Tag Archives: Family

Counting Down to Saturday…

I love this view that we had on our early morning walk this past Saturday. The sky looks painted don’t you think? This coming Saturday I fly to Seattle and will be at our home there until the New Year. I’ll miss our early morning walks here in Southern California with Dear and with Willow. Dear will join me there over Thanksgiving and then have an extended vacation during Christmas in Seattle, too. I have projects to complete that require some extended time there for me. My countdown here includes projects that need to get done before I fly away on Saturday. On Tuesday I’m headed to my mom and dad’s for a meal with the girls in the family, sisters and nieces and a nephew or two. It will be hit and miss with me and the blog till I get my Seattle legs. In the meantime I’ll be praying for God’s blessings on my bloggy friends…

Where’s ellen b.? ~ She flew the coop!

Just wanted to share one last image of our first born Josh with his beautiful wife Laura at a good friend’s wedding this past Friday. Laura was in the wedding.

I stole it without asking right off of facebook!!

 

Family Tea with Mosaics…

Half the ladies in my family met for tea yesterday in Fullerton, California. We had the Senior member of our family(my 85 year old mom) and the youngest member of our family (my 1 month old Grand Niece) in attendance.

These are my sisters, my mom and our Grand Niece Avery.

The venue was the Spring Tea Garden in Fullerton, California. We were treated well during our time there.

Avery was born on September 17th…

Make sure and visit Mary at The Little Red House to see more of Mosaic Monday…

 

It’s in the 90’s and We’re Going to Tea!

The Sisters…

 

Southern California is having a weather event and we are HOT HOT HOT. Back in April my family planned a nice afternoon at the Rose Tree Cottage in Pasadena for my mother’s 85th birthday. It was a disappointing day for my mom because she fell on an uneven sidewalk when she arrived and had to spend the afternoon and evening at the hospital instead of having tea.

My mother giving us some words of wisdom at her birthday tea two years ago…

We decided it was high time to get together for tea again and thought we’d have some nice Fall weather for our get together. Well it’s Fall but we are having some summer weather. This time my mom, all my sisters, a SIL, nieces, and little grand niece are gathering in Fullerton. We’re praying for an accident free day!

“Such items, if properly prepared and portered, jingle and tinkle, twinkle and shine, as if to announce their approach, and all the cups and saucers, the silver spoons and the sugar bowl, the steaming hot water and the shining strainer, the teapot and the plate of delicate sandwiches – all seem to combine and say as one, “Let your worries cease for now; the world is aright again!” And in the welcome pouring of the tea and the delightful crunch of the cucumber and cress sandwiches, not to mention the promise of the coming cakes and the possible surprise of strawberries and cream to follow, all else is held at bay: the past is forgotten, the future does not exist, and all is peace. ”

Toad Triumphant ~ by William Horwood

William Horwood has written sequels to The Wind in the Willows called The Willows in Winter and the book this quote is from called Toad Triumphant.

 

Tablescape Thursday ~ Fall in Seattle

Last week I was at my home in the Seattle area and got so busy visiting with our kids and getting the house ready for fall I couldn’t participate in Tablescape Thursday even though this table was set  for a family meal with our kids. I’m sharing it this week now that I’m back in California with a little more time on my hands.

Visit the lovely Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to see more tables decked out for your enjoyment!

I forgot to take a photo of the family enjoying our meal at the table but it was really good. Our last BBQ of the season. We had steaks, fresh corn on the cob and zucchini also grilled and for dessert we had raspberry and apple pastry bites. Then we had a great time playing Beatles Rock Band.

We are so happy to be having some cooler temps since we arrived back in Southern California. It makes it feel more like Fall…

Friday’s Fave Five ~ PNW

Here are some favorites from the Pacific Northwest!

1. On Saturday I attended a bridal shower for my DIL’s good friend. Spending some time with my DIL and her mother was lovely.

2. Taking a roadtrip with my daughter to Canada was so much fun.

3. Stanley Park in Vancouver is a beautiful destination. It was great that it was cool enough to enjoy hot tea in the afternoon!

4. The Vancouver Aquarium was amazing. The incredible variety in God’s creation struck me over and over again as we walked from tank to tank.

5. Fall color washed with rain has been fabulous to see!

Finding dead rats in our attic was not a favorite!! Sorry I just had to add that since I can’t get it out of my head. Ugh! Double Ugh!! Maybe triple ugh!!!

Please visit the lovely Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join on in with your favorites from this past week!

 

Seattle!

We were very happy to make our flight at LAX for Seattle yesterday. We were the latest we’ve ever been for a flight and just made the 40 minute cut-off for checking a bag. Sheesh.

It’s good to be home but I made the mistake of walking into our son’s empty room this morning and I lost it. Even though he’s a 28 year old adult the realization that he’s left the nest hits this mom’s heart. The old world Russian upbringing I had never condoned kicking your kids out of the house at 18! They in fact would be pretty upset if a son or daughter left their house before they were married! :0)

We really couldn’t be happier that he has found a great vocation for himself and that he is being trained for it many miles away from home. When his training is complete he will be living about 6 hours away from us.

 

Friday’s Fave Five!

Time to look back over this last week and recall your favorites. Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in.

 

1. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and one of the “signs” of the season I enjoy are dew dripping spider webs. On an early morning walk at the beginning of the week Willow and I saw a lot of these webs. The weather here in Southern California has been very hot and we are also experiencing smoke and ash from a nearby fire. So it may be a while before we see any other signs of Fall around here. They are promising a cool down next Tuesday.

2. On Saturday our Washington Huskies Football team who were not rated because of their miserable season last year beat the #3 rated U.S.C. Trojans! What fun that was to watch. Boy was that a very good shocker!! Dear is a University of Washington alumni and our daughter is finishing her last quarter there this Fall.

3. On Monday I got to meet my newest little Grand Niece. I got to hold her, change her and rock her to sleep. Fun times…

4. It’s always a great treat to talk to my kids on the phone. Our daughter called this past week after she changed her first tire! (she’s 23) She also started the lawn mower and mowed the lawn for the first time in her life! We were very proud of her. I’m so grateful that my kids call regularly and let us know what’s going on in their lives.

5. As the heat seems to linger on and on here I am so grateful for our airconditioning. I thought our bill would be really high last month and it was only $14.57. They had given us several credits that we weren’t expecting and really don’t understand :0). There are advantages to owning a really small condo.

Later today Dear and I are flying to Seattle. We will be at our home there until Sunday October 4th. We are excited to see our kids and get caught up with some business there. As usual I won’t know how much I’ll be able to blog. My connections there are really slow and it takes so long to upload photos, etc.  If you don’t hear from me you will know why. I’m looking forward  to seeing some of this color and some of these people while I’m there. It might be a little early yet for the color but I’ll keep my eyes open…

 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend…

 

Friday’s Fave Five

It’s Friday and time for Friday’s Fave Five. Look back over this last week and choose 5 favorites in your week to share. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is our hostess for this event and has Mr. Linky ready for you to join in.

Here are my five or so since last Friday.

1. On Saturday we had a family potluck to celebrate my parents 66th wedding anniversary. We took the time to share things we remembered about my mom and pop growing up. It was a good time of affirming mom and pop remembering their acts of love for each other and for us.

2. On Sunday Dear and I spent a few hours at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It was a good time.

3. On Sunday night Dear and I began a 13 week course at our church called The Truth Project. Judging from the material and caliber of teaching from the first night we are really in for some growth and learning with this material.

4. I finished a project this week that gave me a lot of relief. My high school scrapbook was falling apart and I bought a new book to re-do the whole thing. It was good to get the project finished.

5. On September 17th we were blessed with the arrival of our latest family member. My niece Michelle gave birth to our little grand niece, Avery! We are so excited for Ryan, Michelle and Jackson on their new little family member. Congrats to the grandparents, too!

I’m adding a #6 not so important but fun for me…I’m enjoying watching some of my favorite reality t.v. shows. Top Chef, Project Runway, Biggest Loser, and now Survivor! Russell is so evil. I hope they figure that out soon.

I’m off to our first Women’s Bible Study session this a.m. bright and early because I’m a table leader. I’ll catch up with y’all later today. Have a great Friday!!

 

Blue Monday ~ Aunt Anna’s Stuff…

Last Thursday I popped in to see my mother and father. They live in a Senior Apartment complex and my Aunt Anna decided to move in a few doors down from them. Aunt Anna is my father’s only living sibling. When I was there Aunt Anna wanted me to come over and see some things she wanted to give away. Her granddaughters had no interest in these goodies. I gladly took a few things off her hands and let her know they would be used and appreciated.

This is a Blue Danube tablecloth with 12 napkins to match. I recognized the pattern right away since I have a few Blue Danube pieces including the teapot pictured.

She had a few things that my paternal grandmother had made and I was happy to nab this. I was also happy she had this photo of my grandparents to give me.

These were all from my Aunt, too. She made the apron. I really enjoy the old fashioned cut glass pitcher and glasses to match.

It’s always fun for a Thrift Store Junkie to shop for free!

Thank you to Smiling Sally for hosting Blue Monday. Please click over to join in the Blue Monday Fun!

Happy 66th Anniversary Mom and Pop!

Tomorrow is my parent’s 66th Wedding Anniversary. We are gathering today for a dinner celebration. Our family is so fortunate and blessed to have both our parents still living and still enjoying married life together. We thank God for them and for the heritage God has given us because of their love for God and their love for each other.