Two of my favorite things -- good friends AND flowers....

So the lilies Ann brought to us last week have been gradually opening up and are getting prettier every day.

I got a message from her today saying she and Biscuit were coming and bringing me lunch tomorrow. Joy, joy! So proud of Biscuit (and Ann) - the potty training is coming right along. Pretty soon - no more diapers! Freedom! The beautiful sunflowers were brought to me by Mae. We both LOVE sunflowers. I have a huge bunch of "fake" ones in the corner by my windows. Don't usually like to use fake flowers but they are so cheerful and make me smile - just like daisies do. Who am I kidding? I LOVE all flowers.

I really enjoyed my visit with Judee and Mae - such good friends for so many years. The picture above was taken before I had met either one of them. Check out my hair!  It was taken on a Friday night at my mother-in-law's house. We had only been married close to a year and BigD was in Great Lakes (Navy) training. I stayed with Ruth and her family for a few months during this time but would have dinner with my mother and father-in-law on Friday nights. When her husband was working (he was a fireman) she and her daughter would come with me sometimes. My other sister Rose and her daughter Dee knew I ate there every Friday and would come by some times to visit too. This was the first time I saw Rose since I had started studying in August (I think this was November) and I remember thinking that if she said one word about me studying, I was going to quit. LOLOLOLOL. The picture on the bottom right is Dee and her friend at work.  Let's see - that means Dee was 6 years old in the other picture. I was so young here - not quite 20. I have been thinking about my mother-in-law quite a bit lately - I miss her. GG came by today and we had a really nice visit. I told her about a situation and she was totally involved in our conversation and it made me remember so many long conversations with her when I was a much younger wife and mother. She shared so much of her experiences and wisdom with me and I treasure those special times with her so much. I have been so blessed with such strong older women in my life. Her husband just happened to be one of the few strong men who helped me grow up also. We talked about him some also.