Sweetness

Yesterday was full of sweetness.....after the luxury of sleeping in until 7:30 am, I was up and out to pick up Kristi in Centerville to take her to see baby Teddy for the first time. She was so excited and came bounding out to my car, through the snow, her arms loaded with presents for the baby. Since before we learned that Alison was pregnant, Kristi had been telling LM and I that they would have a baby boy!! Bit of a savant, that girl.
This was the beautiful sight we saw as we entered their family room through the garage when we arrived. Jason, in the sunlit corner, cuddling his beautiful sleeping boy. I had all I could do not to burst in to tears of joy.Soon we were joined by Alison who had taken a break to enjoy a shower and some time to herself. She is looking great and has finally found some relief from the back pain which had been haunting her since the prolonged birth process.
It was such fun to hear these very new parents talk about how the days fly by as they spend hour after hour caring for and just gazing at their creation. Jason was laid-off in December just before the birth and he is treasuring the time he has now to be with his family every minute possible. Fortunately, he will be back to work soon and Alison is on a generous paid leave.

Kristi finally gets to hold the baby!
And then it was Nana's turn and I just could have stayed there all day! Why, we were even a bit color coordinated. That green scarf is the one I made from the beautiful handspun gifted to me by my talented SIL from Baltimore....It is so soft and warm. Just look at those sweet feet...they are so long and tender to touch. He has his great, great grandmother's long fingers, as I do....not as gnarly, though!
After tearing ourselves away from all this sweetness, Kristi and I were off to do some grocery shopping then I returned her home.
Next up was a visit to LM and Bob. They are doing better. There was my sweet LM, tenderly washing Bob's hair, and helping him to shave. All of that made Bob very tired but he looked and felt much better. At the same time, LM was simmering a big batch of chili. Bob needs to boost his protein intake and gain some weight. He is so frail it is frightening. I could see that there is progress though, and as I made my way home to prepare to attend a dinner party last night, once again, my heart was filled with love and admiration for my dear LM. We may not be able to be together right now but seeing his acts of selflessness with Bob is making our love stronger. Even sweeter are our late night phone calls after Bob is settled in bed and LM has a few minutes to himself...the first thing he wants to do is talk with me about us.

I did attend a lovely dinner party last night and met some very nice new friends, as well as found out some interesting facts about the hosts....they are clients of our company for whom I did a big favor at Thanksgiving time, and they felt they needed to re-pay me by having me over for dinner. No such need, but I was thrilled to be with them in their lovely new home and to meet some of their friends. As we toured the house, Andrea, the owner, was showing us the master bath, and on the wall was a spectacular small quilt primarily in shades of turquoise. It was pieced to represent an impressionist painting. When I asked about the quilt, Andrea told me it was made on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera (they go there often) and my jaw dropped. That is where daughter Anne and her husband David have their second home. It is a remote and mostly undeveloped island so it is likely my daughter has friends in common with my hosts of last evening. As an aside, I will be going to Eleuthera in late March with my daughter & SIL!!

We shared a delicious and healthy meal of chili on a cold winter's night. We ended the meal with a decadent chocolate torte....more sweetness to end a perfect day!

I have just finished decorating 5 dozen mini-cupcakes (some with peanut butter frosting and some with strawberry) for yet another party which I will attend this afternoon. This is with work friends and will be lots of fun. My friend Nick, recently laid-off, and his wife Mary are hosting. My very closest and funniest office friends will be there so I am sure we will have fun and I don't have my usual party apprehension.
After the party I will be visiting Bob and LM to bring them some cupcakes. Photos later!
Tomorrow, back to normal schedule and I am really ready.