GREAT vacation!

Had a great time up in Ohio but it's taken me DAYS to recover!  Don't know why exactly, but that trip wore me OUT!  Well - maybe I DO have some idea why.  Most nights while I was up there we got to bed waaaaay later than usual for me.  Like 4:30 AM one night! . . . almost 3 another night.  Well - you get the picture.  And even though we slept in late most mornings, it still felt a lot like jet lag!  Whew!  But I have to tell you, that birthday party Shirley had for Dale (and Wendy) was great.  

And speaking of Dale and Shirley . . .  look how cute!

There were sooo many people there!  I got to visit with all kinds of folks I hadn't seen in . . . well - decades!  And a bunch of folks I've heard about over the years but had never actually met!

There's my oldest friend Cass back there.  She had just had surgery two days before!
Thank goodness that all worked out well!

Cassandra Graham - artist of all sorts

They had the party in their new -- empty -- house.  Shirley and Dale bought a huge, gorgeous home last fall - and then headed off to Florida for the winter!  They haven't been back long, and it's still completely empty.  So they borrowed about a dozen big tables and, I think, about 60 chairs and spread them out all through the main living area.  

It provided plenty of space for everyone to sit and eat and talk.  But of course, there was always a group in the kitchen, too - never mind sitting down.

They also set up several outdoor tables and chairs.  That turned out to be a great idea.  Not only is their back yard  really lovely, but all that space gave the kids plenty of room to hang out and play ball instead of harassing the "grown-ups."  Worked great!

And of course there were a bunch of us who sat out there to eat, as well.

Hey - even Dale played ball with them for a while!

And even the little guy played for that matter!

Well, it's about time for bed (now that I'm home!), so I'll post some more photos of the party tomorrow.  (You have GOT to see those cakes and the photo posters Wendy did that were sitting around!  Love those things.)


But later . . .