Spoofin' Supreme

 The planets lined up.
The weather was perfect.  I  mean perfect.
The dog was kenneled.
Our bags were packed.
Our car, Sharky, was scheduled for it's routine maintenance for a proper spoof.
We departed in a timely fashion for an amazing weekend, full of family, festivities and LOTS of wonderful deals.

 The weather decided to turn to that coolish daytime/cold night time of loveliness following a most beastly hot summer.
Sharky has proper climate adjustments so we just adjusted accordingly and comfied in for the long trip to our original hometown.


I believe the Yard Sale gods smiled hardily upon these Autumnal Travelers and there was a proper amount of sales on the winding state routes between here and there.


Sharky has a big trunk for the finds.  By the time we meandered home days later, Sharky was full up, nearly bursting with our wonder treasures.

 It is a good thing to pack a good project for busy hands to content themselves while the miles pass.  We like to bring along a particularly interesting audio book to fill in between conversations.  It aids the quilting process.

 Hubby loves the sales more than he would like to admit.  He seeks them along the road as I quilt/crochet/knit/embroider, points out details that I miss, pulls out his wallet and then carries the twelve point buck to the car.  What a guy.

 Our sojourn took a stop at the wonderful digs of Oldest Sister's lovely new home.  She parted with her comfy bed for two nights.  She also  managed to organize a huge subdivision wide sale for us.  While we waited for her to arrive from a visit to her nearby VA hospital with her Lovely Hubby, my Hubby and I scoured the sales for some nice, upscale clothing for the grandgirls.  She did take credit for the sale, but I believe it was truly the Yard Sale gods again.....

 Could you imagine a better, more gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding than what Springfield Illinois experienced last Saturday?  Sapphire deep blue skies, breezes that only early fall can provide and sunshine aplenty just for the sheer joy of it.  Sitting with Hubby's multitudinous siblings, I was reminded again that to be a part of a large family, (Hubby is 5 of 10) is indeed a glorious thing.  Knowing all the history that has passed in all our lives, we still manage to come together like it was yesterday. Comforting.

 When we do gather for Hometown Occasions, we make it our habit to go to the cemetery to visit Mom and Dad.  We stand around and chat, much like we did when we visited their home. Then, Dad would be quietly playing solitaire at the dining room table, smiling over the din, while Mom desperately tried to get a word in edgewise, while the chaos of our offspring bounded throughout their well worn home.


 We stood nearby their headstones and cracked jokes about our current conditions and some historical anecdotes about each of the parental units, now in their eternal reward. Strangely fun.

 Between the raucous 'younger' music and our Family dance to 'We are Family' and 'Celebration', including the sister in the walker, we managed to talk each other's ears off.  Lots of stories and plans were made in those fun moments at the reception.

 It's never an official trip 'home' until we've done the tour of our homes:  The one Hubby was raised in and the ones we occupied as newly weds.  Always, we go by Gabatoni's, the pizza place that Hubby worked at when we started dating and then when we first  married.  Hubby still makes the glorious Italian Beefs that he cooked at that small Italian restaurant back in the day.  The pizzas there are the best and the one that we measure all other pizzas by.  Nearly 40 years later, the pizza we shared this lovely fall night, was the same as the pie that we would order, many years ago, at the walk up window and carry home to his parents house nearby and eat on the porch swing.    We were so full of memories that night we nearly choked on the emotion.

 Sunday wanted to show off to Saturday.  If the weather hadn't made the day, Big Sis wakes us up for the most amazing breakfast. Ever.  We drifted out to Niece Lisa's home.  Hubby caught a fish and soaked up  atmosphere .  Just spending time with Lovely BIL on the deck was treat enough.  The rest was icing.

When all the goodbyes were said and hugs and promises were made for future visits, we climbed in to a very full Sharky and headed southeasterly toward home.  We continued on with our book and my quilting until the crescent moon rose in the sky and our tummies reminded us to eat.

 

Stopping at the Blue Door in Greencastle to refuel for the evening, we sighed and reflected and reminisced.



 And we thanked God for the Spoofin Extraordinaire Weekend that had just taken place.


Amen.

Recipe for a Perfect Weekend....

1. Take one wonderful hospitable home that belongs to Eldest Son and Lovely Wife. Enjoy the peace and beauty of their brick bungalow nestled in a quiet area of Indianapolis...
2. Find a new pizza place nearby with New York Style Pizza. Order the 20" large, everything pizza. Make sure you order bread sticks and cheese bread because Eldest Son is a hard working man and Lovely Wife has had a long week with third graders. And Hubby and I haven't had a good dose of carbs in quite awhile.....

3. Get ready for two other sibs and their hubbies to come. Sleep well, eat a good breakfast, clean off the patio and get the badminton set out (you know the one; Jeansteffe gave it to us 20 years ago and it was OLD then! Make sure you get to several garage sales before Vivien and her parental units show up. Grab amazing deals at the sales and try not to fight over vintage towels....

4. Play hard. Relax and replenish at will. Make sure the young bucks are not picking on hubby and cheating at croquet. Make sure the games that Eldest Son and Vivien's daddy and Baby Girl's hubby makes up does not involve hitting croquet balls with badminton racquet's.

5. Catch up on some knitting and interacting on our wonderful Vivers. So, so good to have our Long Lost Landon from Lafayette visiting....New York was far away and the summer was different without him...Welcome back, Landon....

Take hubby to the fabric store quickly for some patterns, one that involves a new winter coat for Miss Vivie...

6. Eat well. Ciabetta prosciutto sandwiches on the grill made by Eldest Son. Tomato Salad by Hubby. Sweet potato fries by Landon. All on the patio. Beautiful day, wonderful evening. Ice cream and brownies made from recipe from a fellow blogger. Sit around. Chat. Catch up. Bathe Vivien. Make her giggle like crazy. Laugh, laugh, laugh.

7. Go separate ways, to all our respective homes. Some of us with agendas. Some of us meandering through the Indiana countryside on an unbelievable September Sunday. Maybe an apple orchard. Or two. Whose counting?

8. Wrap up with a one of a kind cherry apple cider shake with free popcorn.

Serve warm, serves many, lasts forever........

And the Weekend...

Ryne's wondering why oh why would I just want a photo of the new patio??

McAlisters -be it Indy or Cincy......

Of course, the Vintage/New apron made on the last visit....~

Always grateful for the lazy weekends.

Usually, they are packed and busy.

Not so, this past weekend.

A rather planned/spontaneous trip to Indy to visit Eldest Son and Lovely Wife.

We absolutely love our time there. There is usually lots of talking, planning, sharing and sometimes projects worked on. With the help of our granddog, Ryne, we have a relaxing, fun time with them.

This weekend, we outdid ourselves on relaxing....

Cooking out on the grand new patio that they recently completed, enjoying the last day of summer vacation for the third grade teacher that is Lovely Wife, and watching a movie when the skeeters sent us packing, completed the Lazy Agenda....

Wrapping up the weekend with worship at their church, fabric shopping, Eldest Son entertaining us at Old Tyme Pottery and lunch at McAlisters, ended the well anticipated Lazy Weekend.....

As we backed out of their driveway, waving to them as they stand together on the back porch of their cozy, window boxed home, we sigh a sigh of contentment..

Thank you God.....