Our Friend David Dickinson…

Dave’s life on this earth ended on Saturday July 30, 2016. He died peacefully at home with his wife Beth and son Jamie at his side. Our family of 8 were seated around our patio table when the text came in to inform us of Dave’s gentle transition from earth. We cried and we prayed for the Dickinson family. We have been blessed to enjoy a friendship with the Dickinson’s since our two little guys, Dan and Jamie, met in 2nd grade. We lived on the same hill in Bothell, Washington when our friendship began.

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This is a photo of Dear, Dave, and Beth in our kitchen on Norway Hill during Dear’s graduation party from the University of Washington in 1992. Dear had the privilege of baptizing Dave in the early 1990’s. (photos not necessarily in order)

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Dave coached a few of Dan and Jamie’s sport teams over their youth sport years. Jamie on Dave’s right and Dan on the end on his knees opposite of Jamie.

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Dan and Jamie attended camps together, the prom together, graduated together and Dan was a groomsman in Jamie and Sarly’s wedding.

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The above photo was taken at a high school graduation party for Jamie and Dan at the Dickinson’s home.

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The Dickinson family before the boys were married. Jamie is their youngest son, Aaron in the middle and Matt is the oldest.

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The four of us outside our first rental on Norway Hill. We were snowed in but Dave and Beth could walk down to our place for some fun in the snow. This was in early 1997 or late 1996.

img215Jamie and Dan in 1999.

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Dave and Dear working on our addition in 2002.

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Laura, Josh, Jamie and Dan above the Columbia River. We had no idea at this time that Dan would be living in Eastern Washington close to the Columbia. Josh and Laura are the best of friends with Jamie and Sarly, too.

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These two shots are from Jamie and Sarly’s wedding day in 2008. Above is Dave, Dear and Josh.

davebethjsDave and Beth

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Beth and Dave with our Dan when we celebrated his move to Eastern Washington for his new vocation.

Our daughter Katie also has a close relationship with Beth and Dave and Jamie. We won’t get into how Dan and Jamie entrusted their rats from a science project into Katie’s care. A excellent con job if I say so myself.

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Katie, Beth and I took a trip to Sequim for a George Washington Birthday Tea in February of 2012 just before Katie and Andrew’s wedding in March of 2012. It was a very windy day.

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Dave, Sarly, Jamie and Beth at Katie and Andrew’s wedding, March 11, 2012. (photo credit to Jeremy Leffel)

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Kathleen, Dave and Beth (photo by Jeremy Leffel)

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Dave decided to try on Dan’s hat at the wedding. Dan wore his formal uniform at his sister’s wedding instead of a tux. (photo by Jeremy Leffel)

2012-11-23 Thanksgiving1Dave with his granddaughter at the Thanksgiving table at our home in 2012.

Early in 2013 Beth and Dave stopped by to tell us that Dave had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer.

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The Dickinson family photo above was taken on July 4th 2013 two years before little David Daniel was born and a few months into Dave’s treatments for cancer.

davebethhatBeth and Dave in November of 2014 after returning from a trip to Europe with good friends. It was good to hear Dave felt well enough to enjoy this trip.

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We were overjoyed that Dave and Beth could travel across the state for Dan and Jamie’s wedding in June of 2015.   Things can get confusing with Dan and Jamie being best friends and then Dan meeting his bride who is named Jamie, too. Dave was also able to join our sons for a round of golf the day before the wedding. The next 3 photos are from that day, June 26th. Dave had a passion for the game of golf. I love these photos that Josh took of Dave and Dan together enjoying this special time before the wedding.

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Dan and Dave at the wedding. Jamie Dickinson was going to be a groomsman in the wedding but wasn’t able to attend because his wife Sarly’s pregnancy was in crisis. Jamie and Sarly’s little son who we call the warrior was born at 25 weeks and only 1#7oz. He was born a few days after the wedding.

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Our friend David and our son Daniel each holding David Daniel who was named after them. We found out at Daniel and Jamie’s wedding that this little warrior’s middle name would be given in honor of our son. It was decided early after finding out this child would be a boy to name him after his grandfather David.

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There have been lots of prayers for these two Davids.

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The Dickinson family Christmas of 2015.

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This is the last photo emailed to us of Dave with four of his grandchildren. This was taken at a Mother’s Day Celebration in May of 2016. We were able to visit Dave and Beth before this photo was taken on May 5th and we joined hands and prayed together before we left not knowing when God would call Dave home.

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Yesterday a little over a week since Dave’s death we were able to meet up with Beth for lunch. It was good to hear from Beth about Dave’s last days and last moments on this earth. It was also good to hear some plans for the future. We hugged, shed tears, laughed and thanked the Lord for his love and mercy, for friendship and especially for our hope in Him and our future.

There are plans being made for a memorial service that will be on a golf course sometime in the near future. Besides his immediate family, Dave’s brother and golfing buddies were a huge support to Dave over the course of his illness.

The Bayles family thanks God for Dave and his life and his friendship over the years. We will miss him on this earth but rejoice that he is with our Savior. We also ask the Lord to look after and guide and protect our dear friend Beth as she navigates her life without Dave.

1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14

Believers Who Have Died

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

Catching Up…

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Way back in the summer of 1968 I packed up many of my belongings in my new red suitcases and boxes to travel 60 miles east of my home to the University of Redlands in Southern California. My oldest sister Kathy drove me to my new home away from home for the school year. My dorm was Bekins Hall and it was an all girls dorm. Times have changed. The collage above shows my dorm, my sister lugging in my stuff and my roommate Violet and our suite mate Louise (Jana). We had a second floor suite with a bathroom/shower in between the rooms. Louise and Tracy were juniors in one room and Violet and me freshmen in the other room. My memories with this suite arrangement are all good.

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My roommate Violet who we called Violeta and me on the quad. I forget who’s great old classic car this is. I just found out that this car belonged to Louise/Jana who is in the pink dress in the collage. She called it her purple and white tank! Spanish was Violeta’s major for her teaching degree and she also experienced college abroad in Spain fully immersed in the language. In her early years of teaching she taught in a Spanish Immersion school. I think I’m remembering these facts correctly. Tom and Violet were married right out of college a couple years before Dear and me.

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Spring forward 47 years and our little reunion in San Francisco/San Mateo/Redwood City. When I knew we would be in San Francisco I messaged my college roommate to see if there was a chance we could get together. Violet and her husband picked us up from our hotel and drove us south to the neighborhoods where they work and live. We enjoyed a meal at Milagros Cantina in Redwood City.  Have you ever had fried ice cream? We split it four ways after our main dish. After enjoying catching up at their home they graciously drove us to the airport in time for our flight home. Thanks again Tom and Violet for a lovely day!

Here it is the first day of February! We enjoyed a quiet weekend here at this old house. We ate all our meals in house (shocking), a Saturday marathon of Downton Abbey viewing (I bought season 6 at Costco on Friday). Yikes tell me how you reacted to espisode5!!?? On Sunday we had a great church service with Communion in the morning, a dry walk on our heart pumping loop, and did a little more pruning on the apple tree. I think I’m halfway done now. My neck can only take so much at a time. Maybe I’ll have Dear take a photo of me in process. Have a wonderful first week of February!

 

Joys and Trials…

Our kids are getting together for a siblings weekend. This brings me joy. There are 5 hours or so of distance between Dan and Jamie and our kids that live on this side of the mountains so they are meeting about halfway.

My dear old Pop is doing pretty good. He has pain in his legs and back and is losing strength but in general his outlook has been so much better since he moved in with my sister and brother-in-law. I’m thankful for my Pop’s living arrangements and thankful for Len and Kathy who are housing him and taking care of him. Working on jigsaw puzzles help his days go by faster.

We have dear friends through the friendship of our son Dan with their son. This son of theirs has a new wee baby boy who was born very early at just 1#7ounces. He has had such a struggle as you can only imagine. He is now 3# and is a little fighter, beating many odds thrown at him.  We rejoice for his weight gain. We pray for him without ceasing. He needs our prayers. We pray for his parents who must be exhausted with the ups and downs that come with the intense cares and concerns for their little boy. We pray for the grandparents that are doing all they can to lessen the load. We are making our requests to God.

We pray for Dan and Jamie’s little flower girl who is fighting leukemia and in intense treatments against this illness. We rejoice with every step forward made in her bodies fight against leukemia and pray for healing.

We also pray for a blogging friend’s son who is fighting disease and is in intense treatments, too.

The Lord is near, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” ~ Philippians 4:5b-7

We pray for the firefighters and the homeowner’s in all the wild fire areas of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. We rejoice that Dan’s friend’s home was spared. We grieve for the 3 firefighters who lost their lives in the fires near Twisp, Washington. In California the Bible Camp where I received Christ as my Savior is being threatened by a wildfire, too. We rejoice for the wonderful work that opened the door for salvation to so many who went to camp at Hume Lake.

We rejoice with my brother and his family because he has a new job after being let go from his job of over 20 years due to his company’s downsizing.

We are still in the waiting room on a new job for Dear.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 (ESV)

With everything that is going on it’s hard not to pray without ceasing. There are lots of things that I didn’t list that require prayer, too.

This weekend we are having a barbecue with our small group. We haven’t met since June so it will be good to catch up. On Sunday our church is closing it’s doors and we are headed to schools in our community to spruce them up for the new year. Community Serve Day is a great event every year that 6 local churches take part in.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Make New Friends but Keep the Old…

…One is silver, the other gold.

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for O is for Old and for the fact that this post will go on and on! Thank you Denise Nesbitt, Roger, and the ABC team!

One day, four events! I flew from Seattle to Santa Ana (California) on Saturday and had a full day filled with time with old friends!

I arrived at John Wayne Airport at 8:30 A.M. and drove to La Habra, California. My pop and I went to his favorite breakfast spot and I treated him to breakfast. This is what he always orders, 2 sunny side up eggs, hash browns and sausage.  He enjoyed every bite of food and each slurp of his coffee.

My pop is now living with my oldest sister and thriving. He lets me know frequently how much he loves the chair Dear and I bought him. Lately he’s occupied with jigsaw puzzles.

At 11:30 A.M. I drove down Whittier Blvd. to our dear friend Alice’s home for a Baby shower in her beautiful back yard!

This is Alice with her son who will be holding his new son soon and this will be Alice’s first grand baby! Alice has always had an open home and is the most hospitable lady. Many of us at the shower have been graced with hours of good times in her home with good food to eat.

The new dad and mom to be with our friend Natalie in the middle praying a blessing on them, the baby and the festivities.

My best friend from college days and beyond, Heidi, with her daughter Nikki.

My nieces Melissa, Michelle and my SIL Kelly.

Heidi, Alice and I had some fun adventures in our college days. Alice lived in San Francisco and we spent time with her there and she came down to L.A. to spend time with us. We hadn’t seen each other for over 35 years!

I caught my sister enjoying her food with my blast from the past friend, Alice.

I took off from the baby shower before gifts were opened to drive on 2 more freeways to get to my high school mini reunion.

We had a great turnout with close to 50 grads from Montebello High School showing up.

I was so happy to see my friend from elementary school days through high school at the reunion. I hadn’t seen her for over 46 years!

Lots of good memories came back to me and I have to admit some of the people that were there didn’t drum up any memories from my dear old brain.

These girls I’ll never forget. Nancy on the left was my good buddy and Anne her cousin is on my right.

I left the reunion after 4 hours and finally headed to my hotel to check in at 6:30.

My dear nephew David and niece Kristin picked me up at the hotel door to take me out to dinner at 7:00. They had been out on a boat with their friends for the afternoon. How sweet of them to take the time and treat me to dinner and catch up conversation.

My hotel experience was good to start with and I fell asleep exhausted since I had been up since 3:15 am. At 1:15 the room next door was visited by some very loud guests who were pounding on the door. I woke from such a deep sleep that I was disoriented and didn’t know where I was for a few moments. My heart was racing. I called the front desk and they said they’d come up and talk to them. It took me a long time to fall back to sleep and then they woke me up again at 5:30 a.m. oye and bother!! When I talked to the front desk in the morning the person behind the desk said they’d take a percentage off my room. When I got back to my room I got a phone call from another person on staff who told me how sorry he was for my experience and that they would comp my room and I didn’t have to pay anything.

One day filled with so many old memories and friends. I’ll put the hotel experience way behind me!

 

Gathering the Moments ~ September

It’s time to take a look back at September…

September was a wonderful month of gatherings, homecomings, reunions, birthdays, and completed projects.

P1050610Early in September we met up with a dear long time family friend Timi and her daughter for coffee while she was visiting in Seattle.

10291122_10152701970813919_9195842261775056651_nWe so enjoyed hearing the news that our new little nephew from the Ukraine was home in the U.S.A. with his forever family.

P1050614We celebrated Dear’s birthday with our kids on the Western side of the Cascades.

2014-09-14 Open house1I flew to Southern California to spend time with my pop and extended family on the anniversary of my mom’s death.

Persiaearly UI got to see Timi again with her sister Milla when they came to an open house at my sisters home.  The bottom of this collage is of my mom and Timi and Milla’s mom together in Persia.

2014-09-14 Open house3We celebrated this little ones birthday at the open house, too. Fun cupcake times!

2014-09-15 Molokan Cemetery1While in California I picked up my pop and sister to head to the small Russian cemetery where my grandparents and other relatives are buried. I wanted to see my grandparents headstone.

food SeptBefore I flew home two of my sisters and my niece met up for a dinner together with me. Delicious.

2014-09-28 bathroom4The long anticipated main floor bathroom renovation was finally completed. Sigh…

P1050662Other projects are well on their way at this old house. The siding and upper window are new as of September. Rows of cedar will finish off the top.

P1050665I read two Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny, How the Light gets In and The Long Way Home. I splurged and bought this one instead of waiting for it to be available from the library. I now have read all the books in this series. I feel like some of the characters are my friends…

Some other things that happened this September were soccer games, small group start up, and a new eating and exercise program. I’ll share more about the last two when I see some good results!

I’m thanking the Lord for another full and fruitful month. Thank you Cheryl for hosting Gathering the Moments.

Linking with Cheryl at Thinking About Home for Gathering the Moments.

Catsup or Ketchup?

This is a little catch-up post from my weekend doings but I thought I’d ask this question. Which spelling of that red accompaniment to french fries or hamburgers or scrambled eggs do you prefer or do you use both? On to my catch up weekend!

Open house 028On Saturday I arrived to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and commandeered my sister’s car and headed to my Pop’s apartment. To be honest he wasn’t doing well on Saturday at all. We sat with him and cried with him and encouraged him to eat some of the food my sister Vera provided for all of us.  After several hours we left the apartment. I checked into my hotel. On Sunday all of us who could gathered at my sister Kathy’s house through the afternoon and into the evening. The above photo is of all the grandchildren of my pop’s who were able to make it to the open house. My father was doing a lot better on Sunday.

2014-09-14 Open house2There was lots of good food. I didn’t get photos of all the amazing desserts but I did get photos of my niece Melissa’s cup cake creations for our little Miss Avery’s 5th birthday celebration that we enjoyed during the open house, too.

2014-09-14 Open house3She was so so cute and delighted with each and every gift running to give a hug to whoever bought the gift! Today is Avery’s actual birthday. Happy Birthday dear Avery. Now you are five!!!!!

2014-09-14 Open house1My Pop was happy to see all of us but it was a special treat when these next two gals arrived.

Persiaearly UTamara and Milla are the daughters of my mom’s best friend in Persia, Aunt Zena. My mom and Aunt Zena took this photo with lipstick on in Persia and got in big trouble from their parents for wearing that lipstick! We were close enough to Zena to call her our “Aunt”. What a treat for Pop to be able to talk to Tamara and Milla in Russian and to talk about some of the good ole times our families enjoyed together. Tender moments were shared.

2014-09-15 Molokan Cemetery1On Monday I picked up Pop and my sister Kathy and we drove to Slauson Avenue in Commerce to find my grandparents grave site. We spent lots of time at this cemetery in our youth. Funerals were always just another part of our experience. As children we were never shielded from death and we attended every funeral that our parents did. Some of my father’s brothers and sister-in-laws are buried here, too.

2014-09-15 Molokan Cemetery5I took a lot of photos before I saw the sign in this next collage.

2014-09-15 Molokan Cemetery4Because of where this sign was positioned I think it refers to taking photos at an actual funeral procession, etc. That’s my explanation and I’m sticking to it!

I recognized a lot of common names from growing up but I was really surprised to see the family name Tolstoy in the Molokan Cemetery.

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2014-09-15 Molokan Cemetery3This is my Uncle Pete’s grave waiting for my Aunt to be buried beside him. My aunt Anna is the only surviving sibling of our Pop. She is ill and her days are numbered. She’d like to be buried here in her plot that is paid for but since she became a believer she hasn’t obtained permission to be buried here. We are doubtful that she will get permission. Since this is a “Molokan” Cemetery I do not challenge them not permitting non-Molokans to be buried here. I do have questions about the Molokan church, though. I wonder if a true follower of Jesus can remain a Molokan? Can the Molokan church truly be classified as a Christian church? You know me…I’m always wondering.

Molokan Cemetery 009A close-up of my grandparents marker. We see that they got my grandmother’s birth year wrong…she died at age 93, not 98. That means she was born in 1893 not 1888. My mom was not buried in this cemetery and my pop will not be buried here because he left the Molokan church in the late 1960’s. Most of our friends and family members from the Los Angeles area are buried at Rose Hills Cemetery. Our former Molokan friends who were ostracized from the Molokan church when they decided to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and separated from the Molokan religion are buried at Rose Hills or elsewhere.

HyeAfter the cemetery we tried to go to a favorite restaurant in Montebello called Golden Skewers that specializes in Armenian food but they are closed on Monday. My sister remembered another Armenian restaurant that is in Montebello and we were happy they were open. Hye Cuisine was a hit with me. The food was delicious. After lunch I dropped my sister off at home and my pop off at his apartment saying our goodbyes till next time. We had worn him out really good over the three days I was there.

I headed to Newport Beach to check into the next hotel I’d stay the night in before heading to the airport on Tuesday morning.

food SeptOne last hurrah! On Monday night two of my sisters and my niece met up for dinner at Seasons 52 at South Coast Plaza. We had a wonderful time.

2014-09-15 Molokan Cemetery6The first two nights in Orange County I stayed at the Tustin Fairfield Inn which was very nice with a complimentary breakfast. The location was great for going back and forth to my pop’s part of town. Dear had enough points for me to stay free at the Hyatt in Newport beach for one night and that’s why I switched over. No free breakfast here but I enjoyed room service breakfast.

The oppressive heat that we all experienced in Southern California over the weekend and that they are still experiencing today really takes a toll on your activity. The only time we were outdoors was at the cemetery. That lovely deck off my room in Newport Beach was not used. Even the beach towns were too hot to enjoy out of doors. I’m enjoying being back in the Seattle area sitting in my home in temperatures that are very comfortable.

Reminiscing…

We have always called my mom’s friend Zena, Aunt Zena.

img615This photo of my mom and Aunt Zena was taken in Tehran, Iran in the 1940’s. In the late 1940’s our families immigrated to the United States.

These immigrant families got together often in the 1950’s in the Los Angeles area.  My mom upper left next to Aunt Zena, Mrs. Hamzieff, my aunt Nina, my aunt Anna, Mrs. Katkov and Mrs. Titov.  I’m not even going to try to explain the fact that all but one of these ladies are sister-in-laws to one or more of each other. There was also a photo taken of the “guys” on this occasion. I’m wondering why there are so many more guys than gals…

mom-zenaThis photo of my “Aunt” Zena and my mom was taken in 2007.

Aunt Zena’s daughter Tamara, who we called Timi, is in Seattle visiting her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. We connected via email and planned to meet for coffee on Thursday morning. Timi came with her daughter Tamara and Katie came with me for our coffee date.

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Tamara, Tamara (Timi), Ellen, and Katie.

So much history and good memories between our families. We had a lot to talk about and the time flew by quickly. Thank you, Timi, for contacting me and making time to meet.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. I John 4:7 (ESV)

Bloggy Friends ~FFF

My favorite blessings from blogging have been my face to face meet ups with the individuals I’ve learned about from their personal blogs. The first blogger I met and who became my walking buddy while Dear and I lived in Camarillo is Willow from Willow’s Cottage. While our friendship continued we met up with Sara from Come Away With Me at The Getty Villa. Willow and Sara already knew each other. Besides the Getty Villa we met up again for some time at the Getty Museum before I moved back to Seattle.

On one of my trips across Los Angeles to visit my folks in 2009 Cori G! from Brambleberry Cottage (formerly Gingerbread and Co.) and I set up a meeting over coffee in Orange County, California. It was a delight to meet Cori. We were able to meet up again on one of my trips back to Southern California and have a meal and stroll through a antique market in the city of Orange.

On Dear and my road trip moving back to Seattle in 2010 we met up with Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer and her husband at the Winchester Inn in Southern Oregon. It was a delight.

In July of 2010 Dear and I met the Scrabble Queen from Scrabblequeen Knits for breakfast while we were in the Sacramento area for a funeral. She gifted me with some wonderful loose tea from England!

On our sister trip to Victoria, B.C. to celebrate my 60th birthday my sisters and I were treated to wonderful time with the lovely Pondside from Life Between the Ponds.

Oh dear me…I forgot another major bloggy meet-up. Jill from Jill’s World of Research, Reaction and Millinery came to visit in my home and we attended the Lavender festival together in July of 2011. Maybe it was the home part that made me think it was a family visit instead of a bloggy visit.

We had a great day seeing beautiful lavender fields, eagles, and eaglets and a baby seagull. Sorry for the oversight dear Jill!

IMGP0168At a book signing in Winnepeg/Manitoba I was able to meet Millie from Wreathmaker. What a fun surprise to see her and her hubby at McNally Robinson bookstore.

SeaJack #4 001Just this year on Katie and my roadtrip from Seattle to North Carolina we arranged a meeting over lunch in Kansas City, Missouri with Pam from Abiding With Love. We had a wonderful meal paid for by Pam’s husband and great conversation with Pam and her daughter.

What a blessing it has been to get to know these ladies and enjoy their thoughts and adventures and beautiful tables, tea settings, recipes, decorating, devotionals, book recommendations, etc. etc.

Judy correctly pointed out that there is another group of women that I met through blogging that have changed my life forever. This next photo is from the first time I met five of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook! This meeting was in the Spring of 2010. All ten of us would meet when we got together in British Columbia to sign the contract for our first book in the summer of 2010. These girls are a big part of my life now and they are more like family so that’s probably why I forgot that initially it was because of blogging that we came together!

 

These are my favorites for Susanne’s Friday’s Fave Five at Living to Tell the Story. It would be fun to meet Susanne some day!

Friends

img615My flashback this week is all about friends and family in Persia in the late 30’s and in the 40’s. These two friends got into trouble for applying lipstick before they took this photo. My mother on the left and our friend who we always called Aunt Zena on the right.

funeral007-002The same friends over 60 years later in California. Aunt Zena on the left and my mom on the right.

Most of the people in the following photos immigrated to the U.S.A. from Persia. Unfortunately my maternal grandfather died before he could immigrate. My maternal grandmother came to the states as a widow.

img594My mom is sitting down on the left. I need help identifying the other girls in this photo. I think some are Katkovs and the girl on the left is Vera (Leleland). Hopefully someone who sees my post that knows our extended family and friends can help me out with some names.

img617This is my mom on the left, her sister who died young, and her brother Paul.

img613My mom and my Uncle Paul

img596My mom and her cousin Luba

img595My mom on the right with her cousin Luba on the left and the two gals in the middle are Vera Leleland and Lyda Hamzaeff (married last names).

img589Nicolai, Aunt Nina, my mom and Uncle Paul

img588The Katkov and Shvetzov families in Persia. My parents and sister had left Persia already for America. My maternal grandfather is sitting on the right next to my maternal grandmother with my cousin Alex standing between them.

img592My Uncle Paul’s wedding day with my Aunt Nina and her family and friends. All the people in this photo are single except for my aunt and uncle. It was a tradition for the bride and groom to take a photo with their single guests and family.

Here we are in March already. We’re fighting off a cold bug at this old house. Dear is down for the count and I hope I don’t have to join him.

Have a good week everyone!

Saturday Snapshot!

P1040865A quick Saturday post and snapshot of how our day started. We were able to meet up with Judy (My Front Porch) one of the Mennonite Girls along with her hubby at the start of their road-trip to California. We had breakfast together in Shoreline, Washington and by the time we headed out to our cars the snow had started to fall. Thankfully this is a wet snow event with no sticking. It’s always great to get together and extra fun when our husbands can join us, too. Have a good safe trip and enjoy your sunny destination!

I just noticed who’s birthday it is today…

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Happy Birthday George Washington!

Food & George Wash Inn 041I can not tell a lie, I’m lazing away this Saturday. What are you doing?