Blue Monday

This Vase was a gift to my husband when the company he worked for was purchased by another company and it ceased to be. It was a great company to work for and it was a “Blue” day for sure when this company was no more. It’s a Kosta Boda, designed by Anna Ehrner. It’s from her Atoll collection. Atolls are circular coral islands embracing lagoons in tropical seas. By candlelight, Anna Ehrner’s crystal look like shimmering little atolls. Atoll is a uniquely designed piece of traditional Swedish glass handicraft from the Smaland province.

 

I bought this little creamer last week at Goodwill for $2.95. I love blue and white on dishes and creamers are a weakness of mine. I especially enjoy these old time scenes on blue and white dishes.

For more Blue Monday visit Smiling Sally. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

Today’s Flowers #14

 

I saw these hibiscus flowers on one of my walks last week.

 

For more flowers from around the world visit Today’s Flowers hosted by Denise and Luiz.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

Crock Pot Dilly Beef Sandwiches

We are having an open house Saturday and are expecting about 20 people to come through so I’ll be away from the computer all day. I wanted to give you this easy recipe that would be great to make ahead for Sandwiches for a lazy Sunday afternoon after church or on Saturday while you watch College Football.  Enjoy! Now I’m off to the kitchen to make a Bavarian Apple Torte!

 

I saw this recipe on Boo Mama’s Souptacular deal and then couldn’t find the person who posted it so I googled Dill Pickle Beef Crockpot recipes and found this one to try. This is a very simple crockpot recipe and the beef comes out very tasty.

Ingredients: 4 lbs. Boneless Chuck Roast, 1-16oz. Jar whole Dill pickles -undrained, 1/2 Cup Chili Sauce, 2 cloves garlic minced, 10 hamburger buns split. If you don’t have anything else to use the chili sauce for just dump the whole bottle in.

Cut roast in half and place in slow cooker. Add pickles with juice and chili sauce and garlic. Cover and cook for 8-9 hours on low setting.

Discard Pickles, Remove Roast, Shred the beef and return to sauce in crockpot and heat through on the high setting. Use slotted spoon and fill each bun with about 1/2 cup meat. Bon Appetit.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

Thankful for Extended Family

***Please scroll down for Fridays Fave Five…

Thankful in November

I am thankful for family and friends that go back to Russia, escaping to Iran, and finally by God’s grace immigrating to the U.S.A. Our families used to be more connected when they all first arrived as immigrants to the USA after WWII and through the 70’s. After the first generation kids got married we drifted off from each other. We always enjoy getting together for big events and reconnecting.

 

 

This photo was taken in Iran in the late 1940’s after my parents and sister Kathy had left for the U.S.A. The two families represented here are the Shvetzov Family (my mother’s family) and the Katkov Family (my Uncle Paul’s wife’s family). My Maternal Grandmother and Grandfather are seated on the right. My Uncle Paul and his wife Nina are standing on the right. My cousin Alex is at my grandmother’s side. The rest of the family are all Katkov’s and their spouses. The little girl standing on the left is the lady in the collage below with the yellow mickey mouse hat on. :0) The gal with the red and white polka dot hat on is the little girl being held in the top row of the photo from Iran. She was 5 when her parents immigrated to the U.S.A. The three young girls in this photo from Iran are the only ones still living, Tamara, Vera, and Zena. My cousin Alex died almost 30 years ago in a car accident.

 

Dear and I traveled across L.A. to Mission Viejo for a Nifty Fifty birthday party for Tanya, my youngest cousin on my mother’s side of the family. My mother had one brother Paul Shvetzov and he married Nina Katkov. My uncle Paul and Aunt Nina had 4 children. We were able to spend a few hours reconnecting with my cousins Valia and Tanya and some of their Katkov cousins and aunts that we all grew up with. It was great to get together for a fun celebration because we’ve had our fair share of funerals in the last few years. One of our Shvetzov extended Kasimoff cousins was there too (Hi Helen). It’s confusing people and that’s why we called everyone our cousin and our aunt or uncle growing up!

 

Aunt Nura is the oldest surviving Katkov. All her siblings except for her two youngest sisters, Zena and Vera have all gone to be with the Lord. She’s not in the photo from Iran either because she married a U.S. soldier and came to the U.S. before this photo was taken, too. Top row is Tamara, the daughter of Nura’s brother Vasilli, (Tamara is the little girl in the photo from Iran being held by her mother Zena in the top row) Valia (my cousin) the daughter of Nura’s sister Nina, Michelle (Valia’s daughter) and Shirley (Nura’s youngest daughter). Shirley and I have some fun history together from our teen years.

 

This is my side of the family that attended the celebration photographed with the birthday girl Tanya in the middle in red.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

Fridays Fave Five

 

It’s that time again. Time to look back and remember some favorite things from this past week. The collage is not in order but here goes my 5.

1. On Saturday I woke up early to rain and thunder here in Southern California. When the sun was beginning to rise I stepped out of the condo and look what I saw. It was a fabulous sunrise and I’m thankful that I saw it.

2. On Sunday we drove South across L.A. to a Nifty Fifty Birthday party. On the way Dear and I stopped at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Woodland Hills to eat. I love that we have great Jewish Delicatessen’s here in Southern California.

3. It was fun to see old family and family friends. My cousin Tanya turned 50 and we attended a Birthday Dessert in her honor. The Families represented in the photo of the ladies have history together way back to Iran and Russia. It was great to talk and enjoy each other.

4. I popped into Goodwill this week (surprise, surprise) and I spotted this great blue and white creamer that was calling my name. I really like creamers and I like blue and white. This little pretty cost me $2.95.

5. I’m having an Fall Open House on Saturday. I decided to try a new dessert to serve. The recipe says to make it two days ahead so the flavors can moosh (they didn’t say moosh but you get the idea) I like how it turned out and I’ll post the recipe next week. There are lots of detail to type out. It’s a Pumpkin Praline Trifle. So if you live in Southern California you might want to pop on over on Saturday.

For more Fave Five’s visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

SkyWatch #17 ~ Santa Monica Mountains

 

These were the skies above the Santa Monica Mountains that I saw during a short hike last Friday. A storm was brewing and we were blessed with some great clouds in the skies above Southern California!

It’s not very often that we get interesting skies in Southern California so I’m throwing in the following collage of the skies from last week and the weekend.

 

For more SkyWatch from around the world click here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!

ABC’s of the Word ~ Psalm 16:5-8

Psalm 16:5-8 (ESV)

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie.
 

How you can tell you are in a Jewish Deli…

I have many posts speaking to important eternal things that I am thankful for. This does not fall into the eternal category but I’m very thankful never-the-less. I grew up in the Los Angeles Area. There is a large Jewish community in the Los Angeles Area and I grew to love the culture and the delicatessens. My high school also had a large Jewish population and some of my best friends were Jewish. When our little family moved to Washington State one of the first things that became quite evident was the lack of good Jewish delicatessens. Now that Dear and I are living in the greater Los Angeles Area we are enjoying good Pastrami on Rye Sandwiches again!

 

On our way to South Orange County on Sunday we stopped in Woodland Hills at Jerry’s Famous Deli on Ventura Blvd for a bite to eat. How can you tell you are in a Jewish Deli? Any menu that has a section called Nosh could be a clue. Then there is the overabundance of bagels in the food service area. Pastrami, Corned Beef, Lox and Bagels on the menu is another clue. A plate of dill pickles on the table instead of chips is a really good clue. Last but not least are the boxes and boxes of Matzos!