Thursday, June 17

Today is Hubbie's birthday. Happy Birthday, Hubbie!

We were up by 6 a.m. this morning, so we could finish getting ready for Hubbie's family to arrive for a visit and lunch. I started by cooking lemon pudding for the lemon pudding cake.

After I dressed and got ready for the day, I cleaned the upstairs bathroom and spruced the bedroom. Mother came over early, and she and I prepared food for lunch. Folks began arriving around 10 a.m. At 11 a.m., I began cooking. By noon, eleven of us were ready to sit down to lunch.

Hubbie's two daughters and son, his two sisters, a grandchild and a great-grandchild, plus his son-in-law, and the three of us enjoyed a choice of ham or barbecued pork, Parmesan potatoes, steamed yellow and zucchini squash with onions, coleslaw, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and Vidalia onions, and yeast bread. Desserts were choices of lemon pudding cake or chocolate cake topped with pie cherries and whipped topping.

Hubbie received several gift cards, so he'll have a happy time shopping at two different home improvement stores and a farm store. He also got an interesting tool...an adjustable ratchet wrench that supposedly replaces 38 of the most popular socket sizes.

After lunch, we visited, toured Hubbie's gardens, and gathered for snapshots. Around 3 p.m., everyone left but the two sisters, who stayed for another half hour. Unfortunately, one of the sisters lost an earring, and despite a thorough search of the house and yard, we didn't locate it.

Hubbie really enjoyed this happy gathering of his clan that included reminiscing about days gone by and family long departed.

It was a good day, but by this evening we were ready to relax in front of TV. We watched a movie called "Purple Violets." Product description says its about "four college friends who meet up years later and reconnect in ways that willl change their lives forever." This 2008, R-rated, movie stars Selma Blair, Edward Burns, Patrick Wilson, and Debra Messing.

The second feature we watched was, "The Soloist," starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downy, Jr. This PG-13, 2008, true live movie is about a journalist (Downy) who happens onto a homeless street musician (Nathaniel Ayers, played by Foxx). He learns that the musician once studied at Julliard, but left after he began hearing voices. Ayers' life inspired columns, books and a film adaptation.