chatty bits of beauty.

this weekend was filled with guests and happenings. friday morning i texted the hubs and asked, "do you trust me?" to which he replied, "yes." to which i replied, "good, then you're going with me to pick a little something up i found online and committed to buy." wink. in years past i'd pick up little somethings and he'd scratch his head wondering what i was going to do with that little something. it usually turned out fine and he'd understand {& even be pleased} in the end. usually. this time though? he got it. and we got it. for a future need. mysterious, hm? in time i'll share. just offering that teaser.. & no, it's NOT another vintage trailer.

just before we left to drive cross town to pick up that little something my fun friend Linda stopped by lickety split quick to drop off the 2 dishes i used to bring she and her hubs a dinner. but the lot wasn't empty for she had baked oatmeal raisin cookie wonderfulness. there were 6 cookies with our names on them and we immediately sampled the deliciousness. she's swell.

saturday we had errands and home tending then friends over at 5 for dinner - friends we hadn't seen in months. literally months. many months. with us tending to my father .. and shelley & tim tending to her father and tending still .. additionally tending to her mother .. time doesn't allow but rarely for social gatherings. true friends are evidenced when after many months apart and less than occasional texts or calls, it's like old times with no time lost at all. the hubs grilled the main course and zucchini and i made a big salad and cheesey bread. dinner then sitting in the living room talking late into the night before they took their leave. late into the night for us is past 8pm. they left at 9:30pm. wink. dishes done then into jammies and bed and lights out and zzzzz. their daughter was our daughter's closest friend since early childhood .. and lived with us for a while during college. along with us, she was also eventually *erased* from our daughter's life. pity sake.

sunday offered a meaningful message from 
psalm 138.. ♥

then out for a quick lunch at The Habit Burger and on to a car dealership to peek at a vehicle shelley and tim viewed the day before. all 4 of us are in agreement that this particular vehicle is peachy keen. since it's a new model we'll give it some time to learn how it fairs after they tend to any bUgs. and then? i may be adopting out my suburban assault vehicle for a smaller treasure on wheels. more mystery.

currently there's much mystery we're not sharing. it's not yet time to share. hold onto your seats, peoples. ♥

sunday afternoon i picked up makings for banana split sundaes as it was national ice cream day. President Ronald Reagan declared July to be national ice cream MONTH with the 3rd sunday of the month as national ice cream DAY. so if you weren't privy to this important news you have the next 8 days to remedy the innocent overlook. ice cream every day.

also sunday afternoon our sweet young friend maren popped by.. her father {♥Steve♥} our friend = passed unexpectedly a few weeks ago. i briefly shared in an earlier post. maren officially has a slew of fatherly types in the wings to come alongside and help where necessary - for maren her sister and her mother. maren's car was being silly so into the garage it went - then the hubs and our friend phil (another one of those wing dads) set to work. fixed what needed to be fixed. with plans to tend to more hopefully soon on any given saturday morning.

about phil :: he's a comedian. not professionally {though he should be..} but his personality is comedic, able to keep his listeners in stitches. sunday afternoon was no different. funny guy!

maren is an EMT with plans to become a fire fighter. so proud of what she's done and where she's going and the grace and wisdom shown especially of late. when i first met her, she waltzed in the front door - this little stick figure slip of a thing - shorter than me which is surprising by any measure - and asked if i have tea to share. ♥ love this girlie. and now? she's nearly 6' tall. taller than i. sigh.

but first :: ice cream sundaes. maren took the orders for sundae ingredients and after delivering said sundaes to the men, we made ourselves a couple dishes of the cold stuff and sat down to watch The Bookshop. she loved the movie and i loved time with her. in my downsizing process i chose to release a vintage bookcase ..... to her. she needed it and i'm thankful she adopted it for her very own ..

i put together a dinner menu plan for the week ..
let's see if i can stick to it. wink.

monday: fajitas (on tortillas or as a salad), guacamole & chips, orange slices

tuesday: ravioli lasagna, green beans

wednesday: fish tacos, guacamole & chips, cantaloupe

thursday: leftover fish tacos *or* leftover ravioli lasagna

friday: stroganoff, green beans

what's on your menu?
i'd like to get back to cooking 3x a week and having leftovers the day after but in between the days i cook. clear as mud? cook monday wednesday friday - eat leftovers tuesday thursday saturday. but never on a sunday.

and this morning once again .. for mornings are lovely .. offered a pretty view of a simplified area in our home.

Never lose an opportunity of seeing
anything that is beautiful;
for beauty is God's handwriting -
a wayside sacrament.
Welcome it in every fair face,
in every fair sky,
in every fair flower,
and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; your mercy, O LORD, endures forever." Ps 138:8