Prom

This was my daughter before this weekend's Mathews High School prom.  Saturday was yet another marathon day that started with a trip to a neighbor's house for activities related to hair, makeup and nails.  Then there were multiple stops for pictures, dinner at Bangkok Noi in Gloucester, more pictures in our back yard, the prom itself (conveniently located at the Piankatank Ruritan Club which is a cartwheel away from our house), and ultimately the after-prom at the high school.

I helped out at the after-prom and didn't get to bed until after 3:00 a.m. (*yawn*)

Daughter was absolutely stunning, and she had a great time.

In short, although it was a very long day that didn't really end until early Sunday morning, a good time was had by all.

Now, I could really use a nap. (*yawn*)

Fourth

After the clouds of Hurricane Arthur blew off into the Atlantic, the rest of the July 4 weekend was spectacular.  Friday afternoon some friends came over to my house for an afternoon of boat rides and tubing up and down Queens Creek.

Glenda and Billy put their boat in over at the Seabreeze on Gwynn's Island and used my dock as the base of operations for a day full of fun in the sun.

The temperature was practically perfect, and there was hardly any humidity--very rare for July.

While some people boated, others congregated on the deck under the not-so-easy EZ-Up that I haven't pulled out since a camping trip over three summers ago.  Needless to say, there was a little bit of hissing and spitting involved with setting up, and matters were not helped by all the three-year-old sand that was still stuck in every nook and cranny of the awning and its poles. Eventually, with some help from Son and Daughter, I was victorious. 

Although it wasn't excessively hot, it was nice to have the shade.

Laura Lane

Alda

Theresa

Lisa

In addition to the not-so-easy EZ-Up, I tossed up a few decorations from the Dollar Tree, my new favorite store.

These droopy streamers were originally more lively; this was taken post-party.
During the party this table was covered with food including several red, white and blue desserts brought by Lisa and Laura Lane.  Naturally I forgot to take pictures, but trust me,
they were works of art. 

Yep, that's a yellow bread tie messing up my festive photo.

After the day of boating and congregating, most everyone went off to the fireworks at the high school, which from all accounts were fantastic.  Exhausted by that point, I opted to stay home and watch the sporadic pyrotechnics put on from various spots in Hallieford and Gwynns Island.

The weather Saturday and Sunday was just perfect.  And I did absolutely nothing. It seems the more I rest, the more tired I am. Completely lethargic.

Although it was a three-day weekend, time seemed to fly by.

And now it's back to work.

If I haven't mentioned it lately, I'm really looking forward to my vacation in a few weeks.

How was your weekend?

Whites Creek Landing

These were taken from Whites Creek Landing on Sunday when the temperatures hovered around sixty.

Monday brought cooler temperatures and lots of rain, so the snow is now all gone.

Although normally I despise Mondays, yesterday was particularly wonderful.

(For me to call a winter Monday wonderful is verboten in my house highly unusual.)

The one and only reason this Monday is allowed to be called wonderful is because the Mathews High School girls basketball team beat Middlesex in a very important game and for one of the few times all season played consistently well without giving up. This win is long overdue and hopefully a sign of more good things to come. Please!

Other than basketball and work and filling out financial aid forms for Son's college, there is not much to report from my world.  I'm suffering from a bad case of the February Blahs that seem bound and determined to linger right up until Spring brings more sunlight, warmer temperatures and lots more outdoors time, which I seem to require in order to function properly.

Anyway, feel free to help liven things up with a comment about anything going on with you and how your February is going thus far.

Merroir

Saturday afternoon  my friend BHE and I went to Merroir for lunch.

Although chilly, it was otherwise a beautiful sunny day.

One thing I like about this place other than the food and the location is they've outfitted their porch area so you can sit out there and not freeze to death.  Plastic and heaters are involved. 

I love the outdoors but hate being cold.  One reason is because I have Raynaud's (click here to find out about it).  Even in the summer time something as simple as handling frozen food or just being in an air conditioned environment can trigger an episode. My fingers go numb and turn all sorts of strange colors.

I mean strange.

But none of this has anything to do with Merroir, whose porch was delightfully warm even on this cold day.

Although the specialty of the house is oysters, I had shrimp and grits and BHE had a crab cake that was a work of art.

It was a great way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Now it's Monday.  Back to work.

I'd much rather be sitting on the porch at Merroir.

Christ Church

This beautiful church is on the road leading to Williams Wharf, where I went jogging over the weekend.

Ordinarily I like to park at Wayland Baptist Church, just across Route 14 from this road, however it's hunting season, and running in the middle of the woods on a Saturday during hunting season is just not something you do around here. Unless you are OK with the risk of being shot at.

I wasn't quite ready for that just yet, so figured I'd park at Williams Wharf Landing and run up and down this road, which is two miles total. Sort of a wimpy run but better than nothing which is what I really wanted to do.

These were taken from the outside.  I might have left a nose print on the window.
My apologies to the window cleaners.

I'm always drawn to this church and its graveyard. But what I liked about this particular visit was that the Christmas decorations were still up, and the sun did a marvelous job of illuminating the interior.

(By the way, I have never been inside this church. It's my goal to do so one day.)

I enjoyed meandering through the cemetery, where many of Mathews' First Families have plots.

I love tombstones that dare to be different.

To read more about the history of Kingston Parish and Christ Church, click here.

Happy Monday.