Fave Fives on Holiday Time

Popping in a bit late for Friday Fave Fives.  The reason is that I am traveling.  This time, The Professor and I are enjoying a few days away.   Anyway, here are my Five Faves from the past week.

1.  As I stated above, we are gone from home right now.  But the night before we left, the kids and grandkids popped over to say goodbye and give us hugs and tell us to have a fun time.  I love living close to my family, and I love that they care about us so much.

2.  First night out.  We stayed in Kentucky.  We planned our overnight stop so we could have dinner with a long time friend.  We were all new to our church in Oregon and met almost immediately.  All these years, we have stayed in touch!

Horrible photo but proof we were there...

A bonus there was that Eleanor was so excited to meet LB because she is a great traveler, literally all over the world, and Eleanor follows all her adventures on F-book.

3.  The next three nights we stayed in Tennessee with friends from California who have moved there.  We had so much fun that we didn't even take ONE photo!

One of the few pictures I took!  Again, not in focus (I blame it on the speed we were traveling...)

4.  One day we had lunch with two couples we have known for decades who also moved to TN from CA.  In fact, one of the men is the person The Professor has known the longest in his whole life (except for his older brother) -- since he was one year old!  AND this man was one of my college professors! (he was a young prof at the time...)  Again, no photos-- we just talked and talked and talked.

5.  You may have all heard about the really really cold, icy and snowy weather our part of the US is expecting.  I am thankful we planned our trip to drive south to Gulf Shores, Alabama before all the snow and cold weather arrived (not that we knew anything about it at the time...).  And I am thankful I can keep in close contact with the family we left in Ohio.

If you are in any of the areas that will be affected by this winter storm, I hope you are prepared and will be safe and snug at home.

A Quiet Week in January

Some weeks are exciting and adventurous.  Other weeks are quiet and boring.  Sometimes, I appreciate boring.  This week was one.  But that's okay.  I am sharing my Friday Fave Fives, five things that I have found to be blessings in my life this week.  Susanne hosts us every week.  You can find her blog HERE.

1.  Well Read Mom monthly meeting.  I am enjoying reading a book each month with my daughter-in-law.  This month's book was a tome.  And I struggled a bit with it.  Hunchback of Notre Dame.  But sitting and discussing the book with a dozen other women of all ages helped me see much more in the book.  I am glad to be a part of this group.  (And it's fun to visit home in different parts of the big city where most likely I would never venture.)

2.  Our usual coffee time with T and S lasted three hours.  I guess we had lots to discuss.  And another lady joined us, a friend of all of us.

3.  Two good walks with Nurse Girl and the dogs.  The second one included PAL and her mom too.  And we walked on a trail that has been closed for over a year for renovations.  Being able to walk that trail made it extra fun.

4.  Working on a couple of projects.  I realized this week that I needed to order seeds for this year's gardens.  So I pulled out my seed box and have been organizing and deciding what I need to order.  Definitely red kale and some herbs...

5.  I've been working on a couple of knitting projects that have challenged me.  One is a pair of gloves for which I wrote the pattern.  Part way through the second glove, I realized that I hadn't done a great job writing down part of the pattern.  I think I have it fixed now and the gloves are almost finished.  (photos to come when they're done)  The other project is a shrug for a friend.  No pattern.  I'm copying the one she owns and loves to wear.  I'm in the muddling middle of that.  I do enjoy the challenge.

Bonus.  Last night, the whole family enjoyed a yummy Chinese dinner at a local restaurant.  It's near Younger Son's birthday (Dr Mike) who is still visiting over Christmas time, so we included that in our dinner celebration.

Bonus2.  In the fall, I shared a few photos of Tall Boy because he is a high school senior and evidently it's a thing to do a weekly Senior photo on social media. Then I quit.  So here is a picture of Tall Boy from many years ago. (2016)

January First Week Faves

 Always remember how much you have to grateful for.

It's Friday night.  Time to share my Friday Fave Fives-- the five blessings from this past week.  (click on the link to join us in sharing what we are thankful for.  Here are mine:

1.  Nurse Girl and I made it home from SoCal in time to celebrate Grandson' Warrior Boy's birthday.  He turned sixteen!!

Many years ago...

Two years ago...

2.  Warmer weather.  We've had a respite from the snow and ice.  Because it has been a bit less frigid, we have been able to be out two afternoons to take walks.

 

3.  I have been working on this one thousand piece puzzle I received for Christmas for a few days.  It wasn't easy.  But I finally finished it!

4.  We hadn't seen our friends T and S for three weeks.  Our weekly coffee time lasted us three hours!  We had so much to catch up on!  I am so thankful for good friends.

5.  Family photos!  It has been a couple of years since we were all together as a family and could have pictures taken.  Fortunately, the photographer was able to reschedule us for today after we had to cancel our planned photo shoot when Nurse Girl and I flew out to SoCal.  I can't wait to see the results!

What have you been grateful for this first full week of January 2026?

Beaches in Southern California

 Even though we didn't have much time for relaxation while we were in Los Angeles last week, we spent as much time as we could at the beach which is both Nurse Girl's and my happy place.

I might have taken a few photos...

Manhattan Beach!  First, we enjoyed breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien cafe.  It was just as delicious as it was back when we lived in the area.

Eleanor gave the coffee five stars.

On Manhattan Beach pier

Then, we drove a bit north to Marina Del Rey (just north of LAX, Los Angeles airport).  Lunch at Sharky's Wood Fired Mexican Grill, my favorite restaurant in CA.

A long walk along the marina and Ballona Creek in Playa Del Rey.

The next day, we were able to drive down to Huntington Beach to meet Nurse Girl's bestie from the days when they all lived in San Diego.

Most people's idea of Southern California:  sand, palm trees and sea birds.

When you think of Southern California, do you imagine SNOW?  Yes there was snow on the mountains.

Snow and palm trees

Near the hospital

Los Angeles is freeways, high rise buildings, graffiti and all other things urban.

  But for me, Los Angeles is beaches.

An Unexpected End to 2025 Fave Fives

 Happy New Year!  2026 is here!  This past week did not happen as intended, but even in the midst of some difficulties, I have found many blessings.  It is so important to pay attention to the positive events in life because the more you focus on the blessings, the more you realize just how blessed you are.  That's why I join Susanne's Friday Fave Fives every week.  (Want to know more about FFF?  Here's the LINK.)

1. The day after we celebrated our Christmas on the 26th, Nurse Girl was informed that her daughter in California was in the hospital.  Certainly that wasn't the fave.  BUT.  She was able to take a few days off from work and fly out to CA that evening.  I am thankful I was able to travel with her.  The flights were easy to book.  There were no delays.  Travel was uneventful.  Car rental was smooth.  Hotel was lovely.

2.  We were able to visit Granddaughter and encourage her as much as possible.  (No worries.  She has been discharged.)  I am thankful we could be with her and spend even a few hours with her.

3.  As long as we were in the Los Angeles area, where we used to live, we chose a couple of our favorite places to eat.  One local friend was able to drive up to have breakfast and coffee with us.  That was a huge blessing.

4.  There is nothing like a visit to the beach to help us de-stress.  For both of us, the beach is our happy place.  One of her friends drove up from San Diego and spent a couple of hours with us.  I know that was so very comforting to Nurse Girl.

5.  Flight home... again, it was smooth 'sailing'.  No missed flights.  Easy transfers.  Lots of reading and knitting time.

Even though the visit to Los Angeles was unexpected, we were able to find lots of blessings in the midst of the difficulties.  And for that we are thankful.  But, I'm glad to be home again.  And ready to begin a new year.

PS:  come back soon for LOADS of photos from Los Angeles beaches!

Boxing Day Faves

 I am late posting my Friday Fave Fives today (tonight).  But I have a good excuse.  Because of Nurse Girl's work schedule at the hospital, she worked on Christmas Day.  So we celebrated Christmas with all our family TODAY!

1.  I am counting celebrating together as my first fave.

2.  Did you notice the word ALL?  Yes all my adult children are here with us right now!

3-5.  All the happy faces of my family as we opened presents.  These pictures just say it all.

The Professor:  More books to read!

A devotional book I really wanted.

Chaps loves playing games.

She loves her new sweater!

The perfect t-shirt for the Rocket Scientist.

(and Tall Boy photo bombing)

Steam Deck fun!

Nurse Girl:  "My yarn!  Don't mess with my yarn!"

Nurse Girl and her boyfriend who also was celebrating with us, but I didn't get a photo of him opening his present. (photo from his work party last week)

The grandboys think cash is the best gift in the world.

But PAL thinks her Just Dutch doll Miffy wearing her Gustav Klimt outfit was the best present ever.

Only the Older Granddaughter was not with us... she is living in California.

The Professor and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lights on our city's county courthouse.

And it's also Boxing Day!  Did you have a wonderful Christmas celebration?