June Classmate Dinner...

Front row: Jay, Bruce, Deb, Mary, and Lisa Back Row: Janet, Brad, Cal, Donna and John

My "social butterfly" day began with lunch with Mum, Stepdad and Handsome. Our lunch was delicious and we had a nice visit, in spite of the fact that the restaurant was a bit noisy. In the bustle, I neglected to take their photo (bad blogger!), but we did have a lovely time.

I ran a few errands in town, rather than drive back home, but the time passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was due for my classmate dinner date. We chose Thursday this month, thinking more people could show, but the weather forecast warned of bad weather, so folks cancelled to avoid being caught outdoors. As it turned out, the weather was just fine and the restaurant was much quieter than on Wednesdays (when they offer half-price pizza). Our core group showed up, with Lisa joining us this month. I certainly didn't order much to eat, having recently finished lunch!

I was on my way home by 5:30 or so, and spent the rest of the evening with Handsome. It was a fun day with all the visiting! We're scheduled for another Thursday next month, and perhaps those who stayed home yesterday will join us in July. 

It's Friday again! I have an appointment this morning with my primary care provider to start the next process for my knees. Then, I'm going to slide into the weekend with nary a care! Who knows what I'll be doing. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Wednesday Friends Day...

Back Row: Deb B., Dan F., Deb and Dan N., Janet and Jay K Front Row: Donna L, Mary S., Karen S., and Cal C.

I'm sharing my photographs backward today. I'm beginning with our dinner gathering and photos of the small but dedicated group of classmates who met for dinner in spite of the crummy, rainy weather. 

The ladies sat at one end of the table, while the guys sat at the other end.  Of course, we have completely different stories to share, so we "herd up" according to gender. We had a great time.

Fun with Friends

I have to share the outtakes this month. I'm calling this photo collage "The Mullet Collage" - Business up front. Party in the back. lol Everyone in the front row has what Handsome refers to as their camera faces on, ready for the photographer. Meanwhile, the back row is jocularity and silliness. They sure were having fun back there!

Flour Sack and Vintage Embroidery Project Bag from Kathy D.

Lunchtime was fun, too. I didn't get photos of Kathy inspecting the spoolies because we were sitting in her car at the drive-in. It rained the entire time, so rather than sit under one of their canopies, we stayed warm and dry in her vehicle.

Kathy had a show-and-tell, too. (I actually refer to it as my Mum does...bring-and-brag.) When we were at a group meeting of the"Sewcial Sisters" a couple years ago, I took along my collection of vintage flour sack cloths. My sewing was going in a different direction and I knew I wouldn't use them, so I offered them for sale. Kathy bought all of them, and she recently decided to do something with them.

She's been combing antique and resale shops in search of vintage embroidered linens. Even though many of us have a collection of inherited embroideries, who wants to cut up something our ancestors created? I know Kathy and I don't. So, we purchase with the intention of cutting into it. I guess it's easier if you don't know the creator - especially when you know you're going to make something new and wonderful with it.

Kathy's been sewing these lovely project bags, and she practices her quilting skills on the patterned fabrics. She offered one to me and said I could choose the one I wanted. Of course, I chose the bag with the embroidered puppies. 

In exchange, I'm going to create a spoolie just for her. I didn't have Henrietta Chicken or Theodore Badger to show her because they were already gifted, but her favorite was Daisy Skunk. I'm planning to make a new little skunk for her. (I'm also going to make another badger and chicken for my collection, too.)

My very last stop of the day was at my friends, Vicki and Del's home. Del and I have known each other since junior high school, and I got to know Vicki after Handsome and I moved back to Wisconsin. She's been seeing my spoolies and offered her assortment of wooden spools to me. I gratefully accepted, and I traded her for quilting fabric, which she loved.

I got to meet their sweet nine month old Labrador retriever, and got a tour of their lovely home. We exchanged gifts, hugged, and I left to take dinner home from the restaurant for Handsome. 

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty fabulous day. I spent time with so many dear friends, and came home with a full heart. It really doesn't get better than this.

Today, my Explorer will be getting an early morning oil change, and then I'm going to get my hair trimmed this afternoon. Once I get back home, I think I'll be getting a little crafty. I don't know what I'll work on yet, but I'll let you know tomorrow. I'm going to grab a cuppa for the road now and be on my way. Later, 'gator!

No "Island Hopping" Today...

Image via Facebook

 

I'm not playing in the kitchen today. Rather, I'm having lunch with my girlfriend, Kathy D., and then I'm having dinner with the high school classmate group. I'll be a "social butterfly" instead. lol

I haven't seen Kathy in a while, and since our last lunch date, she's traveled to a quilt retreat and I've been doing my "thing" around the farmhouse. I can't wait to hear all about the retreat, and I'm hoping she'll bring whatever she made to show me. She asked me to bring the spool animals with me so she can see them in person. I'm sure we'll have a great visit, and I'll try to remember to get a photo (at least of her with the spoolies) for my post tomorrow.

Our classmate dinner is at the usual place, and we never know exactly how many will attend until they show up. Of course, I'll get their photo, too.

Last stop before I come home will be to another friend's home who offered her collection of mini thread spools to me. I'm trading a bag of quilting cotton scraps in exchange, as she's also a quilter.

It's going to be a busy day, so I have a few things to accomplish before I go. Handsome will be home with the girls today, but I'll be sure to bring treats home for him, too.

Have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow with photographs to share! See you then.

April Classmate Dinner...

Back row: Al, Donna, Bruce, Max, Janet and Jeff. Front row: Cal, Brad, Deb, Mary and John

The weather was perfect for dinner next to the lake yesterday. Our regular spot for dinner is a restaurant located right along the south shore of Lake Winnebago, and it was so nice to see moving water where there was ice only a short time ago.

We had eleven classmates in attendance, and as always, we spent the time sharing stories, family news, and other interesting (to us) things. Seems health is always a subject, too. "Did you hear about...?" "How is <insert spouse name here>?" You know. Thankfully, conversation soon turns to something other than our shared aches and pains, and "How did we get old so fast?". Things that comes from life and times shared.

Our meals together usually last about two hours, and just like the old folks we used to giggle about (Early Bird Diners), we were all heading home by 5 pm. Rather than talking about the old times, we're busy making new memories we'll be able to look back on in the years ahead. Of course, we took this photograph to share in our classmate Facebook page, and to have a record of this month's gathering. We'll do it all over again in May.

March Classmate Dinner...

We had a larger group this month, and we celebrated the Birthday of one of our group. Dan (center front in the blue plaid shirt) turned seventy. Because my birthday is in December, I'm older than many of my classmates. We'll be celebrating more of them in the coming months, but yesterday was Dan's day.

One of the gals left before we got to taking our monthly photograph, but we managed to snap a few before the group broke up for the night.

I spent the morning and early afternoon making cinnamon rolls, and was extremely gratified that all of them sold, with the exception of one pack of two. The rest were packs of four. I stopped at work on my way home and gave my boss, Kim the last package. When someone asked her if it was her birthday, she said, "No. Donna just loves me." She's right. I've known her since she was six or seven and it feels like we're family.

Now that our party is behind me, I'll be concentrating on packaging up all the giveaway gifts, and the extra something I'll be sending to those who shared their mailing addresses. Once that's finished, I'd really like to try to do a little needlework. We'll have to see how that works out.

February Classmate Dinner...

Front Row (l-r) John, Brad, Deb N., Bruce, Julie and Dave. Back Row: Mary, Al, Dan, Donna, Deb B., and Cal

Last night was our monthly classmate dinner. One more attended - a good friend, Paula came from Georgia to visit her mom. She didn't stay to eat with us (or to get in our monthly group photograph), but we did have a chance to visit before she had to leave. She's planning to be back in a couple months and we'll try to plan dinner around her dates so she can join us next time.

As we were chatting, she asked how long we'd been doing this. She was under the impression that we all still got together to plan the next reunion, and that we were having business meetings. We explained that after our reunion we missed our monthly gatherings, so we started a once a month dinner date. She asked how long we'd been doing this, and one of the guys said, "Over a year now." I was surprised. I hadn't thought about it, but he was right. Time flies when you're having fun, and apparently it flies faster when you get to be our ages. We must all be enjoying it though, because we scheduled next month's before we hugged and parted ways.

Oh, and one of our classmates celebrated his Birthday in Florida yesterday, so he'd sent a message to one of the gals asking if we could Facetime him when we all got to the restaurant. She got him on the phone, handed it around, and each of us wished him a Happy Birthday. I actually think we just may have made his day. Fun stuff.

I'm going to stay indoors today - except to let the girls out when they need to. I'm just going to sit and stitch or make another wee spool animal as I'll have a long day tomorrow. I'll tell you about that later. I also have to make some dog treats because somebody has a Birthday here on Saturday. You'll have to wait until then to find out who. hee hee

December Classmate Gathering...

Back Row (l-r): Ken, Donna, Jeff, Deb, Kathy, Dan, John and Jay. Front Row (l-r): Julie, Bruce, Janet, Deb, Brad

Last night, I went to bed happy tired. I got up early in the morning and made three dozen cinnamon rolls. I got them frosted just in time to drop off some rolls at work, and get to the restaurant for our classmate get together with the rest of them. Thankfully, I came home empty-handed. As usual, we had a great group, and we spent lots of time gabbing, laughing, and eating great food. I look forward to seeing them every month. 

I'll be busy with the elves today, so I'm going to keep this short. I have lots to do and plan to keep my blinders on for the next few days. You can count on me to share what I get done, and what's left to do. Nothing like waiting until (nearly) the last minute, right? I seem to work best under a wee bit of pressure. See you tomorrow.

It Was A Very Great Day...

Back Row: (l-r) Tom, Dick, Cal, Me, Dan, Sheree, Bruce and Julie. Front Row: Max, Brad, Mary, Deb N. Deb. B and Janet

After running errands (and my hair appointment), I met up with classmates for our November dinner gathering. We had a total of fifteen this time, with one missing from the photograph. I was so happy to see more couples join us, too. The more, the merrier, I say!

We had our photo taken, and chose our next date, hugged and wished each other Happy Thanksgiving before breaking up for another month.  It really was lovely.

 

This is what my hair looked as I was getting ready to leave to run errands. Thanks to Handsome, we have recorded the longest my hair has been since 2016, when we first moved to Florida. I began the "growing" process in January of this year.

When I got to Wendi's salon, we had a discussion about my current time requirements to wash and style, as well as the issue I have with curls. My sister, Jan has very curly hair, and she'd been giving me tips, but it all required time I'd rather spend in other ways. Having had an all-encompassing walk around the issue, I came to a decision...

For anyone who didn't think there were natural curls in this head of hair, I present Exhibit One. This was freshly washed and had no style agents. Just my hair (which you can see, still has plenty of the dark hair I inherited from Dad). Wendi worked in increments, in case I changed my mind, but really the decision was locked in and by this point, there was no turning back.

After Wendi was finished, I stood up and turned around to thank her and see what the back looked like. Three people in the waiting area all immediately complimented me! I knew I'd made the right decision, and I really couldn't stop smiling. Ahhhh, Vanity. Thy name is woman. sigh

I wanted to take a photograph before I got back home after dinner. It would have been dark by then, so I chose instead the highly stylized, car interior shot for you. Short and sassy again. I'm one happy gal.

Baking today. Bread and cinnamon rolls are on the agenda. It's a perfect day for it, as we'll be getting our first snow, likely to fall all day. It will be nice and warm in the farmhouse, and the smell of bread will fill the air. And I swear, before this day is over, I'm going to get some stitching in, too!

October Classmate Dinner...

Back row: l-r Tom, Max, Donna, Brad, Al, Cal, Dan and John. Front Row: l-r Janet, Kathy, Deb B, Julie, Deb N. and Mary

Fourteen of us gathered to share a meal last night. We had a great time, catching up on the events of the past month, and welcomed new classmates to the group. Our reunion committee members are the core group - who attend as schedules allow - and then there are other classmates who drop in from time to time. It was really wonderful to see folks who hadn't joined us before, but saw the posts I put up in our Facebook group and decided to pop in.

We spend a couple hours together, laugh, share stories, and eat our meals. Afterward, we choose our next month's date, hugs are exchanged, and we say goodbye until we're together again. It really is lovely, and we mentioned that when we're all together, we're really all just kids again. We don't see the gray hair, extra wrinkles or pounds, and our joints aren't quite as sore. We're just old friends who look forward to our visits.

So, we've chosen next month's date - the week before Thanksgiving. We're all here and relatively healthy, and the way time flies these days, we'll see each other again before we know it.

Happy Halloween to my friends who celebrate. Happy Fall to those who don't.