The shower was such fun! I got to Ewing early, of course, and stopped at the cemetery first. Somebody is caring for Elaine's* and Sean's (her grandson) graves--maybe her son, Greg--and they looked very nice.
The shower was in a separate greenhouse-like area at the front of the restaurant (Parkway Pizza; Jen waitresses part-time at Fontana, another section of the same place). Alison and her other DIL, Lisa, had come early to decorate and it looked darling with blue and white balloons, "strings" of teddy bears and bottles, and other baby-oriented things. The cake was beautiful, the cups, plates, and napkins had toys and teddies on them, and whole place looked so festive.
As seems to be the usual these days, it was a woman, man, and child shower, so was happily diverse, with kids running around and general hubbub going on. Joely was happy to see his cousins, and--oh, I must repeat one of his remarks, indelicate though it is. He said he and his Daddy were going to change the baby's diapers "when it's pee, but when it's poop, Mommy will do it." Typical male! Pat and practically every other man I know follow exactly the same dictate!
The round tables were set up for 4 or 5 people and then large pizzas were set on each--all different kinds, but of course, people would eat a slice then get a different kind at another table. Along with that, there was soda--no alcohol, I was happy to see--and it was enough. In fact, it was delicious--see the food report below.
Baby Boop (still not named, but they're getting closer) got lots of wonderful gifts, including dozens of "onesies" of all different kinds, a stroller, a car seat, and so on. The female half of their friends, Mary and Scott (who brought their month-old baby girl) made a "tower" composed of baby blankets and towels, diapers, and all kinds of necessaries, such as powder, oil, brush, comb, rattles, and so on, covered with clear plastic. It was really spectacular; Mary said she had gotten the directions on the Internet.
After the gift-opening, we had the cake--oh, joy!--chatted and laughed a while, then it was over. Got home about 5:30. Pat still wasn't up to par, and said he hadn't eaten lunch. Since he had skipped breakfast, too, this alarmed me. However, I made him a platter of leftover pork roast, potatoes, and peas, and he did eat all of it. He said he felt better later in the evening.
Even after all the excitement (and work) of the shower, Alison drove the 35 miles down here in order to dig out that dead bush that's been bothering me so long. Boy, for a little size 8, is she strong. She brought three shovels, dug and hacked away, and got the thing out fairly quickly. Y0u have to sever the tap roots, she said, a piece of information I hope never to have to use. After visiting with her Dad for a half hour, and talking with Ellen during her usual Sunday call to us, she left to make dinner for her own hubby.
Oh, forgot to mention: Brother Larry called in the morning. He was driving through El Paso, for heaven's sake, and said he will probably go visit Betty in Santa Barbara next! Some day, I would LOVE to do what he's doing: Explore the country at my leisure and with no deadlines or schedules. Larry said he had suddenly remembered on Saturday that it was his 51st wedding anniversary, so he called Helen and they congratulated each other. (Last year was the big party, of course.) They have a strong marriage, maybe buttressed by the fact that he loves to travel and she doesn't, so they often have a chance to miss each other.
Okay, the food: I had two slices of greasy, cheesy, delectable pizza, loaded with sausage and calories, plus diet soda, then a piece of cake. It was just sublime, that's all there is to it, as I hadn't had anything so decadent for months. But am I okay with it? I am, since that substituted for both lunch and dinner.
* Elaine was my dear friend and neighbor for 41 years when we lived in Ewing. She died of kidney cancer four years ago.