August 10th, 2020

What a pretty bag!  It's colourful and sparkly.  It has flowers and swirly lines and  wishes the recipient a Happy Birthday!   Who was the very lucky person who got to open this bag?  It was me!  And it was a lovely surprise this past Saturday.

Late Saturday Morning, we pointed ourselves north and set out to spend a long over-due day with our friends, The Minocks!  YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!  It had been far too long.

It was a beautiful day for a drive as we loaded up the car with loaner jigsaw puzzles, blueberry muffins and peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies.  Our rule is to never show up empty handed (as it so  happens we never leave empty handed either ;)  A nice bonus)

They are the kind of friends who always greet us with hugs and smiles and as if we were returning conquering heros (we are not but it's nice to be treated that way).  Immediately we launched into a chatfest of catching up on each other's lives.  We admired the most adorable photos of their grandsons,  we found out what sorts of TV shows each other have been binging during this time of relative isolation and got to see paint chips soon to be used.  We talked of day to day realities and long term plans and dreams.

Eventually we caught up enough that, peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies in hand for sustenance, we headed out to see the progress on the house they are building (It's Gorgeous!) and to drive by the house the younger son has bought and will soon be moving into! So Exciting!  We talked the entire time.

Afterwards, back we drove to their temporary home to finish dinner prep: jalapeno popper appetizers, lasagna, salad and garlic bread for the main course and a dessert of frosted brownies and Tin Roof Sundae (which is to die for).  We talked, we laughed, we giggled, we chortled, we guffawed.  We admired the misters peppers garden (jalapeno and tabasco both) and his first attempt at making his own tabasco sauce!  Enterprising!

Somewhere in the middle there was Belated Birthday Celebration! Woohoo! Where I made out like a bandit.  Funny silly stuff, lovely earrings (which I immediately put on), a new puzzle (woohoo), a flamingo kitchen towel and chocolates!  It doesn't get much better than that!  And we talked some more.

After dinner, we talked and laughed a little longer but it was getting late and we could hear thunder rumbling off in the distance and we still had quite the drive ahead of us.  So with great reluctance, we hit the road, with a pan of brownies and Tin Roof Sundaes - BONUS! and more hugs and waves good bye.

Tim and I talked about how wonderful our visit was as we drove home through increased thunder, stunning lightening displays and eventually torrential rain.  Totally worth while.  It was just such a great day!

Hopefully it won't be quite so long until our next visit.  We will get to see even more progress on the new house (or maybe it will be finished!)  Their younger son will have moved into his new home.  The grandbabies will be even more adorable and even more puzzles and desserts will be exchanged.  We will talk talk talk and laugh a lot and never run out of things to say, because somehow, with them, we never do.

The best day of any month....Minock Day!