10:29 p.m. - 2008-07-27
isn't this nice?
We had a really lovely weekend.
Friday, we went next door to Stacey's for a party. What a crazy mix of people. (In a good way.) There were a lot of memorable moments but the best was when Stacey was describing how on a early morning walk with her dog, Abby, she encountered this large bird and how it, rather than flew away or darted into the bushes, RAN down the block and turned left onto the next street. Stacey did what seemed like a good impression of what a tall, skinny, unusual bird running down the road might look like, head down, lots of flapping arms. It sounded totally made up, so everyone spent a lot of time making good-natured jokes at her expense, about this mysterious fowl that sounded more like something you'd see in National Geographic or Animal Planet's special on large, nearly extinct birds of the African Wetlands. Not in Castle Shannon. We have wild turkeys that travel in slow, large, flopping, unhurried, two or three at a time - like mother-daughter pairs or trios shuffling into Lane Bryant at the mall. Yup, hefty turkeys are about the most exciting winged creature in pittsburgh's South Hills. But Stacey swears it was an egret or a loon or heron. The jokes went on, and it didn't help when her mother showed up bearing a gigantic dessert which she called "a hummingbird cake."
Kevin thinks we should start a rumor that she sighted a dodo bird and insists that "we could make money off of that!" We could be the new Loch Ness. I picture Kevin wearing a shirt that says "Castle Shannon, home of the famed Dodo bird!" siting at a card table at the end of our driveway, like a kid running a lemonade stand, taking twenties from tourists and handing them maps of Castle Shannon with big red Xs to mark the places of the supposed Dodo sightings.
Yesterday, Kevin took Brandon fishing on my uncle Bob's boat. I drank beers and sunbathed with the girls at Sandcastle. We also went on waterslides. Tolner lost her top at one point but stayed submerged until the um, lids were back on. Unlike Haley who seems to lose her top accidentally on purpose, regularly, on dry land. Amy's boob was attacked by an insect. Mine made it through the day unscathed.
We had dinner at a restaurant on the river with Amy, whose husband is out of town. It was lovely - especially good shrimp and great converation.
Today we went to the museum with 16 people. We are members so it was "free" and it was really fun. Kevin's crew from high school, wives and children all came except one wife - Chaney - who was taking someone to the airport. We had a great time except for when the elevator refused to descend and some alarm sounded loudly, scaring the children and embarrassing all of us because it seemed the only explanation was that we were over the safe weight limit. Otherwise, a good time was had by all - little Cara befriended me because we both were enamored of the giant "gems and jewelry" exhibit. She is 5 and I have known her for half of her life and she has only occasionally spoken to me, but we had a glorious bonding moment when the Brazilian gemstones rendered us both breathless. I am a sucker for citrine, amber and smoky quartz in case you were wondering. My birthstone, emerald, just doesn't do it for me. There was also this gargantuan rock split open and filled with the most amazing deep turquoise colored crystals. Seeing that stuff just makes me believe that much more in God. Hiding all of that incredible stuff under the earth, just waiting for someone to find it. It's shameful and tragic that pursuit of these objects of beauty cause so much bloodshed and suffering.
We all had dinner at a kid friendly burger place. At one point, Leah, one of the more reserved little ones, was noshing on a corn dog and just started looking around the table, smiling, giving everyone a big "thumbs up." It was adorable, and reminded me of how my grandmother, about halfway through a family meal, would look around and say "Isn't this nice?" Having everyone together IS nice. I felt happy to know these people, honored to know their children and get to watch them grow up, excited to have my own and expand the group.
Now we are home and tired. I just finished a book - I am just motoring through fiction and memoirs this summer - and Kevin is putting address labels on our tickets for the Fire Department's annual fundraiser/raffle. We may have the winning ticket for a Ford Focus. But probably not. It's ok - it's our annual contribution to the firefighters who get no government funding and is 100% volunteer in our community. Given my family's history of flame-induced property damage, we'd better stay on their good side.
Monday morning comes too soon.
