Saturday, May 29, 2010

happy 5th anniversary

Our daughter and her husband are such a blessing to us.
They met in Lithuania during a semester abroad.
(he from British Columbia, she from Western NY)
What are the chances of that ? ! ?
No doubt it was god's plan to bring them together !



May 28, 2005 ~ Inverholme Schoolhouse
Deas Island Regional Park ~ Vancouver B.C.

Monday, May 24, 2010

flirty thirty


These sweet young girls that I work with just had a
Flirty-Thirty Party.
Thirty is a great decade of your life.
I know they will enjoy every minute of it.
Happy Birthday Amy and Ali . . .

Friday, May 21, 2010

wedding fare

We spent last weekend in the southern tier firming up some wedding plans with our son, his bride-to-be and her parents. It was a fun weekend and we were particularly happy with the private "Tasting" at Joe's Restaurant.

The very helpful Event Planner, Adrienne . . .



Some of the food we tasted . . .



The groom's older parents . . .



The bride's younger parents . . .



The happy bride and groom . . .

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

chicken salad



Friendship Luncheon Chicken Salad
Since this is a First Presbyterian Church Recipe
you can be sure it is delicious
{serves 4}

1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp soy sauce
dash of sea-salt and coarse pepper

3 cooked chicken breast halves diced
1 can diced water chestnuts {5 oz}
1 cup seedless grapes halved
1 cup chopped celery

1 cup toasted slivered almonds *
1 cup pineapple chunks drained*

Stir all ingredients together (*except almonds and pineapple)
Toast almonds in a frying pan over med heat
-- Stir and WATCH !! (the almonds will burn easily)
Add pineapple and nuts just before serving
Reserve a few nuts to sprinkle on top.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

a tale of two mother's days

The bad . . .
A terrible storm that left our lawn littered with snow and fallen branches.



The good . . .
Sweet cards, gifts and phone calls from a far.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

happy mother's day

Every since I can remember I have wanted to be a mother.
These are the children that fulfilled that dream.
It has been the best part of my life ever since.




A few lines from
Loud and Clear (2005)
Goodbye Dr. Spock pg 7
by Anna Quindlen

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the Remember-When-Mom-Did-Hall-of-Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs.

The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong

The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from

I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.

I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be.

The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me.

I was bound and determined to learn from the experts.
It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

Friday, May 7, 2010

not so friendly

We received a flyer for our local Friendly's restaurant in the mail this week. It had a buy one get one free summer salad coupon so off we went for dinner. After seeing my chubby self in our Florida photos I am now writing down all the calories I eat.

I knew the salad would be on the high end of calories allowed for dinner so I was extra careful at breakfast and lunch. When we got home from dinner I went online and looked up the nutrition information.

I should have looked before we went.



I was shocked . . . 1180
~ not a type-o ~
one thousand, one hundred, eighty!!!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

B-o-W

For the past 255 Wednesdays many of our friends have come to our home for W-o-W (Wine on Wednesdays). On any given Wednesday there may be only four of us up to eighteen when everyone is available. We gather from 7pm-9pm, catch up with each other's lives and drink a glass or two of wine.

I invited my faculty for a get together last Friday afternoon. Between the beer my husband bought and the beer my friends left behind this is what my refrigerator looks like.


So this week . . . B-o-W (Beer on Wednesday) !
Who is bringing the Buffalo Chicken Wings?

Saturday, May 1, 2010

the apron

A few years ago my daughter's Dutch Canadian in-laws were with us for our annual 4th of July Prairie Picnic. Amanda's mother-in-law was interested in my vintage aprons. Isn't she too cute?





This fall I found a vintage apron at an antique store and it just seem to have her name on it so . . . I sent it to her for Christmas.



The gift that keeps on giving. This spring Hilda sent me this delightful book.



Thank you, Hilda, for being so thoughtful!