Tag Archives: Family

Fridays Fave 5

It’s time for Fridays Fave 5 where we think about the last week and what some of our favorite things were. You can join in anytime by visiting Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

 

1. Last Saturday we hosted an Open House at our condo for family and friends. A time to eat, drink and be merry. It was a fun encouraging time being with these wonderful people…

2. On Sunday we had the most wonderful church service. It was encouraging and Jesus was lifted high and given the praise and honor He alone deserves.

3. Willow had a day off because of Veteran’s Day/(Remembrance Day in Canada) so we had a morning walk and chose a new route. It was fun to see new things. There were poinsettias growing on the side of the road and we saw lions and tigers and bears oh my! Oops! I mean horses and pigs and sheep oh my! We also saw deer again on another walk this week…

4. I always enjoy going to our regular spots to eat here in town. It was fun going to El Tecolote with Dear and just sitting and relaxing and debriefing with him.

5. I’ve enjoyed thinking and planning Thanksgiving weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve been at my home in Washington and I’m looking forward to spending some time there with my kids. This just might be in my fave fives next week too! :0)

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!

Tablescape Tuesday ~ Open House Buffet

Update: You can find the Pumpkin Praline Trifle recipe here. The Bavarian Apple Torte is here. I’ll be posting the Mount Rainier Chili recipe here.

We had a open house this past Saturday at our little condo in Southern California. There were 16 of us that enjoyed each others company and some food and drink.

 

I went with an autumn theme for the buffet table which triples as our dining table and my computer table every other day. It’s always funny when I plan events like this because I get a bit confused about what I have here at the condo and what is at my home in Washington. I always have to improvise because the majority of my stuff is in Washington. Mish Mosh works for me in these situations.

 

These are some of the food and drink we served. Our main course was Mount Rainier Chili that is made with white beans and chicken. We had a salad and lots of yummy bread from the Diamond Jewish Bakery on Fairfax in L.A. My BIL Nick and sister Vera always stop there on the way to our condo and load us up with Rye, Pumpernickle, and Challah. We had a cheese tray with fruit and salami, bruschetta, guacamole. Our desserts were a Pumpkin Praline Trifle and a Bavarian Apple Tart. I’ll be posting the recipes later this week. They are both great desserts. Most of the serving pieces are from thrift stores and target clearance. Instead of a punch bowl I’ve been using this great glass jug that I got at target for $12.95. It has a lid, too.

 

We were blessed with some great company at the open house. Friends from our past and new friends and family. I didn’t get a photo of everyone. My brother Tim and his wife Letty, my niece Michelle and her husband Ryan, My bloggy walking buddy Willow and her husband the Professor, and our old friends Ken and Heidi. My sister Vera and her husband Nick, my mom and dad, sister Kathy, and grand nephew Jackson didn’t get in any of the photos.

For more Tablescapes you can visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch on Tuesday.

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!

Fridays Fave 5

This hasn’t been one of my favorite weeks for sure because of Dear and I getting sick and being “In” all weekend and Monday. But that won’t stop me from finding 5 things that made my week, anyway!

1. Seeing this photo of all my kids together having fun with two of their cousins at the Japanese Gardens in Seattle.

 

Niece-Michelle, Daughter-Katie, Niece-Melissa, DIL-Laura, Son-Dan, Son-Josh

2. Cracking myself up creating these Turkey Cookies!

 

3. Meeting my niece Michelle and my Grand Nephew Jackson at the Pumpkin Patch!

4. Hearing that our 911 neighbor is moving out soon. Hopefully peace will be restored around here…

5. My last Fave is having a little Attitude Adjustment at the Beach on Thursday morning this week.

 

I’m throwing in a few more photos of my kids from the Japanese Gardens as a bonus for ME! :0)

My Boys (Men)

Josh and Laura!

My Niece Michelle (Jackson’s mom) and daughter Katie.

 

Thanks Michelle for letting me steal these photos of you all at the Garden!

For more Fave 5 visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage demanding a ransom that I can’t afford. So frustrating as I try to clean up my posts and delete their ugly squares of black and grey off my blog posts!

Friday’s Fave 5 ~

1. Breakfast at Julienne with some of my family on Saturday morning. I had poached eggs on a Parmesan crusted potato thingie (potato cake)  with guacamole and Pico de Gallo. Yummy!

2. A walk at dawn at the beach with Dear.

3. Seeing Photos and hearing about my kids and their cousins time at a cousin’s reunion they planned.

4. Walking most days with Willow and dropping a few of many pounds that need to come off! We saw 10 deer on Thursday that’s about how many more pounds I want to drop by U.S.A. Thanksgiving!

5. Having things quiet down with our loud neighbor who we suspect is on Meth… The photo shows the boyfriend’s clothes that she threw out from the railing above our garage when he walked out on her. I took a broom and moved them over to the front of her garage after I took this photo :0)

For more Fave Five or to join in click over to Susanne’s.

Photobucket is holding my photos hostage from 2007-2015 and replacing them with an ugly black and grey squares demanding money to release them, so frustrating.

Dawn at Emma Wood State Beach

Dear and I attended church on Saturday evening this week so on Sunday morning we headed to Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura for an early morning walk.

 

We saw the sunrise.

The waves were beautiful to see and to hear.

 

As we walked closer to Surfer’s Point we began to see Surfers trying to catch the best waves.

 

There’s nothing like an early morning walk on the beach to set your mind on things above and to cause you to praise God’s mighty name and his power in creating the world we enjoy.

 

We shared the beach with lots of birds, the gulls, the godwits, the sanderlings, and the herons. That’s Dear enjoying the waves. And here’s a collage of some of the birds we viewed on this lovely Sunday morning.

 

“There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country.  A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo.  Even a bicycle goes too fast.”
–   Paul Scott Mowrer

“The soverign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best.”
–   Thomas Jefferson

Hope you have a wonderful week.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site. All my photos that I stored and uploaded from that site are now big ugly black and grey boxes with a message to pay big bucks to get them restored to my blog. It will take me a long time to restore thousands of posts.

Friday’s Fave Five ~

 

1. The very best part of this last week was spending lots of time with my kids in Washington. Josh, our DIL Laura, Dan and Katie. We ate together and went to church together and worked together. Fun times.

2. While in Washington I got to go to my favorite shopping place with my sister Lana G. and I found 8 of those great tea cups and saucers you see in the top left of the collage. They are Churchill and made in England.

3. Again in Washington I got to see some beautiful fall color in Woodinville and on my 6 mile walk on the Burke Gilman Trail with my walking buddies, Jan and Jody.

4. Working in my yard in Washington. Mowing the grass and trimming some overgrown shrubs. Strange but true I enjoy mowing. It’s probably because of the before and after transformation that is so wonderful to see. That bush that has turned that shade of rusty red is my Blueberry Bush.

5. Getting back to my more quiet life in California and starting up the daily walking schedule with my bloggy friend Willow. We’ve been seeing the same 3 Mule deer on almost all of our walks. If you squint you can see one of the deer with those huge ears in the collage.

To see more Fave Five click over to Susanne’s at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site. All my photos that I stored and uploaded from that site are now big ugly black and grey boxes with a message to pay big bucks to get them restored to my blog. It will take me a long time to restore thousands of posts.

A Jaunt to Seattle

 

This is a blueberry bush in my yard in Washington. It is so vibrant with Fall colors this time of year. This photo is from my archives.

Dear and I are headed to Seattle for a long weekend. We have some work to do around the house and I get to go see my hairdresser.  My grey is calling her name…Sherri, Sherri…

It will be nice to see our kids and spend some time with them. Our son Dan is hunting in Colorado right now for Elk with his bow. We’ll see him when he gets back on Sunday.

Oh and we’re guaranteed not to be awakened by screaming, thumping noises coming from above. Dear and my bedroom suite in Seattle is on the 3rd floor of our home. Yippee!!  Yes, unfortunately the noise from above at our condo continues and we’ve had to call 911 twice this week!

One of the fun things about this trip is that we happen to be on the same flight to Seattle with Lana G! She’ll be in First Class instead of with us “behind the curtain” but her hubby will be able to pick us all up and deliver us home.

I’m wondering if my walking buddies are up for a walk on Saturday on the Burke Gilman? I’ll be there at 9:00 if you’ll be there at 9:00.

I never know how blogging will go on these quick trips. So if you don’t see me around you’ll understand why.

Michelle’s Birthday Party

My niece Michelle turned 30 this year and a celebration was in order so family and friends headed to Orange, California to Debbee’s townhome for a party. There was lots of great food including everyone’s favorite Piroshky. We had meat filled piroshky, potato filled piroshky and a cabbage filled pirog.

Here are some of the usual suspects.

The Parentals/Grandparents ~ Nadia and Moisi

Some of Michelle’s aunts and her mommy

Michelle and her auntie ellen b.

Michelle and her son Jackson

Nana and Jackson

Jackson making a serious point!

This photo turned out so tiny in the collage I wanted to add it here since it’s the only shot of Ryan I managed to get and I wanted M. Lou to see her son. So here’s Michelle and Ryan (Jackson’s Dad)  with cousins David and Kristin. I also realized that this is the only photo I took that has Michelle’s sister Melissa in it. There she is way back there behind Michelle.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

Fave Five for Friday

 

It’s time for Fave Five for Friday. If you want to play along visit Susanne at Living to tell the Story. Here are my favorites since last Friday.

1. Starting with Saturday I have two favorites. The first was a return to the beach with Dear for our early morning Saturday walks at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California. We were there at 6:30 A.M. and we saw a lot of birds…

 

2. After our walk we got ready to drive south for a family get-together to visit with my brother Leonard, his wife Mandy and their new daughter Hope. She’s 7 months old and they all live in Dallas so it’s a wonderful event when they come to Southern California for all of us to get our fix!

 

3. This made me laugh out loud on Monday when I listened to this You-Tube on Mighty Mom’s site. Click here and give a listen. It’s only about 23 seconds long…

No – I don’t think it’s for real but it still is so darn funny!!

4. Dear turned 55 on Tuesday and a highlight of the week was celebrating Him and celebrating with him at a nice Steak house close to us.

 

5. Today I’m headed to a planning meeting for our new year of Women’s Bible Study. This year I’ll be a table leader so I’m looking forward to the discipline and the friendships that I’ll form with the ladies at my table. We’re studying Grace.

For more Fave Five head over to Susanne’s and consider joining in. Blessings…