All of these postcards are from 1909-1915 and were sent to Dear’s Great, great, Aunt Emma during those years.
A Happy Easter ~ May He who rose this Easter morn Descend in Love and keep and bless thee.
For more TT click here.
WFW ~ Mathew 6: 25-27
Mathew 6: 25-27 ~
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more imortant than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
For more Word Filled Wednesday head over to The 160 Acre Woods
Wildflowers in Winter ~ Week 8
Week 8 – March 5 – 12. The First Wildflower of Spring photo challenge.
Be searching for wildflowers in your area. Try to find the first one blooming and post a photo of it on your blog.
On our walks along the coast the most abundant wildflower we see is the Sea Fig. They come from the Carpetweed family. The yellow one is a Hottentot Fig and I think the more purple colored one is just called Sea Fig.
I’m hoping to get the names correct for this collage of flowers. I searched my Coastal Flowering Plants book but some were hard to identify. Here’s what I came up with from left to right. Purple Nightshade, Sea Rocket, more Sea Rocket, California Encelia (Bush Sunflower), Not sure maybe Wild Morning Glory?, more Bush Sunflower, Again not sure but think it’s Wild Morning Glory, Our Lord’s Candle (Yucca whipplei) Agave Family, Turkey Mullein Dove Weed.
An extra note on Our Lord’s Candle, the flower stalk is 4 to 8 feet tall. There is a basal rosette of spine-tipped, sword-like leaves 1 to 3 feet long. The white flowers sometimes purple-tinged, appear in a terminal compound cluster up to 4 feet long. They are very fragrant and even have a pleasant taste when nibbed. The fruit is a capsule.
Now since I am in California I really need to include some photos of our state wildflower the California Poppy!
These are all blooming at the same time here along the coast in Southern California so I included them all.
For more First Spring blooms head over to Elizabeth Joy’s.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.
ABC Wednesday ~ G is for…
G is for Gulls that we see in abundance on our Saturday walks at the beach in Ventura, California.
G is also for Anne of Green Gables that I just read for the first time. What a delightful book. I had seen productions of the series on Television. Here is a quote from the book.
“Marilla felt more embarrassed than ever. She had intended to teach Anne the childish classic, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” But she had, as I have told you, the glimmerings of a sense of humor – which is simply another name for a sense of the fitness of things; and it suddenly occurred to her that that simple little prayer, sacred to white-robed childhood lisping at motherly knees, was entirely unsuited to this freckled witch of a girl who knew and cared nothing about God’s love, since she had never had it translated to her through the medium of human love.
“You’re old enough to pray for yourself, Anne,” she said finally. “Just thank God for your blessings and ask Him humbly for the things you want.”
“Well, I’ll do my best,” promised Anne, burying her face in Marilla’s lap. “Gracious heavenly Father – that’s the way the ministers say it in church, so I suppose it’s all right in a private prayer, isn’t it?” she interjected, lifting her head for a moment.
Gracious heavenly Father, I thank Thee for the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters and Bonny and the Snow Queen. I’m really extremely grateful for them. And that’s all the blessings I can think of just now to thank Thee for. As for the things I want, they’re so numerous that it would take a great deal of time to name them all, so I will only mention the two most important. Please let me stay at Green Gables; and please let me be good-looking when I grow up. I remain,
Yours respectfully,
Anne Shirley.“There, did I do it all right?” she asked eagerly, getting up. “I could have made it much more flowery if I’d had a little more time to think it over.”
Now after all that you deserve one of these that begin with the letter G!
Make mine a Guinness Please…
For more ABC Wednesday click on over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.
My Blog is One Year Old March 3rd!
Update: The name drawn to receive the Butterfly necklace is Rosemary from Seasonings of the Heart! I’ll contact you. Thanks to everyone for your kind words and visiting my party!
Happy Birthday Happy Wonderer!
So I contemplated how we should celebrate the anniversary of that day.
Should I serve one of my Russian favorites that my mom bakes, Roolyet? Make sure you roll your tongue on the roo part of the word.
Or maybe I could serve this dessert I’ve made that is so simple and I’ll include the directions below.
But in the great Hobbit Birthday Tradition I decided I would give away a gift to celebrate. The winning of this gift is open to all my regular bloggy friends and bloggers who participate in the same weekly memes I do. All you have to do is to leave a comment and make sure you include a good email address so I can contact you if you win. If you’re a guy I’m sorry that this is so feminine but if you win maybe you could give it to your wife, mother, sister, or friend.
I thought this was appropriate for the hope of Spring and new life it brings.
So thanks for stopping by my party and take time to comment and enter the drawing. It’s been a fun year for me getting to know all about blogging. I appreciate the friendships I’ve developed and am grateful for y’all.
Blessings..
ellen b.
Easy directions for individual trifle like desserts…
Cook one larger package of Vanilla pudding (not instant) according to package directions then put plastic wrap right on the surface of the pudding and let it cool in the refrigerator. While the pudding is cooling wash and cut 1 large carton of fresh strawberries into bite size pieces. Put them into a bowl and sprinkle sugar on top of them to make them juicier and sweeter. After the pudding has gotten cold whip up 2 cups heavy whipping cream (I add 1/4 -1/2 tsp. pure almond extract to the cream). Save some of the whipping cream to top the desserts and fold in the rest of the whipped cream into the cold pudding. Now all you have to do is assemble the individual trifles. Put some of the strawberries in the bottom of a fun glass or glass bowl, then add some store bought pound cake torn into pieces or angel food cake torn into pieces, next put some of the pudding mixture then keep layering in this same order. Top with a dollop of whip cream and a strawberry. Simple and refreshing and yummy. (You could also make the layers in a Large Trifle bowl)
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.
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.
Lovella’s Walking Club Tally ~ Oh the Steps I Stepped!
My new Bloggy Walking Buddy Willow and I walked everyday this week. After our regular walk on Friday afternoon Dear and I had Willow and her husband over for dinner. When I took my pedometer off for bed it registered 14,176 steps. I had a busy Friday before our afternoon walk and the steps just added up. My average steps for the week were 12,089!
Here are some dinner photos and our Saturday Beach walk collage…
We had a nice evening. It’s always fun to find out all the things you have in common with people you’ve just met.
Willow and her husband. Willow is enjoying one of Dear’s famous Kensington Dreams. Here’s the recipe for you, Willow. In a shaker over ice cubes, combine juice of half a lemon, 1 oz. Brandy, 1 oz. Amaretto, 2 oz. Creme de Cassis, shake and strain into water goblet then add 4oz. of Champagne. Don’t drive after you drink one. 🙂
Our beach walk on Saturday morning. A misty moisty morning. We saw some new wonders today. Because of the high rough surf this week there were lots of piles of driftwood and boulders thrown up onto our path. There was a lot of seaweed washed up, too. We even got down onto the sand this Saturday to explore.
The birds above are Marbled godwits. They use their beaks to probe the sand. They migrate to California and Mexico in flocks in Autumn from Canada.
Have a wonderful Saturday everyone and keep on walking and enjoying God’s wonders.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage. I’m working on updating my blog posts very slowly.
Nadia’s Kulich ~ Russian Easter Bread
Happy March everyone and because Easter is just 22 days from today I wanted to post the recipe I promised for my mother’s Russian Easter Bread, Kulich. The big question is…will ellen b. finally attempt making it this year??? We’re off for our beach walk and had a very busy day yesterday so I hope to get around to blogs later and a post about my Friday.
I promised my mom’s recipe for Kulich. Now what you need to know about my mom and recipes is that she ends up tweaking them from year to year so this recipe is the last written down recipe for her Kulich from 2001.
Ingredients:
16 egg yolks
4 eggs
5 C. sugar
1 quart whipping cream
1 quart half and half
1 T. salt
5 cubes butter ( 2-1/2 cups )
1/2 C. oil
1 shot apricot brandy
6 teaspoons powdered vanilla
Zest of 2 lemons
8 pkgs rapid rise yeast
1 T. sugar
1 Cup water and 1 Cup milk
About 10 lbs of flour
Of course most of you will need to cut this recipe in half or quarters cuz this is enough for an army (my extended family)
Add yeast to the cup of water and cup of milk. Make sure the liquids are lukewarm. Let this mixture dissolve and sit. In the meantime beat the eggs, only use a stainless steel bowl. (because mom says it will work better that way). Now add the 1 T. of sugar into the yeast mixture and stir to dissolve.
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture and mix to combine. Mix the half and half with the whipping cream and heat until lukewarm. Add the half and half mixture to the eggs. Mix in the vanilla and brandy. Add the yeast mixture and the salt and beat with a mixer. Continue beating and add the lemon zest. Continue beating and add the flour about a cup at a time. Once you cannot beat the dough any longer, put the dough on a floured surface and start incorporating the flour by kneading the dough. The dough should be kneaded very well approximately 10 minutes. You should knead the dough until you can cut it with a knife and it is smooth without any holes. Place the dough in a stainless steel bowl. Take some oil and pour a little on the dough and spread it all over the dough. Make sure to turn the dough so it is coated evenly. Cover with plastic wrap right on the dough and a dish towel on top of that. Place in a warm place away from drafts to rise. (My sister usually puts it into the oven that has been warmed slightly.
It is now time to prepare the coffee cans (1 lb. and 2 lb. cans are the best) Cut circles the size of the bottom of the cans out of wax paper. You will need four circles per can. Make sure the cans are well greased. Put the 4 circles in the bottom of the cans.
Use a empty and clean coffee can like the one above. Take the label off. You’ll need to use a can opener to cut the lip off the can. I hope these pictures will make the process easier to understand.
Cut sheets of wax paper long enough to line the sides of the can and tall enough to be 2″ above the rim of the can. Use crisco to seal the ends of the paper.
Here’s a can with the bottom and sides lined with the wax paper.
When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it over. Let it rise a second time until it doubles in size. Punch it down again. You will take a portion of dough about 1/3 the size of the can. Knead it and form it into a smooth ball that you can easily drop into the can. Let the dough rise again inside the can until it is at least double in size. Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown on top. Let them cool slightly in the cans. Remove them from the cans and then cool completely on their sides. Cover them with a towel and turn them several times so they keep their shape.
To go with this bread my mom always makes a wonderful sweet cheese topping that is formed in a mold in different shapes. For my mom’s Sernaya Paska (cheese spread) recipe click here.
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.
Know & Tell Friday ~
Question 1
I can’t bear the sound of_________.
A smoke detector going off when there isn’t a fire. Ouch hurts the ears. We have one that goes off when the bathroom gets steamy. I also can’t bear the sound of someone being criticized without mercy and love.
Question 2
I would love to time-travel back to_________.
My husband says he’s really reluctant to go back to the age before the flush toilet. :0) But he doesn’t have a blog so I guess I better answer this one. I would like to go back and sit in on an Inklings evening at The Eagle and Child (Bird and the Baby). It would be fun to hear Lewis and Tolkien read from their works in progress.
My husband and daughter outside The Eagle and Child in Oxford, England.
Question 3
Shop alone, shop with mom, or shop with friends? If I’m doing serious shopping I prefer to be alone. A fun shopping day at Goodwill I like to share with my loved ones…
My sister Lana in the book section of one of our favorite Goodwill’s in Bellevue, Washington.
Question 4
Worst movie ever? Oh this is an easy one for me. Ishtar hands down is the worst movie ever. I think Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty were in it. From the 80’s. There have been many lousy movies but I don’t watch many to be able to judge them.
Question 5 (More of a poll)
Have you ever had your heart broken (by the opposite sex…not by a family member, or close friend)Oh yes, it was high school, when I thought I was in love, and I was dumped. Thank God from whom all blessings flow, that I was dumped….
Bonus Questions
Question 6
In what area of your life have you felt the most judged (by others or even self condemnation) My verbal communication skills have been a challenge for me. I do a lot better with writing my thoughts. So when I share deep thoughts or feelings verbally and it comes out wrong I feel the most vulnerable and judged.
Question 7
(relates to number 6) Are you now free from that judgment, and how did you get free if you are?
Over the years I have learned to let people know about my challenge verbally. This has helped them be more patient in letting me express myself more clearly.
What is one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or other ministers) this year? I think the most effective way I can bless my pastor and other ministers is to pray for them faithfully and let them know that I am praying for them.
~For more Know and Tell or to join in click here.
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.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 