Riley’s 15th Birthday & Masquerade Tea

Riley celebrated 15 with a Phantom of the Opera Masquerade Tea. 

A  tea blending table accompanied by a buffet of small sweets & savories welcomed a small entourage of family and friends. There were croissants, scones and clotted cream. Le Bete Noir was served, sans ice cream, (but there was whipped cream and black cherry sorbet in the punch.)

Our guests, dressed extravagantly, fashioned masks with feathers and jewels, painted candles in black and red wax and sang karaoke. There was candlelight, feather boas and a photobooth. 

Earlier this year, Riley shared that she would like to have a 'promise' ring and invite her friends to celebrate this commitment alongside her. I was only familiar with large "True Love Waits" style events,  held in church auditoriums. So, we did a lot of thinking and talking about what a personal ceremony may look like:  how formal, how spiritual, etc.  

As we planned, it made sense to incorporate the milestone into her birthday celebration, not unlike a pair of quinceanera heels. 

There would be a significant ring, a tiara and a promise to sign. I took to calling this her "Declaration of Independence" and she took to rolling her eyes every time I did. 

A fun time was had by all, even my young nephew who, outnumbered though he was, chose to embrace the magic and become a Master Mystery Tea Mixologist.  Rumor has it he's thinking of going pro. 

Milestone w/Moon Roof

 Rye’s first time behind the wheel & the full November moon:

Sugar Rush Weekend ‘25 Recap

Twenty Three & Fifteen 

Another year older, another year wiser and ready for another year-long spin. 

Halloween had us out trick-or-treating in our BBC friends’ neighborhood and up making sweet treats well past the brink of midnight 

November One- we had birthday cheesecake and soup with family and friends 

Sunday morning it was class as usual and a tea party with time change on November Two. We faced a sudden drought and the loss of indoor plumbing but we partied on, undaunted. 

November Three brought us Fisher’s flat tire before work, bright and early and a late evening getting as many hours as I could work. 

November Four was Rye’s learner’s permit and a sticky peach sticker proving I stopped to vote. 

November Five- “fully alive in your presence, Lord…” it was time for youth with a quick celebration of National Doughnut Day en route home. 

November Six - almost a week later now but there are still dishes to be done, decor to put away, not to mention a native son to welcome home.

Thanksgiving approaches bringing all the seasonal festivities and we are ready for them all… almost. 

We’ve got one more Friday night under the lights of a high school (Championship) football game before we trade one rush for another. 

Rye is Ready to Roll

 Having the requisite decade and a half of life experience, Riley is now ready to learn the rules of the road… the season of abrupt road sign identification has begun… 

Limb Loss Hoss

“Play with me!” Jordan handed me the bucket of plastic animals and we proceeded to discuss whether the Triceratops and Giraffe were going to have a battle or a tea party (I’ll leave you to guess which one “boys wear blue” Jordan went with) 

As I pulled more animals from the bucket and set them on the table, I noticed that the horse kept toppling over. When I stopped long enough to problem solve, it was quick work to figure out why. 

“This fella needs a robot leg, I suppose.” 

And just like that, we had ourselves a project. I grabbed a paper clip, pipe cleaners and some popsicle sticks. 

My junior surgeons were apprised of all safety protocols, especially involving the hot glue gun. 

In no time, we were celebrating the fortitude and uprightness of our bionic horse friend.