Tag Archives: Friends

A Shopping We Will Go…

But before the ladies head out on their annual Day After Thanksgiving Trip to the Goodwill I wanted to post some photos from our Thanksgiving Day Festivities…

The Day started off with a beautiful Sunrise.

We joined the Spiro family and friends for the Thanksgiving meal.

The court jesters created another group game for everyone to enjoy.

We slept off the effects of the turkey and now we’re off and running to see what deals we can find and then we are headed to Madame Fifi’s for tea at 1:00. The fun just never stops. See you soon…

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)

 

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.

 

Engagement Party in Clovis, California

On Sunday we hit the back roads North to Clovis where my cousin Jim who married my college buddy Jeanie live (Jeanie and I met when we both were Home Economics majors at Cal-State, Los Angeles). Their youngest son Jeff asked Heather to marry him and she said YES! So because of the excitement of it all an engagement party was planned. Here’s the happy darling couple…

I told you they were darling. See that fabulous blouse she’s wearing? Jeff bought that for her while he was in Italy with his family a few weeks ago. Good taste and it looks smashing on Heather.

Clovis is about 4 hours away from us by car and we didn’t just get there by snapping our fingers so I’m going to show you some of the scenes from the route we chose to take this time. We went on a back road through Ojai on Highway 33. This route took us over and across the Los Padres National Forest.

It was very dry and hot (but 10 degrees cooler than Saturday). We saw lots of interesting landscape. Lots of huge bolders that looked like they could fall on us around several curves. The tunnels and canopy of eucalyptus trees were very cool. We finally made it over the winding roads through the forest to the flat lands of Central California. We went through an area of oil refineries and saw this great old oil Derick.

We arrived for the main event at Jim and Jeanies and the real fun began. Jim and Jeanie have a Spanish style home on a very large piece of property that is just perfect for large gatherings of people. They’ve done a beautiful job with landscaping and adding great features to make the house and yard invite you in.

There were lots of people and great food that Jeanie with my cousin Katrina’s help prepared themselves. Appetisers, Russian Chicken (MGCC recipe), Beef with aujus and salsa on the side, pasta salad, fruit salad, and rice pilaf. Yummy! One of Jeanie’s girlfriends from her Bible Study made all the cookies, heart shaped brownies and cookie bars. I love how she decorated the cookies. I asked her if she’d come to my next party with some of her fabulous cookies :0)

 

But the best part of the day was seeing old friends and relatives and getting re-acquainted and caught up a little with each other.

Jeanie and Ellen b. ~ Jeanie’s Swedish roots welcome sign ~ Jeanie with her sister Kathy B. ~ My cousin Katrina with her husband Andy and daughter Kristen ~ The engaged couple Heather and Jeff ~ Jeff’s older brother Ben ~ Ellen b. and Dear ~ My cousin Jim praying for the couple and meal ~ Cousins: Jim, Ellen b, and Katrina.

Hi Katrina…I know you are out there now :0)

The last time I saw Kathy B. (Jeanie’s sister) was in 2005 at a different celebration here in Clovis. This face to face meeting was very special for me because since 2005 Kathy B. and I have both started blogging and I have gotten to know and love her more through our blogs. It’s just something special to meet with bloggy friends face to face. Kathy B. blogs over at Count it all Joy. She truly has chosen joy through her suffering and has a special place in my heart.

Thanks for the wonderful party Jim and Jeanie. Congratulations Jeff and Heather. It was fun celebrating with you! May God bless you and the uniting of your families with His love and joy!

 

Bridging the Gap ~ Day 4

My bridge for today is from my favorite place to walk in Southern California. This is a foot-bridge we use when we walk along Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura.

This is Dear after he crossed the bridge. This shot was taken in the Winter. We usually start our walks at 7 A.M. so we pretty much have the beach to ourselves. The next shot is the same bridge taken in the summer time with my friend Jody from Washington crossing it.

I took it at this angle to get this great patch of Cactus in the photo.

For more Bridging the Gap Photos visit Alice at Iwasborn2cre8.

 

Fun with Friends and Family

We have had some fun and fulfilling days this week with family and friends. Yesterday we headed to Dave and Jody’s house in Edmonds overlooking the Sound for swimming and food.

 

I had a little stroll about Jody’s garden and watched the bees enjoying it.

Finn charmed us with his cuteness. At one point in the evening, when no one was watching, Finn went into the bathroom and had fun with lots of toilet paper and grandmother’s lipstick!

We met and held sweet little Josee (pronounced JoeZay). She is 2 weeks old.

We also met for the first time, sweet Juliet, who is 4 weeks old and Josee’s cousin.

As if with all this sweetness we needed the desserts I brought (Recipes to follow soon)

Creamy Cheesecake

and

Fruit Pizza (thanks Bernideen for the recipe) The recipe will make 2 round medium size pizza’s. I chose to do 1 large rectangular one.

Dave and Jody served Soft Fish Tacos made with barbecued Tilapia (Yummy) and Jan brought fruit. We always eat well when we get together.

The Sun going down beyond the Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Penninsula. Thank you Dave and Jody for another wonderful time in your company!

Besides all this fun the guys have been busy, busy, working on our continuing basement project. I love it when my 3 guys are together working, laughing and just hanging out…

Dear and Dan assembling the new wheelbarrow they needed for mixing cement.

Josh mixing up the cement…

Dear and Dan pouring the cement down into cinder blocks with limited access.

Time flies when you’re having fun.

5 More Days in Washington

My six weeks in Washington State are winding down. I’m here for 5 more days and then Dear and I hit the long road home to Southern California. My hydrangeas in Washington have reached their full bloom. My hydrangea plant in California is dead by now because Dear forgot to ask our neighbors to water our plants while we’ve been gone. Oops!

One thing that keeps us awake and makes the trip seem shorter from here to there are books on CD. I was so excited to find this at Goodwill and look forward to listening to hours of one of our all time favorites…

This week we’ll be getting in some last minute visits with friends and family here in the Seattle area. Maybe I’ll fit in one more trip to Goodwill. I hope all of you have a great week.

Christie and Aaron’s Wedding ~

Christie and Aaron were married last night oh eight, oh eight, oh eight! I wonder how many weddings there were last night. I was sorry that my camera had a tough time with the dark lighting. There were some fun unique moments during the evening. Aaron and Christie left the sanctuary after they were pronounced husband and wife to…

Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows
Lesley Gore

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel when we’re together,
Brighter than a lucky penny,
When you’re near the rain cloud disappears, dear,
And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.

My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
That’s how this refrain goes, so come on, join in everybody!

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
Everything that’s wonderful is sure to come your way
When you’re in love to stay.

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel when we’re together,
Brighter than a lucky penny,
When you’re near the rain cloud disappears, dear,
And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.

My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
That’s how this refrain goes, so come on, join in everybody!

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
Everything that’s wonderful is sure to come your way
‘Cause you’re in love, you’re in love,
And love is here to stay!

Then the Father-Daughter dance was quite memorable with Gregg and Christie doing a fun amount of choreography to “My Girl”.  Ha! They deserved a standing ovation for that one.

They had a fun Cupcake Cake and a Candy Bar with chocolates and sour candy. See the cute Pez dispenser Bride and Groom on top?

All the “Sunrise” girls together at Christie’s wedding. Everyone thought she’d be married first but Heidi beat her to the altar.

Ellen b, Katie and Abbey a fellow blogger decided we needed a photo together. Us bloggers need to stick together. Then there’s Katie and Jan waiting for the ceremony to begin. Katie with her friends Heidi and Kristen. Last but not least Dear and Me.

Aaron has a huge collection of Pez dispensers and someone got very creative with the get-away car…

Enjoy your new life together Christie and Aaron. It was fun to see you get married!

 

Jamie & Sarly’s Wedding

Our Son Dan’s best friend Jamie got married yesterday.

They’ve been friends a long time. This is the two of them on the way to and at Lakeside Bible Camp the summer of 1990.

Here they are 18 years later still the best of friends celebrating this wonderful event. Over the years that these two have been friends our families have grown close, too. There will always be a special place in our hearts for the Dickinson Family.

The wedding was held at Jardin Del Sol in the town of Snohomish, Washington. It was a beautiful outdoor setting. Dear arrived in Washington the night before and it was wonderful to have him here to enjoy this great celebration with us.

Sarly was a stunning bride. Jamie and Sarly composed their own vows. They had a sand ceremony instead of a candle ceremony symbolizing two becoming one. Sarly’s brother read a poem he wrote for the couple.

Sarly and her mother as she walked down the aisle.

The happy “Just Married” Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Dickinson!

 

The wedding party. Our son Dan is in the three middle shots. Oops, I kinda concentrated on the guys. Sorry girls!

 

Dave and Beth have 3 sons, Matt, Aaron, and Jamie. These are some photos of the Dickinson Family.

Dan during the ceremony

Here’s Dan toasting Jamie and Sarly and entertaining us with stories of how he first became friends with Jamie back in grade school. All of the groomsmen and bridesmaids gave toasts.

After dinner it was time for the cake. Then on to more dancing.

 

I think these are such sweet mother and son shots!

Sarly enjoying the tenderness of this moment, too.

This is Dave and Beth’s newest little granddaughter. She is so cute and what a little trooper, she managed to stay awake through all the festivities without a fuss! Beth is so excited to finally have some girls in the family.

Laura, Josh, Jamie and Sarly.

Katie and Laura

Dear and Dan sharing a Cuban Cigar. This is a very rare moment… “The smoking the cigar part”

It’s so nice for Dear and I to be together finally for the next two weeks in Seattle. After that we drive back to our condo in Southern California.

Congratulations Jamie and Sarly. We had a wonderful time at your wedding. We will always hope for the best and God’s richest blessings for the two of you in your life together.