The Labor Day Report

I'm still here.

We just had a busy Labor Day weekend.

Saturday was a writing day for me, spent with an old friend who also needed to get some writing done.

Saturday night when I got home, Curt popped popcorn for us and we watched a movie together. We have had a rough week marriage-wise, so the time to just sit together peacefully was welcomed.

Sunday we went to church, then came home and I went out to the grocery to get ingredients to bake my friend Shari a cake. I asked her what kind of cake I could make for her and I expected her to say some sort of chocolate cake, like most women. Instead she said "orange." What? I have never baked an orange cake in my life! So, I ended up making a cake out of my Cake Doctor cookbook called "Fresh Orange Cake." I have to say, it turned out delicious! I was very pleased and Shari said I can bake her birthday cake every year! We took the cake up to her on Saturday night and spent an enjoyable evening with her and her husband, trying Thai food for the first time. (We had a sitter so it was an adults-only evening, which was nice.)

Monday was the day I signed up to volunteer at Matthews Alive (a local street fair/festival) at the Matthews Playhouse booth. I spent two hours handing out information about the playhouse, answering questions, and catching up with some of the other board members I haven't seen in quite awhile. Curt joined me later and we walked around a bit after the volunteer shift ended. (His parents had taken the younger kids for the afternoon and our olders were at home.) I bought a very pretty necklace at one of the vendors, so that made me happy. We got home, I did some school planning, then the sitter came (for the second time) so we could take our oldest out to celebrate his 16th birthday. All he wanted to do was go out to eat at the Japanese steakhouse "without all the little kids." So we met my parents there and had a nice quiet evening and were able to focus on just him. He wouldn't let me photograph any part of the experience, however, so you will just have to take my word for it that it happened.

This weekend was a blessing, an answer to prayer. Yes, it was busy and hectic at times, but I loved how it turned out. I am glad to have had a long weekend together-- we needed the extra day and could actually use a few more! But I will take what I can get and focus on being grateful for all that I have.