Category Archives: Travel

Christmas Tour at Chateau Ste Michelle ~ 2007

A wonderful place to visit if you travel to the Seattle area is Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville. We enjoy the beautful grounds. The summer concerts on the lawn here are exceptional. Their wine has gotten lots of acclaim. We are part of their wine club and we get 2 bottles of wine 4 times a year. I enjoy going to pick up the wine especially at Christmas when everything is decorated so nicely. Enjoy my little tour….

 

 

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone. Hope you have some peaceful moments.

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.

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.

Josh in China ~

Our son Josh and his friend Jeremy are in China visiting good friends Todd, Christa, and their little girls Anna and Sarah. Hi y’all! They’ve been there a week already and will be returning home to Seattle early Wednesday morning.

They were out in a more remote area of China (Jianzha) and they got to meet some locals. This is a photo of them with a Tibetan Monk from the nearby Monastery. He invited them into his home and gave them some samplings of local food. Josh is the one in the hat.

They also didn’t stop their USA habit of eating some late night cereal with their new Chinese friend “Jack”. This photo is taken in the house that Todd and Christa are “house sitting”.

This photo was taken about a year and a half ago of Josh and his lovely wife Laura with friends Todd, Sarah, Christa and Anna. They are at the Great Wall of China for this photo. I’m including it because it’s the only one I could steal that has the whole family pictured.

Meet you in Seattle in a few days ~ Josh (and Laura)! See you on Thanksgiving at Dave and Jody’s ~  Jeremy (Deena, Talia & Martin)??

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Monarch Butterflies ~ Honeymoon Memories

I’d like to go back to the Butterfly Inn when the Monarch Butterflies are in full residence in this part of California. Dear and I stayed there during our honeymoon in December of 1974. Bottom two photos of this collage.

In all the world, no butterflies migrate like the Monarchs of North America. They travel much farther than all other tropical butterflies, up to three thousand miles. They are the only butterflies to make such a long, two way migration every year. Amazingly, they fly in masses to the same winter roosts, often to the exact same trees. Their migration is more the type we expect from birds or whales. However, unlike birds and whales, individuals only make the round-trip once. It is their children’s grandchildren that return south the following fall.

To read more about the Monarch butterflies in California click here.

 

This is the Butterfly Inn in Pacific Grove, California. When Dear and I stayed there in 1974 we had a little detached 1 room cabin to stay in. It’s been upgraded since then probably a few times but as you can see it’s still pretty low key and quaint.

I’m also inspired to try to get our honeymoon shots from their slide state (negative state) to a disc state!! Has anyone done that and do you have any tips for me???

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Blessed With Good Friends

Monday Evening November 5th…

The Table is set ~

 

The Candles are lit ~

Our dear friends Dave and Jody arrive from Washington for the night ~

 

We are truly blessed ~

 

For an extra treat here’s a great recipe from the Barefoot Contessa for Mustard-Roasted Potatoes ~

 

2-1/2 lbs. small red potatoes (I used gold), 2 Yellow onions, 3 Tblsps. good olive oil, 2 Tblsps. whole-grain mustard, 2 tsps. kosher salt, 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley ~

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the potatoes in halves or quarters, depending on their size, and place them on sheet pan. Remove the ends of the onions, peel them, and cut them in half. Slice them crosswise in 1/4 inch-thick slices to make half-rounds. Toss the onions and potatoes together on the sheet pan. Add the olive oil, mustard, 2tsp. salt, and the pepper and toss them together. (I mixed these ingredients all together before I tossed them with the potatoe/onion mix) Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the potatoes are lightly brown on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss the potatoes from time to time with metal spatula so they brown evenly.

Duhlicious (I spelled that wrong on purpose!)

Serve hot sprinkled with the chopped parsley and a little extra salt.

For dinner with Dave and Jody we had these Potatoes with Filet Mignon, Mushrooms and Onions sauteed with white wine and cream, and a Fiesta Salad.

For dessert we had Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut filled Brioche Bites.

And Dear mixed up a Kensington Dream for Jody and I.

Good Friends, good food, good conversation, good times….

And with all this fun I’m having you’ll understand why I’m a little slow in getting around blog world today to comment…

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

A Day with Friends…

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.  ~Elisabeth Foley

On Saturday Dear and I spent the day with our old friends Jim and Jeanie. Jim is my cousin and I was friends with Jeanie in college before they met. Jeanie and I both majored in Home Economics and we both became teachers. She’s still teaching in high school in the Fresno area.

When we were just married we lived in Huntington Beach and attended the same church. All of our children were born in the same years 1979, 1981 and 1985. Jim was a policeman in Huntington Beach but then left this work and started his own business building pools. We moved to Washington, they moved to Central California so now we see each other maybe one or two times a year. When we get together we can still catch up quick and relate and pray and laugh with each other. Oh and we eat too…I’m still stuffed.

There’s a great story behind this little booth that now sits at the entrance of the driveway to J & J’s house. When Jim was younger he worked at Hume Lake Christian Camps in a security position. He’d be in this booth stopping traffic into the camp conference grounds to make sure people knew where to go or be turned away because they had no business there. Hume Lake Christian Camp is located in the Sequoia’s. This booth went up in auction after it was replaced and Jim had the winning bid. Now he has a fun piece of his and Hume Lake’s history at his home.

 

These are some photos of their beautiful home that they had built on 4 acres of property they purchased. Jim is gifted in landscaping and of course he’d build a beautiful pool to have on his own property.

 

After lunch at their home we drove over to get a tour of Jim’s Pool Company. It’s located on the main drag through their town in a remodeled old home. He’s done a beautiful job with several partial pool designs on display and water features and water falls etc. It was a fun tour of Vineyard Pools in Clovis, California!

 

These are the photos of some of the pools, waterfalls, and water features…

 

Across the street from Vineyard Pools was Rossetti’s Biscotti and Fine Foods. We had to run across and do a little shopping. We bought some Triple Almond Biscotti to take home. We headed back to J & J’s house via Starbucks.

 

These are some of the cactus plants around the home that I had to get photos of and some roses.

These are in abundance.

We went out to dinner and headed back to Southern California very full of fellowship and food…

I have to share one more photo with y’all that I got such a kick out of on our way to J & J’s on Clovis Ave.

 

Have a wonderful joy filled week….

As of June 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos that I had stored there and are holding them hostage. Hopefully I can update my photos on all the posts they have ruined, over 4000 of them.

Thursday Thirteen #7 ~ Sites in Great Britain

Thirteen Places you should visit in Great Britain…

 

1. London    2. Oxford    3. Cambridge 

4. Cotswolds    5. Bath    6. York

7. The Lake District   8. Oban  9. Isle of Iona

10. Edinburgh  11. Castle Doune 12. Conwy, Wales

Our favorites in blue are places we’d go back to again. Castle Doune (N.W. of Edinburgh) is of Monty Python and the Holy Grail fame. They even give you coconut shells to clip clop as you tour the castle. Fun times…

13. And last but not least are Bed and Breakfasts. We’ve enjoyed most all that we’ve stayed in.

For more Thursday Thirteens click here.

Solvang, Santa Ynez Wineries and Los Olivos

 

What a lovely Saturday Dear and I had. We left the Condo just before 8 in the morning and headed North on Hwy 101 to Buelton then East to Solvang. Solvang is a small old world Danish town with shops, restaurants, bakeries, and museums. We did what you should do when you visit Solvang and had some Aebleskivers! The center picture in the collage above is of our Aebleskivers served with Rasberry syrup and powdered sugar. Yummy! They are cooked in a special pan to make them round. Their story is below. I hope you can read the fine print.

 

After we were done in Solvang we continued East to the first two wineries we decided to visit. Sunstone Winery was in a beautiful setting and the buildings were said to resemble a Provencal countryside. I’ve never been to that part of France so all I can tell you is that the setting is lovely and quaint.

This is Dear and I on the porch at Sunstone.

 

From Sunstone we continued a little farther east to our favorite winery of the 3 we visited, Gainey. The setting here was beautiful also with a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. Oh and if you ever do visit this one don’t miss the ladies restroom. Pretty impressive.

From Gainey we headed North on Refugio Road to Los Olivos. We were surprised to come upon their once a year Fall street fair! We saw wonderful classic cars, all kinds of wares, and Alpaca’s! The smells were wonderful with several BBQ’s going with the famous Santa Maria Tri-tip beef cooked to perfection. We ate at the Los Olivos Cafe & Wine Merchant. Then we headed South on Alamo Pintado Road to our last stop Rideau Vineyard which is housed in the refurbished country landmark known as the Alamo Pintado Adobe.  Originally built in 1884.

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.

Santa Ynez Trail ~ Saturday Day Trip…

 

Dear and I are heading North today to check out wine country north of Santa Barbara. Here are the wineries we’re going to try to visit. I hope to get some good photos along the way. We also have a great spot to stop for lunch in Los Olivos.

• Sunstone Winery – best picnic spot, Provencal setting
• Kalyra Winery – a touch of Australia in wine production
• Gainey Vineyards – beautiful setting, twenty-minute wine tour
• Buttonwood Farm Winery – small production winery, great Sauvignon Blanc
• Rideau Vineyard – historic tasting room, Creole touch, the gardens

Have a great Saturday and I’m posting a couple of fun quizes for Saturday. So scroll down and enjoy…