conversation with a five year old

we had to make a decision
Where shall we have dinner?
Home or away?
Let's go to Bellevue Square.
Good idea.

On the way, we past a nice navy blue Mustang convertible

No, that is not a Mustang,  that is a Lamborghini.
They are fast.
Lexas and Mustangs, they are fast.

In the parking garage he quickly spotted 5 Mini coopers
They have a Barca  on them  ( I found out later that stands for Barcelona )

Let's go to the lasers before we eat.

So we went to the Microsoft store, but the guns were in use
  then we found a spot to play a race car game

               

He knows how to work those games

Then it was our dinner time.

Ordered Uncle D's favorite and ate every bite

Had one more errand.  Special candy to take to Aunt Pat for her 92nd Birthday.

then

The Lego Store.

He became so engrossed in the car ramp area that 

he did not hear me say it is time to go

he did not notice that i had walked out

It was 15 minutes of me peeking through the display window and finally realizing he did not miss me before I thought that his time was up.  

 More than up.
I walked back into the shop, made sure he heard me and then I walked out.
Soon a little hand was holding mine and we left the mall. 

We had a little chat in the car

He noticed only one Mini Cooper was still there. 

The conversation continued about his Dad and all of his car wrecks.

He also talked about how brave his Dad was one time.

I was sort of lost until he mentioned that

 all the ladies were in the bathroom. And the door was locked.

 And the bad guy got caught. The police came.
  

This part of the stories was true. His dad had been very brave many years ago, when a disturbed and potentially violent man, marched into the escrow office where he worked.  While Dad distracted the man, the ladies locked themselves into  the restroom and called the police.
That story was worth remembering and retelling.  

Home

 A little dish of ice cream.  

Grampy does the honors at bedtime

Sweet dreams for all. 

A Celebration to remember

The Evening begins with proper attire .

Our Handsome escorts 

Rog and Barb

Hubby and me 

When we arrive,  the Valet is waiting...
                
                   We enter the lobby and fresh, very fresh flowers 

gathering in the Ladies Lounge 

Shoes, darling shoes 

Excitement outside  ↑

Excitement inside  ↓

Mystery gown
Beautiful girl
Great shoes 

The Queen and her men in Tuxedos 

My Aunt and 10 women who love her very much 

She leads the way to dinner
and a gracious elegant  way of life

The celebration is happening 

No one shares these popovers.
 Steal maybe, but share? never. 

First course 

Second course

Entree. Mine, Filet and yes, I could not wait for the first bite.
No disappointment 

And she blew them all out 

Another treat we do not share 

The final treat. Once a year. Celebration finale 

Our birthday girl at 92
We love Aunt Pat
She loves us

Around the table we find...

Betsy 

Kris and Lorraine 

Mona and Steve

John and Nancy

Aaron and Jennifer 

Roger and Barb

Fred and Carole 

Andy and Julia

Gus and Mel 

Mom and Mom in the making 

fun shoes, fun lady

Aunt Pat and the cousins 

Bouquets for guests. Such a fragrant and beautiful party favor
( along with candy and nuts )

And Memories to last for a long time

It doesn't hurt to ask

This is not the first time

but it is the first time I have written to Hempler's
They are local. They have several varieties, and all are thick cut !

A couple weeks ago, I cooked up 3 pounds to take to a brunch.  Some of the pieces were irregular in shape and I could not take them.   So I wrote a little letter.  Very polite. I just told them about it and that I had read the guarantee and they could decide if a refund was appropriate.

Yesterday, a huge box came from Hempler's.

What a surprise !
So, I posted it on facebook and inivted everyone to come for bacon this morning.  

I fried up one package:     Pulled out some french toast.  

 Two people came (ok, they already had plans to come )
  And between the three of us,
 We ate every bite 

Thank You Hempler's !
end of story. 

Wheelchair Antics

We have been friends for years.
She has needed help walking for a long time
but
I have never been in a wheel chair
But today a red one ! Motorized !  

We visited the MicroSoft store. They have an app that tells you how old you appear.   Not how old you are, or how old you feel, or how old you dress or how old you want to be.

               How old the computer "thinks"  you appear. 

It is kind of hard to read the outcome, but in this shot I am not too disappointed  in the verdict.

And, as you can see, my friend is ageless !

After our shopping spree ( and we found several things for my friend to take back home )
We went to the car. Got her settled.  Then I drove the little red wheelchair back to it's station at center court.
As I was driving along, I was very surprised at the response of other shoppers.  Some were eager to hold the door for me. One person helped me as I had to maneuver  out of the elevator.  Many didn't
seem to notice that I was any different than anyone walking, skipping or running along side
 them.
 It might be their way of making you feel comfortable, like you are not scary or threatening....
 But there was one in particular that was different.  She walked right in front of me as though I was invisible.  Was it because she was on her cell phone?  Was it because she could see enough to know she could make her way past me faster than I could crash into her?
I told my friend and she just laughed.  She is used to it.
Many people are more interested in their own agenda than anyone or anything else.
So, I am asking you...
my faithful reader ( or readers  :)  )
Please be aware of those around you that might need
some space
some help
maybe just a smile

OK, Let's do it !   

get used to it

call it what you will
i need to get over it
don't know who is reading this but
i am going to tell the truth....

I got my hair cut.

there are details.
the most haunting is
someone sent  a memo...

seems almost everyone got it 

the  " audience" had been there  often 
and  many, within about 24 hours.. 48 hours...

6 inches is a lot  ( well, 4 to 6 inches ) 

The first audience
Husband - he never notices and I was ready for that

Bible Study - three  ladies, 3 men,( 3   had been with us the night before )   not a word

Next morning - 60 women (we meet every week ) no, no one seemed to notice, but they liked my   green jacket, and it was new and cute.

That evening - 5 friends -  /  two ,  one said " your hair is cute, I noticed it this morning and forgot   to   tell  you. One said " you got your hair cut".  My husband heard and said      " oh, and I did not notice "

That makes 3 ( if you count hubby )

Next day - casually,( many, but in small group)  12 ladies I see every week .  They got the memo too.
That afternoon two daughters and grandsons.   Still no.

Friday. We are there.  facetimed with 4 final family members.  

The count is still at three. 

No pictures
just one more question

who sent the memo?   

Celebrating

It was Easter Sunday and it's a  long story.
  It is about friends, food and family. 

I have to tell  the truth,

 Our celebration was very nice. 

 I had the table set by Thursday.

 My bread was made and in the freezer.

Friday was a bit upsetting, due to the failure of my new recipe, but thankfully, my reliable carrot cake and the box mix Angel food turned out fine.

Note: thanks to Liz, she got all excited that I was trying a new cake recipe and there would be no carrot cake for my family.  So I made the carrot cake first. Then started on the new recipe. When the 3 layers were as flat as pancakes, I threw them out.  

Nore:  thanks to Martha, when I told her my woes and the options in my mind ( including crying ) she said, make the angel food cake.  So I made the angel food cake and used the butter cream frosting for both cakes. The carrot cake is the one with little tiny almost carrots.  The angel food cake is the one with almost real robins eggs on a bed of coconut. 

 Sunday morning all I had to do was pop the ham into the oven.  Darrell always cooks breakfast ( eggs and toast ) on Sunday.   Then I posted two signs. 
 One was the list for the person who got home first.

The other was for anyone who wanted to hide the eggs if the weather was nice enough.

 The eggs were in a basket under the list. These were filled with candy. 

By the time I got home, all three kids and families were there. The kitchen was in full swing and I had practically nothing to do.  Since the weather was wet,the hunt was inside and  I got to help the kids find the  eggs. 

 First the rec room( all eggs were inside closed doors ).These will filled with $1. (three each )  Then to the living room ( this is where the dads had hidden most of the eggs from the basket )

Soon I realized that the dads had also added the unmarked carton of eggs that was on the dessert table. ( not in the basket under the list )
 They did not know they were the resurrection eggs.
  Darrell had put them together Saturday night and copied out the verses. So I had to very discreetly pull all those eggs from the baskets of the three boys and Damon put them back together   
Darrell did not find out until much later.

There is still time before lunch,   so the second round of eggs in the living room         ( all these eggs were under cushions )         These were filled with candy and coins. 

The final set of eggs were on high shelves and they were stuffed with match box cars  - two for each boy.

End of egg hunt

Dinner is served.

Ham, red potatoes, dill bread, asparagus, Tiffany had brought fresh pineapple and some celebration

Anita brought deviled eggs ( that is a tradition now )

Our new friends brought some Ukrainian  sweet bread and some pickled treats

Damon made the coffee - the second pot was an Italian brand also  from our new friends.

(and  they  brought each  little man a lego kit and some Lindt candy, table decorations and a pretty tea towel )

Then the resurrection eggs  12 eggs passed around to the 10 of us - went well, but nothing profound. Lots of commotion going on .  

Favorite verse:  For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16  

that was in egg # 1 

The final egg - empty,  like the tomb, empty because Jesus is where? 

Read Candy's book, or the Bible  and find out. 

Dessert -  two cakes 

Conversation 

party favors : Candy Doud's  book and Lindt bunnies

Oh, Darrell had cut many white camellias for our centerpiece.  It looked very nice on Saturday night - by Sunday morning some had already started to turn brown around the edges, but I have learned never to make apologies once we have prayed. 

The best part of the day was having my family meet our new friends. I knew my girls would love Anna and they did. Her husband hit it off with Christian,and their son, though he is 13 going on 20 seemed very content with any adult conversation AND the egg hunt. 

Despite conversation in the kitchen  " Mom always cleans up at my house, and Dad always cleans up at home", 

by Darrell's bedtime, he had not washed a single spoon. 

 Dirty dishes wait for you.

and they waited for me. 

 The dishwasher made short order of the very dirty plates

and a second load with those pots and pans.

All that is left,  happy memories   
Thankful for daughters who can take over in the kitchen and make decisions that are very helpful
And a son who was a barista at a previous employment, and makes great coffee. 

Hope you have happy memories, too.