its been hot the last few days. good days to sit in the air conditioned living room and do puzzles. but my latest puzzle, a gift from tony, may be the toughest one yet.
I started with the eyes
they all look so much alike except the blue ones, i got mind boggled😵💫. So i decided to start a post on the blog. just a few photos i wanted to share with you.
Some not to recent sunsets
December 24th- do you see the heartJanuary 21rst- those trees in the distance look like they are on fire
We have a new landmark here in Long Beach. Lincoln park has been downtown since 1880.it was closed in 2016 while a new city center was being built and just reopened this February-with the new landmark- front and center. a giant Lincoln penny. i think its fitting since there has been a statue of Abraham Lincoln residing there since 1915. the mayor thinks the penny will ultimately be a tourist attraction and a selfie spot for sure. what do you think? the grand-prix is this weekend so i guess we will see.
But today, something is brewing in the news.
Mr, Funmaker also said “ he would not be able to take his grandson there” because he would have to explain what happened back then. shouldn’t the boy be taught that anyway, by his elders? I’m for standing up for causes, but don’t mess with Abraham Lincoln.
We also have new library with a new name. I think everyone agrees on this one.
We haven’t went in yet
We’ve had some bees. ( A lot of bees) this is by our garage door. there is a hive inside.
This is our fence butting up to our neighbors house. Also a hive inside. I wish i could post the video i took the day they swarmed but i don’t have that option on this version of word press. they were so loud. bbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzz BBBBBBBBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZ bbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzz BUZZ
beekeepers came last week and removed both hives. the is the sophisticated removal process.
No honey
always remember……..
The blog brings me so much joy💗hope it brings you some joy too
some puzzles are more fun than others, this was one of those.
That spatula was a seek and find item tracy. there were 22 of them. most of them are small, I’m not sure why they add that in puzzles.
There’s a ice cream scoop under the shelf by those darling canisters. a cookie cutter on the red pyrex. One beater by the faucet handle and tongs by the appetizer tray – btw -resembles one of Linda’s.
Can find the misplaced items here?⬇️
What about here⬇️
so here it is⬇️
I loved putting this puzzle together. I was hoping you would see the resemblance of pete to this dog amy😊( pete is in the christmas picture)
i think i’m on my way to my dream kitchen. can you spot some of the look alike items in my kitchen⬇️
Puzzles are how i keep my brain engaged. I know all of you have things you love that do that for you. Keep it up.
I found the missing strawberry 🧩 piece. it was right under my feet. i don’t know how we missed it. and iv’e picked out my next puzzle.
Its going to be fun, but i wont bother you with it. thanks for tagging along for retro kitchen one. hope you enjoyed it. the weather is nice and i should get out now.
i guess we all have things that bring joy into our lives, and i guess puzzles are one of mine. many other things do too, but this post is about my latest puzzle. it is so much fun putting the pieces together to make the objects come to life.
thanks for all the great comments to my last post. They inspire me💗
with everyone’s good thoughts my knee might just get better on it’s own.🧘🏼♀️🤸🏼♂️🏋️♀️🤾🏼♂️🚴🏻♀️🏃♀️💃
You’re right ray, i forgot about going to that cathedral in a taxi, but it wasnt one of those infamous yellow taxi cabs. Or when kassandra hailed us a cab to see kinky boots either.
Oh boy, what fun that was😂
Like mother, like daughter tracy
Is that pyrex red, green, or pink martha? hint-hint
You found it rosemary! the missing puzzle piece. jerry even tore open the vacuum bag looking for it.
do you have a puzzle to inspire you sharon? want me to save the kitchen one for you?
how about you jessie? do you want it?
It’s nice your joining in sandy.
I’m glad i gave you a smile celia, 🙂 how about you ted?
I’m doing this puzzle little by little, enjoying every minute.
I love it when a cats or dogs are in the puzzle. better yet, both
This says ”the kitchen’s best for all of these-where folks relax and eat with ease”.
Here’s mine from tracy.
Do any of you have one on your stovehandle
i love this light but it wouldn’t work over my sink
Maybe over jerry’s kitchen work space
How about it jerry?
Here’s one of jerry’s joys……
Being with dogs
Rosemary caught jerry with a smile on his face with one of her greyhounds.
the weather and my knee have been keeping me a couch potato lately. which is probably making my knee worse. i’ve been to the doctor and he said surgery is inevitable. I tried an anti-inflammatory off and on for a year. then he suggested trying a cortizone shot. ok. now? yes, but first you need a numbing shot, oouuch!!!!!!!!😭. Then he had to extract some fluid, more oouuch!!!!!😩then the cortisone shot, again a oouuch!!!!!!!!!🥺 I’m sure some of you know that pain.
all that and it hasn’t helped. Now I’ll have to just wait until it’s safe to be in a hospital and elective surgery is being done again. i want to ride our trike again. I miss gardening too.
so puzzles are a lifesaver as well as a hobby. and need i say – a likely addiction. i don’t go out much anymore. it’s a covid thing too.
I always start out puzzles by turning over all pieces while i take out border pieces. i do a quick color sorting at the same time in these large, flat, cardboard boxes.
Starting to put the border together – -i’m seeing all that brown in the boxNow that the border is together i sort the pieces better. there’s a lot of brown still seeing at all that brown, but look what that brown is
⬇️chocolate! this was definitely a hard one. i wanted to chuck it all a couple of times. i have done that before. some puzzles that i buy at thrift stores aren’t ones i would normally pick out and i end up not liking them. they go back to the thrift store. but i enjoyed the challenge on this one. even though it had a piece missing. do you see it?
this puzzle⬇️had a history lesson about the subjects in it. it was fun to do. very colorful.
⬇️this one was only 300 pieces and very easy. Any puzzle about new york brings back such good memories of our trips there, so i enjoyed this one. a very colorful abstract.
There’s always a taxi cab in new york puzzles. we never did ride in one. last trip we were treated to urber.
Here’s my next puzzle⬇️i bought it from amazon thanks (frankandlinda). one that i personally picked out from hundreds to choose from. it’s amazing, i guess that’s how they got their name, how any subject you want, they have it. and not just one, many. and sometimes you can get it the next day. if not, in a couple of days. and i didn’t have to go out to a crowded store to get it. thanks amazon.
It depicts my dream kitchen. i love everything in it. i can hear you now ray and i know what you are saying and the words you are using.🙂 i know this is not everyone’s cup of tea. but that’s what makes the world go round. doesn’t it? this would mine.
Can’t wait to do this one. look at all that colorful pyrex🧡💙❤️💛💚I’ll bet all of you have some of these.
hope you all are feeling ok, staying safe, and doing some things you love to do – too.
and here we go again, more news of covid and it’s variant and how fast it is spreading. i hope you are all vaccinated and still wearing your masks. i’ll be first in line for the next booster.
Tracy, I’ve used fresh ham and smoked ham hocks before, even salt pork (in the lean years). but never kielbasa. how were yours? Maybe next year i’ll try kielbasa, this year my peas were a disaster☹️. The recipe i used was not good. They tasted ok but turned to mush. The best part of my time in the kitchen was frying the bacon and onion in my new-(used)-revere ware 12 inch frying pan. I got it on etsy. I love it! The one i had that my mother gave me lost it’s handle. I wanted to share my efforts with the neighbors, but maybe next year- with the kielbasa😊
My collection. I parted with two of them to give to hannah. I love revere ware. they don’t make it anymore.
I’m looking forward to when we can get together with friends and family too, without that little voice telling me to “be careful now”. I’m getting rusty at Chinese checkers Ray. Oh no, I may not win. And after reading sundays newspaper, i’m looking forward to getting in the coach again too. we want to plan a trip up north. Later in the year of course. here are three reasons why—
We love all three places and have been to all of them many times.
at one time we went to Monterrey twice a year and even became members of the aquarium. Our first time there was 1985 one year after it opened. we have seen it grow to be more amazing with every visit. The jellies are a highlight.
the california redwoods are a incredible sight, as you that have seen them know. to see them from their canopy sounds heavenly. We have camped in all the redwood campgrounds from ‘julia pfeiffer burns state park’ this side of monterey to ’jedediah smith redwoods state park’ this side of the oregon border. so many wonderful memories.
San fransisco was another frequent destination. the presidio national park is part of the golden gate national parks conservancy. We’ve explored that area way back when teddie lived there, and since. it’s a great place for views of the golden gate bridge, also a national park, i wonder why its not a monument? Walt Disney put a museum in restored buildings there. it was fantastic. you’d love it martha.
and since we would be up that close to jessica and hannah, we could just drive a little farther and visit them. and then drive a little farther and visit ’ olympic national park’, one of our favorite parks.
We had a very nice visit with emily to start the year. it’s hard to believe she is 18 and driving. it was great to have a one on one with her. no parents to interject and no little sister to distract us. for lunch she ordered wing stop online, something we don’t do, and then went and picked it up and brought it home to us. We could get used to that. she’ll start college next year. she’d love to go to san diego state, but may decide to save money and go to long beach state.
One of my favorite pictures of me and emily. i wish my hair would still do that.
She loved to make this face when asked to smile. you were a cutie emily.
Again, I loved all the recent comments. I read all of them. twice sometimes. they are a joy to me. hear that grandgirls? it’s like a pat on the back, getting an A on homework, a friendly smile.
Yep, that was a typo sharon. I guess 1922 was on my mind, my mothers birth year.
SO…….
2022 here we come
Remember 2019 How time flies-2021
We had a very nice evening at frank and lindas last night. the house still had all the beautiful christmas decorations out. linda sets a beautiful table, and then brings out delicious food to serve on it.
The lobster ravioli was delicious, along with a salad and green beans. i made a fruit cocktail cake topped with whipped cream for dessert. and we drank champagne with the feast and then to toast the new year wearing tiaras and tooting our horns.
We put our tiaras on again this morning and watched the rose parade. Safely from the comfort and warmth of the den.
I can’t believe all the people there. First of all it was 30 degrees last night as they started camping out and getting their spots. and don’t they know the pandemic isn’t over yet.
The rest of the matching pj’s
Jessica-Javier-Hannah in washington
My latest puzzle i just finished today. it was a gift from frank and linda.
It was a real challenge, but oh so much fun. last weeks rainy days were the best for doing puzzles. We kept the house warm and i just stayed in my pajamas all day. thanks guys, i loved it.
I don’t know if any of you have the tradition of making black eyed peas on new years for good luck, but most years i make a pot. i can’t say if it does bring us luck exactly, but i love black eyed peas anyway so i do. this year i’m going to make this recipe with them, minus bourbon and hot sauce. they’re almost ready.
Let’s all think positive thoughts that the world will be in a much better place next year.
thanks for sticking with me everyone. I’m not sure if we will be traveling anytime soon, but if something interesting happens, I’ll let you know.
Well, another covid year has passed, and it looks like we are in for more of the same for a bit longer. we have made it through safely so far, so there is lots to be happy and grateful for.
i have had lots of time to do puzzles again. amazon is my favorite place to get them, after thrift stores that is. they are much cheaper there, a few dollars compared to up to twenty. my way to save money.
this recent puzzle depicts what i wanted as a child. or what i thought Christmas should look like. it looks so cozy and warm with stockings hung by the fire, lots of presents under the tree. even a cat warming itself by the fire. and a snowman outside in that white Christmas scene, which i could have built. maybe.
the next puzzle depicts what appeals to me now. it looks like so much fun. of course i would want the family and friends in all those other trailers. notice the green one has two cats in the window. i’m torn between that one and the pink one being ours.
mom did make Christmas very special in her own way, bringing joy into the house. we always had a tree- but sometimes not until Christmas eve. my fathers way of saving money. I remember cleaning the living room windows with care using glass wax. it was like a ritual for us kids. then we used special glass wax stencils to make decorations on the glass panes with it. (google it kids). our gifts were few but always what we wanted. we always got a stocking from where mom worked. that was a ritual too. we had to take a bus to san pedro and then take the ferry to the starkist tuna cannery on terminal island and then wait in a long line to get them. there was always the biggest apple and orange included. and we always opened pajamas on Christmas eve – another ritual – i passed on to tracy and tony.
and mom made the best homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast every year.
ooooohhhhh, awhhh, smell that aroma, and then take that first bite. heavenly.
i keep a box of hot roll mix, like she used, in the cupboard to remind me of that wonderful memory. i can see it everyday. i change it every once in a while since i dont make them anymore since pillsbury came out with theirs.
we don’t decorate as much and don’t put up the tree anymore. i’ve collected glass and bottle brush trees for a long time now and use those trees to bring Christmas joy into our house. it seems Christmas cards might be a ritual of the past, but that’s ok. there are many new ways to say merry Christmas now. jerry is in the pictures with santa – he was a cutie.
a few more pictures of the house
not sure about the date?
merry christmas mom
and to all of you, have a good night. we will spend our night with dick and jessie having dinner at phil trani’s. and christmas at tony’s
love, jilly
ps
saw this on the web.
when asked for her cookie recipe she said “over my dead body”
i recognized an autograph on another document that brought back more pleasant memories.
and we had just seen him on this trip.
we didn’t’ have a formal wedding so we had two witnesses. the first witness as you can see, is jim eddington. the very same jim we saw in concord. we haven’t seen bridgett for about 5 years.
over the years we have talked about the occasion with jim. he said he might look at the blog so i wanted to include this especially for him.
this is a post i wanted to do a while ago, but never had time. i think most of you will know why i enjoyed it so much. the painstaking detail work involved to re-create these barbie doll size dresses for the first ladies of south dakota – oh – and one first gentleman, made me smile. it was hard to get good pictures though. if you are interested – the individual pictures and story behind the project – are all online.
these dress were all dark because of the war
this dress reminded me of my wedding outfit – see below
my dress was white brocade, with the fur on the sleeves. i actually made tracy and melanie barbie doll outfits out of it. even made fur coats. i sure wish i would have saved some of those clothes, with tiny little buttons and zippers.
this picture has been in a frame in different places in the house for 1week shy of 59 years ahhhhh-we’re holding hands💗
and this is where it sits now
i’ve included this picture of the newspaper clipping of granted marriage licenses. and there we are.
and we paid a whopping $2.00. it’s now $85.00.
i had no idea this post would end this way. i’m glad i didn’t get it done on the road. this was fun adding a personal touch to it. i wonder if any of those other couples are still married.
thanks again for following the blog and commenting once in awhile. it’s been lots of fun putting my pictures out there for you to comment on.
Once in awhile-now and again-this is us 