Tag Archives: Friday’s Fave Five

FFF~ The Birthday Weekend…

…that didn’t end!

Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in the fun!

My five favorites for this Friday are all about Family, Food, Fun, Flowers, and Flying Geese!

 

Our weekend and week was filled with so much flavor and wonderful experiences. So here are some stand outs.

1. Our weekend away in La Conner, Washington where we saw so much beauty. I was blown away with the experience of seeing thousands of Snow Geese in flight.

2. All of our indoor experiences from the lovely Inn we stayed in with a tasty 2 course breakfast and the restaurants we ate at for lunch and dinner. We were not disappointed in anything we ordered and ate.

3. The birthday dinner my son and his wife prepared for us on Sunday night and our meal together on St. Patrick’s Day.

4. Cleaning and organizing the basement. I feel so good about that task being complete that I’ve been offering tours of the basement! :0)

5. Going to our favorite Mexican restaurant and being greeted by the owner. He asked us if we were just visiting from California. When we told him we were back in Washington state to stay he brought us a round of drinks on the house to celebrate!

 

And now that my birthday week is drawing to a close it’s time for E.L.E.M. (Eat Less, Exercise More!) That’s my plan and I hope to stick to it. Hope to get around to see all the FFF’s this week. As soon as the frost burns off I’ll be mowing the lawn…

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FFF ~ Home Sweet Home

Time for Friday’s Fave 5 hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. So what are your favorites from the past 7 days?

 

1. Being back in my home and going to sleep here and waking up here and walking in my yard have been great. I love the quiet of our house and not having someone living above me. The only things that makes noise above me are the rain or the crows on the roof. The street noise is different here. I love all the windows I have to look out of and seeing trees and greenery instead of cars parked. I’m a happy camper! That yellow bush is in my yard and the name escapes me but it is so bright!

2. Last Saturday Dear and I went to Mt. Vernon to see the daffodils. In a couple weeks I’ll try to go back to see the tulips. It was a fun morning trip with breakfast in town. We also saw trumpeter swans which I had never seen before.

3. Later in the day I went to the Japanese Gardens with my sister Lana G! We had a fun time. It’s great to be so close to each other when we are both in Washington. I’ll share more photos from the Gardens next week.

4. Yakima Fruit Market and Nursery! This market is closed in the winter so we always know Spring is around the corner when it opens. It opened the first week of March and I had to make a quick stop because I thought they’d have fresh brussel sprouts and they didn’t disappoint. Dear and I really enjoy them!

5. Thursday afternoon my son Josh picked me up and then we picked Dear up downtown to have a bite to eat together before the Sounders Soccer game against the Portland Timbers that evening. This was a friendly game and not a league game. Unfortunately we lost the game 1-0. Even though it was raining we managed to stay dry. I really enjoy Soccer and I have a season ticket for the Sounders.

So what were your favorites this week?

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FFF ~ The Kind That Grow On You…

So I’m chiming in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story with my favorites from the past week!

 

My week started out with a 3 day road trip that included beautiful scenery, fabulous places to sleep, and lots of good food to eat! Next week I’ll have to tell you my favorite diet to take off all the pounds I’ve accumulated with joy.

So here’s my five in a nutshell…

1. Beautiful scenery and stops on our roadtrip.

2. Amazing food that I wouldn’t even try to duplicate.

3. A lovely hotel and fabulous Inn that we stayed in on our road trip.

 

 

4. Meeting up with a bloggy friend on our road trip.

 

5. The welcome home we received from our children and being with our children in our home in Washington.

 

And the most amazing thing that I’m still not used to is the fact that I get to stay home in my house in Washington.

I’m mowing the lawn today so if I don’t see you early I’ll be getting around to see your favorites after a good dose of Ibuprofen later in the day! Blessings on your weekend!

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FFF ~ Lots of Good News!

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is the hostess of this great weekly carnival that encourages us to look back over the last week and list our 5 favorites.

 

There was lots of good news coming to us this week via the telephone and email.

1. Our dear little niece, Miss Hope, turned 2 on Monday. She called me (well her dad actually called me) on Monday to thank me for our present and card and to fill me in on the highlights of her party. She said “Expedition”, “cake”, “thank you” , “love you”. She and all her little guests got to go on an expedition to search for stickers with little flashlights. She had a Winnie the Pooh/Heffalump Party.

2. We heard of the engagement of my cousin Jim’s son Ben to Kristin. The photo of Jim and Jeanie was taken at their son Jeff’s wedding this last June. Hopefully we’ll be able to attend Ben’s wedding, too.

3. We got a phone call from our son Dan with the good news that he passed his Spanish course and will be headed to Seattle to spend a week at home in Washington before he’s gone for 10 months. Dear and I are flying home next Wednesday so we can spend some time with him. We are so looking forward to having the whole family all together for a meal or two.

4. We also got the news on Thursday that Dan’s best friend Jamie and his wife Sarly had a sweet baby girl at 8:00 P.M.  Jamie is in the picture with Laura, Josh, and Dan. It is really great that Dan will be home at just the right time to be able to see her. We have so appreciated God bringing Jamie’s family and our family together when Dan and Jamie became friends in 2nd grade. Congratulations to Jamie and Sarly and to the grandparents Beth and Dave!! We love you guys!

5. Dear and I had lunch at my mom and dad’s last Sunday along with my brother Tim and his wife Letty. We are so blessed to have parents that are faithful to God, to each other, and to all their children. My parents are 86 and 85. My father said that he has no regrets and is ready to die whenever God chooses to take them. Every time we talked about their funeral that afternoon my Father made it singular. I know this is probably weird for some of you to read but we’ve always been able to talk about death and funerals, etc. in my family. Anyway, I’ve always pictured my parents “going home” together. I think my Father does, too. They have been married for 66 years. He and my mother took care of their parents before they died and have cared for many widows and spinsters over the years who had no one to care for them. They have extended hospitality far and wide. They were missionaries to Russia in their old age. They have “run the race well”.

 

Psalm 40:5 (English Standard Version)

You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

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FFF ~ Light In the Midst of Storms…

Time for a look back over the last week to choose some favorites. Click over to Susanne’s at Living to Tell the Story to join in.

What a weird week here in Southern California. It always throws things off a bit when you start the week off with a holiday and then throw in rain and everything goes amuck. On Monday the U.S. celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

 

1. On Sunday I traveled across L.A. with storm clouds looming and threatening to spend some family time at my sister Kathy’s house. This is her Son-in-law Ryan with his new little daughter Avery, my grand niece. It was a fun time seeing family and meeting Ryan’s parents who were here from Michigan. My drive home was very slow due to rains and spin outs on the freeway. It was good to get home safe and sound.

2. Dear was away over the weekend and wasn’t arriving back home till Monday night. I decided to give myself a rare treat of an In-N-Out Burger. Yes it was yummy!

3. Knowing that Dear was in Seattle having some great Father-Daughter time over the weekend was a big favorite. He also was able to spend some time with Josh and Laura and deliver Josh’s birthday present. Both our son’s celebrated birthdays this past week…

4. Being able to stay at home during most of the storms and nursing my nasty cough that just wanted to hang on forever. Lots of tea with honey and lemon…

 

5. There was some light at the end of the day today, promising that the storms will soon pass. My cough has also diminished enough that I can sense healthier days ahead. It’s good to know that there is good in the midst of our struggles and hope at the end of the day, especially on that final day…

Hope all is well in your corner of the world…

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ January 8th

Looking back at this week and remembering some favorites. Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in with your favorites!

We arrived back in Southern California on Sunday night and began the task of getting used to being here in the south.

 

1. On Tuesday morning Willow and I resumed our walks in her neighborhood. It was good to walk again and to push ourselves up those hills. We had clear, sunny, crisp weather for our walk.

 

2. On Wednesday I drove to Pt. Mugu because I wanted some winter shots of the beach. I never tire of seeing the beach and hearing the waves break. God has really created beautiful things for us to enjoy.

 

3. I made a quick stop into the local Goodwill and was able to pick up 7 Johnson Bros. dinner plates in the Asiatic Pheasant pattern that my SIL has been looking for. I asked them to lower the price on each plate since I was buying all 7 and they agreed! Yippee…

4. I made Ree Durmmond’s White Chili this week and it was really good. I recommend the recipe to you. I forgot to take a picture for you but click on over and you’ll see lots of pictures…

 

5. NEW SHOES! I’m so happy with my new shoes that I found at good ole Fred Meyer when I was in Washington. I wanted shoes I could slip on and wear with jeans that weren’t white tennies!! They are very comfortable and give me the support I need. They are Sketchers and I got them on sale with an extra $10.00 off.

Hope you are having a good week. I’m trying real hard not to get Dear’s ick that has been keeping him home from work this week…I just might be losing that battle, ugh!

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ 2009 Finale…

My final Fave Five in 2009 will be unconventional because this was a weird week. Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in.

Here are 5 things I saw that made me smile when I was in New Mexico.

 

Three of these signs were taken at the Chaos Cafe in Artesia, New Mexico. If you are ever driving through town we recommend breakfast here.

On the window of a coffee/espresso shop in downtown Artesia

On our way North out of Artesia we drove through Roswell and these were the street lamps that lined the main thoroughfare!

The Roswell UFO Incident was the alleged recovery of extra-terrestrial debris, including alien corpses, from an object which crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, USA, on or about July 8, 1947. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and the subject of conspiracy theories as to the true nature of the object which crashed. The United States military maintains that what was actually recovered was debris from an experimental high-altitude surveillance balloon belonging to a classified program named “Mogul”; however, many UFO proponents maintain that in fact a crashed alien craft and bodies were recovered, and that the military then engaged in a cover-up.

The incident has turned into a widely known pop culture phenomenon, making the name Roswell synonymous with UFOs. It ranks as one of the most publicized and controversial UFO incidents ever.

***On a more personal note Dear flies into Seattle Friday night and we’ll have 2 weeks together in Washington before we fly back to Southern California on January 3rd…

ht: Wikipedia

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ December 4th

Wowie Zowie!! So many favorites especially since I missed last week. Thank you Susanne for hosting this great weekly event. Visit Living to Tell the Story to join in.

1. Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorite times of the year. We usually have my brother Tim and his wife Letty stay with us which adds to the fun. Our wonderful friends Dave and Jody invite my family and any extended family that happen to be in the Northwest to their house for a large Thanksgiving gathering. This has gone on for 20 years give or take a couple…

 

Tim & Letty ~ Judy (Dave’s mom) my BIL Steve and my sister Lana ~ Dear carving the turkey ~ Jamie, Bridget, Lucy (Dave and Jody’s daughters) Laura and Katie (our daughters)

2. The day after Thanksgiving the girls had a great time shopping at Goodwill and going to Tea. (I’ll be posting lots of photos from the Tea Room next week)

 

SIL Letty, Katie B.(daughter) , Katy K. (Good friend of Katie B’s), Ellen b., Lana G! (my sister), Wilma (my DIL’s grandmother), Pat (my DIL’s mother), Laura my DIL.

3. On Saturday my son Josh and I flew/drove to New Mexico via Arizona and Texas to see my son Dan and to attend his graduation. It was so good to be there and to spend time together. While we were there we visited the Carlsbad Caverns which are AHHH Mazing! Wouldn’t you know that we would bring some snow to Sun Country. Our route back to El Paso where we were due to fly out of on Tuesday was impassable because they shut down the pass that goes through the Guadalupe mountains. We had to do some fast talking and got a flight out of Albuquerque instead. Since all the graduation festivities were over we checked out of our hotel early and drove 4 hours to Albuquerque found a hotel room next to the airport. We were very thankful that the road north was clear. There was snow on the ground next to the highway but no snow on the road.

 

4. This photo of my grandniece in the hat I bought her is one of my favorites this week, too. She is so sweet…

5. Thursday was my Daughter in Love’s birthday. She is definitely one of my favorites.

6. Bonus Favorite! ~ “I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.”  Ps. 116:1-2

Over and over in my life God has shown His love to me in big and small ways. There are always things on the back burner that I’m “waiting” for Him to work out in my life. This past week He has shown me His mercy and grace again in my children’s lives and my life. I’m overwhelmed at times at His goodness to me and my family. Some of that goodness has come through very difficult times. On Sunday Dear and I celebrate 35 years of being married. It has not been difficult being married to Dear but we together have gone through difficult things. I thank God for the good the bad and the ugly! :0)

Looking forward to seeing what your favorites are this week. See you soon…

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ Pacific Northwest…

Time to look back over the last week and remember things we are thankful for. Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in with this great exercise.

Wow it’s hard to believe I’ve been in the Seattle area for almost a week already. So many favorites to share from this past week.

1. Spending time with 3 out of 4 of our children. Our daughter Katie picked me up from the airport and we stopped for lunch at the Corner Cafe in Bothell where my sister Lana G! met us for lunch. Then on Sunday I met up with our son Josh and our DIL Laura at church. What an amazing service…I needed my hankie the whole time. Later in the day Josh and Laura came by for a couple hours. I got to speak on the phone with our son Dan and hear he’s doing well at Academy. He graduates on November 30th. Good times…

 

2. Getting some things done around the house that really needed to be done. Katie and I got the lawn mower started and I was able to mow most of the lawn before the big storm rolled in. Got soaked the last 15 minutes of mowing :0). I’m tackling one room a day inside to get a much needed deep clean done around here before Thanksgiving company arrive. I’m pleased that the guest room is ready and on Thursday I got the living room done which included dusting all these books and bookshelves!!

and the Guest Room. The couch has a very comfortable full size pull out mattress.

 

3. Walking in the sunshine along the Sammamish River trail with my friend Beth. Beth and Dave became our good friends through the friendship of our son Dan and their son Jamie that started in 2nd grade. That was over 20 years ago!!

 

4. Finding the recipe for this soup on a bloggy friend’s site and making it for dinner on Thursday night. This is a tasty soup and so easy to make!! Just scroll on down to the post after this one for the recipe and instructions.

 

5. Looking forward to seeing more of my Northwest friends. Hopefully walking with my buddies Jody and Jan on Saturday. Then looking forward to Dear joining me here on Tuesday along with our Thanksgiving company my brother Tim and his wife Letty. The room is ready Tim and Letty!!

And a bonus looking forward to…

My son Josh invited me to tag along with him to the MLS Championship Cup Game at Qwest Field on Sunday night! L.A. Galaxy is playing Real Salt Lake for the title. We’ll be sporting our Seattle Sounder Colors and making these teams feel welcomed in the Great Northwest! Since my other home is in Southern California and I was born in East Los Angeles I’ll be cheering L.A. Galaxy on to the victory!!

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Friday’s Fave Five ~ Walks-Relationships-Food

My favorites can always be narrowed down to these three…a nice long walk, peaceful relationships, and good food. A fulfilling walk is one shared with someone who I have a good relationship with or am building a relationship with. Food, sitting around a table, is always better if it’s shared with someone. My past week has been rich with walks, relationships, and good food.

Visit our kind hostess Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in with your favorites from this past week…

 

1. Early Saturday morning Dear and I walked at Emma Wood State Beach and enjoyed the cool crisp air. We usually will stop at our favorite breakfast spot in Ventura after these walks. Allison’s has the best hot out of the oven baked biscuits and fresh raspberry jam. Oh they serve eggs and stuff, too.

 

2. Saturday evening we met my brother Steve and his wife Kelly at Tam O’ Shanter in Glendale for a birthday dinner. Kelly is celebrating a milestone birthday and we wanted to treat her at our favorite spot for prime rib. The chocolate souffle and C.C. Brown’s hot fudge were pretty good, too. Oh, right about now you are probably wondering how my healthy weight loss program is going, aren’t ya? Well with these habits of mine it’s going slow but I am losing instead of gaining. So far I’ve lost 4 pounds.

 

3. For Willow and my walk this week we met up at Joy’s Blueberry ranch and then walked through a neighboring ranch or two. Instead of going past rows of blueberries we walked through an avocado grove and past rows and rows of raspberries. Joy told us we could pick some raspberries even though it wasn’t her property. Those ranchers are all like family :0) I still felt guilty for picking and eating…

 

Here’s the great variety of growing goodness we’ve spotted on our ranch walks…

4. On Tuesday afternoon I drove across town to my parent’s apartment for a meal with four of my nieces, my three sisters, one of my SIL’s, two nephews, my grand nephew and grand niece. Would you believe I didn’t take one photo? It gets a little crazy when we all cram into that little apartment for a meal. It was good to see everyone and to get caught up a little. I was happy to get to spend some time with my folks before I head North for the rest of the year.

5. On Wednesday I decided to go to a regular kind of store instead of a thrift store and I was able to buy 4 shirts and 2 pairs of pants for Dear and 2 tops for myself for $150 with $30.00 cash coupon back to spend next week. I was pleased with the experience and now I won’t have to go back to a regular store for a long time. We aren’t your fashionista/fashionisto.

Bonus!! My #6 is a looking forward to…

 

spending lots of time with these peeps and my kids over Thanksgiving!!

Blessings everyone! Looking forward to seeing your favorites…

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