Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Easter 2014

Had a wonderful Easter Sunday! The weather could not have been better!

I dashed out Saturday afternoon at the very last minute to buy my Easter dress. I found this great navy dress at Cato (full price $29.99 = frown...see what I mean about paying more when I'm unprepared)  but it was a size SIX so that made up for it. My "Easter bonnet" you may recognize from last year's Easter outfit. 

I went to church with Mother. The 8:30 a.m. service (groan) It is always decorated so nice  From the floral Easter cross out front...
 
to the Easter baskets on the entrance doors....

 
everything was beautiful and welcoming.
 
This year, instead of the traditional Easter lilies, the memorial flowers were mulitcolored hydrangeas. Their varied and colorful blooms were just the right touch.
 
 

After church, we had lunch at the Irondale Cafe. Now some of you may know that the Irondale Cafe is the basis of Fannie Flagg's book "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe."  According to the Birmingham News, the Irondale Cafe is among the top ten places for Easter lunch! And when I arrived, it was obviously true. At 11:00 a.m. the line snaked out the door and around the corner!  Of course, I was having the fried green tomatoes, a menu staple, regardless of how they were breaded. Gluten be damned! But the line moved quickly and we were seated in one of the newly acquired dining spaces.

Kit-Kat overslept and missed the event, but Julz and her new beau, David, met us there for lunch.  Because he was meeting us for the first time, he brought me and my mother flowers.  Nice touch.



"It was his idea!" Julz had squealed.

He was tall and very handsome, dressed in a nice suit. I learned that he owned his own business, which prompted me to ask his age: an eyebrow raising 31.

Though only six years older than Julz, there is still something that sounds so old and mature about 31.  I later learned that his oldest sibling was my age. My mother turned to look at me, eyes wide, her expression saying "what do you think of THAT?!"

He too appeared to have been in the habit of treating the ladies in his life with good manners and respect.  He reached for her tray to carry it for her, but the waitress in her took over, and she took his instead. I noticed that he pulled out her chair for her.

We took these photos after lunch at the train platform across from the cafe.

Many other families followed suit. My Facebook was filled with similar photos of all my friends' families in the exact same spot.

I still had a great deal of the day left after lunch. Benefit of being the early bird.

I called L/G, who was home from the first week of his project. Fourteen schools. About 200 more to go.  But the project brings him close enough to home this week for him to sleep in his own bed.  We talked about the week's challenges and what we did to overcome them.  He is better at that than me.

"Can you control that?" speaking directly to the Control Freak in me, "If you can control it, then change it. If not, let it go." Easier said that done.  He reminded me that it could be done. My visit had proved that.

His philosphy is to live in a drama-free bubble: don't create drama where there isn't any; don't invite it into your life; and to hell with those who try to bring it into your life.  I laughed. I would say I am The Drama Queen, but that most definately is my grandmother. I am just a Drama Princess comparitively. He told me that he hasn't met a woman yet who didn't have some level of drama. Indeed.

He reminded me once again to let drama go,  then wished me a good week and was off to work on the boat.

Oh, I forgot about the boat. He enjoys woodworking. He has made a few pieces of furniture and is currently building a 16 foot canoe in his garage. Yeah, kinda like Gibbs from NCIS.  It is impressive. Most guys wouldn't even know where to start. He had explained how each board must be shaped and glued and clamped down to the board underneath and then sit to cure.  Eventually he will fiberglass it and it will be ready to paddle around the Rez. 

Maybe I will get to go too.

~En-JOY


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