Weekend in Review

I started this post on Sunday night and didn't finish but I'm going to go ahead and post even though it is time for a new weekend!

 

Last Thursday night, we met friends from Sunday school at the Front Porch restaurant. We had just found out that they were moving Mark's brother home on hospice the next day so we might not have been the best companions.

On Friday morning, Mark helped his twin brother clean out the room where the hospital bed was to be delivered and then he went to the hospital and stayed all day. I bought groceries and then went into work for a few hours.

We decided to go on out of town on Saturday morning on our planned get-a-way. We were only an hour and a half from home and knew we could come home at anytime.

Saturday morning, we drove through the Silk Stocking district in Talladega and looked at some of the old restored homes.

We arrived at our friend's farm and immediately headed to the porch.

When everyone arrived, we took the jeep and the CAT into town to eat lunch at a small diner. They served the slaw in pretty coffee cups.

Or they served it in crystal bowls!

Here we are - all 8 of us. There are normally 10 of us but one couple had to back out.

The girls took the CAT up to the base of the fire tower. I didn't climb it this year but I did a few years ago -- you can check it out here. There is a little one room screen porch with an outside porch and we sat there for a long time and solved the world's problems.

We headed back down and hung out on the porch together.

They have a herd of Highland cattle and they are the coolest looking cows.

The cows thought we were bringing treats and were very disappointed that we forgot to grab the treats before we headed out to their pasture.

The guys had switched vehicles for the ride into the woods. You might notice there are only 3 guys, not four. One was asleep in the hammock!

They fished. We talked. We swang. We rocked.

On Sunday morning, Guy set up an omelette bar and cooked breakfast for all of us.

We headed home around 11:00 so that we could get back to check on Bill and the rest of the family. Since we moved him into his mother's house on Friday, lots of folks have been coming to visit him. I was sitting in the living room on Sunday afternoon, surrounded by family, and it was one of those strange juxtapositions. We were laughing one minute and sad the next. We continue to covet your prayers during this difficult time.

Don't pick your nose in public HodgePodge

I'm joining up with the Hodgepodge gang this morning. Joyce writes the questions. We answer. Want to join us? We would love to hear your answers?

1. What surprises you the most about people? A lot surprises me these days! It surprises me when I see someone berating a sales person or waitstaff in a restaurant. It surprises me when someone extends grace or extra kindness to me. I’m often surprised by people’s political leanings – especially the ones who think their opinion matters more than anyone else’s opinion.

2. Would you rather have a chauffeur, nanny, gardener, maid, personal shopper or cook? Tell us why that one? Could I have everyone but a nanny and a chauffeur, please? Actually, I have a maid and I love having a maid and I love our maid. When we both worked full time, she came every week. I’ve even had her come to clean the apartment some because I don’t want to lose her. She teaches school by day (has her Master's degree) and cleans a couple of homes after school. She cleaned full time for a while so she could work her hours around her son andhis activities. I think she only cleans for me and one other person now in addition to her day job. I guess I have a “gardener” because Mark does the yard work. I probably don’t really want a chauffeur because I get car sick if I have to ride in the back. I would love a cook who would make 3 meals a day plus snacks – all WW (Weight Watchers) friendly. I sometimes have a personal shopper – I often use Shipt and I really love Carly. She is my favorite. I also have a friend who works at Talbots and she has helped me find several things!!

3. May 18th is National Notebook Day. No idea what that means but let's run with it anyway. What's something you currently keep in a notebook? Have you seen the movie The Notebook? On a scale of 1-5 how does it rate? (5=a favorite, can watch and re-watch and re-watch again) I love a good notebook. I have been using notebooks to take notes for my classes. I use a steno notebook for my everyday “to do” lists and I order those in a six pack so when I run out, I just grab another. Mark has been keeping a construction running total in another notebook. I think I saw The Notebook or at least read the book. I can’t rate it because I can’t remember for sure.

4. Do you like mushrooms? Last dish you made or ate that had mushrooms on the ingredient list? Your favorite dish that calls for mushrooms? I like mushrooms - sort of. They aren’t my favorite vegetable but I like them enough. I like fresh ones in a spinach salad. I like them sauteed with onions on top of a hamburger patty. I have a stuff mushroom recipe that I like. I used to make them often. I also remember battering and frying mushrooms and serving them with a horseradish based sauce. I did like those. I remember frying them in a "fry baby." Did anyone else have one of those back in the early 80's? One time we were eating in some restaurant and I ordered a pasta with a mushroom sauce . . .and I looked at Mark and said, “it tastes too mushroomy.” Duh!

5. What would you say is the most annoying thing people do in public? Pick their nose is my first answer – yuck!! The next one would be that I hate to see men “adjust themselves.” I have no idea if that is how I should say that or not (blushing). I am also not very big on PDA so I don’t really like to see folks all over each other in public either.

6. Insert your own random thought here. The days are getting so long here in Alabama. I love having daylight until almost 8:00 p.m.

Bless her heart Sunday Stealing

 I’m joining up with Bev at Sunday Stealing. She stole the questions from Kwizgiver for today. We answer and then link back up here. I’m answering and posting on Saturday because we are going to spend the day with friends and I might not have time later.

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now? Right now, there is very little in my back seat. There is a package of hangers for my closet and maybe a couple of pieces of paper and that is it. 

2. When was the last time you threw up? I don’t like to throw up. I don’t like to be around anyone when they are throwing up. I don’t like to talk about throwing up. The end.

3. What's your favorite word or phrase? I’m sure I have several – Bless her (or his) heart; It is what it is; Alrighty. I’m sure there are others that I say, too . . .like Sh*t :-). 

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? I’m typing this on Saturday morning (early) and I’ve not encountered anyone yet BUT we are headed for 24 hours with some of our friends and I’m sure I will smile a lot.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Like I said, I’m writing this early on Saturday morning so it isn’t even 8:00 yet where I live. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., we will be on the road to meet our friends.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? I was drying my hair!

7. What would constitute the perfect evening for you? These perfect questions always stump me. There are so many things that could go into a perfect evening. Sometimes having a good meal at home with my hubby and watching Ted Lasso constitutes a perfect evening. Sometimes spending time with good friends eating and having a beverage makes the perfect evening. Sometimes being at Camp Sumatanga for an overnight retreat is the perfect evening. Most perfect evenings would include other people that I enjoy being around and quite often food and beverages and perfect weather.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? I think that WAY BACK WHEN . . .A LONG TIME AGO . . .I did go to a strip club. I have a vague fuzzy memory of one. I have a very clear memory of going to a bar in Pensacola when I was around 20 or 21 (18 was legal back then). We went with some folks we had met at the beach and it was a drag show. They weren’t stripping but were dressed in beautiful clothes with amazing make-up and they were wonderful entertainers. I was with my long time friends – Kaye, Faye, and Karen.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? I thought you were at the store! I thought Mark had gone to the store to get a lemon but he had only gone to take the trash out.

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? I don’t eat ice cream anymore BUT I do love some homemade vanilla ice cream. Our family (Mark’s family) makes the kind where you cook the custard on the stove and chill overnight and then freeze in the ice cream freezer. It is so good. From the grocery store, I love a good Butter Pecan or a really good Strawberry. I also like Mayfield Moosetracks. Yum!

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? I’m drinking a Diet Pepsi as I type. 

12. What are you wearing right now? I’m wearing Birkenstocks that I bought in Germany last summer along with a skort from Bass Pro Shop and a summer shirt from Ann Taylor Loft Outlet. I bought the skort and shirt to take on the trip where I ended up buying the Birkenstocks!

13. What was the last thing you ate? For breakfast I ate two slices of Lewis Keto bread with a squirt or two of mustard with 2 ounces of Hillshire Farms thinly sliced ham and one slice of Kraft 2% sliced cheese. I know that sounds like a weird breakfast but I’m not a conventional breakfasts person.

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? I bought a new full slip. Yes, I still like to wear slips.

15. When was the last time you ran? We went out to dinner on Thursday night and as we were leaving the restaurant, it started to rain. We “trotted” to the car but I think we did quite well!! We both walk or ride the stationary bike every day but I’m not sure either of our knees would hold up for actual running for exercise.

 

I'm NOT the Queen of the Hodgepodge

 I'm joining up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond, along with our other friends, for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Did you watch the coronation of King Charles III? Share some of your thoughts about that, or about the royal family in general. The TV was on while the coronation was happening. I would glance at it every once in a while. I’m not into royalty that much. My husband thinks all the hoopla is crazy!

2. What are you the uncrowned queen of? For a while I was the Grand Poobah of Shelby. Shelby is our database at work. I think Grand Poobah outranks Queen :-). I’m not sure I’m the queen of anything these days.

3. In a box of chocolates which one do you usually go for? I’m going to choose the one with nuts or the dark chocolate with coconut (except I don’t eat those anymore).

4. Something learned at your mother's knee? Just thinking about my mother’s knee makes me think of Saturday nights, Lawrence Welk, prickly legs, and pink sponge hair curlers. Every Saturday night during Lawrence Welk, my mother rolled my hair and I sat between her prickly legs. My mom died when I was a Sophomore in high school so I have a hard time remembering things I learned from her. She fought her battle with cancer with grace. She taught us to go to church. She taught us to hold our heads high.

5. 'Like mother, like daughter'...in what way is this saying true for you? When I was younger, I evidently looked just like her. I was about 25 years old when my dad died. One of my uncles came up to me and said, “has anyone ever told you that you look just like your momma?” One of my other uncles would always whisper in my ear, “you look just like your momma.” Since she died right after her 50^th birthday, I have no idea what she would have looked like at 64 so I don’t know if I still look like her or not.

6. Insert your own random thought here. Please pray for my brother-in-law Bill and his wife, Rebecca. Bill is 66 years old and has had Parkinson’s for 20+ years. He has been sick since Christmas and has been in and out of the hospital and rehab over the last few weeks. We finally received a diagnosis this week and it is not what we wanted to hear.

This is my favorite picture
of Bill - triumphant!

George, Mark, Bill - quite a few years ago
probably at least 20 years ago

Christmas morning 2022

Here we all are on Christmas
morning - Mark is kneeling by their
momma. Doesn't she look amazing
for 97 1/2 years old? Second row left
to right - me (Lisa); sister-in-law Susie,
sister-in-law Rebecca (Bill's wife)
Back row left to right
Sister-in-law Alice who is married to George, who
is Mark's identical twin brother,
Bob married to Susie (Mark's sister)
and Bill

Weekend in Review

On Thursday after work, I picked out the countertop for our main bathroom. Isn't it lovely?

Friday, we headed south to meet friends for lunch at Sweet Creek. We then went back to their farmhouse and went for a ride through the woods.

After lunch, we headed to our daughter's home. She and I took sweet girl to her dress rehearsal and then picked up Chinese food on our way back to their house.

Satuday morning found us walking all over their neighborhood. We picked up another sweet child along the way.

It had been really cool on Friday, but Saturday morning was hot. Their neighborhood was having a yard sale so we saw lots of folks out and about.

The recital started at 2:00 and the doors opened around 1:30. We stood in line in the blazing sunshine along with a bunch of parents and grandparents and happily entered the gorgeous AIR CONDITIONED theater.

PRDA is the Pike Road Dance Academy. I think it is clever how they have played on the fashion name. Our girl is second from the right. She is just like her mommy -- the tallest one in the group.

Their dance routine was to "A Bushel and a Peck" and they were hugging themselves (above).

Her other grandparents brought a present (we had sunflowers) and she was excited.

She also loves looking at herself in the mirror and I love this photo (above) that I snapped.

Here we are with the little princess.

We hurried back to Birmingham to attend our neighborhood supper club gathering. Throughout the year, we've met in smaller groups in different homes. This was the grand finale where everyone came together. We have a "townhall" in the neighborhood and that is where we held the dinner. We had BBQ from Creekside, a new BBQ restaurant, and it was yummy!

I ran by the house on Sunday afternoon and there is a coat of primer on the walls! Oh my goodness! They are supposed to start laying hardwoods this week. The most recent finish date on the app is toward the end of June. Our apartment lease is up at the end of July so we really need to be in before then!!

Hodgepodge!!

As always, thanks to Joyce for the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then join us here to add your link to the party. If you don't want to do the whole post, feel free to answer in the comments.

1. What's something you 'may' do this month? We “may” go to our friend’s farmhouse over Mother’s Day weekend. I so hope we get to go. It will depend on the weather. We need a weekend without rain. Mark and I need a weekend with friends. We went a few years ago and had a blast!!

2. "All things seem possible in May"~Edwin Way Teale. Do you agree? Elaborate. If not May, then in which month if any would you say all things seem possible? I don’t think things are more possible in May than any other time. If I were to pick a time when things seem possible, I might pick January and August (back to school).

3. April showers bring May flowers...is this true where you live? What's your favorite color of the rainbow? Your favorite May bloom? Do you enjoy visiting gardens? What's a 'famous' garden you'd like to visit? Flowers start blooming in Alabama in February and March. We have dogwoods blooming in March and April. My favorite color of the rainbow – wow, I love lots of colors! I love red and orange. I love bright blue. I love pink (are we talking a full spectrum rainbow or just the ROY G BIV?). Purple is not my favorite but it is ok. I do enjoy visiting gardens but rarely do so. We have a nice Botanical Garden here in Birmingham and we have Aldridge Gardens. In Mobile (several hours south), we have Bellingrath Gardens. I’ve been to all of them but not in quite a few years. I’m going to add this to my list of things to do soon! I can’t see the gardens I would like to see . . . because they no longer exist, but I would love to have seen the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Forsythia usually blooms here in February

You might not think of this as a "garden" but I've been to the Garden of Gethsemane.

4. Are you a fan of the Star Wars series of films? If so how many have you seen? (I think there are 12) Are you a fan of the sci-fi genre in general, in either books or movies? What's your favorite sci-fi book or movie? May the fourth be with you! (and also with you) – This is a “church/star wars” play on “May the Lord be with you.” I am not a fan of the Star Wars series but have seen at least one. I’m not a big fan of Sci-Fi and neither is my husband.

5. Cinco de Mayo lands on Friday of this week...do you enjoy Mexican food? How often? Do you eat out or make your own? Your favorite thing to order in a Mexican restaurant? Have you ever been to Mexico? I love Mexican food. I would eat it every week if I could. I prefer to eat it out. Last night, we had Taco Tuesday for our group of Young Professionals. Mark cooked 8 pound of Taco Meat and I cooked 2.5 pounds of chicken. I made a big pot of black beans and a pot of corn. We had “melted cheese” and lettuce and tomatoes and shredded cheese and homemade guac along with chips and soft tortillas.

6. Insert your own random thought here. I hated guac until I was in my 40’s. I had some that my sister-in-law, Alice, made and fell in love with it! Do you love or hate guac?

Weekend ++ in Review

 Mark was out of town on Wednesday night and I worked late. He was doing this:

This is a 10# fish - look at it
compared to his boot!!

After work, I ran by the house and look what I found!! We have walls and ceilings!! Oh my goodness. It is starting to feel like a house again . . .not a home, yet, but a house! Our house!

Imagine my surprise when I looked in one of the bedrooms and found this. We had planned to reuse our bathroom cabinets and were updating them with new paint. I texted this picture to our builder and designer and said, "something bad happened to this." They aren't sure what happened but will be replacing the cabinet.

Thursday morning was rainy. I hit the road to drive an hour north to pick up my oldest sister. She is on dialysis three times a week and has a port. She had to have a surgical procedure done on the port. Normally, her daughter (my niece) would take her to these type of appointments since we don't live in the same area but my niece just had a bilateral mastectomy for breast cancer and can't drive. 

You might not know this about me but I HATE hospitals, anesthesia, medical smells, etc. I actually had an appointment with my counselor/therapist on Wednesday and she talked me through the day. It ended up being an ok day. The counselor told me to leave room for good surprises. I did and the day was much better than I anticipated. My sister's procedure went well and it had almost stopped raining by the time we had to get in and out of the doctor's office.

The doctor's office was lovely and still required masks. I had a book on my phone to read and scrolled through social media and answered emails while I waited.

My niece had texted for an update and I sent this picture to her. Procedure was over and my sister was drinking her sprite and eating crackers. She was still starving so we stopped for a late lunch before I took her home and started the drive back to Birmingham.

Thursday night we had a reunion of our fellow travelers (pilgrims) from our February trip to Israel. We met at Eli's Jerusalem Grill. That is not pronounced E (long E) li's. It is pronounced E (short E) - like Ellie. I had Falafel and Israeli cous cous and red (purple) cabbage. I also had a great cider.

There were 30 of us on the trip and about 23 of us were able to get together. We had so much fun.

We were loud and took up about half of the restaurant but hopefully we boosted their bottom line for the day.

Friday night was supper club and all ten of us were able to be together. I was in charge of appetizers so I made bacon wrapped stuffed dates. These dates came all of the way from Jericho back in February. I love the dates from Jericho. I used a sturdy straw to push out the seeds/pits/stones (all three seem to be correct according to google). I stuffed half of the dates with goat cheese and the other half with two almonds. I then wrapped each one with half a strip of bacon and secured with a toothpick. I baked at 375 for 10 minutes and then turned them over and baked 11 minutes. They were delicious. If I do it again, I will do all of them with goat cheese. I also took carrots and hummus. It, too, was yummy!

On the recommendation of many, I started reading Remarkably Bright Creatures on Saturday while Mark was at the hospital with his brother. I haven't read much yet but am finding it interesting so far. It is definitely not my normal genre of book. 

Just in case you didn't catch this . . .Yes, both of us have siblings with major health concerns. 

As usual, I worked the Welcome Center on Sunday morning and we had lunch with Mark's family.  At church today, our kid's choirs presented a musical, "What's Up, Zac?" and it was so well done. 

That's a wrap on our weekend + a couple of days!

On to the month of May - wow! I can't believe it is May!! We've been out of our house almost 10 months.