The Friday Seven

I know it's usually dubbed the Friday Five, but I have a random seven so there ya go. Just a few stray thoughts and happenings from the past week and life lately linked with Andrea and Erika today. 

1. Did I tell you daughter1 and her family got a puppy? 

As my granddaughter loves to say 'he's a basket hound'. Oh my word, it's the cutest, and we absolutely do not correct her. In fact we all now say basket hound and likely will say it that way forever and ever amen.

He's super cute, as all puppies are wont to be. Pretty sure God designed it that way because puppies are puppies, right? As far as puppies go he's a good one. Basset Basket hounds are kind of low energy which is not a bad trait in a puppy. I've read they're sometimes called the couch potato of the dog world, and while I don't think I'd go so far as to say that, he is pretty chill. 

2. Did I tell you daughter2 and her family got a puppy? Their guy joined the family back in the fall but I don't remember mentioning it here and I don't play favorites. This handsome fella was a rescue and nearly a year old when they got him. 

fyi-A  one-year old dog is still a puppy. 

He's a real sweetie and has settled in well. The kids adore him. And because I know someone will ask our little brown dog is uninterested in these juveniles lol. 

3.  We had our monthly wine club dinner on Monday and it was one of my favorites. The food was so good. There was a Spanish theme to the menu and I meant to take pictures, but oops.  

One course was a Salmorejo which I'd never heard of before, but is similar to a Gazpacho. It's made from puréed tomatoes, bread, garlic, and olive oil and I might like it even better than Gazpacho. I found a recipe online I'm going to try at home. It's served cold so will be a nice summer treat. 

4. Tuesday was book club and we read The Indigo Girl. Our hosts had all sorts of indigo details on the snack table including this tea-

Have you ever tried butterfly pea flower tea? It's indigo in color and doesn't have a lot of taste. We added honey and lemon (and in some cases Prossecco) to give it more flavor, but the color was beautiful. I read the tea's benefits are similar to green tea, without the bitterness. 

5. My two oldest grandsons are playing on the same baseball team this season and they're killin' it. I've been running non-stop since April, and until this week hadn't made it to a single game. Hubs has managed a few, but I can't be in two places at once so priorities. 

Hubs and I drove to the field Wednesday night to see them play and the other team was a no-show. Boo.  Hubs had plans Thursday night but I trekked back to the field to finally see a game. 

I love the ballpark vibe. 

6. Thursday morning hubs and I met up with daughter1 to watch grandson #2 (aka Max on the blog) 'graduate' from kindergarten. I love this school they are part of so very much. It's a hybrid, so some days students are in a classroom and the other days are homeschooled by their mommas. The heart of this school is beautiful. 

Each 'graduate' is gifted a copy of Max Lucado's The Oak Inside the Acorn, and the Director's message and prayer were lovely. The kindergartners walked in to Pomp and Circumstance and I don't care if the graduates are six or eighteen or twenty-two, that song always makes me teary. 

As we waited for the program to begin they had a little slide show with a picture of each child in their cap and gown (precious!) and a tag line telling what each little person wants to be when they grow up. They flashed this sign too-

Class of 2038???!!. Can that be right? That date doesn't even sound real. 

They let the students toss their caps in the air at the conclusion of the event and I  guess it's in our DNA because they all knew just what to do. So fun! 

After graduation I drove the hour and twenty over to spend time with my momma and had a nice visit with her. Such a beautiful blue sky day...

I  made a stop at Costco when I left there since I was somewhat in the neighborhood. Not really, but definitely closer than I am when coming from home so it made sense. Plus hubs was out of his peanut butter stuffed pretzels and we can't have that.

7. I made a pot pie for dinner Wednesday night and it was so pretty-

I am all about dishes that make more than one meal these days. Have a great weekend everyone! 

Not Just Friday Favorites

I've been out of town all week spending time with my daughter2 and her very busy, very chatty littles. They wake up and it's game on. My son-in-law was working out of town all week and having some extra hands in the house is a blessing. 

I'm linking today's post with Erika and Andrea for their Friday Favorites hop. 

I was supposed to drive over to TN on Monday morning, but that flat tire we had on Sunday ended up with me needing a brand new tire. My tires are only a year old, so super aggravating, and getting said tire took the whole ding dong day. I know I sound whiny but I truly am so thankful the flat happened Sunday and not on my drive over the mountains. 

They finally had the car ready at 4 PM so I got a very late start. It's a little over three hours drive time, but since the sun doesn't set until 8 PM right now I knew I could make it before dark. I guess I'm old. I don't like driving curvy mountain roads in the dark. 

I travel a back way to my daughter's house which is great because I bypass Atlanta traffic completely, plus it's beautiful, but it is very curvy and you have to really pay attention. As my hubs says whenever we make this drive together, 'you have to drive every inch of the miles'.  fyi-hubs was at home with the little brown dog so it was just us girls which is what we had planned. 

You never outgrow the need for mother-daughter time. 

I made it to TN just in time to jump on a Zoom call with my siblings. Literally I pulled in at 7:35 and the call was set up for 7:45 so it was a little crazy but it worked. Arriving right at bedtime is never ideal, but it couldn't be helped. 

That would be the kids bedtime, not mine just in case that wasn't clear-ha! 

Once my call ended D2 and I settled in to start our Great British Bak Off binge watch. We only watch one episode a night because actually our bedtime is not that much later than the kids. We're just now watching the most recent season which I think aired in the fall. 

The next season (not sure when it comes out) is going to have a new judge. Prue Leith is leaving and Nigella Lawson will take her place. We love listening to Nigella talk and I told my daughter we need a bingo card to mark her use of words like pungent, luscious, and unctuous. We like Prue, but we're really excited for Nigella. 

This was what we did every evening I was in town, once the kids were in bed. We settled in to watch the baking challenge together. We love it and it definitely makes us want to bake. 

Tuesday morning the little guy had preschool, so once we dropped him off we went to a nearby coffee shop that is new to me. They make their own pastries and they are decadent. We shared a cheese danish and a sausage and egg bagel, and Sugar thoroughly enjoyed every last drop of her cold hot chocolate. 

After breakfast we went out to the Carter's outlet to look for an Easter dress for Sugar, but they didn't have one we loved. I did buy her a cute set of overall shorts and a tee to go underneath, so not a wasted trip. 

Have granddaughters so you can buy all the cute clothes. 

We came home and while Sugar napped we watched more baking. We're trying to squeeze the whole season, or most of it anyway, into four days and we did a good job of it too. We picked up little man from school, played outside, walked the dog, and then had a nice dinner at home. 

Wednesday my daughter had arranged for a babysitter. We've not done this before but she wanted us to have lunch out and do a little bit of shopping sans kids. It was such a nice day. We love the babies, but shopping with your girl without having to keep up with little ones is a real treat. 

We went to the absolute loveliest home/gift shop where I could have bought a hundred things but settled for just a couple, and then to our favorite children's boutique in that same shopping center, where I did find a sweet Easter dress and also a coordinating shirt for brother. Can't go wrong with Beaufort Bonnet-

We had lunch at CAVA which is a chain, but I'd never eaten there before. It was so good. We both had bowls with rice and salad greens, grilled chicken, tzatzki, eggplant, and whipped feta. It was filling and neither of us needed dinner that evening.  

After lunch we moved on to several more stores including the J Crew Outlet which is almost as good as the actual store here, but half the price. We got back to the house about 2 and once Sugar was up from her nap we drove out to a nearby farm that also grew tulips this year. 

This is the last week to come pick and quite a few are bloomed out, but still plenty to choose from. 

 

We cut a dozen to bring home and the kids had fun feeding the cows. 

You could buy a small sack of feed so the cows were friendly. 

Thursday was another school day for sweet baby J and another coffee and breakfast out for us girls. From there we went to Wal Mart and picked up some Easter goodies, plus I impulsively bought some seeds and will see what happens. My girls both have raised beds and I got swept up in all their gardening-growing excitement. 

It was a beautiful spring day so after the school pick up we decided to check out the local Farmer's Market. It sits behind a plant nursery so we walked through and browsed their huge selection of plants, garden fountains and accessories too.   

I was sitting on the couch watching my daughter finish up the dinner prep Thursday evening, when I felt a wave of tenderness and nostalgia wash over me. Not that long ago (okay, more than a decade) she was my college student, home on spring break. And now here she is married, running a home, helping her two little ones grow and thrive, greeting her husband after work with a kiss and a 'how was your trip'. 

In this season we create our own version of 'spring break'.  Now I’m the one who drives to her, and we fill our days with playtime, little outings, doling out snacks (so many snacks!), books, baths, and all the small and steady things that make children feel safe and loved. 

It's not a sunny beach in Florida with twenty of your closest friends, but it's still a pretty wonderful spring break. 

Jammin'

As in jammin' a lot into a single post because I'm behind here. If you neglect your blog for a few weeks  days life just rolls right on by without comment. Still I'm going to go back and comment. We've had a busy couple of weeks here and I want to catch up. 

Am I always saying that, because it feels like it? 

Backing up to last Friday when we celebrated Mardi Gras with some neighbors. So fun! The hostess grew up in New Orleans and funnily enough the couple who not that long ago moved in next door to them also have roots there. 

The couple hosting made a wonderful New Orleans style meal of gumbo (delicious!), red beans and rice, and shrimp creole. Guests brought a spicy crab dip, a spicy sausage dip, and I made Emeril's creole relish tray with white cheddar crackers which I will definitely be making again. So good! 

Our hosts had a king cake for dessert because I think that's the Mardi Gras law. We ate all but two pieces and guess where the baby was? Not in one of the twelve pieces we cut. Is that considered unlucky? 

Another guest brought some bourbon balls topped with gold glitter and the next door neighbor from NOLA brought homemade pralines for everyone to take home. Si délicieux! We all had a cup of brandy milk punch too, which I'd never tried before, and it was so yummy. 

Hubs and I got up early Saturday morning to make the drive to daughter2's house in Tennessee for Sugar's birthday celebration. She's officially 2 and completely adorable. There was a sweet Minnie Mouse theme and everyone had 'ears' to wear. 

My son-in-law grilled a brisket, and his parents were in town for the weekend too. Friends came by with their little ones and the kids played while the adults chatted. There were of course cupcakes for the birthday girl made by her momma, baker extraordinaire. She even made the edible bows for the ears, which were mini Oreos.

It was low key and perfect for this age. Three dogs were also in attendance and they mostly behaved. 

It was a chilly weekend and we spent most of it indoors watching Olympics with a side of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Sunday the grandparents were left in charge while the parents had a little day date. We let the kids nap maybe a little too long, but everyone was partied out. The kids too lol. 

We watched the Superbowl Sunday night, but were not invested in the teams and overall the game wasn't very exciting. I finished my book club book while listening to the game and my book was much more interesting. 

We drove home Monday morning and were back at the lake by lunchtime. I unpacked, did laundry, then washed my hair to get ready for our monthly wine club dinner happening that evening. 

Never a dull moment. 

Tuesday hubs had his guitar lesson, I made some phone calls and did some paperwork, took a walk, then had book club that afternoon. We read The God Of The Woods and it received mostly positive reviews. I was home for an hour, then back to the clubhouse to play Mah Jong. 

Wednesday morning I was guess where? You guessed it. Back to the clubhouse to help with a Mah Jong lesson. Hubs and I had lunch then we headed to the store. I don't know if you've seen the ads for having a song personalized, but hubs had one written for me and he played it when we got in the car. It's a beautiful song and the lyrics are so so sweet. A truly thoughtful special gift I will treasure. 

After the shopping and errands were done I came home and made sugar cookie dough for Thursday. My granddaughter was coming over for a little while Thursday morning to spend some time with us while her momma ran an errand and I thought it would be fun to make some heart shaped cookies. 

With lots of sprinkles. 

Pink of course. 

After Little Miss and her momma went home hubs and I headed to a friend's house for a welcome home celebration. Our friend has been in the hospital for months following an accident and was finally able to come home on Thursday. Friends and neighbors lined the street, made signs, waved balloons and pompoms, and cheered as they pulled in. It was fabulous. 

There are so many good people in the world loving their neighbors well. Don't let the internet, the news, or the angry loud voices on social media tell you otherwise. 

Everyone left once they were in the driveway as it was a long day and I'm sure overwhelming on many levels. 

We got home and my daughter called and said the boys wanted to come by so we could see the Mancub's school project, and I'm gonna say we are here for it. Living a few miles apart is everything I hoped it would be. 

As soon as they left I showered and changed for a fun author event with a few women from my book club. It was billed as a conversation with two local writers, Shelley Burchfield and Carolyn Newton. Your ticket included light refreshments and a signed copy of one of their books. Both of these women were so engaging and they complemented one another well. 

I hadn't read anything by Carolyn so opted for her novel called Songs Of The Dead Road. It's described as a work of historical fiction about Jan Balik, a Polish composer who uses music to cope with the trauma of WWII, including the loss of family and his time in a Soviet orphanage and labor camp. 

And that brings us to Friday. Or Valentine's Day as we're calling it here. I'm headed out of town on Saturday leaving hubs here to man the fort, so we decided to celebrate a day early. 

By celebrate I mean cooking a nice dinner at home together which we haven't done in a while. 

I jammed a lot in here, but I think you know jammed posts are kinda my jam. Wishing you a weekend filled with the people and things you love. 

Linking today with Friday Favorites hosted by Erika and Andrea

Happy New You!

That's how we say it in our house. Happy new YOU! When our oldest grandson was two years old this was how he greeted the new year, and we still love it. 

So will it be a new me, or the same old me in 2026? I'm hoping for a slightly improved version, but I suppose I'm the one who will need to make that happen, so the answer is still up in the air. 

We put a boatload of expectation on the turning of a calendar page, don't we? 

Before we move forward let's look back at the week that was. Monday around 5 hubs had a thought about whether or not his passport was expiring this year or next so he went to check. He returned shortly and asked, 'Where's my passport?' 

I don't know. I mean we keep them locked up always in the same place, but when he went to check it wasn't there. So we backtracked in our thinking trying to remember when the last time was that he flew, until I remembered we had taken the passports (and every single identifying piece of information we own including our birth certificates and our marriage license) to the DMV in August when we went for our Real ID. 

Hmmm...so what did I do with them? I mean we both knew I'd been the one carrying the bag and hubs kept his cool but y'all it was a problem. A PROBLEM!! 

We knew they'd been in a tote bag and we spent the next couple of hours turning our house upside down looking for that bag in obvious and ridiculous places both, because at this point I figured I must have put it somewhere that made no sense. 

We had gone to breakfast after the DMV and even though it was all the way back in August I still phoned the restaurant and the sweet hostess went and looked in their office and under the counter and anywhere she could think of which I appreciated. I knew I hadn't left it there because I'm kind of paranoid about this sort of thing, although apparently not paranoid enough to put it all back in the spot we have for important documents. 

At some point I got on the computer and asked what to do and the internet very helpfully laid it out for me.  I went ahead and ordered a copy of my birth certificate and our marriage license because those things were easy. Hubs birth certificate would be another story, because he was born outside the US in a military hospital that no longer exists. Whoo boy. 

We finally went to bed. Hubs said we'd figure it out and let's just go to bed and see it with fresh eyes in the morning. Neither of us slept much, and when I got up he was already on the phone trying to sort out his paperwork dilemma. We both were sure the bag was somewhere in the house as opposed to truly lost or stolen, but we couldn't think of any other place to look. I decided to go look once more in one of the places I'd already looked three or four times, but this time I methodically took each thing out of the space, and hallelujah! there it was.  

Honestly I felt like I had a little PTSD from the whole experience. I know this experience falls under the heading of first world problems, but it was a problem nonetheless.

Tuesday was nice. I piddled around the house, made a big pot of lemon chicken orzo soup, caught up on blogs, and played Mah Jong with some neighbors. 

On the last day of the year (Wednesday) we went for a walk. It was cool but not windy and the sky was so blue. Some of us chased chipmunks...

we smiled at the cherry tree beginning to bloom-

...and we spent the afternoon watching football. I made a Mexican style spinach dip to take to the next door neighbors that evening. They invited us, along with another couple, to ring in the new year with dinner and cards.  

It was fun and we didn't have to drive anywhere which I consider a win on NY Eve. 

We haven't taken down a single decoration yet and I'm not mad about it. We're relaxing and enjoying sitting by the tree still, so probably won't worry about it until next week. 

On the first day of this brand new year we took another walk and watched a lot more football.  'Tis still the season. I blogged a little , and we made a semi-traditional meal for dinner. Hubs grilled pork chops and made black eyed peas and I made cornbread and cooked cabbage to go with. Technically you're supposed to eat greens and I often do spinach, but I had a head of cabbage in the frig I wanted to use so we made it work. 

If you don't know what I'm talking about you might not live in the south. 

I played around with a winter bucket list and also took a look back at fall to see how I did. Remember fall? I kept my want-to-do's back then pretty simple-

Not sure why I made a list of the odd 11, but of the 11 I checked off eight. I didn't get my photo book made, I didn't memorize three verses (although I did memorize one) and I didn't make soup in my pumpkin tureens. I will definitely get the book made this winter, there were too many other holiday related tasks to be done this fall for me to spend a lot of time making a book. I'm not fast. 

Hubs and I tackled the attic but there's still more to be done there and we'll continue working on that job this winter. Good times. 

Moving forward into the new year, new season with a new list which I'll post soon. It's a work in progress. Like me. I hope your new year is happy and bright. 

Merry 2026! 

Festive Friday Favorites

I've been a Monday-Wednesday blogger all year lately, but thought today I'd join in the Friday Favorites link up (hosted by Erika and Andrea) with a few bits of holiday miscellany. 

1. I spent all day yesterday baking. It was such a joy to be at home, no where to go, nothing to do but spend the whole day in my kitchen. I know that doesn't appeal to everyone, but it's definitely my jam. I also did five loads of laundry,  and sorted out some Christmas gifts and decor that needed sorting. I made two kinds of cookies, two loaves of cranberry bread, and a chicken pot pie for our dinner. 

2. My daughter called on her way home from school pick up and asked if we were around and if so they'd drop by and say hi. It's one of the happiest parts of life right now y'all. A daughter living close enough to drop by. 

Also, I played at least 47 games of tic-tac-toe upon their arrival. My sister-in-law sent this fun set at Thanksgiving and the boys love it. So fun! 

3. I bought two of these little spoon rests at Hobby Lobby back in November and it's a sweet addition to my coffee set up. The other is by my stove. 

I bought these mugs the year hubs and I got married and while there are so many super cute Christmas mugs out there, these remain a sentimental favorite. There are four in the set illustrating the twelve days of Christmas. 

4. I like to leave a box on my front porch for my friends aka the Amazon-UPS-Fed Ex drivers. 

They're here often this time of year, and I know the days are long. I put bottled water and some snacks inside-chips, bars, clementines...that sort of thing. It gets taken so I think it's appreciated. 

5. I took the dog out this morning and was greeted with this-

Let heaven and nature sing!

A Week In The "Amazon"

Hello friends. TGIF. It's been a long week here for no real reason other than it's felt that way. We've had a lot of to-do's on the calendar and I feel like the Amazon delivery driver has been at my house on the daily. I took almost no pictures this week, but will share my Amazon goodies at the end because I do have snaps of those. 

Monday hubs had to take his new truck back to the dealer because when he picked it up the week before the cover for the bed hadn't arrived. Plus there was a small ding they needed to rub out, and since all of this couldn't be done on Monday he got a loaner and then had to return Wednesday for the pick up. The dealer is almost an hour away.

While he was out I dusted and cleaned bathrooms and made the fabulous peach bars I mentioned here on Tuesday. 

Friends came by later in the afternoon for a meeting about a book event we're organizing for all the book clubs around the lake. We had one event last year and it was a lot of fun. This year we're aiming for an author evening. 

Tuesday I had a hair appointment so my chauffeur (aka the hubs) dropped me off, went to his guitar lesson, then picked me up afterwards. We decided to stop for lunch at Five Guys and their burgers are always  good. I get the kid size and we get one order of fries to share because they overload the fries in a good way, but still you do not get out of there for under thirty bucks which feels like a lot for fast food. 

I came home and read and rested my foot, then played Mah Jong that evening. As we were wrapping up,  a crazy storm blew in with lightning that was absolutely nuts. Nonstop. We ended up staying in the clubhouse an extra hour because nobody wanted to risk a strike. We watched the radar and when we saw a small window there we all made a beeline for our cars. A friend had picked me up because again, not driving. When you can't drive you feel like a pest bumming rides everywhere, but it is what it is. 

Wednesday we had big plans. A trip to the DMV for our new license/real ID. We both have passports so haven't worried too much about getting the real ID, but since our licenses were expiring this month we decided to go ahead and bring all the docs for the ID. We arrived before they opened and there was already a fairly long line, but! Our little DMV is the most efficient, friendliest, DMV I've ever encountered. We've moved a lot so I've encountered many. Every single person we dealt with in this office was so pleasant and did their job well. 

A guy came outside before they opened and handed out forms to everyone so they would be ready to check in. They had many windows open and we sat less than a minute before we were called. In and out in less than an hour and not feeling irritated in the least. 

We hadn't eaten breakfast so stopped at a new Eggs Up Grill on the way home for 'brunch'.  It's a franchise, and there's another one in the next town over that we've eaten in before, but this was our first time to the one in our town. I had a Greek scrambler and it was yummy. 

Hubs dropped me at home then headed back to dealer town to get a haircut and then pick up the truck. I'd put a Mississippi roast in the crock pot that morning and made mashed potatoes, then loaded up my car to go to my daughter's house to watch the grands for the evening. She and her hubs had a work related event to attend so I brought dinner over and hubs met me there when he was through in town. We played for a bit, then had dinner and watched a movie. Everyone was tired so it was low key and nice. 

Thursday was a big day. Ortho day. I had my follow up and whoohoo!! FREEDOM!!

Well mostly freedom. He said I can come out of the boot, but not to go crazy. To wean myself out of it over the next couple of weeks and go easy on the activity but still, it's progress. And I won't be in a boot the entire beach trip which is really the main thing I was not looking forward to. 

I had a library book to return and one to pick up so hubs went with me and we got dinner at a cheesesteak place that's really good and is close to the library. He'd won a gift certificate there in a drawing so might as well use it up. 

And that was pretty much our week. I looked back at my Amazon account to see what I ordered and here's the 411-

Hubs has a new truck and you can never just buy a new truck. You need a bunch of new truck gear to go with. He got this cargo net thingamabog to keep cargo from rolling around in the truck bed. 

And of course the little brown dog needs to ride in style and since he's in the back seat now instead of the way back like he was in the Tahoe. We got a seat protector and comfy pad and something to keep him out of the front seat which I don't think he likes too much. 

He's riding around like a king, but still his favorite place to be in a car is in the front seat, which I've already called dibs on,  so the back seat it is-

Apparently we now need to buy steps too so he can more easily get in and out of the vehicle. This one has a higher entry for him than the vehicle we sold.

I bought a new coverup because I wear one every day here in the summer. It's cute and comfortable and comes in lots of colors. I got the navy. 

I take these fish oil tabs and have them on subscription through Amazon. My doc recommended them and I keep them in the freezer which helps them smell less fishy.

We have a spaniel and spaniel ears need constant attention so we got this which the vet recommends.

I bought these cute jams because I needed new jams. They're super soft and  come in many colors and several patterns too. I got the blue green and it's pretty.

A 'sock' for my ankle the ortho recommended. It's not here yet (I guess that will be today's delivery lol), but this is the one he said to get and I'll wear it when I'm back doing more walking in the form of exercise. Someday I'll stop talking about my ankle but today is not that day.

We also got this wine storage unit because we needed more storage. Plus three lego sets, three books, a streamer wand, and new pillows for one of my guest room beds. Whew. 

So what did you buy do this week? Hope your weekend is full of R&R!  

This post is linked with Erika and Andrea and their Friday Favorites hop.