The wind is so bright

This little person needed rescuing from Sweetness

I entitled this post as I did, because it is a direct recent quote from Dagny.

As in, we had all piled out of church last Sunday morning and were standing under the portico, visiting with a few folks before walking to our cars.

Part of our riverside repast.

I was holding onto my hat (natural straw, with a wide black grosgrain ribbon for trim) because the wind had kicked up and I do not own any hat pins.

Didn't want to lose my lid.

Chicken Waldorf Salad. Recipe link below.

Dagny, squinting into the sun, her hair blown back nearly horizontal, blurted: The wind is so bright!

We all cracked up simultaneously because it was extra cute.

It was windy so we we used weights. Pink ones.

The sun was bright; the wind was strong. Or vice versa. And later on, it rained.

In other words, springtime in the Carolinas. Maybe springtime just about everywhere.

I made Spicy Ranch Pretzels. Recipe link below.

Speaking of losing one's lid, the tiny doll pictured at the top of this post belongs to Dagny. Only, like sundry of her miniature toys, it was left here at one time or another.

It must have ended up in the Lego bucket which lives in the sun room, because last night, Sweetness the Tuxedo Cat was rummaging in there, and found it.

Try and stop me.

In no time flat, Sweetness had separated the doll's plastic hair from its plastic head, and began swatting the "hair" (which on its own resembles a walnut half with pink jelly coming out of one end -- the pink part being the doll's bow) all around the floor.

The doll's hairless body lay several feet away, where it would occasionally earn Sweetness's attention and get a few swats of its own.

Sibi was not best pleased with being on her leash.

This kept the piratey feline busy leaping and pouncing for the better part of an hour.

So after Sweetness had gone to bed, I reunited the doll's body with its hair, and put it on the kitchen desk along with a few other items Dagny has left here over the past week.

This shot was posed.

Today I took the doll's picture next to the ceramic bunny which holds papier maché Easter eggs.

She looks springy and positive there.

TG proclaimed these the best cake mix cookies I've made to date.

That's more than I was all of last week, when I was down with a cold, which made me miserable.

It developed on Monday night, in the form of a scratchy throat, just as our Audrey's birthday festivities were concluding.

Dagny Clare (Dag or The Dagginator) and Sybil Ann (Sibi or The Sibinator).

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were spent feeling wretched, and doing not much of anything. Friday and some of Saturday were spent recuperating.

But enough about me.

You'll be pleased to know that, while not necessarily qualifying as outrageously epic, our Audrey's birthday was celebrated in a way as to certainly take its place, head held high, in the annals of our multi-parted parties.

It was a sign of the times.

We kicked things off with a picnic on the Saturday before her birthday, at Granby Park in Columbia.

Granby is not as grand a park as Hopelands Gardens in Aiken, where we went for my birthday; not by a country mile. 

There was a spring blue sky and spring green trees.

In fact, it has been stripped of some of its features -- namely, play equipment that Dagny would have enjoyed exploring -- due to COVID nineteen, I imagine.

Pardon me while I retch in frustration at the stupidity of that.

Click to embiggen. This was our picnic view. I don't know what the big stone thing is.

Moving on.

Granby Park sits on the shores of the Congaree River, and on this day, despite plentiful sunshine and lovely cool temperatures, it was deserted.

I took this photo of the gang.

At least when we arrived with our picnic and set it up on a picnic table, it was. Later, more folks came to walk their dogs and enjoy nature.

Speaking of dogs, Cherica had brought along their Chorkie, Sibi. Sibi loves to be outdoors above most other things that she enjoys, up to and including chewing on shoes.

This may have been Dagny's first homemade Rice Krispies Treat.

She did not appreciate being in her harness and on her leash, however, and showed it by walking right out of her trappings.

Chad fixed that problem by tightening her harness so that she was obliged to stay in it.

Flowers for Mama on her birthday.

For lunch I had fixed Chicken Waldorf Salad, Crack Corn Dip, Beanie Weenies (standard issue; no recipe, and yes I took the Crock Pot to the picnic), Spicy Ranch Pretzels, Cake Mix Cookies (milk chocolate this time, but again with Bits o' Brickle and Toll House Morsels), and Watermelon Rice Krispies Treats.

The raspberry-colored crape myrtles are already in riotous bloom.

We had two varieties of Flat Out flatbread in case anyone wanted their Chicken Waldorf Salad as a sandwich, and there were baby carrots and celery sticks and Town House Flatbread crackers and Fritos Scoops for dipping into the corn dip.

I had gone all clever clogs and thought to bring pink marbles to weigh the plates down, because it was another windy day. It's better than having your plate flip up into your face or down onto the ground.

If they'd take the harness and leash off, I'd go on over there.

But the day was truly gorgeous and we chowed down with all the appetite one gets from being in the outdoors.

After the meal had been consumed and was cleared away, we sat for a while in a group of benches that formed a U, facing the Congaree, and chatted while we soaked up the sunshine.

Sibi as a cartoon.

Eventually we put everything back into the cars and went for a long walk on the trail beside the river.

In time we felt we'd exhausted the wonders to discover there, and decided to drive a short distance to another walking venue known as the Saluda Riverwalk.

Dagny and me beside the rushing Saluda.

It took us maybe ten minutes to get there, and to find that although this beautiful park has many picnic tables and walking bridges galore, its generous parking lot was CLOSED.

As in, sealed off and empty.

Birthday girl and her best girl.

Everyone wanting to use the park for recreation (and there were many besides us) was obliged to park on the side of the road directly beside the parking lot.

If you can make sense of that, let me know. And no; the parking lot is not under construction or compromised by anything, in any way.

Spanish moss frames the rushing river.

It has merely been closed for an entire year.

There is a building with restrooms for park visitors too. It is also closed.

Saluda Riverwalk.

Never mind that at Granby Park, a mere two miles away (if that) as the crow flies, both the parking lot and the restrooms were open for visitors.

Again; go figure and let me know what you come up with.

Sibi has got all of Mama's attention. Now.

But after parking on the side of the road along with everyone else -- because you know that COVID nineteen only spreads in parking lots -- we maneuvered around the barriers and onto the spacious walkway along the Saluda.

At this part of the river there are rocks to provide tiny rapids, and the sound of rushing water is enchanting.

We love a good walk in fresh air.

Sibi was in her glory as she trotted along at the end of her leash. Erica was glad to let her run because it meant she would not have as much energy for tearing around the house once the party was over and she was back at home.

After walking for nearly an hour, everyone was tuckered out and we decided to call it a day. We would see one another the next day at church.

My lemon blueberry cake layers, cooling.

After Sunday came and went, it was Audrey's actual birthday. 

I had set Monday aside for making her birthday cake, a lemon blueberry recipe that I wanted to try because it sounded so fresh and spring-like.

You could tell from the top, what was inside. Lots of lemon zest was involved.

Audrey came over and hung out with me for a while on the day, and I started laying out the ingredients for my cake, and eventually she left to fetch Dagny from school and go home to get ready for the party that evening.

I iced the cake with the lemon cream cheese frosting just minutes before we again met at Texas Roadhouse (as we did for my birthday a few weeks ago), for dinner.

The party flamingo began corralling the gifts early on the day.

We had a delicious meal and an even better time, talking and laughing as we never tire of doing.

Back at home, everyone was too full for cake at the moment so I made decaf coffee for those who wanted it, and we sat around and talked.

Two balloons are better than one.

Eventually we were ready for Audrey to open her gifts, so we assembled back at the table for that ceremonious moment.

TG and I gave her a bottle of perfume that she has been wanting for some time. She seemed delighted.

Bottega Veneta. Enough said.

Dagny (with my help) had selected a few jewelry items from the Time and Tru wall at Walmart. Also we threw in a makeup item we thought Audrey would like.

Andrew and Brittany had sent a pretty necklace.

Audrey's rendition of a Kubrick Stare.

Cherica's offering was a Dash mini toaster that is so cute, I wanted to tuck it away somewhere and hope Audrey would not miss it. Stash the Dash, as it were.

The color! It looks like a tiny retro console TV set.

Group Hug!

Audrey was thrilled with that gift too, as she likes all things Dash.

Erica announced that there was one other gift coming, late in the mail.

We did in fact finally eat the cake. It was lemon blueberry luscious.

So the birthday goings-on will continue until an as-yet unknown date, which is fine with Audrey.

Ah it was a splendid festive occasion! We were exhausted by the time all of that was over.

Only part of the birthday haul.

Isn't it nice to make a fuss over loved ones on their special days?

I think so.

A beautiful Easter to you all.

In a few weeks it will be our Allissa's turn to be fêted, when on Tax Day she turns thirteen!

Those of you who have been following this blog for most -- if not all -- of her life will find that difficult to believe.

As do I. But it is the truth.

First we will celebrate the Lord's resurrection this Sunday. I have a new dress, and shoes, and I will wear an Easter bonnet to church, and bake a ham and a pineapple casserole (link added after Mari-Nanci expressed interest in this recipe), and who knows what all else.

I hope you all have a lovely Easter Sunday and that you will be rejoicing in everything that God has done for us.

Because He is good all of the time. No matter what.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Tuesday

Boy oh boy. When you know, you know.

Am I blue

What happened was this:

A week ago Wednesday, Cherica went to the doctor for their gender-confirming sonogram.

(Cherica is my portmanteau for Chad and Erica, BTW ... in case you had not already figured that out. My use of the word "their" is not in deference to lib loon pronouns, hahahahaa.)

Ahead of the appointment we discussed how the family reveal should be handled.

I was in favor of the parents requesting not to be told at the appointment, instead securing a sealed envelope with the gender written on a slip of paper inside, to be taken to the bakery where the appropriate cake would be baked.

For our gender reveal party.

I had never been to one of those!

And I still haven't.

Allow the pirate to elaborate.

The way I pictured it was, we would gather at Cherica's house, have a meal together, then get Andrew and Brittany on FaceTime on one phone, and call up Stephanie and family for FaceTime on another phone.

Still another phone would be employed to record the whole thing, trained at the reveal moment on the faces of the child's parents, who would be finding out their baby's gender along with the rest of us.

Stay with me. Grab a snack for strength, if you must.

Although Erica sort of acted like she thought that was a cool idea, I knew that there was a better chance of Sleepy Joe sporting a MAGA hat the next time he wanders off Marine One than there was of my daughter being able to resist finding out her baby's gender at the appointment.

She's too nosy for that.

You know it's true, Boo.

And I was, as usual, one hundred percent correct. The pirate may not be perfect but when it comes to instincts, she's spot on more times than not.

So anyway I texted Little Mama the day after her appointment and asked if she and Chad been able to muster the wherewithal to resist learning the baby's gender.

Haahaaha no, she responded.

Mmmmmkay. Big surprise.

So now we're down to our get-together scheduled for that night (last Thursday), for which Chad would be grilling hamburgers and we'd have a refreshing salad, plus some Utz chips, and then cut into the cake, holding our breath until we saw whether the innards of said celebratory confection were pink, or blue.

Because that's how a gender reveal is done; am I right? When you use a cake as the vehicle for imparting the earth-shattering information that your unborn child is either one sex or the other?

(Yes you are correct if you thought the above was a trifle tongue-in-cheek. I learned the gender of each of my children in the delivery room. If I had it to do over -- heaven forfend -- I'd do it the same way. Old school.)

As opposed to garishly colored pyrotechnics that start wildfires, or color-coded balloons released from a huge container, or giant confetti under pressure and popped with a bang to everyone's pretend amazement, or bats flying out of a cave wearing either pink or blue tutus, the actual color of the cake beneath a neutral-color frosting (usually white, but not in a racist way) reveals the baby's gender.

Such fun. I wonder what clever-clogs baker thought of that.

Whomever -- and whenever, and wherever -- that may have been, one would think that by now every bakery in Christendom would be sufficiently acquainted with the gender reveal cake concept that it would be easy-peasy to order one.

Like taking candy from a baby; right?

Wrong.

At least, very difficult indeed at the Publix bakery where Erica put in an order for her gender reveal cake.

Publix made Erica's wedding cake. It was marvelous. They're our go-to for birthday cakes. They do a great job.

Except this time.

This time, they were a total flop from beginning to end.

The beginning being, when Cherica left their reveal appointment, floating on air with joy, and proceeded to go out to lunch for a private celebration, and then stopped by the Publix to order the cake for the next night, they encountered instant, inexplicable ignorance.

As in, the lady who took the order had serious difficulty even spelling Erica's name. E-R-I-C-A, my daughter patiently spelled. More than once. P-O-R-T-E-R, she spelled a few times too.

That was only the first line at the top of the form.

What if her name had been Getsemani Szymanscowicz? Best not go there. Because she'd still be there.

Moving on. Since you already know the answer, I can reveal that next, Little Mama explained that the inside of the cake needed to be blue.

As in, the actual interior cake material was to be food-colored B-L-U-E. For a B-O-Y.

Because that is the gender of our new grandchild.

The lady seemed befuddled and the form-filling-out continued laboriously for a quarter hour until Cherica felt there was nothing more they could do but leave the matter in the bakery's hands.

What could go wrong; right?

Wrong.

Because the next day, when Erica showed up to claim her order, they produced a great big blue cake.

As in, a cake covered in blue frosting.

? ? ? ? ?

Erica scarcely knew where to begin.

Knowing her as I do, I suspect that her first word was Nooooo ...

From there it devolved into the bakery worker (not the same one who took the order the day before) offering to scrape off the blue frosting and replace it with white.

Mmmmmkay.

So she did that, and a flustered Erica paid for her cake and left. She was halfway home before it hit her: If the person who took the order and the person who made the cake thought the outside was to be blue, what's on the inside?

Once at home, having cut discreetly into a tiny part of the cake, her worst fears were confirmed.

The cake inside was white.

And not in a racist way! Just in a totally whack-a-doodle wrong way.

I mean, come on people! You are a bakery! Don't tell me this is your first rodeo with a gender-reveal cake order!

Quick-thinking girl that she is, and having well and truly run out of time, Erica sent Chad, her liege man of life and limb, off to the store to procure blue sprinkles.

And once she'd covered the top of the white cake in artificially colored sugar crystals, she hid the symbolic dessert in the back bedroom -- Don't go in there! I was cautioned upon arrival -- until time for the "reveal."

The plan was that at the big moment, she'd retrieve the bakery blunder decorated with aftermarket blue sugar, and bring it to the table where we would all learn the baby's gender by just eyeballing said cake.

Oh wow, good thinking! One would be justified in exulting. Done and done!

But one's sense of relief would be premature because the hits kept coming.

As in, that afternoon, TG and Chad had run an errand together and, in the course of said innocent endeavor, had had a conversation with a dad whose young son was in tow.

TG walked away for a moment. Chad could not contain the news that his wife was carrying a son, so he revealed to the dad and his little boy that his own little boy was on the way.

TG came back into the circle and eventually everyone was saying their farewells, at which time the dad said to Chad words to the effect: Congratulations on your boy!

Oopsie.

So just like that, TG knew. Before i did.

(BTW the other grandparents, Greg and Jane, had been told the baby's gender the night before, over an apres-prayer meeting snack at Waffle House.)

So they knew before i did.

Back at the Porter domicile, over hamburgers, Erica shot herself in the foot by being unable to stop talking about her conversations with the bakers and workers at Publix who had gotten her cake order all wrong.

I TOLD them to make the inside blue ... she said, then, realizing what she'd done, hung her head in shame.

Audrey and I looked at each other in disbelief.

So then we knew. 

Somebody blue it

Dagny was the only one who didn't pick up on the faux pas, though she was sitting right there. She was still in the dark and we let her stay there.

As yet we had seen neither hide nor hair of the gender "reveal" cake.

That left our Tar Heel contingent, who were among the last people in the Western Hemisphere who did not already know the gender.

I got them on FaceTime and we filled them in on the salient (but not gender-specific) details and said congratulations! At least you lot will be surprised when you see the cake that Erica is about to bring into the room.

We neglected to FaceTime Andrew and Brittany; I forget why. We were all so confused and probably needed sugar.

And sugar finally arrived when Erica at last trotted out the cake and Dagny saw it, then Stephanie et al saw it and at least SOMEBODY was surprised.

After losing Shiloh a few days before, Steph and Joel and the kids needed a joyous occasion so I'm really okay with them being the ones who got a happy proper surprise, instead of us.

Besides; me pirate instincts had already informed me that it was a boy long before the gender reveal cake debacle unfolded.

Our second grandson! What a gift from God and a cause to rejoice.

And we do.

Our next party parties are on Saturday and Monday, to celebrate our Audrey's birthday. I'll tell you all about those in due time. With pictures!

And that is all for now except to say, I love you and hope you have a great rest of your week.

Eat some cake!

=0=0=0=

Happy Thursday

Will you still need me

Sixty-Fourth Street in Selfietown.

OK listen up.

I am one week overdue to tell you about my triple-threat birthday celebration. So let's get started.

To begin the festivities, Andrew and Brittany, with Baby Ember in tow, arrived at about four o'clock in the afternoon on the Friday before my Sunday birthday.

I had made a pan of those Baked Ham and Cheese Party Sandwiches that I told you about towards the end of this post from a few weeks ago.

Dagny peeking in the window of the Doll House at Hopelands Gardens in Aiken, South Carolina.

To go with them, I once again made Mari's Hot Taco Dip ... sans black olives.

That stuff is good. And so easy! All of these recipes are super-duper easy.

My new pirate ship salt and pepper shakers. It's the Pearl!

We had two kinds of scoop chips for the dip: Fritos and Tostitos. And we put bowls of baby sweet pickles and baby carrots on the table too.

I had also made a Chess Cherry Cake ... the Don't Mix It! kind. It was good. And once again, insanely easy.

Dagny at the Doll House. Hopelands Gardens.

Before we had dinner, however, Audrey and Dagny and Andrew and Brittany and Ember and I decamped to take the children to the park, to play.

We have a pretty great park near our house and Dagny begs to go there. The weather was beautiful.

Ember had traveled and played and eaten and played some more and had a bath and was tired but was still hanging on.

So Dagny (who met a friend from her class at school and quickly paired off with her to run around and enjoy the fresh air) and little Ember had a good time playing for about an hour.

Back home again, TG had arrived and Erica came, and we got ready to eat, and then we ate, and I forgot to take pictures except for one of Ember sitting on her mother's lap after her bath time, all ready for bed.

The ultimate symbol of freedom flies above the Texas Roadhouse on a clear-as-crystal late-winter day.

Eventually we all went to bed, and the next morning TG drove over to Bruegger's and got bagels for us.

We didn't have to be at Texas Roadhouse until four o'clock so it was a non-stressful day.

Keeping Ember happy until our table was ready was the job of her devoted daddy ... and Dagny.

Once at the restaurant, we waited a long time for our table because TR is once again doing full-capacity seating and it is a popular place for families to go.

I ordered the Dallas filet (a trifle more expensive but worth it) along with a salad and a baked sweet potato (hold the marshmallows this time).

Me and Dagny. I'm surprised that TR is still allowed to have the big picture of a Native American Chief on their wall.

But I don't mean to sound artificially virtuous because we did get a Cactus Blossom appetizer for the table, plus two baskets of fried pickles. And then there are those rolls.

Anyway we enjoyed a delicious meal together and then we all went back to our house to put away the rest of the Chess Cherry Cake along with some cake mix cookies I'd made.

This batch involved a Super Moist Yellow cake mix plus Heath English Toffee Bits and Toll House Morsels.

But not before I took a picture of Dagny and me in the garish light of the Texas Roadhouse dining room.

Have you heard of cake mix cookies? Just take a regular cake mix, any flavor, plop it into a bowl and add two eggs and one half cup of oil (I use melted butter: one stick). Then add any mix-ins that you want such as nuts, chocolate chips, and/or Heath English Toffee Bits.

Our friend Andrea came with us to Hopelands Gardens.

Bake for eight to ten minutes at three-hundred fifty degrees. Hint: if soft cookies are your heart's desire, bake them for nine minutes exactly.

If you want a crisper cookie, let them stay in for ten to eleven minutes. Don't leave them in any longer than that, though.

Dagny is always ready to strike a pose.

These are seriously -- ought I to say dangerously -- good, and ridiculously easy to make. You should try them. In no time at all you have about forty delicious fresh-baked cookies and you hardly did anything.

Anyway. I've made those cookies twice now. The picture above is of my most recent adventure with this fantastic recipe.

More on the subject of Little Mama and Cutie Peanut Porter later this week.

That night I made chicken salad and deviled eggs for our birthday picnic the next day. 

After church we came home and changed and packed up all of the goodies, and headed out. Our friend Andrea from church came with us.

Ember wanted to be everywhere at once but she would rather be outside than anywhere.

Once again (a few weeks ago we attempted this and were rained out) our destination was a favorite place of mine: Hopelands Gardens in Aiken, South Carolina.

It's a one-hour drive from our house.

There was plenty of food. You could have joined us.

The weather was sunny and bright, but cool.

Once we'd all arrived and met up at Hopelands Gardens, we headed for a part of the property that has a man-made pond and a carriage house with a moat around it.

If you are ever on a picnic with me and I've made my deviled eggs, you must try one even if you think you won't like it.

We spread out all of our vittles on a low wall and filled our plates and enjoyed the sunshine and a picnic lunch.

We've stopped drinking Coke products in this house due to Coke's woke critical race training for its employees, and were happy with sparkling flavored water and other beverages not made by either Coke or just-as-woke Pepsi, which we don't buy anymore either.

Ditto my chicken salad. Just saying.

To be white is to be arrogant, Coke told its employees. Be less oppressive. Break with white solidarity. Try to be less white.

I have a one-word answer for Coke: Nope.

And a suggestion: Try to be less stupid.

Who needs Coke? Not the Pirate.

They've seen their last dime from my pocket.

And yes! I know what their products are. I don't need a single solitary one of them.

The cake had my name on it. Sort of.

After lunch, Dagny walked over by the edge of the pond and found a small stone that had been painted and the word LOVE added.

I told her she could keep it.

Dagny's a rock star. And our little love.

Next thing I knew, she and Chad were playing a game of Guess Which Hand It's In, and judging by her joyous leap into the air, she won more rounds than she lost.

Then she dropped her rock into the leaves and before it was over, four adults were looking for it until we realized she had lost interest.

All set.

It's there, for another child to find on another day.

(CORRECTION: TG, after reading this post, informed me that Andrew found Dagny's Love Rock and returned it to her.)

After we'd feasted on the chicken salad (there were rolls for those who wanted sandwiches) and deviled eggs and baby carrots and grapes and color Goldfish crackers and various other fixings, it was time for cake.

Ummmmm ...

Andrew and Brittany, facing a five-hour drive back to Knoxville, needed to get on the road by four.

So we cut the cake and passed around plates of that, and everyone ate and declared it scrumptious.

Whaaaaat? No way!

Cake-and-Present time on birthdays will always remind me of something my late mother did on all such occasions, year round, no matter who the honoree happened to be.

She had a gift bag that was old and rumpled but could still hold a gift. It was medium sized and had a drawing of a birthday cake saying Everybody wants a piece of me.

Dagny could not contain her joy. Or hold onto her rock.

And each time you'd reach for the present that was in that bag, Mom would say: I want the bag back. And we'd all laugh and sure enough, she'd take the bag back once you'd removed the gift it held.

Then you'd see it again on the next family birthday.

Another one-word answer: Chanel. And no I won't give the bag back.

I have not yet plundered my mom's gift wrap closet for that bag, but I plan to at the opportune moment.

At any rate I could see my presents lined up over on another low wall and was pretty interested in opening those, so that's what we did next.

Time to get this baby home.

TG got me a bottle of Chanel Coco, one of my favorite fragrances and one I have not worn in many years.

Speaking of Chanel, Brittany and Andrew gave me a two-sided mirror compact for my purse ... it is as charming as it is chic.

I've got you babe.

Stephanie had plundered my Amazon list for 2021 and bought me the retro keyboard on which I am typing this post. I love it. I've always loved pushing buttons (I'll thank you not to snicker) and I love keyboards in general.

The soft push of the round lipstick-colored keys is delightful. Thanks again, Steph.

But first, a moment with me Pirate Mamaw.

Audrey and Erica collaborated on a larger gift that I had also put on my list ... a Ninja Foodi Smoothie Bowl Maker.

I love it. I've used it every single day and some days, more than once. It makes having a fruit smoothie for breakfast so easy.

Ember was enthusiastic about getting down. She's too big for her romper, too,

I use almond milk and frozen fruit, and of course no added sugar. For my smoothie bowls I add whole-milk yogurt and use less almond milk for the thicker consistency.

Audrey also gave me a set of coconut bowls with matching spoons. So much fun to eat your smoothie bowl from.

I held on for as long as I could but she's stronger than me. And more determined. Yes you read that right.

Sorry but I did not take a picture of my Ninja. It looks just like the one on Amazon.

Can you believe? My family are too good to me.

This granddaughter is a trifle calmer. Sometimes.

After Andrew and Brittany and Ember set off for home, we took all of our stuff back to the cars and took a long walk around the grounds of Hopelands Gardens. The peace and the live oaks and the crape myrtles -- even bare as they are now -- make it a magical place.

At Hopelands, everything beckons the eye to behold more beauty.

At about five o'clock we left the gardens but before going home, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a snack and some coffee.

We had a very kind but comically clueless server and that generated some laughs. I mean, we had to ask for plates on which to eat our biscuits, and even had to remind her to bring out some of the menu items we'd ordered.

Pink camellia tree.

And the restaurant was two-thirds empty.

Ah well. Bygones. She was a doll regardless of her limitations. And for all I know, she's sharp as a tack every day of the week except Sunday.

Yuletide camellia.

Before we left the premises I scored a pirate ship salt and pepper shaker set, which TG bought for me in the general store.

It was such a good time and such an excellent day and we made so many splendid memories.

Live oaks with their riot of always-green, ever-reaching, life-loving branches.

Shortly after we got home that night, Stephanie and Joel and the children FaceTimed me so that they could wish me a happy birthday in person.

I'll never forget little Shiloh wagging his tail in the background as everyone crowded onto the screen.

Keyboard cuteness.

He had only a few more hours to live. But we could not have known that, so we were not ready for what happened the next day.

They've received his ashes from the vet, in a very nice container referencing Shiloh's trip across the Rainbow Bridge to live forever in the memory of those who loved him, along with a touching memorial with his paw print and his name, and also his collar and tags. 

The box and ribbon alone quickens my pulse.

Their hearts are healing slowly.

As for the rest of us, who are also mourning the loss of Shiloh, we have nonetheless had yet another party SINCE my birthday parties, and we are planning the next party for this coming weekend.

I totally need the magnified side. Inconvenient truth.

The party we had after my parties was on last Thursday evening, and it was a gender reveal for Cherica's little baby.

I cannot tell you about that quite yet but I will in a few days. It's a funny story that you will probably have a hard time believing.

Those iconic double C's though.

But would the Pirate lie to you? Never.

Coming up this weekend are the celebrations (we are planning a two-parter) for our Audrey's birthday.

It's a Coco Combo. So clever ... and coconutty.

She wants a picnic on Saturday and for us all to go out to eat on Monday, which is her actual birthday.

And of course, we are all in.

Click to embiggen and experience the peace of Hopelands Gardens.

Stay tuned for more party news and revelations before the week is out!

Meanwhile be sure to take good care of yourself.

And that is all for now except to say, I love you and I hope you're having a good day.

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Happy Monday :: Happy New Week

RIP Sweet Shiloh

Shiloh with Stephanie in November 2019

We must interrupt our regular programming to bring you a distressing message.

My granddog -- Shiloh, the beloved family dog of our Stephanie and her brood -- was killed yesterday morning.

It was his habit to go outside for a few minutes each morning and evening, to check his messages.

Stephanie and Joel and the children live on a large wooded lot that's out of the way, down a lazy lane, but they do have neighbors.

One neighbor owns two large dogs -- a German Sheperd and a Husky -- that are allowed to wander outside sans leashes.

Shiloh was allowed out without a leash too, but only for a few minutes each day.

And he stayed on his own turf, and being small and lean, could run like the wind.

There was never a problem until yesterday, when for some reason, one of the big dogs came after him.

He didn't have time to get away.

Both Stephanie and Joel saw it and ran to help him as fast as they could.

By the time the German Shepherd had dropped Shiloh, my daughter's seven-pound family pet had sustained serious damage to his little body.

Still, it looked as though the vet was going to be able to fix him up.

Then they found more serious internal injuries that, even with an expensive surgery at another facility, would likely prove fatal.

Stephanie and Joel had to make the difficult decision for Shiloh to be put to sleep.

It is devastating for the children, who doted on Shiloh as much as children could ever dote on a pet.

The attack happened early enough in the morning that Allissa and Andrew had not yet gone to school, but throughout the day they had every reason to believe that he would be all right.

After school, Stephanie and Joel took them to a quiet park and broke the news.

Everyone who has ever loved and lost a dog knows what they are going through.

Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers today.

If you care to, you may visit Shiloh's Find A Grave page which I put together last night, and leave him a flower.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday

Born to birthday

This is a slice of my birthday cake from last year.

Speaking of birthdays, now it's my turn.

This evening we will have the first of three parties to celebrate my birthday.

I find it all incredibly exciting.

Andrew and Brittany Ember will be here in time for supper.

Everyone else is coming too except for Stephanie and her brood. We will miss them but they have sent gifts and cards and loving wishes.

Tomorrow we're going out to eat, and on Sunday we're taking a drive culminating in a picnic and nature stroll.

The weather is spectacular and will be for all three days.

Despite the focus being on the pirate, the pirate will be thinking of you and wishing you a weekend as wonderful as mine.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Birthday Weekend