terminal compound cluster up to 4 feet long. They are very fragrant and even have a pleasant taste when nibbed. The fruit is a capsule.
Now since I am in California I really need to include some photos of our state wildflower the California Poppy!
These are all blooming at the same time here along the coast in Southern California so I included them all.
For more First Spring blooms head over to Elizabeth Joy’s.
