Tag Archives: Friends

Tablescape Thursday ~ Early Thanksgiving 2010

I’ve posted some photos of our early Thanksgiving meal already but wanted to add these for Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. If you want to see some great table settings click on over and check all the latest posts.

 

The table was set for 12. Since I only had 10 of my Yorkshire dishes I added these two Johnson Brothers Plates to the mix.

 

These are the Yorkshire Staffordshire Ironstone plates, a country road with a hay wagon. The colors were perfect for Thanksgiving.

 

Wouldn’t you know when I went to pull out my green goblets there were only 11. I scouted out a local Antique Mall hoping to find at least  1 more but there was nothing close to these so when I came across a set of 7 amber colored goblets at a good price I decided to mix and match 6 of each for the table.

 

 

 

 

 

I was real happy to find these bird place card holders last week. It’s not easy finding non-Christmas themed holders this time of year. Our daughter Katie printed the names on each card for our table.

 

We had a wonderful time around the table. We decided to serve Susan’s Champagne Punch while waiting for the turkey. It was very tasty with the hint of cinnamon and cloves.

 

On Thanksgiving Day I’ll be sharing this punch when we join friends for a 2nd Thanksgiving meal. Life is rich!

Looking forward to seeing more Scapes around the Blogisphere.

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.

Thanksgiving Is…

…a time to gather family and friends around the table.

 

Thanksgiving at our house is a very traditional meal with few changes if any. We stuff the turkey because we enjoy the taste of the stuffing that cooks in the bird. We include mashed potatoes to go with the gravy. One thing that would cause an uprising around here is if I left out the the candied yams smothered with marshmallows that get browned in the oven. Cranberry sauce is good for color. This year I added some steamed green beans stir fried with onions and bacon. Dessert always must include a few pies like pumpkin, pecan and a fruit pie. Truth be told I don’t bake pies, gasp! My dear friend Beth volunteered to bring the pies after I asked her to and they were really good! Thanks Beth.

 

We celebrated early this year since our kids were all available on this Sunday.

 

We take time to thank God for loving family and good friends and all His goodness to us. What a blessing to sit around the table with loved ones and enjoy good food together.

 

The girls…

 

The guys…

 

Dan’s friend Jamie since 2nd grade with his sweet family.

 

 

Jamie’s parents, Dave and Beth with Dan. Good friends since Dan and Jamie became friends in elementary school.

 

We tried a fall champagne punch.

 

The sugared rim was fun.

At the end of the festivities we loaded up on the couch to watch the Major League Soccer semi-final between L.A. Galaxy and Dallas.

 

Can you count all the pairs of feet?

I’ll post more photos of the table for Tablescape Thursday.

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.

Carpe Diem ~

Seize the Day…

 

We are taking all the time we can to enjoy each others company for the days we have together right now. Tomorrow we are going to have our Thanksgiving meal early, all together, with 7 more joining us. The turkey is thawing. The yams, potatoes, gravy, green beans are waiting to be prepared. My sister is bringing the rolls and wine. Dan’s long time friends who became our good friends are joining us. Dave and Beth are bringing the pies. Jamie and Sarly are bringing their sweet babe. We’re going to make a champagne punch I saw on Susan’s Between Naps on the Porch. Josh and Laura will mash the potatoes since I’m still having a tennis elbow issue. Dear will carve the turkey. Katie will write the names on the place cards. I’ll make myself a note to remember to take photos. Life is rich.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

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.

FFF ~ Filled, Full, & Flowing

A time to remember some good things that have happened in the last week. What are your favorites. Visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in this worthwhile activity.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 (ESV).

On Thursday morning I had one of those times of overwhelming thankfulness to God for what He has done and continues to do in my life and the lives of those around me.

 

1. I was given the gift of appreciation of old friends who have been in our lives for years. Several of these friends came to our house on Sunday to celebrate our daughter Katie’s engagement to Andrew. Then on Tuesday night some young long time friends and I sat together at the U.S. Open Cup Final and enjoyed the excitement of winning the game with high fives all around and hilarious stories during our ride to the game and back home.

2. Our son Dan is really close to completing his time of training and will return to Washington State to his own space and regular work environment next month. God has been gracious to him and given him a gift of a job that he is really cut out for. During his time away he has been protected and safe and I am so thankful to God for that.

 

3. On Sunday morning as I was preparing for the open house we were having for Katie and Andrew’s engagement I listened to my daughter singing praises to God in the shower. I walked into the guest room and said to Andrew “Thank you Andrew for rescuing my daughter from her old boyfriend” My daughter had lost her joy in that past relationship and her personality was altered from her usual bright and positive self. I am so thankful to God for sending Andrew into Katie’s life and for the fact that they bring out the best in each other.

 

4. Our son Josh started a new job this week. He was pursued by a company that recognized his skills and work ethic. I thank God for the gift of this new job for Josh. I also thank God for Josh and Laura’s relationship and how they support each other. This was a bonus week for me because I got to enjoy two winning Sounders games with Josh and Laura! Whoohoo!

5. I’m thankful for my “Dear” who gives me the freedom to pursue and enjoy adventures in life. Many of the adventures we enjoy together but he’s man enough to let me go off on adventures without him, too. I’m more of a sports fan then he is and our relationship can manage that reality. He is a great provider and works hard so that I can spend his money. He is faithful to me and our family and I do not take that for granted. God has been good to us in giving us a trusting relationship. Greg is a man of integrity and our children recognize that and have been positively effected by that.

Yes my cup is full to overflowing this week.

And on a “lighter” note I sure wish I weighed what I weighed in that last photo taken with Dear in Edinburgh almost 5 years ago. :0)

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.

Autumn Begins…

There are some tell tale signs of Autumn around here…

 

One of the first I notice every year are these great dew dropped spider webs.

 

Sometimes the creator is centered just right on the web.

We had a party yesterday afternoon to celebrate the Engagement of our daughter Katie and Andrew. It was a last minute open house since Andrew leaves today for his Infantry Training in North Carolina at Camp Lejeune. Twenty of our dear old friends and family came by to celebrate. Some of these dear old friends are only in their twenties, but you understand what I mean by old. When important events like these come about it’s interesting how you appreciate the ones who have been around and connected to your life through the years. It might not be that you see each other regularly anymore but they were there when Katie was born, or at her 5th birthday party, or her 10th birthday party, or at church with you way back when. You’ve kept up with each other over the years and now it’s time to get together again and celebrate another important milestone in life.

Make new friends,
but keep the old.
One is silver,
the other is gold.

We do not know when the wedding will be. We have to wait and see when the military will allow for some days off for Andrew. We are up for the challenge and we’ll get what little we can get done till we have an idea of the time of year we’re planning for. When the date is set we’ll be off and running with a lot of flexibility and we will “Choose Joy” in whatever comes our way! We do get to go dress shopping though~~ whoohoo!

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.

Blue from Canada~

I spent 3 wonderful days with 9 other girls from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog last week in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. These mosaics are just a little glimpse of our time together.

We spent a few hours at Minter Gardens.

The 3 of us girls from “out of town” were hosted by Bev and Kathy. This was my room at Bev’s home.

 

We were treated to a wonderful boat cruise on Harrison Lake by Bev’s husband. It really was the perfect day to be out on the water.

Thank you Sally at Smiling Sally for hosting Blue Monday.

 

Oh Canada!

Growing up I was immersed in a Russian Community that used cousin, aunt and uncle loosely. We always had more “relatives” then a proper genealogy record would prove. I just inherited 9 girl cousins from Canada. Our cousin connection comes from our love for each other, similar upbringing, blogging, and recipes that our ancestors brought out of Russia and Germany. I will be sharing the wonderful bonding experiences we had during our 3 days together soon.

 

Here are the Mennonite Girls (MGCC) minus me and I now know first hand they really can cook! Starting in the back, Judy from My Front Porch, Marg from Home Again, Lovella from What Matters Most, Julie from Pearls in A Nutshell, Betty,  Anneliese from For Everything a Season, Bev from Kaleidoscopes, Kathy, and Charlotte.

Here’s the same photo with me in it. I borrowed it from one of my cousins who happened to post this same photo spot on her blog. Thanks Judy!

Thank you girls for all the good food, laughter, prayers, and fun we had! Till we meet again…

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.

FFF ~ Anticipation & Anniversary

Time to ponder the past week and choose 5 favorites that you’d like to share and then link up with the lovely Susanne at Living to Tell the Story so the rest of us can click over and see your favorites.

This has been an interesting week of anticipating things that are happening this weekend and next week. Dear and I are flying to San Jose on Saturday morning for a wedding in Mt. Hermon and flying right back on Sunday. Then next week I’m making a solo trip to Canada for a few days. I’ll tell you more about both of these events next Friday…

The favorite thing we did this week was to celebrate Josh and Laura’s 9th anniversary.

 

Dear barbecued a Pork Butt for a very long time at a low temperature and we served it with coleslaw, barbecued beans and potato buns. It was very tasty.

Here are 5 favorite things about Josh and Laura in no particular order…

1. They give up a week of summer vacation to direct a Junior High Camp at Lakeside Bible Camp and they do an awesome job!

 

2. They love to go to Sounder’s games together and they take me along…

 

3. They cherish their friends and cousins and spend time with them.

 

4. They love their brothers and sisters.

 

5. They honor their parents and grandparents.

 

I told Josh and Laura this week that it makes me smile just to say their names together. We are so thankful to God that he brought them together and has blessed their relationship.

What were your favorites this past week?

The Rains Came Down…

…and the puddles came up!

 

What a miserable day for a garage sale. Thankfully we live in the Northwest and weather does not deter people from heading to garage sales. People here are used to doing anything in the rain. Dear created a amazing tarp canopy for us so we were able to put some tables out on our trusty blue tarps for the sale. I’m sad I didn’t get a photo of the creation for you (bad blogger!!) We had made space inside the shop for the rest of the stuff and for a nice shelter for the workers from the rain and cold. Friends of ours came to contribute to the sale. Their young daughters wanted to raise money to buy Bibles for people without them. So sweet! We had a good steady stream of people with only a couple lulls. We didn’t sell anything over $5.00 but still made $173.50.

The Rolo yummies in the collage were a great treat for us workers and I found the recipe at Sandy’s Reluctant Entertainer blog. So easy to make. One of the garage sale shoppers looked at me sheepishly and asked if she could have one. She had been staring at them for a good long time.

The highlight of the day was when our son and DIL Laura came with the ingredients to make us all dinner! What thoughtful kids I have. Josh had the two young girls that helped with our garage sale in there helping him make biscuits and corn muffins for the dinner. They really enjoyed their baking lesson from Josh! Josh and Laura are good friends with this family and even flew all the way to China a few years ago to visit them when they were living there. This picture is of them all at the Great Wall. You can see how much younger the girls were in this photo.

I’ll be adding my link to Mary’s Little Red House for Mosaic Monday and to Smiling Sally’s for Blue Monday. Hope you are all having a nice relaxing weekend. Now that the garage sale is over I’m doing some relaxing and recuperating…

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.

Cruising to Alaska…

…I’m not but my junior high and high school buddy was leaving today out of Seattle. She and her husband and 4 friends traveled from L.A. to board their Cruise ship at Pier 91 in Elliott Bay. I picked them up when they arrived at the cruise ship and we all went to lunch before they boarded the ship for their 7 day cruise. Another beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest!

 

If you look closely you can see the Space Needle behind us in the distance!

It was fun to meet Nancy’s husband for the first time and her friends that have been by her side for many years.

We’re deciding where to go to church tomorrow. We still haven’t found a church home yet.  Now I’m going to go put my feet up and watch the Sounders play the Red Bulls. Hope you are enjoying your Saturday wherever you are…

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.