When I went to link up this morning for the Hodgepodge we had the news from Joyce that her dear Mama passed away earlier this week. Our hearts and prayers are with you, Joyce, and with your whole family.
1. How do you feel about the transition from lazy summer days to a busier fall routine?
I’ve always loved the transition from summer to fall. Even the years I was in school, I welcomed with excitement going back. These days I enjoy the fact that Ladies Bible studies will start up again and there will be more order in our days. I enjoy Fall weather and Fall events like cider fest and the corn maze.
2. Your favorite cookie?
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I like homemade Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies with oatmeal, walnuts, almonds, and sometimes coconut!
I use the toll house recipe and load them up with extras.
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3. What’s something you’ve learned from a culture different than your own?
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I grew up in Southern California just outside East Los Angeles and the neighborhoods we lived in were multi cultural with Mexicans, Jews, Russians, Armenians, Japanese, Scots, and Heinz 57 Americans. I included Scots, although I only first heard of anyone who was Scottish in 5th grade when Karen’s parents moved to Montebello and she was introduced as a new student in our class. I was enthralled with her from the start and she taught me a few Scottish dance moves that we shared with the class for show and tell. I think we sang a song, too, The Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomand.
Apart from the great food we enjoyed in the homes of my friends from these cultures, I learned about the Jewish custom of coming of age.
A bar mitzvah and a bat mitzvah are both Jewish coming-of-age milestones. A bar mitzvah (“son of commandment’) marks the religious maturity of a boy at the age 13, while a bat mitzvah (daughter of the commandment) marks the religious maturity of a girl, traditionally at age 12.
I was invited to one of my Jewish friends Bat Mitzvah and I was blown away by the lavishness of the celebration!
These are my multi-cultural Cheer friends from my high school at a Russian dinner at my house before a football game. (My Scottish friend from 5th grade, Karen, is the one with the rollers in her hair). We would have a meal at a different Cheer members home before Varsity games. They are eating borsch. That was just one of the food items my mother prepared for them. I think I see piroshky on the table, also. After the meal we would all get our cheer clothes on and head to the game for a night where we would work off every calorie we ate at dinner!
This is one of my best buddies from school days, Nanc. I spent a lot of time in her home where I learned how to make guacamole and we learned every popular Leslie Gore song by heart. Her parents brought me along to Mexican restaurants with them and to the downtown wholesale fashion district for shopping. Growing up, my family did not eat in restaurants so that was an eye opening experience all its own. Her dad drove a Volkswagon Square back and we spent many miles in that little car. One summer when she got back from visiting her uncle who was a jeweler in Mexico City she gifted me the ring below that he made for me.
While we were living in Camarillo for a short time Nanc and I reconnected online and we met up a couple of times for meals and to catch up on life. The photo above is of one of our meet ups. I hadn’t seen her for 40 years! There is a long story about that…
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4. Food critic, film critic, book critic, art critic…which hat would you most like to wear? Tell us why.
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Of these choices I’d choose the Food Critic hat because I love to travel and I love to try new restaurants and eat good food. I’d have a hard time writing bad critiques, though. I’ll just choose to be a traveler and enjoy trying new food in different places and being satisfied.
I’m not a film buff, or the reader of a variety of genres, and I’m definitely not artsy.
5. What’s a small, random thing from your childhood that you still remember clearly?
This will give you a little insight into my character. I remember hiding from my mother and father on Saturday mornings because I did not want to go to Russian School. When they found me, I would stomp my feet and say, “I’m an American!”. Well that didn’t work. In my latter years I was thankful to have learned the Russian alphabet and to learn to read and write in Russian.
To say “I am American” in Russian, use Я американец (if you are male) or Я американка (if you are female). If you want to say “I am from America” or “from the USA,” you can say Я из Америки or Я из США.
Я американка, Yah Amereekanka, I am American.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
These questions pulled up a lot of memories from my past.
Doing something I’ve never done before or visiting somewhere I’ve never been before. I’m so thankful to God for all the adventures afforded to me in my life.
2. What are your thoughts on tipping?
We’re happy to be able to tip and tip extra when service is exceptionally good.
What businesses or service providers do you regularly tip?
We tip at sit down restaurants, hairdressers, massage therapists, and shuttle drivers.
Do you resent being asked if you’d like to add a tip? What about when a suggested amount is presented?
I don’t resent it because I’m not bullied into doing something I don’t want to do. Ask all you want but I’m free to say no. I always say no at Goodwill when they ask if I want to just round up the amount of my purchase. Everything they sell was a donation and they should be able to manage the money they make to pay their employees and offer them training.
3. I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream…do we? Is ice cream a favorite treat at your house? What’s your favorite flavor? Regular, soft serve, gelato, sherbet, or some sort of non-dairy version of ice cream…what’s your pleasure?
We do enjoy our ice cream. We like a variety but favorites at this time are Haagen Daz Coffee chip and Vanilla Swiss Almond. I enjoy Umqua Orange Sherbet, too.
4. What’s your ‘back in my day, we____________________ ‘ story or saying?
So many because I am old.
Back in my day we used paper maps and had to stop at gas stations for directions if we got lost.
Back in my day we had to get up and walk to the T.V. to change the channel.
Back in my day we had one phone attached to the wall.
Back in my day we only wore dresses or skirts and blouses for school.
Back in my day we did not have computers. We used encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other research materials.
Back in my day we did not have credit cards but paid with cash or check.
Back in my day our suitcases did not have wheels.
5. Somehow this is our last Hodgepodge in the month of June. Next week’s Hodgepodge lands in July. Wow. Sum up your June using three adjectives.
Painstaking: As in completing some hard physical jobs on our property.
Painful: As in dealing with Plantar Fasciitis (It has improved, I’m happy to report)
Adventurous: As in traveling primitive and new roads to us.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I managed to work on and finish two puzzles in June.
This Norman Rockwell one was tough with all the white. It helped to sort the pieces into shapes to make it easier. Someone dropped off a load of puzzles where our DIL works and she had a few for me to enjoy. This was one of those.
This next puzzle was a purchase on our road trip at the Mercantile in Metaline Falls. It was $4 and I was happy that there were no missing pieces.
This was a fun one to complete.
Happy Summer to all of you. Hope the bees are buzzing and the heat is bearable where you are.
It’s time again for Wednesday Hodgepodge and Joyce is challenging our brains to remember high school among other things.
Happy Flag Day for those of you who live in the U. S.A.
1. What does productivity look like to you?
We are retired so our putting in effort for a yield is different from the true definition of productivity. Right now our weeds are the most productive thing staring me in the face because our weeds are taking over and they are being much more productive than me. On the positive side of things our Clematis and day lilies are being very productive, too, thankfully. I can look above the weeds in some areas of the yard. 🙂
2. What was your fondest (or one of your fondest) memory of High School?
In the Spring of my first year of high school tryouts were held for the different cheer squads. We had Yell leaders, Song Leaders and Flag Twirlers. Historically Juniors were Flag Twirlers and Seniors were Song Leaders or Yell Leaders. I wasn’t great at twirling a flag so I made the bold move to try out for Song Leader. We had grueling tryout sessions where we learned the routines that we’d have to perform in front of a panel of teachers who would narrow down the field to perform in front of the whole school and then put the vote to the student body for the final team and alternates. I remember how hard it was to walk up stairs after those training sessions. After the first tryout I made the cut and then the decision went to the student body. When the votes were counted they put up a sheet of paper with the results in the main hallway at school. I was thrilled to see my name on the list as one of the six! There were also 2 alternates. My future sister-in-law was one of the alternates. The other Song Leaders weren’t as thrilled as I was that I made the team. Oops. Lest you think I was sooo popular with the student body let me explain that I had a brother a year ahead of me and a sister 2 years ahead of me who were popular and our family name was well known in school so I’ll give lots of credit to that fact in my success in getting the popular vote! 🙂
My Junior year with the other Song leaders who were Seniors.
In this photo my future sister-in-law is behind me. This was our Homecoming rally and she is wearing a homecoming corsage that my brother gave her.
You had to try out every year so in my Junior year I tried out and made the cut again for Song Leader in my Senior year. This photo above is in my Senior year with my good friends who moved from being Flag Twirlers (as Juniors) to Song Leaders (as Seniors).
We’d probably lose 3-5 pounds every Friday night from all the aerobics.
3. What did you do the summer after High School?
I worked and got ready to go off to college at the University of Redlands.
4. June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day…are you a fan, and if so will you celebrate? How do you make yours? Have you been strawberry picking? If so what do you do with all those berries?
We enjoy Strawberry Shortcake with sugared strawberries that have made a little of their own juice and we’ll have them with different bases like angel food cake, pound cake, or our Russian Easter Bread, with whipped cream or at Easter with Seernaya Paska (a sweetened cheese). I have been strawberry picking but didn’t pick more than we could enjoy within a couple days. In California when we lived in Camarillo we had Strawberry fields close by and what a treat it was to go and buy baskets of fresh strawberries to enjoy. So good and sweet unlike some of the grocery store variety.
5. What’s something you always splurge on?
Besides our kids and grandkids? We’ll always splurge on Birthday and Anniversary meals and/or nights away during those events.
1. August is National Back To School Month…how does that make you feel?
I’m pretty stuck in the tradition of school starting after Labor Day so I’m always surprised when we get the photos of our nieces and nephews starting school in August. Above is a photo of me in front of my high school that always started back to school after Labor Day.
Share a back-to-school memory.
Our sons on the first day of school in 1986 or 1987, ready to walk to school. Our daughter waiting for the bus in 1991ish.
This memory of our daughter always sticks in my mind because she chose to wear that t-shirt on the first day of school a few years in a row. I was and am impressed with her boldness and resolve. This photo is from the first day of her senior year, 2003.
2. Something you’ve learned in ‘the school of life’?
That God is in control and I am not.
Contentment is worth more than riches.
Here’s a quote from our sermon on Sunday. “If we displease God does it matter whom we please? If we please Him does it matter whom we displease? ~Leonard Ravenhill
3. Three words to describe your current mood.
Under the weather…
4. A summer food you’ve eaten too much of/are tired of?
Nada, Zip, nothing.
A summer food you haven’t had enough of?
Nectarines and watermelon.
5. What small stuff do you sweat that you know you shouldn’t?
When planning a meal or event I always wonder if I ordered or made enough of this or that. It seems to always work out so I’m trying not to sweat over those things.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of Leonard Ravenhill here is another gem I’ll quote from him.
“A man who is intimate with God is not intimidated by men.”
The first weekend in October my husband and I traveled down to my home town of Montebello for my 50th high school reunion. Montebello High School is the proud home of the Oilers. “Long ago she rose and stood, Montebello Dear Old High”
2. A Favorite.
Here are our mascots, Ollie the Oiler and Olive the Oiler.
3. “O”pen.
On Saturday last, the gates were opened up to the alumni to take a tour of the grounds. Things have changed including this gate. The whole school is now fenced in so that if need be they can have a total lock down of the school. Fifty years ago there were no fences around the school.
It was good to travel back in time and to enjoy the present, too, with many of my fellow Oilers in October who are now 50 years older.
Make new friends, but keep the old; those are silver, these are gold. ~ Joseph Parry
It was so good to see these friends who were high school, junior high and elementary school friends! That’s more then 50 years even though we were celebrating our 50th High School reunion. Karen, the taller gal in the photo above was a friend in 5th grade. She moved to our school from Scotland and she was, as I told her, “the highlight of my 5th grade experience”.
My friend Nanc, front right, was my bestie in junior high and into high school. I so enjoyed our time together this weekend. All these girls were dear to me with many good times together.
Lots of great memoires with all of these gals at school, the beach, pool parties and slumber parties!
It was a good quick weekend and I’ll be sharing more for the history books as soon as I upload all my photos. Dear was a champ helping me with photos and interacting with the spouses of my friends.
We are back to our new home with our to-do lists in action again. Got to “get er done” before the first snow!
I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for O is for Old and for the fact that this post will go on and on! Thank you Denise Nesbitt, Roger, and the ABC team!
One day, four events! I flew from Seattle to Santa Ana (California) on Saturday and had a full day filled with time with old friends!
I arrived at John Wayne Airport at 8:30 A.M. and drove to La Habra, California. My pop and I went to his favorite breakfast spot and I treated him to breakfast. This is what he always orders, 2 sunny side up eggs, hash browns and sausage. He enjoyed every bite of food and each slurp of his coffee.
My pop is now living with my oldest sister and thriving. He lets me know frequently how much he loves the chair Dear and I bought him. Lately he’s occupied with jigsaw puzzles.
At 11:30 A.M. I drove down Whittier Blvd. to our dear friend Alice’s home for a Baby shower in her beautiful back yard!
This is Alice with her son who will be holding his new son soon and this will be Alice’s first grand baby! Alice has always had an open home and is the most hospitable lady. Many of us at the shower have been graced with hours of good times in her home with good food to eat.
The new dad and mom to be with our friend Natalie in the middle praying a blessing on them, the baby and the festivities.
My best friend from college days and beyond, Heidi, with her daughter Nikki.
My nieces Melissa, Michelle and my SIL Kelly.
Heidi, Alice and I had some fun adventures in our college days. Alice lived in San Francisco and we spent time with her there and she came down to L.A. to spend time with us. We hadn’t seen each other for over 35 years!
I caught my sister enjoying her food with my blast from the past friend, Alice.
I took off from the baby shower before gifts were opened to drive on 2 more freeways to get to my high school mini reunion.
We had a great turnout with close to 50 grads from Montebello High School showing up.
I was so happy to see my friend from elementary school days through high school at the reunion. I hadn’t seen her for over 46 years!
Lots of good memories came back to me and I have to admit some of the people that were there didn’t drum up any memories from my dear old brain.
These girls I’ll never forget. Nancy on the left was my good buddy and Anne her cousin is on my right.
I left the reunion after 4 hours and finally headed to my hotel to check in at 6:30.
My dear nephew David and niece Kristin picked me up at the hotel door to take me out to dinner at 7:00. They had been out on a boat with their friends for the afternoon. How sweet of them to take the time and treat me to dinner and catch up conversation.
My hotel experience was good to start with and I fell asleep exhausted since I had been up since 3:15 am. At 1:15 the room next door was visited by some very loud guests who were pounding on the door. I woke from such a deep sleep that I was disoriented and didn’t know where I was for a few moments. My heart was racing. I called the front desk and they said they’d come up and talk to them. It took me a long time to fall back to sleep and then they woke me up again at 5:30 a.m. oye and bother!! When I talked to the front desk in the morning the person behind the desk said they’d take a percentage off my room. When I got back to my room I got a phone call from another person on staff who told me how sorry he was for my experience and that they would comp my room and I didn’t have to pay anything.
One day filled with so many old memories and friends. I’ll put the hotel experience way behind me!
Bright and early on Saturday morning I’m flying to Southern California for a whirlwind day. The original reason for booking the flight was to attend a high school mini-reunion that my dear friend Nancy is hosting at the clubhouse in the development where she lives.
We from Montebello High School were known as the Oilers.
I enjoyed being a Song Leader for my Junior and Senior years of High School.
We had some fun and crazy times at Montebello Dear Old High.
Our high school was fed by a couple Junior Highs back then. I really loved the old architecture of Montebello Junior High which had to be torn down since my time there.
Time will tell how many of my friends from the class of ’68 I’ll get to see tomorrow.
But…that’s not all I’m doing on Saturday. On Saturday morning I get to see my dear old Pop!
I’m happy to report he is thriving now that he is living with and being cared for by my sister Kathy and her husband Len. I’m so grateful to them and to God for the despair that has been lifted off my pop’s heart.
After a visit with my pop and on the way to my reunion I’m popping in to a baby shower that our dear family friend Alice is giving her daughter in law. This will be Alice’s first grandchild. The timing of the shower works out perfect.
My sister Kathy with our friend Alice.
Stopping in on the shower I’ll be able to see many of my friends from the church I grew up in. Good thing I’m not an introvert! All this people time would be overwhelming.
I’ve got to get organized now for my trip. If you don’t hear from me for a while you’ll know I packed in way too much even for an outgoing person for a day in sunny California!
This was taken a few years ago when I re-united with a good friend of mine from high school. I graduated from this high school in Southern California in 1968.
I’m flying out on the O-dark-thirty flight to John Wayne Airport in Southern California for a few days with my pop, siblings and nieces and nephews. My family is Russian and this sign that says no to Vodka is part of my upbringing, too. Russian yes, but Vodka no, growing up. Some things stay the same and some things change.
These were all places that were part of my life growing up in Pico Rivera and Montebello.
On Sundays coming home from church we sometimes stopped at 31 Flavors Ice Cream and we were able to choose 3 scoops! That’s was quite a treat for us. In junior high school Currie Ice Cream was across the street and we were able to go off campus and get lunch there if we had 35 cents for a hot dog and chips. The Garmar theater is the first walk in theater that I saw a movie in. Garduno’s was a fast food stand that was a favorite in high school where we had open campus, too, for our lunch time. Good Mexican food and pastrami.
I’ll have lots to share from my family time when I get back home. Hope everyone is doing well.
You can see more signs by clicking over to Signs Signs by Lesley!
For my Flashback this week I’m posting my graduation photos from Junior High, High School, College (mine and my sister Kathy’s) and my youngest siblings’ Kindergarten graduation.
A formal graduation ceremony from Montebello Junior High. My opinion these days is that this was a little over kill. New dresses for the girls and suits for the guys. I wonder how much money each family had to invest? The photo of me and my dad got a little chewed up. The other photos are me with my little maternal grandmother. Me, my mom and my cousin once removed. Here’s a photo of my junior high school that has since been demolished.
Montebello High School graduation in June of 1968. I think it’s appropriate to have a ceremony for this accomplishment. Again I have a photo with my little maternal grandmother. She really was a dear lady!
The photo on the right was taken in the front yard of our home in Montebello. The Volkswagon in the driveway belonged to my brother.
My brother Fred and me at my sister Kathy’s graduation from Cal State L.A.
These are photos from my graduation from Cal-State L.A. My brother Fred graduated the same time as I did. That’s him and me on the right. Dear and me on the left.
Aren’t they cute? They are twins, Leonard and Lana, our youngest siblings.
I decided to throw this next photo in, too, since it’s in the same time period as the others.
We went out to Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour to celebrate the twins. I’m guessing this is for their 6th birthday. So much fun for all of us. Did you ever eat at Farrell’s? We drove miles to go to the first Farrell’s in California.
Our snow is practically all washed away this morning. The rain has been falling hard and steady so it’s a slushy mess out there. I do hope it lightens up for tomorrow as I’ll be traveling up across the line to Abbotsford for a special time with most of the “girls”. How’s your Monday shaping up?
Happy Family Day to our Canadian neighbors to the North! Enjoy your day off!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 