It was a whirlwind weekend here as we entertained 3/4 of the Smith family. My sister and the girls made the trek from Iowa to visit and have me help her with some paint ideas for the new house. Suddenly I’ve become the family interior decorator. While my sister and I have similar tastes in many areas, her paint ideas tend to be a little more subdued than mine, but I had a good idea of what she wanted so it took no time to work out all the colors for the rooms. I even found the perfect material for her dining room chairs. She seemed really impressed that I was able to quickly find what she wanted in the fabric store, but I’d seen it a couple of weeks before and liked it myself so it was an easy suggestion for her.
Of course the highlight of the trip was seeing my two adorable nieces. Although I chose not to have children, I love spending time with Lydia and Julia. They are so funny, cute and sweet. I never grow tired of them exclaiming, “Aunt Tammy” whenever they see me. I got to read them bedtime stories, help with bath night (at our house which was a real treat for them), play outside and listen to Lydia “read” her new books. They are such a delight. I do have to laugh at the way Lydia mimics her sister because I know that won’t last. I hope they grow up to be best friends like Ralph and I are.
Friday, Ralph and I discovered some disturbing information about our mom. She’s never flown a kite. I actually had to help her put the thing together. Ralph said, “Aren’t you a member of Mensa?” which sent me into gales of laughter. Nope, the woman hadn’t flown a kite. However, with the help of an almost-three year old and her big sister, she did great. It was so windy here that the string broke but they still had a great time. Thanks to some babysitting help from Grammie and Uncle Steve, Ralph and I got to spend some quality time together. We ran some errands on Friday then ended the day with some wine and television here at our house.
Saturday was the big birthday celebration for Lydia and Burl’s birthdays. Because Burl is a good sport (and can’t bear to crush the feelings of a 3 year-old) the theme of the party was Hello Kitty. We had party hats,plates, napkins and even a cake with Lydia’s favorite feline. Burl’s daughter-in-law, Annie, was here with her little boy Devin and it was really good to see them. Devin is now quite a big boy who just learned to walk this past week. However, his grandpa, Woodrow, wasn’t about to let him go very far. It is obvious Devin is the only grandchild in Annie’s family! Mom fixed her awesome lasagna and we enjoyed some libations from Burl’s birthday gift, a margarita machine. I have the feeling it will be getting a lot of use once the summer gets here.
Today Steve and I tied up all the loose ends of the weekend and getting ready for the week ahead. We’re still enjoying warm weather here so we had a few windows open today and the house really smells fresh. I prepped some pieces in my studio, cut out two sewing projects, did laundry and basically got organized. Steve spent most of the day fixing our laptop, which was no small feat. It took him about 5 hours, but it works perfectly. I’m so glad I married a computer guy! Later in the afternoon we did some food comparison shopping at Sam’s and bought some items in bulk. We were amazed at the savings and it felt good to know we were shopping smarter. Ever since we started our financial class we’ve been trying to make better money decisions. Today it felt like we were winning. After our Sam’s trip we headed to the regular grocery store to finish the list. Then we went home and made Spaghetti Bolognese with a fresh salad. Yum! We watched some mindless tv and are now headed for bed.
The forecast for tomorrow is rain so I’ll be staying at home and getting some work done. The good news is that it will still be warm!
Pretty Pretty Bang Bang 