A.W.O.L.

I can't really account for where I've been.  Just here. Staying mostly busy. Waiting out August. Watching storms on the teevee. Trying not to spend money. Enjoying a visit from Lauren. Typing and correcting the garden club yearbook. Meeting with the garden club officers. Getting ready to start up a new season of senior church activity. Taking a day trip to a plant nursery.

Tomorrow we will travel to a funeral. The mother of my sister-in-law. It was sudden. Not quite expected. She was wonderful. She is missed.

Macho is taking the day off. It will be a nice, long weekend.

Shalom.

Adventures on a Wednesday. And other stuff.

On Sunday we celebrated 40 years of marriage. 

So much of our coffers have been thrown into our kitchen this summer, we just haven't felt like spending any more. So we opted to have a nice dinner Saturday evening, here in town, to celebrate. 

This is my favorite local "go to" place for a fancy celebratory meal. 

Macho ate the chicken and waffles. I enjoyed a shrimp and bacon dish.

On Sunday we grabbed a quick sandwich in town and went to the movies. We watched "Dunkirk". It was pretty okay. 

It was a really happy day, our anniversary. At mass our priest called us up and gave the nicest blessings for our marriage. We had expected that. But when he was finished he looked at us with a twinkly and said, "and now you may kiss your bride!" Well. Macho turned 14 shades of red and purple. The congregation laughed and clapped. And. We kissed. 

After mass we visited our friend, Tony. Some of you know his story.

Alzheimers. And. Pancreatic cancer. 

We love Tony.

On Wednesday I attended my Master Gardner meeting where one of those present asked if anyone had ever tasted a pawpaw. I hadn't and so I did. And i liked it. 

She had picked them up at the butterfly garden, as there are two pawpaw trees there. On my way home I swung by the butterfly garden...

...and picked up these. The taste is hard to describe. Somewhere between a peach, mango, and persimmon. The texture gets really pudding like when it is very ripe. The seeds are large. 

It just goes to show - there's always something!

And on that note I must go get a load of clothes going.

A quick invite to my friends to come over for lunch next week has fallen through, as most all of them will be out of town.

Even Macho will be out of town next week. 

But. I will seek adventure. It may be in my own back yard, but it's out there!

Shalom.

It is finished.

We started in January. That month we met with the contractor and cabinet man. Before and after that I was busy selecting the materials I wanted for our kitchen remodel. Then we waited. 

May 13 I started packing up our kitchen. The contractor had given me the heads up that demolition would commence the next week. On May 18 our contractor plus one took everything out our kitchen except the refrigerator and stove. 

He said 6 weeks. Worst case scenario. 

Ha. 

Today marks twelve weeks. 

The electrician arrived at 7:45 this morning to reinstall our hood/vent, change one pendant light (that had the wrong color cord), and replace an electric socket cover the the tile guy broke. 

And so.

It is complete!

And. 

We love it!

Good things come to him who waits. 

Shalom!

The afterglow.

The wedding could not have been more perfect. 

On Friday we honored the bride with a lunch at Mary Mahoney's in Biloxi. The bubbly flowed, the flowers were gorgeous, the food was delicious. Here is bride Margaret and her almost 97 year old grandmother. (My Mom.)

Friday night we attended the rehearsal dinner. Again - delicious food, lovely table decor, and family and friends aplenty!

Family.

On Saturday we joined brothers and sisters in the crow's nest at a restaurant named Felix's. I tasted their barbecue shrimp and it gets a big thumbs up! I enjoyed a shrimp/oyster poboy for my lunch. 

It was a beach-y place with lots of nice breeze. 

The wedding ceremony was deeply emotional. Not crying, just very sincere and special. Two maternal grandfathers presided, one a retired Methodist minister, one a Baptist minister. They each were so sweet in their separate remarks and had some lines of the ceremony they delivered in unison. 

The reception was ultra fun! We stayed on the dance floor until the band packed up! Good food, fun dancing, good times, man. 

Nana looked exceptionally lovely in her wedding attire. She attended the wedding and was feeling well enough to go to the reception where she stayed long enough to visit with the bride and eat some wedding cake!

Special moment between Nana and Margaret.

Macho and I showed our skills. Not for long. The floor got crowded quickly and stayed that way most of the night. But we hung in there and partied with the best of them. 

Margaret and Nathan's happily ever after party was something else! 

Shalom.

Goodbye July.

We said goodbye to the month of July with a visit from The Super Carrot. She arrived on a Sunday. After her family dropped her off we had some fun. We dropped by the goat farm where the goats enthusiastically vied for the bread she offered. They butted heads and licked her fingers. We love doing that. The we came home and played ball with Granddaddy outside for a good while. She suggested we make a list of all our activities for the following day.

So we did. After her bath we watched the movie "Trolls" and she almost made it to the end. I could tell she was sleepy and she readily agreed it was bed time. 

Monday we just followed the list. 

First stop was delightful. There were butterflies aplenty at the garden. Swallowtails and monarchs. We had a good stroll on the Riverwalk, too.

Self at the butterfly garden. 

The we spent a gift card at the Krispy Kreme. She had the cookie dough donut with sprinkles. I had the New York cheesecake donut. We shared a chocolate milk. 

Filled with sugar we headed to the park by the hospital. She really knows how to strike the pose. #missalabama #missamerica

The temperature was moderate. In the shade felt pretty good. But when it got close to noon and the sun was over head it was time to move on... 

...to McDonald's. The pose was totally her idea. 

She played at the indoor playground and then we headed home. We rested for a short while then headed to the YMCA pool. We didn't stay too long because it was very sunny. We had plenty sun screen but I don't like to chance the sun burn. 

It went too quickly and her mom was ready early so I drove her to the half way point where we usually meet. 

Tomorrow she starts kindergarten. She has a loose tooth. 

Her brother and sister will both be in middle school. 

Her cousin, Peyton, started first grade on Friday. 

I will post later about this last weekend and the new month. 

Shalom.