FFF ~ Long Weekends…

The U.S. A. is headed into their long Independence Day Weekend and Canada is in full swing of their Canada Day celebrations. Happy Canada Day to all my friends across the line. Enjoy your camping and grilling! I’ll post more about the 4th of July on Monday.

Now the time is right to look back on the past week and list my favorites to join in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five.

1. Spending a day away with Dear this past Saturday.

2. Spending Sunday with Josh and Laura enjoying brunch, the Sounder’s game, and dinner out.

3. Changing some things around in the Living room for a fresh look.

4. With all my shows in re-runs or off the air, I’ve been enjoying reading in the evening. I’ve finished a couple of books this week and am in the middle of two others.

5. My collage up top shows some of my plants in containers on the deck that are finally starting to show their colors. I’m looking forward to getting the patio furniture down and out on the patio this weekend. Can’t believe the weather has not been good enough to do it sooner.

We are having a 4th of July get together with friends on Monday. Dear will be smoking a Boston Butt for pulled pork sandwiches. My company will be contributing dishes. We haven’t decided on everything we’ll serve yet but coleslaw and baked beans will be part of the menu for sure. My red, white and blue decor is out and our flags will be flying.

What are your plans for the long weekend?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ Summer?

Friday already and time to look back for a week and think about blessings in your life. Thank you Susanne for the reminder to think on good things.

1. I’ve had the chance to enjoy summer vicariously in seeing photos like these my niece in California shared. Our daughter Katie is visiting my family and enjoying summer where the sun is shining more consistently than our area. The pictures would be bigger if I was there but remember this is a vicarious little experience with the sun and beach and summer…

2. On the same vein…I’m thankful our daughter has been able to spend time with my mother and father while she’s been in California. The girls went to my mom’s for brunch yesterday and my parents were so happy to feed them and enjoy their company. They all spent Father’s Day together around a meal, too.

3. I am enjoying all the birds and their songs early in the morning. I was happy to see my little hummingbird friends return just outside the window where I sit at my computer…

4. SOUNDERS! Last night I was at the Seattle Sounders game against the New York Red Bulls. What a great game it was. We went up by 2 goals and N.Y. tied up the game with 2 goals and we finally won with two more goals by Roger Levesque. Did I lose you? The final score was Seattle 4 ~ N.Y. 2! A happy night at the stadium.

5. Last Friday night Dear and I picked up a couple of long time family friends of ours who happened to be in Seattle to embark on a cruise to Alaska. We went to one of our favorite restaurants and enjoyed a rare for this year sunny evening. These gals are my brother in laws sisters and we grew up in the same Russian community in the Los Angeles area. After they married, Laura and her husband settled in Canada and Ruth and her husband settled in Michigan. It was good to see them and enjoy a good meal together.

I think I can speak for the majority of us here in the Great Northwest and say that we are really looking forward to more nights like these around here….

What were the highlights of your week? Are you experiencing summer yet in your neck of the woods?

Tomorrow Dear and I are headed out on a little adventure. I enjoy planning these little day trips. Hope you have a good weekend…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ Lilacs and Peonies and Dogwood Oh My!

Last year we planted a lilac bush, a peony, and a Dogwood. We enjoyed one branch that bloomed this year on the lilac. The dogwood did bloom some pretty bright pink blooms. We are still waiting for the peony to bloom again this year. In the meantime I bought a bunch of peonies at Costco to enjoy.

Here are my 5 favorites from this past week.

1. My lilacs and the wonderful scent we enjoyed for a few days.

2. Seeing my dogwood blooms out my kitchen window.

3. Knowing we have finally found a church home and it’s only 3 miles away from our home. The closest we’ve ever been to our home church. It’s taken us a full year to find the right spot for us. We will go to a membership class in September.

4. I’m reading my third book in the last couple weeks. I read Shades of Earl Grey by Laura Childs. I read the first book in The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall. Both of these books were very enjoyable. Now I’m reading the latest In the Company of Others by Jan Karon. I really enjoy Jan Karon’s writing…

5. I sent our new cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, to 3 of Dear’s aunts and to a dear old friend of mine that befriended me in college through a Baptist scholarship that I received from her church. What a dear she’s been to me over the years. She wrote to me and sent care packages while I was away from home in college. We’ve kept track of each other over these last 40 years. She is in her 80’s now, widowed and still a Sunday School teacher at her church. She called me this week after receiving the cookbook to thank me and to chat. Sweet times.

I got notes from Dear’s aunts also thanking me for their books and letting me know what recipes they would be trying first. His aunts are in their 70’s and 80’s.

This weekend I get to go on a walk with a dear friend and we are going to celebrate Father’s day this Sunday instead of next.

Thank you Susanne for hosting Friday’s Fave Five, a time to reflect on good things in our lives.

FFF ~ I’m Hungry!

It’s time again to think about our favorites from this last week. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is our hostess for this weekly event.

I cannot tell a lie but I can hardly wait till Friday afternoon when I can finally eat again. I’m having one of those procedures Friday morning that most of us dread so I’ve had to fast all day on Thursday and drink all that stuff they give you to get your innerds ready for them to poke around in. Ugh! Anyways seems the only favorites I can come up with all revolve around food.

1. Top of the list this week is meeting our dear friends on Tuesday for Happy Hour together. We ordered lots of great 1/2 price appetizers and enjoyed each other over food and drink. Good times.

2. Lunch with my daughter Katie on our way to start a registry for her and Andrew at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

3. Dinner with Dear and Katie after we got back from D.C. at our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town.

4. Making breakfast Sunday after church for us all. The classic eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon with toast.

5. Going to a birthday/house warming party for a young friend and seeing lots of old friends we haven’t seen for quite a while. The food was good, too.

I’ll be gone very early Friday morning and don’t know when I’ll be back or how loopy I’ll be but I’ll try to get around after Dear takes me out to dinner on Friday night. How pathetic am I?

Oh and while I’m on the subject of food my recipe for this dish is on The Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog today.

FFF ~ Blossoming…

It’s time to find blessings to share from this past week and then join in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five!

This week is a sort of calm before the storm week for me. I’m getting random things done in anticipation of our B.C. ~ D.C. days coming up. Here are my favorites…

1. While sitting at my computer making my lists and getting things taken care of that need taking care of I see this bright spot in the distance in one of my neighbor’s yards.

2. Walking from the house to the garage to get last minute things for our daughters trip to Florida so she can spend a week with her husband before he leaves on his deployment we stop and enjoy the apple blossoms that are finally coming out in all their glory.

3. While trying to kill off the several hundred dandelions that are appearing with a vengeance in our yard I notice the hope of these blossoms on my azalea bush. Spring really is here…kind of.

4. While mowing the lawn and having to duck when I mow under the pear tree I thank God for these beautiful pear blossoms and the promise we have of pears appearing in the future.

5. While leaving my house in my car that is paid for with gas in the tank I thank God and then smile at my neighbor’s pansies. Pansies always make me smile and I’ve enjoyed them ever since I was little growing up in a low income area of Los Angeles.

Tomorrow Dear and I are headed to Canada to get together with all the Mennonite Girls Can Cook for a cookbook celebration party at Lovella’s. It will be fun to be together again and for our husbands to be there, too. I’ll be sharing more next week…

After Friday morning I don’t know when I’ll be on the computer again so have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!

FFF ~ The Royal Treatment!

Since Friday is the big day my Friday’s Fave Five are all about the Royal Wedding! I know some people are yawning or even mocking the event but I choose to embrace it with hopes and prayers that things will go differently for this young couple and that their marriage will last as long as Queen Elizabeth’s reign. She’s been around a long time people! Make sure and bop over to Susanne’s at Living to Tell the Story to join in the fun of Friday’s Fave Five.

Because you would have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out my five I’ll spell them out for you before you scroll down. 1. Queen Mary Tearoom 2. Tea 3. Rings 4. Pasty 5. Royal Weddings

On Wednesday after booking Katie and Andrew’s wedding venue we decided to have tea at the Queen Mary Tea Room to get in the mood for the upcoming wedding of William and Kate.

The Tea Room is getting ready for the big event and is hosting a viewing party from 1:00 A.M. till 4:00 A.M. They have a special Royal Romance Tea for the occasion and a signature bubbly.

Katie wore her Princess Di ring. Well it’s not really a Princess Di ring but it is very similar and it’s fun to see Princess Di’s ring on Kate Middleton’s finger. Our Katie got her ring several years ago passed down from her Aunt Lana.

We enjoyed Cornish Pasties with salad and a very lovely carrot ginger soup with coconut.

Of course there were souvenirs that you could purchase commemorating the Royal event.

I was tempted to get this mug to commemorate my Royal event this year!

I hope your week was a calm one instead of one filled with panic!

Are you going to watch Prince William and Kate’s wedding? We just gathered up a few of our British souvenirs and set them out for the wedding day. We even included the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Beanie Baby is the Princess Di Bear called Princess.

FFF ~ Sisters and Friends…

Time to look back and pick favorites from the past week. Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in. Last Friday I missed FFF because my sisters and I were on a getaway to the beautiful city of Victoria on Vancouver Island in Canada. My favorites this week are all about that weekend trip.

Walking, Talking, Eating, and Sight Seeing were 4 of my 5 favorites. My last favorite was getting to meet a wonderful bloggy friend who lives on the island. Pondside met up with us at our Bed and Breakfast Inn and gave us a wonderful tour of her city. I’ll post more about our Pondside tour in a later post. This last photo is of Pondside and me at Hatley Castle.

This wonderful meeting fulfills #44 of my 60 Things to do in my 60th year! Thanks for being part of my 60th year celebration Pondside. I appreciate you!

Looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to this week and what blessings have come your way…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with these blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

Time to choose our favorites from this past week and to link up at Susanne’s Living to Tell the Story to share them with our friends in bloggy world.

March has proved to be a month of wonderful experiences at our house. While we were in Seattle enjoying and celebrating my 60th birthday with our sons and daughter in law, our daughter Katie and Andrew were in North Carolina with our blessing on their plans to be married! This was going to be a secret until their wedding next winter but yesterday they decided to go public! I’m so happy to be able to share this and not keep it a secret for a year! So my #1 favorite for this week is …

1. …the announcement that we have a new son Lance Corporal Andrew and that our daughter Katie has changed her last name. We are still planning an official wedding with my brother who is a pastor officiating and our family, Andrew’s family, and friends witnessing their vows and covenant promise to each other.

These are their temporary rings which will be replaced at their wedding.

2. Katie and I have spent a lot of time together this week at the different government agencies that need her new information. We have made sure to enjoy nice lunches together after spending lots of time in waiting rooms people watching.

3. On Saturday Dear and I spent a day in Snohomish eating and shopping and buying a new piece of furniture that was delivered on Sunday.

4. Josh and Laura came over for brunch on Sunday and we enjoyed their company. Waffles, ham, and strawberries were on the menu.

5. Finding out our cookbook Mennonite Girls Can Cook is now available on Amazon for pre-order! It’s due for release on May 1st!

Our household is thankful for all God’s goodness to us. My cup continues to overflow.

What were your favorites this past week.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Birthday Week Favorites!

What a week it’s been and there are so many favorites we’ll see if I can keep it to 5. Click on the pretty tulips to join in the fun with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

This week was my birthday week and I turned 60 on Monday March 14th. I was surprised, honored, and loved to overflowing and I’ll never forget the wonderful events of this past 7 days!

1. My husband and kids surprised me with a visit from our son Dan to help celebrate my birthday. We hadn’t seen Dan since Christmas and I had no idea he worked out some extra time off to be able to travel across the mountains to join in the fun. I was SHOCKED in a good way when he walked into the kitchen at Josh and Laura’s house on Sunday morning!

2. Dinner with the Mennonite Girls and their husbands at Chuckanut Manor in Bow, Washington. This was the first time all our husbands met and what a great time we all had!

3. A surprise limousine ride to dinner with Josh, Laura, Dan and Dear on my birthday!

4. The third surprise was our dinner menus personalized for my special day.

5. All the wonderful cards, gifts, phone calls, e-cards, and tributes on blogs that I read including my 3 year old niece singing Happy Birthday to me all the way through by herself over the phone. Some cards made me cry but this card just made me laugh! Thanks Leonard and Mandy and Hope.

All of you who ever have used your pedometers should be laughing right now!

6. Yes, I’m going over but this was also opening season week for Major League Soccer with the Seattle Sounders and L.A. Galaxy and we had our first game the day after my birthday and the day after my flagpole was installed and my flags were waving proudly!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who made this week so special for me. I am so grateful for new friends, old friends, family, bloggy friends I have never met in person. Thank you for your kindness and encouragement to me. God bless you all richly!

FFF ~ Finally!

It’s time once again to look back over the last week and come up with 5 favorites to share. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is the hostess for this event each week.

Finally someone is selling a Chocolate Chip Ice Cream that is as good as I remember the Chocolate Chip scoop I’d get at 31 Flavors growing up.

The key to the great flavor I was missing must be the semi-sweet chocolate. Thank you Private Selection for taking me back to the good ole days of stopping in at 31 flavors and being able to choose 2 scoops.

2. These new place card holders that I’m looking forward to filling in names for a meal soon.

3. New shoes for Zumba! These shoes should make the moves easier on my knees. The great thing is that I get to try them at a Zumba class and if they aren’t good I can take them back. See the round pivot point on the bottom. Should be good for twisting and turning.

4. Time spent with my daughter Katie this week.

5. March is one of my favorite months and I’m happy that March 2011 is here. March favorites include MLS soccer season starting up, my birthday, the start of the season of lent, beginning of Spring, and daffodils. If I was in Southern California I’d add fresh strawberries from the local strawberry stands to the list!

What were your favorites this week?

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Friday’s Fave Five