Sunday, June 17

Today is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in the family. It is also Hubbie's birthday. Happy Birthday, Hubbie!

Up at 6:30 this morning, and skipped my exercises again, so I could get ready for the day and begin preparations for lunch. I began by putting the baked beans into the oven to heat. Once they were heated, I turned the oven off and left them in there to stay warm.

Then I made lemon pudding to top the lemon cake. I let the pudding cool for about an hour before making the meringue topping.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she sliced tomatoes and mixed dressing into slaw.

Folks began to arrive around 10 a.m. Soon, everyone was here...Hubbie's two daughters, a son-in-law, his son, his grandson, his two sisters, and a nephew and great niece...twelve of us altogether.

At 11 a.m., I put barbecue and sauce into the oven to heat, and finished other tasks related to lunch. While I did this, Hubbie toured his family around the yard and gardens. When they came back indoors, his Sister began beating on herself and yelling that something was stinging her. The insect was a little black bee. I fetched a bottle of calydryl lotion for her, which took the sting out of the bites.

We were ready to sit down to lunch at noon. The meal of barbecue on buns, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, a variety of fresh veggies...tomatoes, yellow and zucchini squash, cucumber, mushrooms, bell pepper, celery, and carrots...and tortilla chips, with salsa and/or cheese dip, and lemon pudding cake, pineapple upside down cake, or chocolate cupcakes. The meal was a big hit, and several wanted my recipe for baked beans.

Hubbie's sister, apparently not satisfied with getting bee stung, whacked her knee on a dining room table leg, and then chocked on something that sent her into a coughing fit.

Hubbie got a variety of gift cards to his favorite home improvement stores for his birthday, so he's going to have a happy time shopping. His sisters opted to give him a card good at several restaurants, all of which are located in their town...so that we'll have to go there to use it. This was a clever ploy to get us over there for a visit.

Among my gifts to him are two books...John Grisham's "Calico Joe," and "The American Challenge...What Every American Should Know About Their Country," by Robert C. Etheredge. It includes a concise, easy-to-read American History timeline; presidential profiles; influential speeches; history and care of the American flag; important American documents, like the Delclaration of Independence, Constitution, etc., plus famous songs and poems; Americana...arts, music, literature, etc.; branches of government; maps; and rates, ranks and insignias of all military branches, as well as the U.S. Citizenship Test.

Hubbie read about this book in the Sunday newspaper a few months ago, and commented that he'd like to have it. So I searched for it at a popular website and put it on my wish list. Then I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, so that it wouldn't appear on our credit card until after his birthday.

Hubbie spent part of his visit going over genealogy records that Nephew brought along. Very entertaining for him and his family.

We had a good visit with Hubbie's family today, right up to the point when his daugher said something that didn't set well with his (injured) sister, and she fled outside and to the other end of the yard. After a while, his daughter and other sister smoothed her feathers, and everyone was ready to leave around 2 p.m.

After the family left, we relaxed and watched the 2008 animated feature, "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," and then had same-song-second-verse for supper. Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house.

Later, Hubbie and I relaxed and watched TV, including an old 1957 western called, "Decision at Sundown." Hubbie likes westerns, and I thought he'd enjoy this classic film for his birthday.

After that we watched the premiere of the new "Dallas" series. This prime time soap opera continues its scheming ways with in-fighting among the Ewings.