Hello Monday On Tuesday

Hi friends. It's June. Can you believe it? May was choc-a-block full and June will be the same. We have a daughter's birthday, a grandson's birthday, an anniversary, Father's Day, a week with daughter2 and her littles at the lake, Vacation Bible School, various appointments, my brother and sister-in-law in town for a visit, two wine dinners, and whew. It will be fun. 

Now if only the weather would get the message.

I didn't get my weekend recap written as we had company Sunday evening, then I had an appointment that required me to leave the house before 8 AM on Monday so here it is almost 3 PM and I'm finally sitting down to blog. 

Backing up to Thursday because it feels like the start of the weekend. I volunteer from about 9-1 every Thursday, then went to run a quick errand for a friend before heading to the salon for a mani/pedi. So nice. Hubs and I had already decided we'd go out for dinner which added to the enjoyment of the salon treatment. 

I got home and changed and we went to the local distillery for dinner and to hear some live music. I ordered a brisket sandwich and it was delicious but super rich. I only ate half and hubs helped with the rest. After we ate we went outside to hear a local band play. 

We ran into some friends there who introduced us to a couple they were with, neighbors of theirs, and in the course of chatting we discovered they're friends with some of our very best lifelong friends. We snapped a picture and texted our friends who live far from here and in the moment it all felt like such a small world. 

Friday hubs had an appointment to get his haircut in the nearby city and we decided to make a day of it. I tagged along so we could visit my mom afterwards, and we had the most delicious lunch in between these two events. We ate downtown at a small seafood restaurant where I could have ordered one of everything on the menu. 

We opted for a half order of their famous cheddar hushpuppies-

 A sampling of their fish dip which was so good I could have eaten as an entree...

A half dozen oysters from different east coast waters with varying salinity...

And then a lobster roll for good measure...

We got the Maine roll (cold) as opposed to the Connecticut roll (warm), but this place does both. We were full but we did get an order of their banana pudding to go so we could take that to my momma. She loved it. 

We left downtown and headed to her residence next, which is about 20 minutes from the city. We had a nice time chatting outside and hubs had her laughing which makes me smile too. These lilies in bloom in the garden there were beautiful. 

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We made a couple of stops on the way home to drop off and pick up various things so didn't get home until about 4:30. We relaxed that evening and skipped dinner since we were still full from lunch. 

Saturday I ran to the store first thing to get a few last minute party items and hubs ran to the rock place to get filler for a spot beside the patio. I'm sure the place has a name but he bought two buckets of rocks there so I call it the rock shop. We were both home by 11 and then headed out to watch the boys play in a travel baseball game about 40 minutes from here. 

This is how it went down-

We drove forty minutes to a very nice sports field complex. I mean really nice. 

We paid $20 to get in. Yes. $10 per adult. Does anyone else think that's a lot? And y'all. There were hundreds of cars coming and going all day long as there were games played by kids of different ages on multiple fields. I wonder if there are families with a child playing where only one parent attends the three day tournament because they can't afford the entry fee? 

My daughter says probably not because these travel teams are a different level and parents are spending crazy sums on the bats and other gear so paying the $10 to get on the field is nothing. I saw a meme where a mom said 'here I am wearing the same bra I've owned since 2018 while my 8- year old is on the field with a $500 bat'.  Ha! But also kinda true. 

I will stop now because I sound old, plus the facilities are super nice so the money it seems is at least going back into that community. Also, most people don't have a husband who hits the snack bar and spends another $50 on junk food. Not naming names, but it does happen. ahem. 

We came home and worked on getting everything ready for the next day's festivities. 

I cleaned bathrooms and hubs got the outdoor dining furniture wiped down and back in place, the grill set up, the cornhole boards out, etc. 

Saturday night he prepped the pork butt and shoulder. Somehow I bought one of each which I didn't think was a huge deal, because they weighed about the same, but apparently it was a bit of a deal because one had a bone and one didn't and blah blah blah. 

It was all delicious. 

Hubs put them on the green egg sometime between 11 and midnight on Saturday and they smoked happily all night long. There's nothing like the scent of BBQ with your morning coffee.

I'm not joking. 

The weather on Sunday was nuts. It looked like it was going to pour rain all day but it never rained a drop. It was chilly. Then it was warm, then chilly again. But not raining so we'll take it. 

We had BBQ with beans and slaw and then all the other yummy sides plus two desserts people brought.

 We played cornhole and fun fact-we've owned boards for ten years and I still am not great at this game. 

Here we are trying to do math. If you play cornhole you get it. It's all friendly and we had a great time chatting, eating, tossing the bean bags, and celebrating the start of summer. 

Also, this turtle lives here now. What should we name him?

Linking today with Holly and Sarah's yesterday hop Hello Monday and Joanne's 

Talking About It Tuesday

Top 'O The Monday To You

Another full busy week here, and then the weekend was party party party. Let's catch up...

Friday I finally got the tax organizer submitted to our accountant and it felt so good to have that job done. I needed a block of time to finish it up and Friday morning was pretty much the only block of unclaimed time I had all week. From the post office I went directly to the salon for a long overdue, much needed, mani/pedi. It was wonderful. 

Friday evening hubs and I went to a St. Patty's Day get together in our neighborhood clubhouse. They called it stews and brews and everyone brought either a soup, bread, salad or dessert. 

So many yummy soups with a lot of variety. The organizers brought both small and large containers, so you could have a bowl of one or a flight of several. 

The room was decorated for St. Patrick's Day and two neighbors set up an Irish Coffee bar which was fun and festive. Hubs and I wore our matching tees but I forgot to snap a picture. Pretty much par for the course here. 

We were up early on Saturday to make the trek to Tennessee for still more celebrating the birthday girl, aka my mother-in-law. Last weekend she was at the lake to spend time with all her great grands, but this weekend was all about her own children. 

I snapped this picture on our drive over on Saturday morning. This road repair and construction as a result of Helene (a year and a half ago!) has got to be one of the biggest ongoing projects in the country in terms of size, cost, manpower, and plan. 

We arrived at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's home about 2. There was a big Bass tournament happening on the river all weekend long, and we had fun watching the fishermen from their deck. 

We had a lovely family dinner Saturday night at a nice restaurant (Foothills Milling for the Tennessee peeps reading here), and it was so good!

My sister-in-law made a fun bingo game and when she called a square everyone told a story about my mother-in-law that fit the topic. Hilarious. Our server heard more than she ever wanted to know too lol.

Sunday morning coffee on the deck before we all headed to church together.  Right after the service there was a lovely little reception in the atrium for her many many MANY friends to come have a sweet treat and visit. She's been a member of this church for over 50 years and is very well loved. 

Mary (Life In A Small Town)  came by the reception too and it was fun to see her there. She and her sibs went to school with hubs and his sibs and we were all glad she stopped by. My mother-in-law loves her whole family and she brought her a sweet hyacinth which was so thoughtful. Did we take a photo or were we slacker bloggers? You decide. 

Once the reception ended hubs and I along with one brother and sister-in-law went to a nearby brewery to meet up with some college friends of ours.  A great day and always fun to see some of our favorite people who knew us when. 

Again, we forgot to snap a picture. Oops. We did have a photographer my sister-in-law knows come take some pictures at the church and a few family shots too, so I'm sure I'll add one to my blog once we get them back. 

We hung out at my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws house Sunday evening and will be home by lunchtime today. 

Barring crazy weather or crazy traffic of course, both of which are possible. 

Hope you had a nice weekend spent with people you love. Linking today's post with Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books)  for their usual Monday morning party. Why not add your link there too? 

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

Hello Holiday Monday

Hello friends. It's crunch time with just ten days until Christmas. Is your to-do list done? Nope? Well pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea, and let's talk about our weekends because why not? It's late in the day for blogging, but does anybody really know what time it is? Or what day it is for that matter?

Linking with Holly (Pink Lady) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) for their regular Monday hop. 

Honestly this last week everyday felt like the weekend. We had two holiday dinners, I had a luncheon with my volunteer team, a book club party and a neighborhood party. I have just a handful of pictures, mostly food-sorry!, but it's the holiday season and there are lots of yummy bites to be had. I won't post all the pics from our wine dinner last Wednesday, but this appetizer-

Lump crab, compressed cucumber, and a delicate coconut lime vinaigrette. Scrumptious! Hubs knows the chef, and about a month ago they got to chatting and next thing you know hubs had invited him to dinner at our house. It will be fun, and best of all he said he'd cook the quail we have in the freezer. Whoop! I told him if he wants to bring a repeat of this app he should feel free. 

Four of us were in black velvet that night, which needed documenting. 

Friday was a day date kind of day, episode ten if you're keeping track. We went out for breakfast which is one of my favorite things, and then walked over to Hobby Lobby (also a favorite) and then drove downtown to a couple of little shops there. 

Is everyone finished with their shopping because I still need a few bits and pieces to truly call it done. I'm ready to have all the buying behind me, and hopefully tomorrow will be the day. There's a lot of us. 

Hubs didn't even blink when I said we needed a picture in the middle of Hobby Lobby. 

Friday evening we went back into town to watch our two oldest grands in their school Christmas program. Is there anything sweeter on planet Earth? No there is not. Each grade performed a song and then scripture was read between the various class group performances. Max's class sang O Christmas Tree and the Mancub's class sang Little Drummer Boy. 

If that doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit nothing will. 

Watching a child scan the audience for his mom and dad, then knowing when they finally spy them from across the room because their eyes light up and an enormous smile spreads across their face, well it will turn your heart to pure mush. 

I spent all of Saturday morning wrapping gifts. I'm still not done, but I made a lot of progress. We were invited to a neighbor's house Saturday afternoon with several other neighborhood couples to watch the Army-Navy game. Our host made so many yummy snacks along with a delicious turkey chili, plus everyone brought something so a very full table. 

I made the cranberry-jalapeno dip we love to have this time of year (recipe here) and you use a slotted spoon to pour it over a brick of cream cheese. It's the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, plus a mix of textures too. So good! 

The game was actually really exciting and I was rooting for Navy.  My dad was a Marine and attended the Naval Academy, plus hubs and I lived in Annapolis for nine years (non-military) so my loyalty is there. It was a close game with quite the finish. 

Sunday was church, then I hit the grocery store. Hubs vacuumed the whole house and polished the wood floors. I did some prep work for the luncheon I was hosting on Monday (today) and I finally cleared off the dining room table which is where I've been wrapping and writing cards and doing pretty much everything Christmas related. It's been making hubs twitch so he was happy. 

I meant to take pics of the luncheon set up, but I was busy luncheoning. I had nine friends for lunch including my daughter. So fun! She arrived a few minutes early (thankfully!) and helped me with last minute stuff, of which there was somehow a lot lol. 

I made hot chicken salad, a veggie tray, a Christmas fruit salad, and cranberry bread. Everyone brought three dozen cookies to swap and I bought these cute containers for the take-home goodies. The cookies were beautiful and we did not have any doubles.

And that was the weekend. Hope your week ahead is merry and bright! 

Hello Monday

Good Monday morning friends. We've had the most glorious weather and have spent a lot of time out in it and enjoying our porches too. Here's how our weekend looked-

Friday we did some of the usual stuff that needs doing before the weekend rolls in. I picked up groceries, bought gas, made a quick stop in the drug store, and returned a library book. Hubs scrubbed the showers and did some outdoor tasks including cleaning all the outdoor lanterns, and knocking down the cobwebs from the porch ceilings. 

We left around 2 for the nearby city. We were meeting friends for a late lunch/early dinner around 3, then it was on to an evening with Tara Leigh Cobble and The Bible Recap. Her event was held in a large church and we had great seats. 

We weren't sure what to expect from the evening, but we all agreed it was very well done. For those of you who don't know, Tara Leigh hosts a daily podcast which is a read through the Bible (chronologically) and then she 'recaps' what you read that particular day. You read three or four chapters a day, and then her recap is between 5-10 minutes long. 

She's adorable in person and is so naturally funny. She's also wise and comes across as warm and genuine. There were some fun bits to start, then she spoke on Psalm 23, and then a Q & A at the end. We all enjoyed the evening. 

Saturday we slept in, I cleaned all the bathrooms, and then we hung out on the screened porch and watched some college football. The Vols had the day off, but Hunley says go Tigers! 

Also, he's not allowed on the furniture. Oops. 

Friends invited us to a wine tasting they were hosting which started at 4. The wines were all from the Napa Vineyard- Ladera, and the winemaker Dan Ladera, was there to present the wines. 

They have a great story as to how his family went from Minnesota farmers to Montana ranchers to California winemakers. Our hosts made really nice charcuterie boards and hubs and I called that dinner. 

Sunday we went to church then made a quick stop afterwards at Lowes for something hubs needs for a project here. I grabbed two big mums since we were there, but as usual I forgot to snap a picture. 

They almost made this shot. Almost. 

My daughter and I have been a little bit obsessed with these big wreath bows we've seen online but the price is ka-razy! She's crafty and made one for herself, and on Thursday I met her at Hobby Lobby to pick ribbon so she could make one for me too. She brought it to me at church and I love it! 

Once we were back home hubs vacuumed while I did some dinner prep which included an apple crisp of which I also forgot to snap a picture. It was good though! Our next door neighbors came for dinner, hubs grilled, and we had a nice time catching up in person. 

And that was the weekend. I think fall might finally be here, and I hope the sun shone for you too.  If you'd like to add a recap of your own or read what others are saying, hop over to the host blogs -Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books). 

Have a great week everyone!