Girlfriend Time with Lori

Some days it seems like friends just read your mind.  Lori sent a message yesterday asking if I could get out a bit today.  Absolutely.  I am kidless and need to keep my mind occupied right now.  I have memberships to play with so the cost is kept down and off we go.

The Arboretum is a great place to just walk and talk.  That's what we do.

Jon's Here!! Fast and Furious Time Together

21st - The exchange has been made and Jon is in the car.  We are heading back into Dallas right smack dab in the middle of 5 o'clock traffic.  Yay!!!  The normal 1 1/2 trip takes a little over 2 hours and we are ready for some dinner.  Grandpa is all into Jon's idea of Thai and soon we are seated and enjoying the delicious treats from Thai Opal.

Pear-Mascarpone French Toast

My grandson, Jon, loves to cook.  He enjoys being in the kitchen and learning how to do things and how ingredients play with each other.  We have a very short time together this year, but at least one project is underway.

Our brunch today is Pear-Mascarpone French Toast.  I learned how to make this back in 2008 from a Country Woman magazine and save it for special occasions.  Today is one of those.  Shall we get started?  Step one is to assemble all of the ingredients.  We stopped at the store yesterday to pick up the items we were missing in the pantry.

We are making four servings today so my ingredients are according to that.  Peel  and core one pear.

Jared's Here -- Teenager Fun

Half of June has come and gone and I'm into Session two with the grands.  Jared is here for a few days and this teenage sleeper loves his down time.  I'm okay with that and we'll just take the days calmly and quietly.  I spend the morning cleaning the bedroom and readying it for a visitor.

Meeting Jen off halfway to Abilene, the boy is in the car and I return the trek back to the house with Jared.  Stopping at Central Market, groceries are purchased and then all that is required is a short wait for Mister to finish work while Jared settles in and dinner is at In N Out.  Yep, pretty fancy, but I am too tired to cook.

Evening spent just chatting and finding out all that is going on in his life.

Garlic Dill Refrigerator Pickles

SIX months since I shared a recipe.  SIX.  Oh wow.  How does that happen?  Well, today I am making Garlic Refrigerator Pickles and thought you might like to make some too.

We stopped at Central Market for groceries the other day and they had these great cukes.  Let's get started.

To make 3 pints, you will need about 2 pounds of pickling cucumbers.  I have about 2 1/2 and am working with quarts, so we'll see how it goes.  I love that it's not an exact science.

Just Us Two -- SipStir, Dallas Zoo, Mom, OHB

It's a Just Us Two type of day.  Well, at least for part of it.  Come along and let's see what all we can see and do.

We're starting out with a new to us coffee shop called sip/stir.  I think it's super cute and a great play on words.

It has a nice open floor space with lots of great places to sit, both for group and individual needs.

Killer Storm

What a great morning!!!  I rearranged furniture in the house to bring in the family heirloom that we picked up yesterday.  It now has a new home in my room.  Mister mowed the yard and we just feel so good about it all.

Rhiana, Malea, Elena Come to Visit - Days 6-8 DMA, Aquarium

6th - It's another wonderful day and this is the bestest good morning picture I have.  When I met my sweetie, this one was his first "baby".  Look how she's grown.  French toast and grapefruit --- done.  It's time to go play.

Rhiana, Elena, Malea Come to Visit - Days 4&5 Arboretum, White Rock Lake, Cousin Time

4th - The girls have requested time at the Children's Garden and I'm happy to oblige.  Since it's Rhiana's first time here, I'm hoping she sees it through a teacher's eye and finds things she can add to her class back in Montana.  Let's go before it gets too hot.

Rhiana, Elena, Malea Come to Visit - Day 3 Candytopia

Day 3 dawns and we have PLANS!!!  Just one little cute item as I slept in a bit and this is the scene is Mister's office when I wake.  It appears that Grandpa has set her up wonderfully as he sits and works.

Rhiana, Elena, Malea Come to Visit - Days 1&2 - Dallas Zoo

With all that went on last year, we skipped "Gammy Camp" for a summer and so it's been two years since most of the grands have come to play for a bit.  I'm super excited for it to begin and we're getting it started with my girls from Montana.  Due to scheduling, my daughter, Rhiana, is coming for the visit too.  Life is good.

1st - There was a miscommunication over arrival time and I am hosting a Red Hat event this morning while the plane is landing.  (LINK)  Fortunately, my sweet Mister is able to pick up and while I finish up, they are off to get lunch  at Whole Foods

Red Hatter's at North Haven Gardens

When I joined the Dallas Re-Gals two years ago, MY GOODNESS has it been two years already?, I knew that each member takes a turn hosting an event.  My time has come.  So, I put on my thinking hat - red, of course - and set to coming up with an idea.

My sweet, enabling hubby knew that I wanted to do something in addition to lunch and was always on the lookout for ideas.  One morning, we were at North Haven Gardens enjoying brunch and the new plants.  He glanced around the room and mentioned that he though this would be a nice lunch venue.  Hmmmn - it DID have possibilities.  When our meal was complete, we walked into the gallery to look around and met Dana Wilson.  I mentioned Red Hats and her eyes lit up.  She handles events and had a great plan.  A catered lunch, a speaker (herself), and a workshop -- all for a great price.  I was hooked.  We selected a date and were off --- a few snags along the way with dates, but the day is here and we are ready.