Today I have a watercolor (created with the Waterlogue app, not handpainted by me) of the cake that Hannah got me for my birthday. It was funfetti, with lots of sprinkles and it was delicious. Jackie and I mayyyyyyy have dug in a bit with our fingers before it was cut and served . . . I say you’re never too old for a smash cake!
Happy Wednesday, friends!
Thank you all so much for the birthday love and wishes yesterday, it was truly fabulous to read all of your comments! Dale is all puffed up with pride at your kind words about his post, too.
I have to admit that the things he wrote took me a little by surprise. Not the stuff about what we did over the weekend, that was a mere recap. But that stuff at the end . . . about how he appreciates me and recognizes how hard I worked . . . that got me pretty verklempt. And it’s true that I worked pretty hard after his accident. He was fairly helpless for a while and he was in pretty rough shape when he came home from the hospital. Frankly, it was exhausting to be his only caregiver during that time. I also know it was a privilege and I’m so glad to have done it and been able to show up for him in that way. I think we learned a lot about each other and, while it sure wasn’t always pretty, it deepened the level of respect we have for one another in a very meaningful way.
I do take exception to something he wrote though. It was that part about me being the one who holds our family together. He’s got that all wrong because he, my beloved husband, is our glue. He is the center of everything we do together. He’s the one who makes us all laugh, he’s the one who works to hard to take care of us, he’s the one to run an errand or pick up a kid or a loaf of bread. He never says no, he rarely complains, and he (unlike me) does it all with a cheerful heart and a smile on his face.
I suppose the bottom line is that we are well matched and we know it. Maybe it’s because we’d both been hurt before. Maybe it’s because we came to this relationship with open hearts and clear expectations. Or maybe it’s simply the hand of fate.
I’m not even sure it matters.
I’m just grateful for all of it.
Hello readers of Carole Knits. Dale here to write a special birthday post for Carole. It’s been a while since I’ve had this opportunity to write for you all and when Carole asked me to do this for today I readily agreed. Of course, that was the easy part. Coming up with a clever idea for a post, that’s the tricky part.
I’m a big fan of Carole Knits and I am amazed that she has done this consistently for so long and so well and she continues to come up with new ideas, thoughts, and angles 5 days a week! Then it hit me, why even come up with my own idea? It’s Monday and it’s Carole’s birthday so I humbly present . . . Weekending, The Birthday Edition.
This weekend began on Thursday afternoon. We were babysitting a cat (I’ll explain why later) and when we returned home from work the cat was missing. I mean really missing. Carole was in full panic mode and muttering, I can’t lose someone else’s cat, this can’t be happening, but I was confident that the cat could not have gotten out. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes and 4 times through the house Carole found him behind a chair, under a quilt, in her studio. Thank goodness, right?
I had a Board of Directors meeting with our Kiwanis Club and left for that shortly after we found Tiger The Cat. I have no idea what Carole did while I was gone but I came back with Jo-Ann and we had pizza and wine and an all-around very pleasant evening.
We both had Friday off (I’m recently returned to work, did you know?) but there’s always plenty to do at home. Carole walked down to our sister-in-law Mary’s house to help her with a technical problem, when she came back she hooked up a surround system for our new TV and we spent the rest of the day each doing our own hobbies and tasks. At 5pm, though, we were in front of the TV watching the daughter of our friends Tom and Anne get married. We would have attended this wedding but due to COVID restrictions they had to cut the guest list from 150 to 100 then down to 50. This is where the cat comes in . . . we were asked to have Tiger, the bride and groom’s cat, here with us for a few days while everyone was at an inn for the wedding. Happily, Tiger wasn’t hiding on Friday and he watched the wedding live with us, I’m even pretty sure he recognized the voices of his people! Our evening was going along nicely until we got the news about RBG. Carole was devastated and cried hot tears for quite a while. I’m sure she’ll have more to say about that soon.
Saturday morning Carole ran out to pick up her flower share (dahlias, right? I don’t know but they are very pretty) and in the afternoon we went to our Town Hall for a ceremony dedicating a POW/MIA chair in memory and honor of a WWII veteran from our town who, as it happens to be, was one of Carole’s favorite library patrons when she was the Director of our town library. Delivering a speech to honor him was very special for her and I can tell you that her speech was awesome.
After the ceremony we went to a nursery to get plants and pumpkins and gourds to decorate our front door and then to the local lobster pound to get provisions for our Saturday evening dinner. When we returned home, Carole decorated the outside for fall (she had done the inside earlier) and then it was time for a drink on the deck. Normally we go out for a special dinner to celebrate but again, with the COVID stuff, we felt more comfortable staying home. We had lobsters (she makes me put them in the pot, FYI) and baked potato, conversation and music. It was even better than going out, at least to me . . . even if Carole did weigh the lobsters to make sure she got the biggest one!
Sunday mornings are quiet around here but in the afternoon we headed to Sean and Michael’s for a very small outdoor gathering to celebrate the birthday. We had a really great time hanging out with friends, eating good food, and celebrating. Life felt normal for a while and it was so nice, especially the macaroni and cheese and chocolate cake!
And now here it is, Monday morning. It’s Carole’s 55th birthday and we’re both back to work, feeling content and happy about the weekend we had.
My hope in writing this post is to let Carole know how much I admire and appreciate everything she does and, man, she does so much! During this strange year she has maintained a sense of normalcy for me. She’s doing her librarian job, as well as her work as an elected official, she volunteers in our community, and she works hard to keep our family close. On top of that, she continues to explore new hobbies (there’s a lot of yoga going on here recently) and skills (I heard her yesterday discussing a wedding sweater for Hannah) and she continues to teach me new things. Just this weekend she taught me how to fold a queen sized sheet so that it doesn’t get wrinkled! Also, I just finished reading Hamnet and she just finished the latest Louise Penny and we discussed them together in place of our old book club gathering. Again, keeping things normal and keeping me sharp – which could honestly be a full time job!
What’s even more amazing is that she’s been doing all of this without a lot of help from me for the past four months. She’s been my rock since the accident and I count my blessings every day. We talked about how altered this birthday would have been for her if the outcome of my accident had been . . . well . . . different . . . and we’re both grateful for this life we have together. Yes, it’s different these days and it makes me think of that great line from a Kathy Mattea song, while the world outside my window goes insane, you’re here to remind me, a few good things remain.
Happy Birthday, Carole. Thanks for being the glue that holds this life we have together.
My girlie is 28 years old today. Even as I’m typing that I’m finding it hard to believe. Honestly, a few weeks ago I thought she was turning 27 and then Jess pointed out that nope, she was already 27. I lost a year somewhere, friends.
Indulge me, please, as I share 3 photos I took in the last couple of weeks of her 27th year.
On vacation, floating in Jackie’s tube. We were all pretty envious that she could get into that thing, I’ll tell you. What I want you to know about this photo: she’s fun and active and still a kid at heart. She’s also a terrific auntie and Jackie adores her.
Wedding dress shopping last Thursday. Due to COVID there were restrictions on how many people she could bring with her so it was just Hannah, Doreen (her godmother) and I. What I want you to know about this photo: she’s beautiful and in love and oh-so-grown-up. She is very ready for this next step in her life.
The end result of wedding dress shopping . . . she found a dress. Well. Sort of. Her dress will actually be a custom design that will combine the neckline of one dress with the skirt and fabric of another. 4,000 dresses and she narrowed it down to two . . . I guess that’s not bad. What I want you to know about this photo: she is beyond excited about her wedding and she quite literally glows with happiness.
Happy Birthday, Hannah. I’m amazed and astounded at the young woman you have become. You make me proud and happy every day and I love the time we spend together.
If you wrote a post for today please include your link below and thanks for playing along!
Is for thinking about what could have been.
Today is my brother Donald’s birthday and he would be 60 if he hadn’t been killed in a motorcycle accident 36 years ago.
I’m thinking about birthdays when we were kids and our mom would buy a big beautiful bakery cake and play the special birthday record album we had.
I’m thinking about how sweet he was to me when I was a little girl and the song he made up to sing to me whenever he brought me a glass of water.
I’m thinking about how much I missed him when he decided to go live with our father when he was 12 and I was 6.
I’m thinking about all the birthdays he didn’t get and what it would be like to have a 60 year old brother.
I’m thinking about how much I’d like to wish him a happy birthday today.
So I’ll just do it.
Happy Birthday, Donald, from your little sister. I miss you every day.