Sisters

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Successful Journey

On the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday we traveled inland from Huntington Beach to see my pop. This would be the first time Pop would meet Addy, his youngest great granddaughter. Addy was very concerned about our pop who is not looking well. She had quite a grip on her daddy’s t-shirt.

She loosened up that grip to accept the cash her Great Grandfather pulled out of his wallet for her. Too funny.

She even had a slight smile for him when he handed her the second bill.

After the meeting she enjoyed multi-tasking, walking and holding the ball.

Pop had to spend 20 minutes on his Nebulizer. Addy was very interested in what was going on and her concern showed in her facial expressions. All my sisters were together for this visit, too, which was nice. We enjoyed some Borsch together and Addy liked her first taste of it, too.

My Pop thanked me again for this chair Dear and I bought him. The power control to move the chair to the recline and other positions has really come in handy for him. Before we left each of us daughters prayed for him and then we all sang Great is Thy Faithfulness and God be With You Till We Meet Again. That made me choke up but I’m glad to sing it to him while he’s still alive instead of just at his funeral.

From our time in La Habra with our pop/grandfather (dzeda), Great Grandfather, we headed back to Huntington Beach and met up with Debbee and Lenny for dinner at Ola’s. The next morning we flew home to Washington. Our trip to Southern California was full from beginning to end and little Addy adjusted well to everything thrown at her. Speaking of driving in Southern California, I’m happy to report that we had smooth sailing for each of our comings and goings. That’s a praise for sure!

The four of us sat together going to California and coming home and I was happy to enjoy more time with Addy and giving her parents some breaks in the journey. We parted in Seattle and their trip continued on to Spokane where they would have another hour drive to get all the way home again.

We have had some sunshine which has been great the last couple of days. Some much needed planter clean out has happened and I’m grateful to have been able to accomplish those tasks in that sunshine!

As I type away I’m enjoying the Winter Olympics in the background. Are you watching?

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Weekend Roundup “F”

1. Starts with “F.”
2. A Favorite.
3. Flower.

1.This is our Father with me and my sisters. We call him Pop. His health is failing fast. His future is secure, even more secure in death. His heavenly Father has prepared a place for him. He is ready to go and be with his heavenly Father. We are very thankful for a faithful father. Youngest to oldest, Lana, Ellen, Vera, Kathy, and Pop. Pop is 94 years old and could be 95 in May. He has four sons, too, my brothers who weren’t with us this day.

2. A favorite and a first. Addy felt Pacific beach sand for the first time on her bare foot at Huntington Beach, California.

3. A flower. One of my favorites, the hellebore, Lenten Rose. It always surprises me when it blooms in late January or early February just in time for Lent.

And a parting shot:

Family fun at Ola’s in Huntington Beach. Full of good food and fun.

Linking up with Tom for The Weekend Roundup “F”.

Next weeks prompts Starts with “G.”  A Favorite.  Green.
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From California With Love…

For the last 5 days we have been enjoying visitors from California at our house. My oldest sister and her daughter Michelle along with Michelle’s hubby and two kids have been staying with us. On Sunday we gathered at Josh and Laura’s for a birthday celebration for their Aunt Lana, my sister. Three out of the four original sisters were able to enjoy this time together. Our oldest sister, Kathy, on the left was born in Iran. Lana and I were born in California. Kathy and her family have been caring for our dear old pop. He’s getting a little lonely since she’s been gone but Kathy’s husband and her other daughter are keeping a close eye on him. I hope it’s a nice break for Kathy.

Sisters, Aunts, Mothers, Nieces, Daughters…

The current batch of Californians visiting and celebrating with most of the Washingtonians.

The weather was just right for an outdoor event.

During the visit Pandemics were halted and the world was saved by different groups of players in different locations. There were fairy worlds to discover by others.

On Monday some of the ladies headed to Snohomish to do some shopping along First Avenue. Since we only managed to hit about 1/16th of what this shopping district had to offer a return trip in the future is on the to do list.

The youngest among us on this family visit enjoyed using the fruit picker to help Great Auntie out by picking a small fraction of our apples.  Our white hydrangea has some huge blooms as you can see with Avery standing next to it.

This extended family photo from our nephew Joe and Hannah’s wedding just popped up on facebook. In this photo from my side of the family there are 11 Washingtonians, 4 Texans and the rest are Californians. This wedding was in January just north of Santa Barbara, California. It’s nice to have visits from our family a fraction at a time. We have another small fraction of family arriving on Monday!

The Pacific Northwest is bracing itself for a heat wave. It’s all the news up here. Hope you are staying cool and comfy where you are.

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Signs and Fences with My Sisters…

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This past weekend was our Sisters weekend in Washington State. Two sisters from Washington State and two sisters from California got together for fun and fellowship. Our sister Vera is in the midst of lots of change in her life so we thought it would be good to be together and celebrate being sisters for a weekend.

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We started the weekend off with a Raclette meal together on Friday evening. The weather forecast for the weekend was dismal but on Saturday morning we were giddy because the sun was shining and it promised to be a day without rain. We headed north on Interstate 5 to Mount Vernon, Washington to see daffodils in bloom. We were blessed with sunshine all day long. We said thank you to God many times during the day. We had a couple of spontaneous stops before we reached our 1st planned stop in Mount Vernon, Roozengaarde, to muck about in the daffodil fields.

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This is the entrance to a beautiful garden at Roozengaarde.  Forsythia acts as a natural fence on this side of the tailored garden at Roozengaarde. Soon this garden will be in full bloom with tulips like this photo below from last year.

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The sea of yellow in the background are the rows and rows of daffodils.

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Besides these signs and fences here is another teaser shot of the fields of daffodils with a fence in the background.

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Sisters wknd 059My sisters, Kathy, Lana and Vera.

I’m linking up to signs, signs hosted by Lesley and Good Fences hosted by TexWisGirl.

Today is my recuperating day after all the fun I had with my sisters. Part of recuperating will be getting back on my daily track. Hope your day is going well.

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Sisters!

It’s been 5 years since we’ve had a “Sister weekend”.

We made some good memories then and it’s time for some more…

Last time on the first weekend of April 2011 we took the Clipper to Victoria for a weekend. This time we are staying in our homes in the Seattle area and venturing out from here.

Last time we were in Victoria we met up with Pondside and she gave us a grand tour of the area. My sisters and I loved spending time with her. She is a blogger that I so admire for her work ethic and her caring heart for all the people in her life.

I’m hoping to show my sisters our fields of daffodils this time around. Here’s hoping for decent weather and rows and rows of daffodils!

I’m getting things ready at this old house for my sisters. Trying to plan some easy meals in between our outings. I’m thinking about breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and desserts. I’ve got two guest rooms ready for my oldest sister Kathy and my next oldest sister Vera. My younger sister, Lana, lives walking distance to me. Kathy and Vera live in southern California. I’m picking them up from the airport on Friday morning. I hope to share some of our adventures on my blog next week.

SAD NEWS FOR BLOGGERS!

I was so sorry to hear that Sally of Smiling Sally Blog has passed away. She hosted Blue Monday for years. I participated in the past but haven’t for some time. She was always encouraging and positive and kind.  I love what bj said in her comment on Sally’s blog…

Bye, bye, Sally…you are now in the best BLUE of all….Blue Heaven.

On her blog she has this verse as her favorite so I know I will see her again in the future in heaven…

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. I John 5:13

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Birds of a Feather…

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We have had birds and more birds pecking about our yard the last couple of weeks. It has been fun to see the many varieties.

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This European Starling is a new addition in our yard this year.

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They like to stick together and they fly off together, too.

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We had a fun time this weekend with a few members of our family. Girls of a feather that enjoy sticking together, too. It wasn’t the whole flock but we take what we can get. My oldest sister Kathy’s two daughters were able to fly to Seattle to stay with my baby sister Lana. Our daughter Katie and DIL Laura joined the girls at Lana’s for a few days of nonstop fun. Fall-girls 015

Michelle, Melissa, Katie and Laura

Fall-girls 016Our hostess, Auntie Lana,  joined the girls for a photo!

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And Auntie Ellen, too.

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Between seasons of Downton Abbey we were able to fit in a trip to Country Village in Bothell where we made some fun purchases and after the shopping trip we met up with all the guys for dinner at the Purple Cafe.

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There were 10 of us at dinner but I couldn’t get a great shot of everyone. Lana’s husband Steve, Dear, Ryan (my niece Michelle’s husband) and our son Josh joined the girls for a lovely meal out and then it was back to Lana’s for more Downton Abbey…

The guys were very accommodating to the girls this weekend and we appreciate them very much. We only had enough time to make it through 2 whole seasons and the Christmas Special from Downton Abbey. My sister Lana is the only one of us who hasn’t seen season 3 yet and we left the DVD’s with her so she can finish off the series before Season 4 starts here in the states in January.

We said our farewells and our guests headed back to the airport to fly back to Southern California. We all look forward to the next time we can be together.

We are in a foggy pattern here in the Western part of the Puget Sound that has extended up to British Columbia. We are hoping the sun can break through the fog in the next days ahead.