Category Archives: Friends

5 Random Questions Meme

Angie from The Toybox Blew Up tagged me for a question meme. The rules? Simple, she posed 5 random questions for 5 different bloggers who answer them and come up w/ 5  new random questions for 5 more lucky people….and so the cycle of the meme continues on and on! Thanks, Angie. I hope I can come up with 5 questions to pass along…

So here’s Angie’s 5 questions for Leslie, Linda, Ellen, Kim, and

1. You are given the chance to produce something that would help moms around the world… money and outlandishness not an issue… what would it be?    I would produce an extra set of hands for mom so she can keep more than 2 kids in tow and multitask.

2. You can star in anything you want (stage, radio, tv, etc…) what would your dream role be?   My dream role would be Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

3. What’s a *secret* talent that you have that would make you the life of the party?   I can dance up a storm when no one is watching.

4. What was one of your biggest successes? failures?   One of my biggest successes was finishing college and getting a teaching job. One of my biggest failures was not being good at submitting to authority.

5. Name something you despise doing, and what creative excuse/method do you use to get someone else to do the dreaded task.   I despise confrontation, especially face to face. I try to avoid these situations by pretending there isn’t a problem. I’ve tried writing letters in the past to deal with this but that is not the best solution. Face to face problem solving is the best method for resolution.

Now here are my 5 random questions:

1. God has decided to send you on a Mission trip, where are you going and why?

2. You have a free afternoon to read uninterrupted. Where would you choose to read?

3. You get to choose where your kids will go to college, money and grades are not an issue. Where would you want them to go and why? If you don’t have kids where would you have wanted to go to college if money and grades were not an issue?

4. If you were stuck in an elevator for over an hour what music would you want playing while you were stuck?

5. You have to travel from the west coast to the east coast of your country, what 5 cities would you want to spend time in?

I guess I’m going to tag Lana, Kathie, Sara, Bee, and Kim.  Ladies if for any reason you choose not to participate there are absolutely no worries… 🙂

If you do play make sure you send me your link so I can see your answers. Blessings…

More of Seattle In July

collage4.jpg

We had a wonderful time with family and friends on the fourth. Check out Lana G’s picture collages taken at the party. I’m thrilled she took photos to capture the day. Fellowship, burgers, salads, gazpacho, yummy desserts and continuous games of Mexican Train the Chicken foot version. Today I’m posting photos from our Tuesday tour of downtown Seattle and beyond with my brother Leonard and his wife Mandy from Dallas.

First stop was Piroshky, Piroshky across the street from the main market and a few doors from the original Starbucks.

Here’s a little Russian lady making some of our favorites. I had the Cabbage and Onion, Dear & Mandy had the Potato and Cheese, and Leonard had the Beef and Cheese. A great way to start our tour.

We saw some fish being tossed and L & M bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Then we had some liquid refreshments with Leonard’s caramel apple.

The view of West Seattle on our way to the car.

 

Across town to Queen Anne Hill and Kerry Park.

This was another beautiful sunny day in Seattle.

You can even see Mt. Ranier!

We walked down to the end of the street to see the Western view across Elliot Bay.

There was a little garden where these beautiful hydrangeas were blooming…

and this lovely Dogwood variety.

Off the hill to Fremont and we discovered that the troll is still there. Unfortunately Lenin is still there, also.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

These are my flowers from the market. They smell wonderful.

Seattle Continued ~ Whidbey Island

Monday Dear, my brother Leonard, his wife Mandy, and I took a ferry to Whidbey Island.

The car and passenger ferry is a short 20 minute ride from Mukilteo to Clinton on the South end of Whidbey Island.

Heading for the dock at Clinton.

We drove about 10 minutes to the great little town of Langley. Our first stop was Garibyan Brothers Cafe for a Lamb Kebab Sandwich, a ground Leg of Lamb Burger, Hummus platter and Stuffed Grape Leaves. We had the Russian Raspberry Creme for dessert.

Leonard and Mandy in the restaurant.

Views of Camano Island and Saratoga Passage.

This is the main street in this town with restaurants, antique shops, general stores, bakeries, and art shops, to name a few.

We drove north to Greenbank Farm and took a walk in their fields to get to these glorious views.

The day was so mild we could stand on the ferry outdoor deck on our way home.

The Puget Sound with the Cascade Mountains in the background.

Beautiful ~ Aaron Spiro

   Beautiful ~ Aaron Spiro

You are beautiful
You are beautiful
Jesus, You are oh so beautiful

You are wonderful
You are wonderful
Jesus, You are so so wonderful

And I’m surrounded by You
And I’m surrounded by You
Jesus, You are oh so beautiful

You speak for those who cannot speak
You’re the mercy to the poor and needy
You’re the bright morning star
You’re the sacrificial offering
The renewer of the mind
You’re the peace be still and know
You saved this soul of mine
You’re the master, the maker,
the sculptor
Majestic and powerful
You’re the radiance of God’s glory
You’re the final word from God to man
The laughter, the poetry, the plan
You’re the dove of peace
Lover of a sinner

Written by Aaron Spiro, c. 2002 Birdwing Music/ASCAP/Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing

Come to Seattle ~ A Little Tour

Dear arrived last night to Seattle for two whole weeks of vacation so we have a lot of relational, family, friend, and fellowship time in store for us. My and Lana G.‘s brother Leonard and his wife Mandy arrive Sunday night to visit us all for the week. My brother Leonard is Lana’s twin and my baby brother. He’s younger than Lana by 7 minutes and me by 12 years.

If my blogging is sporadic next week you’ll know why. We are off seeing the sights, eating out, and laughing our heads off. With your head off it’s hard to post anything of importance. I wanted to show you some fun sights that we might visit. I’m sure later I’ll have some actual shots of what we did. Blessings on your week with the 4th stuck right in the middle! Oh and to my Canadian friends Happy Canada Day tomorrow!

These are the beautiful grounds of Chateau Ste Michelle, a winery very close to our home.

They offer wine tours on the hour and are a great tourist destination. There is another winery across the road called Columbia. Then next door to the Columbia Winery is the Redhook Brewery that offers tours and has a restaurant and outdoor movies in the summer. Next door to the Redhook brewery is the renowned Herbfarm Restaurant and the Willows Lodge. The restaurant serves a several course meal (different each night) paired with wines and you will probably dish out $400 per couple for the evening. Dear and I won’t be going there in this lifetime. Redhook’s a lot cheaper with sandwiches and salads, etc. 🙂

Meanwhile, back at the Chateau, you’ll see ponds and flowers and peacocks.

This is the doorway to the main entrance. If you don’t drink wine but are interested in the tour they also offer grape juice at the end of the tour of the winery.

 

But now let’s go to the fun neighborhood of Fremont. Close to downtown Seattle and just across the Fremont bridge from Seattle Pacific University.

This is our famous troll that lives under the Aurora bridge. It’s huge. That’s an actual VW bug that it has it’s hand over. These are 3 of my nephews posing…

Why on earth does Fremont have the largest statue in the U.S. of the worst Russian leader of all time?!

This is  Kerry Park where you can see this famous view of Seattle and Elliot Bay. This was taken in the Fall. If we’d step to the left about 4 feet you could see more of downtown!

This is the Edmond’s Ferry Dock (I stole this photo from my son’s blog). We have several ferry routes around the area that  you can take to the Olympic Peninsula or many of the Washington Islands. Being surrounded by water, islands, and mountains makes Seattle unique and a great adventure. So make sure you put Seattle on your list of destinations to visit before you die. Come in July or August if you want more sunshine!

Works For Me ~ Goodwill

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bargain hunter. Goodwill in Washington (not California!) has been a very good shopping friend of mine. I have found countless treasures there. Today I’m sharing one of my daughters prom dresses that I purchased at Goodwill for $7.

She’s the one in the metallic grey dress. Now some kids probably wouldn’t do this but she bragged about the cost and where the dress came from to all her friends. The necklace and earrings that she purchased cost more than the dress! When I wanted to give up shopping at Goodwill for lent Katie exclaimed, “Now what good would that do?” So y’all shopping at Goodwill works for me, it might work for you, too.

Just yesterday my daughter and I went to Goodwill and I found all 7 of the Chronicles of Narnia books for $1.49 each. They are the Full-Color Collector’s Edition. So Goodwill works for me for clothes, books, housewares, purses, etc. etc.

Now go on over to Rocks in My Dryer to see more handy dandy tips!

Fellowship ~ Food ~ Family ~ Friends ~ Fun

Father’s Day weekend was filled with time enjoying family and friends. On Saturday Ken and Heidi traveled North from Orange county and Jim and Jeanie traveled South from Central California to enjoy the day with us.

Heidi, Ken, Dear, Jim and Jeanie.

Heidi is an friend of mine from the Russian Baptist Church. We have had many traveling adventures together. She was living with Greg and me in Huntington Beach when she met Ken. I was the matron of honor in their wedding in 1978.

Jim is my cousin. His father and my father are brothers. I met Jeanie in college and we became good friends. I introduced her to Jim. They were married in 1974, eight months before us. For a few years all three of us couples lived in Huntington Beach and attended the same church.

Ellen and Dear

We have always enjoyed each others company and can laugh and cry together. This is the “front row” inside joke that got us chuckling. Jim, it’s true by the way…(call me)

The guys enjoyed talking about new digital camera capabilities, stereo high and low sounds, contractor woes, and the importance of accountability.

Still friends after all these years…

More family made their way to Camarillo yesterday and we christened the Condo pool! My sister Kathy, niece Michelle and her son Jackson came for lunch and a swim.

Jackson giving me the smile!

Enjoying the pool in Mommy’s arms.

Yippee!

Nana sitting close by…

until she’s needed!

Chicken nuggets at Great Aunties.

A lovely steamed pear and date dessert for the ladies made by niece Michelle.

My company left and I was off to pick up Dear from work.

Straight to California Grill in Camarillo to use the Father’s Day gift card from our children to their dad. Thanks Josh, Laura, Dan and Katie. Dinner was wonderful and we still have money left on the card!

Today I head North to the Seattle area for the next three weeks. We’ll be having a grand celebration over the 4th with Dear home for 2 weeks and family flying in. I’ll be posting from the North. Blessings on the rest of your weekend!

Espresso Mini ~ You’re Not In Seattle Anymore

 

It’s time for Show and Tell Friday and I’d like to take you on a trip to England.

Being from Seattle you are bombarded by Espresso Stands everywhere. These stands exist and survive even though we also have a Starbucks, or Tullys, or Seattle Best Coffee, or other coffee companies on every other corner. We love our strong coffee in Seattle. Costco in the Seattle area even has coffee roasting in some of their warehouses with their own label . Coffee beans sold fresh from the roaster. We are serious about our coffee.

I was so excited to see this cute little espresso car just outside the village of Bakewell when we were in England. I’ve never seen a cute little espresso van in Seattle! Even though I don’t drink coffee past nine in the morning, I had to support this venture in England. I bet there’s someone in Seattle that could really make a go of it with a vehicle like this…

F.Y.I. ~ Bakewell is suppose to be the village of Lambton in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. This is where Lizzy stays at the Inn close to Pemberley (Chatsworth House) and runs into Darcy. This site has more actual places from the novel. Since we’re in Great Britain, here are a few more sites for you to enjoy…Cotswolds, Oxford, Wales, Oban, Lake District, London, York.

For more fun with show and tell head on over to There’s No Place Like Home…

June Recipe Round-Up ~ Desserts ~ Praline Brie

 Praline Brie ~ serves six

Ingredients:
1 – 8 inch wheel of brie cheese
2 – tablespoons butter
4 – tablespoons brown sugar
1 – cup pecans, chopped (walnuts would work well also)

crackers
fresh fruit

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Place brie on a baking sheet. Bake until soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in pecans. Place brie on a serving tray and pour pecan mixture over, letting it dribble over sides. Serve surrounded by crackers and fresh fruit such as sliced apples and pears, strawberries and grapes.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simply Classic ~ The Junior League of Seattle. I have had success with every recipe I’ve attempted from this book.

 

Neighborhood Evening Walk

Psalm 16:11 ~ You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Proverbs 11:28 ~ Whoever trusts in his riches will fall but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

Ephesians 5: 1-2 ~ Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ has loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

I wish you could smell the wonderful fragrance of this Night Blooming Jasmine. The development that we live in has planted these flowering shrubs in all the common beds. Makes for a wonderful fragrant evening walk…

Isaiah 40:8 ~ The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 44:22 ~ I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

Our marine layer mist comes from the Pacific over the Santa Monica Mountains to envelope our mornings…