Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat
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!
