Time to have a party

Party Time

Yes, I am having a party. Well, it 's a luncheon, but I call it a party because I send out invitations
( actually I have three containers of inivitations on hand to choose from, and this is the one I found to suit my friend

Now this party is to honor a lady. Yes, very much a lady, so I found the most elegant invitation I have and I think it will be fine.

OH, I also like to set a pretty table, have flowers, party favors, you know, a party.

The guest list.  Mostly our circle of friends who get together as often as we can.
Plus three.
I know the others, but one in particular I know only by face  ( I think )
She responds quickly to my email
She offers to host the party.
I want to respond quickly.

I begin, and realize her address is close to me.
I google it and
oops not google, it is Zillow
There is her home. WOW
There is the value of her home WOW
There is the size of her home - twice the size of mine.


A Dilemma 

Now, I am wondering.
Should I let her host the party?  

( I will never have the opportunity to see inside her lovely home again)
Will I feel funny having her at my little dining room table?
( Should I buy a new table? )

Should I ask the guest of honor?
 

What shall I do ?

Garage Sale of the Century.....

Garage Sale of the Century Chapter two
                        ( or is it three ?) 
First there was Chapter one.

The sign that gets the good ones 

Chapter one....you can go back to the blog post, or I will tell you briefly, we had a customer who loved so many things.   Especially the cards that were photos of our property in Spokane that Mimi had taken.   She came twice on Friday and then came back on Saturday and bought a few more things  ( well over  $70. total)

customer on left, sister on right 

Chapter two...in October we were gone on a little trip and when we got back there was a package at our front door. It was a book which  our now favorite garage sale customer had purchased for us because there were pictures that reminded her of our farm in Spokane !

The sweetest book 

Chapter three...in the mail, a Holiday card from, yes, our own favorite garage sale customer.

Seasons Greetings 

and as my not quite 5  year old  grandson would say 
          " I did not see that coming " 



I live an exciting life ! 

Tidying up

       My mother used to say that and I thought it was one of those Norwegian words. So, it was not a new word to me, but the book...well that was new to me and I asked for it for Christmas and I got it.
 Thanks Mimi.  

 
I read the introduction and am feeling ready to find the magic .

I probably should have read a chapter or two before starting because..

1. if you have the book, read page 3,
2. I have a severe back ache and haven't even made a plan
3. I don't want to get discouraged before I tackle my shoe collection
    ( I will find a disclaimer for that )

So, now I am going to take a hot bath and read a few more pages.

Another long day

     A "full"  day

           Breakfast with my friend..she served that cereal you serve your grandkids
                              Chocolate Chip Cookie...and then added walnuts
    not bad ( no picture )

Then to the airport

        We are sitting in rows 30 and 31 and usually our favorite fruit and cheese tray is gone so
                  we ordered  guacamole burger, fries and chocolate turtle milkshake at Ruby's.

                            Hubby had the huge burger, some fries and some shake

                              I had fries and lots of shake.


We got our seats changed as we could sit together and now we are in row 17  !

   And they had the fruit and cheese tray. We ordered one, but for some reason we are not very hungry.

Our great friends pick us up at the airport and we head to Applebee's

                It is Appy hour so we ordered apps and they are pretty tasty

no picture, but you get the picture...a day a grazing and very "full"

We say goodbye to our friends and in a while i decide to start unpacking my suitcase.
"Who put a blue ribbon on my suitcase?  wait, this is not my suitcase"

So hubby calls the number on the tag and i call the airport and soon we are back in the car and on our way to SeaTac airport.

Blue ribbon lady ( Gonzaga Mom on her shirt )  is so happy to get her bag. It had missed her early flight and she was wondering if she would ever get it.  She got it. I got mine and we are back on the road again.

Soon, hubby is tired. Good night
 I get involved in the new puzzle I got for Christmas.
Yes, I spent two hours putting pieces together
then it was midnight.
I had some Chex Mix, told myself  "Happy New Year"
and headed to bed.

So you get the picture.it was a full day..full of food in particular

OK  here is the puzzle ( finally a picture )

You get the idea...it is a hard puzzle
please come and help me
I have coffee and M & M's 

a long and lovely day

Yes it was long...started at about 3:45 in the morning.
        ( that was after three times around in the revolving doors at the SeaTac Hilton _thanks to Heather )

So, we were happy to see coffee in the lobby.
 First shuttle to the airport.
 Seated on time and off to LAX.
Not my favorite airport, but once again, thanks to Heather.
 She took care of the arrangements and the car rental and was also behind the wheel at all times.

This is it !   Our rental.  And I might say, I am partial to Cadillacs. My first car was a Cadillac.
Baby blue convertible
But I love red, it is a happy color
and we were happy !

We had hoped to get together, but it was a real miracle when we just about bumped into each other at the mall.
 This is my friend Julie
 ( I 'm the one in my new California sunglasses ) 

Hard to see, but there are reindeer on this merry go round
the rides were free and very fun

Heather had never ridden on a merry go round !

then off to our hotel with a view 

view from our deck 

In the lobby

At our door 

Chef with a fine name
at the restaurant next to the lobby 

Squash soup..as good as it looks

Salad with prawns and much, much more

The called it smore delights ( something like that)
and they were
delights.
By now it is about 8:00 and all things considered, it was bed time for my chauffeur

I remained awake and spent some time in the soaking tub

When in the tub, the water can come up to your neck
I tried it out all three nights
it works.

After watching a few Christmas scenes, I too went to bed.
It had been a long and lovely day.

( now off to another adventure )

A true Story

A short, sweet and true story

A friend and I were visiting this afternoon.
She comes from a family of 8 children and I was pretty sure they had all been around our table for a meal at least once.
Yes, she said, and I will always remember.  My Dad asked Tiffany how old she was  as she was carrying a platter of food to the table.   She held up her little  hand showing 5 fingers and dropped the platter. 
That was  about 37 years ago and I am so glad her memory is still sharp ! 

( I had no recall, so I must have been in the kitchen  ☺  )  

Thanksgiving

we give thanks every day

  but this THANKSGIVING DAY is one to remember

We will begin with the first course and then move on 

First course, Squash Soup . thank you Chef Aaron 

Poached Pears : Thanks Chef Christian 

Yeast rolls,turkey, ham,  dressing, gravy,  Mac n Cheese, Asparagus, pickles and olives ,  cranberry sauce,deviled eggs,  pecan pie.
Thank you: Chef Christian

Potato Cheese casserole: Thanks Chef Uncle D
Sweet Potatoes: Chef Grammy
Red Cabbage: Chef Auntie Bobbie
Sparkling Cider and Coffee

Little man and Grammy decorated a Gingerbread Turkey
with chocolate frosting. Tasted better than it looked.