This past weekend we celebrated Addy’s 5th birthday on Saturday and my belated birthday on Sunday since our whole family was together. Addy loaned me her birthday crown for my celebration. She’s wearing her queenly outfit that her Granny bought her for her birthday. Her favorite color right now is yellow.
1. What’s something you never seem to have enough time for?
Being retired, I have a lot of time to do a lot of things. It’s a lie that convinces me I don’t have time. It’s an excuse. Getting my heart behind something I need to do is the struggle. The thing that is the biggest struggle for me is consistency with exercise. I should be getting my heart rate up everyday with a 30 minute cardio workout. That ‘not enough time’ excuse is really time I wasted away doing something else that isn’t as important.
I’ve done a simple exercise in the past to show just how much I can accomplish in 15-20 minutes time. Set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes and get after a task you have been putting off. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in that time. Do that once an hour for 8 hours in a day and you’ll really be impressed with your accomplishments.
2. If you could turn back time and relive just one day in your life, which day would you choose and why?
Truthfully I wouldn’t want to relive any day just as it was. I’d want to go back with what I know now and improve on the day by being totally there, relaxed, aware of what was going on around me, engaged and content.
3. Something you enjoy making that takes a long time to prepare/cook?
Blintzes or what some call crepes. First we make the blintzes and then we fill them, roll them with either savory or sweet fillings and bake them to enjoy, with a crowd.
You can see the process and recipe by clicking here.
4. A time recently where you needed/gave yourself a ‘time out’? How do you do that?
I give myself a ‘time out’ at least once a week. I choose a day that is event free and stay in my robe for most of the morning. When there isn’t a scheduled event in a day it is a most relaxing day for me even if I end up doing a project or two or three with no time limits or deadlines.
5. Something you’ve done recently that you’d describe as a ‘good time’?
This past weekend all of our kids were together and that’s always a good time. We ate together, partied together, went to church together, listened to each other commiserating with one another, laughed together, and prayed everyone back home safely.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Our dear granddaughter Addy turned 5 this past weekend and we celebrated her with a wonderful Tea Party that her mom put together.
Addy’s mommy made the cake and in the next photo you’ll see the teapot pinata she made with Addy getting the first blows in to try and break it open for all the treats that were inside!
We enter Addy’s 5th Birthday Tea Party. Addy requested a Tea Party Theme and her Mama delivered big time!
I’ll mention it now that this post has an extraordinary amount of photos.
The Birthday girl’s brother hiding under the gift table.
Auntie Katie arrived to help with the party preparations. She was in charge of the balloons for the photo op!
Aren’t these the cutest paper tea cups and saucers?!
Jamie baked and decorated this amazing cake with layers of different flavors. Addy’s favorite color right now is yellow and she wanted yellow and pink at the party.
This is the teapot piñata (/pɪnˈjɑːtə/) that Jamie constructed. It is filled with treats that will be released once it is broken with a stick or bat.
Peanut butter and jelly mini sandwiches, rolled tortilla cheese and lunchmeat bites, bagel bites, cucumber sandwich bites, egg salad sandwich bites.
I loved this idea of bacon, lettuce and tomato bites with small cut out slices of bread.
West Coast Chicken Salad Croissant sandwiches, veggie cups and fruit cups.
Look closely and you’ll see that the strawberries have pretzel tea cup handles on them!
The birthday girl and friends table.
First we had our savory course.
After savories it was time to break the piñata open. No blindfolds for this age group.
The break open moment caught by Laura with her phone!
Time for cake and sweets!
Dan made the macarons! The lemon macarons were incredible!
Have you seen this Safari book? The animals featured are in motion. Photicular.
I wish I would have gotten a photo of the three pretty dresses that Addy will be able to twirl in from Uncle Josh and Auntie Lolo. The musical jewelry box was also a hit.
After the party was over and most guests had left mom and dad remembered they forgot to give Addy the present they bought for her. So much going on…
She was happy to have a new bike that is a better size for her.
Happy 5th birthday Addy. Baba and Gramps love you and we thank our God that you are surrounded by family and friends who love you, too. You are a quick learner and eager to help. We are thankful for all your learning experiences at Homeschool and Homeschool Co-op, Awana, Children’s church, Piano lessons. We pray that God will continue to ‘bless you and keep you, be gracious to you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.’
A beautiful first day of Spring in our neck of the woods after the early morning fog burned off making the glorious blue skies visible. We had a full family weekend. Our west coast kids arrived on Friday night. Addy’s 5th birthday party was on Saturday. A wonderful Tea Party theme. On Sunday after church our kids put together a brunch to celebrate my birthday which was last Monday. Our west coast kids traveled back home on Sunday. I’ll be posting all about our times together as soon as the internets allow me to upload all the photos. Things are very slow going right now.
Our snow is almost gone. The clean up list is getting long. Happy Spring Everyone!
When we were in Spokane on Monday we picked up a couple bunches of daffodils at Trader Joe’s. We enjoyed them on our table on Tuesday night at an early St. Patrick’s day dinner. Photo fail again as I didn’t take a photo of the St. Patty’s Day table I set.
Daffodils are such a happy flower. They make me smile. Another thing that is making me smile is that the snow is melting and it’s such an easy walk to the garage now. Watching the birds is making us smile, too. Photos coming soon.
Speaking of smiling, today our kids are arriving for the weekend and we have a special 5 year old to celebrate so I will be scarce on the internet. Hope you all have a great weekend and you find something to make you smile.
On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!
Colossians 3:16-17
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
From Cathy:
Deuteronomy 5:10 NLT
“But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”
From Vera:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1. It’s March 15th and as the saying goes-“Beware the Ides of March”. Have you read or studied much Shakespeare? Do you have a favorite Shakespeare play? How do you feel about a Caesar salad?
I’m aware of that term. Haven’t read much or studied much of Shakespeare and don’t really have a favorite play. We all know about Romeo and Juliet, don’t we? In the early 70’s before Dear and I were married we attended a Shakespeare play in Stratford Upon Avon with our singing group. King John was the name of the play. We really weren’t impressed with the performances.
The ominous warning, “Beware the Ides of March,” originated with the Roman ruler, Julius Caesar, who was assassinated on the Ides of March – March 15, 44 B.C. If you’ve heard the ominous warning, then it’s most likely due to William Shakespeare and his play, Julius Caesar.
The warning itself was made famous in Shakespeare’s play on Julius Caesar, when an unidentified soothsayer tells Caesar, who is on his way to the Senate (and his death), “Beware the ides of March.” Caesar replies, “He is a dreamer; let us leave him. Pass.”
2. Have you ever been to Rome? If so what do you love about the city? If not, any desire to go?
Haven’t been to Rome. I have been to Italy once with Dear on a Business Trip to Milan. I’m sure there are places in Rome I would be impressed with and love but I do not have a desire to travel to Italy again.
3. What’s your favorite place to ‘roam’?
My, our favorite place to roam is anywhere in Great Britain. I’m a comfort traveler so I appreciate being able to communicate with the locals and for the most part understand what they are saying.
4. Do you like pizza? Thick or thin crust? Red sauce-white sauce-other? Your favorite toppings? How do you feel about pineapple on a pizza?
We do like pizza, thick or thin but mostly thick and usually read sauce. We enjoy sausage, bell pepper, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms. We do not do pineapple on pizza…ever.
5. ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’…tell us how this expression applies to something in your home-life-job currently (or recently)?
The latest ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ project at our country bungalow is a redo of our master shower stall. It’s taken weeks just to come up with a plan. It will take more weeks to first decide on the pan and then the tile. Right now the glass doors came off and we are living with a curtain. We do not plan to put glass doors on the finished product because of our well water deposits that are impossible to clean.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
This beautiful bouquet of flowers was on the porch on Monday from our oldest and his lovely bride. We returned home from celebrating an overnight in Spokane and Idaho for my 71st birthday. We enjoyed Indian food, 2 lamb dishes, jasmine rice and naan at India House in Post Falls on Sunday. We spent the night in Spokane Valley and on Monday, my birthday, we shopped at all the places we don’t have in Colville. On the way back home on Monday we stopped for Mexican at our favorite spot and Hector treated us well as usual with a very small bill left at our table.
Four more days until our oldest and only granddaughter turns 5. Celebration plans are afoot!
Addy and JJ are holding a bag of Brussels Sprouts. Our DIL told Addy she could pick any vegetable she wanted in the produce section of the store and her choice was Brussels Sprouts! Well done Mommy and Addy!
The first decade of my life was from 1951 until 1961. Born in East Los Angeles, moved to Montebello Gardens and then at the end of this first decade we moved up to Montebello. Warning up front that these decade posts will be a photo and information overload for many of you.
Somewhere in East Los Angeles possibly on Humphreys if my memory serves me right about the street name from our Pop. My sister Vera is telling me to shush. My brother Fred is not happy about me crying.
Yikes, I’m crying again. My little babushka is standing behind my mom. My parents good friend Zena Katkov next to her and my Uncle Paul holding my cousin Valia and then my Aunt Nina with my cousin Walter beside her. The lady sitting next to mom is a friend from San Francisco (Mrs. Hamzieff) with her son. Not sure who the lady is between her and my Aunt Nina.
These next photos are from our home in Montebello Gardens/Pico Rivera, California.
My sister Vera’s birthday party with many of our cousins on our Father’s side.
Camping in Big Bear, California with our maternal cousins.
The paternal side of our family.
Our cousin Johnny’s birthday on our Pop’s side of the family.
Maternal side of the family on Easter. Our Babushka with her grandchildren.
That’s a pigeon on my head.
Paternal cousins on another Easter.
Berry picking somewhere in southern California.
Paternal grandparents.
Our brother Tim was born and he usurped me of my title of being the youngest in our family.
My seventh birthday.
Cracking up at the way I lay my hands for photos.
I’m on the rug in front of my sister Vera, sister Kathy holding our new baby brother Tim and our brother Fred with the accordion. Love my goofy expression!
Easter 1958. We always got new clothes and shoes for Easter and Christmas.
Christmas 1958
Another photo from Christmas,1958. I’m on the left at seven years old. Our little brother Tim was 11 months old. There’s a reason I’m the only one who isn’t dressed in their Christmas clothes in this photo. I had some medical problems that I can only remember as some kind of kidney infection that I was hospitalized for. I ended up having to have a teacher come to our home for a couple months in the new year, (1959). By Valentine’s Day I still wasn’t back to school because I remember that my home school teacher brought me Valentine’s Day cards from my classmates.
Easter 1959
My birthday in 1961 and our last year in Montebello Gardens. Our next little brother, Steve is on the left barely in the photo. Cousin Vera and Johnnie on my Pop’s side of the family. Our cousin Valia, Tania and Walter on our Mom’s side of the family and my two little brothers, Tim and Steve and older brother Fred who is not quite visible.
My 5th grade photo. I sent this photo to Paul Kushnerov when he was in the service. His girlfriend at the time asked me to write him while he was serving our country in the 50’s. This little act inspired me to be more of an encourager with letters and cards. It was always a joy to receive something in the mail. Paul and Vera were married and would be our youth leaders for a time at Bethany Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Paul’s son shared this photo he found in amongst his parents keepsakes after Paul passed away a few years ago.
At the end of my first decade I was still in elementary school. We were living in Montebello and we walked to school crossing busy Whittier Blvd. There were six siblings and our parents living in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom home. In my next decade our family increased.
Because I skipped a grade (2nd or 3rd). I’ve always thought it was 2nd grade that I skipped but now with a little detective work I think it was third grade since I do not have a school photo for the third grade nor do I remember a teacher from the third grade. Now I’m also wondering a lot about 3rd grade. What is 3rd grade known for? 4th grade you have multiplication. From 4th grade on I was a year younger than most of my classmates.
In this first decade of my life my parents socialized mostly with our relatives or Russians who we went to church with. Both of the churches we were a part of had services in the Russian language. Our pop made friends that were non-Russian at work but not lifetime friends. Work is where he picked up most of his English. My mom became friends with an Italian lady who lived across the street named Lucille. Lucille gave me simple jobs around her home and paid me. She made the best Italian cookies. She would let me have some out of the oven, delicious! She baked them for weddings and I remember them iced green and pink and stacked on every surface of the house! When I cleaned the detached room that 2 of her sons lived in she said if I found any money under their beds I could keep it. I did find some! Maybe that was a way of getting me to clean thoroughly. My mom learned a lot of her English from Soap Operas. As the World Turns. Lucille helped her, too.
There was another friend across the street who had an Avocado tree in her backyard. We learned to really enjoy Avocado on toast in the 50’s long before the current trend.
We had a lot of Hispanic neighbors. Rosie was my next door neighbor who’s dog bit me on the mouth. Not a fan of Boxers to this day! Her mom seemed to have a pot of beans simmering on the stove most days I visited inside the home. It was an aroma I had never experienced. Rosie and her cousin betrayed our friendship one day by jumping me and beating me up and ripping my favorite blouse when we were walking to the store. Our friendship ended. Needless to say I didn’t smell beans simmering after that day until high school days with my very good and faithful Hispanic friends!
Speaking of being beat up there was a day that I angered someone at school who let everyone know they were going to beat me up when we got off the bus after school. There was more than one school bus stop in our neighborhood of ‘The Jardines’ and at the last minute I jumped off the bus at the stop before our stop and ran home avoiding the fight.
We would watch TV as a family. Shows like Art Linkletter, Micky Mouse Club, I remember Chucko the Birthday Clown (popular in L.A.) because I went on the show for Victor Katkov’s birthday party. I would like to have footage from that show. I ended up winning a prize on the show, too. Can’t remember what it was. Other L.A. based shows like Engineer Bill were popular, too. “On the green light you go, on the red light you stop because no engineer would ever run a red light” They used that to get kids to drink a glass of milk. Sheriff John was another popular show and here’s his birthday song!
We were able to go to Disneyland shortly after it opened. We also would get in our jammies and load up in the car to go to the Drive-in to see all the latest Disney releases. Bambie was sooo sad. I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the sad parts. Falling asleep in the car on the way home was a regular occurrence. Knott’s Berry Farm was another experience we enjoyed. If my memory serves me right the first time I ever ate in a restaurant was at Knott’s Berry Farm’s Chicken Dinner restaurant.
Many families that we knew had a story about one of their kids falling out of a car from leaning on the door or from the door opening going round a corner. No seat belts and no car seats in those days.
This post is an ‘all about me’ historical post and if you made it all the way to the end congratulations. Maybe my grandkids will enjoy reading about their Baba in the future when I’m not around to answer all the questions.
Happy Birthday to me and I thank the God who loves me and called me, Jesus who saved me from my sins and the Holy Spirit who indwells me, Three in One, that I have made it to my 7th decade 8th decade and to my 71st year. Thank you to Anneliese for noticing I’ve entered my 8th decade!!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 