New Year nearly here

For those who are curious, my sweet friend Laura actually was in town and we did get to spend several hours togethers this past weekend. I had the pleasure of meeting her sister, Leigh, and her other sister's husband, Matt. We had dinner and drove around Huntington a bit, before I had to grudgingly let her return to Charleston. I am sure that I nearly squeezed the life right out of her each time I hugged her, but I could not help myself. It was the perfect Christmas gift!

In the coming year, I am going to give a new craft a test run. After calling around, I was forunate enough to learn that the local stained glass shop is open and although they don't give formal lessons, would be willing to give me a quick tutorial on cuts and soldering... I am certain this will be a quick foray into this artsy endeavor, as I don't have much of an artistic flair, but I am intrigued nonetheless.

This Friday is our annual New Year's Brunch. So many more people from different areas of my life have agreed to come this year, it's sure to be a full house. What better way to start the newest decade than to be surrounded by wonderful people, with good food and excellent conversation?! I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!!

Love
Hippo Lady

Remember this?

Remember this?

Well, this week Laura really is coming... And I am going to get to see her!! The last time I saw here was shortly after 9/11, when I traveled to TX and spent a long weekend with her. When you have been friends with someone for almost three decades, but they have lived away from you for nearly two of those, it is an epic event to get to see them!! She knows all sorts of things about me (little me anyway) that I don't even have to tell her. When we talk about being hermits and building cabins, we both know the backstory. WOOT! If I mention her treehouse, she is right there with me and has a mental visual!! And I am stoked to get to fill in the gaps of our adult lives.

Now, please, please, please....let us all send up the happy ju ju's to the great beyond that this is also not a prank. I believe I have checked it out and it is valid, but one never knows!!

Hurry, Laura! Come on to WV and let's play in the snow before it all melts away!

Season's Greetings

Today was my nephew's birthday, my cousin's wife Tanya's birthday, and my late Pawpaw Elvin's birthday. Most of the time birthdays pass by and I don't remember until it is too late to even get a proper birthday wish out. With Facebook and it's handy little reminders of birthdays along the side, I will never again have a reasonable excuse.....

So when I got home, I was already in a nostalgic mood, thinking about my Pawpaw... He was such a serious guy...But he LOVED babies... There must be a million pictures of him with all the grandkids and extended family in his old recliner...

My husband had taken the tree out of the basement and set it up in the dining room before leaving for work. I dug around in the basement and got out all the ornaments and let the little ones put theirs on. Each year, everyone gets their own special ornament... It was like a little time capsule to pull out the ones they love so much.. And I know it sounds hokey, but pulling out things that date back to Cory's wee baby days made me feel connected to all those who had passed. Regardless of beliefs in great beyonds and all that, I know that the presence of those I love and miss is with me each time I take the time to linger on a memory.

Sadly, my little ones don't have any memories of my Pawpaw. He passed when Cory was five. Nor do they have any of my grandma Helen (my mother's mother), my great grandma Aurelia (her namesake), my great grandpa Charlie, sweet Anna Mae, or any of the others that have gone, but as we decorated that tree together and talked about times long before they were born, you would certainly never know. They know the stories of these people, they miss them without ever having met them, and it makes them happy to hear all I can tell them.