Welcome to My Neighborhood! ~

Welcome to My Neighborhood!

Kathleen Marie thought it would be nice to see where everyone is from, where they live, learn more about her blogging neighbors, her friends and acquaintances.

So, since she can’t jump in her car, hop on a train or plane and visit you all, although she would sure like to, she thought it was time for a “bloggy” visit to your neighborhood! Let’s have a chat along the yard fence, have coffee or tea at your local hangout, visit your park or favorite attraction. The skies the limit!

Head over to The Open Window to join the fun.

The day set for this this neighborly visit around Bloggityville is Monday September 17th. On that day everyone will share their favorite things about their neighborhood. This should give us all plenty of time to get those photos, stories and/or slide shows ready. Just sign the linky at her site so we know who’s participating.

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If you are participating I’ll be by on Monday September 17th to see your neighborhoods!

Today I have 3 collages to share with photos from my newest neighborhood in Southern California and my favorite neighborhood and the place I call home in the Seattle area. Please come along and welcome to my neighborhoods!

Our condo in Camarillo is a one bedroom. Even though it’s small we still can entertain a crowd. Living in the Southern California area affords us the opportunity to see extended family and close friends from our early married years. The Complex we are in is brand new and has a lot of nice extras.

Palm trees are the norm around here and dusty trails. We are at the northern base of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. We are 8 miles from the Pacific Ocean. (Pt. Mugu) We are in a highly agricultural area where we can find fresh produce stands at nearby farms. The Hispanic culture is prevalent in this area with Mexican Restaurants galore. (kind of like Starbuck’s in Seattle!) Speaking of food In-N-Out is just an exit up the freeway from us. California Grill is one of our favorite local restaurants. (bottom middle photo). The new library in town is the top right photo.

Here, have an In-N-Out Burger on me…

Now I’ll show you a little bit of my favorite place to live, the Seattle area…

The things I miss when I’m living in Southern California are my house, the space I have inside and outside, Fred Meyer Food and Department store, the distinct four seasons, the big fluffy sky, the huge trees everywhere, the downtown area on the water, my library and most of all my children and my best friends. I am thankful that I get to take trips back and spend holidays and other special occasions there.

I thank God for His goodness to us in blessing us with beautiful places to live where we can enjoy His creation and people we can have fellowship with wherever we find ourselves. Have a wonderful week!

Thank you for coming to my neighborhoods today. To see more neighborhoods around the USA and beyond click on over to The Open Window.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Another Happy Birthday at Julienne

Michelle of A Simple Sweet Life is having a birthday today.

Happy Birthday Michelle!

Michelle, ma belle
These are words that go together well
My Michelle

Michelle, ma belle
Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
tres bien ensemble

(sorry couldn’t help myself)

Ryan and my niece Michelle

Jackson my Grand Nephew

Nieces Debbee and Melissa

Sister Lana G! and her husband Steve

Sister Kathy and Ryan

Ellen, SIL Kelly, niece Debbee

Dear was with us too but my photo didn’t turn out but Michelle’s did so you can see Dear and me over there.

We drive, we eat, we laugh, we celebrate, Lana pays!!

We are blessed indeed. Thank you Lord!

ht: Michelle lyrics by the Beatles

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Friday’s Feast ~ One Hundred Sixty

Appetizer
When was the last time you visited a hospital?

The last time I visited a hospital was earlier this year to take my sister to the ER after she tried to cut her finger off. We were there for hours and all she needed was a few stitches.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?

Probably about a 5. I’m very selectively ambitious…

Salad
Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)

(eye) Ellen yells excitedly!

Main Course
If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?

The subject would be food, cooking, planning, staging, eating, enjoying. The name would be “Create, Eat, and be Merry”

Dessert
What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?

A picture is worth a thousand words….the flooring in my condo.

For more Friday’s Feast go here.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Tea for Two ~ Vintage Blue

Tea for Two in my Library

Welcome back

I’m including this recipe for tea sandwiches that my mom made for us a while back. .

Curried Chicken Tea Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken, 1 medium unpeeled red apple, chopped, 3/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery, 1/4 cup chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions, 3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, 12 slices breadLettuce Leaves

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine mayonnaise, lime juice and curry powder; add to chicken mixture and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut each slice of bread with a 3-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter. Top with lettuce and chicken salad.

So happy you stopped by my library for tea. You can still see more tea parties at Make Mine Pink.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Welcome to Moss Rose Tea Party ~ hosted by ellen b.

Welcome Ladies to Ellen’s

Moss Rose Tea Room

Here’s your seat and let’s enjoy delicacies and delightful conversation.

The Tea has been steeped and is ready for you…

Sugar? One lump or two?

A few sweet delicacies and lots of pink roses.

We hope you will sit awhile and speak kindly of your hostess…

We’re thrilled that you’ve joined us in our little fun.

and that you will leave here remembering everyone.

So relax, enjoy, be still for awhile.

The world will go on without us for now.

We’ll chat, laugh, sip to our heart’s content.

And when it’s all over we’ll be happy we met

So much beauty to enjoy.

So many people to meet

So glad you stopped by to enjoy my pink and moss treats!

To enjoy more tea parties head on over to Make Mine Pink and click on the links….

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Ellen B. and Lana G! ~ Traditions

Whenever there is a holiday where stores remain open and we are both in Washington Ellen B. and Lana G! go shopping at the Bellevue Goodwill Store.

Lana picked me up at 9 AM and we headed south on the 405 Fwy.

Lana heads to the book section while I make a return.

Our cart is beginning to get filled. My first find were 4 Riedel wine goblets for $1.49 ea. (but because it’s Labor day they are 40% off!) That was a steal…

The cart is full and it’s time to sort through and leave behind whatever we aren’t thrilled with.

This was my stash…

So here’s the fun part of our shopping trip. Lana is paying for her stuff. Whoever’s bill ends up being the most gets to buy lunch for both of us, too! Lana usually wins and gets to pay for lunch.

Oops this time I spent $5.oo more than Lana so I get to buy lunch.

We were so excited to find a Russian deli close by.

We bought piroshky (Cabbage and Mushroom)

The borsch was lousy 😦 but we ordered a hot pastrami sandwich with it and that was great!

Another successful Labor Day Shopping trip for the girls in Washington. Blessings on your day.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

WFMW ~ Simple Lists & Rewards

This simple 6 x 8 notebook is my organizational wizard. I use this each week to organize myself and to get things accomplished. With a pencil I line out 7 boxes for the 7 days of the week starting with Monday. Each box has the date and day of the week. I put the set appts. in each box. Along the left side I list all the tasks I’d need to accomplish or would like to accomplish that week. I add more as I think of them during the week. In the upper right hand sidebar I list any birthdays that are in that month. Below that I keep a running list of anything I need to buy at the store. Nine times out of ten if I have something on this list it gets done. I take great joy in crossing off accomplished tasks or purchased items. I put fun things to do on these lists too. Below are some pictures of one of the fun things I always try to include on my to-do list.

This is Leticia our waitress at our favorite local Mexican restaurant near our home in Washington. Eating at her family restaurant was on my list this week and voila here we are!

The restaurant is called La Corona and we’ve been here often enough that they know what we like to order and we have more than casual conversations with Leticia about herself and her family.

Laura and Josh joined us for a late celebration of their anniversary.

Dear, Ellen b. and Katie stuffed already on our favorite salsa that they make here. Katie’s friend Heidi joined us too after the photo-op.

So not only do I schedule chores but I schedule some fun too. Bottom line what works for me is organization with my little binder and eating out at a Mexican Restaurant at least once a week!

To see what works for other people head on over to Rocks In My Dryer and join the frenzy fun!

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

What’s In A Name? ~ Meme

A name game to lighten up and cool off the summer heat and humidity:

My sister Lana G! over at Above the Clouds is real CURIOUS and has tagged me for this meme:

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.

4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Lana is real sneaky tagging me after she used my middle name. Well it’s hers too because in our Russian culture girls and boys get their father’s name as their middle name. So Lana and I do not have a middle name on our birth certificate but when we are introduced to anyone in our Russian culture we are called for example Ellen “Moisi’s daughter” Bagdanov. So everyone knows then that I’m a Bagdanov but I’m further identified as belonging to Moisi Bagdanov, not John Bagdanov. Thank God from whom all blessings flow. (oops did I just say that?) So now I have to make up a middle name to use for this meme. I’m not going to stray too far though. I’ll use Moses which is pretty much Moisi anyway. So here we go. This is a picture of Moses (Moisi) with me and my younger brother Tim.

M ~ Married ~ I’m married to a non-Russian. I was the fourth one of my siblings to be married and I was the first one in my family to marry out! I’m so glad I did.

O ~ Observant ~ I see things I wish I wouldn’t see sometimes. I can see danger on the street or on a playground. I’m very visual. When I had my house cleaning business some of my clients would call me to ask if I’d seen this or that. I could usually tell them exactly where the thing was.

S ~ Shopper~ I love to shop for a bargain. I think I could have made shopping a profession. Shopping for other people is what I enjoy the most. I have to admit though, since I started blogging I haven’t been shopping as much.

E ~ Extravagant ~ I love to be extravagant. I love to treat people. I love to buy gifts for people. I enjoy going over-the-top.

S ~ Sister ~ I’m a sister 7 times and a sister-in-law. I take my title seriously. I love being a loyal sister/sister-in-law and I’d fight to the death for any of my siblings. Just ask my brother Steve…

So who to tag… I tag Bee, Kim at Hind’s Feet, Lucy, Southern Bell, and Sarah Anne. No pressure people. It is ok with me if you do not play….

Places to Visit for the First Time or Again ~

I’m Yearning to Travel Someplace Far Away

England ~ Scotland ~ Wales ~ Ireland ~ New England ~Montreal ~ New Zealand ~ The Shire ~ Russia

I’m such a comfort traveler, not the really high adventure type. Even though I’m Russian, Russia would be my last choice because of the comfort issues of traveling there. Where would you want to go?

Ht: Bridget for the collage she made for me a while back…

WFMW ~ Be Prepared!

If you homeschool anywhere in Southern California this is a book that you should add to your resources. This is a comprehensive guide (793 Pages) to any educational, recreational, fun place you’d want to experience. I went to a presentation that Susan gave to our transitions group. The company my husband works for hires a group to help transition new employees and their families into this new part of the world they find themselves employed in. Susan Peterson has done her research well and she homeschools her 3 sons and has been to most of the places she recommends in her book. Even if you don’t live in Southern California you can benefit from some tips from her. She says…

Never Leave Home Without These Essentials

1. Snacks –always carry snacks and a water bottle. Listening to a child whine because he is hungry or thirsty can drive any parent over the edge.
2. Map –
3. Tissues and/or Wipes
4. Quarters (metered parking)
5. Toys/books/games
6. CD’s (Music or Books on CD)
7. First Aid Kit – bandaids, ointment, adhesive tape, scissors, an ice pack, Benedryl, disposable gloves, a sewing kit, and and Tylenol for kids and adults.
8. Roadside emergency kit – jumper cables, flares, a flashlight, batteries, extra drinking water, tools, matches.
9. Jacket – pack a light jacket or sweater for unexpected change in weather or plans. Throw in a change of clothes for little ones just in case they get muddy or wet.
10. Blanket – For picnics or if someone gets cold or for other emergencies.
11. Fanny Pack
12. Sunscreen
13. Camera – ya don’t have to tell a blogger to remember their camera!
14. Grocery Bag: It holds trash, excuse me, I mean treasures, that kids collect…
15. Container (for motion sickness)
16. A Sense of Humor

So this is my Works For Me Wednesday tip for y’all. Head on over to Rocks in my Dryer and get more educated!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Fun

Welcome to My Neighborhood! ~