Category Archives: Fun

Party!

We got together on Saturday night at Moreno’s in Orange to celebrate my sister Vera’s bigger than the last big birthday party!

 

Vera the Birthday Girl and Me,  Leticia my SIL and Tim my brother, The Mariachis, and the table conversation with David, Debbee (Vera’s kids) Noah, Melissa and my sister Kathy at the end of the table.

The Matriarch and Patriarch of the family…

 

There were these great old trees in the patio. The original part of this restaurant was a Friends church (Quaker) and built in the late 1800’s! Click here to read the interesting history.

And this joker on the right confiscated my camera when I wasn’t looking to take a photo of himself with the Birthday Girl!

Gotcha Ryan!

If you like non-spicy Mexican food that any Gringo can eat and enjoy this is the place for you. For us spicy hot Mexican food lovers this was fun for the history, fun being with family, fun with the mariachis, but not memorable for the food. 🙂

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

The Ultimate Blog Party ~ March 7th – 14th

 

Ultimate Blog Party 2008

 

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!

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

Photo Hunters ~ Different

 

I was wondering what I was going to post for the “different” theme when on our walk on Thursday we came upon these toilets sitting in this driveway. I said “that’s different”, then pulled my camera out of my pocket and took the photo! Happy hunting everyone.

Check out more “different” here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

My Blog is One Year Old March 3rd!

Update: The name drawn to receive the Butterfly necklace is Rosemary from Seasonings of the Heart! I’ll contact you.  Thanks to everyone for your kind words and visiting my party!

Happy Birthday Happy Wonderer!

So I contemplated how we should celebrate the anniversary of that day.

Should I serve one of my Russian favorites that my mom bakes, Roolyet? Make sure you roll your tongue on the roo part of the word.

 

Or maybe I could serve this dessert I’ve made that is so simple and I’ll include the directions below.

But in the great Hobbit Birthday Tradition I decided I would give away a gift to celebrate. The winning of this gift is open to all my regular bloggy friends and bloggers who participate in the same weekly memes I do. All you have to do is to leave a comment and make sure you include a good email address so I can contact you if you win. If you’re a guy I’m sorry that this is so feminine but if you win maybe you could give it to your wife, mother, sister, or friend.

I thought this was appropriate for the hope of Spring and new life it brings.

So thanks for stopping by my party and take time to comment and enter the drawing. It’s been a fun year for me getting to know all about blogging. I appreciate the friendships I’ve developed and am grateful for y’all.

Blessings..
ellen b.

Easy directions for individual trifle like desserts…

Cook one larger package of Vanilla pudding (not instant) according to package directions then put plastic wrap right on the surface of the pudding and let it cool in the refrigerator. While the pudding is cooling wash and cut 1 large carton of fresh strawberries into bite size pieces. Put them into a bowl and sprinkle sugar on top of them to make them juicier and sweeter. After the pudding has gotten cold whip up 2 cups heavy whipping cream (I add 1/4 -1/2 tsp. pure almond extract to the cream). Save some of the whipping cream to top the desserts and fold in the rest of the whipped cream into the cold pudding. Now all you have to do is assemble the individual trifles. Put some of the strawberries in the bottom of a fun glass or glass bowl, then add some store bought pound cake torn into pieces or angel food cake torn into pieces, next put some of the pudding mixture then keep layering in this same order. Top with a dollop of whip cream and a strawberry.  Simple and refreshing and yummy. (You could also make the layers in a Large Trifle bowl)

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

Lovella’s Walking Club Tally ~ Oh the Steps I Stepped!

My new Bloggy Walking Buddy Willow and I walked everyday this week. After our regular walk on Friday afternoon Dear and I had Willow and her husband over for dinner. When I took my pedometer off for bed it registered 14,176 steps. I had a busy Friday before our afternoon walk and the steps just added up. My average steps for the week were 12,089!

Here are some dinner photos and our Saturday Beach walk collage…

 

We had a nice evening. It’s always fun to find out all the things you have in common with people you’ve just met.

Willow and her husband. Willow is enjoying one of Dear’s famous Kensington Dreams. Here’s the recipe for you, Willow. In a shaker over ice cubes, combine juice of half a lemon, 1 oz. Brandy, 1 oz. Amaretto, 2 oz. Creme de Cassis, shake and strain into water goblet then add 4oz. of Champagne. Don’t drive after you drink one. 🙂

 

Our beach walk on Saturday morning. A misty moisty morning. We saw some new wonders today. Because of the high rough surf this week there were lots of piles of driftwood and boulders thrown up onto our path. There was a lot of seaweed washed up, too. We even got down onto the sand this Saturday to explore.

 

The birds above are Marbled godwits. They use their beaks to probe the sand. They migrate to California and Mexico in flocks in Autumn from Canada.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone and keep on walking and enjoying God’s wonders.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

A Hike Yikes and My weigh-in!

Please Scroll Down for Fun Monday… 

It’s Monday morning weigh-in time. After my .3 gain last week I’m down .1 this week. I’m still clinging to the hope and the encouragement that this is an activity level and eating plan I can stick to for the long haul and I’ll decide after 6 months if it’s working well. I’m not doing anything drastic in a diet plan, just eating less and not eating after meals, etc. With this effort I think the numbers are going to change gradually and not drastically. So as they say “time will tell”. In the meantime I am always happy not to have put on an extra 5 pounds…

I have some photos from a hike I took yesterday with someone I met at church last week. She invited me to go on a hike with her and another gal and I said yes. I generally walk on mostly flat surfaces but this was a feel new muscles hike for sure. Here are some sites I saw during my 9394 steps…

 

This hike was in the Santa Monica Mountains whose north western boundary ends in my own front yard. We went on the Satwiwa short hike up to some falls.

 

The Santa Monica Mountains are 10 miles across at their widest spot and 50 miles long from Griffith Park to Point Mugu. We really have some amazing places to walk and hike during our stay here in Southern California. We are more and more thankful for the area we live in.  Poison oak grows well here, too, so it’s good to be aware of the danger it poses. Some people (like our oldest son) react quite violently when they come in contact with it. I decided to take a photo to make sure I recognize it.

 

Because of all our rains and snow in Southern California this year there is more water in the creeks and streams. It is refreshing to come upon this site on a hot uphill hike.

 

This is what you are treated to at the end of this trail.

 

The view on the way back to the trail head.

Have a wonderful Monday and week. Keep on walking…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Fun Monday ~ Feb. 18

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

 Sayre has this assignment for us…

Every day as I go to work, I see things around me that make me laugh. Usually these are in the forms of signs. So take your camera with you as you go about your business and take a picture of the things that make you laugh along the way (but it doesn’t necessarily HAVE to be a sign).

I don’t go to work everyday but when I’m out and about and when I am walking I see lots of things that make me smile. Here are a few things I saw last Wednesday.

 

I stopped at Costco and came upon this Rat who was loudly picketing the store. I think he was protesting the sale of Rat Poison.

 

Then on my walk with Willow we came upon this Bunny Topiary (that’s Willow in the blue, she tried to get away before my camera snapped). And then there’s me all shocked and scared because of this sign.

 

This kind of sign doesn’t make me feel real comfortable. But I got a tip about walking and hiking where there are rattlesnakes. Don’t walk along the edge of a path. Walk in the middle. If you are walking with two other people, let them flank you, one on either side. 🙂 Reminds me of the hiking tip for the mountains in Washington and the possibility of coming upon a bear. Make sure there is at least one person in your party who runs slower than you. You can’t out run a bear but at least you can out run the slowest person in your party.

Now I thought this post was done but I went to a different Costco on Thursday and this is what I saw on the way and while I was there…

 

I passed this Semi headed for my exit and I so wished I wasn’t driving so I could snap a photo but then he got off at my same exit so I was able to snap this not so clear photo. “Jesus Christ is Lord, not a swear word” was on each side and the back of the semi. I got a big kick out of this and it made me smile. And it’s so true.

 

Then I was in Costco making a cd of all my bloggy photos so I could empty my memory card so I could take more bloggy photos and look at these 2 sweet nuns I saw. I took this photo with my back to them so they wouldn’t know what I was doing and come over and smack me with a ruler (no I didn’t go to Catholic school, I just heard stories from my friends). I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve seen nuns in a Habit out and about…

For more Fun Monday click here. 

Fun Reunions ~

 On Valentine’s Day night we met our dear friends from Washington State at a Mexican Restaurant in Venice (California) for dinner. They were visiting Disneyland with their daughter Deena, her husband Jeremy and their grandkids Talia and Martin. We decided to meet at La Cabana which was about halfway for both of us to drive.

They still make their own tortillas at this restaurant.

Jan and Bob…Jan is one of my walking buddies in the Seattle area. Bob was our former pastor and is our good friend. We have been on several adventures with Bob and Jan and our other good buddies Dave and Jody. Bicycle trips in the wine country, bicycle trips in the San Juan’s, bicycle trips in Victoria, B.C., and Leavenworth. Our most recent wonderful adventure was a walking trip in Great Britain. I for one am happy to have retired my bicycle after quite a nose dive and “knock out” experience in Leavenworth.

Dear and me.

What’s wonderful about good friends is that you can catch up in 3 seconds and feel as if you haven’t been apart.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Monday Walk in Whittier

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

I drove Southeast through Ventura County into Los Angeles County to the suburb of Whittier, east of Los Angeles to visit my sister Kathy. Whittier is home to Whittier College, Richard Nixon’s alma mater. He majored in History. We decided to combine a nice healthy walk up the hills and down in the older beautiful neighborhoods of Whittier so we could then have a guilt free nice lunch as a reward.  Kathy chose the Crepes and Grapes Cafe on Greenleaf Ave. in Uptown Whittier. I have a few photos of our time. The first photo is of the great Avocado tree that keeps me well stocked by Kathy when the avocados are in abundance. Then we walked along such wonderful canopied streets and we saw some beautiful blossoms. The last photo is of my yummy crepe. This was a build your own crepe for $6.95. I chose turkey, red onion, tomatoe, green pepper and a ginger lime sauce on the side. Kathy chose a white sauce, chicken, spinach, tomato, and Jack cheese. Duhlicious!

 

This is my sister Kathy with her grandson Jackson. She is my oldest sister, a wonderful friend and Godly woman. Thanks Kathy, that was fun…

Fun Monday ~ Music

The Crown Princess at Ohh a shiny pen is hosting Fun Monday this week.
Ok, here is the assignment.
Music plays a vital role in most of our lives. It is everywhere. I want to hear the ONE song that is you. The song that whenever it is heard, you smile. I am not looking for the soundtrack of your life, just that one song. Your friends hear it and think of you. You can post the video, the lyrics, the wav file. However you want to post it is great.
~
 I was on the phone reading the assignment to my sister Lana G! and she suggested that You’ve Got a Friend by Carole King should be the one I post.  Carole King is a favorite of mine for sure and I love this song.  My husband was listening to my conversation with Lana and he said I should post Smack Water Jack, he’s so funny, he says really it’s only because we were talking about Carole King songs that this one popped into his head, so don’t call the authorities just yet!
~
You’ve Got A Friend
   ——Carole King

When you’re down and troubled
And you need some loving care
And nothin’, nnothin’ is goin’ right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’ to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there
You’ve got a friend

If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you’ll hear me knockin’ at your door

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’, runnin, yeah, yeah,
to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yes I will

Now ain’t it good to know
that you’ve got a friend
When people can be so cold
They’ll hurt you, yes, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them
Oh, but don’t you let them.

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come runnin, runnin’, yeah, yeah, yeah
to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yes I will
You’ve got a friend,
you’ve got a friend,
ain’t it good to know,
you’ve got a friend,
ain’t it good to know,
ain’t it good to know,
ain’t it good to know,
you’ve got a friend,
oh yeah now, you’ve got a friend,
yeah baby, you’ve got a friend,
oh yeah, you’ve got a friend.

You can hear a rendition of this song by clicking on the url below…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6r1175w_lM

For more Fun Monday Posts click here.