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Posts tagged ‘daughters’

Our Daughter’s Response


Our daughter, DeDe, in Switzerland read the blog I posted titled “Nostalgia” a few days ago. She tried to to post her response acrostic. WordPress wouldn’t post it. I am not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with the “110%” note at the top margin of the blog?? Anyway, here is what I tried to do for her, and it wouldn’t allow mine to post either!

DeDe, I love your acrostic! Sorry it didn’t post here. Let me see if I can write it for you so my WP readers can see it:

C aring
H appy
I nspiring
L oving
D addywaddypaddy
H ealthy
O nly
O verflowing
D elight

What a lovely memory of childhood our dear DollyWolly wrote!

I need to find a photo of DeDe with her DaddyWaddyPaddy!!

There we are together at the Geneva airport last August!

Aren’t daughters a blessing?
We thank God every day for ours!!

Two Bodies –


Yesterday’s Bloganuary#9 prompt was one I skipped.
I missed a day because I didn’t want to write about the topic:
Assumptions I Think People Make About Me.

Ya, people probably assume…
but my mom always told me
when you assume,
you make an
Ass-
u-
me!

So I have negative feelings about assuming anything.
I’d rather dig out an old blog from the drafts file…
something I started a year or so ago and never finished.
I’d rather read other people’s answers about assumptions.
I’d rather skip a day of blogging
and just apply the 4R’s.
I needed to do that!

Rest
Relax
Rejuvenate
Read


So I did!

And here’s that old blog
that I never finished last August
right around the time my daughter, DeAna,
was having a birthday.
It was titled,
“Two Bodies”:

Two bodies
Two sides of the earth

Two people
One birth
Two hearts
One mind
She’s my daughter
Love binds.

Yup, I decided to skip #9 altogether.
I don’t like assumptions,
even if they are positive ones.
I’d rather talk about today’s prompt.

Bloganuary#10
asked me to post 5 things I’m grateful for.
I can do that… but don’t expect me to limit it to 5!!

You’ll find my answers here:
https://bloganuary.wordpress.com/2022/01/10/5-things-im-grateful-for/

Check it out…
and tell me,
besides your life itself,
what are you grateful for?

I’m grateful for you
Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
… unless I decide to skip it!

I’m still at Ty & Monika’s in Placerville –
recuperating from RSV.
It’s a bugger!!

Embrace Chalet Dreams


I have always loved Swiss chalets. How about you? I copied the picture of this one off the web at the time Bob & I were dreaming about the possibility of building a chalet of our own in California. (That was before we traveled to Montana, fell in love with the wide open spaces, the wild animals, and the Rocky Mountains – and bought our home here in Ennis).

As you know, we just returned from a trip to Switzerland because our daughter married a Swiss, has three of our grandsons there, and now has a Swiss chalet of her own! We needed to see her in her new setting.

DeAna remembers that when she was a child, we had a Swiss chalet music box. When you opened its lid, it played Edelweiss. Maybe she dreamed of one day having a real one. You think?

Ah, great it is to believe

by Edwin Markham

Ah, great it is to believe the dream
As we stand in youth by the starry stream;
But a greater thing is to fight life through
And say at the end, the dream came true!

Yes!! It is De & Andre’s chalet
Relais des Melezes Hotel and Restaurant

Here are some photos of chalets that we took on our trip to Switzerland this month. The first one of De & Andre’s! It has 4 hotel rooms above with the restaurant below. De & Andre’ live in one of those rooms and rent the other three. We stayed in one of them. Such fun!!

Which one would you dream of having for your vacation home? (I couldn’t afford to live there year-round… oh my, the cost of living is wonderful, but prohibitive unless you work there. The exchange rate for USA dollars to Swiss francs was – oh my!!)

You can see that we were very happy to be blessed to visit Switzerland, to see all those beautiful chalets and tour villages like Grimentz. W do not take this privilege for granted, believe me. God is good! We are living to see our dreams come true – and to witness our daughter’s dreams being fulfilled, too. What more can we ask?

He Had His Dream

He had his dream, and all through life,

Worked up to it through toil and strife.

Afloat fore’er before his eyes,

It colored for him all his skies:

The storm-cloud dark

Above his bark,

The calm and listless vault of blue

Took on its hopeful hue,

It tinctured every passing beam —

He had his dream.

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

How about making your dreams come true? Dreaming of a trip to Switzerland, too? Why not go stay in one of De & Andre’s rooms?

Trip Advisor says:

5.0Excellent10 reviews#1 of 2 B&Bs / Inns in Vissoie Family-owned & family-operated auberge/restaurant in the heart of the Val d’Anniviers close to the resort destinations of Grimentz, Zinal, St. Luc and Chandolin. Rooms and restaurant have recently been renovated. André and DeAna have created a cozy, warm, and friendly atmosphere to make your stay/meal in our corner of the world one to remember.

Check it out! Here’s what Booking.com has to say:

www.booking.com › hotel › chRelais des Mélèzes, Vissoie – Updated 2021 Prices

Located in Vissoie, Relais des Mélèzes has a bar, ski-to-door access, terrace, and free WiFi. This 3-star hotel offers a concierge service. The hotel features family rooms. At the hotel, the rooms are fitted with a desk, a flat-screen TV, a private bathroom, bed linen and towels. All rooms will provide guests with a wardrobe and a kettle.

We’re not prejudiced… We’re her parents!

Go have a cup of coffee with DeDe.
I’ll tell her to leave the light on.
You tell her we sent you!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
I hope I fueled your chalet dreams!

See ya tomorrow (God willing)!

Embrace Your Daughter


Are you blessed with a daughter
who is your DollyWolly?
We are!
Today is her 54th birthday.
Happy Birthday, DeAna Laura Beekman Solioz!

Born August 29, 1967, DeAna was given her name
because it was as close as we could come to
having the DeAngeles (my maiden name) carried on.
Just drop the tail on the g and that’s how the spelling
of DeAna came to be.

Here she is with her brother Tyroneeee…
at about one month of age…
always sticking er tongue out!
DeAna and me when she was about 8 or 9 months
What a cute little button nose, huh?
Her second Christmas…
with Santa and brother Ty
I love this picture of her as a 1st or 2nd grader.
Sparkly eyes… healthy new front teeth…
and perky pony tails.
So cute!!
This is such a precious photo of
DeDe with her Grandma Beekman ❤
One of my favorites –
– to show DeDe’s perky smile –
about 8th grade, I think.
Time flies!
And before you know it,
she was getting married –
and would soon move to Switzerland
to live her life there as DeAna Solioz.
But we were very blessed to be able to
put a bottle of our favorite
Runquist wine in our suitcase,
hop a plane, and
spend time in Switzerland with her
every other year
(until COVID)!
Within 6 or 7 years, De and Andre’ had three sons –
and watching Mike, Nick & Chris grow up
has been a wondrous opportunity…
(as they came here every other year
during the first decade of their lives).
DeAna has retained her best buddy
from her days at Downey High in Modesto, CA
(and we have claimed her as or Daughter #2)…
We treasure the times De returns to the states
and we are able to celebrate happy times
together with De and Laina.
(That picture was 2019 before COVID)
.

Recently DeAna had surgery…
and it was hard being a mom
with a daughter so far away
at a time like that.
But I sent her encouragement
and love – like this meme:

And she sent me pictures to reassure me
that she was doing OK.
Thank God for the internet, huh?
Now De and Andre’ have a new restaurant
and (God willing and the Delta variant doesn’t go crazy)
we are going to be able to go there
in October to see them and their place in person.
Happy Birthday, DollyWolly!
We are so grateful to God for
giving us such a wonderful daughter!

If you have the blessing of a daughter
who is a DollyWolly in your life,
embrace her once for me, wouldja?

And have a good night.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Hugs,
JanBeek

Embrace Sunglasses


If you have been following my blog, you know
last Sunday I ran into the hatchback of our car.
Lesson learned: watch where you’re going!!

The bump was a really painful goose egg!

By Monday, the blood collected in that bump
started traveling down my face.
I thought it looked pretty bad on Tuesday morning.

But that was nothing compared to today!
My grandson, Sam, who lives in California,
texted and asked, “How ya doin’ today?”

I sent him a picture of the way I am looking today.

And what do you think his response was??

“Oh Grammy, just wear sunglasses!”

Do you s’pose I could pull that off?
Just cover the bruises with sunglasses?

My daughters, Laina and DeDe, look really cute in their sunglasses!

I tried it,
but the bridge of my nose
where the sunglasses would rest
is really sensitive.
I couldn’t stand
the pressure on the bruises.


So,
EMBRACE SUNGLASSES
if they work for you.

Stay tuned for what’s gonna help me.

I think it’s just a matter of time.
What do you think?

Do you have any advice for what you think I should do?



See ya tomorrow (God willing).
Have a good night.

Love,
JanBeek

Embrace Freedom


God Bless America
Land of the Free…

God Bless America,
My home sweet home.
From Detroit to Houston
From San Francisco to New York,
It’s time to say,
“I love this land!”

There’s nothing like
a good ole hometown parade…
Celebrating our freedom –
Celebrating our love of this land.

Our little town of a thousand
Saw about 20,000 pour in today
To watch our old fashioned parade.
It’s like stepping back 50 years!

No fancy floats worth thousands
With hundreds of hours donated
To create a great big splash…
No sireee! Just good ole home-spun fun!

The Grand Marshalls were ladies
From the Madison Valley Woman’s Club
Celebrating one hundred years of
Service to this wonderful community.

You know you’re in Montana when
The town’s physician and his wife
Enter the parade on horseback
Celebrating their equine family!

Thanks, RJ and Andy!

We’re so blessed to have the MVMC
(Madison Valley Medical Center)
In our little community… so blessed!
Our nurses and doctors’ kids donned the float.

Bob & I had the fun of front row seats
Because our friends who live
Right on the parade route invited us to join them.
Main Street would not have allowed us these views!

Barbara & Roy … Thank you!

Their darling grandkids kept us entertained
As they watched the parade, too –
And ran to gather up the candy
That some of the participants threw to us!

We saw vehicles of every kind,
Decorated with flags and competing
To be chosen as the most unique
Or most beautiful, or most aged.

The Shriners are annual participants
Businesses used this parade
as an opportunity to advertise.
Ray Easter is a mainstay in our parade…
A native of Ennis – a rare breed, indeed!
Wouldn’t be complete without ponies!
The children love this little guy!
Puppies for Patriots
Maybe you can put Ennis, Montana
on your calendar for July 4, 2022.
Come and enjoy the fun!
I think it was 2019 when our daughters,
De & Laina, were able to be here.
Of course, we missed the parade
in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Maybe they can return to enjoy this holiday with us next year!

So nice to have this fun event back again
And the weather cooperated.
Parade was 10: to 11:30 and the
Rain didn’t come until later this afternoon!

Rain? Yup, surprise!
It was not predicted…
.
.

If you’re in the USA,
what did you do to celebrate
this special Independence Day today?

In another country?
Do you have parades like this?

Time for dinner…
Thanks for celebrating with us!

See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Hugs,
JanBeek

A Daughter’s Tribute


In the center of this photo is Marcelle Zufferey. To her left is her dear daughter, Sylvianne, who wrote the tribute below. On Marcelle’s right is her beautiful granddaughter, Lorianne.

Family Connections

Sylviane (we call her Syli) is our “Swiss Daughter.” She lived with us for a year in California when she was 17 or 18. The next year our daughter, DeDe, went to Switzerland for a year and lived in Syli’s family. Marcelle was such a loving, compassionate guide. Our daughter fell in love with Syli’s cousin, Andre’ (who became our son-in-law)… and to say De needed guidance is putting it mildly! God bless Marcelle and her husband, Antoine, for their loving understanding.

This last couple of years Marcelle has been in a care facility. That dreaded disease, Alzheimer’s, captured her memory and her health. Syli was there to spend quality time with her almost every day.

The Tribute

DeDe’s “Swisster” wrote this tribute to her mom in French (her native language). It was translated by Facebook and posted today. Some of the words may be translated strangely, but the beautiful sentiment is clear:

“Mom… you went to join dad this afternoon on his birthday.

I was able to accompany you to your last breath.

Thank you for giving us so much love.

For passing us through your eyes and your beautiful smile the meaning of family, respect and love.

You are part of the love of each of us.

From up there with dad you can be proud …

We had the extraordinary chance to have you as parents.

For having you as a mom, grand mom and great grand mom.

You are in my heart my little mom, I love you

And even if i will miss your beautiful eyes and your smile deeply, I know that now you don’t suffer anymore and that with dad you are forever present in our hearts.”

An Acrostic

I wrote this acrostic today as my tribute to this special lady… remembering her as she will always live in my heart:

M arvelous
A wesome
R adiant
C ompassionate
E mbraceable
L ovable
L oyal
E ndearing

Marcelle and me – circa 1985

Rest in peace, Marcelle. I love you.

Will you write an acrostic using your name and describing yourself? I’d love to see it. Mine would be:
J oyful
A nimated
N atural (or maybe “Nutcase”??)

See ya tomorrow. Have a good night.

That Tiny Spark


Strength Within.jpg

Your Goal

Do you have a goal that you’ve been working to accomplish? Does it seem that the harder you work toward it, the farther away it seems to be?

Sometimes trying to accomplish a goal is like eating a bowl of spaghetti. You take a bite and the pasta grows to fill the hole you thought you’d made!

My Goal

The pasta growth is a perfect example for me to use today because my goal is to get back to my “Goal Weight.” I had a potluck at my house yesterday – and lasagna was the main dish. It was soooo good! But, this morning at TOPS, it showed up as .75 of a pound on the scale!!

I was the Queen of the State of Montana TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) back in I don’t remember when… 2013 or so. Earned that status by reaching my goal weight and in the process losing 30+ pounds that had crept up on me over about a 30 year period.

Then like that pasta that fills the void, over the next few years, ten of those pounds have crept back on. My body has settled at this and decided it likes this place on the scale. Well, I don’t!

Arguing with Self & Others

Some of my TOPS friends tell me I should change my goal weight. Afterall Jan, at 80 you’re not supposed to look like you did at 30! Well, that’s not my goal. I just wanna look and feel like I did when I had 10 pounds less than I do now. Thirty was nice, but it’s unrealistic for me now. I’d look gaunt!

Mother-Daughter

Here I am almost 50 years ago when my daughter (who will be 52 tomorrow) was about five years old. (Yes, I sewed our matching dresses. Awww… how cute!)

Well, she doesn’t look like that anymore, so why should I? Here we are now:

8e94f39e-e47a-4984-a36a-110776c5c927

Still got that sparkle. Still love each other to the moon and back. Both still healthy and thanking God daily for our vitality and ability to travel and spend time with each other annually (DeAna lives in Switzerland).

So Why Argue?

When I was ten pounds lighter, my clothes looked better on me. I was able to bend down and tie my shoes without getting out of breath. (Yes, 10 extra pounds makes that kind of difference). I had lower blood pressure. I felt better about myself. So, it’s a goal worth persuing – and an accomplishment worth keeping. This yo-yo-ing is not good for me… 2 lbs down in two weeks and the one week later it’s back. (Why does it come back so much faster than it comes off?)

fullsizeoutput_18b
Here I am with my granddaughter, Hope,
when I was on my way down – almost to my goal weight.

And my sis, Sally, and my hubby Bob with me at goal weight.

Keep the Tiny Spark Glowing!

The goal you are striving to accomplish may not be a big fiery flame for all to see, but a tiny spark that whispers to you. You know you can do it. The spark keeps whispering, “You can do this! Don’t give up!” Keep the spark alive.

Other people may not think it is important … whatever that personal goal is… but YOU DO! And so it is worth persuing. Stick with it!

Keep going! You got this!

I was TOPS biggest loser last week.
img_8492
I can do it again.
Keep those damn pounds off.
Forget about that pasta hole!!
Eat less carbs.

See ya tomorrow.

Daughters Are Blessings


Daughters’ Haiku x4

Daughters are blessings

Direct from heaven above

Can’t live without them!

Daughters are our friends

Oh, what a blessing they are!

❤️ Love personified ❤️

Are you blessed with one?

If not, adopt one or more!

They bring me such joy.

The girls bring us love

And our son-in-law does, too.

I wish you such joy!

Check out this beeeautiful blog below … and

Have a Beeutiful Wednesday!

img_8135-e1564583461616.png

pexels-photo-887349-2

See you tomorrow.

Do You Photograph Food?


food photos.jpg

Hah! I related to this comic on so many levels!

Not only do I love food – and love cooking to create beautiful, tasty dishes, but I also love to take pictures of pretty food before I taste it when dining out.

My daughter married a chef. If you’ve read very many of my posts, you have met DeAna and her husband, Andre’. Thy live in Switzerland. They love to travel and to find restaurants where tasty, beautiful food is served.

De& Andre' @50th

Here are a few dishes they photographed during a recent meal at a fine dining restaurant in Paris:


I love the presentation of the beef with string beans. I could do that!

Oh, and wouldn’t I love a plate of that fresh lobster? Hard to find here in south-western Montana … and if you do find it, it’s probably been frozen and it’s price is outrageous! But, I can dream, can’t I?

The single scallop is something I could do. The sauce looks yummy. What is that on top? Looks like a carrot top to me!

And the stacked cookies with ice cream between and a strawberry glaze base with a berry on top… oh my, to die for!

The meat blob on the lower right in this collage doesn’t appeal to me. Can’t tell if it’s chicken or pheasant or rabbit or what. The plate even looks like it’s chipped (Oh no, that’s artistic expression)! Yes, I could present a main dish with more character than that, couldn’t you?

The upper left is a cre’me brule’e (where do I find accents and other stuff like that on my WordPress app?). Anyway, I love that dessert – especially if they flame it at my table. This one deserves a bigger look:

creme brulette

No, with the strawberries, blueberries (or are they blackberries?), and tiny lemon halves on top, I don’t think they did the flaming at the table. But, doesn’t this look yummy?


Do you ever photograph your food before eating it
when you are served a pretty plate at a restaurant?
Evidently it is becoming a more and more popular practice.

My goal is to serve a plate pretty and tasty enough to entice my guests to pull out their cell phones and take a picture before their first bite at my house!

Hospitality is one of my spiritual gifts (at least that’s what many of our friends have told me). So, if you were in our area, I’d have you over for dinner… and I’d love to know what your favorite meal would be!

Sharing a meal is one of the important ways
we demonstrate our love for one another,
don’t you agree?

As Theresa Brewer once sang,
“Come on a my house, my hous-a-come-on,
I’m a gonna serve you _______…” 
Fill in the blank.

What would your favorite pretty and tasty dish be?

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