Great Friends & Good Food...

Back Row: Bruce P., Deb B., Julie F., Mary S., Lisa B. and Dan N. Front Row: Donna L., Brad S., and Deb N.

It was so nice to get into my Explorer, drive to town, and spend a few hours with old friends.We caught up on all the news I've been missing, and they all asked about my surgery and how I was doing. We all have our aches and pains to share, so it was almost like going around the table to each person could share their current malady. Thankfully, we all have more fun things to talk about, too, and our conversations quickly turned to more interesting topics. It really was good to see them again after missing two monthly dinners. 

We set the date for our next dinner date, hugged and said our goodbyes, and were on our way home by 5 pm. (I know. That sounds so funny to me, too.) I brought home most of my dinner, and a meal for Handsome, so we sat down together, too after I got back.

I completed my stitching on the brooch early in the afternoon, so I'll do the finishing work on it today. My plan is to present it to Jenna tomorrow. I'll take photos, and a short video to share so you can see it. See you tomorrow!

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.

In Memoriam...

Karen C.  1955-2025

Today, my former classmate and friend, Karen will be laid to rest. She lost her husband a number of years ago, welcomed a granddaughter named for him, and celebrated her seventieth birthday in January. The day after Mother's Day, she lost her battle with cancer.

She was one of the hard working members of our high school fiftieth reunion committee, and until she became too ill, would always join us for our monthly dinner gatherings. The last time I saw her and spoke with her was at her birthday party. She was frail then, but put on a brave face for everyone who came to celebrate.  

Karen leaves behind four children and their spouses; three grandchildren; her siblings and their spouses. Her legacy will live on through them.

I'll be attending her visitation and funeral this morning along with so many others who will miss her smile, her kindness, her generosity, and her gentle spirit. She's reunited with her dear husband and is now whole and healthy again. Rest well, dear friend. I'll miss you.

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.

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!

September Classmate Gathering...

l-r: back-John, Jeff, Donna, Ken, Mary, Deb B. front-Cal, Al, Bruce Missing: Dick and Mike S.

Another great meal shared with old friends. Two of our classmates left before we took our photo. We always take one right before we part ways, and they took off before the rest of us. We'll remind the newcomers at the beginning of dinner to hang around at the end next time.

I sat next to Deb and Mary, and we agreed that we really love these monthly dinners. Old friendships rekindled as we planned for the reunion, and then tended each month since as we share a meal together. We all look forward to these dinners. Not everyone can attend every month, but that's okay, too. It gives us new things to discuss the next time they join us. We sure have fun, though, and there is always much-needed laughter...and more than a little story-telling.

Bruce is a huge fan of my cinnamon rolls, so he always orders some before our dinner nights. Yesterday was no exception, so, because I want them to be fresh, I got up very early yesterday to "make the donuts". I made a double batch of dough, which yielded four trays of four large rolls. I took an extra tray, which was grabbed almost before I could finish offering it. I guess I should make more next time!

Actually, our next gathering will be on October 30th, so I'm thinking I'll plan ahead and make frosted sugar cookies in the shape of a pumpkins, black cats, or ghosts. (I'll need to get new cookies cutters, because I don't have those shapes.) I'd also have to start the weekend before so I have plenty to frost the day of our dinner. Could be fun!

Handsome doesn't have any appointments today, so my plan is to spend the day needle dancing. We'll see how far I get on my birds. Either way, it will be fun to just sit and stitch for a bit.

August Classmate Gathering...

(l-r: Back Row: Cal, Deb B., Karen S., me, Bruce. Front Row: Brad, Deb O., John and Mary)

I woke up yesterday morning on a mission. I had orders for cinnamon rolls to be delivered to classmates when we got together for early dinner yesterday. I frosted the last batch twenty minutes before I had to leave to meet up with them.

In the end, I'd made five pans of four rolls, and another with only two rolls in it (those were for Handsome and me). I sold four and took the last one up the hill to Andy and Shelly on my way home.

As always, I made sure to get a photo of the group before we parted ways, and we set the date for our September dinner. I always post the photo in our class group on Facebook, so next month we may have more people able to attend. It's always a great time, and there are always hugs before we go our separate ways.

I'll debut that finished strawberry tomorrow. I know you're anxious to see it done. It seems to have taken forever this time. I guess it's my short attention span these days. Oh, Look!! A squirrel!..... lol

June Classmate Dinner...

Our monthly classmate dinner has become quite a hit, with more people joining each month. There were twelve of us yesterday, with another classmate who saw us jumping in for the photograph.

L-R back row: Al, Claire, Janet, Max, me, Bruce, Mary, and Dan  L-R front row: Karen S., Julie, Karen C., Deb B. and Brad.

Brad recently had a birthday and Bruce had been coveting my cinnamon rolls since seeing a post I put up on Facebook last month, so I baked a tray of 15 rolls for our gathering (plus a tray of 6 for home) in the morning. I frosted them about a half hour before heading to the restaurant. I was quite gratified when everyone tucked into theirs after dinner. They were a huge hit, and I even have orders (they're going to buy them from me!) for next month. Actually, there were four rolls left at the end of our meal, and Bruce snagged those to take home, handing me money before we parted. I may be onto a little side business here!

We love taking these photographs each month to capture these moments in time. Hard for me to believe that we range in age from 68 to nearly 70. We sure don't act or feel like it (most of the time). When we get together, it's like we go back in time for a little while and forget all our cares. It's really nice.

We set our date before parting ways and are looking forward to seeing each other next month. I wish all of you could join us. We're a really fun group of friends to hang around with.

Dinner With Old Friends...

Our school reunion committee from last year enjoyed being together so much that we try to get together monthly now. We had a smaller group yesterday, as others had prior commitments, but we managed to bring in another school pal who wanted to reconnect. We've already set the date for next month, and hope others will be able to join us again.

(Front row: l-r Cal, Brad, Deb, Julie and Mary. Back row: Janet, Jay (Max), Bruce and me.)

I did manage to stitch during the day, and finished the outline on another frog. One more to go, which I'll do before I have to go to work for a few hours. I'll get the rest of the details done this weekend, and then I can start filling them in with all the sparkly bits. I'll share my progress photos soon.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend! See you tomorrow.

Party of Fourteen...

Last night was our wrap-up dinner to close out our work as a committee for the class reunion. We all agreed that we've renewed old friendships, and that we'll continue to gather from time to time just to enjoy each other's company. Two members couldn't make it, but I'm sure they'll join us again in the future.

We only have a few loose ends that couldn't be tied into a neat, little bow, but those things will be taken care of very soon. Our classmates pictured l-r (front row) Julie, Dan and Pat. (second row) Mary, Janet, Brad, Max, Karen S., Cal, Deb B., Karen C., Al, Me, and Deb O. Missing are Rem and Mickey.

This is the most dedicated, hard working, fun committee I've ever had the pleasure of being associated with, and I'm truly honored to have been their leader for the past fourteen months. I almost wish we could do it all over again! Almost. Thanks to all that, together, we could help create wonderful new memories for us and all our classmates.

Friday Night Mixer...

 

This will be a quick post today as I'll be off and running early today. Lots to do before this evening's celebration. I'm going to the bakery to pick up our sheet cake and cupcakes, and then heading to the venue to help the committee with set up for tonight.

Last night's mixer was a huge success! We had over 100 people there. Everyone engaging with old school chums, and reminiscing. It was wonderful, and many stayed until after 10 pm. Handsome and I left around 9:30. I'd been greeting each classmate and was starting to get a scratchy throat from all the conversation, so it was time to go home to a hot cuppa tea with honey, and then off to bed.

There were a group of us from the old neighborhood and grade school, so we got one of our mates to take a picture of all of us together. Some traveled great distances to be here. l-r: Dennis from CA, Dave from TN, me, my BFF Cyd from GA, Dick from Fond du Lac, Dan from Fond du Lac, and Chip from MN. 

More of "Old Home Week" on Monday. I'll see about getting more photographs to share with you. I really didn't have time to take any myself, so I'll see what we can come up with from the group. Gotta run!