The plan that did not exist and what happened

I had made non specific plans for dinner while the family was here. I knew I had a ton of food in the freezer and I knew tastes and diets are different plus we wanted something Pip would enjoy each meal. And after all, whatever Pip wants, Pip gets!

Monday: Son1's family got back into town about 5:30. Son1 and Pip got ready to get in the pool while DIL1 went upstairs to take a nap. Meanwhile Son2 and DIL2 came over to swim with Pip. 

I think we wound up eating about 9:30.

Tacos and all the fixings, ice cream sandwiches (no they were not homemade)

Tuesday: Another day of swimming. Son2 and DIL 2 came over to swim with Pip and the rest of us, (but mainly Pip). All day swimming means a late dinner.

Chicken and dressing, broccoli, tomato cucumber and onion salad, ice cream 

Wednesday: More swimming during the day and into the late night!

Pizza compliments of Marco's pizza, tossed salad

Thursday: We had a ton of leftovers from Wednesday's lunch and supper, and all the makings for some sides

Pizza, chicken tenders, chopped salad, veggies and hummus.

Friday: Earlier in the year TheHub and I went to a fundraiser for the local Parkinson's group. One of the items in the silent auction was a gift certificate including dinner for 6 at Food Bar. I purchased it thinking about the upcoming family visit, so we made reservations early in the week for dinner for the 7 of us. Oh wow was it ever delicious!

Rack of lamb, grouper, mussels, roasted chicken, gnocchi, oysters on the half shell, crab claws, tomato salads, shishito peppers, Caesar salad, house salad, seared tuna, Basque cheese cake, chocolate pots de creme, caramel toffee doughnuts, lavender pound cake, lemon meringue pie. If we had more I have forgotten what it was, but we definitely got our money's worth, and came home with 1/2 of two entrees.

Saturday: Son1's family had never seen Son2's house (bought right before the pandemic) and they wanted everyone to come there for dinner. Their home is so cute and everything, including their back yard, was party ready for guests.

Ziti, tossed salad, rolls, strawberry cake (Cookies for Son1 who is allergic to strawberries)  

Sunday: We took Son1 and family to the airport, came home and crashed for a bit. We decided dinner would be leftovers form Friday night's dinner.

Lamb with chickpeas and pawpaw dew peppers, mussels in buerre blanc sauce over ramen, watermelon

Now our life will return to it's mostly boring state and we will return to having a planned menu. (which really means nothing since I am always changing the plan anyway) 

This is what should be happening this week:

1. Leftover peas, squash, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, cornbread

2. Grilled burgers and fixings, sweet potato fries

3. Greek chicken, rice pilaf, Greek green beans, tossed salad

4. Steak, tossed salad, rolls

5. Braised duck breast, mashed potatoes, spring greens, possibly asparagus

6. Huge salad dinner, rolls

7. Toasted cheese sandwiches, slaw

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all!

Well That Went Fast

How did 25 weeks pass so fast. It truly seems like just a couple of months ago when we were saying farewell to 2022.  Now we are just a couple of weeks until we are on the downhill side of the year. This year is flying by like greased lightning.

Saturday: We woke and did our usual rounds but this time with Son3 in tow.  We stopped briefly at the produce stand then went by O'Henry's coffee shop. I do not normally purchase coffee at a coffee house and will admit it was delicious, but we never would have done it if Son3 had not requested it. The reason we went there in the first place was to get their Conecuh sausage biscuit. Son3 and DIL3 get one every time they are in town. I had never had one and still haven't because they had sold out of them by the time we got there. Instead we went to La Conchita, a wonderful Mexican bakery in town.

Son3 was able to connect with some old friends and TheHub and I got a few more things done around the house. 

We had a veggie dinner, then crashed for the evening.

Sunday: It was a low key day, just enjoying the last of Son3's visit. He got everything from Mom's house placed in one spot in the basement so we can take it to them at some time later this summer. Not having to wrangle all of the things they wanted and having them in one place for easy loading is a supreme joy for me.

Son2 and DIL2 came to see him one more time before he left and ate dinner with us. I always love having them here.

Monday Son3 left, and shortly after, Son1's family returned from their weekend in North Carolina. The pool was calling them, and Pip was calling Uncle2 and Aunt2 to come join in. I am not sure how long they swam but we did not eat until about 9:15.

Tuesday: We had another swim day with everyone here! Yes is was seriously sunny and hot, but sunscreen and a lot of water made the day a lot of fun. Pip was happy, and especially happy that Uncle2 and Aunt2 stayed for dinner. I think she would have preferred that they stay here overnight instead of going to their own home.

Wednesday: This was the day the visit changed entirely. I had invited some of our neighbors to come swim with Pip. As it turned out only one of the girls wanted to swim and came with her Mom.  We sat by the pool and watched the girls swim when she got a call that her older daughter had gotten sick at camp and needed to be picked up. Of course I told her to leave her daughter, M, and we would watch her while they continued swimming. The girls hit it off so well that M stayed for lunch, more  swimming, then dinner. After dinner Son1 and DIL1 walked her home and Pip stayed at their house watching a movie until 11ish.  We were all amazed at how much they had in common.

Thursday: M and Pip met for a morning swim until M had to leave for a swimming lesson. Meanwhile M's sister and their mom came down for a quick dip in the water, so Pip had someone else to swim with. After S left, Pip was tired and watched TV while she rested___until the doorbell rang. It was M, ready to play. They goofed around in the house for a bit then went to M's house. Pip managed to wrangle a dinner invitation, they ate and played there until about 7:30. Meanwhile Son2 and DIL2 had come over. They all had a nice adult swim before we ate dinner. 

When the girls came back to my house M had a suitcase in tow ready for more swimming and a sleepover.

Everyone swam until about 9:30 then Uncle2 and Aunt2 left to go home and the girls got ready for bed. They had both had such busy days that by 10:30 they were sound asleep, believe it or not, serendipitously wearing identical nightgowns.

Friday: Pip and M  slept late and woke right as my cousin ,Deb came, with her two granddaughters. I honestly was afraid Pip and Mn would pair up and leave Mag and Lib , but I had nothing to worry about. All four girls swam and had fun until lunch. M had to run home because she had some things she had to do, which left just the 3, who played continually until 5. As soon as they left we all started getting ready for dinner at Food Bar. Though it does not sound like it would be the place to get fabulous food, it is. Their motto is "Not pretentious, just delicious" and it is the truth. If you are in Birmingham give them a try and you will not be left disappointed. 

Of course having Pip here this week was a huge joy, but having a wonderful week in addition to her being here is beyond joyous. They will leave Sunday afternoon and though I will miss them I could not have asked for a better week. I hope she will remember this as one fo those golden visits!

Look for your joys. They are present whether they are large (like this week) or small (like most of my weeks).

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne

Night Night

Once again it is time for Tuesday 4 where Annie asks 4 thematic questions. This week is all about our sleep habits. It made me think about how erratic mine are.

This is one of the songs I would sing when I was getting my babies sleep. Fortunately for me, babies are not music critics!

1. Do you have a set bedtime that you stick to?

No and since I was old enough to determine what time I would go to sleep I never have. I like the late night and when everyone else is winding down my brain kicks into overdrive and will not allow me to sleep. What to drive me close to insanity? Tell me I have to be in bed by 10 every night. I rarely am ready for bed before midnight, but most nights I get in bed between 2 and 3 a.m. Once in bed I read until I fall asleep. Sometimes it is quickly, but often I am still reading at daybreak.

2. What kind of sleep attire do you prefer and why is that? 

In the winter I either sleep in a flannel gown that has been cut off to upper thigh level, or I sleep in a flannel pajama top. I can't stand anything but sheets actually touching my legs at night. Blankets on the bed are fine, but they can't touch me.

In the summer I sleep in very short nightgown with spaghetti straps. Same thing__nothing but the sheet can touch my legs.

3. Do you have a night time routine  before bed?   I shower in the morning but in the summer I often shower one again at night. If I don't take a shower I do a quick spit bath thing regardless of the season. 

I brush my teeth for 3 minutes every night before bed, then use the Waterpick, followed by a Listerine swish for 20 seconds. 

I clean my face with a makeup removed, then dab some micellar water on a cotton pad and run it over my face. Next I take coconut oil and massage it into my face leaving it on for a couple of minutes. The next step is steaming my face, then a really good rinse followed by wiping it with a hot damp wash cloth. I try to do this before I even begin to think about going to be so it is done and out of the way before I ever get sleepy.

I don't eat before bedtime, mainly because I am not hungry then.

4. Quilts? Coverlet? Fluffy comforters? Woolen blankets? What do you need to sleep comfortably?

I have a fall winter bed and a spring summer bed.

In the fall and winter I have a heavy bedspread, a blanket, and of course top and bottom sheets.

In the summer I use sheets and a white coverlet on the bed. I do keep a quilt my MIL made on the foot of the bed, but it is for ornamentation rather than use.

What I can't do without is pillows. We have 7 pillows on our bed. TheHub uses three and I use four, though one of them is strictly on the bed as a place to rest my Kindle while I am reading in bed.

And now that it is near midnight, I am going to get off the computer, take a shower and begin to get ready for bed. Doesn't mean I am anywhere near ready to go to sleep, but the ritual takes time and is better done before I am actually sleepy.

Y'all jump on in, and play!

This was the other bedtime song I sang to them regularly. I can't say they preferred one to the other.

When is a plan not a plan?

The answer to the title of the post is when I am not making one. Son3 leaves for NYC in a few minutes, and Son1 and family are set to arrive back from their long weekend in North Carolina later this evening. I have no clue what is or is not planned for the rest of the week so I am making zero food plans. I have a freezer full of possibilities, grocery stores within a hop skip and a jump of my house, and restaurants / fast food joints everywhere around me. Anyone who joins us to eat is welcome, but I am totally not worried about it. We can find or rustle up something!

What was planned for last week:

Nothing

What we actually ate:

Burgers, tons of fresh delicious seafood, bbq, veggie dinner, and meatloaf

What's up for this week:

Who knows? Who cares?

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all

All Good Things Must End

 And now the 24th week of the year is over and done. So is the beach trip, but like the song says, all good things must end someday! And there were some very good things this past week

Saturday: When we picked Son3 and DIL3 up from the airport Thursday night a truck on the highway threw up a rock and dinged the windshield. They had used my car all day Friday so we stopped to have the window repaired before heading for the beach. After a fast repair we headed out for what would be the longest trip to the beach ever. Almost all the way to Montgomery the traffic moved ( when it was actually moving) at a snails pace. We made decent time until we hit another snarl in Florida, but we finally made it. We literally raced to the seafood monger to pick up scallops and grouper for dinner then drove to the condo  We were supposed to pick Son1’s family up from the airport at the beach as soon as we unpacked the car. Seeing them was great and we dropped them off so Pip could go swimming while TheHub and I ran to the grocery store. After shopping then cooking I think we finally ate at about 9:30. 

Sunday: The water was rough and there were double red flags, so no gulf swimming was going to happen.  Instead Pip had lots of pool time. TheHub and I went back to the seafood place for steamed shrimp and redfish  __yum!

Monday: The water was still kind of sketchy with rip tides but there was only a regular red flag.  We did get out in the water and it beat us to a pulp but it was fun anyway. I was very happy Pip could still have fun in the pool. We were supposed to go eat at Captain Andersons which takes no reservations.  Unilaterally we decided a 90 minute wait was too long for Pip so we walked across the parking lot to a new to us restaurant, The Grand Marlin. Delicious did not even being to describe it.

Tuesday: Rip tides were the name of the game again but beautiful weather, a bucket to fill with water to pour over me when I got hot, and a beach chair with an umbrella made staying on the beach all day easy  I did get in the water a bit but with the currents it was hard to stay in one place. 

Sadly DIL3 had to return to NYC.  She is finishing her Masters and had class Wednesday  I hate she had to leave but we were thrilled she got to be there for a little while.

Wednesday: What a difference a day made.  While sitting on the balcony having coffee the gulf was like a lake. We saw tarpon feeding close to shore.  They were between 4 and 5 feet long  they were probably there the other days but the water was too rough to see them   The day begged us to spend all day on the beach and the water was perfect  Rolling waves, no whitecaps and no rip currents.

That night we met TheHub's cousin and wife for dinner.  They have a place down there and were spending a few weeks at the beach.

Thursday: We woke seriously early and sat on the balcony with coffee and binoculars  We saw 4 or 5 porpoises, in deeper water and 3 fairly large sharks about 10-15 feet from the shoreline  There were several people in the water but the sharks totally ignored them.  Our best guess was that they were sand sharks,  which are not aggressive at all.

Every beach trip has a beginning and an end We had to end ours Thursday because Son1’s family was driving to North Carolina on Friday morning for a long weekend visit with one of DIL1’s friends.  We packed up and left  making decent time until we  made our first potty break for Pip  The car was packed to the gills and during the shuffling to get her out, a bottle of Tide spilled all over the backseat mat  I am very thankful I hadWeather Tech floor mats because we just had to remove it and rinse (a lot of rinsing) it off. 

Our second stop was for a lunch in Andalusia  We decided to go inside and eat rather than doing a drive through.  Pip gets car sick and it just made sense to eat inside. 

We were through eating and about to leave to get in the car when a couple of people came out from behind the counter talking about a hit and run in the parking lot.  We were not particularly curious until we realized my car was the one that was hit  We called the police to get paperwork to file with our insurance company when the young guy who hit it returned  We figure someone in the restaurant knew him and called and told him the police were involved and to get his butt back  I am glad he did so he was not charged with leaving the scene of an accident  I would hate for a simple wreck to escalate into more than it was. I know he was not happy, but honestly neither was I. Most likely I will wait until after everyone leaves to have it fixed, but body work was definitely not in my short term plans.  

We arrived home much later than we planned but we had time to pick up bbq for dinner for all of us including DIL2 and Son2  After dinner they swam.  I had a fierce headache and went to sleep.  Ah the pleasure of being back in my own bed!

Friday: Son1 took my car to NC leaving Son3 and me carless. Fortunately he was working, and I was still nursing a headache and just needed darkness and silence.

 Lucky for us I needed nothing and TheHub was back on track for recreational shopping on his way home from work. I NEEDED a popsicle, and Son1 wanted a few things to add to our dinner. He took steaks out of the freezer, did all the cooking and clean up. What a joy!

Look for all the joys the week has to offer. They are there even if you have to hunt for them!

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne

p.s. Sorry this is so late. I was busy getting things back in some sort of order today since the headache has disappeared! 

Not Being Nice

 Perfect night for Strawberry Moon watching!!!

Another?

 

Yep I would be the one sitting under an umbrella in the shade looking through the striped umbrella at the waves.

Plans

 

Yes this is about as planned as I am getting right now . And yes I know this is an obnoxious post. Sue me!!!

Life Is!

We have just finished the 23rd week of 2022. I know for some of you this has been a week filled with lots of adventure and fun. TheHub and I have not done a lot of things, but we are so ready. The 24th week is abut to be our favorite week fo the year thus far. We will be leaving for the beach Saturday morning with Son3 and DIL3. We should get there mid afternoon (we have a couple of stops on the way) and will grab some groceries before getting settled in the condo. This will be DIL3's first time in Northwest Florida and it will be fun to see what she thinks of the beaches and the gulf. Then, at 6;30 we will be at the airport to pick up Son1, DIL1 and the most wonderful girl in my realm. My happy meter is about to burst just thinking about it!

Saturday: We began our Saturday like we do most of them by running to the produce stand.  After purchasing our fresh veggies for the week, I was admiring his peaches. I do like the taste of the early peaches but had much rather wait to buy them in bulk once the free stone varieties are ripe (about 2 more weeks). Benny, the owner of the stand, was talking with me about them and gave me a box of bruised peaches he could not sell. I brought them home and almost immediately started cutting the bad spots away, then processing them.  I managed to salvage enough to make a cobbler and a jar of peach preserves.

Afterward, we worked in the yard__again, then did some chores in the house before sitting down to a dinner of fresh vegetables. Eating perfectly fresh vegetables is a true joy!

Sunday: The first thing in the morning, TheHub and I went out in the yard to string lights over the upper patio. I had purchased commercial lights and they were too heavy for the poles to hold in the configuration I wanted, so we punted. It was not exactly what I envisioned, but it worked and was done. (It still looks very inviting at night and that is what matters, right?)

TheHub's oldest cousin was the honoree at a surprise birthday party in Tuscaloosa that afternoon. We were thrilled to be invited to celebrate Jessie, who is one of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet. We had a wonderful time visiting with relatives on a happy occasion, since most of our times together seem to be at funerals.

After the party my SIL came back to Birmingham to spend the night here. It was a gorgeous night for a cookout and conversation!

Monday: It was a regular Monday, except I had Jerry here working on a few things, and had a few errands to run. 

What a treat!  When I was checking out at CVS, my pocket started ringing and who was on the phone but Sluggy! Talking to her, then to My Beloved Sister was the highlight of my day

Another small joy was 4 lbs. of fee sugar. I only get the Piggly Wiggly free Monday item (with  10 dollar additional purchase) if it is something I will use, and if they have additional items sale priced that I need.  This week they had both ground chuck and bacon at their (new) lowest prices and the free sugar was jut a bonus for stocking up on foods we eat regularly.

Tuesday: My car tag expired at the end of May. I was going to get it mid-May but TheHub told me he would just stop by and pick it up. Fine, I was not going to argue about who needed to go get it. He put the tag notice in his car then promptly forgot about it. He called Tuesday morning in a panic telling me not to go anywhere until he got the tag. So things I had planned for Tuesday were shot down. Instead I got to do things like wash interior windows, clean the laundry room, clean the fridge. Fun stuff like that!. 

 

Wednesday: The weather had been very dry for a while and we needed some water. I just did not know how much we needed. In the wee hours of the morning thunder storms  and pounding rain woke me several times. 

When daylight broke I looked out to see if Noah an his big boat were passing by or if there was any damage after the storms We personally had no flooding or wind damage,  but others were not so lucky. We had about 5 inches of rain in just under 2 hours and more rain was expected. 

It did storm again about dinner time, so we had an unintentional candlelight dinner.

Thursday: I finished getting the house ready, got things gussied up a little then took a quick catnap before grabbing something for dinner. As soon as we ate it was time to run to the airport to pick up DIL3 and Son3. It was great to see them and visit a little before everyone went to bed.

Friday: I packed everything we would need for the beach trip, then hung out with Son3 and DIL 3 for a bit. We decided to cook hamburgers out for them, Son2 and DIL2, My Beloved Sister, and BIL. 

After we ate Sons2 and 3, along with DIL3 had a little jam session so we got to hear some freestyle blues, bluegrass and even a little Tammy Wynette. I wish I had a tenth of the talent these three have. 

And that wraps up the small and large joys for the week! Make sure you look for yours. They are always out there!

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne

p.s. I forgot to post this earlier. Breathing salt saturated air now, while waiting at the airport to pick up Pip. Life is good. 

Coffee or Tea

Today's Tuesday 4 questions come from Annie. They are about our coffee and tea preferences. 

 1. What is/are your favorite coffee? (brand or flavor)  If you are a tea lover, which tea is the best for you?

I am not particular about the brand of coffee I drink, but I do like a dark roast. It can be flavored or not. I do keep pumpkin spice coffee and mint coffee for DIL2. Sometimes I drink praline flavor.

Usually when I drink hot tea I have Earl Gray, but for iced tea I only use Luzianne.  I make tea for iced tea nearly every day.

2.  How do you take your coffee or tea? Sugar, cream , flavoring?

Coffee is just black and strong, unless it is nighttime and then occasionally I will add flavored creamer to decaf coffee for a "dessert"

Hot tea just plain tea

Iced tea sweetened with a little Splenda 

3. Do you go out for coffee/tea with friends?   Ever enjoy a real tea room or a  tea party?

Occasionally I meet friends for coffee, but since the pandemic not so often.

I have been to a real tea room and it was fun but most likely I will not do it again.

4. If you could design a coffee shop or even a coffee/tea station in your home, what would it be like? 

I have a Keurig on the counter and it works perfectly fine for me. I do not need a coffee bar, but will confess I have old Dukes mayo jars stacked by the Keuring that have different flavored coffees and different flavored powdered creamers, so maybe I do have a strange coffee bar.

Have a great day! Come on and join in!

Dinner With or Without Plans

Looking over the list of what I had planned vs. what I actually made means I cooked about half of what I thought I might. Even though eating out was not cooking, it was technically a planned meal! That makes me slightly over 50%

We are headed to the beach at the end of the week and I am making zero plans for then. Who knows what will happen. I am just looking forward to being in Paradise, the salt air, the sun, the water, and some delicious food.

No way I will actually eat a burger at the beach. Scallops, grouper, and snapper all day!

What was supposed to happen:

Hamburgers with fixings, chips or keto cheese curls (not particularly good but crunchy)

Chicken divan, cucumber onion and tomato salad

Veggie meal TBD

Greek chicken, greek green beans, tomato slices

Grilled steak, tossed salad, dinner rolls or keto rolls

Take out or dining out

What did happen:

Monday: We worked outside again and were hot, tired and dirty. After we got nicely cleaned up and looked somewhat human again, we decided to give ourselves a bit of grace and just order some take out BBQ . 

Chopped pork, baked beans or coleslaw

Tuesday: After the long weekend, TheHub went back to work and I worked around the house. We decided to go to Costco at about 7 and had not eaten. We always seem to find the simplest solution to dinner when it gets late.

Pimento cheese sandwiches or pimento cheese stuffed celery.

Wednesday: Got rid of some items from the freezer. Yay!

Chicken divan, coleslaw

Thursday: Oh no! I found some cooked ground chuck in the fridge I had forgotten about, and had to use it immediately

Open face Vesuvian (My sister's somewhat made up concoction of ground beef, onions, peppers and mushrooms on garlic toast), green beans 

Friday: My SIL came to spend the night and we went out to dinner

Out to eat, wedge Salad or flatbreads

Saturday: We went to the produce stand so it was only natural to have a veggie dinner.

Veggie Dinner, squash, okra, cornbread, sliced tomatoes

Sunday: Perfect weather means it is the perfect time for a cookout.

Hamburgers and all the fixings, corn on the cob (or none)

What might happen:

1. Stuffed bell peppers, new potatoes, coleslaw

2. Chicken, rice, green beans, mixed greens

3. Taco salad

4. Toasted cheese, tomato and onion sandwiches, mixed greens

5. Grilled steak, potatoes, tossed salad

6. Beach meal (no idea yet)

7. Beach meal (no idea yet)

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.

Dirty Jobs

Some weeks are filled with nothing but fun and some weeks have a lot of toil. Then some weeks are filled with both. This was our hard work week. We worked outside almost every day this week and I did a lot of work inside, getting ready for the big visit. Some days it felt like we worked non-stop and nothing was really accomplished, then other days it seemed like we made some headway,  Even so  it felt like we would never see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But by the end of the week, we could see actual results of all dirty, sweaty work. Thank goodness!

Saturday: We woke, had coffee and left to run a few errands. Of course we went to the produce stand the first thing and found gorgeous tomatoes, strawberries and the first peaches of the season. There were a few other errands to run including an unplanned stop at JoAnne's fabrics. I get emails about sales each day it seems and this mornings email featured some composite flower pots that were 60% off. I had seen them earlier in the week when I went to buy some fleece to wrap around delicate Christmas items for storage. Yes, I finally did take down the Dickens village. But I digress. I wanted the pots but was not about to pay the price they were asking. With the sale they became doable, so I bought 3.  Woo hoo, one of the hibiscus on the front porch has a new home!

After we finished our errands and had lunch we began doing outdoor chores, then ended the evening putting the outdoor set I found at Aldi together. It was not fun__at all, but it looks pretty good.

Special joys were being able to run pick something up for dinner, and a hot shower to clean off the dirt we were wearing, from working in the back yard.

Sunday: Whew! Lots of work in the backyard makes Anne tired and sunburned. TheHub and I worked off and on in the yard all day and it is definitely looking better, but there is still a lot to do. We are paying dearly for 2 years of near neglect.

I am trying to think of what was joyful and coming up blank. I guess there is joy in making serious headway. I did get the pink flamingo float blown up and she is swimming back and forth in the pool. It makes me smile each time I see her.

Now everything for the pool is clean and ready to use, but it is taking us a longer than normal time to get the water correct.

We were tired and picked up some take out for dinner, then watched PBS Memorial Day concert. I always like to watch it.

Monday: More yard work, but things are really starting to shape up. Besides working in the yard we pretty much did nothing except to go pick up some food. We were going to watch something on tv, but we both dozed off. I don't even remember what we intended to watch!

Tuesday: I was able to go to my favorite place. A day volunteering at Independence Place does my soul good. I got a giraffe painted, and had wonderful conversations with the participants!

Wednesday: A huge joy was having my beloved sister come over and help me ut a few different touches on the upper patio. Another set of eyes never hurts anything. Plus we visited and had lunch together which always makes me happy.

 

Thursday: Jerry, my favorite handyman, came to do a little work. Actually more than a little, but who is counting. Everything he does he does incredibly well. It takes him a little longer, but he takes such pride in what he does that it is worth the wait.

Friday: Jerry was back at the house for a while, then my SIL came to spend the night with us. She, TheHub and I went out to eat. We were on the patio at The Electric with  shade and a cool breeze. It was almost picture perfect for al fresco When we finished eating we came home to find  Son2 and DIL2 , who came over to the house to visit with her.  It was a very enjoyable night. 

Look for your joys, either large or small. They are always out there!

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne

Fun on Friday

 Just because_______________________