the sequel..

 Yesterday, you may recall, was, among other things, "Pick Strawberries Day."  Now I have learned, thanks to my west coast brother, that today is "National Strawberries and Cream Day."  This is a delightful coincidence because I still have some of the huge delicious strawberries that were delivered to us yesterday.  So, always willing to celebrate a special day, I finished up my evening with one sliced strawberry in vanilla ice cream.  Nothing said the cream had to be liquid.  I'm pretty sure I will be repeating this dessert tomorrow.  

And speaking of things that are bright and white (like vanilla ice cream) we also had a treat of a different kind today.  We had our house washed.  It was not a pressure wash, and it's not the kind of house that you can pull through a car wash. The company that did the wash used a compound that gently washed off all of the grime that had accumulated over the twenty plus years since this siding was put on, and guaranteed their work for three years.  They did an amazing job on every surface including parts of the roof.  The house looks like new again.  Even more amazing to me is that they cleaned this big old five bedroom two story for $540. 

one of these days..

 Today is Flower Day and World Flour Day.  It's also Pick Strawberries Day and World Bee Day.  By chance I've celebrated all four of these special events today.  We were walking around the outside of the house this afternoon with a gentleman who stopped by to give us an estimate on having the outside of our house washed.  As we walked around I enjoyed the Lilys that are blooming, and the Azaleas and the Roses, so flowers.  I had lunch with a friend and enjoyed a very tasty yeast roll.  I'm sure it was made with flour.  I bet you thought I was going to say that I baked something.  Ha ha ha.  We also saw bees flitting around those flowers.  I'm not sure they were world bees but I'll assume they were.  Most surprising was a box that arrived on our front porch containing eleven enormous delicious strawberries.  We've been enjoying wonderful boxes of fruit like this one for the last several months.  They are a gift from one of my stepsons and family.  We've had pears, oranges, apples and more, but I think it's a lovely coincidence that the strawberries arrived today.  Happy flower, flour, strawberries and bees day.  

where are my cards???

 According to my west coast brother today is "Stepmother's Day" and I haven't received a single card.  I suspect this day is not as widely celebrated as Mothers Day or Fathers Day.  I'd also be surprised to see Happy Stepmother's Day cards at my local Hallmark store, although they do seem to have cards for every other possible occasion.  This whole being a stepmother thing is still new to me.  My Wonder Spouse has two equally wonderful sons who are now my stepsons, but I'm not sure where it goes from there.  Each son is married so do I have two step daughters in law or just daughters in law because they are my husband's daughters in law?  By the way, they are also wonderful, as are my six step grandchildren.  So what should they all call me.  The name Stepmother has a bad rap. Because of famous stories like "Cinderella" and "Hansel and Gretel" it's usually associated with Wicked.  So I don't really fancy being called Stepmother or Stepmom.  Certainly not Step-mommy.  I had thought of telling my step grandchildren to call me 'Step Grandmother Dearest' but that seems a bit over the top.  At this point they all call me Luci and that is just fine with me.  

one more chance....

 My husband and I saw the play "The Father" at First Presbyterian Theater this evening.  It was a sad play, actually billed as a tragic farce, about a very tough subject - dementia, but it was so well performed that I highly recommend it.  Brad Davis and Ashley Shewman, the two leads, were particularly effective in their roles.  Tomorrow's matinee, at 2:00pm is the final performance.  It's definitely worth seeing.  

another lunch???

 I had lunch today with three of my favorite people - my daughter-in-law, my oldest granddaughter and my daughter-in-law's mother.  She and I call each other our out-laws since we are connected by family but not exactly in-laws.  I was especially pleased to be able to lunch with my granddaughter who just graduated from IU and is starting her masters work there.  She's majoring in international business / cyber security and has just returned from a class related trip to South Korea. She said she isn't quite up to date on K-POP musicians but otherwise had a really good time.  She liked the city streets, the food, and the people.  Also the train rides and the Asian architecture.  They visited the DMZ and got a view through binoculars of North Korea. She does speak a little Korean, which enhanced the whole experience, and is learning more.  I asked her if she would like to work there some day and she said yes.  I immediately thought "Wouldn't it be nice to go there ( I have always wanted to see S. Korea) when someone we know would be there to show us around?"  I didn't say this out loud, of course, because I didn't want to scare her off.   I do think it's wonderful that young people have so many career choices these days.  

something to write...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is Biographer's Day.  It's also National Barbeque Day, but since I'm still not hungry after yesterday's binge, I'll focus on biographies.  Much of my blogging is autobiographical, as you have probably noticed.  I have never attempted to write a biography of someone else.  However, if I ever do get the urge, I have some great choices just within my family.  There was my maternal grandmother who claimed to have gotten married because she "wanted to see what was on the other side of the mountain."  Or my maternal grandfather who worked in a Pennsylvania coal mine to earn money to go to seminary.  My paternal grandmother came to work as a housekeeper and ended up marrying a son of the family, my grandfather.  My mother and her brother both learned to fly planes at a time when that wasn't too common.  I could go on and on but you get the idea.  Hummm... perhaps I should write a biography.  

eating my way through the day...

 Due to a combination of circumstances I ended up eating a lot today.  Mind you, no one was forcing me.  This is the third day this week that I've had lunch scheduled with a friend.  So I am not wanting for food. Today's lunch was at "Spice and Herb," my favorite Thai restaurant.  I had Pad Thai, which I love, and an egg roll and Thai iced tea, which is amazing.  All very good and extremely filling, even though I brought half of it home.  Then, at 2:00pm my husband and I met some out of town friends at "Hall's Gas House," so they could have lunch before they headed home.  I didn't eat another whole dinner (I do have some self control) but decided I could have some dessert.  The Creme Brulee was delicious, and also rather filling.  I thought that might be it for the day, but about 6:00pm my husband's son texted him and asked if we would like to join them for dinner at "Dos Margarita's," one of our very favorite Mexican restaurants.  Of course we said yes.  So, from Thai to French to Mexican, I have had a day full of delicious (and very filling) multicultural food and great fun conversations.  Now I must waddle off to bed to sleep it off.  Good night.