There's a Party a Brew'in

and NO it's not Halloween yet. 

Mom's bunco is tomorrow and her theme is always

"Under the Tuscan Moon"

We usually eat Italian in the Gazebo...

August nights are so warm and

gorgeous that no one wants to come in to play bunco.

This year we will have dinner and bunco in the

"Pork". 

The house can be back up

if it gets too chilly...

but Kevin has already put in a load of wood for

a nice big fire.

 

Here's a little preview of mom's inspiration

Tammie made us these killer invitations....

but we do have a few surprises. 

Do you see whats peeking out from behind? 

Look closer. 

That's right Lisa....

get your song on ladies,

concert in the "Pork" and you're

the entertainment.

and we may even have a celebrity

join us

Creepy I know...

the only thing that would be better than only Dean

would be

The whole "Rat Pack"...

maybe next year but for now....

there's a party a brew'in.

To Infinity and Beyond

Since I always feel our annual trip to Hawaii 

is in celebration of our anniversary every year,

we usually just go out to dinner on our actual day. 

This year we decided

to do a light dinner at a fun restaurant

and then hit Disneyland afterward.

I didn't bring my camera so the pictures

are not too good but dinner was.

We chose an assortment of appetizers as well as an assortment of beverages.

and then headed off to the happiest place on earth.

Does anyone remember this old sign when it was at

the entrance to Disneyland?

I don't know if it's the

original one but it did bring back some memories.

The Fantasmic show was fantastic and the fireworks

were great.  

We saw Tinker Bell fly and had a

surprise appearance by Dumbo....

elephants really can fly.

and then home to start a

brand new year....

 

Happy Anniversary ....

Seems like yesterday....

Where did the time go???

Ingredients

All great chefs know that the best ingredients

create the best things...

as in a party...

and as in the celebration of a life....

Only using the best ingredients...

 we started with the pretties...

good colors, 

and a fun table,

just waiting for the festivities to begin.

Stir in a few flowers

and a gorgeous evening

a splash or two of liquid .....

Most importantly

we must add our vintage ingredients...like

great wine.... great family

and

lifelong friends

A dash of food for spice

and good conversation...

One serving of "Old Fart"

and

a little help from a local Sous Chef

or two

A pair of well worn but ever so useful hands.

and a pinch of laughter for good measure.

Don't forget the balance....

with salt you need a little sugar

and a whole lot of LOVE

Yup...

we mixed up those ingredients and helped 

create a very special birthday party

for a very special

MAN...HUSBAND....FATHER...

GRANDFATHER...GREAT GRANDFATHER

AND

DEAR FRIEND 

So many hats, so many years...

and Jim, the best is yet to come.

Happy "80th" Birthday!!!

(and many more)

Porch Pick Me Up...

AKA

Someone is turning 80 and we

have to clean up for a party.

I killed 2 birds with one stone this past weekend. 

My porch was

badly in need of a face lift and someone

I know will be celebrating

his 80th birthday this Saturday. 

His actual birthday isn't until Tuesday

but we thought we would surprise him

with a little celebration on Saturday.

Sushhhh... I don't think he knows.

First think Saturday morning

I headed to the nursery for some

new flowers,

knowing that with all of our rain this year,

the porch would be a mess. 

We're also working on a much needed step going

from the upper level to the lower level in the backyard,

making it much more "80 year old" friendly. 

And of course I

did some trimming and planting in the backyard as well.

The Porch

Everything on the porch looked something like this.

so with a little hosing

and planting and some help from a friend

we spruced it up.

and made it a bit more welcoming,

just ask kitty.

The gazebo practically decorated itself with

masses of flowers surrounding it.

We're hoping to get one more year

out of it before we have to replace it.

The step will be party ready by Sunday.

We also got some new brush cherry to plant.

We named them...

The shortest one to the right is Tom Cruise

next to him is Katie Holmes

and then Nicole Kidman

and lastly Penelope Cruz.

Tom is a bit of an over achiever.  Since he has

been in the ground he has almost caught up with Katie.

as for the birthday boy?

It's my father in law Jim

I will let you know if he's surprised

and how the party goes.

 

Adventures in Grandmotherhood

I have often been surprised, delighted

and touched by this thing called
Grandmother-hood. 

Who knew that grandmothers were such special people?

Well I guess when I look at it that way....

I DID!!!

I had the most spectacularly amazing grandmothers,

and I don't think they did anything more

than make me feel  that
I was the center of THEIR universe. 

My grandmothers were two very different

women and I loved them both equally. 

One for her practicality and unconditional acceptance

and the other for her vibrant bigger than life self,

along with that same unconditional acceptance. 

I now realize how blessed I was to have

these two special ladies in my life. 

Funny,

because when I started this post it was all about
ME.

  I will give you a quick glimpse at these

two very special ladies.
I think a future post may be in order
in honor of them both.

Can you guess which is which by my description?

Mary -
Making her

ever famous Anise Easter cakes.

Each cake had Easter Eggs in their center 
sporting our names.
When you think how many she made...
she had five married children and
ended up with 13 grandchildren.
and she always wore and apron...I
actually own one of them.

and Mary on her wedding day.

(I had to throw this one in because I have

always loved it so much and it gave me

and excuse to finally scan it)

and Rose

I will have to work on getting more pictures of Rose

so you can see her amazingly shocking

RED hair.  This lady was bigger

than life and stayed that way until

she passed at 89.

Here she is with my dad.

As for my original thoughts...

I was picking something up from my daughters

this morning and as I was

getting into my car

I thought I heard some little voices.

(I know, I often hear voices)

As I looked up at the house

I saw where these little voices were coming from.

(I wish this were a better picture, it

came from my phone)

After catching numerous waves goodbye

and blown kisses,

I hopped in my car

and headed for work

with the biggest smile on my face.

Just as I pulled in,

I got another little surprise.

A text from another special young lady. 

Which prompted this post and my

trip down my own memory lane.

I am now sitting here surrounded by boxes of old photos

preparing to scan them onto my computer,

and hoping I can be

 ALMOST

as amazing

as my grandma's were!!

and just think...I haven't even begun grandfathers.

Missed it by that much...

Milk Money

Remember when you were a kid and you got

milk money every day...???

What was it a nickel and maybe

for a dime you could get milk and an ice cream?

Those were the good old days.....

I NEVER thought I'd say that. 

I remember my parents and grandparents

saying that, and I thought, 

NO 

these are the good old days.

Last night it was pointed out to me

that we didn't have enough

milk for breakfast. 

No problem right? 

After

our run in the park,

we would stop at the store

and pick up some milk for breakfast.

PROBLEM!!

I forgot to bring money...so there we were scrounging

through the car for enough change

to buy milk.

1.37

That's what we came up with.

Do you know what I could buy for 1.37

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

This was 1.00...the one I really wanted

was 1.39

missed it by .02

but I did have some change left

If they would have only taken that cap

as the additional  .02

ohhhh well.

Enjoy your day!!!!!