Weekend in Review
I stayed in the office a little later than necessary just to enjoy the natural light streaming in through the windows behind me. Sun, glorious sun!
I'm grateful for the good weather today...if not for the smell of spring that it has brought than at least for the fact that I missed my bus by mere moments this morning and had to wait an extra half hour before the next. Cold and rainy weather would have really started my day on a negative note.
Missing the bus at least allowed me the ability to get an extra half hour of reading in. I've gathered together some friends and acquaintances I know to be book lovers and started a book group. Our first meeting is this coming Wednesday and I'm reading every spare moment just to get the book read! I formed the idea while watching The Jane Austen Book Club (I didn't particularly like the book but enjoyed the movie more). In that spirit the name of the book club is Pemberley Library and we've started by reading Jane Austen's novels in order of publication. So, I'm working my way through Sense & Sensibility. I read it many, many years ago but the reread has been enjoyable--if only in comparing it to the 1995 movie version. The characters in the book have all taken on their acting counterparts in my mind's eye: Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant....really, it has been quite amusing.
We had a splendid weekend. For one, it marked the first few days I'd felt relatively decent since the onset of a cold the prior weekend. In addition, our friends Laura and Michael threw a Lord of the Rings party Saturday. T.J. and I attended with our friend Hannah whom we'd convinced to journey from B'Ham for the adventure. It was truly a day to try our Lord of the Rings "knowledge, endurance, and appetite" as read the invitation. We enjoyed Lord of the Rings games, movies, and lots of food. In traditional Hobbit style we partook of second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper! Barely one meal had completed before it was time for the next--one quickly learned to partake sparingly. All was delicious and I don't think anyone went away unsatisfied in body or mind.
Sunday was, of course, Easter! I was sad that my schedule and health last week didn't allow me the time or energy to make any of the Acton family traditional Easter goodies but T.J. and I had a lovely, relaxing afternoon and evening at home and feasted on a traditional dinner of spiral ham, mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, Frog Eye Salad and homemade rolls (the latter two being family recipes). All in all...a very satisfying weekend.
I arrived home to find a promised package from Mom had arrived in the mail today. It contained a CD of photos--scanned images of my grandparents photo albums. There are so many great pictures! Some of my favorite finds:
This picture shows my Aunt Nikki Dee, the triplets (Lorna, Lauri & Linda...not sure which one is my mom in the picture) and Aunt Cinda Kay. Unless the triplets are under four months old the picture must have been taken in 1961.
Glenda Moser is my maternal grandmother...a $100 scholarship! The internet tells me that would equate to anywhere from $600 - $3000 now...the internet is much too vague.
Grandma's note to Santa in...does that say 1946? I love this!
The triplets high school graduation in 1978 made the newspapers--they appeared a lot growing up. Identical triplets were apparently a big thing in a small town in the 1960s+
I have a coupon for a free photo book from Shutterfly. I'm hoping to get the time to make an anniversary album for my grandparents with some of my newly acquired pictures!