who has your back

 The weekend started out wonderfully. My first best friend, whom I've known since I was just three years old, had her annual girlfriend's spring solstice dinner on Saturday. I always leave my house early to check out some of the stores in my friend's city neighborhood before going to her house. The city streets were crowded and I couldn't find a parking spot, so I parked on a side street and then enjoyed a long, brisk walk to the stores. It was so different walking amongst throngs of people and noisy streets full of honking cars and buses than the quiet country streets I'm used to. I enjoyed the change of pace for the time being, but I know I couldn't live in that kind of environment.

I went into a small Mediterranean grocery store and came out with all kinds of goodies: homemade pita bread, dolma (vegetarian stuffed grape leaves), tabbouleh, olives, eggplant dip, and spinach and feta stuffed pies. I also went to one of my favorite resale stores...I'm always more enamored with the architecture and ambiance of this place than what they have for sale. This resale shop is in a 1915 building that used to be a theater.

It was then on to the gathering of beautiful women and a lovely feast. We keep the food healthy and vegan and the wine and laughter (and sometimes tears) flow. Of course, being a gathering of women, we talk about anything and everything. It's a safe place to share intimacies and feel uplifted and supported by friends who love you unconditionally.

After getting home late and finally making it into bed, little did I know that the start to my wonderful weekend would change in an instant. Just two hours into my sleep, my phone rang. It was my son, calling me to tell me some bad news. I don't want to put the details of his news out on a public forum...he is fine physically, so no worries about that. But it was something that shook me up so badly, that I couldn't sleep. Especially when he kept calling me every hour to rant and rave and cry. He's had a tough 2016 so far with really crappy things happening to him. On top of it, hubby is having some genetic testing done today that might result in some scary news.

Sunday dawned and having had only two hours of sleep, I basically fed the cats, did some laundry and not much else. I stayed in my pajamas and read the Sunday paper. Mom surprised me by coming over in the afternoon to give me love and support. She stayed a couple of hours and it really helped. I felt better after she left. If you're reading this, thank you, Mom. 

On Monday, the sun came out and I took a walk around my neighborhood. There is something about the sunshine and fresh air that makes you feel a little better. Lilies and daffodils are making their way out of the soil, the lilac bushes are budding, and the robins are back, hopping their fat, orange-breasted bodies all over the place.

In the meantime, I received supportive messages from friends, and even an offer of help from a woman that I worked with years ago and see only one-two times a year. On the other hand, those whom I expected messages from never said a word. Funny how life works that way sometimes, isn't it? 

We met up with T last night for dinner at a restaurant halfway between our house and his residence at school. It was so good to see him and hug him and for the three of us to be able to talk in person. We reassured him that the three of us were a team and that we'd always have his back. The three of us have been through much worse: the death of our oldest son/T's brother back in September 2009. If we can make it through that, we can make it through anything, right?

 We also received a bit of positive news regarding the incident that happened to T, so all our hearts were a bit lighter.

I woke up this morning to find this message from my T on Facebook:

"Life has been kicking me while I'm down lately. But I am very thankful for all my friends and family that have been supporting me along the way, especially my parents. Without them in my life I would be nothing. When you think life is at its worst, just remember all the good things you have that other people might not."

Amen.

With gratitude for all my blogger friends, too. Thank you.

Sharing at Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday.

inspiration for a lace curtain and gratitude

My front door has a decorative glass window that brings needed light into my darkish living room. Even though the glass is beveled with metalwork in it, I always worried a bit about the privacy factor. You can't see into the house from the street during the day, but at night when the lights are on in the living room, it's a little spooky knowing someone can somewhat see into the house. I also didn't like knowing that a stranger could walk right up to the front door and look straight into my house. A bit creepy, right?

Then I saw Alice's entryway and front door. I loved how she had a lace panel hung up across the glass window in her door and wanted to do that with mine. I asked my mom if she had a lace panel that she wasn't using and yep, she did. Mom joined us last night for dinner and brought me the lace panel. Using the inspiration from Alice, I hung the lace across a couple of 3M hooks, tied it in the middle with some twine and am really happy with the results. Of course, the lace panel isn't totally fool-proof and there's still the small side window if someone really wanted to look into my house, but it's an improvement. Plus, it looks pretty!

The curtain added some needed softness to this part of the living room, too.

Tim's been home from school since Thursday as he's on Spring Break. It's been a whirlwind of taking his car to the mechanic for some brake work, his phone with a broken screen to a repair shop, shopping for jeans and shoes, extra cooking, cleaning and laundry ~ but I'm enjoying every moment while I can. We visited our favorite coffee shop this afternoon and indulged in iced mochas. As we drove home with the sun roof open to the glorious, sunny sky, the radio blasting The Doors, and groaning to each other how our tummies ached from the chocolately caffeinated goodness, my mama heart was filled with gratitude. Tomorrow morning I will make my "famous" breakfast casserole and then Tim will be packing up his stuff to head back to school. And I will be heading to a bread-making class. I'll tell you all about that in my next post. In the meantime, I hope your weekend has been filled with inspiration and gratefulness, too.

giving thanks

 We had such a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house.

Mom always outdoes herself with homemade everything, including

the rolls. I helped out by making roasted carrots and parsnips, corn casserole,
 and cranberry-orange relish. I love this photo of Tim watching  his grandma cooking
 - he was so hungry and kept picking at the turkey and asking  when dinner was going
 to be ready. I think my mom's little dog, LuLu was hoping for a turkey handout, too.
No such luck. People food makes her sick.

It was a small bunch of us this year. Brian, me, our family friend, Glenn, cousin

Greg, my mom...and Tim was taking the photo. Sorry for the bad quality of

all these photos - I was using my phone.

Mom made a homemade pecan pie for desert. Her recipe is in this cookbook from 

1978. We lived in Russell County, Kentucky back then. I'm not too fond of pecan pie, 

but it's one of Brian's favorites.

 We really missed those relatives who chose to go their own ways this

year (gotta love family drama) and those who are no longer with us on

this earth...my dad; our son, Phil; my great-uncle; and just this year, Brian's

sister, my grandpa, and my great-aunt.

PS - I love this man and am so grateful for him.

No Thanksgiving day or Black Friday shopping here for us. I don't believe in 

supporting retailers who chose to be open on Thanksgiving day, which forces

 their employees to take time away from family and/or friends. And you couldn't 

pay me to shop with hoards of people all fighting over the latest gadget and deal. 

Not to mention, we're on a very tight budget and don't have the extra shopping

money, anyway! Other news: our furnace went out on Thanksgiving morning.

Cousin Greg brought three space heaters to my mom's house for us yesterday,

so even though our house was very cold, we were fine sleeping last night.

A repairman came today and discovered it was the gas valve. Four hundred

dollars later, our 25-year old furnace is back in business. Even though that expense

 really hurt, we are thankful that it wasn't worse - such as replacing the furnace itself. 

This day of gratitude wouldn't be complete without me thanking all of you for

reading my blog and being so supportive. My life is enriched because of you.