Anyone remember Pollyanna? There are so many great quotes from that movie, my favorite is “Death comes unexpectedly!” shouted by the Reverend Ford during one of the church services. I’ve been to a couple of those
with the preacher shaking a fist and predicting damnation to everyone. Anyway…grab a cup of lambs broth and lets talk about some fun stuff. My last couple of postings were a bit heavy, so let’s do a glad post this week!
Last weekend was our yearly birthday celebration. I’ve never been a big fan of giving stuff but I love celebrating with an experience. For instance, when my dad passed I got some inheritance from the sale of his house. I decided to take my girls to Disney World. It was one of the best vacations we’ve ever had. I guess I could have planted a tree or something in the garden as a memorial but the memories we created on that trip were priceless. We took a moment one night to drink a beer, toast Papa’s memory, and laugh about the irony of using the sale of his house to travel when the man had never been any more than 100 miles away from his home in his life.
My daughters are, thankfully, employed and doing fine financially. They don’t want for much and I would rather spend the weekend laughing and having a good time rather than buying something from the store that will wind up in a closet somewhere. Last year we went to the Elton John concert in Cincinnati for birthdays. This year, I proposed going to the Cheap Trick/Joan Jett/Heart concert at Riverbend then out for dinner. Instead of just Friday night, the celebration turned into a weekend of hi-jinx. The eldest elected to forgo concert attending this year (Boo!) so I’m still searching for something fun for us to do. But, the three younger daughters, two boyfriends, and I had a fabulous weekend.
I’m not going to bore everyone with a recap of everything we did, but here are the highlights:
Friday: Grace Girls (plus Tracy K.) only. Great music but…Riverbend…please get some help with after the concert traffic flow. Had it not been for my mad driving skills, we’d still be waiting for the line of traffic to start moving out of the parking lot. Sometimes it’s good to drive a Beetle even if it looks like a clown car when the four of us debark.
Saturday: $10 coupons at Penny’s means half price mattress pads for new beds at my house. Thank you to my girls for getting up early and doorbusting with me. Next was a Ghostbusters matinee at the Florence Rave Cinemas. Fabulous, funny,empowering, and a must see. Boyfriends arrive, cocktail drinking ensues, Arnold’s Bar and Grill, not as fun as everyone has told me (too hot in the courtyard, too expensive, too difficult to find a parking lot with an open spot) but glad I can now say I’ve been to Arnold’s. On to Wunderbar, best dive bar in the Cincinnati area. If you’re ever within driving distance of Covington, KY you have to stop here. Fabulous food made in-house and cheap drinks. Lots of good, local beer on tap, and live music. Rumor has it that bar manager, Borden, has left for someplace else. I hope not…he knew my tastes in beer. Stacy S. joined us, so glad she drove in from way out where she lives to catch up on family gossip!
Sunday: Findlay Market, Black Forest Cherry birthday cake for desert and this picture sums up the weekend…
Dimitri and Jay in the giant chair
The best part was watching them crawl back out. This family of mine makes me laugh harder and smile more than anything else in the world.
Gigi-a-Gogo 