Bon Voyage to me!

What a week! Seemed as though nothing ever slowed down.

I leave on my cruise to the western Caribbean today. Whew! Trink and Becky and I plan to have a good restful time. This time there really should be lots of pictures to post when I'm back home again.

Had a dinner party with our investment club last night. I prepared my dish -- Cranberry chicken in the crock pot -- and took AJ's for her as well -- ham and a fruit salad. My recipe is about as easy as anything could be:

3-4 pounds of chicken pieces (I use chicken breasts cut into strips.)
1 can of whole cranberry sauce
1 cup of BBQ sauce
1 cup of chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste (I use a capful of Mrs Dash)
(The original recipe calls for chopped celery, too; But I never use it.)
Cook 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. What could be easier!!!

Yummy!!!!!

We leave for Tampa about 11:30. Much to do before then -- even some more sleeping. Yeah!

Night!

The day went well.

The day is finally over. All is well. Averil Jane is asleep in my husband's bed. Not sure where he's going to sleep tonight since we decided she should not go home. Her hubby has a car show and will go home alone after that. Not sure if he'll come pick her up tomorrow or we'll take her home. Won't worry about that tonight.

I'm tired. Bill's gone to pick up hamburgers for our supper. AJ's on clear liquids only for tonight.

The adventure turned into an all day thing. They decided to give AJ a spinal, so it took ages for her to be ready to move again. And, of course, they pumped her full of pain stuff. She's sleeping now and probably won't be heard from much until morning.

Early to bed

I have to be an early riser tomorrow. I'm picking my cousin up at her home over south of Mulberry at 6:30 (which means leaving here at 6:00) to bring her back over here for some surgery at our local hospital. Heading out at 6:00 means getting up at 5:00 if I'm to be groomed and breakfasted before hand.

No pictures today -- perhaps tomorrow.

My friend Janet got married!

My friend Janet and her best friend, George, got married yesterday on the first day of the new year. What a day to start their life together! Here are the pictures of the beautiful couple, the cake she designed, and her main table decoration. (She has a super sense of humor!)

The wedding was beautiful and the reception was delightful. Since it was New Years Day, they served black-eyed peas, sausage and sour kraut. Yum! There was sparkling champagne for toasting, too.

The couple has left for their honeymoon in Helen, Georgia.

New Years Eve Dinner Party

The party last night was a blast. We managed to set most everything up before the guests arrived and did the last minute stuff -- like ice in glasses -- with their help. They've all been in our home for other events, so they pretty well know their way around.

Since I took the group picture, I've added a shot my daughter-in-law took of me to the mix. One other person is missing from the group photo. Nick had to leave early to attend a meeting in Plant City.

I think the table (one of three) looked really pretty with the gold chargers, my sterling silver, and my Longaberger pottery, napkins and napkin rings.

The green table cloth is a major tradition for this sort of gathering. Everyone signs in with a sharpy pen at some time during the evening.

(That shot shows more of what my new camera is capable of. The lens was about 6 inches away from the table top. I love the way the texture of the fabric can be seen in the picture!)