Birthdays & Bloomers

Remember last week when I mentioned it was my girlfriend Karen's birthday? Well, I finally had her over to celebrate today. {Only a FEW days late!} But, you know how hectic life gets and like I said before, Karen is a busy mother of three and is currently doing her clinical time in nursing school. So, today we did the girl thing... scones, coffee {tea for me}, lunch, gossip, more scones, more gossip... you get the picture! Basically we ate, drank, laughed and solved all the worlds problems in about a 3 1/2 hour span. It was good.

After she had to leave, I decided to check in at the Land of Blog to see what all you girls are up to today. If you've never visited La Tea Dah at Gracious Hospitality, you should pop over for awhile. You'll LOVE her blog!:) When I saw what she had pictured today I decided to strut my stuff with my cute little bloomer set also. This was a gift from Becky and it looks adorable hanging in my kitchen!

Happy Day!

What A Night!

All day yesterday Gabby and I talked about having company for the evening as we cleaned house together. As you can imagine, she's a great little helper. We even cleaned the bird cages {ICK!}. She loves to get on the business end of a broom. I just have to watch that none of the doggies receive an accidental thump on the head while she's wielding it!

We had cousin Heidi and her two children, Tanner & Chloe, over for a pizza night. Heidi is just home from spending Christmas and the month of January in Denver, Colorado with her family. We hadn't seen her and the kids since their return, so we thought it was high time for them to meet new puppy Phoebe, come play with Gabby, catch up on chit~chat and FINALLY let me give Heidi that Christmas present that's been hanging around on my shelf waiting for her return!

Gabby was excited and anxiously awaiting her playmates all afternoon. The only problem was that she never took a nap. Her head is still stuffy for one thing. The other thing is she waits for her Aunt Hilary to get home from work all day. The minute Hilary was in the door, at about 5:20, Gabby started asking for "Elvis, Elvis!". Believe it or not, my not yet 2 year old granddaughter is addicted to Elvis on YouTube. So Hilary brings it up on the computer and we all usually dance around the room with ole Elvis the Pelvis. {Gabby especially loves it if Becky is here to join in!} Anyway~ I was still tidying up {cleaning the bathroom ~ more ICK!} so there was no jirating for me. Gabby being a bit tired at this point just sat on Aunt Hil's lap in front of the computer and at 6:00 in the evening her head hit the desk and she was OUT! We moved her to the couch thinking she would wake up when our company arrived with all the fanfare of 3 doggies announcing them. But...NO. We couldn't wake her. No matter WHAT we did she literally snored through the hub~bub until 9:00.

Needless to say, once she came to, ate, and played, she was REALLY AWAKE! Since her mommy meets herself coming & going between work and school and never gets enough sleep, Grammy took the night shift in the rocking chair with the movie ELF playing. She finally drifted back to sleep & I put her to bed at 2:30 a.m.! It was nearly 3 a.m. when I crawled into bed and at precisely 3:28 Scott rolled over & Phoebe, who was sleeping on his chest, hit the hard wood floor. Poor little thing was stunned but O.K. The rest of my night was filled with tossing & turning and weird dreams! You know how those nights go ~ we all have them sometimes!

Anyway, we did have a good evening and so far all things seem to be set to rights today.

After all :

"This is the day the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

And when there are babies in the house, things may be unpredictable, but there is ALWAYS rejoicing involved!

Oh Happy Day!

We are having a lovely sunny day here in our castle. Jose is feeling much better today, for which I am very thankful, especially since today is his birthday. The little prince is 7 years old today. He has been his usual feisty chihuahua self today, even enjoying a bit of sunshine. I've only caught him trying to sneak Puppy Chow once so far. Just like the rest of us ~ just because something makes our tummy sick doesn't mean we don't want to try again!
Happy Birthday Little Man!

The other picture is of some of my favorite knitting needles. They're harmony wood from Knit Picks. I have the whole set in circulars as well. They are smooth and have perfect tips for making every knitting endeavor turn out beautifully. Plus, with all the pretty colors they are a feast for the eyes while they work their magic!

Today is also my girlfriend Karen's birthday. {I'll be nice & not mention her age!} Even though she's had to spend the whole day slaving away at nursing school, I hope she's had some fun somewhere. Karen is an amazing, Godly woman. She has a son in college, a daughter in high school, another son in kindergarten and she's in nursing school. Whew! You Go Girl!!! {And Go and Go and Go ~ she's like the Ever Ready battery bunny ~ she just keeps on going!}

We've had lots of laughter and good times over the years and done some trudging through life's true grit with each other. She is much loved and treasured!

"She is far more precious than jewels." Proverbs 31:10b

Happy Birthday Karen!

*I know sticking that picture of my knitting needles in between a couple of birthday salutes may seem a bit odd ~ but any "happy day" for me always includes my knitting needles!

Tea and Friendship

Today I went to Krista's house for a luncheon to celebrate our friend Amy's birthday. For years now the three of us have traveled from home to home for monthly tea and coffee time, which we usually turn into a full blown lunch for a birthday. It's always so much fun to see all the pretty china and silver set out with beautiful food and desserts. The time spent together is refreshing, uplifting and relaxing. Our friendship has spanned more than two decades now. Through the years we've shared laughter, tears and much of life as we've watched each others children grow up. I was the first to become a Grammy, but this year Amy will enter that land of joy and wonder when her oldest daughter has her first baby in July. And, of course, Krista & I will be there to congratulate her immediately (and get our hands on that baby as soon as possible!). Doesn't friendship just make everything in life like one big, delicious tea party?!

The picture shows Krista on the left and Amy on the right.

Before I left I just had to take this picture of Gabby sitting on the couch "reading" the book Aunt Hilary brought home from the library for her last night. I love to watch and listen as she reads. She points to the pictures and jabbers along like she's reading or names the items shown. One of her favorite things to do is line up her baby dolls, or the puppy, and read to them while they go "night~night". There's absolutely nothing like the imagination of a child!

The book Gabby was reading this morning, entitled "Tea for Ruby", is just darling. It's written by Sarah Ferguson~The Duchess of York and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. Whether you have a child in your household or not, you should go to your local library or bookstore and take a peek at it. I think I'll purchase one for Gabby when she turns 2 in April. I get something tea related for her for every occasion. I want her to grow up with a love and appreciation for the many joys and benefits of afternoon tea time, especially when shared with friends!

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea." Bernard~Paul Heroux

"Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea." Author Unknown

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

"Friendships multiply joys and divide griefs." Henry George Bohn

"There is no better looking glass than an old friend." Thomas Fuller

"The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend." Henry David Thoreau

"I am not of that feather to shake off my friend when he must need me." Shakespeare