Alijah's 2nd Birthday Party

Our youngest grandchild turned two back in February.  We had a small family get together for his birthday.  I was having so much fun that I didn't get pictures that documented the party entirely.  But here are some that turned out clear and properly focused.

Colin and Alijah at the Piano

I always love it when I see the grandchildren "playing" the piano.  Maybe one of them will someday really want to study and practice on our piano.

Alijah Smiles Prior to the Candle Lighting

We had balloons and banners for Alijah.  His mother, Robyn, made him a cake with chocolate icing.

The Sippy Cup is Still His Friend

He loved his cake and I have spared him the sight of all the chocolate that ended up on his face.  When he is into his teens, I think he will thank me for that!

Robyn Concentrates on Placing the Candles

Alijah's mother put all kinds of candles and decorations on his cake.  It was so tasty too.

A Potty Chair with Sounds

He got lots of gifts suitable for a two year old boy.  I mean who doesn't want a potty chair that make sounds when you use it?

Grandpoppie Starts the Box Opening of the Desk & Easel

We got him a combination desk and easel.  That should be fun and useful for a few years.

Colin Bolts from the Chair

Okay, not a very good picture.  Why won't grandchildren wait to move until you get the camera focused?  Robyn's friend, Cindy, waits patiently in the background.

Uncle Chris and Cousin Austin Watch the Gift Opening

Alijah's gifts filled their car.  We enjoyed having the group of friends, children and grandchildren in our home.  Walter & I washed up the dishes and then treated ourselves to an outing.  We went to MTSU for the last home game of both the men and women's basketball teams.

The summary of our Saturday:  Alijah had a fun birthday event and we had a good, full day.

God is good.

Partial Retirement - His First Friday Off

Walter has decided to partially retire.  Since turning 62 this January,  he has signed up for Social Security and his first check is to arrive in March.  He negotiated with his employer for one day off each week.  Most of the time this will be on Fridays.  However if something comes up and he needs another day off, he can swap out the Friday for another week day that week.  Sweet!

This past Friday was his first day off.  He slept in a little but not for long as I had arranged for a Pei Wei luncheon date with two friends of ours who work about 45 minutes from the house.  What better way for him to get used to the four day work week than being with friends and NOT having to watch the time or leave in a hurry?  Our friends had to watch and leave on their schedule, not ours.

We had a wonderful visit with each other albeit fast paced.  I think Walter and I will enjoy many more leisurely focused Fridays now.  I look forward to the increased time we may have together.

Plates Bought at Goodwill for $9.00

Salad or Dessert Plates with Bleeding Hearts

Plates with Pansies

On the way home we stopped in for a look at the Goodwill store in the area.  Walter found two nice dress shirts and I found some Easter decorations and a set of butterfly and plants decorated plates and dessert plates.  They are StudioNova in the Garden Blooms pattern.  As Spring arrives, I will use these to lighten up the table.

If I could afford it, I would set the table with a different set of dishes every time we eat.  This, of course, is not possible or affordable but Goodwill makes it seem like you have a large variety to fill your cabinets anyway.  I hope Walter doesn't think we will be shopping like this every Friday.

That night we went to the Primitive Quartet concert held at Middle Tennessee Baptist Church in Murfreesboro.  We love to attend Southern Gospel concerts.  This one did not disappoint.  The church was filled with people worshipping and praising and filled with spirit.

On the way home, we stopped in for a Taco Bell fast food snack.

Is there a way to have too much fun?  I don't think so.  This was a FULL day for us.  God is good!

Valentines Banquet

Church Auditorium with Decorated Tables

I am on the kitchen committee for the year and for this event the chairman asked me to do the table centerpieces.  I used mirrored tiles with white candles in clear glass candle holders.



Twenty Tables Were Set Out

I took a Valentines' garland and cut it in sizes to fit snugly around the candle holders and used the hot glue gun to attach the ends.  Each piece of garland was 15 inches which gave plenty of flexibility for getting them on and off of the candle holders.



Serving Table for Pork Tenderloin and Vegetables

The menu was Pork Tenderloin, Green Salad, Mashed Potatoes with Carrots, Green Peas with Pearl Onions, Raspberry Applesauce, Red Velvet Cake and Chocolate Pie.



We Take a Minute to Enjoy the Centerpieces Before Guests Arrive

Walter and I took a minute to have a picture made of us before the attendees started arriving.  Roses were laid in each of the women's places.  A few rose petals tossed on the tables completed the decorations.

We had a great meal and a nice musical program afterwards.   I have no pictures of this but one of the singers imitated Elvis and three young ladies ran to the stage and threw rose petals at him.  Hilarious!

God is good.


Music at MTSU

A few days ago, Walter and I went to Middle Tennessee State University to hear the Tennessee Valley Winds concert at the T. Earl Hinton Recital Hall there.  This was about the third concert we have been to for this group.  A real estate agent, Jane who used to work for Walter when he had his own agency, Tony who worked with Walter in manufacturing for several years and Matt who was one of my co-workers are in the orchestra.  They are each excellent musicians.

Tony Smiles Prior to the Performance

We enjoyed the performance and got to have a short visit with them afterwards.  I loved what the conductor said to the young people in attendance that night.  He said that learning to both appreciate and play music is something that will last for a lifetime of enjoyment.  His example of that was the age composition of the Tennessee Valley Winds.  Their ages ranged from 15 to 85!


Matt with His Bassoon

Both Walter and I love this kind of music.  The program included a medley of religious music and ended with a John Philip Sousa march.  The crowd gave a nice standing ovation in appreciation to the musicians.


I Chatted with Matt after the Show

Agents Orange, White & Blue

My brother-in-law, Edd, has been giving my sister, Jean, tender loving care since they discovered she had breast cancer.  Neither of them have outside jobs so he was available and able to care for her 24/7, going to treatments with her, helping with the daily chores and giving her much love and attention.

I spoke to her Wednesday and she said she felt wonderful that day.  She is taking chemo medicine daily by mouth.  The doctors told her she could expect to take the drug for about five years.  She was excited because she had just vacuumed the entire apartment without stopping.  This was quite the accomplishment as she had only been able to clean a little at a time and then rest a while prior to starting to clean again.

She was looking forward to spring so she and Edd could walk around their apartment complex.

Jean, Edd, Elizabeth and Me

But Edd has been having spasms in his legs and arms for a while now and recently they have gotten much worse.  He is diabetic too which complicates the situation.  His doctors have said his troubles stem from the fact that he was exposed to Agents Orange, White and Blue.  These were herbicides used during the Vietnam War to destroy plant life, especially rice and to clear out hiding places alongside roads, etc.  To learn more about these agents, Wikipedia encyclopedia has good summaries of their properties and the purposes of their usage.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_White and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Blue .

So now I am outraged at the suffering that has been endured for many years by our returned military personnel.  Many families have watched as loved ones go through so many changes in their bodies.  Some have succumbed to the illness, including one dear man who was a church member with us.

The story of my small family goes on.  Edd was a brave soldier, is a good companion and family man.  He will take his doctors advise and adhere to their instructions.  Hopefully he will be able to live the best life possible for many years.  Good luck Edd.  You are in our prayers.

God is good!

Surprise! It's Your Birthday!

Last night I surprised Walter with a birthday meal at the local Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse restaurant.  He had thought that the family bowling outing on Saturday was his birthday party. And it was, but I also wanted him to celebrate with other seniors.  We have a great group of friends from our church.  I filled the tables with twelve of them.  They were happy to be included.

I told Walter that one of the attendees was being surprised and he never suspected that we were really gathering for him.  Side note: we also celebrated her birthday too.  It would have just been rude not to celebrate for her too.  She jumped when the chef tricked her with a squeeze bottle turned towards her. Don't worry only a string came out, no sauce.

So we all met at 5:30 for the early bird specials.  This was in keeping with the theme - "You're 62, what are you going to do?"

Here are some pictures from last night.  We had two chefs so the cooking was finished at the same time.  We laughed at the tricks the chefs had for us.  They were great entertainment.



Guests Enjoying Their Soup & Salads

Flames at One of the Tables

Volcano Flames Through the Onions

Guests Interacting with the Chef

Chef Tosses Salt Into the Flames for Sparkle

Guests Eat the Great Habachi Food

Walter Will Have His Picture on the Restaurant Wall - Cake Not Visable Here

Guest Whose Birthday Was On the 28th Also Celebrated

Howard made a three layer red velvet cake for Walter.  It was delicious,  I was so busy trying to cut the cake into twelve portions that I failed to get a photo of it.  People also gave him cards and a round jigsaw puzzle.  He loved it all!

Before dessert was served we played a game of How Well Do You Know Walter.  I gave each guest a list of six questions.  The answers were multiple choice.  A good friend only got one answer correct, to which he said "I guess I don't know you at all".  Here are the questions.

Facts about Walter T., Sr.

1)      Walter’s middle name is

a)      Tommy

b)      Thomas

c)       Tilton

d)      Timmy

2)      His favorite NASCAR driver is

a)      Darrell Waltrip

b)      Jeff Gordon

c)       Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

d)      Kenny Wallace

3)      His favorite service done recently through church

a)      Building ramps

b)      Serving as a deacon

c)       Giving financial advice to a couple in debt

d)      Sharing about his sobriety

4)      What craft did he most recently finish?

a)      Latch hook rug

b)      Bird puzzle

c)       Lord’s Supper puzzle

d)      Wooden playhouse

5)      What past experience did he enjoy the most?

a)      Running his own real estate office

b)      Assistant cruise director

c)       Bowling with his grandchildren

d)      Giving 5 gallons of blood

6)      Why did he lose his leg?

a)      Car accident

b)      Military causality

c)       Shot by a jealous husband

d)      Hunting accident

I will not give you the answers.  You just have to imagine the correct answers.  The last question caused some good natured teasing.  On the way out the guest blew bubbles of good wishes towards Walter.  That was just something from his childhood that he enjoyed so I decided to end his "childhood of 61 years" by blowing bubbles.  One of my favorite memories of this evening will be the 81 year old woman guest who out blew all the others and her laughter was glorious.  We were all children again last night if only in our minds.  God is good! 

Bowling with the Family

When we started thinking about celebrating Walter's birthday, I knew we wanted something special.  It was his 62th birthday, or as our friend Dorothy Jean says, "The Social Security birthday!".  I considered having the family over to our house.  We do this a lot so I decided not to host the party as so much preparation is required for cleaning the house, creating a menu and then the cooking and the clean-up afterward.

I looked into using the YMCA for a swimming party.  The party room rent was medium priced and we would have the pool for an hour.  We discussed it and decided against it as Walter nor I actually swim.  Only the children and grandchildren would enjoy the pool.

So we looked around for something else that would be fun for Walter but also hold the attention of the rest of the family.  When we started dating about 25 years ago, Walter was on a company bowling league.  He enjoyed it then and occasionally still bowls.  I visited the local lane and found we could rent 3 lanes for an hour of bowling, which included shoe rental, pizza, and soft drinks.  We also could bring in our own cake.  For 14 people that was perfect for us!  It also was priced lower than any other venue.  So off to bowling we went.

Here are some pictures of our day and us having fun.

Gift Bags for Grandchildren Holding Candy, Stickers, Pen and Note Pads & Crayons

Birthday Boy, Walter, Before We Leave for the Party

When we started bowling, whenever anyone scored a strike, we took a picture of them with a silly reaction.  We really had a swell time striking poses.  No one was super competitive.  We just enjoyed being together as a family.


Martha Celebrates Her First Strike



Chandler Shows Good Form



Tracy Rolls a Ten Pound Ball

Walter Rolls a Strike



Chris Poses the Most Goofy After Scoring a Strike

Tommy Smiles About His Strike

Kash is About to Bowl, Aunt Tracy Encourages Him

Keith is Happy After His Strike

Brandy Gives Two Thumbs Up
 

Brandon Shows Hands Up Pose

Austin is Happy About His Score

We paused for pizza and cupcakes.  I had made spice cupcakes.  When Tracy took her first bite she said she remembered when they were little that I used to make them spice cake.  I did bake them applesauce spice cakes, so I was glad to know she remembered that from her childhood.

Walter Blows Out the Candles

I made 24 cupcakes and only had to take home a couple of them.  They will be good in lunches this week.

Nola Singing the "Happy Birthday" Song to Her Grandpoppie

Heather Gives a Beautiful Smile

Tommy Tries to Get Excited About the Singing - Not!

Martha is Glad the Family is Enjoying Themselves

Walter was extremely happy about the outing and afterward I was glad to just kick back and look at the pictures rather than facing any clean up!  Everyone wins.  God is good.