Tag Archives: Willow’s Cottage

What About You Hodgpodge

1.  What’s something blogging has taught you about yourself?

I’m social and I like to meet new people and see and experience new things. Blogging has opened up a whole new world to me with a walking buddy while I was living in Southern California (Willow’s Cottage), tour guides on trips to Canada (Pondside), outings with blogging friends to museums in California (Willows Cottage and Sara), a meet up and shopping trips with a blogging friend from Orange County who is no longer blogging, a meal with another blogging friend in the Sacramento area (Scrabblequeen) Lunch in Kansas with another blogging friend who is no longer blogging. The most amazing impact on my life that came to me through blogging is my association with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook. These nine women have enriched my life in more ways then I can count. I’m so thankful to God for them and the lives they lead in service to others and all the dear friends I’ve met in person or enjoyed by visiting their blogs. I’m ready and willing to meet any more of you who travel to my part of the world.

2.  Leftovers…are you in the ‘reheat and eat’ camp or the ‘put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them’ camp? What’s your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?

Both. I like small amounts of leftovers but I get tired of some things that linger in the fridge. I really enjoy Stroganoff and tuna noodle as leftovers. Soggy salads aren’t my cup of tea.

3. ‘Me time’…your thoughts?

At this stage of life I have plenty of “Me Time”. When my children were living under our roof “me time” was a rare commodity. I don’t think it’s too healthy to think too much about ME. There are seasons of life where we have more time for self and seasons with less time for self.

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

Emotional support.

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.

 Cabbage as in Borsch. Marinated lamb cooking on the barbecue. Lots of rice.  Sour cream as a side dish. Blintzes swimming in butter and half and half. Good fresh bread. In other words heritage food was the smell of my childhood. My mother’s and father’s love language was providing good eats for their family and others. We would probably be considered poor growing up but one thing we never lacked was tasty food.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Yippee, Yahoo, our countertops are being installed this morning, one week late! Better late then never! In the meantime I’ve accomplished some organizing and thinning out of stuff at this old house with the anticipation of moving next June! No Christmas decorating at this old house yet till we clean up the mess from the new countertops going in. Next week sounds like a good week to get a tree and start decorating.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for asking the questions!

Bloggy Friends ~FFF

My favorite blessings from blogging have been my face to face meet ups with the individuals I’ve learned about from their personal blogs. The first blogger I met and who became my walking buddy while Dear and I lived in Camarillo is Willow from Willow’s Cottage. While our friendship continued we met up with Sara from Come Away With Me at The Getty Villa. Willow and Sara already knew each other. Besides the Getty Villa we met up again for some time at the Getty Museum before I moved back to Seattle.

On one of my trips across Los Angeles to visit my folks in 2009 Cori G! from Brambleberry Cottage (formerly Gingerbread and Co.) and I set up a meeting over coffee in Orange County, California. It was a delight to meet Cori. We were able to meet up again on one of my trips back to Southern California and have a meal and stroll through a antique market in the city of Orange.

On Dear and my road trip moving back to Seattle in 2010 we met up with Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer and her husband at the Winchester Inn in Southern Oregon. It was a delight.

In July of 2010 Dear and I met the Scrabble Queen from Scrabblequeen Knits for breakfast while we were in the Sacramento area for a funeral. She gifted me with some wonderful loose tea from England!

On our sister trip to Victoria, B.C. to celebrate my 60th birthday my sisters and I were treated to wonderful time with the lovely Pondside from Life Between the Ponds.

Oh dear me…I forgot another major bloggy meet-up. Jill from Jill’s World of Research, Reaction and Millinery came to visit in my home and we attended the Lavender festival together in July of 2011. Maybe it was the home part that made me think it was a family visit instead of a bloggy visit.

We had a great day seeing beautiful lavender fields, eagles, and eaglets and a baby seagull. Sorry for the oversight dear Jill!

IMGP0168At a book signing in Winnepeg/Manitoba I was able to meet Millie from Wreathmaker. What a fun surprise to see her and her hubby at McNally Robinson bookstore.

SeaJack #4 001Just this year on Katie and my roadtrip from Seattle to North Carolina we arranged a meeting over lunch in Kansas City, Missouri with Pam from Abiding With Love. We had a wonderful meal paid for by Pam’s husband and great conversation with Pam and her daughter.

What a blessing it has been to get to know these ladies and enjoy their thoughts and adventures and beautiful tables, tea settings, recipes, decorating, devotionals, book recommendations, etc. etc.

Judy correctly pointed out that there is another group of women that I met through blogging that have changed my life forever. This next photo is from the first time I met five of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook! This meeting was in the Spring of 2010. All ten of us would meet when we got together in British Columbia to sign the contract for our first book in the summer of 2010. These girls are a big part of my life now and they are more like family so that’s probably why I forgot that initially it was because of blogging that we came together!

 

These are my favorites for Susanne’s Friday’s Fave Five at Living to Tell the Story. It would be fun to meet Susanne some day!