…nine years ago today? I will never forget.
Short Week Favorites…
When the ole girl parties downtown on Thursday night her Friday post comes late to the table! Never-the-less the party must go on…
Thank you to Susanne for reminding us to take a look back and see the favorites that came our way since last Friday.
1. My number one favorite was spending Dear’s birthday with our son Josh in downtown Seattle. We met Josh at a Park n Ride and then drove together to Seattle. We had dinner at the Wild Ginger Restaurant and then headed to Qwest field for the Seattle Sounders F.C. game against Real Salt Lake. It was fun spending the evening with our first-born. On Saturday we are going to have a family birthday celebration with Josh, Laura, and Katie.
It’s truly a blessing from God for me to be married to this man!
2. I got 2 new books in the mail this week. So for my #2 favorite I wanted to share my friend Sandy Coughlin’s new book with you. Sandy is a blogger at the Reluctant Entertainer and she’s had a book published about simple and gracious hospitality. It is well written with great ideas on entertaining that won’t break your budget. There are lots of recipes in the book, too. This would make a creative Bridal Shower gift! I ordered my copy from Amazon but you can click over to her blog and order it there, too. She’ll also sign a copy if you order it from her. You won’t be disappointed with the reluctant entertainer – every woman’s guide to simple and gracious hospitality
3. Speaking of books, I also ordered the new book in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series by Susan Wittig Albert, The Tale of Oat Cake Crag. I really enjoy these mysteries surrounding Hill Top Farm. I’m looking forward to reading this new book.
4. I bought some granola that was good for you but didn’t taste good to me so I came up with a cookie recipe using it. It’s fabulous in the cookies. I’ll share the recipe later this month on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. I’m calling them Granola Chews.
5. And last but not least I’m still savoring and remembering with contentment and joy my 3 days in Canada with these Mennonite Girls that cook!
So what have you been up to and what are some of your favorites?
Have a great weekend and NEVER FORGET!
Comfort & Comfort Food
After our Harrison Lake Cruise and BBQ at Bev’s we headed to Marg’s for dessert and the comfort of a massage. Yet again we had 3 desserts which were each delicious.
Marg really knows how to make someone relax and have fun. The sign at her home is appropriate…
The following morning we all met at Minter Gardens for brunch and a stroll. I’ll show those photos on another day.
Our last evening together we had dinner at Julie’s clubhouse. She served us one of my all-time favorite comfort foods borsch. She even made it like my mom makes it with just a few subtle differences.
You can find my mom’s recipe for borsch here.
Julie set a beautiful table for us and before the evening was over she left us with a beautiful devotion to remember. I want to add to the thoughts Julie spoke and share these verses.
James 1:16-18 (New Living Translation)
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession
I drove off into this sunset headed back to the U.S.A. My welcome home at the border crossing was a random computer generated search of my car!
Harrison Lake Cruise!
The day improved to perfection for our cruise on Harrison Lake. Bev and her husband have the perfect boat for cruising with a crowd on the lake.
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a grateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Nine passengers set sail that day
For a two hour tour, a two hour tour
Oh no! Where’s Julie? It took me a while on the boat to notice she was missing from the boat tour…
The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost.
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Bev and Ellen
The Skipper too,
Lovella, Betty, Char
Kathy and Marg…the Social Queens
with Judy and Anneliese,
Here on Gilligans Isle.
No phone, no lights no motor cars,
Not a single luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
As primative as can be.
So join us here each week my friends,
You’re sure to get a smile,
From ten stranded castaways,
Here on “Gilligan’s Isle.”
Thanks for bearing with me in using the good ole Gilligan Island theme song in describing our trip. We were never stranded or in danger and were even treated to wonderful snack on board the “minnow” that Kathy and Marg put together for us. Cheese, fruit, crackers and refreshing drinks were served on board. Another memorable experience with the Mennonite Girls!
My Home Away From Home ~
Three of us girls at the MGCC summit were from out of town and we were graciously hosted by Kathy and Bev. Bev was my hostess and her home was my home away from home. We arrived to her house late on Tuesday in the rain and darkness so I really wasn’t sure of my surroundings. When I woke up on Wednesday morning this beautiful view greeted me.
Bev and her husband are in the middle of renovations on their home of 35 years. They have a wonderful piece of property.
On Wednesday evening after our cruise on Harrison Lake (photos to follow soon) we had a wonderful barbecue meal at Bev’s house.
Bev had also created a lovely place card for each of us with a personal Bible verse written on the inside. We sensed a confirmation from the Holy Spirit that the verses were meant to affirm each of us personally.
My verse was Proverbs 3: 3-4 ~ Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man.
We started our meal with a yummy shrimp cocktail. Then we enjoyed some barbecued pork loin, baby zucchini, roasted potatoes with carmelized onions and corn on the cob. Bev’s helpful husband barbecued the meat and the zucchini and made sure our glasses never went dry. I just have to interject here that all the Mennonite Girls husbands really contributed to making our time together memorable by helping out with babysitting, dish washing, photo taking and letting each of us take time away from our normal responsibilities at home. And they did it with joy!! The Mennonite Girls Can Cook have fabulous husbands!!
Bev kept talking about Mt. Cheam and whether or not the clouds or mist would clear enough for me to see it. On my last morning at Bev’s I think it showed up. Is this Mt. Cheam Bev?
A Taggin We Will Go…
Thom was tagged and then he tagged 8 of us with a contest attached. I had till Wednesday to post and people had to guess how many of the 8 of us would post. It’s been ages since I’ve participated in a Tag so I decided to go with it. Thank you Thom!
1. Why did you start blogging? I started reading blogs and enjoyed them and I was sending out emails to family members regularly so my brother decided a blog would be a good platform for me. He brought his computer to a family gathering and made me start a blog. I’m glad he did because I’ve met some of the greatest friends blogging.
2. If you could travel anywhere in the world with no restriction of costs, where would it be and why? Great Britain and Ireland. I’d take my time going to every part of these great places. Since money is not a restriction I’d hire a sight seeing Chauffer to drive us wherever we would want to go. And why…I love the history, authors, and old architecture in this part of the world.
3. Did you have a teacher in school that had a great influence on your life? If so, what? I had a few great teachers that influenced my life in a positive way. The thing that is similar about them is that they believed in me and enjoyed having me in their classrooms. (I have plenty that thought I was a pain in the neck!)
4. If you could spend the day with a famous person, who would it be, and what would you do? It would be fun to spend a day choosing a menu, going to a local market to buy the ingredients, preparing the food, and eating it with The Naked Chef Jamie Oliver in London.
5. Toilet paper – over or under? Definitely over.
6. Name one thing in your life that you would do over if possible. I would love to delete some former boyfriends out of my life and memory :0)
7. Tell about your pets – if any. We don’t do pets at my house.
8. Do you live in a small town or a large town. (You don’t have to name the town.) Smaller then Seattle but larger then a bread basket.
Brunch at Judy’s
After a full day on Tuesday and a good rest we came together again for a beautiful brunch at Judy’s Front Porch.
Another beautiful table setting greeted us.
I just love it when bloggers get together for an event. You see serious camera action happening everywhere!
Judy is a great hostess with a calm easy style.
The food was all so good. Besides the savories she shared 3 wonderful sweets with us, too.
CHEERS!
The view from Judy’s back porch was quite spectacular.
Dinner and Desserts…
Yes I said desserts, plural, as in more then one! These Mennonite Girls know how to treat you.
Anneliese set a beautiful table with a place card that had a special verse chosen for each of us. This was our first dinner together and Anneliese served us some great chicken in a tasty vegetable sauce, rice and salads.
Every Day I will praise you…Psalm 145:2
Sweet Anneliese!
It was a dark and rainy day so my photos are dark. The dreary rain didn’t dampen our spirits or our time together.
Desserts were a bread pudding with a lovely orange anglaise and flan!
After our two desserts Julie gifted us each with these trivets/potholders with each of our names on it.
There will be more posts of our time together in the Fraser Valley of Canada because I want the time documented here on my blog.
Today is Labor Day here in the U.S.A. and Canada so I hope you are all having a restful day enjoying a day off from work.
Blue from Canada~
I spent 3 wonderful days with 9 other girls from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog last week in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. These mosaics are just a little glimpse of our time together.
We spent a few hours at Minter Gardens.
The 3 of us girls from “out of town” were hosted by Bev and Kathy. This was my room at Bev’s home.
We were treated to a wonderful boat cruise on Harrison Lake by Bev’s husband. It really was the perfect day to be out on the water.
Thank you Sally at Smiling Sally for hosting Blue Monday.
The Farm Markets Welcomed Us…
We have two farm markets that advertise on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog and it was so much fun for the 10 of us to overwhelm them on Tuesday afternoon. We were treated to special greetings and great tours. I wish they were close enough to me so I could shop there regularly.
We started off at Neufeld Farms where we were greeted warmly with this great sign that an employee made.
There were so many things I would have loved to buy here if I only lived closer.
At Lepp Farm Market we found another willing employee to take on all our cameras for a photo shoot!
We were treated to a great tour that showed us all the wonderful local products that you could buy and enjoy.
Bev bought these baby blossoming zucchinis for us to enjoy at a BBQ at her home on Wednesday Evening.
It was so fun to hear that this great store started as a little corner corn stand!
Oh and our first day in British Columbia it rained all day long with no let up at all! After shlepping about in the rain we headed to Anneliese’s house for our first dinner together. Post coming shortly.
