Category Archives: personal

Our Time in Washington ~

 

While we’ve been in Washington (me for 2 weeks, Dear for 1 week), Dear has been gutting our basement. We need to take care of some water issues and do some structural strengthening. Today is the day for a very heavy steel beam to replace a wooden beam. Anyone free at 2:30 for some heavy lifting.

 

After all that hard work we want to eat hearty. We try to get everyone together to enjoy a meal. Yesterday I went to the meat market and they helped me pick out some very marbled meat to fulfill the workers cravings. Steak, baked potatoes, steamed cauliflower, salad with Persian dressing and sour dough bread. The meat was very tender and broiled to perfection by Dear. My dishwasher has been filled and emptied a lot.

 

At the end of some of my days here I’ve enjoyed views like this one from my bedroom windows.

Have a great Saturday. I’m meeting my walking buddies at 9:00 for our walk on the trail. I’ll post my average steps later for Lovella’s walking club.

*No walking post today. The walking club is taking the week off so we will resume next week. I did walk this week with two over 17,000 step days, a couple 6800 step days a 8646 step day and a 12,595 step day. So my average for the week was 11,532 steps. See y’all walking buddies again next week.

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

The Wind in the Willows ~ Grahame

road to Henly day11 142

I read this the first night in Washington from California and in a way it spoke to my situation in life right now…

From the Wind in the Willows ~ by Kenneth Grahame

“The weary Mole also was glad to turn in without delay, and soon had his head on his pillow, in great joy and contentment. But ere he closed his eyes he let them wander round his old room, mellow in the glow of the firelight that played or rested on familiar and friendly things which had long been unconsciously a part of him, and now smilingly received him back, without rancour. He was now in just the frame of mind that the tactful Rat had quietly worked to bring about in him. He saw clearly how plain and simple – how narrow, even – it all was; but clearly, too, how much it all meant to him, and the special value of some such anchorage in one’s existence. He did not at all want to abandon the new life and its splendid spaces, to turn back on sun and air and all they offered him and creep home and stay there; the upper world was all too strong, it called to him still, even down there, and he knew he must return to the larger stage. But it was good to think he had this to come back to, this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted upon for the same simple welcome.”

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

WW ~ First Visit

 

I’m adding some words this week. These are my parents at their first meeting with their new miracle granddaughter. Their last granddaughter (our Katie) was born 22 years ago. Their youngest grandson is 16 years old. This granddaughter, our niece was born in January to my brother and his wife, who are both in their 40’s. It is their first baby. We are thrilled with this latest addition to our family and you can see how thrilled my parents are to finally meet her face to face! Dear and I get to go meet her in May! Praise God from whom all blessings flow…

For more WW click here.

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

Holdren’s Steak and Seafood Birthday Dinner

 

Wedge Salad, Martinis, Porterhouse Steak, Rack of Lamb and a free Birthday piece of Mud Pie. All the food here was very good. We’d go again for a special occasion.

 

The Birthday Girl

 

The Guy who supports me in everything I do and always shows me love. Thank you Dear!

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

Birthday Memories from Montebello!

Today is my birthday and I decided to go down memory lane and post some older photos and show you a little of my history.

 

First I’ll surround myself with things I enjoy. I do know how to pamper me 🙂

 

I think this is my seventh birthday because of the candles on the cake which would make this 1958.

 

This is our dining room at 4635 Oak Street in Montebello Gardens. We lived here till I was in 5th grade. My brother Fred, sister Vera, me, my cousin Jim and my sister Kathy who got cut off when I posted this (sorry Kathy)

 

This birthday was either 1960 or 1961 because there’s my little brother Steve in the high chair and he was born in December of 1959. This is the kitchen and my cousins around me are Tanya, Valia, Vera, Johnny, and you can barely see Walter. These next 4 photos were taken just last Sunday when we ended up driving through Montebello to go to a family function in Whittier.

While we lived on Oak Street in Montebello Gardens (Pico Rivera) my 3 older siblings and I would walk to the Montebello library to check out books. We’d head to Whittier Blvd. and have to cross this bridge over the Rio Hondo River to get to the library. It was approximately 2 miles each way.

The library was located at Montebello Park. This is the building the library was housed in where I spent many happy hours looking at all those books and trying to choose just 4. Now it’s a senior center.

We moved from Montebello Gardens across the river to Montebello when I was in 5th grade. This is our house at 305 Los Angeles Ave. When we lived here there wasn’t a second story and there wasn’t a chain link fence. Although a chain link fence would have come in handy after the twins (escape artists) were born…

 

This was my high school. Montebello High home of the Montebello Oilers. It’s totally fenced in now so they can have Lock-downs. How sad is that?! That’s a reality of our times. No fences in the 60’s!

 

The football field that I spent most Friday nights at during football season in high school. It’s under renovation.

 

In my junior and senior year I was a Song-leader and part of the cheer squad. I’m in the bottom row on the right.  Judy, my best friend from junior high and high school is next to me. Debbie next to her. The top row left to right is Kathy, Bet (yes we called her Bet), and Judy. You can see those same stands behind us. This photo was taken in fall of 1967. We’re seniors here and will all graduated in June of 1968.

These are the photos I had access to while I’m here at the condo in California. Tomorrow I fly to Seattle to see my kids and celebrate Easter with them. I’ll be there for a couple of weeks. I haven’t seen them face to face since January 1st so I’m really looking forward to my time with them.

This was taken last Easter in Edmonds overlooking Puget Sound at our good friends Dave and Jody’s. They started the tradition of eating  fish on Easter because that is what Jesus ate after his resurrection to show the Disciples He was alive.
~
Thanks for indulging me and I couldn’t resist the Beatles singing Happy Birthday to finish off this post. Thanks Myrna.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.

TT #25 ~ 13 Big Years in my 57!

 Friday March 14th is my 57th Birthday. For my TT this week I’m choosing 13 very memorable years in my 57!

1. 1951 ~ My birth year. I was born in East Los Angeles, California.

2. 1963 ~ At Hume Lake Christian Camps in King’s Canyon, California God called me to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and I started a new life following him.

3. 1968 ~ Graduated from Montebello High School in Montebello, California

4. 1972 ~ Went on my first date with Dear in October of this year.

5. 1973 ~ Graduated from Cal-State Los Angeles with a degree in Home Economics and an Elementary Teaching Certificate.

6. 1974 ~ Got married on December 6th to Dear and have celebrated 33 years of marriage so far. We were married on a Friday evening.

7. 1979 ~ Our first child was born in January. Josh is our firstborn weighing in at 10 pounds. Born on a Friday.

8. 1981 ~ Our second son was born also in January, also on a Friday. Dan was 8 pounds and 1-1/2 oz.

9. 1985 ~ Our third child was born on a Friday, too but not in January. Our first daughter (and last) Katie was born at the end of December even though her due date was in January also. She weighed in at 8 pounds and 12 oz.

10. 1988 ~ We moved from California to the state of Washington so Dear could go to Pharmacy School at the University of Washington.

11. 1996 ~ We gave our dream home and all of our equity back to the bank because of a major landslide on the slope behind our home.

12. 2001 ~ Our first born son was married to our beautiful daughter in law, Laura.

13. 2006 ~ Dear took a full-time job in Southern California and he and I find ourselves living in Southern California again but without our children close by. They are all still in Washington. Dan and Katie are taking care of our home while we’re in Southern California in our Condo.

I’ll leave you with this party image of me way back in the 50’s. I’ve always been one to love a good time…

 

For more TT click here.

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

Know and Tell Friday ~ March 7th

 

Here are the questions for this week’s Know and Tell from To Know Him.

Question 1
I have been blogging for a year this month, so my question is what made you start your blog?

As of March 3rd of this year my blog is one year old. I started my blog because my brother made me. I was emailing people all the same sort of stuff he thought would be great on a blog. He had a blog already that I was commenting on. I was apprehensive because I didn’t know if I could handle the technology. Baby steps and a year under my belt and a lot of what I was afraid of isn’t scary anymore. There is still a lot for me to learn.


Question 2
Do you speak another language? If so, why or how did you learn it? ~My first language was Russian. My parents are Russian immigrants and they came to the U.S. in 1947. I was born in 1951. I had 3 older siblings that paved the way for me to learn English. Sorry to say that my Russian is quite dismal. I can read it and I understand more than I can speak. I took Spanish in high school and really didn’t retain much of that language either. ~
~Question 3
Morning person, or night owl (or somewhere in between)? Nowadays I’m more of a morning person. Many nights I’m in bed by 9:00 P.M. and then wide awake at 5:00 A.M.
 ~
Question 4
Do you exercise on a regular basis?   I’m glad you asked this question now because I walk for at least an hour a day except for Sunday. This is my primary exercize. I’ve come to realize that at my age this is the only way to keep the numbers on the scale from creeping up…


Bonus Questions
Question 5
If money were not an object what is one thing you would like to do for another person?  ~ Take my children to Ireland and Great Britain and pay all their home and vacation expenses while we were away.
~
Question 6
What is one of your favorite attributes of our Lord God? ~God’s sovereignty is very important to me. He is the one that is in control and it’s not up to me. That really gives me peace and freedom when I screw up like I’m bound to do!
~
Question 7
Have you ever thought about adoption or foster care?Every time I’ve thought about either of these I have not  had a positive response to make the leap.
~

To see more Know and Tell answers click here.

Brown Plate Special ~ Week 4

I had to weigh in a day early because of my schedule tomorrow. I am happy to report that my weight remained the same. So to date I’ve lost 6 pounds total. I am feeling changes in my bulk this week even though I didn’t lose any more according to the scale. I’m very content with this eating style and activity level. You might wonder why I’m so excited about this new plan. I’m going to show you a little of what I ate this week and still managed to maintain my weight. Now the added steps in my day are really key here and not eating after 6:00 PM at night or in between meals is important toward my loss and maintenance. I’ve walked one hour a day besides my regular activity steps around the house.

 

I’d like to invite you back to my blog tomorrow because it’s my One Year bloggy birthday and I’m giving away a gift.

Happy Birthday Vera! Born on Leap Year Day in 1948 ~

My sister Vera was born on Leap Year Day in 1948. That means she’s 15 years old today. Well this is just the 15th time that her actual birthdate has occurred in her lifetime.

 

Vera is the one on the bottom row holding the cake. I’m next to her holding the skirt of my dress. My sister Kathy is in the top row between our cousins June and Nancy. My brother Fred is the the one in the overalls on the bottom row. My cousin Vera is next to me and my cousins Mike and Bill are in the top row as well.

 

This has to be Easter judging from the dresses and the white patent leather shoes. Vera, Kathy and Me.

 

This is Vera and me sometime in the 50’s. Fall or Winter judging from the black patent leather shoes! 🙂

 

This is a photo of the 4 of us sisters a year ago at another birthday celebration. Kathy, Lana, Vera and Ellen. We also have 4 brothers.

VERA! I hope your day is filled with love, joy and happiness. Looking forward to celebrate with you soon. Praying for God’s continued blessings in your life…

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 ~ February 25th

This week’s Fun Monday is easy, Mariposa is hosting and asking TWO things –

First (1) Please share with us how the NAME of your BLOG was made? I can’t wait to hear interesting funny stories!

This is a photo of my brother starting my blog. He’s sitting in front of his laptop excited that so far it’s all working. Now understand that I hadn’t started blogging yet so I still had a lot to learn about taking good pictures for posting.

When my brother told me he was going to start a blog for me I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle the technology. He convinced me everything would be ok. We then started brain storming about what I should name it. We came up with a few fun names but the way I came up with my keeper is…

a. I’m generally a very happy person.

b. I’m also someone who wonders about a lot of things and have a deep need to know.

So as we were discussing point a and b my husband came up with The Happy Wonderer.

As far as the purpose of my blog I chose “to Honor and Encourage”. I’m an encourager to people around me and I wanted that reflected in the relationships I’d develop on my blog. It is very important to me to Honor Jesus Christ who I consider to be my King.  I want my words and posts to be things that will encourage people and be something that won’t reflect poorly on my King. My blog was born on March 3, 2007 so I am very close to my first bloggy birthday!

(2) Please share with us (in words or photo, though a combination of both will be a bonus!) your favorite/ most common dish!

Oh boy, I love food! I also love to enjoy people around a table with good food. So what to show? I’m going with a favorite dinner, lunch and breakfast!

 

A typical dinner is some protein with a couple veggies items. This is a easy dinner that we enjoy. Some great bbq’d Rib Eye Steaks, sauteed mushrooms with caramelized onions, and a green salad with tomatoes and cucumber. Now to go with this my hubby will make me one of my favorite drinks, a Kensington Dream. It’s a drink he copied after watching a bartender in South Kensington (England) make it for me. Update: A few of you wondererd what is in this drink. There is brandy, creme de cassis, juice of half a lemon, amaretto, shaken together and then you top it off with champagne! They don’t call it a dream for nothing, cuz you’ll soon be dreamin after you drink it 🙂

 

For lunch I am always ready for Mexican Food with lots of good salsa and cilantro! This happens to be a meal at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in town, El Tecolote.  We are having an Open Tamale, chips, salsa, and guacamole.

 

Most mornings I have my high fiber cereal with a banana and large cup of black coffee. In the summer I add more fruit that is in season.

For more Fun Monday visit Mariposa who is hosting this week.

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.