Noah Lee Goff Is Born

Our very close friends Jim and Joyce Blakeslee are celebrating the recent arrival of their first grandchild. Noah Lee Goff arrived at the Fair Oaks Hospital in Centreville, VA on Tuesday, July
28, 2009 at 7:38 P.M. The happy and relieved parents are doing just fine and so are the elated grandparents. Congratulations and lots of love goes out to everyone. Love him to pieces! He is so little and adorable!

Another Sunday Another Baby Shower

I've reached the age where the children of my friends are starting families. Case in point is in the above photo that shows mommy-to-be Natalie with her mother-in-law and my good friend Anne. Thirty five years ago Anne threw me a bridal shower in Germany. And yesterday Anne threw a very lovely baby shower for Natalie.

From left to right: Natalie's Mom, Natalie and Anne. This will be the first grandchild for both grandmothers-to-be. Are they ever excited!

There were lots of packages and bags to open.

Don't they make the cutest gift bags these days.

There was lots of yummy food at the brunch. The food finale was this cake decorated in pink.

Have you picked up yet that Natalie is going to have a little girl come October?

Anne's son Patrick, the daddy-to-be had to work but Anne's other two children were there to salute Natalie. From left to right: Michael, Anne and Michele.

And here's Mary and Tony who used to live right down the hill from us in Burke Centre in the 1980's. Tony retired and he and Mary moved to Atlanta to be closer to their two married daughters. They also have a son who has become a caterer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Just had to add a photo of this gift that someone brought for the baby girl that's coming soon. Isn't this the most adorable piggy bank complete with tutu and ballet shoes. What little girl wouldn't enjoy putting her small change in this piggy bank.

Dragon Quilt For The World's Best Baby

Now I have something very important to announce. There has been a birth in the blog world. A new little blog has appeared that all of you will want to keep your eyes on because it is growing fast and getting really cute. No, it is not that baby in the photo. That was my grandson Jack last year. But yes, it has to deal with that photo. Look again only this time look at the baby quilt that is under my little sweet pea. That quilt was made by my great friend and neighbor, Dickie. I have written about her many times on my blog because she is the neighbor everyone dreams about having for a neighbor, especially when falling off a ladder. More about that at a later date. But right now, big drum roll please! ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज
ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्ज्
(Those were Hindu drums, by the way.)
Dickie now has her own blog. She calls it Dragon-quilter. You will want to check it out and see some of her homemade quilts that are going on a trip soon. I just dearly love her French impressionistic landscape quilts. Monet, eat your heart out! Today's Dragon-quilter blog post is a collection of photos of animals that Dickie has come across on her world travels. (Former navy brats do tend to keep traveling thru life.) Anyway here's a link to my good buddy's blog: http://dragon-quilter.blogspot.com/ And as for that heading World's Best Baby---well, all grandmas can make that kind of boast.

Wedding Houseguests

Gene and Sandra Barr drove down from New Jersey Saturday morning for the wedding. (Gene is in yellow and Sandra is in brown.) Linda and Larry Ackerly flew in from Albuquerque, New Mexico for the wedding. (Larry is in white and Linda is in blue.) Here they are having a late lunch in our breakfast room before the wedding.
So much news to cover in so little time. But both Sandra and Linda can talk fast and tell a good story while the respective hubbies listen and nod their heads. Right here Sandra is using her hands to tell a good story: "Me Mum in England would say.........."
Jack and Larry comparing gardening in Virginia with gardening in the high desert of New Mexico.
Finally, we are all fed and redressed and ready to take off to Warrenton, VA for the wedding.
We called my good neighbor Dickie to come over and snap this group photo. Thanks Dickie!

Thursday night we had the parents of the bride as our house guests. Jim and Joyce Blakeslee had driven down from the Rehobath Beach, Delaware for their daughter's wedding. Thursday night I got to keep the wedding gown in my foyer closet but even though I was very curious I didn't unzip the garment bag and take a peek at the gown.

Another Weekend Another Party

Another weekend brought another party to our neighborhood. This one was for Dave and Kris. Dave has just retired and these golf enthusiasts are leaving our local golf club and moving to the land of many golf courses: the greater Myrtle Beach metro area in South Carolina. By the way I guess Myrtle Beach is also the putt-putt golf capitol of the world. The party was in Dickie's beautiful backyard and all the neighbors brought yummy food to share. That one table that you see loaded down was just the appetizer table.

The beautiful lilies were from Dickie's gardens. Dickie is the strawberry blond in the top photo. She is a great hostess! Everyone had lots of fond memories to share of when they met Kris and Dave. And everyone wanted to celebrate the good news that Kris and Dave's house in our neighborhood sold in just one day inspite of the housing market being in the toilet. Invited to the party were our brand new neighbors two doors down from Kris and Dave who are Donna and Jim who just moved into the community in May. So farewell to Chris and Dave and welcome to Donna and Jim who are a retired military family.

My Book Club Buddies

Left side: empty chair, Maura, D.J., Lucille, Haelie, and Carol. Right side: yours truly, Connie, Cindy, Pat, Bev and Teresa. The empty chair belongs to Dickie who took the photo with D.J.'s camera.

When It Rains It Pours

When it rains it pours parties. Today is Sunday and today we are heading out to our third party for this weekend. Today we are celebrating Baby Jack's first birthday at our daughter's home. But let me post some photos of the bridal shower I attended Saturday in a former old Victorian home in Fairfax, Virginia. This place is called the Sweet Life Cafe and the bridal shower was for Krista, the daughter of very good friends of ours, who will be tying the knot this September. In the eighth photo down is a girl standing and directing us in playing a bridal shower game which by the way yours truly won! Anyway this girl is an army captain and she has just returned from serving a year in Iraq. And Krista planned her wedding date so that her good friend would be home from Iraq and able to be in the wedding party. When I spoke to this girl she said that while she was in Iraq she experienced 31 days of temps above 130 degrees! Wow! In the fourth photo down sitting at Krista's table is my very, very good friend Joyce who will be the mother of the bride come September. And next to Joyce is Joyce's sister Franny. The bridal shower was lovely as is the bride-to-be. And it was great fun to re-connect with some old neighbors of Joyce. So now we have a fall wedding to look forward to attending in Warrenton, VA at an antibellum mansion. Friends, click on each photo for more detail in each picture. There you go.

Groom's Army Audit Friends

My husband Jack was one of eight Army Audit alumnus who traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to witness Tom McKinney give up his bachelorhood at age 65 to Sandy McTheney. Both Tom and Sandy retired from the federal government after over thirty years of service and they met each other at the NARFE convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. NARFE stands for the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees. Tom graduated from Youngstown University in Ohio and in his early career days was an Army Auditor in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Jack and I both knew Tom when he was an army auditor in Frankfurt, Germany in the 1970's. Jack and I both enjoyed sharing this special event in Tom's life and getting reacquainted with all these army audit alumni.

Click on the photo for a larger image.

Warrenton, Virginia

There is a neat little bistro in downtown Warrenton, VA. called the Crescendo Bistro. We met our old friends Jim and Joyce Blakeslee there for lunch this past Friday. This bistro has an upstairs and a downstairs. There are lots of cool etched glass pictures on the wall like this one of the Civil War in Virginia. There was a roaring fire in the fireplace and the old stone walls could probably tell many a story of this old building but we were too busy catching up on family news with our dear friends. Jim and Joyce were in Warrenton making plans for their daughter's wedding in Warrenton this coming September. What excitement and what fun!

Baltimore and Annapolis

Jack and I picked up our close friends, Jim and Nancy Freauff at the Baltimore Airport on Sunday and took them to Baltimore's Inner Harbor to see the sights. We took a water taxi to Fells Point and we ate a wonderful dinner in "Little Italy" at Sabatinos. Monday we toured the Baltimore Aquarium and then drove to Annapolis to take a guided tour of the United State Naval Academy. Then we headed home in rush hour traffic to our home in Virginia. I served beef fondue and chocolate fondue for dinner. Today we will show Jim and Nancy some attractions in D.C. and then have dinner in Arlington. Here are some photos of Baltimore and the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Gene and Sandra: Incredible Hosts

A Most Memorable Birthday Party

This past Saturday night our neighbor Ken turned 60 and his wife Tracy surprised him with a most memorable birthday party at their home. Jack and I attended and were enraptured with the party. The birthday invitation requested that everyone wear white which was a wonderful idea. The guests looked like something from a F. Scott Fitzgerald book or a party at The Rosecliff in Newport, RI. And our birthday guest of honor looked smashing in a white suit. There were many memorable moments at the party: the trio of caterers who attended to your libations and food needs; the flautist who played for us in the living room; the singer who serenaded the birthday honoree and the magical lights on the yard umbrellas and flickering candles on the deck. But the most memorable moment was the moment when each guest was told to pick up a silver balloon for the late evening balloon launch in the yard. Suddenly all the guests (average age of guest was between 40 and 50 or more) turned into excited little kids who had a balloon on a string to play with and then release. And what a wonderful sight to see over 100 silver balloons float up in the night sky to the moon. See attached photos for a glimpse of this most memorable birthday party.