Weekends, Weary, Wedding Dresses, Whew!

We're in the final week of our A to Z Blog Challenge and as always I'll be limping across the finish line. Since it's Monday there will be a weekend recap (with Holly and Sarah) along with my letter post on the blog today. 

There's a lot going on here this week and I'm trying to be a 'one-day-at-a timer' but it's hard not to look at the very long list in front of me. That list includes some things that will be emotionally draining and physically demanding but we can do hard things, right? 

Right! 

The weekend. 

Friday I had lunch with three friends from my old Bible Study group. We hadn't seen one another in several months and it was wonderful to catch up. Lunch was served on one friend's beautiful back porch and everyone contributed something to keep it simple. These ladies have been, and continue to be, such a blessing to me. 

I played Mah Jong at a neighbor's house later in the afternoon. 

Before I left my house that morning I made a big pot of sauce, and when I finally arrived home around dinnertime I congratulated myself for thinking ahead. Hubs had out of town real estate clients in all weekend so he was gone from dawn to dusk too. 

Saturday we sipped our coffee with the sunrise, then hubs was out the door early for another day with his house hunters. I had some errands to run in town so made the loop and was home about one. I spent the afternoon getting things ready for my mom's move. I am not going down that road on the blog today, but I'm sure will eventually gather my thoughts and put them in writing. 

We had plans Saturday night to celebrate a friend's birthday in our neighborhood clubhouse. The menu was tacos and margaritas and a delicious homemade cake baked by another neighbor. A fun night spent  chatting and catching up with friends. 

Sunday morning we went to church, then hubs and I stopped at Waffle House for a late breakfast. We needed energy for the afternoon's activity aka porch cleaning. Honestly we have had so much going on this past month we have not gotten to this dreaded but very necessary task. 

The pollen sits about an inch deep so all the porches and decking and outdoor furniture need to be hosed down and cleaned. We roll up our outdoor rugs during pollen season so they needed to be put back outside. Hubs operated the power washer and I had the tedious job of wiping down all the deck railings and spindles. We have over 200 spindles, not that anyone is counting, but yeah. It's a lot. 

And you have to keep changing the soapy water out because it turns black very quickly. 

But! we're getting there! The upper deck and the screened porch are mostly done and he made a good start on the lower level patio and dining space. Still more to do, plus there's also the boat to clean, (well for hubs to clean) but we're making forward progress and we can once again enjoy our favorite thing about this house, which is the outside space. Cheers to summer porch sittin'! 

I still need new pillows for the deck sofa and a few more flower pots but that will happen soon. Not this week though because this week is already a doozy. 

Now for today's letter which continues my theme of The Things We Keep: Ordinary Objects From A-Z. 

Day 23-W is for Wedding Dresses

Do you still have your wedding dress? When we returned from our honeymoon I took my dress to the local dry cleaners and they boxed it up in that fancy way dry cleaners do to keep it from yellowing through the years. 

You hope. I mean I wasn't even certain it was my dress in that box but we trusted the cleaners. I don't know if in 1984 I dreamed of having a daughter who might wear it someday, but I wasn't ready to part with it either. Into the box it went. 

From there it moved with us umpteen times, always in the unopened box. There it remained for 30 years, until in 2014 daughter1 was engaged to be married and thought she might like to try it on. I have a picture of her in it somewhere but I can't put my hands on it right now. Anyway...

She actually loved the idea of having the dress reworked and made to look a little less 80's bride, but logistics were not in our favor. I was in one state, she was in another, and the wedding was in a third so it all felt like an additional stress we didn't need. 

She found a dress that looked like it had been made just for her and she spun and twirled and smiled from the moment she put it on until she and her brand new husband left the reception. 

My dress went back into the box, and then a few years went by and now daughter2 is getting married and she took a turn trying it on too. 

Not 80's at all-ha! However Daughter2 had already fallen in love with a dress we'd seen in a fashion show so that was that.

But! I heard about a company that made dressing gowns/robes from wedding dresses and I decided to surprise daughter2  with a gift for Christmas before her January wedding. I had my wedding dress made into a getting ready robe for her and it turned out beautifully. 

She was, quite literally, overcome with emotion when she saw it. 

I wrote about it here (Let's Review) so I won't recap again, but suffice it to say I might never give another gift that lands as perfectly as this one did. 

And now here we are with one daughter married ten years and one married five, yet somehow we have their wedding dresses in our storage area. These boxes are not small either. 

Question-why did I tote my wedding gown from pillar to post but my girls dresses have stayed with me? I'm thinking I should hand them over and they can decide what they'd like to do with their gowns. 

They both have tiny daughters so maybe someday I'll get to see granddaughters walking down the aisle looking every bit as beautiful as their mommas. 

That makes them worth keeping. 

Scraps and Pieces

It's Friday, so let's fragment.
Linking up with Half Past Kissin' Time, and yes, today fragment is a verb.

We had one gorgeous day this week, a cruel tease which is typical for early March, and then back to frigid temps. No snow though, so that's a bonus.

Still plenty of snow on the ground, but no new snow. This little thing surprised me this morning. I looked out my dining room window and she looked right back. Normally they don't hang out up against the house, but baby it's cold outside. Everybody's ready for spring.

This time of year I start to feel like I'm in a cooking rut, which is why I've been on the hunt for some new recipes. Pinterest can always be counted on for fresh ideas, and I tried this one Wednesday evening-spaghetti squash lasagna. 

I've only cooked this vegetable once, and while we enjoyed the taste it was a little too watery. I made a mental note to let it drain longer the next time, and much much better. Last time I made spaghetti squash I just topped it with my marinara as if it were actual spaghetti.

BTW-it's good, but your taste buds know it ain't pasta. ahem.

Still, I love squash, and thought maybe the addition of some fresh mozzarella, along with baking the finished product, would amp up the flavor. And it did, this was good. Not as delicious as my mama's actual lasagna made with actual pasta, but a tasty dish in its own right. 

Plus, isn't spaghetti squash one of the seven wonders of the food world? It's crazy the way it looks like one thing on the outside, then something else on the inside, and once cooked looks like a whole 'nother thing altogether.

The first cell phone went on sale thirty years ago yesterday. It cost $3, 995. There's no record of who the first buyer was, because back then cell phone meant car phone, and was thought of as something gimmicky or maybe something only the wealthy would own.

I remember hubs first 'mobile' phone. It was kept in a small suitcase, almost like a briefcase, and he was happy to get it. Having a phone in the car was a time saver, even if it was the size of a football and weighed 2 pounds. The suitcase phone was a step up from the system he'd been using to make business calls while on the road, which was find a pay phone, then enter a code that was about 18 digits long. Are there still pay phones around? I'm thinking no.

So, fun thing...a while back I submitted a photo to be used in a Cherie Norquay music video, and today I saw the video. The request was for pictures showing love between a parent and child, or a child and child, and I submitted what is perhaps my all time favorite photo of Daughter1 and myself. We're at 3:53/54 in the video, almost the end. The song is Cherie's version of Jesus Loves Me, and it's upbeat and so pretty. 50% of the proceeds (through March 31st) will go to the Maubane Community Center in South Africa. The video is super sweet!

Enjoy your weekend everyone! 

A few things on Friday

I feel the need to spill a few words here today.  I read recently that people who number lists on their blogs are telling readers they couldn't think of anything really interesting to say so they made a list.  I want to keep your expectations high, but not numbering these random thoughts seemed confusing.  Which is why this post is now a list. And super interesting!

1. There is far too much rudeness in America today. I think I'm right in saying most citizens of this great land recognize we have very serious issues to address. Disagreement on how best to solve the deep and complex problems we face is to be expected and healthy debate is worthwhile. Arguing the facts behind your particular position is not only smart, but also admirable.

Being rude and disrespectful?
Blech!

It is not okay to be rude.  It's especially not okay when you hold one of the highest, most recognizable offices in the land. People will argue (more, still, again) today saying he did what needed to be done, but seriously, is this the example we are holding up for our children??? For anyone???  Aiyiyi.

My girls know when I see bad behavior I feel the need to address it with them-

Dear Daughters...treat people with respect, even (and maybe most especially) those with whom you disagree.  Expressing your viewpoint with anything less than common courtesy makes you look small- minded and arrogant.  It also suggests your momma didn't raise you right. She did. 

2. Let's talk about something happy, shall we?  Last Sunday evening we had tickets to see Christopher Cross in concert. In case you don't know, or in case you weren't even a twinkle in your parents eye when he hit it big, Christopher Cross had one of those amazing record breaking debut albums (yes,  albums-it was 1980 people!) where every single song was an enormous hit.  He won five grammys and later an Oscar for his theme song to the movie Arthur.  His voice is beautiful and clear and his range is positively stunning.  Still is, some 30+ odd years later.

He was playing in a small venue not far from here, an old movie theatre that's been converted for live performances.  There's not a bad seat in the house and we were front and center, only about five rows from the stage. As soon as we sat down I warned the man next to me I'd be singing along to which he replied, "I've got my earplugs so no problem."  Wise man.

You should know I was not the only one singing along.  The entire audience was singing along which made me wonder about something.  Do you think in 30+ years a new generation of 50-somethings will be sitting in a converted movie theatre in tiny town singing all the words to Baby Baby while a more mature Justin Bieber sits on stage?  

3. I was 20 years old in 1980, a college girl living far from home.  

It also happens to be the year I met a boy.  

I liked him.  

A lot.   

He's still okay.  

I remember my 20th  birthday because three of my besties trekked with me from collegetown Tennessee alllll the way to NJ for a long celebratory weekend.   

Obviously making the most of my birthday is not something new around here.  

4.  I'm getting my flu shot today.  

Told you this list was super interesting.  

5.  Finally, it would not be the start of fall if I didn't post a picture of my favorite tree-

Hubs says I post far, far too many pictures of this tree on my blog, but y'all...it turns the most lovely shade of golden yellow this time of year. 

Here's hoping your weekend is also filled with the orangey-gold loveliness of an autumn landscape, and kindness greets you wherever your feet may roam.