Blink of an Eye

And just like "that", two decades have passed. That is when Dale and I met. Yesterday was our 19th anniversary.

Wow.

I could be classified as an old married woman now, but frankly, I still feel like a young chick with rice still in my hair. For the record, Dale is 6 years older than me. Hehehehhee. Seriously, he looks younger than he is. He says it's the kids. They keep him young.

We "celebrated" with a special dinner here at home. We fed the kids earlier with a healthy (not) meal of hot dogs, french fries and peas. At least there was a vegetable. While I started baths, Dale fired up the grill. After all the little gremlins were placed in front of the TV downstairs with a tape in (yes, we fed them junk food then put them in front of the idiot box all in one evening. Gasp. They were growing too fast and getting too smart anyway.) Dale and I had grilled steaks, french fries, spinach salad, and peas for supper. Alone.

Well, sort of. Unless you don't count Jerusha coming up every 5 seconds to ask what we were doing. At one point she just kind of hovered for a while before we shoo'd her away. I think the tape the others were watching was over her head. Benjamin was in the living room being the baby sitter, so we sent her in there. Dale said "don't worry about her... she's just the busboy." Ha! All she did was hover, stare, and didn't clear anything. Definitely no tip for her.

We had cheesecake for dessert. No, I didn't make it. Dale picked up a sampler cheesecake from Aldi. It was very good. No, I didn't count calories. That is illegal when eat cheesecake on your anniversary.

We did have a good evening though, and enjoyed some conversation for a change. Although Dale did say next year for our 20th, we are going out to Olive Garden. I told him I wanted to go out on an Alaskan cruise. When he was done laughing me to scorn we exchanged gifts.

He got me a couple books by Tim LaHaye. It is a new series he and Jenkins are doing. They are going through each of the gospels, writing them from the author's view. It is based on the Bible, but written in a "fictional" type story line. Maybe not fictional, but it isn't just a dry account of the events. There is much more included. Through the story they incorporate customs, and living styles, and the general ebb and flow of daily life 2,000 years ago. I love that sort of thing... the stories of how things used to be and how people lived long ago, so I am looking forward to reading these books. Dale got me the first two books, John and Mark.

For Dale's gift I made him chocolate covered strawberries. He was impressed, and I hesitantly told him how very easy they are to make. He has seen them advertised here and there for a small fortune. Maybe we are in the wrong business, eh?

Anniversary aside, we have been very busy gardening. I think we have pretty much caught up and can transition into a "maintenance" rotation. I am still trying to find the peas. It is a very slow process because of the weeds. They are thick, and the same height as the plants. But what little I am uncovering, I'm wondering if it is a lost cause. There are huge gaps in the rows that make me wonder if it is even worth it at this point. The rest of the garden looks hale and healthy, though I think someone accidentally planted rock seeds. With all the rocks we have you wouldn't think anything would grow!

The sewing has been .... frustrating. I altered and copied a modest swim suit pattern I bought early in the spring. No problem there. I had ordered fabric from Chez Ami a while back when they were having a huge sale. Something I found out: not all swim suit fabric is equal. I was very disappointed with some of the fabric, I have to say. It was a woven, instead of a stretch. The pattern I have for the swim wear depends on the 75% or so stretch you get from the 4 way stretch lycra. Most of what I got didn't have it, and by the time I realized it, most of it was cut out.

It isn't a total loss. While there is NO way the girls can squeeze into the bodice pieces, I set all the cut out pieces aside for next year for Jerusha. I think if I put a little zipper in the backs, she can use them. If not, then at least I didn't pay and arm and a leg for the fabric. Thankfully, the fabric my friend's daughter picked out is perfect for swim wear, and I can go ahead and make her suit. Jerusha's original fabric is woven as well, but since I hadn't cut it out yet, I can adjust the pattern to allow for the "no stretchiness" of the fabric.

Yesterday the girls and I picked out some more fabric on Ebay, and you can bet I made sure it was 4 way stretch, and not woven fabric.

It is rainy and very cool here today, thankfully. I am finishing up quarterly reports to send out later, and then I'll get back to work on Rebekah's swim suit. She is very tall and slender. I'll probably have to add a couple of inches to the length of her suit, but that is an easy fix.

Have a blessed day!