Oh, baby.....

We were in downtown Houston yesterday, to attend a party given by friends V & S for their son and daughter-in-law who are expecting their first child in July.  V and S are over-the-moon with anticipation over their first grandchild, so much so that S was wearing a pink shirt yesterday, and V had on a pink plaid dress.

V & S booked one of the ballrooms in the Hilton for this party, complete with a live band (great music, but oh so loud).  It was a luncheon, sit-down meal (chicken or salmon) and the food was very good, nice and hot, kept that way on very warm plates.  My estimate is that at least 80 people were there.  We saw some of V & S's friends that we had met at their son's wedding a couple of years ago, plus neighbors from our old subdivision in Clear Lake.  The neighbors still remember our dog Gracie, and it was just about heart-breaking to hear them talk of Gracie. (No wonder we haven't gotten another dog..... somehow, Gracie is still with us even now.)

This celebration yesterday, called a party instead of a baby shower (because all of the husbands were invited...... my husband being among a small number of those who actually attended) turned out to be a jubilee of love and support.  Anyone who meets friends of V & S's immediately knows they are held in high regard.  And one meeting with either of their sons lets you know that both V & S were present-in-every-moment of their sons' upbringing.

Before the guests walked into the beautifully decorated pink ballroom yesterday, we were all asked to write down advice on pink cards, to be given to the soon-to-be new parents.  I wrote the words of Maya Angelou--- "Make sure to always be aware of the looks you give your children....... your eyes should light up with blessings when they walk into the room." 

During the party, a microphone was passed around the room for still more advice for V's son and daughter-in-law.  Friends were telling them to get as much sleep as they could now..... to take time for 'date nights' after the baby is born.... to read to their child every night..... lots of good advice for young parents.  When the microphone came to our table, I told V's son and daughter-in-law this........ "If you want a perfect, perfect child, then just do everything that V & S did."  The room applauded. Without a doubt, I'm not the only one who realizes what a superior parenting job V & S have accomplished with their sons.

There hasn't been one time when we're with V & S and their friends that we haven't felt the love and respect that surrounds them.  If that could be bottled up and sent around the planet, we'd all be living in a very different world.

"Downton Abbey"

Well, better to arrive late at the party than not to arrive at all....... (something Violet, the Dowager Countess might say).

When Downton Abbey began its series on PBS, two friends told me about it....... my friend A in North Carolina, and my friend H right here in town.  Tsk, tsk, said I...... who has time to follow such a series........ we were busy with the chickens and the cats and getting things settled with the house, which seemed to take a while............ moving from a very convenient city to a more secluded countryside did take some adjustments. Besides that, I had watched a similar PBS series years ago, "The Forsyte Saga," so how could anything new top that British offering.

"Downton Abbey" has topped it.

My neighbor across the road happened to get the first season of "Downton" via NetFlix..... she was hooked.  She remembered my fascination with anything British and asked if I'd like to watch the DVDs before she sent them back.  Gladly.  I think I took the first DVD because I needed a break from all the gardening we were doing in the flowerbeds here.

The writing, the cast, the characters, the fashions, the traditions, the scenery, the upstairs/downstairs staff, the Lords and Ladies and their daughters................ hooked, hooked, hooked.  My neighbor bought the complete set of Downton...... she watched it..... I watched it...... her daughter watched it.

I finished the last of the DVDs tonight, and I sat there on the sofa talking to the television "You are kidding me. Tell me that you are kidding me. That did NOT just happen."  Oh yes it did.  I called my neighbor....... and asked if I could come over to return her DVDs and talk about what I'd just watched. I had intentions of inviting her over for tea before the week was out...... but I just couldn't wait. I had tea in the house, but nothing baked.......... but I had to talk about the series.... all three seasons. So I invited myself over..... with an "Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook" for her, as a thank you gift.

And we talked..... the writing, the cast, the characters, the fashions......   I'm not giving any part of the story away here. If you haven't seen it, you must see it. If you've already seen all three seasons, then you must watch them again. The fourth season won't be shown till next year. I guess they're filming now, and waiting for 2014 for its debut.  Between now and then, I will watch all the DVDs again (and possibly again)........... I've already ordered myself all three seasons.  As well as another set for my cousin F, who knows British history and customs inside and out. She will love these programs..... and then we can discuss the characters, the writing, the fashions, the traditions.....

I don't want to give anything away, but I will say this............... Violet, the Dowager Countess..... she can say anything and everything, with a benign smile on her face that denotes wisdom with a precious hint of sarcasm.  Love, love, love "Downton Abbey."

April wedding.....

We were in Galveston this weekend for the wedding of our friend V's daughter MC. After watching V's two daughters growing up next door to us (in our old house in Clear Lake), I thought I'd be teary-eyed throughout the church ceremony. Same church in Galveston where MC's parents and grandparents were married, so that alone added a special touch to the day.  On a table in the vestibule of the church, and also in the reception room at nearby Ashton Villa, there were nostalgic photos of V&B's wedding day, and V's parents on their wedding day.... and their wedding keepsake books with guest lists and wedding cards.

When we got seated in the church (along with Miss C, who met us there after her working day on Galveston Island) I opened my purse and was ready with tissue in hand, which I was sure to need when MC and her dad walked up the aisle.  But there came the bride and her father...... and bride MC was glowing with unrelenting joy..... she was a beautiful sight to behold as she nearly danced up the aisle on the arm of her dad..... and that joyful song coming from inside MC's heart filled the church with happiness that you could feel. No tissues needed....... everyone was just soaking up that glow from MC, who was bursting with 'joyful silent noise' as the ceremony progressed from "Who gives this woman to this man?" to "I now pronounce you husband and wife."  And then MC and Z nearly danced down that aisle.

MC's gown was magical........ a sparkling delicately-jeweled ivory fabric that was perfectly suited to her tall and elegant frame, with those sparkles going right down to the hem of her train..... long veil for the church, which she removed for the reception..... and the train was bustled up after the church ceremony to make the gown more comfortable for dancing.  Three cheers to MC, for  not changing out of her wedding gown and into a party gown.  My feeling is that when you've found the perfect dress for your wedding day, it's for 'the whole day,' not just the church ceremony.

A special surprise for us was that V invited our Miss C to join us all at the reception after the church. Miss C was dressed in jeans and western boots, just coming from work, so she drove home to her little Galveston house, quickly showered and changed, and came to the reception in a pretty lace dress with (of course) dressy western boots.  C is a cowgirl at heart, through and through.  We saved her a seat at our table and the three of us got to talk and visit during the reception...... a special treat for us because C will be working in Yellowstone National Park this summer, as a trail guide (on horseback!)........ perfect opportunity for Miss C.  My guess is that she's not going to want to leave Yellowstone at the end of the summer.

But....... the wedding.........   The reception at Ashton Villa was very nicely done..... catered foods brought in and served buffet style..... two beautiful cakes (the wedding cake and the groom's cake--- both delicious and beautifully decorated)...... gorgeous crystal beaded centerpieces on the tables (Miss C and I looked at them and said "We can make these!")   The joy and happiness that surrounded us in the church was right there at the reception...... everyone just so happy to be there, to share in MC and Z's wedding day.

MC's younger sister S flew in from Germany to be MC's maid of honor...... she came with her boyfriend O, who is a very special young man who seems perfect for S. (Another wedding in the near future maybe?)  It was just so very nice to see MC and S in the same room at the same time....... both sisters were in and our of our old house....... they came for tea, for ice cream, to play with Gracie and our cats, to have grilled cheese sandwiches made by my husband, to show us their Halloween costumes....... the memories with those two sisters are just all so sweet and so precious to remember.

And the girls remembered all the little things from years ago, and we talked about some of them at the wedding....... When the night was over, I made sure to give both girls extra hugs, extra smiles..... and it was when I was saying goodnight to S (for the 4th time) that I nearly lost it and reached for the tissues in my purse.  To know that she was going back to Germany within a couple of days..... I told her to come up here to see us, and bring O with her, the next time she's home visiting her parents.

Our friend V has always, always been a good neighbor and friend to us, back in Clear Lake and still now, with us living two hours apart.  We used to listen to her singing to her cats in the morning..... I remember my blue-eyed AngelBoy scrunching up his face when V started singing (that cat didn't even like to hear Barry Manilow singing, so V didn't have a chance).............. and when V was stressful over raising two teen-aged girls, we would find her pulling up weeds--- not only in her garden, but in ours as well.  V & B raised two wonderful, thoughtful, good-mannered girls...... and now the older one is married and the younger one could be following her sister down the aisle sooner rather than later. Time flies, big-time.

It was a beautiful wedding, a beautiful day, made even more special because Miss C got to share it with us..... sitting between my husband and I at the church, oohing and aahing over the centerpieces and the brides-maids' dresses with me, and then the three of us having C's special 'group hugs' a few times during the night.

Weddings are like newborn babies............. they give such hope and promise for the days ahead.

Easter comes, Easter goes...

We were out in the backyard on Easter morning, playing in the dirt.  Azaleas are planted in the box-garden now, along with a gardenia plant that's about to bloom, and a bright yellow 'sweet broom' that is covered with sunlight yellow bursts of color.  There are three rose bushes in that garden as well, left-overs from the previous owner who must have loved roses because they are all over the property.

I had a decorative length of black wrought-iron fence, bought at a yard sale years ago. We had it in the flowerbed at our other house and we moved it here before we really knew where to place it.  In the four years we've been here, that length of fence has been in three different places. But now it's in its final resting place.... smack in the middle of that box-garden, in back of the sweet broom plant, with a child's-sized metal chair stuck in the dirt near the fence.  A little box-garden vignette, if ever there was one.

On Sunday afternoon, we drove around the county a little bit, searching for fields of wildflowers. We found small patches of bluebonnets here and there, but certainly not the ocean-covering of blue that we usually find on the two-lane roads that wind around the hills here.  There were very few Indian paintbrushes, and a scattering of yellow Texas stars, and I guess we'll have to wait two or three weeks for the usually prolific bluebonnets. Hope floats, as that old saying goes. Or, in this case... hope grows.

On Easter afternoon, in the middle of our drive, the sky darkened and we drove through part of a rainstorm that drenched this part of the Hill Country. It was bright and sunny and warm when we set out on our drive.... within an hour, the weather changed to cloudy and damp and muggy. The newly-planted additions in our backyard flowerbed were most appreciative, I'm sure.

We took advantage of the free mulch being given away at the local recycle center. All the mulch you can bag-up or bucket-up, as long as you do your own shoveling.  My husband went to the center with buckets and tins..... he loaded all of them up.  When he got home, we both carried them out into the garden and I spread that mulch all over the box-garden. How can a garden that size take up all of that mulch? 

The Easter Bunny has come and gone........ we colored a dozen eggs (some fresh ones from a neighbor, some of them from the supermarket).  When we peel the eggs, it's easy to tell which ones came from the chickens down the road.  When I see those bright orange-yellow yolks, I miss having our own chickens.  When I look at our newly planted and mulched flowerbeds, I know that they would be hard to keep with chickens scratching in the mulch and pecking at the blooms of the plants.

I am still decorating the flowerbeds, the garden, and the porch.  The vintage wicker baby buggy now has an old teddy-bear sitting in it, and she's wearing a straw hat to keep the sun out of her eyes. The little table on the porch has a new tablecloth and a patina-green metal tea kettle in the center of it.  There's a painted wood chicken perched in the hollow of the mesquite tree, and a tulip-shaped wood trellis supports one of the rose bushes.

Working in the garden has driven away part of my squeamishness of the insect world.  I moved worms out of my way when I planted the azaleas.  I shooed away a striped lizard when I was spreading mulch--- I must have disturbed his nap because he turned around and gave me a disgruntled look before he walked to the other side of the driveway.  I haven't screamed once when one of the bumble bees hovered around my hair too long (admiring my earrings? attracted to my hair clips?)  For the most part, whatever is out in the garden doesn't want to be disturbed and will most likely get away from you before you even realize it's there.  (Note to self:  Re-read that last sentence the next time you see a snake.)