The Best of January Hodgepodge

1. Can you believe it’s the end of January? What was the best day of January 2017 for you, and why?

January had so many good days. Days in California by the Pacific Ocean, a family wedding, a baby shower for our sweet little granddaughter arriving in the Spring, time with my dear old Pop and sisters. Three birthdays in our immediate family. Three birthdays in our extended family. My time in California ended with a memorial service where I was able to spend time with several old friends from friendships that began in my youth and in the 70’s. January was filled to the brim with good relational events so it is very hard to choose one day in particular.

2. What sounds make up the background noise in your life?

Interesting question. I have the choice as to what the background noises are in my life if I turn those noises on like the stereo or the T.V. If those noises aren’t on at this old house the noises that we hear are street noises predominately cars and trucks traveling on a busy street nearby or crows. We have a murder of crows around this old house every day. I’m happy to say that mostly I allow good affirming noises to settle in my brain and not the negative.

3. I read on the Power of Positivity website a list of ten things to drop from your life right now. They are-

anger outbursts, people who put you down, regret, negative self talk, being a people pleaser, the notion you need to be perfect, the past (but keep the lessons learned!), gossip and judgment, comparing yourself to others, and the word hate (focus on what you love instead). Which thing on the list do you most need to drop? Are you trying or will you try?

I will ask for help from God to continue to drop gossip and judgement and I will focus on what I love and keep this next verse from the Bible in my memory bank.

Philippians 4:8 (NASB)

⁸Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

4. What is sacred to you?

The life I have because of what Jesus did for me on the cross is the most sacred thing.

5. January is National Oatmeal month. Are you a fan, and if so how do you like it?

I really enjoy Oatmeal cooked in water with some salt and then topped with raisins, walnuts, brown sugar and milk.

6. What feelings does twilight stir up in you?

The feelings that twilight stir up in me are rest, refreshment and relaxation.

7. Something you’re looking forward to next month?

Looking forward to heading east across the Cascade Mountain range and beyond to attend our kids open house and baby shower. We will have the chance to paint the nursery and meet and enjoy Dan and Jamie’s friends and family in their new home.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I hope February is a brighter and more positive month on social media. I am weary of all the angry noise.

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

February is starting very chilly here in the Seattle area. Our thermometer outside is below 20 degrees. I’m headed to the Navy Exchange with our daughter this morning. Hope your February is starting well.

D is for Dale Chihuly

“I want People to be overwhelmed with light and color in a way they have never experienced.”~ Dale Chihuly

Chihuly Garden and Glass is located in the shadow of the Space Needle at the Seattle Center. On Friday the 27th of January I picked up my sister Vera from the airport and we headed straight to the Seattle Center to enjoy the art of Dale Chihuly. This was something my sister wanted to see.

The Glasshouse, a 40-foot tall glass and steel structure, was inspired by Chihuly’s appreciation for conservatories and includes a 100-foot long sculpture.

There are several rooms with themes and Chandeliers was one of them.

Ikebana and Float Boat. Dale Chihuly has always loved the water. As a child in Tacoma, Washington, he would beach-comb to find Japanese fishing floats.

The Mille Fiori from the Italian for a “thousand flowers,” this unique series is comprised of a variety of works.

The Persian Ceiling, an immersive experience in color and shape.

The Sealife room.

Linking up to ABC Wednesday for D is for Dale Chihuly. Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and the great team of ABC’ers.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

While we were enjoying the art of Dale Chihuly my Dear was home smoking a couple Pork Shoulders for our Carnitas Street Taco dinner on Friday night. We invited our Western Washington kids over to enjoy the meal and to visit with their Aunt Vera. We added guacamole, pico de gallo, beans and other goodies to our meal. D is also for a delicious dinner and for Dear who is a great chef!

Keep the Old ~ Monday Mosaics

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver the other gold. A week ago Monday I was able to attend the memorial service for my long time friend Heidi’s mother in Tustin, California. We had a message in Russian and a message in English. Heidi’s son, son-in-law, and brother gave eulogies and remembrances of their grandmother and mother. My brother-in-law led us in singing familiar hymns and the singing was robust with organ accompaniment.

The service was held at the same church that Ken and Heidi were married in back in 1978. I was her matron of honor. Heidi and I have been the best of friends since 1969. We spent countless hours in each others homes and around each of our sets of parents and siblings. Heidi lived in Dear and my home during her engagement to Ken.

The photo on the top of the mosaic is of me, George (Heidi’s brother), and Heidi. The lower photos are of Dear’s brother and sister-in-law and friends of ours from our Christian Rock band years.

Me and two of my sisters with our dear old Pop. Our extended family and Heidi’s family attended the same Russian Baptist church growing up.

Two of my sisters with a cousin and cousins by marriage.

My cousin Jim with my pop, Jim’s uncle. Can you see some resemblance? Jim’s father was one of my father’s older brothers. Me and my bestie from college days, Jeanie, who married my cousin Jim.

Heidi and I had many adventures together from 1969 and on. We traveled the East Coast of the U.S. in 1970 and traveled to England with our rock band more than once. Our kids were born in alternate years, our Josh in 1979, their Nikki in 1980, our Dan in 1981 and their Nathan in 1982. We added one more with Katie in 1985.

Our kids enjoyed their times together when they were little. We moved to Washington State in 1988 and then our visits were few and far between and the times we get together now are for events like weddings, baby showers, or funerals.

After the memorial service two of my sisters and I spent late afternoon and early evening with Ken and Heidi in their home with their kids and grandsons. So many good memories shared. It was so encouraging to see the relational dynamic within their growing family and get to know Nikki’s and Nathan’s spouses better. We loved those kids as little ones and really enjoy them now as adults. I wish I would have thought to take a photo during our time. Our hearts are with you as you miss the presence of your mother, grandmother and Gigi here on earth.

Linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

Send the Light ~ Hymn

Send the Light

There’s a call comes ringing over the restless wave,
“Send the light! Send the light!”
There are souls to rescue there are souls to save,
Send the light! Send the light!

Refrain

Send the light, the blessèd Gospel light;
Let it shine from shore to shore!
Send the light, the blessèd Gospel light;
Let it shine forevermore!

We have heard the Macedonian call today,
“Send the light! Send the light!”
And a golden offering at the cross we lay,
Send the light! Send the light!

Refrain

Let us pray that grace may everywhere abound,
“Send the light! Send the light!”
And a Christlike spirit everywhere be found,
Send the light! Send the light!

Refrain

Let us not grow weary in the work of love,
“Send the light! Send the light!”
Let us gather jewels for a crown above,
Send the light! Send the light!

Refrain

Words by Chas. H. Gabriel

More Sister Time…

My sister Vera is in Seattle with us right now. I’ll be sharing more about our time, soon.

We’re off on another adventure. Hope you are seizing the day!

Mother Theresa on Abortion~ My Five

Friday January 27th is the Right to Life March 2017 in Washington D.C. The theme is The Power of One. I’m one blogger who wants to bring attention to the march. I’m sharing this quote from Mother Theresa and four more thoughts.

“But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child – a direct killing of the innocent child – murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love – that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. ”
~ Mother Theresa

2. Today as a woman I cannot stay silent on this issue. I agree wholeheartedly with Mother Theresa! My choice is to speak up now and stop sticking my head in the sand on this issue.

3. I have heard from dear women who were lied to about the need to abort their babies and have suffered deeply because of it.

4. This act is not a good choice for women. For many it’s a hard choice, very hard, but it’s not a good choice. It will not bring peace to the situation. It will haunt you forever. Give your dear baby up for adoption over abortion. This choice will go well for you.

5. Dear one, If you have already aborted a baby in your past please know that God loves you and offers forgiveness and peace to you, too. This peace comes through what Jesus did for us on the cross. He died for all our failings and poor judgement and offers peace with God through forgiveness of our sins. Choose this life with God through his dear son Jesus Christ and enjoy his peace and love and joy.

So thankful that these and many more were not aborted but were allowed to be born and thrive albeit with struggles and challenges along the way.

Linking up for Five on Friday with Amy at Love Made My Home and Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

The Getty

When Dear and I arrived in Southern California and drove north to Oxnard from the Long Beach airport I took this photo of the Getty museum on the hill close to the Wilshire area of West Los Angeles. Little did I know I would enjoy the museum with our oldest kids, my sister, sister in law and grand niece.

On Tuesday night Josh and Laura asked if I wanted to go along with them to the Getty on Wednesday. My sister Vera had taken the day off so it worked out for all four of us to travel north from Orange County together.

My sister in law, Kelly, nannies her granddaughter Ellie and they joined us at the museum.

As one of my facebook friends said, Josh and Laura make the Getty look good.

Ellie really took to her cousin once removed.

I really enjoyed this painting so I took some close-ups of the bottom and top of the painting.

This painting will be familiar to many. Irises by Vincent van Gogh.

Josh and Ellie enjoying more masterpieces.

One of a few Monet’s at the museum.

Supreme carving skills in this portrait were amazing.

There is so much to enjoy at The Getty so I would encourage multiple trips. Here are links to my other trips to The Getty.

Outdoor

Ruby at the Museum

Blue- The Getty

We enjoyed a meal at a cafe on the grounds with so many great choices. Entrance to the museum is free and you only have to pay to park. J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), was an art collector and businessman who used his fortune to create an institution dedicated to the diffusion of cultural knowledge.

By the Sea Hodgepodge

1. “The cure for anything is salt water-tears, sweat, or the sea.” (Isak Dinesan) Would you agree? Of the three, which has ‘cured’ you most recently?

I know I enjoy a walk along the seashore and find it refreshing and exhilarating. In the last 12 days I’ve enjoyed several days at the beach. A beach house rental, a beach side wedding, a walk on the pier at Huntington Beach, breakfast on the beach at the Beachcomber in Crystal Cove. I marveled at the waves, the ebb and flow, the tides, the power of the sea. Most of all I was in awe of our God who keeps all of this under control.

2. What’s something you can’t eat without salt? Do you normally salt your food a lot, a little, or not at all?

I do not like oatmeal when it’s not salted in the cooking process. I enjoy salt to enhance the taste of most anything. I really enjoy salted sunflower seeds. When I was in the first or second grade I was hospitalized because of a kidney infection. My salt intake was totally restricted and I had to drink several glasses of water a day. A Sunday tradition in my family was to stop by a street vendor who sold sunflower seeds across the street from our church. They sold the seeds in small brown paper sacks. Plain, salted, and pumpkin seeds, too. We made a mess as a family enjoying those seeds on a Sunday afternoon. It was torture for me when I couldn’t enjoy those seeds on the Sundays during my infection.

3. Sands of time, bury your head in the sand, built on sand, or draw a line in the sand…which sandy phrase could best be applied to something in your life right now?

I can typically be a bury your head in the sand person but lately I’m ready to draw a line in the sand especially when it comes to being politically correct. The major thing that I will not stay silent on is the killing of unborn babies. This is not a good thing for women and I think too many are haunted by this act that they have been deceived about.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

4. A favorite book, movie, or song with an island setting or theme?

I asked Dear for his answer to this question and he came up with Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’dell. Since we were just on the California Coast with views of the Channel Islands where the setting of this book might have been. I’ll give this question and answer to Dear.

A story of survival, based upon the true story of a girl who was left upon an island near the coast of Southern California. She lived there for 18 years, alone. While she waited for rescue, she kept herself alive by building shelter, finding food, and fighting her enemies–the wild dogs.

5. Yesterday-did you run your day or did it run you? How so?

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Another timely question. I’m answering these questions on Tuesday so yesterday was Monday the 23rd of January. I was totally in the hands of others for the run of my day. It was my last full day in Southern California and I was staying with my sister in Huntington Beach. I attended a memorial service for a good friend’s mother and then spent the rest of the day and evening with this friend and her family and two of my sisters. We had a meal together and spent time reminiscing about our families and the times we had with each other.

This is me with the children of Mrs. Kaluzny. Heidi has been a dear friend since 1969 and her younger brother George was dear to me, too.

6. You’re on an island holiday. Will I most likely find you parked in a beach chair, shopping in town, on the back of a jet ski, or snorkeling off the back of a catamaran?

My island holiday would be in Washington State instead of the tropics so I might be kayaking or rowing and also finding good restaurants and shops to enjoy.

7. What do you think we humans most take for granted?

I think we take tomorrow for granted. We don’t know if we’ll be here tomorrow or what tomorrow holds. We also don’t know if our loved ones will be here tomorrow. We need to seize the day and be present in the day and know who holds our future in His hands and trust Him.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It’s so good to spend time with friends and family but it’s always good to come home again to get my bearings. Eleven days in beds that are not my own make me really appreciate my own home and bed and space. I hope to be making long overdue visits to your blogs now that my feedly is working again.

Thank you to Joyce for asking the questions. Click over to From This Side of the Pond to see more answers or join in.

Back Again…

Dear and I arrived in Los Angeles and hit the L.A. freeways to our old stomping grounds in Camarillo. The rain that California has been enjoying has greened up the hills. Traffic is same old same old. The freeway trip up the 405 and on to the 101 (Ventura Freeway) went well and we got through Thousand Oaks and started the descent into Camarillo.

A couple of our favorite restaurants were closed since we lived in Camarillo from 2006-2010. One of our favorites was still open so we stopped in for lunch. We recognized a few wait staff that were still working there. We stopped at Establos Market (another favorite from years past) and bought some fresh made salsa and guacamole to enjoy at our beach house rental. After enjoying the weekend festivities that we flew to California for and after we checked out of the beach house on Monday and before we headed south into Los Angeles again we met up with Willow from Willow’s Cottage.

These are Willows photos of our time together. She gifted us some of her hand knit items for our little Addy. It was so good to catch up with my walking buddy from our Camarillo days. Thank you Willow for the beautiful gifts and the time we had to catch up on life.

I am finally home again after being away since January 13th. It feels so good to be in my own home with Dear. I still have so much to share from my time in California.

Beach Days Oxnard

Our family rented a beach house in Oxnard, California to be in closer proximity to a wedding and baby shower we would be attending in Goleta, and Santa Clarita, California. All four couples had their own room and we had 3 bathrooms to make it easy to get ready for our events. We also had a full kitchen.

The house was a short block to the beach. Dear and I arrived before our kids so we took a walk to the beach to get our first look at Pacific waves in a long time.

On this evening a couple of the Channel Islands were visible on the horizon.

The sunset was beautiful with nice views from the upper decks of the house. This was Friday evening. On Saturday we were busy getting ready for and helping at the wedding venue so there was no time for a beach visit.

On Sunday morning we pulled together a breakfast for all of us and for my brother’s family who were staying close by. After breakfast and before we got ready for the Baby shower for Addy we all walked to the beach and enjoyed some fun in the sun. Some braver souls took a plunge in the cold winter Pacific waters.

My brother and his family left the beach house to head to the airport flying back to Dallas and the rest of us got ready and headed east for Addy’s baby shower that the women enjoyed and the guys headed to a shotgun range. Fun times for all.

We all checked out of our beach house on Monday the 16th and headed in different directions. Four of our kids flew home on Monday Dear flew home on Tuesday and I stayed on at my sister’s in Huntington Beach. Josh and Laura stayed most of the week and flew home on Friday braving the rain soaked freeway to Los Angeles International Airport.

I’ve been able to enjoy two more glorious days at two different beaches and a day at the Getty Museum while I’ve been in southern California. When I get back to the Seattle area on Tuesday I’ll finish posting about my days here. The rain has been persistent here especially on Friday and today. Streets have turned into rivers. There have been several flash flood warnings in the Los Angeles Basin especially in areas that suffered fires recently.

This collage shows some mild images compared to what we’ve seen since. Looking forward to catching up with your blog posts when I get back to my own space up north! Blessings.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

The Best of January Hodgepodge

D is for Dale Chihuly

Keep the Old ~ Monday Mosaics

Send the Light ~ Hymn

Send the Light

More Sister Time…

Mother Theresa on Abortion~ My Five

The Getty

By the Sea Hodgepodge

Back Again…

Beach Days Oxnard