Good friends, good food, good fun!

“I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny.” 
                                                                                                                                       Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat

Week 8: Fun!

It's hard to complain about temperatures in the 70s and 80s during the third week of February, so I won't.  I'll just say it would have been really spectacular if the sun had been shining!  But like Dr. Seuss reminds us, you can have fun on the rainiest of days.  This past week was a really good one for me.  Last Monday, I was remembering my dad, as he would have been 96 that day.  Today, I'm remembering Rex's dad, who passed away on this day seventeen years ago.  They were both good men, men of the Greatest Generation, and men who imprinted their values on Rex and me in ways that still catch us by surprise sometimes.  We were lucky to have them as our dads, and I miss them both so much.  In honor of Daddy's birthday, I made his very favorite birthday cake, which was really cupcakes.  Blueberry, with maple pecan frosting.  Mmmm!  I love cooking, and while baking isn't my specialty, because I thought of Daddy while making them and while eating them, making these cupcakes was a fun activity worth a trip to the store for canned blueberries.  In case you're hungry, here are the recipes:

 

I had a lunch date with a friend at Olympia Grill (mmm - Avocado Greek Salad!!) on Tuesday, and while driving home along the seawall, I decided to get Crockett and bring him along for a walk on the beach instead of just walking around the neighborhood.  It wasn't a sunny day, and it was really windy at the beach, but it was fun to be out on the sand where we could hear the waves pounding the jetties.  We walked out on one jetty, and Crockett was a little bit spooked when he realized he was surrounded by water.  Thankfully he did not try to jump in!  He got really sandy, and so did my car!  Wednesday found me in Galveston again, enjoying lunch with my Tiki neighbors at Willie G's before I hopped on the Galveston ferry and headed for Bolivar peninsula and points east.  I was hoping to beat the heavy rains that were forecast since I was driving to Birmingham for the weekend.  I spent the night with friends in Abita Springs, LA (thanks, Linda and Rawlin!) and then had a relaxing trip through Mississippi and Alabama the next day.  I wandered around little Laurel, Mississippi and had a great burger and onion rings at the PDI (Phillip's Drive In), where it was both hot and sunny!  On my drive, it was clear spring has sprung - pear trees are in full bloom and leafy trees are greening up.  I hope we don't have a big freeze in March!

Once in Birmingham, I promptly fell asleep and woke up just in time for a Forever Connect meeting followed by a late Mexican dinner and a huge delicious margarita.  I knew, since a family text on the subject had awakened me that morning, that it was National Margarita Day, so of course we had to observe the solemn occasion.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I shared my love and a little bit of knowledge about Forever Artisan and digital scrapbooking with the group of women attending Fran Smitherman's weekend retreat.  We had a great time, and another special thank you to Ann for driving me around all weekend in search of food and drink!  It was fun to meet more scrappers and say hi to old friends, too.  I had lunch with Caroline on Sunday before hitting the road for North Carolina.  I rolled in to Anne's house about 8:30 last night, and even at that hour, she had dinner ready when I got there.  I listened to The Great Alone on this trip and finished it Sunday afternoon.  I'm now listening to the hilarious book, The Ladies Room, by Carolyn Brown - it had me laughing out loud down the highway.

I'm writing tonight from Dave's home in Wake Forest, where I have gotten a good start on Happy hugs and fun with the kiddos.  So it was a FUN week (as most are!) and I'm looking forward to lots more fun and laughter this week.  Sure hope you find fun every day, too!

All my loving

All my loving I will send to you |  All my loving, darling I'll be true
                                                                                                        - Paul McCartney

Week 7 - "I love..."

Well, that page was easy!  And it was hard...as you can see, I had to add an extra spot for Crockett!  And while these are the people I love most in the world, there are others that are right up there.  And things, and places, and foods, and things to do - there is so much to love.  I decided to be as true to the 'photo a day' theme as I could, so a Cajun meal for Mardi Gras and my wonderful massage when I got home made the list, too.

After getting to see Mary Jo and sister Kim last weekend, I got to spend a few days at daughter Kim's house this week.  In fact, I headed there immediately after dropping my sister off at the airport Sunday night.  I think I got to Kim's about the same time Kim got home.  It was the first time I'd gotten to see my sweet dumpling since Christmas - she has grown so much!  And she is still a happy baby - a good sleeper and content to be awake and entertain herself, too.  It's fun to watch Kim bloom into motherhood as well - she's a natural.  Sadly, it's almost time for her to go back to work, and although she's excited about getting back to it, I know she will miss spending her days with her baby.

It was foggy and dreary and cold the first few days I was there, so we didn't get out on any walks, but we did manage to make a Target run, a Costco run, and a girls' lunch.  We FaceTimed Elliot on her birthday, went to a fun little Cajun bistro for Mardi Gras, and watched lots of Winter Olympics.  We sat in stunned silence as we mourned yet another school shooting.  While I don't claim to know the answers to America's issues with guns, mental illness, and bullying, I know that what we are doing currently is NOT working.  It's past time for us moms to demand change.  Parents should not have to worry about their children being murdered at school!  I suspect I was not the only one hugging my babies a lot tighter on Valentine's Day.

On Thursday morning, we took Miss M to her day care for the first time, even though Kim wasn't going to work yet.  She had decided to have a few 'trial run' days before it was real.  Good plan!  I think it was a teeny bit easier to leave her knowing it was just for a few hours, even though Kim wasn't sure what she would do with herself.  I was impressed with the place they had chosen, and Kim did great until the director looked at her sympathetically and asked how she was doing.  Cue the tears!  To cheer her up, we enjoyed a nice Mexican brunch of yummy breakfast tacos, and then it was time for me to head back home.  As I drove, I finished the fabulous book I had been listening to for the last week.  If you haven't read Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan, I recommend that you give it a try.  While it is a World War II novel, it is based on a true story, and it's set in Italy.  If you've read many WWII books, I suspect you haven't read many about the war in Italy.  There's a reason, and you'll learn more about that when you read this book.  Although there are parts of the book that seem unbelievable, there is a lot about WWII that is hard to believe but is true, so I'm willing to suspend judgment.  I found it compelling and enjoyed listening to it.  I believe it is being made into a movie.

The book I started after that one is a new one called The Wife Between Us, by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.  As you might suspect, it is about a love triangle.  Most anything else you suspect will be wrong, and  that's all I'm saying.  Well, that and I listened to it all day Saturday because I had to know what happened!  Other books I've listened to so far this year are The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea (don't waste your time), Beartown by Fredrik Backman (love all of his books - this one is relevant and gripping), and Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa Wingate (this one is sadly based on true events in Memphis, and it will haunt you - read it anyway!).  In December, I listened to Column of Fire, the third book in a trilogy by Ken Follett, and I loved it so much it inspired me to listen to the previous two books, Pillars of the Earth (one of my all-time favorites, but last read in the mid-90s!) and World Without End.  All of the books are historical fiction, set in England starting in medieval times and ending in the early 1600s.  I found them fascinating, and the narrator, John Lee, is fantastic.  The books stand on their own, but I recommend reading them in order.  They are long - be forewarned!

Next on my list is The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (The Nightingale) about Alaska.  That should make my upcoming drive to Alabama and NC go by quickly!  What books are you reading and enjoying?  And do you read real books, books on devices, or do you listen to your books?  I've always been an avid and voracious reader, and nothing was better than curling up with a big, thick, hardback book.  Until I got a kindle...  

For years, before kindles, when I traveled by car, I rented books on CDs at Cracker Barrel, and I found I loved listening to a good book.  And then, four years ago, I started listening to books so I would walk more.  I can't tell you when I last read the words on the pages of a book, either a real one or a virtual one.  I still read plenty (on computers and devices), but I listen to all of my 'reading for pleasure' books now.  I've found I pay more attention to detail and I'm not in a rush to finish and I don't skip over things when I listen.  The only drawback for me is when I don't like a narrator - thankfully, that doesn't happen much, but when it does - I stop listening!

Can't wait to hear what books you love and how you enjoy them.  Hoping you have a fantastic week and that you take time to tell the ones you love how much they mean to you.  Happy Monday!

Jan

PS  Today my wonderful daddy would have been 96 years old.  That's hard enough to believe, but it's even harder to realize he's been gone from this earth for 26 years.  I miss him daily and am grateful for all he gave me!

Brought to you by the letter B

Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.  
                                                                                                 - Albert Einstein

Week 6: B is for....(birds, Barbie, breakfast bowl, bottles, beads & baubles, besties, and baby burrito)

Down on Galveston Island, Mardi Gras festivities are in full swing, and tomorrow is the big day, Fat Tuesday.  It's hard to miss this gala event, as the Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold, and green are everywhere.  King Cakes can be found at any grocery, bakery, or coffee shop, and streets are blocked off in town because they are parade routes.  Strangers greet you with shouts of "Happy Mardi Gras" and everyone is festooned with so many beads around their necks that they can barely stand up straight.

Mardi Gras is the culmination of the Carnival season, which lasts from Epiphany (6 January) to Lent (40 days of fasting, plus 6 Sundays, before Easter).  Mardi Gras is French for 'Fat Tuesday', which is seen as the last hurrah of eating before the austerity of Lent.  It is definitely a celebration of excess!  The oldest Mardi Gras celebrations in the US occured near New Orleans in 1699 and in Mobile, Alabama in 1703.  Mardi Gras Galveston began in 1867, and today it attracts between 200,000 and 300,000 revelers (mostly depending on the weather!).  Mardi Gras parades and celebrations in Galveston begin on the Friday twelve days before Fat Tuesday.  On that night, the Knights of Momus Krewe holds a debutante ball honoring the Duchesses of Momus and culminating with the coronation of King Frivolous.

There are numerous parades on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of both weekends of Mardi Gras and then of course on Fat Tuesday.  The Knights of Momus parade is on the Saturday night before Fat Tuesday, and there is a huge shindig called the San Luis Salute on the Friday night before Fat Tuesday.  The theme of this year's salute was Hollywood Supper Clubs and Debbie Harry, aka Blondie, was the musical headliner.

Our Mardi Gras celebration was small this year - we only went to the Momus parade, but it was such fun because my sister Kim was with us, and our friend Mary Jo was down from Tennessee for the festivities.  And now I'm spending time with my sweet granddaughter Morgan this week so that her parents can have a nice Valentine's Day celebration.  Big hugs and birthday greetings to my sweet granddaughter Elliot today, too!!  I'm looking forward to seeing her and Gray later this month.

So Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!!  Laissez les bons temps rouler!  (Let the good times roll!)

Jan

Now trending....

I believe your home tells a story about who you are and who you aspire to be.  We represent ourselves through the things we own.  I don't believe in trends.  I believe in collecting things that you connect with.  We should surround ourselves with things we care about, that have meaning. 
                                                                                                                             - Nate Berkus

Photo credits: Moon shot by my neighbor, Charlie Daughtry, used with permission
Groundhog screenshotted from Forever.com

Week 5: Trendy

This week's Day2Day topic got me thinking about trends - what's trending now, what trends have come and gone, what trends have been replaced by technology, and how easily we buy into trends that have nothing to offer us and that don't enrich our lives.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that, since many trends are inspired by advertisers and marketers, who want us to part with our money and aren't concerned with whether our purchases make our lives better.  Dilly, dilly.

See how easily that nonsense phrase has become a part of our national vernacular?  Of course, words, phrases, and jargon - heck, even emoticons - are evolving and emerging constantly.  It's always fascinating to me to see which words get added to the dictionary each year.  In 2017, some of the words added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary included foods - sriracha, bibimbap, Saigon cinnamon, choux pastry, and froyo (really - it took that long to add froyo?); technology - cardioverter, ransomware, troll, working memory, and the Internet of Things; new verbs - onboarding, fronting, pregaming, and face masking (again, I'm surprised some of those weren't in there already!); and political/societal terms - hive mind, open carry, concealed carry (not news here in Texas!), dog whistle, and alt-right.  I had to giggle when I saw a box on the Merriam-Webster website that included words 'trending now'.  Today's trending words are treason, redaction, spurious, malfeasance, and pissant.  Quite the commentary on today's politics, isn't it?

Clothing trends are change faster than I can hope to keep up, and sadly my weight has trended upward to the point that I don't fit into most of the fashionable looks anyway.  Somehow that doesn't stop me from buying new clothes, which is the plan, of course!  One recent trend that I wasn't even tempted to adopt is the cut out shoulder - I haven't seen many women who have successfully rocked that look.  A quick look at the Vogue website let me know that this winter, I might be on the lookout for sterling silver (fabrics, not precious metals), folk art inspired clothing, ostrich feathers, 'double denim' (please no - basically, denim suits!), plastic chic, cosy knits, multi-colored fur, gray office suits, polka dots, blankets (yay - I'm sporting one now!), galactic prints, 'left undone' (I probably have a closet full of things with hanging strings!), working girl (not anything I'd wear in an office!), sportswear (think ski jackets, not yoga pants), matrix (black patent leather), turquoise (I'm in luck!), shoulder pads (aaacckkk!), scarf prints, leopard prints, checks, wild fur, lame' (!), sheepskin, think pink, padded jackets (nooooo!), and black and blue (I can live with those).  If only I could still fit into my 80s clothing....

Even the way we shop has changed so much.  Today, most of my purchases are made online, from Amazon to Hello Fresh (hard to believe I get so much food brought to me by Brown!) and I've even been ordering my groceries online and picking them up curbside.  Most of my clothing arrives at my front door, and most of my Christmas shopping was done via Deals and Steals or Pinterest wish lists.  And Pinterest - that's a whole 'nother trend that has changed the way we do things!

Thinking of these current trends makes me think about trends that were popular 'back in the day'.  When I got married, almost 38 years ago, my wedding was my mom's party, not mine.  My duties were addressing invitations, choosing china, crystal, and silver patterns, and writing thank you notes.  My mom and Rex's mom made the guest lists, and my mom did the bulk of the wedding planning and preparation.  Our parents' friends and our family were the invited guests - most of our friends who attended were there because they were in the wedding!  When my kids got married, their weddings were their parties.  Rex and I were there for financial assistance and we showed up on the big days, but the kids did the heavy lifting.  I doubt that either of them wandered aimlessly through department store china departments (if they still have those!) with their fiances while trying to choose table settings they would rarely use.

I remember getting a phone in my own room and sitting under the covers talking on it late at night.  By the time we were married, extension phones were the norm.  My kids were in school before we had cordless phones and answering machines, and soon after that, we had our first cell phones (but no one had our numbers!).  And then along came the iPhone....life has not looked the same since then, has it?  I saw an alarming article recently about today's teens and their lack of face-to-face social contact since the iPhone was first introduced.  If you haven't read this article yet, please take time to do so today.  Not all technological advances are good for us, are they?

Finally, given my recent line of work, I think about the trends in photography that I've seen in my lifetime.  From the Brownie camera (sitting in my bookcase upstairs) to slides of my childhood (sitting upstairs) to flashcubes, Polaroids, disc cameras (ugh - my poor kids...), my first 35mm camera, point & shoots, getting film developed in triplicate at Eckerd's, my first digital camera, cameras in cell phones, my first mirrorless digital camera (I'm on my second one now), and the realization that hardly anyone uses a 'real' camera these days.  Did you know that out of the 7.5 TRILLION photos taken last year, only 333 billion (5%) were taken with a camera that wasn't also a phone or tablet?  Read more about that here, if you're interested.  And it's sad to report, but I can't even remember the last time I printed a photo!  I mean, I have books and wall art made from my photos, but I'm not good about getting my favorites printed any more.  May need to remedy that!

Last week, I realized how much trends affect my daily life -  I had no problem filling my daily images with trendy things!  I'm sure that won't change, but I plan to be more aware of why I make the choices I make.

How about you?  What trends do you notice, and which ones do you find alarming or funny or interesting?  I'm hoping that reading this blog is still a trend with you!

Make it a great week!

Jan