Fridays Fave Five

First off I’m so excited about everyone’s suggestions for San Francisco. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me about your favorite experiences there!

This week I’m going to share my 1 favorite thing from this week and 4 of my many favorite things about Fall.

1. Top of my list this week is flying on Thursday to our Home outside Seattle, Washington to do a little work around the house and get it ready for the fall months ahead. Of course the best part of the long weekend will be spending some time with our kids.

Now for 4 Favorites about Fall I’m looking forward to.

2. Enjoying the Fall colors!

3. I’m a Christian who happens to love Halloween. I don’t worship evil on this day, I get to see many children and adults from my neighborhood that I don’t normally see and give out candy which makes my heart glad! It’s a form of hospitality on a large scale in my mind…

4. Lots of good hot soup and bread never tastes as good as it does in the Fall!

5. Thanksgiving has to be at the very top of the Favorite Fall Celebration. This photo was taken way back in 2004 before I was blogging and before I thought to take a photo before we ate instead of after. :0)

For more Fave Five on Friday visit our hostess Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

Pink Saturday ~ Store and Houses

It’s time for another PINK Saturday and I couldn’t resist showing you this store at the Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks and some houses we walked by on Main St. and just off Main in Ventura, California.

I’m going to admit to y’all that I didn’t go into the store because I was just speeding through the mall that day to get in some extra steps for my walking totals.

The following houses were fun discoveries when my husband and I decided to stroll through this part of downtown Ventura last Saturday. We saw a lot of great old houses but I’m only sharing the PINK ones…

The house that is shown in the top row of the collage is for Rent and the sign says that it is the oldest house in Ventura.

Do you think it would be fun to live in this pink house?

Oh and I’m experimenting with a new program that is more creative with collages. Here’s my first attempt.

I’ll be doing a lot more experimenting this week. Have a fabulous Saturday everyone. I’m headed to an Open House for my niece’s 30th birthday!

For more Pink Saturday Posts visit our hostess Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Fridays Fave 5

Whoohoo! Look at the new beautiful badge to go with Fridays Fave 5. Tia created it for Susanne…

1. One of my favorites this week is listening to good music.

2. One of my favorite meals this week was this Mediterannean Tilapia. Recipe is here.

3. Hearing about cousin get-togethers that are planned for October this year. Two of my nieces from Dear’s side of the family are flying from New York and Los Angeles to spend time with my kids for a cousin reunion in Seattle. Then the 2nd week in October two of my nieces on my side of the family are flying from Los Angeles to Seattle for an Anne of Green Gables Weekend with my girls in Washington. How wonderful is that? It makes my heart glad…

4. Eating breakfast at Allison’s on Saturday after our early morning walk on the beach. Look at the size of those freshly made biscuits! My favorite here is the Mexican Omelette with hot chiles, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, and cheese. Served with a side of quacamole and beans. Hee, hee, I cut down on calories by ordering the fruit instead of the potatoes. :0) Dear orders the Green Chile Omelette. It comes with a whole green chile on the top and filled with more.

5. Here’s one of my favorite photos from this week. This is from a walk down Main St. in Ventura, California.

So is it just Dear and I or are those door handles taken off a coffin?

To see more Fave 5 or to join in and participate visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. I’ll be around later after Bible Study this morning. I’m getting a breakfast casserole ready to take to the study. I’ll be sharing that recipe sometime soon. Have a great Friday and weekend everyone…

Dawn Walks with Dear ~

We were back to our Emma Wood State Beach Walk this past Saturday. It’s been 8 weeks since our last walk there. We left the house at 6:00 A.M. and met the Dawn at the beach. Every walk here holds new discoveries for us. The tides change, the shore changes from season to season, the birds change too. We saw a lot of younger Seagulls and some small birds we hadn’t seen before.

I love that God’s creation cannot be exhausted. I stand in awe at His creativity.

Psalm 104: 24-25 ~ “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small.”

I was glad I wore my sandals this week because the tide caught us off guard when it came in a little quicker than we expected.

By the end of the day on Saturday after we drove to Huntington Beach and walked to the beach there, too, we had logged in 14,032 steps! Willow and I walked 4 days last week, too, so my numbers were really good. But…Willow flew the coop to Oregon this week and my numbers will flounder…

Saturday in Huntington Beach with Hope ~

My brother Leonard, his wife Mandy and their 7 month old daughter Hope paid us a surprise visit from Dallas the last few days. Leonard had to travel to Southern California for business so Mandy and Hope joined him for the weekend.

Leonard is my baby brother, Lana G’s twin. He’s been married to Mandy for 2 years now and they were blessed with sweet little Hope in January of this year.

When my family gets together there is a lot of everything. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of plates, lots of talk and lots of laughter. We generally meet up at my sister Vera’s house in Huntington Beach because her and her husband Nick have the gift of making lots of food. We joke around about what 3 meats they will be preparing this time. The rest of us bring something to accompany all the meat they prepare. This time we had ribs, chuck roast, pineapple chicken, roasted chicken, spaghetti and meat sauce. My brother Tim and his wife Letty were all dressed up because they were headed to a wedding from our get-together. I don’t know why I had to explain that except for they are so dressed up compared to the rest of us.

Hope finally woke up and she just couldn’t take her eyes off of Jack. Jackson is my niece Michelle and Ryan’s 3 year old son. Michelle’s a blogger too and you’ll catch her in some of my photos with her camera in hand. Her blog is “Wait for It”

Some fun with Sweet Potatoes. Yes people there are going to be lots and lots of photos of Hope. I had to get my 4 hour fix before I see her again at Christmas.

After we stuffed ourselves with all that meat and salads and dessert we decided a walk down to the beach was in order. That’s the other great thing about Nick and Vera’s, it’s just a very short stroll to Huntington City Beach.

On our walk we met up with more guests for the evening and when we returned there was a gift for Hope. It was so stinkin sweet to watch her pat her Pooh Bear and give him loves.

We are so happy that our huge family does not overwhelm Hope. She seems to be able to relax with all of us. Did you catch Michelle with her camera?

Jackson entertained us with his dancing skills. He seems to be doing well with not having all the attention on him when Hope’s around.

Hope really lights up and kicks her feet when her Dzeda (grandfather) pays attention to her and he loves to entertain her. She loves her baba (grandmother). Aunt Kathy is great too. Now look at that expression on daddy and Hope’s face…hmmm.

Thanks Nick and Vera for opening your home for another fun get together.

Here’s the verse that Leonard and Mandy chose for Hope’s Baby Announcement ~

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, Therefore I have Hope in Him.”

Photo Hunters ~ Strings

For Photo Hunters this week the theme is string(s). I chose to share these photos of this sculpture suspended from the ceiling at the Seattle/Tacoma Airport. It is suspended with wire string. There’s a description of this piece below.

Also worth noting is the suspended sculpture “Landing,” by Ralph Hemlick and Stuart Schechter. Consisting of over 2,800 pewter pieces suspended from 1,050 wires, it depicts a goose landing on water, with a three-dimensional reflection underneath. The landing goose is formed by many small birds, with its reflection created by fish. As an added bonus for those who take the time to look, mixed in throughout the piece are more than fifty different Northwest themed pieces, including umbrellas, the Pike Place Pig, and SAM’s Hammering Man.

For more Photo Hunters photos of String click over to tnchick.

ht: Information on Sculpture here.

Fave Five for Friday ~ September 5th

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is hosting Fave Five for Friday. Here’s what she says…

“Hope you play along. It’s very simple. Just list your favorite five things from the week. It can be anything from jokes to music to food. It’s a fun way to get to know more about each other and maybe make new friends, find new blogs or new things to try. Expand our world’s a bit. Make it as detailed as you like, but the more detail the more fun! Don’t forget to link to this site and sign the Mr. Linky so I can come and read your favorites.”

For my Fave Five this week, I’ll start with Sunday the last day of August and move forward.

1. Sunday we traveled 3-1/2 hours northeast of our condo to attend an Engagement party for my cousin’s son and his fiance. Lots of photos from the event are here.

2. Too tired to cook after all that fun Sunday on Monday (Labor Day) we tried an Italian Restaurant in Old Camarillo for the first time and had a nice experience.

3. Walking each morning for an hour with Willow from Willow’s Cottage and pushing ourselves up the hills and seeing these sights.

4. I shared a meditation I read by John Piper this week. You can read what I posted here. This was one of my favorite parts on running the race… “The finish line is crossed in the end, not by a burst of human energy, but by collapsing into the arms of God.”

5. My last favorite thing from this week was watching Piper Palin while her mother was giving her speech. Priceless moments. This little girl was meant for the stage! :0) You can see a You tube of part of these fabulous moments here at Light Came. OH! You’ve got to click over to Bloggin daz and see Angie who is a amazing look-a-like of Sarah Palin.

For more Fave Five on Friday visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

ABC Wednesday ~ G is for…

G is for Gates at the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, California

For more posts on the Letter G click here.

Ruby Tuesday ~ Kensington Dream

This post isn’t all for the birds…

I’m including a recipe for a signature Ruby Drink that Dear watched a bartender in South Kensington (outside of London) make and has recreated for us in the U.S.A. This isn’t an everyday drink but a once in a while drink that has some good flavors and quite a kick! And well it’s Ruby!!

Kensington Dream

In a shaker over ice add juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 oz. Creme de Cassis, 1 oz. each Brandy and Amaretto. Shake well and pour into Goblet. Add about 4 oz. of champagne. Enjoy and don’t drink and drive!

For more Ruby Posts click on over to Maryt at Work of a Poet

Opening Doors ~ Day 1

Good Morning and Happy Labor Day to those of you in the U.S.A. Busy holiday today watching and praying Gustav will lighten her load and that our far away neighbors will be spared another huge disastor!

Day One of Opening Doors Photo Challenge

For Day One of the Open Doors Photo Challenge I chose this gate and front door combination on a house I walked by in Ventura, California.

Make sure and visit Jientje at Heaven in Belgium to see more doors from around the world.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Travel