life is a continual feast

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Shanda

We found out on Monday that Sarah was born with a congenital obstruction in her right kidney. And she also has reflux on that side. The mystery of how she had the stones in the first place as been solved. Unfortunately, this obstruction has caused her right kidney to lose most of it’s function. Thankfully, the other kidney is doing the job of keeping her healthy. (kidneys are amazing) The next step is to meet with the doctor about doing surgery on the ailing kidney to help it drain better…..because with no treatments she will most likely end up with ongoing infection. There is a chance that she may lose the kidney, but the doctor believes that even though it has lost significant function, it still appears to be healthy and he is leaning toward surgically fixing the blockage. We meet with a second doctor next week for her thoughts as well.

Of course, I am not a doctor and I don’t know much. I do not have the wisdom of the doctors, but I do have the wisdom of a mother. As a mother, I was very upset by the results of these latest tests. Truth be told, I did a lot of crying and lost my appetite for a day (but in the midst of it I felt I would be sad forever–strong emotions & dramatics have always been a talent with me). But the doctor and nurse were both calm and reassuring. As specialists, they told me that they see children all the time with the very same situation as Sarah so they know she will be okay.

Jesus was and is always near, so near, and I had time reading the Bible yesterday in which I read many verses that comforted and stayed my soul. I also had a nice long talk with Gary (our pastor) and my dearest mother (with Dad listening, too).

Jacob’s girlfriend Emily comforted me as well. I told her some of my imagined fears and rambling sad thoughts and she exclaimed, “Don’t think about those things!” Which is such simple advise, but TRUE, and I tell you, do not be afraid to share (some) things with your teenagers because they very often have just the words you need to hear, sweet simple childlike faith……..”out of the mouth of babes”.

Enough about that. All will be well. Doctors are a gift from God with God-given healing wisdom and talents. What a wonderful world we live in, where there is knowledge and support for so many medical conditions! This world is full of people trained to help in many ways and I am thankful for everyone I meet who shares a smile, or a kind word, or gives time and energy to be active in the schools and community. These sorts of people make me always to want to do the same. The world is much bigger than a kidney. 🙂 You can quote me on that.

And by the way, Sarah Joy is pain free and completely healthy. Like I said, the healthy left kidney is taking over for the lack in the right one. So this is a huge blessing! And she is on a daily antibiotic to keep infection at bay. She’s happy and growing and active. Not only that, but she’s still young enough that she isn’t worried about a thing (until we are in the doctor’s office!).

*****

Last week, Rich took me to the Brimfield antique show and we had such a nice afternoon together. I saw these Tasha Tudor books and looked through them. I didn’t buy because they were on the pricy end (probably worth it but not to me).

Birds we love.

Necklaces made from odds and ends.

Just as we are.

What we purchased on that day. We came home and I scrubbed everything up.

The disc pitcher and 7 tumblers are vintage and are for display only. I did tell the children that when they grow up and have a baby we will do a toast with them at that time using these valuable tumblers.

The covered casserole and three light yellow bowls are retired yellow.

The mugs were chosen by my husband — two lapis and one shamrock.

The divided vegetable bowl is a retired piece in Ivory.

Three cereal bowls in lemongrass, white, and paprika.

And then two pasta bowls in paprika.

I put the disc pitcher up high, next to my priceless Lilac one.

My sweet Grace.

darling cat paws

nature is confused…we had a second round of toads this year.

Remember the vultures? We searched for the Death Thing and we found it… a very dead muskrat waving in strips in the stream. EWWWWWWW

My children; 19, 18, 16, 13, 10, 7, 5

Rich and I went on a date Friday and found a restaurant close to home that we enjoyed very much. My salad had roasted potatoes, tomatoes, crumbled cheese, and grilled shrimp on it. Rich had a seafood pasta.

Like I said before, nature is confused this spring. We have toad nurseries in BOTH ponds now. I took this picture because the toad was funny. As soon as it sensed my presence it completely froze in this position.

Rich and I went to a Farmer’s market and I was completely impressed by this handmade jewelry—made by tatting! I bought an ankle bracelet for Sarah and she hasn’t taken it off.

Grace is going to Prom on Friday.

****

“For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:16

best picture is at the end of the post

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Shanda

get kids ready for school
run on treadmill for half hour (2 miles) while watching Unsolved Mysteries
shower, dress
make bagels for R and G
fold a ton of laundry that has been too easy to wash but not too easy to fold for some reason
while watching Mr. Selfridge
upload photos then abandon blog to snuggle on husband while he goes through emails
eat a cream cheese, sliced tomato and cracked pepper bagel for lunch
pop a bowl of popcorn and read a book (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince)
fall asleep
wake up to Dave home and clattering things in the kitchen, making perfect rice and a sauce to go over it (youtube video recipes) He needs help finding lid, the cornstarch, and rice vinegar
make a cuppa
facebook

AND NOW I finally get a chance to tippety tap a blog post, a very long blog post.

Did you notice in the first photo how my cobalt canister broke it’s lid so it sweet talked the sunflower canister to give it it’s lid? Now the poor sunflower canister has to use a pot lid.

After years of having a subscription to Country Living I let it run out and now get Cooks Illustrated, which I love reading through. It’s a cooking magazine for readers, as most of the magazine is very long explanations of recipes and THEN the recipe. And I also used the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook again, this time to make potato bread.

while the dough rose

I did a portrait session with a nonpaying customer.

She thought I would be honored to take her picture. Look how carefully she posed for me.

Her brother was, as usual, taking a nap (which often run to 4 or more hours at a stretch).

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I did not realize I would end up with so much bread. we ate it for days. Buns for sloppy joe (sprinkled with herbs) and several loaves. The potato in the bread kept it soft.

This is what sometimes happens when I get a sad feeling.

Star Wars the newest movie became available to purchase on amazon prime so we decided to buy it and eat all the junk food we wanted. (we were sad because Rich had left for a 10 day business trip).

Grace felt hesitant and guilty about the groceries and the boys were all like, “stop it.”

The Ben and Jerrys was for meeeeeeeeeee.

We invited our friends and told them to wear pajamas.

Seths skinny little feet…so cute and dear. (Grace just said I made the face I make when I see a cute baby).

I took one picture during the movie because I saw something so sweet:

Tessa in a love sandwich.

thrifting (fiesta plates and amber stone dishes)

Sarah made me laugh and laugh because she told me she wanted me to fix her hair “just like Tessa’s” which (she directed me) was a ponytail with a big chunk pulled out of the side. She also had a hair band doubled around her wrist “just like Tessa” but I said, “Tessa doesn’t put hairbands on her wrist so tight her hand turns purple” and made her undouble it. Tessa is all the rage in Sarah’s opinion. I should tell her that Tessa would NEVER suck HER finger.

My very favorite way to eat my morning eggs! I found an old bag of frozen raw shrimp from Costco which had been in the deep freeze for like a year. So I thought I would throw a handful in the pan along with some peppers (also bagged frozen). When the shrimp and peppers were cooked I put them on a plate and then scrambled three eggs and ate it all together while closing my eyes and saying “this is SO good!” Jacob cooks his eggs at the same time. It’s fun to be together.

journaling with a dog and a cat and also Grace (not photographed)

David’s perfect rice from a few days ago.

spring is here

the sky is blue, whoa oh oh

birds all sing as if they knew

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Today’s the day, we say I do,
and we’ll never be lonely anymore……

Ethan started track season.

Uncle Nate very generously sent a Tom Brady rookie card to Caleb in the mail, it was so sweet to see (don’t you feel like one of the best parts of being a mom is watching their faces when they’re happy?)

Jacob and Emily playing with Parker the Dog.

I made Alaskan coffee in my french press this morning and then….

It was only like one cup that I dumped but it went everywhere. Then I had to search for a dustpan.

folding laundry in front of the TV

I saved The Best for last…….Rich arrived back home yesterday and as soon as he came in the door he had three of his sons in a big hug.

I cry a lot because I’m so happy.

When the heart is full, the eyes overflow

all the exciting stuff we did on saturday

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Shanda

We drove out to NY on Saturday. We stopped at the mall in Albany because I had Macy’s money that was going to expire that day and I wanted to see if there was a good selection of fiestaware….there wasn’t. The only thing they had besides the typical place settings, mugs, plates, and bowls was a single white disc pitcher so that’s what I got. It was free so I was happy. Rich and the kids ate at the food court before we hit the road again.

Grace and Jacob were not with us on Saturday because G had a singing obligation and J had to work. They drove out on Sunday morning with Emily, Jacob’s girlfriend.

The next stop on Saturday was a very popular chicken BBQ place. The kids played on the playground and Rich took a nap on a picnic table, while yours truly ordered a chicken dinner take out.

I sat in the car to eat it because it was too cold outside for me.

We drove to our hotel. The kids swam for a while and Rich went running in the work out room. I rested (I was suffering from a sinus headache all day) and then went down to watch the kids swim.

After swimming we drove to an antique store in B. that I knew had fiestaware because my Mom and sister had texted me pictures a few days before. I will post the photo of what I bought at the end of this post. It didn’t take long at the antique store and then we went to a really popular produce stand in the area (where Rich and I grew up). We all picked out our favorite fruits to eat from this place that I have been going to since I was a child.

They allow sampling of the fruit.

The spring flowers were lovely in the sunshine.

This was pretty much the best day ever because after that, we went bowling.

And then! Pizza!

Caleb and I were both reading Harry Potter #4 but he had left his copy in the hotel so we shared my copy while we waited for our pizza to arrive. We have both moved on to #5 now and I’m beating him. (He finished #4 first) As soon as he got off the bus today I said, “I’m on page 130!” and he said “Quit reading!”

It’s always so so good for Rich and I to go back home and visit our old haunts!

(We are high school sweethearts and both our families go back several generations in our hometown)……..

AND NOW:::

I spy with my little eye ONE retired Sapphire Carafe and THREE mini disc pitchers in retired apricot, yellow, and juniper. So exciting.

hodge-podge

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Shanda

I think the noisiest school gym is the one hosting an all day wrestling tournament. There is nonstop yelling, crying, whistling, thumping of mats, cheering, and so on. By the end of the day my head feels like it’s vibrating from all the sensory overload. HOWEVER, I have come to enjoy the sport. It’s fun to watch and there is so much pride when your kid (my kid=my own boys plus any boy from our town) wins.

This is Seth getting a pep talk after a loss. He made the strangest faces as he tried not to cry. It was adorable.

Seth after a win.

He had four matches and only lost one of them, so he achieved a second place medal.

Running off the mat after his win, starting to take his head gear off.

I watched all of Seth’s matches and then Rich arrived (after church) and I left to take Sarah home for Ethan to babysit. When I returned, Caleb had already lost his first match but I was just in time to see him win the second one. (he got second place)

High fives from a team mate.

This is a really nice picture of David. Unfortunately he didn’t have a really nice day and was beaten in all three of his matches.

There are so many emotions in this sport! But he recovered quickly. He’s improving all the time, it’s just that currently he is at a rough stage because his body is growing so fast he can’t keep up with it.

*******

Yesterday I made Seth fold clothes. We received a box of gifts from Hannah and he couldn’t open his until the job was done.

He opened up…..a moose money bank! He was so happy.

Sarah got animals, toy animals from Alaska! And she took a bath with them, which is one of her most favorite pastimes.

Caleb received a sling shot, which David taught him how to use.

Each member of the family had a present to open and we were all very thankful for the thoughtful gifts from our dear Alaska~Hannah.

At the end of the day Sarah, Caleb, and David went outside to play.

David was target practicing. He put an apple on a box and I watched him shoot all of his arrows and……

Soooooooo funny.

He did eventually hit it, however, and then he ate the apple.

Caleb went down the hill on a snowboard.

I am very happy to say that his school still sends the kids outside to play even if there is snow on the ground. It’s so important for them to get fresh air. Today Caleb got on the bus with two big bags full of his snow gear, his backpack, and his percussion music set. But he’s strong and tough so he did just fine.

Isn’t he so handsome? Oh how I love this boy of mine. His cheeks are so kissable.

And Sarah…ugh….she is something else. I’ve doted on her so much that now as soon as she sees me she immedietly thinks of all kinds of problems for me to solve. At this point she was slightly uncomfortable about the sled Caleb found for her to use and wanted me to do something about it so I did. I went back in the house. I looked out the window and she was absolutely fine and happily sledding again. (Now that she is almost 100% back to health after her surgery I am going to have to stop being so over the top motherly with her or she will be impossible to live with.)

*******

This morning after the kids got on the bus, Hallelujah,….I took down all the fiesta greens (evergreen, juniper, sage, shamrock, seamist, light green, dark green)…..

AND ADDED ROSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Scarlet got to stay put for another month).

I always keep the cobalt on the very top, it is The Honored Color in my house because it’s the very first color I started collecting 18 years ago.

Samantha Cat wants me to tell you to have a wonderful day.

together again

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Shanda

“friendships multiply joys and divide griefs” HG Bohn

My Alaskan friend is sleeping off her jet lag this morning so I have a few blessed minutes to tip tap on the keyboard now that the children have been fed their pancakes, cleaned up, and gotten on the bus. It’s a misty morning. Caleb woke up and said he had dreamed that it had snowed, and without missing a beat he cried, “WHY WON’T IT SNOW!!!!!” He doesn’t want a green Christmas but I said it’s better than a blue one.

Hannah and I went for a walk yesterday and just as we were stepping off the lawn onto the road an ambulance came slowly down to park at the end of the trail by our woods. A uniformed man got out and started striding up the trail purposefully. We *needed* to know what was happening so I went over to the window to ask the man in the passenger seat what was going on, imagining that someone was in trouble in the woods. He laughed, “He needed to go to the bathroom.”

You never know what God is going to bring across your path just when you needed a nice laugh. We left the men in peace and continued on our walk quite amused.

There is a delightful little thrift shop in town so we headed there to do a little rummaging. Hannah loves to sew and she enjoyed going through all the patterns which cost 25 cents a piece. She found four to take home and use. We looked through the household goods and for the very first time EVER in this shop, I FOUND FIESTAWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Two ring handled periwinkle blue mugs! Another gift from God to put smiles on our faces. Two mugs! One for me and one for Hannah to take home with her.

All these things for five dollars. (books, something for Dave, an ornament, a piece of pretty fabric, a hand crocheted jingle bell wall hanging, a lidded glass jar with lily of the valley on it.)

AND THE TWO FIESTA MUGS.

So then we put the box in my car and walked up the sidewalk to the coffee shop for a nice lunch. We had bean sandwiches and quiche with water to drink.

After lunch we walked up to our favorite shop. When Hannah came almost three years ago on her first visit, the two of us visited this particular shop together for the first time. It was in my own town but I had not been inside yet. It was delightful, full of charming items and decorated very nicely. It has an “Anthropologie” feel to it, a feast for the eyes and nose because there are fragrant candles in the shop, too.

We asked the shop keeper to take our photo in front of her beautiful Christmas tree.

We headed back home, stopping for small caramel lattes at the Dunkin Donuts drive through.

We watched a movie and then it was time to go get David from newspaper club.

The afternoon flew by as we sang at the piano, played with the kids and worked on a Nativity puzzle while listening to music. We made chili for dinner.

We brought a table in to the dining room and set up a Nativity set with Seth and Sarah’s help.

The kids aren’t allowed to play with it so Sarah sits in front with her own little dolls, which is why Cinderella has made an appearance.

After some TV and a little reading, the first full day of Hannah’s visit was over.

*****

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” third stanza, by Edmund Sears

I hope my friends who happen by this blog today have a blessed and peaceful day. You are loved.

awesome recipe (macaroni and cheese with tomatoes)

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Shanda

(setting the table)

Last night’s dinner was exceptionally miraculous so I thought I better share. I use the word miraculous because even though the dish had tomatoes in it, all seven children still ate it with vigor and healthy appetites. They had nothing but good things to say.

Homemade macaroni and cheese is rather like a circus performance. You have the macaroni that needs to be boiled in salted water for exactly 6 minutes, then you need to find your colander and drain it, all the while stirring the butter, flour, and milk base for the cheese sauce so it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. Cheese must be found in the fridge and grated, six cups. Canned diced tomatoes from the pantry, a can opener, whisk, rubber spatula, wooden spoons, measuring cups and so on…. it’s non stop action until the oven door slams shut, your arms go up in victory, and the baking begins.

IT WAS UTTERLY WORTH IT.

(This is Shanda’s blog so do I have to mention all seven kids running back and forth throughout the kitchen during the juggling act? Every time Dave came near me to tell me something I said, “stir the sauce!”, he was honestly offended by it.)

YUM YUM YUM

I made peas and broccoli as side dishes and the kids gobbled up their veggies, too!

My first of three helpings.

It’s truly satisfying to see your loved ones diving into a good plate of food that you made yourself.

Jacob and Ethan talked nonstop, it was so good to see and hear them together since Jacob has been so busy with college and work and girlfriend.

Caleb and Seth both gave me a thumbs up!

(I don’t have photos of David or Grace. Dave was grumpy because he had his braces tightened yesterday and his teeth were sore, and Grace was grumpy I think because she was exhausted and had a lot of homework to get done. However, this was the perfect comfort meal for both of them, I must say.)

Scarlet fiesta vase with berries from outdoors, and paprika vegetable bowl (now empty!)

Ethan’s eating off a rose plate and drinking ice water from an ivory tumbler.

Sarah ate like a horsey, with multiple servings of macaroni and cheese and her veggies.

recipe here!

fiestaware at brimfield.

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Shanda

I’m very disappointed that Sarah, after feeling better for two days, is back to being sick. She is not a person who is calm during sickness, either.

That’s why I have the extra time to do this blog post on a Saturday morning. She is sick in bed next to me and if I leave she gets all upset. She needs me. She is currently sound asleep after being awake most of the night. When she stirs, she immediately whimpers and fusses, because her stomach hurts. I pat her and get her what she needs. (a very tiny sip of water, tea she refused to drink, and syrup from a jar of peaches, of which she had a small amount). Mostly she just wants Mama.

Rich is gone with Caleb (10) and Seth (6), who needed to be weighed for football and get their pictures taken. Tomorrow morning is their first game (of four). He is stopping to get Pepto Bismal for Sarah when they are done. I hope and pray it helps.

The kitten is still unnamed. He doesn’t like to be left alone, the older cats won’t have anything to do with him, the dog is harmless but scary, and consequently he adores his humans. As soon as we touch him, he purrs loud like a little motor. He is curled up in the wrinkles of my down comforter right next to Sarah’s leg.

The strong and manly football player. 😉

Jacob is looking for a job but for now he has Fridays free (no college classes). So he and I went to the Brimfield Antique show yesterday. We left the house at about 9 in the morning and came back home around 1:30.

Jacob loves Army related items from all eras, but especially the American Revolution time period, guns and other weapons, stones, and tools.

I like all the suzy-homemaker type of stuff…..and fiestware dishes.

Right away I bought these two chop plates. Chop plates are a little bit bigger than a dinner plate. The bottom one is vintage light green and the top is Post-86 retired yellow.

The prices at Brimfield are somewhat on the high end and I usually take photos of things more than buy them. This is a harlequin milk pitcher that the seller was asking 45 dollars for. Harlequin is not Fiesta, but was made by the same company. A lot of collectors of fiesta end up collecting Harlequin as well but so far I have not branched out.

The weather was gorgeous. It started out cool and misty but then slowly cleared (but stayed cool). By the time we left the sun was beginning to blaze again. I wore a shirt over a sleeveless shirt so I could take it off and tie it around my waist if necessary.

I also enjoy taking photos of things that I know my friends and family would like. (my son Caleb loves the Patriots).

My friend B and I both love vintage Strawberry Shortcake.

My boys all love Batman.

This reminded me of Uncle Rog

For all of us who miss the Farm.

My mom in in the process of furnishing a dollhouse. I probably should have bought these. They were so heavy, I have to believe they were just as fine of quality as real, full sized kitchen things. Imagine baking tiny cakes. The lady was asking 45 dollars for them.

I asked the mommy if I could take a picture of her dogs. Are they adorable or what?

I looked through this very old diary and was immediately pulled back into the past. I adore this sort of thing…the penmanship, the history, and just by chance I opened it right up on my birthday…77 years before my actual birth.

“Snowed all day. Did not go to church. Moss-sick with a cold. Mr. Miller preached his first sermon.”

Jacob with a gun made out of rubber.

little cups I liked

we took a lunch break

the food is especially delicious

Jacob’s fries were handmade and covered with made-from-scratch bacon alfredo cheese sauce.

I had a lobster sandwich, fruited cole slaw, and boiled red potatoes.

and Jacob’s fries

Jacob spent most of his money on stones, which is loves to study and collect. He has a shelf in his room for them.

It takes a very long time to decide, I was amused watching him. And the lady told him lots of cool information. He also looked things up on his phone to learn even more. Part of what makes life so interesting is when you take a topic and study it for yourself, because you want to and not because you have to.

These are some of the things he purchased.

But now….I have saved the best for last!

I probably would not be as excited about Brimfield if the fiestaware lady wasn’t there with her 1,000s of pieces. A lot of her things are “seconds” (second rate fiesta, with tiny imperfections) but if you take your time and look at things carefully you can find some good pieces. Regardless, it’s fun to see so much of it in one place and to see some items you may not see in the local stores.

I tried taking a selfie with my son but as you can see he was bored out of his mind. He will not be getting any fiestaware when I die. He told me he was tired of it!

I made a couple selections which I will show you at the end of the post.

But first, here are some vintage pieces from another booth.

Jacob manhandled everything and when I made him stop, he left the tent. *sighs with relief*

The same vintage seller also had a set of lilac (limited run).

I bought nothing from the vintage seller. But it sure was excited to see it all.

These were my purchases. I brought them home and washed it all. I put them on my dining room table, which was spread with a Fiesta tablecloth.

2 chop plates, a new Lapis vase which will look beautiful with wild flowers in it, a shamrock soap dish, and a lollipop box which I love and already put lollipops in.

two very important sentences

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Shanda

We are leaving on Friday to go on a nine day vacation.

I am busy organizing, packing 72 complete outfits in 72 large ziplock bags, and preparing food. The house is in an uproar.

Three children had dentist appointments this morning.

Also, Jacob took his driver’s test today.

While I was waiting for him to be done (there were three kids ahead of him) I nervously drove to Goodwill and found……six sage green fiesta teacups…..making me even more excited with life in general!

Naturally when we got home I took a couple of pictures.

Sage is a brand-new fiesta color. Why anyone would want to donate Sage fiestaware is beyond me.

My guess is that they came in boxed place settings and maybe the person decided they would never use them, so they gave the teacups to Goodwill and kept everything else?

Regardless, it will be a pleasure to use them and they look so pretty on the shelf.

And he passed with a perfect score.

spring table

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Shanda

Monday was my sister’s birthday and we met each other and some friends for lunch.

After lunch I took her home and she gave me a birthday gift (which was last month…we hadn’t seen each other). I opened the package to find beautiful April Cornell napkins and a tablecloth. It’s funny because I had already eyed these things at one of our mutual favorite shops (Marshalls).

The colors match my much-loved Fiestaware.

And it’s perfect for spring!

****
“I like to think my domestic style is a statement of my ultimate aspiration to create a welcoming, lived-in, loved, used and abused space for living.” Jane Brocket

love & best dishes

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Shanda

We have a terrible cold virus going through the whole family. In fact, three of the children have missed school in the last week. We had planned to go to NYC on our anniversary, but with the lack of sleep we decided to stay closer to home.

With a babysitter at home with Sarah, we went out to breakfast at a place about 45 minutes away. It was a first time visit for us and we were not disappointed. We ordered coffee and hot chocolate first, and the waitress brought me my mug with whipped cream sky high, and sprinkles, too. The mug was resting on a yellow fiestaware saucer. I collect fiesta dishes, so this was a thrill.

Then, we each ordered a version of eggs benedict. My eggs were on a split croissant with spinach and mushrooms. Rich’s were on an English muffin with corn beef hash.

And AGAIN, served on Fiestaware! It is not typical to see fiesta in restaurants, so it was a treat to see “my” dishes used in this cafe.

Well, it was time for the mall to open, so we meandered down the road to do a little shopping, happy to be together, alone.

He didn’t have to twist my arm to get me into Tiffany&Co, where he bought me this dainty platinum ring (set with tiny diamonds).

We wandered around the mall and had a snack at Starbucks, where I pointed to my new ring while eating a pumpkin muffin. Later on, I saw a display of candles; I love how our initials come together in the alphabet, Rich and Shanda.

After a while we left the mall and went to Barnes and Noble to sit and read. I worked on my Bible study lesson and Rich continued his “Holiness” study. I picked out a few books for the children and snapped some pictures of books that I thought looked interesting. (Yesterday, I ordered two of them from amazon.)

We began to feel hungry so we left to go eat an early dinner at a pasta place.

AND GUESS WHAT? Yet again our food was served on fiestaware. At least, it was very similar to fiesta and stamped with the HLC mark.

Our waitress stopped by just as I was taking a picture of my food and when she teased me I told her that I collected Fiestaware and that I didn’t have the certain bowl our pasta was served in. She seemed genuinely interested and asked several questions.

The next time she checked on us, she brought two clean bowls just like the ones we were eating from, and told us WE COULD HAVE THEM.

She didn’t even know it was our anniversary! I laughed and exclaimed; it was such a nice surprise and she received a nice tip to match.

The little bread plates were also made by Homer Laughlin China (company that makes fiesta).

I did some research on my bowls and I think they are from HLC’s Bosque line. It is not technically fiesta but very very similar. I love my new bowls and will treasure them, they are only for Rich and I to use (not the children).