It started with a short road trip to Vancouver Island at 7:00 Friday morning.
I say short, but when you are on the road for 5 or 6 hours in one day and 5 or 6 the next, you bring along something to do. I brought along some Holiday letters that I have saved during the past 4 or 5 years.
Also 3 books
Look Great Feel Great ( Joyce Meyer ) I snagged that from Martha's free table
What Einstein told his cook ( Robert Woelke ) Did you recommend this or did I?
Respectable Sins ( Jerry Bridges ) Gift from Alice
That said, I will leave you to guess what I spent my time on.
O, I brought my journal, too.
Back to the road trip.
We were getting close to the Twassen Ferry dock, with about an hour before take off, with a police car right behind us, when Darrell thought we were going to miss the ferry if we did not hurry through ...... a red light. Yes, I said there was a police car right behind us. A very nice officer ( they look so handsome in a uniform) came to the window and asked a few questions. He must have realized that the driver was just old, and not on drugs or anything, so he just said " It would be better to miss the ferry, than cause an accident". So we did. Miss the ferry. By 13 cars. So this gave us another two hours to read, eat, read some more. Once we arrived in Nanaimo, it was another hour to our friends, Charlie and Marilyn (about 3:00 in the afternoon.) We had a great visit,despite some rain showers on Saturday
All too soon it was time to start back. We wanted to make sure and get to the ferry dock early so we left the house at 3:30. We got to the dock by 4:15 ( went through one red light ) the ferry left at 5:45 . We should have left at 3:00. We missed it by 8 cars. We pulled into our garage about 1:00 Sunday Morning.
End of story. ( do you think that missing a ferry is like punishment for breaking the law?)

Tea Party

So much food. Strawberries, grapes, bagels, animal crackers,
Jane made deviled eggs, heart shaped sandwiches and little arrow shaped peanut butter and jelly.
Janet brought Paris blend tea and cupcakes. Pink coconut cupcakes with wonderful fronting. ( she brought 4 extras for later )
Emily, Ava and Lexi. All 6 years old. The guests of honor.
We all gathered around the table and Ava took her Mother's hand, and Carole's, and soon we were all holding hands and praying. Giving thanks for a beautiful day, friends, food and good health.

The table was ready.
Pink and green color scheme
Fun runner printed with children and animals ( Easter )
Little girl napkins from the Swedish Institute ( Carl someone - even our Danish guest loved them )
Mickey sugar lumps ( thank you Nancy )
Now we can begin. First tea party. Janet explained that coming for tea involved conversation.
So along with all the goodies we talked about such interesting things as raccoons, sleep overs, face
painting, and lots of other things. The time pasted quickly and soon it was time to say our goodbyes.
We all put our feet into a circle for a great shoe photo.
Everyone had a little party favor to take home
And we all have a memory of 3 young ladies getting to know a little more about friendship.
I am still smiling.

something is missing

Well, you might think that M & M's and coffee are a perfect picture. I love M & M's. I love coffee and M & M's. But a whole year could go by without dipping into that cute little container that sits on my kitchen counter. That is why, last week I had to try one to see if they were still fresh. It all started with a little handful. And, I have small hands, they are my smallest feature. And the M & M's were good. So, I tried another little handful. And then one more. I was trying to put the blame on someone. Jezbel, where were you? You used to come by and snack on my M & M's. And Caitlyn and Bethany, didn't you PROMISE to come by? Then I discovered three bags full. They are still unopened, but before they get stale, please, someone, come over and help me eat them. What would you like to go along with them? Milk, tea, sparkling water, sparkling cider? You name it. So what is missing from the picture? YOU !

The Real First Lady of shoes

First lady of shoes?
I suppose you thought it was me. O no. I am just a shoe princess . The First Lady of shoes is Beth Levine. I know because I read the book, visited the exhibit and took the pictures ( Ooops, that was a no no, but how was I to know?) Well, the first one, was outside. And that poster is the from the cover of her book. I took the second one as soon as I got upstairs to the exhibit. And while the docent was telling me that I could not even take a picture of my own shoe, somehow my camera took another picture. But the is the fuzzy one. The next one was the revolving door. Very few in Bellevue, so it is good to take advantage and go through at least twice. So I looked at over 100 shoes, but I have to say, there are lots of other great shoes out there and I can take pictures of them when ever I want. And I do.

My mental picture of Ellen Foyle - Smiling, a lady, small feet and high heels. My memory goes back a few years - her daughter Shelly especially ( my daughters loved Shelly ). I was looking forward to calling Ellen while we were in the Bay Area, but was delighted that she was coming to the very same birthday celebration that took us to Oakland. We sat next to each other at the dinner table and had a good visit. That was Saturday night. On Sunday, we were once again at a dinner table and our hostess said that Ellen wanted me to call her.
This is the part I love. She told me that all evening she had been remembering our family and times spent together. In particular, one family trip when we stayed with the Foyle's, Ellen took us to some factory outlets ( in those days they had a different name, I can't remember ) While the girls, Tiffany, Mimi, Anita, and I were busy looking at fashions, in a big store with loud "hip" music playing,Ellen and Damon were waiting together. That is when Damon asked her did she know " the king on the throne"? She was not sure at first, but soon, there in that outlet store, as if they were the only ones around , Ellen and Damon sang;
Wide, wide as the ocean
High as the heavens above
Deep, deep as the deepest sea
Is my Saviours love
( end of the story, not the end of the song, never ending love )
maybe this is why I went to Oakland

another Madison Avenue & The Mariniers, or M & M

Ok.
With a trip into Seattle on the agenda
( thank you Todd for tickets to the Mariners game )
we took the opportunity to take Theresa to McDonald's
Theresa is a dear friend who was such a great friend to our Mom and her favorite place is McDonalds.
Theresa is only 81, but her memory is fading. She had forgotten we were coming for her ( in just 5 hours time) and
she told us several times that she is not feeling well, on medication, etc. We love her and hate to see her aging so fast.
We said our goodbyes and on to Safeco field
Darrell left me off a few blocks away - I am not used to people sleeping on the sidewalk. A man in his wheel chair with a sign "me and wee dog are homeless" . I have another block to go.
Memorial Day - tributes to our men in service. Songs, salutes, very nice.
If you have not been to a game in a year or two, you might not recognize
Milton Bradley ( not the Monoploy MB)
Guiterrez, Lopez, Figgins
Johnson ( what country is he from ?)
But, anyone who has been to a Mariner game in the past 20 years will remember the Peanut Guy. He looks the same except he has no pony tail. ( sorry about the quality of the photo, it is just for memory)
And as much as I love shoes, I had to take a picture of the "pair" across the aisle ( I was thinking of you Andrew )
We are aware that the Mariners might not win, very soon. Like in the 2nd inning. The Twins score two home runs ( and I do know that a home run is not just getting to home plate, it is hitting the ball and getting there all in one play. ) But I am cheering and clapping and my hands are getting tired ( Yes, I am spirited, but yes, I am cold ) I leave my seat to put on layer number four and when I get back Darrell tells me " You missed all the excitement". O, I know, I heard on the loud speaker that we scored. That's not all, Darrell caught the ball that came into the crowd. ( Why am I not surprised - this man who is content with a mitt, if he can't have a bat or an ax)
So, he admits that if I had been there, next to him, he would have tripped over me ( I become invisible ) and been too late ( his hand was just inches from the hand of a younger fan ) So he hands me $5. for a latte. Where else, but Safeco field is a cup of coffee $4.75, a latte is $4.75 and a mocha $4.75. so what did I get? ( are you still with me? )
we left at the top of the 9th. You see, we had at least two miles to walk to get to the free parking place.
You gotta respect a guy who knows how to save money, get to a foul ball before someone 1/4 his age, and still have energy to walk two or three miles.
So the Mariner's did not win, but Minnesota is good too, GO TWINS