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Category Archives: Los Angeles
December 6, 1974 ~ 33 Years later
Today is our 33rd Wedding Anniversary!
December – When December’s snows fall fast, marry and your love will last.
Here are 33 things about Dear and Myself since we’ve been married…
1. Dear was 21 and I was 23 when we got married.
2. My engagement ring was an opal ring. We had matching wedding bands. When I was pregnant with our third (Katie) Dear bought me my first diamond ring.
3. We honeymooned up the coast of California .
4. Our first home was a 1 bedroom apartment in West Los Angeles.
5. We bought our first house in Huntington Beach in 1975 for $45,000. We lived in Huntington Beach until 1984.
6. In 1977 we took a road-trip to visit extended family and to see some sights. We first stopped in Denver to see Dear’s mothers side of the family. Then we went to Peoria, Illinois to meet Dear’s fathers side of the family. We headed north to the Detroit area. We took a ferry to Canada and headed to Toronto where we found my china from England and added to my set so we would have 12 place settings. Then we headed to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Fun carefree times in a little yellow 1976 Honda Civic.
7. We have three children. Josh was born on Friday, January 19, 1979. Dan was born on Friday, January 16, 1981. Katie was born on Friday, December 27, 1985. (Katie came early she was due in January also!) “Friday’s child is loving and giving”
8. Dear’s professions while we’ve been married were, a Painting Contractor, a Conveyorman at Cal-Mat, A Loader/Operator at Cal-Mat, A hospital Pharmacist, Professional Services at a Biotech company, Medical Information at a Biotech Company.
9. My professions since we’ve been married were, a File Clerk, an Elementary School Teacher, a SAHM, a Playground Teacher, House Cleaning business, Substitute Teacher, SAHM, and now I’m a SAH wife…
10. Churches we attended the last 33 years earliest to present: Grace Community Church in Panorama City, Huntington Beach Evangelical Free Church, Bible Fellowship Church in Ventura, Sunrise Christian Fellowship in Seattle, and Evangelical Free Church Conejo Valley.
11. We took our first 2 camping trips with our boys and some of their cousins before Katie was born. We camped at Refugio State Beach, north of Santa Barbara. Fun times in a tent in 1983 and 1984!
12. While living in Ventura we met our good buddies the Spiros who are like family to us. Dr. Spiro delivered our daughter Katie in Ventura while he was doing his residency. Their 3 daughters and our 3 kids got along well and are still great friends. After the residency they moved to Washington where Dave joined a family practice. When we moved to Washington for Pharmacy school they adopted us into their family since we were so far from ours. We share many holidays together.
13. Dear’s Father Rex died in 1985 a couple months before our daughter Katie was born.
14. In 1986 we went on a bicycle touring trip in the Wine Country with our friends Dave and Jody and we met our dear friends Bob and Jan for the first time on this trip. (Geyserville to Mendocino, down the coast to Gualala and inland to Monte Rio then back to Geiserville) Oh the tales we can tell. We did not have a support vehicle.
15. We moved to the state of Washington in 1988 so that Dear could attend the University of Washington and then apply to Pharmacy School there.
16. While Dear attended the University of Washington the Husky football team had some glory years and we were able to get student season tickets along with tickets to a Rose Bowl game where the Huskies beat Michigan in 1992.
17. While in Washington Dear’s mother Verna lived with us for 9 years.
18. Our first home in Washington was a 4600 square foot home where we finished a 650 square foot self contained apartment in the daylight basement for Dear’s mother.
19. After moving to Washington in 1988 we made several road trips to California. I was tempted to write a book about driving I-5 from border to border.
20. I started a home cleaning business while Dear was in school full-time. I’ve cleaned a lot of toilets!
21. In 1994 we took the family to Los Angeles and San Jose to experience the World Cup. This was a wonderful experience especially for Josh and Dan (and ELLEN, too)
22. In 1996 we gave our home back to the bank when a serious landslide came right to our foundation and threatened the stability of the home. The costs for shoring up and saving the home ended up being more than we could ever afford. We lost all of our California equity and started over by first renting homes till we were able to purchase a home again. Moving yearly with all of our stuff and all of my MIL’s stuff was quite the challenge.
23. Dear’s Mother Verna died in 1997.
24. One of our memorable family trips was to Hawaii in 1997 after Josh graduated from high school.
25. We rented 3 different homes in 3 years after giving our house back to the bank. We bought our 3rd rental house when they tried to sell it out from under us after only being in the house for a month. We couldn’t face the trauma of moving all our stuff again in such a short time. We didn’t think a bank would give us a loan after we had given a house back to the bank. God intervened for us and the bank did not fault us in their records for defaulting on our loan.
26. Our son Josh was married to Laura on August 25, 2001. We had some wonderful days celebrating with family and friends.
27. Dear and I have had some great trips since our kids have become adults. Our favorites are our trips to London in 2003, Great Britain with our daughter in 2004 and a Walking tour of Great Britain with our best friends in 2006.
28. We took a few trips to Chicago area before and during our daughter Katie’s 3 semesters at Wheaton College.
29. Cars we’ve owned while married: ’71 Datsun, ’70 Volkswagon, ’75 Courier Pick up, ’76 Honda, Buick Station Wagon, ’81 Honda, ’84 Nissan Pick-up, ’86 Toyota van, ’92 Toyota Corolla Wagon, ’74 GMC pick-up, ’99 Camry, ’73 Chevy Pick-up. ’07 Camry.
30. I’m the sports fan in the family and Dear is gracious to put up with me since he is not a big fan of watching sports.
31. Dear is the handiest guy to have around. He has always tackled any hard job around the house and completed it well. He’s an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a mechanic, a painter. He’s helped other people out with their projects, too.
32. Dear is a learner and is blessed with lots of knowledge. He is a very wise man and he’s a great teacher.
33. We made a pact when we got married that whoever decided to make the stupid choice to leave, the other of us would shoot them in the back with our 357 Magnum as they walked out the door! We always said to each other and to others that death would be easier to deal with than divorce. Harsh, yes, but after 33 years neither of us has ever thought about walking away from this marriage.
Whew! That wasn’t easy. Thank you Lord for 33 years of mercy and grace in our marriage. And thank you for so many blessings we have received all from your hand. We are especially thankful for a family that loves you and loves us and for dear friends who do the same.
Photobucket has blacked out all my photos I was storing on their site and they are holding them hostage. I am working on updating my more than 4000 posts.
Wordless Wednesday ~ My Wedding Anniversary this Thursday!
What’s Your Mexican Name?
More Saturday Brainless Fun…
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Your Mexican Name Is… |
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Ok, since I’m living in Mexico Southern California right now, I thought I’d check out this quiz!
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ~ California Fires Continue
We happen to live by the coast where all the smoke clouds from the Saugus, Magic, Castaic, Santa Clarita, Wood Ranch, and Moorpark fires are being blown to because of the Santa Ana Wind conditions. The clouds in the photos above are smoke clouds not storm clouds. The smell of smoke is heavy in the air and the ash is all over everything. We do not have any fires in our immediate neighborhoods we are only getting the side effects of the poor air quality because of the smoke. It seems that there has been some improvement as of Wednesday. There are still many fires that are not under control and many homes are threatened. We hope that when the winds die down all the fires will be under control. We’re continuing to pray and to be sorrowful for all the hundreds of thousands of people who had to be evacuated and the thousands who have lost everything…
W.W. ~ Tuesday Edition ~ Homecoming 1966 ~ Montebello High School
Photobucket has blacked out all my photos on my blog posts and is holding them hostage. As Time allows I will try to restore some of my posts with new photos.
Some words about the photo are in comment #1 if you are interested.
For more W.W. Tuesday edition click here.
This is a different photo from the original I posted here.
California Fires!
Somewhat Wordless…
Pray for the Firefighters! Pray for comfort for those who have lost their homes in Southern California! The winds are suppose to die down by this afternoon, pray that they do.
2 Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
For more WW click here.
Santa Ana Winds ~ Southern California
So we in Southern California are experiencing Santa Ana Winds or Santana Winds. Besides heavy hot winds there are several fires, downed trees, power outages, etc. Usually Palm fronds hang down uniformly on either side of the trunk. This was the best I could shoot from the comfort of my car to show that the wind was blowing very strongly.
Here’s a more technical description of what Santa Ana Winds are. (Good info for homeschoolers!)
The Santa Ana is a dry, sometimes hot and dusty, wind in southwestern California that blows westward through the canyons toward the coastal areas. Santa Anas are a seasonal phenomena, occurring mostly during fall, winter and spring, tending to peak in December. The wind usually has its origin when cold air spills southward into the Great Basin, trapped between the Rockies to the east and the Sierras and Southern California coastal range to the west. This cold air mass is characterized by unusually high pressure near the land surface. Winds are driven into Southern California when the pressure of this interior air mass exceeds the pressure along the California coast. Winds are often strongest in mountain passes which are ducts for the continental air flow. Because the air over the higher elevations of the Great Basin sinks as it flows into coastal California, it is heated adiabatically, and temperatures are often quite warm. This continental air mass is invariably dry, so humidities in Santa Anas are low, often less than 25% relative humidity. Santa Anas have occurred irregularly over the time period since about 1950 when we have collected detailed wind and humidity observations, with some months experiencing Santa Ana conditions 30% the time, and other months less than 5% of the time.
Santa Anas have several colorful nicknames including “devil’s breath”.
What atmospheric ciruclation features are associated with Santa Ana events?
Any low-pressure system in the Pacific off the California coast may change the stability of the Great Basin High. The Great Basin High winds then turn southward along the eastern slopes of the Sierras. The low-pressure system over the Pacific literally sucks the winds through the mountain passes of Southern California toward the coastal areas.
[there’s a new word for me, adiabatically]
This next part is not technical or educational just informational and personal…
When Dear and I got home from church on Sunday we found we had lost power in our condo. So what do you do when the weather is hot and windy and your power goes out? Why you find the closest eating establishment that has power and eat out! J.J. Brewsky’s was open and ready and willing to feed us.
Dear ordered the Steak and Guinness Pie with what else but a Guinness.
I had the Carnitas cooked in Arrogant ******* Ale, a seasoned shredded pork, egg, and pico de gallo dish (very spicey and yummy) with an Arrogant ******* Ale of course. And now because when the power goes out it makes us a bit giddy and creative and desperate, we have a challenge for you.
Which of these heads is the Guinness? The one on the left or the one on the right?
UPDATE AND ANSWER!!: Because I have the patience of a Hare in the Long Patrol (Brian Jacques Redwall Readers will understand) I can’t wait any longer to tell you that Katie, Beth, Mz. Ellen, Southernbell, and Crystal are correct. The Guinness is on the left! Thanks for taking a stab at the quiz everyone. They were two similar heads so it wasn’t easy. And Katie you certainly do make your father proud because you listen to him and remember what he says….
update #2: Dear says, “The head on Guinness is famously smooth and creamy, with fine bubbles (right on Katie!) because the gas is not carbon dioxide but rather nitrogen which creates smaller, more persistent bubbles. Until somewhat recently Guinness was the only brew to utilize nitrogen. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery some other brewers have used nitrogen to replicate the creamy head.”
Leave your answer in the comments…
And here’s a photo of me flapping in the wind. I think the wind widened my hips! I really don’t think it’s all that good food and ale that I just had, yep I’m blaming it on the wind….
Now later in the day we are seeing the effects of the Malibu and other fires in our skies outside our condo. The orange cloudy glow that blocks the sun is a very telling sign of the fires and winds.
Photobucket has blacked out all my photos on my blog posts and is holding them hostage. As Time allows I will try to restore some of my posts with new photos.
Show & Tell Friday ~ Russian Immigrants in the Early 50’s
From the late 1940’s thru the early 1950’s many of my parents’ family and friends immigrated to the U.S.A. from Iran and settled in the Los Angeles area. Because they were in a new country and didn’t know the English language they spent much of their free time together. There was fun, fellowship, and comfort in socializing with these old friends in a new country.
My dad is sitting on the floor in front with the tie on. My Uncle Paul is standing on the left in the back. I’m going to have to get my family to fill in some of the names of these men. I don’t know who the two standing next to my Uncle are. 2nd row Hamzieff, V. Katkov, A. Menn (the one American born in the group who married a Russian Katkov girl in Iran while serving for the U.S. in WWII) , N. Katkov, C. Titov, ??, A. Katkov. Who is sitting next to pop? Mr. Law on the arm of the chair. The guy in the back with the funny expression?
Some of the ladies… My mom in the back on the left, Z. Katkov, O. Hamzieff, Aunt Nina, Aunt Anna, P. Katkov, L. Titov
I love the hairdo’s.
For more Show and Tell head on over to There’s No Place Like Home….
Wedding Customs ~ A Look Back to the late 60’s…
These Photos were taken November 22, 1969. This was the day of my sister Vera’s marriage to Nick. I wanted to show y’all what we used to do to all the cars in the wedding party. We’d make these huge crepe paper flowers and string them together and decorate the cars. We’d use the colors that were going to be used in the wedding. The kids in these photos are my 4 younger brothers and sisters. Tim, Steve, Lana G! and her twin Leonard.
Lana G! has curlers in her hair. She and Leonard were the flower girl and ring bearer in the wedding…
One other interesting note was that it was very difficult to get our favorite florist to arrange and deliver flowers on this day because they were USC Alumni and huge fans and this was the day of cross town rival games so USC was playing UCLA.
Big mistake in my photo album experience is using these magnetic layered page albums that were so popular in the 60’s and 70’s that make your pictures impossible to take out and scan today….
Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 