Decked out

The deck is progressing. 

Floor down. Posts painted. He is working on his cable rail system. 

Check out the portable bar Ryan made for Clinton...from our old deck boards! We went to Old House Depot and found the long top boards. I love that place. The bar splits in 2 pieces for transport and the top board notches in to place. This was a pop up bar for Red Brick Festival. 

Had to find their recipe for the punch we used at Ivy and Tripp’s wedding. He named it “Rose the Day Away” for the pop up. Sold lots of it. 

Wondered if AARP was trying to help us by sending 2 copies. But look who the other one was for. 

The mail carrier really missed the box here! Brother in law in the hood. 



Ok. Kind of interesting but also gross. Went to Lost Rabbit pool and saw a heart shape on the bottom. On further inspection it was a pile of bugs. Oh well. Fun picture anyway. Much love!

This catches me up!

Thought I’d start off with this food pic. I love summer vegs. 

So what’s a retired guy to do? Projects. Lots of things he has been wanting to get done. He spent the first few weeks on the yard and it looks great. 

But the 30 year old deck needs an update. 

He is tearing out piece by piece. 

It already looks better. 

Down to the bones. 

Just after I took this picture Toby ran up these steps and sailed off into the gulley! Fortunately he was fine. Kept on running when he hit the ground. Scared me to death. 

Did I mention that he rebuilt the front fence?

And made a new firewood holder out of scraps from the swing set fort and cinder blocks? Hope having fun comes up on the agenda soon. 

Priscilla’s Book Club.  I was in heaven with this old favorite recipe - Hot chicken salad. It is crunchy and wonderful. That dressing is from the old Vassilio’s restaurant that used to be in Madison. 

This dessert! Strawberry and Snicker bite kabobs with salted caramel. Oh my. We read The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. We all loved it.  Based on true stories about a women’s spy network during WWI. 

Catching up

Beware. There are a few new posts so be sure you scroll through all of them. 

Book Club at my house. Decided to be nostalgic and used Mamaw Brown’s pitcher collection and table linens. 

What fun she had collecting them on our vacations. 

Also a couple of old vases she loved 

Pink elephant. 

Thai chicken salad, fruit etc. We read The Ninth Hour by Alice Hoffman. Don’t think anyone liked it except me. 

Will end with a couple of Grandog pics. 

Because...you know. 

Where did the time go 2

This is part 2 of Beach Week Birthday. I had so many pictures. 

Fun with birthday props. 

Lelia didn’t quite know where to put hers. 

Hey! That is my special chair. 

They enjoyed the flamingo straws until they turned their drinks pink. Yuck. 

My cake. Texas sheetcake. Perfect. 

What more could I wish for? 

Really. What more could I wish for?

We gathered for a pic. This is everyone who came. Missing 5. 

Where did the time go?

I’ve been so busy since our beach trip with work things that I let the blog lapse. I won’t totally catch up but I do need to update how the birthday celebrations ended. We wrapped up at Beach Week 2018. 

Here we all are settling in. We always kick off with a chili bar supper. 

The second night was my birthday night? 

Decorations for the feast. 

Hey...I think that looks better on Lelia. 

Mary Grace and Ryan cooked for us. Oysters. Freshly shucked. 

And grilled. 

Mom enjoyed them. 

Always toys. 

Lelia and T share chapstick. She loves it. 

We sat down to shrimp and oyster poboys.