Friendship Weekend

The D's and the H's visited over the weekend from Bethel-land. We had the most wonderful time! During the week leading up to their visit, us girls were as excited as jr. higher's: planning Saturday's & Sunday's menus ahead of time and deciding who was going to bring what, etc... Since I wasn't home Thursday & Friday, I waited to make my cake until we could all pitch in. Here we are making the frosting:


Doesn't this cake look lovely? Well, it not only looked good, it was the most delicious cake I've ever baked!


Dr. Love and I are both grateful for good friends!

Inauguration Day 2009

For me, the pinnacle of this monumentous day was when Aretha Franklin took the stage. Was she poised and confident? Yes. Did she sing beautifully? Yes. Did she wear the most awesome hat ever?? YES!! Could I pull off a hat like that? (hanging my head sadly) no. But I'd sure like to have it topping off my hatstand!

Dover's Visit

Our son Dover was here from CA just after Christmas. He always brings such joy & fun with him and this visit was no exception! Here's a picture of Charlie with his air rifle aiming for....um....something.....probably nothing from the look on Dover's face. Here the "kids" are cleaning up my kitchen after one of the meals. Probably breakfast since one of them is still wearing his robe!

Miss B has been interested in rocketing since being introduced to it in tech ed at school. Here she shows her big brother her skills.

My men. All of them have new pajama pants courtesy of Miss B & myself and Dover is sporting his new robe too.

Come home again soon #1 Son! You're sorely missed here.

An Exciting Weekend

We started our weekend a little bit early.....on Thursday night actually. Charlie was up most of the night with a hurting tummy which is extremely unusual for him. On Friday I took him to the doctor per Dr. Love's wishes. The doctor sent us for a CT scan and the CT scan showed that Charlie's appendix needed to come out!
So Friday evening he had surgery and was he ever a trooper! By breakfast time on Saturday he was able to have pancakes and for lunch he had a cheeseburger. We were able to bring him home Saturday evening. We kept him in yesterday and then home from school today.
PRAISE GOD that He allowed the infection to be caught early and that He helped Charlie through the surgery & recovery.
I do have a few pictures but I'm under strict orders not to post them on the internet!

The Best Christmas Present.....

...came via email from my brother. This is a slide that my nephew performed techno-magic on to get it to computer. I'm in the high chair and since we're dating it circa 1968, I'd be about 4 years old. In the foreground is my favorite Christmas present....that train was metal, had batteries, and moved around on the floor. If it ran into something it would back itself up & keep going. There was a really cool sounding bell too. Happy, happy memories.

Calling Elvis.....

I Christmas-ized my mirror of many colors in an attempt to help it blend in better for the season. What do you think? Are you looking for the sleazy lounge singer too?

Thanksgiving Surprise

If you know me at all, you know 2 things about me: that I have been "best friends" with Connie since we were in kindergarten and that Thanksgiving dinner is my absolute favorite meal to prepare and share with family & friends.
As I see it, one of the beauties of the friendship is our flexibility. At times we talk more than once a week and at others we'll go several weeks without communicating. We might send a birthday card a whole month early so that we won't forget to send it, another year we might call a few days late. We both moved away from the small town where we grew up and currently we're a 3-hour drive from each other. The only tradition that is constant between us is that we usually spend Thanksgiving Day together along with our families and whomever else Dr. Love & I invite for the day.
This year, for the first time ever, we opted for her home instead of mine. I made some changes to the logistics of cooking....I prepared the turkey the day before and had Dr. Love do his carving thing so that it could be taken ready to be warmed up in a pan of gravy. Connie baked pies as she always does (hers is the absolute BEST crust you will ever taste!) and we worked on the rest together. We ate leisurely, played cards, discussed her daughter's upcoming wedding plans, spent the night and the next day baked Christmas cookies and did just a small bit of shopping. On Friday evening our men took us for dinner and then Dr. Love & I made our way home. It turned out to be one of our most memorable Thanksgiving days ever and we're thinking of starting a new tradition.
The surprise of the entire day is pictured above. Isn't it gorgeous?!!! Since we've never been much into presents, I was shocked when she brought out a beautiful gift bag complete with tissue paper and inside was this lap quilt that she made for me. I love quilts, especially pieced ones with soft, muted colors surrounded by cream or white. I have never made a quilt myself nor have I ever been willing to purchase one. I love handmade things....the idea that someone uses their creativity and time to make something with me in mind. I love tulips....they are my favorite flowers. And I love my dearest, bestest friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!