Category Archives: Fun

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

  1. 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!

Ht: Fun Places to Go with Kids and Adults by Susan Peterson ~ Fun Places Publishing, California, copyright 2006 by Susan Peterson. www.funplaces.com

Weekend Wanderings…

The L. A. Farmers Market

 Farmers Market (no apostrophe!) was created in July 1934.

In July 1934 a contingent of farmers pulled their trucks onto an expanse of empty land at the property known as Gilmore Island at the corner of Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles. They displayed their produce on the tailgates of their vehicles, to their delight, customers quickly arrived and parked their cars on a hastily created dirt parking lot in spaces designated with chalk. They strolled among the trucks purchasing fruit, vegetables and flowers.

The atmosphere was casual, the open air commerce enticing, the goods fresh, and the result remarkable. Farmers Market became an instant institution.

We met our friends from Seattle at the Original Los Angeles Farmers Market for dinner and a stroll. Luke, (one of our former pastors in Seattle), Terri and their two daughters Sophie and Greta are in L.A. for some sight seeing that will include the ultimate first time visit to Disneyland for the girls on Monday and Tuesday!

A very upscale outdoor shopping center, The Grove, has been built right next to the Old Farmers Market. We ended our visit with an elevator ride to the 8th floor of the parking garage at “The Grove” to get an aerial view of this Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles and Hollywood. We were hoping to see the famous Hollywood sign but sad but true it was too “L.A. smoggy hazy” to see it clearly! We were able to see the Griffith Park Observatory.

 View from a trail in Griffith Park from the south, looking north.

On our way home after our visit we were driving through a couple multi-million dollar neighborhoods and were shocked to see this eyesore on one of the street corners. We were amazed and decided to turn back to take some digital shots of this monstrocity. My photos will not give this gaudy display of bad taste justice.

There were over 14 of these statues…

Yikes! This is a beautiful neighborhood of amazingly landscaped and manicured lawns. House after house displays beautiful architecture and upkeep. I can only imagine what the immediate neighbors think. We found out later that there was a lot of TV coverage over this property and a  lawsuit that the neighbors brought to try to get these statues removed. They lost their suit. The bright white wrought iron fence was added after some of the statues were defaced.

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My weekend ended with a 250 mile round-trip out to Nuevo, California for dinner and a church service that my nephews Levi and Caleb were leading worship for (Levi in the red, Caleb in the orange). A nice ending to a busy weekend. Blessings on your week ahead…

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos from their site that I used on my blog since 2007 and I’m working to update my thousands of posts.

Julienne ~ Birthday Breakfast

My photos are being held hostage at the Photobucket site as of July 2017.

 Happy Birthday Melissa!

 I met my sister Kathy and her daughters, Michelle and Melissa, and my mom for breakfast this morning at Julienne. It is Melissa’s birthday and we love to have celebrations at this wonderful restaurant in San Marino, California.

Mom (Baba), Ellen b, Kathy, and Melissa the birthday girl

Michelle, Kathy and Melissa

The menu is amazing and the ambiance lovely. We don’t mind the drive to meet here. We kick back, forget our figures and eat wonderful things like,

Lemon Creme Brulee Scone

Blueberry Pancakes with Lemon Curd Sauce

Spinach Crusted Quiche Provencal with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes,

Parmesan Crusted Potato Cake with Poached Eggs, Guacamole and Pico de Gallo,

Open Face Omelette with Chicken Sausage, Gruyere, Tomatoes; Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Now we can watch our calories till we meet at Julienne again…say in September for Michelle’s Birthday! Lana G, we have to time this next celebration just right so you are in town!

Michelle, Baba, and Melissa…

1994 World Cup ~ Los Angeles

I am a huge soccer fan. Our boys played soccer on club teams and on their high school Varsity teams. They both played defense, sweeper and full back. I never missed a game and after they graduated I still went to the high school games. Our daughter Katie played soccer on a recreational team. She played goalie and mostly defense. When World Cup is on I try to watch every single game that is televised. The following photos and memorabilia are from the 1994 World Cup. Josh got a 4 game package for games in Los Angeles. Dan and I went to the Brazil ~ Cameroon game at Stanford.

We all got to go to another game at the Rose Bowl, too. I drove them wherever we could get any soccer action. Fun times!

 

These are photos of Josh and Dan at the U.S. Soccer Team training facility and at the hotel where the team was staying. We were so excited to find the hotel where the team was staying. The players were so approachable and kind to the boys. They managed to get every players signature that was on the team and all but one of the coaches. Josh has that poster framed and in his office.

 

They also got Tony Meola and Cobi Jones to sign these magazines that we later framed.

 

I still hope to someday experience a soccer game (futbol) in England.