Nail Polishing Great Weekend

As always I did not get up early enough on Saturdays to do all the things I need to do esp this Saturday. I took a shower, got our granddaughter Tatum's birthday gifts ready for her 10th birthday party @ 11 am. Instead of her making her a cheesecake which is her favorite, I just wrapped the box it came in. That way she got a gag gift from us. Its sort of an on going joke with us.

Tatum's birthday was different this year which marks that she is growing up before our very eyes. She had a tea/slumber party the night prior to her birthday. I think Rhett was a little disappointed because there were no boys allowed. Elisa said she herself couldn't hang past 2:30 am but she she could still hear the girls throughout the rest of the wee hours of the morning. We played different kinds of games also. One was where we had to put on a young girl's fancy gown, a red boa and a hat then walk as we were on a runway modeling our garb. Even the guys played such as her father, but they couldn't get Paw Paw up there. Most of the men only got the gown over their head and let it stay on clumped up their shoulders, then they threw the boa haphazzardly around their neck and tossed the hat on their heads. If it remained on, they were doing good. I was the last in line on Tatum's team. By being last, I learned, if the other team wins, I don't have to put on all the garb! Lucky me. Same thing happened with the egg toss. Rhett had his own team. He chose his daddy 1st then Sissy had to tell him to pick Tatum. Finally he realized someone was missing and almost near tears said, "I want my momma on my team!" Awe. This is the only time being last has ever paid off for me!

There was a bee problem and several smaller children got stung including Tatum! They were putting Clorox on the stings.

After the party was over with, the family members went inside the house. We watched "Haunted Mansion". Earlier I'd asked Elisa where she got her toe nails painted. She told me Tatum did them the night before. They were turquoise and hot pink. I asked Tatum if she would do mine sometime and she did them right then. The movie was over. Don was ready to go and my toes were wet! I told him he'd have to carry me to the truck. He told me he wouldn't with the shake of his head. I told him I didn't weigh THAT much! Then Tatum started painting my fingernails. I thanked her profusely. I told her I'd make an appointment in a week or so for another polishing. Also I told her I couldn't wait to show them to everyone especially at work.

I carefully carried my pink Keds slip ons to walk barefooted to the truck. Don had pulled it up closer so I wouldn't have to walk across too much hot asphalt and he had the air on inside the cab. Awe. Then we went home to clean up the house for Penny's arrival that night.

In the process of going through old clutter, having a clearing house of clearing out unimportant things such as junk mail, weeding out unneeded words and tossing more stuff, I re-found some of my Becky magnets I'd been thinking of lately. I planned to give one of them to Penny as a birthday gift and one to her mom while they were here. I think this is called serendipity.

By then I had an old new shoe box almost full of paper scraps and other things for the collage I'd worked on all last week late into the night. Of course I had to stand the collage upright muchlike my grandmother would stand her quilts in their wooden frames when we needed the kitchen table free to eat upon. This brought back the memory of the daughters and some granddaughters (not me) sewing a square so they could finish it and stand it upright out of the way. The backing for this particular quilt was navy blue. These quilts were my grandmother's extra source of income. When they stood the frame up against the wall, my mom's white stitches in the corner stood out like a sore thumb. My grandmother did not like it one bit. Under her breath, she said in a not too nice tone, "I'll have to do that one over again." My mom just shrugged as if she didn't really care one way or another. Quilting and playing cards were not my mom's forte. Because my collage was not on the sturdiest of stock, I thought we might have to hang it from a string across the room but luckily it stood up for itself.

Don moved our newest couch so that it enclosed the living room area, making it seem smaller to me. I didn't like it. It made me feel almost clostrophobic after getting accustomed to all that free flowing space. I did work some and rest. Work and rest. Rhett would keep asking me when they were going to get here to the point of getting on my last nerve and I threatened to send him to his room if he didn't stop it. Then I remembered they didn't get back from Hatchachubee until after 10 the last time the attended their family reunion. Despite how much work I accomplished, it didn't hardly put a dent in all that needed to be done. I was getting tired as time passed. Don was about to get up and go to bed when Penny finally called sometime after 10:20 pm.

Penny must have read my mind... or our minds still think alike to this day because we agreed to meet them at their hotel the next evening so the kids could enjoy the pool much to my relief.
I almost beat my highest score on Bookworm before going to sleep that night. I had over 940,000 points. I had no one to share it with because all were asleep except me.

Sunday I showed off my nails at church. I let Larry, our preacher know we'd be seeing Penny later that evening. He was almost as excited as I was. He also reminded me of my friend Claudia, who also had breast cancer. I need to call her or email her to see how she is getting along these days.

Our lunch was just ok. I don't want to go to Golden Coral for a long while. We each paid our respective Sear's bills. I got some new hose. Luckily I remembered in the nick of time that I had another bill due so I paid it by phone when we got back home. Guess my Guardian Angel was looking out for me.

I got all of Penny's gifts together. One was a picture of a house in Savannah, GA that had been in Madge's apartment when she left to live in California. I had some pink socks that looked like high top tennis shoes. One of Penny's nicknames was "Tennis Shoe" because an elderly deaf aunt thought they said that instead of Penny Sue! I had her 2 different kinds of bracelets that Genie and I each have one of also. That sort of makes us the Three Muskateers. I added a special card from Rhett and one from the three of us. Then I packed our bag for Rhett & I to go swimming later.

Another lesson learned: STOP using the Sally Hansen air brush spray on tan for my legs! It is not only on my rug even thought I had a towel down on top of it. I also got it on mine and Rhett's clothes so it made me look dirty, but by then I had not time to change clothes again.

Penny called me on my cell right. I tried to call my folks after the evening service. They must have headed on over to the motel. Now ALL Saturday night I said they were at the DAYS INN on Macon Rd. As we were coming up on it, I just said "There's the Days Inn sign." Don turned into the Comfort Inn instead with no connection or outlet. He gave me a dirty look as if to say it was my fault and that I'd said "Comfort Inn" when I did NOT! So I yelled at him. "Nobody listens to me!" It was not an I feel sorry for myself statement. Just stating a fact. Then Rhett told me he listens to me.

We saw Tom & 2 of the girls walking to the pool. As we came around the back of the motel, I spotted my parent's red Trail Blazer. They were in Margie's room, 313! We hugged and chatted a bit before Rhett & I changed into our swim suits. I couldnt' find the bottoms to my newest one so I had to wear my black & white polka dot 2 piece which Don thought was a 1 piece.
I took several pictures when the camera began rewinding. It said "28" but I don't remember taking that many! Don said he took some at Tatum's birthday party. Luckily I had a disposeable one with me. We simply must get a digital camera soon. Tom demonstrated their Cannon sure shot digital to us. I liked the fact that it will crop your pictures being the scrapbooker that I am.

My folks visited with Margie while we were at the pool. The water was too cold for me so I sat the on the sidelines as always in my Georgia Bulldog beach towel talking to Penny while she was in the pool with the kids splashing. After she got out, we discussed her breast cancer ordeal while Tom & Don bonded in the corner underneath an "I'm available" sign which I photographed.

I think the girls used Rhett's new round, blue float ring with the Walmart smiley faces more than he did. I couldn't get him to sit ontop of it like Grace did and she is younger than him! When he strongly refused, that's when I got out of the pool.

We discussed going to Cici's pizza or ordering in from Domino's. By the time we got inside, changed clothes, found the phone #s we needed, CiCi's was closing @ 9 pm & we would have had only 15 mins to get there. We had a whole herd to organize which I discovered is not an easy feat. The Speakeasy closed at 9 also. Then I remembered Mazzio's. Luckily they were closing at 10 which gave us an hour. Penny's mom had insisted on treating us while she opted to remain in the room to rest. As we were ordering, Sarah was doing a split on the floor. I immediately became my mother. I channeled her voice as I said, "Get up!" Then apologized to Penny for acting like Sarah was one of my own. She just laughed at me. My mom would have called it "mopping up the floor." The pizza was very, very good. I'd forgotten how good it or maybe it was the company. They had Don laughing harder than he's laughed in awhile with the Florida story about the "militia man". I won't even attempt to do it the justice they did with their animations. Or forget about Penny's lead boobs story.

It has been a long while since Penny & I have closed down a joint, but we managed to do it once again just like old times. We took some of them back to the motel in our truck. I had to pee really bad after drinking 2 glasses of Coke! Afterwards I gave Penny her gifts. She loved the framed photo of Savannah, but then she loves anything about Savannah having lived there. She loved the socks and said she has loved ALL the socks I have given her over the years. Luckily I had not given her the silver bracelet or the magnets before so I did good. She had forgotten her own jewelry and was so appreciative of the silver and the brown bracelets to wear.

We took more pictures inside their room. Penny videotaped Rhett talking because she loves to hear his southern accent. It was after 11 when we left. Past Don's bedtime. On the way home, Rhett said he wished he could live with them. I reminded him he would not get to see us. Then he thought about how much he would miss us. He had a hard time going to sleep after all the excitement he had that night. It was a very good day spent with friends we love. One of the best kind.One I will cherish and not forget.

Today I wore a short skirt to work which no one could believe. I showed off my nails proudly. I refused to let people with attitudes rain on my parade in the afterglow of yesterday's memories. Over our busy weekend, I managed to finish reading The Wedding. This book should be mandatory for ALL men to read. I sent out 2 sympathy emails. It has taken me 2 days to write all this!