Old and New History Hodgepodge

This photo was taken in Persia in the late 1940’s, after our mom and pop immigrated to the USA. My maternal grandparents are seated on the right lower side of the photo. Our cousin Alex is standing between them.

The photo above is of the paternal side of our family from the 1950’s. In the middle is our Babushka and Dzedushka. Our cousin Johnny is on our Babushka’s lap. I’m seated below our Dzedushka , just to the right.

Our Paternal and Maternal sides of the family are Russian.

It’s Wednesday and time for Hodgepodge. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Next Sunday is Grandparent’s Day. Share a favorite memory, photo, recipe, or something you learned from a grandparent. 

Our maternal grandmother was widowed young while she and our grandfather were living in Persia so our maternal grandfather never made it to the USA. He died shortly after our mom and pop immigrated and that was very hard for our mom being so far away and getting the news that her father was killed. Our little Babushka lost her left hand and arm up to her elbow when she was a child. She only had one hand but her embroidering skills were amazing. She was very patient in trying to teach me that skill but it wasn’t something I could excel at. She was a praying grandmother and she prayed for all her grandchildren. One thing she would tell us young people, “Don’t got out when it’s dark, nothing good happens in the dark.”

The collage shows one of her wedding gifts to Greg and me. It is an embroidered table cloth and 8 napkins. I cherish this gift from her hand.

I had a closer relationship with my maternal grandmother.

2. What’s a quote from a book (besides The Bible) that has stayed with you? 

‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to’ – Bilbo

by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is spoken by Bilbo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring. 

Truth be told, the quote I use more often is, “It comes in Pints?” (from the film)

3. What’s your number one food pet peeve? 

I’m not a fan of someone chewing with their mouth open.

4. What’s one thing about you that is still the same as it was when you were young? 

I’m still in the habit of smiling not to mention my hairdo!

5. September is National Preparedness Month…does your family have an emergency plan? Do you have some sort of preparedness kit you keep on hand? If so, tell us one thing that’s kept there. 

Our sons are prepared but we aren’t. My emergency plan is to get to one of our son’s homes in case of a major emergency. We do have our important papers, etc. in a quick grab container.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

On Sunday our own Seattle Sounders made history by winning the Leagues Cup Final against Inter-Miami. Josh and Laura were there to be part of the history.

We live too far from Lumen Field to participate in these games anymore so I love to live vicariously through Josh and Laura and their love of the game of soccer!

The Seattle Sounders’ quest to their first-ever Leagues Cup trophy is complete.

With Sunday night’s 3-0 win over Inter Miami, the Sounders were crowned champions of the tournament, becoming the only team in MLS to capture every major North American soccer trophy to date.

The game was not televised on any English speaking channel that we get on Dish so I had to watch it on a Mexican station. I was happy to be able to see it in real time and thankful for the Mexican station! I just set the volume low. 🙂

Lumen Field delivered an electric atmosphere, with a record crowd of 69,314  – surpassing the old mark of 69,274. And, in a rare sight, most of that support was for the home side rather than the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. Seattle fed off it from the start.

The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French magazine France Football since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season.

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or a record eight times and he was playing on the Miami team.

S is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Tuesday, April 22nd, and we are on the letter S.

S is for Soccer and for Seattle Sounders Soccer Team

A couple of Joshua’s teams.

A couple of Dan’s teams.

Katie’s team.

There were a couple years in Junior High and High School that the boys played on the school team together. That was a fun treat.

It’s no secret that I have been a soccer fan since our kids started playing in their early years and continued into high school.

World Cup 1994 was in the United States and that solidified our national and international love of the sport. World Cup is coming back to the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

After their soccer glory days were over we became fans of the Seattle Sounders and our son has had season tickets from the beginning, since 2009.

img028In 1994 our boys were 15 and 13. We flew to Southern California to catch all the World Cup excitement we could. We found the U.S.A. training facility in Southern California and were able to see some of the team practice and get an autograph.

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After finding the training ground we also found the hotel where they were staying and managed to meet up with most of the players who were very approachable and happy to sign the team poster.

Dan and I were able to attend a game between Brazil and Cameroon at Stanford Stadium.

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Josh had tickets for games at the Rose Bowl.

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Participating in this historical event was thrilling for our family.

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After World Cup the boys still had years of soccer left to play before their Soccer glory days were over.

Since 2009 we’ve enjoyed professional soccer in person in the United States, Canada, in England and Scotland and Italy. Whenever we travel to the United Kingdom with Josh and Laura, a futbol match is in the itinerary.

Josh and Laura have been able to attend a few Major League Soccer Championship games along with regular games in several states. I was able to attend two of the championship games that ended up being in Seattle, 2009 and 2019. In 2009 Seattle hosted but didn’t play. We’ve all been to Seattle Sounders games but Josh and Laura have enjoyed the most games in person.

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Josh and Laura trying not to freeze in Toronto in 2016! We won the championship!

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Then in 2019 the kids got me a ticket to enjoy the MLS Cup Champions game and Seattle won again! It’s amazing to win a championship on your home field!

And now I get to watch our ‘Grands’ play soccer.

Great Uncle Arnold wrote this poem in a letter to Greg’s mom about our boys playing soccer. 

Playing Soccer in the Rain

It’s raining steadily and hard,
So puddles, growing in the yard
Spill over, and run down the street
Past where this street and others meet.

The boys play soccer in the rain
They run and strive with might and main
To kick the ball into the net
In spite of getting soaking wet.

The teams they play on won 1st prize
It’s good that they could realize
Success for all the joy and pain
Of playing soccer in the rain.

The letter S was covered satisfactorily here today.

Hope your week is starting well.

Barns and More

A few farm scenes from Northeastern Washington for Tom’s Barn Collective. These shots were taken from the road on the way to our son’s home for some family time together last week and weekend.

Back here in Seattle we enjoyed the last season game for the Seattle Sounders v. Colorado Rapids.

A Sunday afternoon game and the sun came out to warm us after several days of rain. The tifo for this game was exceptional. Tifo [ˈtiːfo] is the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team. In some countries (but not in Italy) it is mostly used as a name for any choreography displayed by fans in the stands of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly as part of an association football (soccer) match.

We especially enjoyed our time this afternoon since the Sounders won 3-0 and we now get a bye before we head to a playoff game.

Hope you all are having a good weekend and that it ends well.

Thankful Thursday

I have two new recipes up on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog this week. The Rustic Potato Salad has been enjoyed already on three separate occasions at this old house and the Chicken Tetrazzini Soup is also a new favorite. It has just the right amount of creaminess and the lemon zest adds a wonderful finish.

Last night my son, daughter in love and I enjoyed a beautiful shirt sleeve night at Century Link field in Seattle at the Seattle Sounders Soccer game. It was especially fun for us since our Sounders finally won a game with a 3-0 shutout. We’ve been on a tying streak and then we lost our last game in Salt Lake City. Winning is a treat and spending time with these two brings joy to me.

In 2007 and 2008 I participated in a weekly meme called Thankful Thursday. Here’s one of my posts from October 17, 2007.

I Will Always Love Your Name

Here I am and I have come

To thank You, Lord, for all You’ve done

Thank You, Lord

You paid the price at Calvary

You shed Your blood, You set me free

Thank You, Lord

No greater love was ever shown

No better life ever was laid down

And I will always love Your name

And I will always sing Your praise

You took my sin, You took my shame

You drank my cup, You bore my pain

Thank You, Lord

You broke the curse, You broke the chains

In victory from death You rose again

Thank You Lord

and not by works, but by Your grace

You clothe me now in Your righteousness

You bid me come, You make me whole

You give me peace, You restore my soul

Thank you, Lord

You’re making me to be like You

To do the works of the Father, too.

written by Paul Oakley (copyright 1997 Kingsway Thankyou Music/PRs/EMI Christian Music Publishing

I’m still thankful and always will be thankful for Jesus and what he’s done for me.

I’m thankful for Dear and the family God has given us to love and enjoy and grow alongside.

I’m thankful for good food and the Mennonite Girls Can Cook who have become some of my nearest and dearest friends.

I’m thankful for good bloggy friends. Some of you I have met and some I haven’t met in person but I cherish you nonetheless. You have encouraged me, prayed for me and my family, entertained me, taught me, inspired me and made me laugh out loud. I’ve traveled to places I’ll never be able to go through your posts and I’ve enjoyed your adventures. I’ve grieved with some of you as you’ve said goodbye to your spouses ad other loved ones. I’ve also grieved the loss and miss posts from bloggers who have died. Blogging has been a good thing in my life, thank you Lord!

And on the lighter side of thankfulness. Thank you Lord for my enjoyment of soccer! 🙂

Linking up with Michelle at It’s a Small Town Life for Thankful Thursday and tomorrow I’ll link up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five.

Sounders 8 Years Ago and Today!

These first two photos are from a post that I wrote 8 years ago!

What fun for Seattle last night and my sons, nephew David and friend Beau! They attended the Inaugural game for the Seattle Sounders and they got to see them win with a sell-out crowd who were very loud. Seattle fans are known for cheering loudly.

I really enjoy seeing my sons together having a good time!

Now this afternoon, eight years later who would have guessed that we would win again with the same score 3-1 and against the same team, the New York Red Bulls! A great season home opener! The sun was shining and I think I got a sunburn. Glorious views on the way to the stadium and on the way home, too. Laura took these next photos with her phone.

On the way to the stadium you could see Mt. Rainier in the background with the two stadiums and the wheel in the foreground.

Before the game started they unveiled our latest banner, MLS Cup Champs 2016!

Laura captured the sun rays shining down on the field. After several days of rain with a very few sunny days in between this was a real treat for all of us.

Here we are happy season ticket holders for the 9th year! Thank you Sounders for making our day in the sun a whole lot of fun!

Things about Spring that I enjoy…

Easter, Renewal, Strawberries, Flowers, Bird Nests, and Soccer!

Happy Spring Everyone. May this be the year of fresh revival in your Spirit, Soul, Heart and Mind!

Seattle Sounders F.C. ~The Champions!

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There was a lot of cheering going on at this old house on Saturday evening when our Seattle Sounders won in penalty kicks against the Toronto Football Club. This was our first ever win of the championship cup and Seattle is buzzing. There is a victory march and rally planned for Tuesday. It looks like the weather for the march and rally will be as cold as it was in Toronto for the game.

It’s no secret our family are huge Seattle Sounders Soccer fans and that we’ve been season ticket holders since the beginning in 2009. We’ve waited for 8 years to see our team win the MLS Cup Final! We are so happy for our boys and #thismoment in their franchise history.

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Our Josh and Laura were able to travel to Toronto, Canada for the game. Their trip there got very complicated when their plane experienced mechanical issues. It ended up being a 24 hour trip to get to Toronto with delays and re-scheduled flights for them. They arrived in Toronto, checked into their hotel and took a nap before the Saturday evening game.

15338803_10211421409592844_3904911638761665965_nBrrr…it was cold. All the Sounders fans were tucked up in an upper tier in the corner of the stadium.

15442312_10211344817842114_7566032109614302110_nAnd at the end of 120 minutes they were able to take this happy photo having been able to experience the first ever MLS Championship Cup win!

Here are some photos from over the years of us enjoying games or representing with our Sounders gear in other parts of the world.

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road to Henly day11 138On the river Thames in England.

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Day 4 Gardens 112Dear with his Sounders jersey in a garden~ Cotswolds, England.

hereford 014Dear outside Gloucester Cathedral in England.

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Man U 034Outside Old Trafford in Manchester, England.

… the Sounders simply willed themselves to the crown, and when Torres’ match-winner hit the back of the net it almost felt like a sort of destiny. For all the fire the Sounders came through to get here, what are a few more licks of flame?

Drink this in, Sounders fans. It gets no better than sitting atop the league. After the wildest season in MLS history, the trophy is coming home.

We are drinking it in here at this old house.

Final Five Hats for Now…

It’s time for Five on Friday and Friday’s Fave Five again. Thank you Amy and Susanne for hosting these weekly memes.

Here are five more hats I’ve worn or continue to wear.

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#1 Self Employed Business Owner of Fresh Start a house cleaning and office cleaning business.

I started this business when we moved from California to Washington State while Dear attended the University of Washington to complete his degree and enter the School of Pharmacy. It was a successful business for the years he was in school and during his residency. Our sons were in elementary school at this time and our daughter was just 3 years old. My mother in law moved to Washington with us and she watched our daughter while I was cleaning during the day. I was usually home by the time our sons got home from school. At night Dear and I would clean a medical clinic and a dental clinic while our kids were asleep and Dear’s mother was home with them. This was a hat I was very happy to hang up when Dear got a full-time job in his new Pharmacy field. Dear was 40 when he completed his studies and got his first job at a biotech company in Seattle.

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#2 Homeschool teacher for our daughter Katie.

When our daughter Katie was in fourth grade she began to show signs of stress and anxiety about school. We discovered she was being persecuted by several girls in her “gifted” class. We decided to pull her out of school and I homeschooled her for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. It was a good healing time for her and after these years she announced she was ready to go back to school for the 7th grade. The rest of her schooling went well and she finished strong including being a National Merit Scholar.

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#3 Soccer Mom and avid Soccer Fan

My love for soccer/futbol began in the 80’s when our sons and daughter started playing on club teams and school teams. It escalated with the 1994 World Cup here in the United States. I took our sons to the training ground for the U.S.A. team and to their hotel and they were able to get autographs from all the players. We were able to go to a few of the games in Los Angeles and one game at Stanford. Currently we are season ticket holders for the Seattle Sounders. When in Milan, Italy I attended a game and in England we got the great experience of a Man U. game at Old Trafford.

We purchased these two Newsweek Magazines that were published during World Cup and the boys were able to get the player featured to autograph the cover. Later I had them framed.

Understanding the development of the plays on the field are key to enjoying soccer. I realize Soccer is boring for many but not me and I’m happy it’s getting more popular in the United States.

#4 Blogger

In March of 2007 my brother Steve forced helped me start up a blog. I didn’t know how to upload, download, or attach anything. I didn’t know what a URL was. I was afraid to punch a publish button. Little by little, step by step, I learned some of the ins and outs of blogging. At the time I started blogging Dear and I were living in a condo in Camarillo, California. I had lots of time on my hands with a home I could clean in 45 minutes tops and no yard to bother with.

In February of 2008 I met my first bloggy friend in Camarillo, Willow from Willow’s Cottage. We met for coffee and after we figured out we were comfortable with each other we made a plan to start walking together. We walked 2 or 3 times a week for 1 hour until 2010 when Dear and I moved back to Washington State.  Willow shared how she had been praying for a walking buddy. I still miss my great walking buddy, our conversations, our tea times, and the support we gave each other. You’ll find a link to Willow’s Cottage on my side bar. And I need to mention she’s a master knitter.

Bloggers I’ve met in person are Willow (California), Sara (California), Cori G! (California), Pondside (Vancouver Island), Jill (Utah), Ruth (California), and Wreathmaker (Millie) in Manitoba. Hope to meet more in the future.

#5 Cookbook Author with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook

This last hat is one of those surreal things that has happened to me because of blogging. While connecting to different blogs around the world I stumbled upon Lovella’s blog and noticed Paska (Russian Easter Bread) on her side bar. I wondered (note the name of my blog ~ The Happy Wonderer) why a Canadian who didn’t have a Russian name was baking Paska. Well come to find out this group of Canadian Mennonites had ancestors who settled in the Ukraine from Germany and through the years added Russian recipes to their heritage recipes and passed them down to their children. Lovella started a cooking blog and in time asked me to be a contributor to the blog since I am full blooded Russian and many of my mother’s recipes are the same as their mother’s recipes. In time our blog, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, became very popular and a publisher asked us to work on a cookbook for them to publish. The ten of us met all together face to face for the very first time to sign the contract for the book in September of 2010. Our first cookbook was published in May of 2011 and our second cookbook was published in Spring of 2013. All proceeds of our author royalties go to feed or help widows and orphans in the Ukraine and Africa and other countries. This was a decision the ten of us were most comfortable with.

The fun hasn’t stopped yet. We are now working on a Devotional with some recipes included. This book will be published later this year in time for a play (comedy) called Mennonite Girls Can Cook that hits the stage at the Blue Gate Theater in Shipshewana, Indiana. This one really caught us by surprise. More news on these events to follow.

Thank you for visiting and reading my hat posts. Hope you are all doing well. I just found out my neighbor Pat has stage 4 cancer (just diagnosed today). I caught her adult girls outside to ask if something was wrong with their mom. They shared with me about their mom’s diagnosis. Hug each other and love each other well. You never know what tomorrow brings.

November Photo a Day Challenge

Since I’m having a hard time posting one photo-a-day I’ve decided to post days 2 through 8 of Kati’s photo challenge in one post.  On November 1st I did post the first challenge prompt, my name starts with here.
November 2nd ~ Number
P1050585This is a special number for Dear and I this year. We were married in 1974 so on December 6th we celebrate 40 years of marriage. I thought it was fun that the Seattle Sounders are celebrating their 40th anniversary, too. We celebrated already this year with a trip to England but that won’t stop us from celebrating on the actual day, too.
November 3rd ~ Leaf
mac&cheese 014We had a very blustery, stormy day on Thursday of this week and I tried to catch a leaf falling. I’m glad this one was facing my camera for a second!
November 4th ~ Brown
Alton to Cotswolds 239This photo was taken at the church that was used in Downton Abbey for the weddings. The little town where some of the filming is done is called Bampton and we had a fun quick visit there reliving some of the scenes.
November 5th ~ Cozy
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November 6th ~ Pumpkin
November 7th ~ Friend
2014-06-25 The Girls
November 8th ~ Table
We woke up to beautiful sunshine today. We had such a blustery day yesterday with a mix of brightness and darkness throughout the day. I managed to to fill a yard waste bin full of leaves in between rain showers. The wind gusts are of course made more leaves fall. Hopefully the dryness will last so we can mow the lawn for the last time till Spring. Looking forward to a weekend at home after being away last weekend.
Have a great weekend y’all!

Eggs-cellent

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Click over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog to get the recipe for Gluten free Ranchero sauce for Huevos Rancheros and other Mexican dishes. We served this dish when my niece and her husband were visiting in June. My niece is Gluten and Lactose intolerant so I had to come up with a breakfast that would work for all of us. This recipe got the thumbs up from her and my son who is lactose intolerant and from the rest of us who don’t have to watch our gluten and lactose intake.

Last night my son, nephew and grand nephew attended the Seattle Sounders Soccer Game. My nephew got this photo of me with the few, the proud, the Marine Corp band. I enjoyed a fun back and forth with these Marines.

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And here’s my son, nephew and grand nephew…

10553416_10204402153082185_2743159487908005648_nWe had a good time in the sun even though our team lost.

Today at this old house the bath/shower tile surround is going in. Should be a full day of work here. Hope you all have a good Tuesday.

It Was the Best of Times…

…it was the worst of times.

I’m diverting from my regular “Cheers” posts slightly today for a little reality check when traveling.

We are now in Henley on Thames after traveling for 2 hours this morning. We are staying overnight in the city instead of the country. Our hotel seemed idyllic on-line, situated on the river Thames. What they don’t show you is the one way 2 lane street below our window which seems everyone needs to use to get out of town, including buses. So I sit on my bed and look out and see rowers and quiet boaters go by along the river while listening to buses and diesel vehicles rumble down the street below our window.

road to Henly day11 155Don’t feel sorry for us because there is so much beauty to enjoy it overshadows the noise of the city. I’m thinking I’m more of a country mouse with a city near by kind of person as opposed to living in the middle of the city kind of person. The photo above  is the view out our window while I’m sitting on the bed.

P1050473When I stick my head out the window and look down this is the view of the two lane road that the trucks and diesels rumble along with the compressed air from the brakes being released. You know that loud swishy noise.

Time will tell if we are able to sleep tonight. No air conditioning so we have the window open. They have equipped the rooms with fans and maybe that will work like “white noise” for us tonight.

P1050469That’s our room above with the window open.  Now that you’ve seen the worst of it I will leave you with some of the best. Henley on Thames really is a lovely little city to visit. The town shops and restaurants are very nice. They just got done with a regatta this past weekend. We visited the rowing museum today and they have a wonderful area illustrating 3 dimensional scenes from “The Wind in the Willows”. I’ll have a post or two about all the good things this city has to offer.

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See, I’m a happy camper walking along the river Thames thinking about The Wind in the Willows. 

An aside…stop reading if you don’t care to hear about my love for soccer and skip down to the next paragraph. I’m also wearing my Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer shirt celebrating their win over the Portland Timbers last night with Clint Dempsey scoring a goal fresh from his return from being Captain of the U.S. World Cup Soccer team. I know most of you don’t really give a rip but I need to keep things historical for my memory bank to make it easier to remember the timing of my travels. Now back to some great Grahame quotes!

“All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

road to Henly day11 127 “Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing!”

And yes, we are off to our last lodging spot tomorrow for two nights and then we will fly home on Thursday.

We are hoping the heat wave in the Seattle area will be mostly over by the time we arrive home on Thursday. Dear is already making plans to sleep in the cool basement if it’s still blazing hot! How’s the weather where you are?