Make New Friends, But Keep the Old. . .

"Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver and the other gold."
----a song I learned in Girl Scouts

I love old friends!! This evening, I met Christy and Abby for dinner and we had such a nice time visiting over a bowl? several bowls of chips and hot sauce.

Christy and I have known each other most of our lives. Our parents were best of friends before either of us was born and our families spent lots of time together when we were very young. As we grew up, our families remained in touch, but since Christy was older than me, we had our own sets of friends. After getting married, she and her husband moved away and we stayed connected only by the friendship of our parents. (here's a picture of Christy, her brother and me in the back--we had lots of sleep-overs while our parents played bridge).I first met Abby when she was a brand new teacher at my school. At that time, she was fresh out of school and teaching kindergarten at a challenging school. I was married, had two children and taught special needs preschoolers at the same school. I don't really remember how, but we became "teacher friends" and then friends away from school, too, despite our age difference.

Fast forward to a few years ago. Abby was teaching at one of the private schools to which I was assigned for inclusion!! We immediately re-kindled our friendship. Shortly thereafter, Christy and her husband moved back to town and she became the preschool director at the same school!! In the years that have passed since then, she and I have shared the loss of our mothers and the loss of my dad. While Abby is in a different stage of life, we all seem to find common ground in our teaching experiences and values.

And every so often, when school gets crazy and life gets crazier, the three of us gather for a "Meeting" (that's what Abby's little girl calls it) where we can catch up with what is going on with each other and enjoy visiting. Our time together usually stretches to at least a couple of hours (and has been known to last even longer a time or two) and good food is secondary to our conversation. While we don't necessarily do things together socially on a regular basis and all of us have other "best friends", there is something so refreshing and safe about our get-togethers. We have a mutual respect for each other, share similar values and genuinely care about each other and what's going on in our lives. I love old friends!

Antiques and friends---what could be better??

"Friends don't let friends shop alone." ---anonymous

Spring break began for me a few days ago and I have been enjoying the wonderful weather and the deck behind my house. Emmi is having so much fun exploring and playing in the backyard now that I have it mostly "puppy proof". All too soon, the holiday will be over and work will resume, so I plan to enjoy every minute of the vacation.

And this year, that means that I will be traveling down to south Texas with Valine, her aunt Pam and friends. Pam and her friends began an annual tradition of attending the RoundTop Antiques Weekend several years ago and invited Valine to go with them 2 years ago. Then, last year, they graciously invited me to spend the weekend with them, too. We stayed at a great little farmhouse bed and breakfast and spent each day perusing the treasures at the countless booths.

Because they have been going for a while, they have their own rituals that Valine and I have joined in (you know, "when in Rome, . . ."). Some are kind of corny and not necessarily my style, (like wearing matching shirts and even hats while shopping), but others include sharing our treasures on the last night and eating some great food. I have to admit that even the pink cowboy hats played a part in making it a memorable weekend. We have green polo shirts to wear this year and are supposed to bring our cowboy hats back, along with the hot pink t-shirts that say "Friends Don't Let Friends Shop Alone".

Last year, I made gifts for each person--oilcloth pockets to hang on our shopping carts. They turned out great and were a hit with everyone. Since I still have oilcloth left over, I had big plans to make "wallets" for each person, but as the time is drawing near, I have amended those plans to a less ambitious project. I found these really pretty tissue packs in the dollar bins at Michael's and now I'm putting the finishing touches on the oilcloth tissue holders.

These tissue packs open at the top, so I made a little velcro flap there to accommodate this and since we will be keeping all our belongings in our wire shopping carts, I even included a little strap that can attach to the side. Though not terribly complicated, they did turn out cute and I hope everyone enjoys them. Now if I get started a little earlier, maybe next year, those wallets will become a reality!

Instagram vs. Facebook + a Challenge

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.   Well, actually, it is more of a like/hate relationship. I find myself constantly on the verge of completing deleting my account, especially lately.  I enjoy re-connecting with old friends, keeping up with friends and family,  and the easy access to information about scheduled events in which I participate.  But, I despise the bombardment of advertising, the plethora of erroneous information that is presented as good and true and the political posts of friends, regardless of which way they lean.  I sometimes hide the posts of FB friends who are particularly offensive, but more often than not, I just scroll past many posts, looking for someone's vacation pictures or news about my next workout or high school reunion.   I am a bit "old-school" in thinking that political opinions and such are private matters and a dissenting post by a friend on Facebook is not going to change anybody's mind about an issue---in fact, it generally does just the opposite by making them even more set on their own opinion.  (And it certainly makes me less likely to read anything they post at all).

Therefore, I find myself enjoying Instagram more and more as my primary social media platform.   Because it is visually based, there is not a lot of room for ugly political posts or arguments between people.  I know some exist, but they are generally limited to comments of strangers that are hidden from my day-to-day view.

On Instagram, I can view family vacation photos of friends, keep up with what's going on--from the ordinary to the adventure, and even find inspiring photos and quotes.  I can choose who to follow and who follows me, and I find myself inspired to see the beauty rather than the ugliness in this world.  There are no advertisements on Instagram (at least not yet), yet if I feel inclined to purchase something pictured, most websites are easily accessible through comments and hashtags.  I do try to protect the privacy of my young grandchildren, and rarely post their faces without the express permission of their parents.  I also try to never post a location when a child's face is showing because you just never know.  Recently, I have had a couple of spam comments or "likes" on one of my photos, but as soon as I notice them, I block them from my account to try to keep things safe.

And speaking of Instagram, toomorrow is the first day of August (how is that even possible??) and it is time for a new photo Challenge.  August is hot in this part of the country, and in many cases, school begins in just a few short days.  For me, August brings the first day of my official retirement and I hope there will be a few fun adventures in store for me, and you as well.  If you'd like to give this a try, simply post a photo each day and label it with the hashtag listed below.  (I generally click on the photo below and choose to save it to my phone so that I have it readily available when I forget that day's prompt)   Some days, the prompts are easy and I immediately see a way to capture it, but other days are more difficult and I have to play catch-up a few days later once inspiration strikes.  That's the nice thing about this challenge---it really doesn't matter.  :-)

If you are new here and you'd like to play along, leave me a comment below with your Instagram name so that I can follow you.  Your photos might just be the inspiration that I need to complete that day's challenge!

Be Mine

I've worked with children most of my life, so when I began my student teaching years ago, I wasn't at all surprised by their anticipation of various holidays. Halloween, came first and the kids planned their costumes for weeks. And, of course, notes to Santa were written and gift lists were compared and discussed in the weeks leading up to Christmas. But, I was totally unprepared for the excitement that Valentine's Day presented.

Even though there was no character dressed in a costume, the children had so much fun picking out the perfect box of cards from the store to exchange with their friends.  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised--I vividly remember how much I loved making my own Valentines out of doilies and red paper and saving the prettiest ones for my best friends. Valentine's Day was indeed a very special time.

Toddler D has no idea what Valentine's Day is about yet, but I thought he might enjoy the process of decorating cards for his friends. I picked up some supplies at our local Dollar Tree--a couple of packs of cards, heart stickers, stampers and his favorite, some transportation stickers--and showed him how how to use all of the supplies.

I loved watching him work, carefully peeling away the backing of the stickers. Little dimpled hands are the best!!

The stampers were his favorite!

Later, he helped me write his name on the inside of each card--he can make a couple of the letters without any help! Then, we bagged them up so he could take them to school last week. I can't wait to see how he reacts to receiving Valentines from his friends!

Happy National Best Friends Day

Today, June 8th, is National Best Friends Day! As Sew4Home described it over on her blog--- Your best friend: the person you turn to at your highest and lowest points. The one who's always there with advice, empathy and unconditional love. That special someone you want by your side for all your greatest adventures: such as seeing how many mini cupcakes you can consume in one sitting. It seems only fitting to show a couple of pictures from last weekend's outing to Canton with one of my very best friends, Valine! We joined her aunt Pam on Friday night and after a wonderful Mexican dinner, they took us on a short tour of Kilgore and nearby small towns. My dad was in the oil/gas business, so I knew that Kilgore was a "hopping place" once upon a time, but it was nice to see that is has maintained it's small-town charm with a quaint downtown area. Did you know that Kilgore is the home of the "Million Dollar Acre"? Here we are visiting the memorial site.

We spent Saturday at Canton once again and had such a great time together. It was hot!!! VERY hot, but lots of water and miles of vintage goodness kept us somewhat distracted from the triple digit heat.


These guys were lucky enough to find a cool spot in one of the pavillions---but they looked like they'd been sitting there for a LONG time!


The variety of offerings was great, of course---flying pigs . . .
. . . to flower-filled washtubs.
You can't get much better than Canton. (especially if you're with your best friend)
On the drive home, my bestie patiently waited while I pulled over on the side of the road to capture the Black-Eyed Susans that were springing up everywhere.

Valentine Party Fun

This afternoon, the members of the Good News Sunday School class of Noel UMC gathered at my house for the first time for a Valentine Party. My good friend (and our Sunday School Class's angel), Leah, helped me pick people up and assisted with whatever was needed.

Just before I left to pick up friends, I took set out all the food and snapped a few pictures of the food and decor.

Almost all of the party goods were picked up at Dollar Tree---they had a great selection of doilies, cups, plates, napkins, straws, cupcake liners and even decorative toothpicks.

To make this garland, I simply sewed many of these embellishments onto a piece of string with a zig-zag stitch.

Everyone was anxious to eat as soon as they arrived, so we enjoyed the really tasty cupcakes---the sugar-free ones were everyone's favorites!

After the food, we moved to the table for a game of Valentine Bingo. I printed out the great freebies offered by Confetti Sunshine and we used candy for the markers. While this is a game that is routinely played by many, I was reminded of how special even simple, common things are to my friends.

The favorite activity of the day was the photo booth that I set up in my hallway prior to everyone's arrival.

I used a couple of plastic tablecloths hung from a tension rod and decorated them with more garlands made of hearts. Using hats, boas and other fund props, everyone enjoyed plenty of laughs as they hammed it up for the camera.

Finally, we decorated travel mugs to take home as a souvenir.

It was lots of fun and I'm so thankful for the perspective offered by these special friends.

Welcome to 30 Days of Thankful

Welcome to "30 Days of Thankful", an Instagram photo challenge among friends that begins tomorrow.  It's easy and fun and we hope you'll join us in a month of appreciating a few of the things that we sometimes take for granted.  Of course, there are plenty more wonderful things in our lives, but this list will get us started noticing the little things around us.

The rules for the challenge are quite simple:  There really aren't any.  Each morning (hopefully), you will receive an email prompt of something to be thankful for.  As you go about your daily activities, keep your eyes open for opportunities to interpret the prompt with your camera.  I personally use only my phone camera for these challenges, but you are welcome to use whatever you wish.  Sometimes, I will give you an example to get you thinking, while other times, I may just list the prompt as a reminder.  I plan to post the prompt here on the blog each morning, so if for some reason the email fails us, just check here.

I know that sometimes life gets way too busy and other things are much more important than an Instagram post, so if that happens, don't despair.  It's fine!   You can catch up later, or not at all.  Like I said, there really aren't any rules.

Well, actually, there is one rule---please be sure to tag your posts with the hashtag #30DaysOfThankful2014.  I generally try to list the prompt itself in ALL CAPS in the caption, along with the hashtag.  Many of you already know each other, but others live in other parts of the country or are "friends of friends".  But, we now all have something in common---this challenge--so click on the hashtag from time to time and see how others are interpreting the prompts.  You might even find a new friend to follow! (There are several people that I follow and have never actually met)

And for those of you that like to know what is coming up so you can plan ahead, here is a list of the prompts for November.   I actually write the emails and posts so far ahead of the time that I can't remember when they are going to actually be posted, so each morning is a surprise to me!

If you want to join us for the first time, leave your email and Instagram username in the comments below and I will add you to the email list.

Weekend With Friends

I should caution you that this post is pretty lengthy.  In fact, several of the next few posts will all probably be lengthy and picture-heavy, but I have some catching up to do.

Several weekends ago, Ron and I spent the weekend with Valine and Kirk.  Way back in the spring, Ron and I had discovered Chicot State Park during a visit with Dan and decided that it would a great place to return to with friends.  After making out reservation months ago, we were all excited to meet up and enjoy a relaxing time together--it really was the first time we've all taken a trip together.  

The cabin we picked was set over the water and featured floor to ceiling windows in the living/dining area (although they badly needed to be cleaned).

Saturday morning, we slept in and then sat back and relaxed while our personal chef prepared a country breakfast.

After breakfast, we showered and headed out for a hike on the trails around the lake.

We took our time, enjoying the cool weather and changing colors of the massive cypress trees.

There were French mulberries everywhere, as well as lots of interesting leaves and other berries, so there was plenty of this going on.

Near the lake, we took a few photos of ourselves.  It looks like a group prayer,

but, they were really preparing for this.

We even set up props for one of the photos! ;-)

We ended up hiking about 4.5 miles, but on the way back, we ran across a couple of people that were training for an upcoming trail run---3 laps around the lake for a total of 62 miles!!!  I cannot even fathom that!!!

Who else but Valine would run across someone she knew out in the woods!

After the hike, we stopped by the Arboretum, which was really nice!

Back at the cabin, we brought out the chips and dip while Valine's soup simmered on the stove.

Shortly after, the boys could be found watching football in the living room.  Ummmmm, make that snoozing through a football game.

Meanwhile, Valine and I spread out our scrapbook supplies on the table and set to work.  She finished up her Week In The Life scrapbook, while I put together all the base pages for my December Daily Album.

The table was still pretty messy at dinner time, so after Kirk grilled some delicious steaks, we  enjoyed them on the coffee table by firelight.

Sunday morning, brought rain and a haze that settled over the lake as we packed up and loaded the cars.  

We had an awesome time together and have decided this needs to be an annual tradition!!

Being in a beautiful place with your best friends?!?!?  It just doesn't get much better than that!!