Celebrations

from TJr and the Lil' Red-Haired Girl

It's Thursday but the week here has been so wonderful and full of good things that I'm visiting you on my blog earlier than my usual habit. 

To start at the beginning, Mother's Day greetings came via snail mail, email, Facebook, text messages, and in-person conversations. I felt loved and hope those I greeted felt the same.

Immediately after morning church, we showed up for our lunch reservations at a place I'd never been to but is now on my list of fav places!! Piesanos may be just a Florida thing, but there are many locations. 

After placing our orders, the bread brought to keep us busy until the entrees arrived was ..... well, I'll just never be the same again! Soft rolls dripping with a buttery garlic sauce. The strong scent all by itself was mouthwatering. I had to force myself to not eat too many lest I not be hungry for the pizza I had ordered.

 

Loaded with lots of pepperoni and cheese, leftovers to take home with me was the goal. (mission accomplished!)

Gary's calzone, stuffed with all things Italian was larger than it appears in the snapshot. Not only did this item earn a take-home box, but that was our lunch on Monday. Both the food and the service were excellent. We have plans to go back in the future.

Yes, you guessed it. We celebrated our anniversary this past week. It's been 3 years, which just blows my mind. Both of us are thankful and amazed with the developments in our lives in recent years. Such mercy and generosity of God's goodness have been shown to us after losing our long-time mates at about the same time. A year later mutual friends who had watched our individual grief journeys managed (after a couple of unsuccessful efforts) to introduce us to each other. 

May 14, 2022

Sporting our rings and smiles back then, it's just got sweeter with every passing day. Among so many things I ponder is that not a single day should be taken for granted. "Live in the moment," a popular admonition these days, means to enjoy what you have, be good to others, and don't waste yourself on non-essentials and worry.

The day began with coffee, cards, and chocolate followed by a waffle breakfast and our usual after-breakfast bicycle ride through the neighborhood.

Gary had some yard tasks he wanted to do, so I busied myself in the kitchen to bake what I had dubbed, "Third Anniversary Bacon Parmesan Quiche with Crust." (Kinda wordy, I know) The recipe started out from an old copy of a Betty Crocker cookbook and I made my own changes. Here it is:

one of the two pies made

Third Anniversary Bacon Parmesan Quiche with Crust

2 - 9 inch ready-made pie crusts, unbaked

or you can try using only 1 deep dish pie crust

1 - 3.5 ounce pkg pre-cooked bacon bits

4 oz shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped dried onion

4 large eggs

1 pint (2 cups) half-and-half

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground Chipotle (or red pepper)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine the bacon, cheese, and onion thoroughly and then divide evenly among the two unbaked pie shells, spreading evenly. Place the pie shells on a rectangular baking sheet (in case there is an overflow during baking).

Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients. Pour egg mixture evenly into the 2 pie shells. Bake uncovered in the oven for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes longer, until a knife inserted in the center of each pie comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 4 servings per quiche (or slice smaller if desired).

The outcome was a success, served with slices of fresh tomato. I made the two  pies, so the next day we had quiche again, and that was fine with me!

our song:
Have I Told You Lately (link)

After lunch we slow-danced to "our song." Yeah, my guy's very romantic..... 

Late in the afternoon Gary suggested we have ice cream for supper. I readily agreed as it seemed a perfect way to culminate a wonderful day. He likes for me to do the ordering so he can scope out a quiet booth (if there is such a thing in a busy fast-food restaurant). He wanted me to get for him a large Concrete Mixer with caramel and chopped up candy bar. I ordered two.

He told me I could quote him, "The big spender took us to Culver's on our wedding anniversary evening." 

He insisted on taking this snapshot. Had I known a photo session would be a part of our anniversary supper, I would have fluffed up my hair before leaving home .... 🙄 

Anyway, it was a wonderful day celebrating blessings neither of us thought would come our way. Sister sent this blessing to us:

May the Lord richly bless you today as you celebrate your love. "And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:14 (ESV)❤️❤️❤️

That's a good blessing for everyone and so I close this post. 

Until next time, grace and peace.