This, That & An Anniversary

We had a great weekend here. I hope you had a great one, too.

Before the weekend, on Thursday, David and I took a beautiful walk on our beach - for a couple of miles each way. It was a gorgeous, sunny & warm day. For you mid-western & easterners, that is obvious, but for us here in western Washington, I have news: summer has been one fickle guest. So it was a big deal to have sunshine on one of David's days off. It was lovely to spend that time together.

David also accompanied me to go shopping for a new phone. He knows more about technology than I do, as he's 18. Those of you who have mobile phone plans will understand this story: I was due for a FREE new phone. Awesome. I've always taken the offer of a FREE new phone to heart (and wallet). But this time, there was a decision to be made: dumb phone or smart phone? - because now, we have a choice. The difficulty is that dumb = free, while smart = I pay for the phone itself, and for extra service, each month. Frankly, that doesn't sound smart at all, to me. Yet I did the dumb thing, and got the smart phone...a phone which is a whole lot smarter than I am, at this point. I'm still learning how it works.

On Saturday, we hosted a party. I don't like to talk about parties because I think it is bad manners, when obviously all of you (especially out-of-towners) can't join us, but party is what we did, so it shows up here on the blog. We combined neighborhood friends with old friends, friends from different circles and parts of our lives, and it was great fun. I love to host gatherings, especially with 20+ people, especially in sunny weather.

The photos that I took turned out to be awful, but Paul Dudley of Paul Dudley Photography took these, and as usual, he worked magic with the camera:

Miss Ellie (my mom) & me

Me & my dad

Because I have a horror of running out of food, the new ways of society (let's call it the looseness about RSVP's) make me a little nervous when hosting 30-some people. My way of coping is to buy too much food, and host potlucks. People brought salad or dessert & wine; we provided everything else (& some wine). Right now, I am making split pea soup with the leftover bones and meat from two of the three hams. My in-laws are coming over to eat dinner with us and share the bounty.

While I was chopping, sauteing, juicing and stirring, my heart was with our friend Allegra, who is a chef de cuisine and who once owned a restaurant on the Oregon coast. How I wished she was standing beside me, sharing the wisdom of her experience! Allegra is recovering from chemo right now, and I am sending her love and healing energy. You are invited to join me in that.

I have to say that I am a bit stymied right now as a blogger, because one of the richest veins in the Mother Lode of my writer's brain is filled with parenting stories, and I cannot share them with you. I respect my son's privacy, but I tell you, my mind is overflowing with things that have happened here. I am sure they are normal in the larger picture of life, but I would say it's been colorful.

Four years ago today, Andrea & Mike got married and granted Katie's great wish to be a bridesmaid. It was a huge gift for them to move their wedding up 6 months in order that Katie could be part of the day. A week later, she was paralysed from the waist down (and could no longer walk); a week after that, she passed away. So you can see how important their invitation - and the timing -was.

Happy Anniversary, Andrea and Mike! - you have our love and gratitude FOREVER.