We remembered ... on purpose
Surprise! The parties, soirées, events, gatherings, get-togethers, and celebrations continue unabated at Chez Weber this summer.
Oh wait. It isn't officially summer for another week.
Well you'd never know it here. We are awash in bright sunshine with breezes breezing, cicadas trilling, hummingbirds humming, crape myrtles blooming, temperatures and humidity vying for the top spot, and other equally delightful summery conditions.
The weekend started with a Saturday-night spaghetti supper
We have hosted a huge, long-anticipated event since the one I am about to tell you about, and are about to celebrate again in a massive way, both tomorrow and this coming weekend.
Hint: There is a birthday. And then there is Father's Day.
But you will have to be patient; I have not yet reported on our celebratory doings on Memorial Day.
Four of our six grandchildren were with us at church on the day before Memorial Day
During which, for the most part, the weather was decidedly winter-like.
Yes! I said winter! As in, on the Saturday before Memorial Day, the high temperature was in the low fifties and there was a driving rain all day.
I'm pretty sure that some meteorological records were broken for the Midlands of South Carolina, where we live.
My decorations included adorable popsicle salt-and-pepper shakers
It warmed up slightly for Sunday, but the rainy conditions hung around, although less enthusiastically.
By Monday it was hot and humid, mostly sunny, but the pool was still cold.
The kids swam anyway.
Ember was practically twinning with Nicole, our pastor's eldest daughter
And by kids, I mean grandkids. And I mean every last one of them except for Melly, who opted to remain on dry land. These days, she mostly observes.
One of said grandkids had in fact been with us since the previous Wednesday.
On that day, TG and I drove up to Anderson, South Carolina (two hours) to hear our son-in-law, Joel, serve as guest speaker for the midweek service at Oakwood Baptist Church.
Four out of six (soon to be eight) ain't half bad
His good friend since Bible college days, Michael Jones, is the pastor there.
We arrived in the afternoon and had a scrumptious early dinner at Earle Street Kitchen in downtown Anderson before tooling over to the church for prayer meeting.
When we left to head back home, we had (little) Andrew in tow. You may remember him as the one who turned eleven in February.
There was cheese for the cheeseburger lovers amongst us
For the next three days, Andrew stuck with his Papaw, learning how to work. And a hard, diligent worker he is.
Andrew and Brittany and Ember arrived on Saturday afternoon, having endured the rain for the last half of their four-hour drive.
They got settled in and then everyone came over for a spaghetti dinner.
The chip supply was deep for our Memorial Day feast
I had made the sauce the day before so that all I had to do was cook the pasta, whip up some spicy toast using my homemade bread, and throw together a salad.
For dessert I had (also the day before) made our (big) Andrew's favorite: Strawberry-Pretzel Salad.
We hung out and ate and talked and enjoyed and got thoroughly tired out.
Three of my four babies ... with two honorary ones
As I mentioned, the next morning dawned rainy (still), but we all got up and went to church.
The weather had calmed down enough that we were able to take family pictures outside after morning services.
One grandchild representing each of my four children was there: (little) Andrew for Stephanie, Dagny for Audrey, Rhett for Erica, and Ember for (big) Andrew.
Our beverage station was well stocked with sweet tea, waters, and soda
Then there were the two yet to be born: Guy Preston Weber in late August or early December, and a player to be named later for the Porter team, in late September or early October.
They were there but you couldn't see them.
Melanie and Allissa missed that photo opportunity, but they'd be along later that night.
You'll have to try adding frozen lemonade cubes to your sweet tea ... just pour lemonade into ice trays
Everyone was hungry but no one wanted to cook, so we all headed for East Bay Deli.
You may recall that we went there on the last day of August 2022, for Dagny's Cast Off Party.
I love their salad bar and if you don't want that, there are endless other options.
I collected these cups from empty seats the last time we were at Wrigley Field
After a cloudy, overcast afternoon, we all traipsed back to church for the Sunday evening service.
I noticed that our friend, Nicole, the eldest daughter of our pastor, was wearing a pretty lavender summer dress just like Ember.
And as they have identical strawberry-blond hair, I asked them to pose for a picture.
Precious faces
Stephanie and Joel and the other two grands, plus their dog Piper, arrived in town late that night, but we didn't see them.
Allissa was dropped off at Audrey's to spend the night with Dagny, while the other three went on to Erica's house and spent the night there.
The next morning, after coffee, I got busy organizing for the meal.
I can't imagine Memorial Day without deviled eggs
It was slated to be standard-issue casual and delicious: burgers, hot dogs, and chicken cooked on the grill by Andrew and TG, accompanied by an array of chips (including Mission tortilla strips with salsa) plus barbecue beans, baked macaroni and cheese, and deviled eggs.
Cold beverages included sweet tea in the dispenser with frozen lemonade cubes, plus the big bucket full of ice and flavored, fizzy, and still water, plus an assortment of soda pop.
These cute napkins were left over from last Fourth of July
Dessert, which would be served with coffee, was a great big gorgeous birthday cake from Publix Bakery, provided by Chad and Erica.
Because her birthday was the next day. We always have her party on Memorial Day.
Henry, about to turn 91 in August, drove down from Greenville for the meal.
Cherica provided the delectable birthday cake
After lunch, at three o'clock, we stopped everything we were doing so that TG could lead us in observing the National Moment of Remembrance.
Our pastor had reminded us of that the day before, and urged us not to get so busy having parties, that we would forget.
We talked about Sandy Hilly Porter, the first cousin of our Chad's father, Greg Porter.
There was salsa and plenty of it
Sandy died in Vietnam at the age of twenty-one. We have visited his grave in Williston, South Carolina.
It was sad as always to remember the loss of Sandy, who, if he had lived, would turn seventy-five this year.
Then it was time for the kids to swim some more while the adults talked around the table outside.
I usually assign bun-buying to my girls because they pick luscious ones
Eventually Erica said she was ready for her cake and presents, so almost everyone went inside. The kids, who weren't ready to get out of the pool, played on while an adult (I don't remember who; I only know it was not me) supervised.
Erica was happy with her birthday gifts, which mostly consisted of cute clothes for her to wear throughout the rest of her pregnancy, and beyond as a nursing mother. She also got some pretty jewelry.
I love bringing out my patriotic summer decorations
Then it was time to serve cake and coffee, and we all went back outside to watch the children splash, and to talk until time for everyone to go home.
And now, Memorial Day 2023 is a memory. A sweet and wonderful one, poignant in its way for the fact that it will never come again.
What did you do on Memorial Day? Can you remember that far back? It's been more than two weeks.
The birthday offerings for Erica piled up
As for me, I am looking forward to the next party, which is set for tomorrow night.
No; I don't have to plan that one. We're going out to celebrate a special person.
Then on Saturday, here at my house, we will have a big party for the same person.
No birthday party is complete without at least one balloon
And later that evening we will also celebrate TG for Father's Day, because we figure we will all be too worn out to do it the next day.
Besides, he will attend the annual Father's Day Breakfast at church, and he'll be too full for a special lunch.
At any rate we will get it all sorted out and no occasion will go unrecognized and no event unplanned and no loved one uncelebrated.
Happy Birthday to our pastor's wife, Miss Ann
Speaking of loved ones, I wanted to share a picture of me with our beloved pastor's wife, Miss Ann, taken last Sunday. It was her seventieth birthday.
Yes! Hard as it is to believe, one of the ladies in the above picture is seventy. The other is sixty-six. I will thank you not to sneer.
For her birthday, TG and I gave Miss Ann a big box of Moon Pies and a two-liter bottle of RC Cola. If you're a southerner, you will understand that.
I'll tell you all about the next round of celebrations in a week or so ... but only after I tell you about a major event that took place a week ago.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Tuesday
