Sunday, October 4, 2009

"Unexpected Surprises and Best Laid Plans"

This was the weekend that my husband was not supposed to be home. He usually comes home every other weekend , but on occasion he will get what is called a drive through. This is when he is going to a destination where he has to come right through our town and with a little luck , he has enough time to spend the night. This past Saturday he surprised me with a drive through.





On the weekends that he doesn't come home I am able to get projects done around the house. This weekend I had planned on cleaning my upstairs apartment and starting to work on Katie's denim quilt. I am hearing almost daily now " When are you going to start my quilt ?" , so I need to get on that.


Here I am warming up my skills earlier in the week, hemming a pair of kitchen curtains that I had bought. The windows are not a stand
ard size so a few inches needed to come off. It's been awhile !





I have been working on other projects lately which I can't speak of as they are top secret! I miss my husband , Jake , on the weekends that he doesn't come home but I have learned to take advantage of the spare time and try to accomplish projects around the house that there just isn't time to do through the week.


So my plans were put on the back burner as I went to p
ick him up on Saturday morning. We ran all over town grocery shopping . When we got home I got busy on a large pot of spaghetti sauce as we both had a taste for it. I spent several hours in the kitchen cooking the sauce , also made myself some mashed cauliflower which has become a new favorite of mine. And I had lots of fruit and vegetables to wash.


On our shopping expedition we picked up two new dog toys. One for Roxy and one for Ruby. Ruby loves these ring toys and will just sit hold it in her mouth. She will even start to fall asleep with it this way !





As I was busy slaving away in the kitchen my husband was busy playing video games! It's all good though as I have a very small kitchen and prefer it when Jake and Katie aren't standing right in the middle of this tiny room making it impossible to get anything done!


Ah Katie. Katie was bored. Are we surprised here? So her clever yet somewhat sneaky mom asked her if perhaps she might like to go out to her brothers house for the night. " I guess. " was the answer that I got. So I called my DIL and asked her if she would mind the company. By this time the sauce was done cooking and we all piled in the car to take Katie out to my son's house and a few quick snugg
les with the grandkids.


We had a nice spur of the moment visit , some delicious dip with chips that my DIL made . She is a fabulous cook by the way. And as Jake and I talked our DIL into Thanksgiving dinner at their house again this year, we left their home feeling good!
Another year we don't have to do the dinner, kisses and hugs from the grandkids, some wood for a fire, and most importantly
, a night alone!!!


This photo Katie took with her phone is of her and her niece Sarah.






And to think all I was going to do on my Saturday was clean and cut fabric! On our way home we stopped and bought a bottle of wine for me and some beer for my dear. We went home and had our delicious spaghetti dinner and just sat and watched some television together. Then we washed the dishes and went outside around dusk.
Jake started a nice fire for us as it was a bit chilly out. But the warmth of the fire made it very comfortable!






We had such a fun time together. Sometimes when things aren't planned they turn out to be the best times ! We talked about everything under the Harvest Moonlight. Sort of a review of our past twenty years together. Our twentieth will be in December.





I went on a pine cone hunt and hit the jackpot ! My intention was to make a pine cone wreath but after I went on-line and found all of the different things that you can do with pine cones, I may be making more than a wreath !
Jake had great fun . Every time that I wasn't paying attention , he thought it hysterically funny to throw a package of firecrackers into the fire to scare me half to death! Ha Ha Ha Ha !
That was so funny. ( sarcasm )


This day turned out nothing like I had planned. And sometimes those are the best days. Unexpected surprises.










28 comments:

Eileen said...

Di, this was so beautiful.
And you're right, the little happy surprises that life throws your way are such Blessings!
It sounds like you and Jake had a perfect evening! I love time spent like that with my husband! The talks, the reminiscing, the private jokes, the antics, the fire, it all sounds so wonderful. I'm so glad you had this special time.
Not to mention the good dinner and time spent with your family too!
Beautiful post, Di!
I loved it!
Love you, Eileen

Eileen said...

PS ~ I LOVED ALL THE PICTURES!!
I especially loved the one at the end of you and Jake, and also the one of you at your dining table toiling away! You really look like you were in your element in BOTH those pictures!

Diana said...

Hi Eileen!
I hope you had a good weekend too! And you are so right, sometimes the unexpected can be very good! I forgot to mention that Amy took Katie driving for the first time! She said she did pretty good until she came to the turns. Amy had to grab the wheel a couple of times! Better her than me!
Love Di

Pramoda Meduri said...

HI Diana,

Somehow i feel i'm very close to u and to ur family, every time after i read ur post..Thanks for this pleasure...

and convey my regards to all of ur guys and gals..

Lovely pair u two...hehe..:)

Good post..

Brenda said...

Wow! What a great weekend! It sounds absolutely wonderful. Sometimes life gets too hectic for us to take the time to enjoy our spouses. Your photos are happy, peaceful, industrious, warm, funny . . . delightful.

Gail said...

HI DIANA-

Oh how I LOVE this post. And that last photo of you and Jake is wonderful - you are a really good-looking couple. And how nice that you shared such a lovely unexpected intimate weekend together - I felt so warm just reading all about the what, where and so forth. Oh yes, lovely indeed.
I am SO glad you shared this.

Love to you and Jake
Gail
pece......

Wanda..... said...

That was a really nice photo of you and Jake at the end Diana...it's as if you were looking up at that big harvest moon above...it's certainly becoming the weather for outdoor and indoor fires...sounds like you had the perfect weekend, spaghetti dinner, talking and even wine by the fire under the stars...now I want to do it soon myself. Hope you enjoy your week too Diana, did you finish the curtains?

Smiles and Luv,
Wanda

Diana said...

Hi Prams,
I am happy to have you in the family! I hope you had a fun weekend!
Love Di

Diana said...

Hi Brenda,
Life always seems too hectic to me and that Saturday started out that way but ended up fun and relaxing!
Love Di

Diana said...

Hi Gail,
Thank you for the lovely compliment! It's funny though as I was just thinking about how much we've aged in the past twenty years! I will have to find a way to post an older photo, boy what a difference!
Love Di

Diana said...

Hi Wanda,
It really was the perfect evening! Not to cold or windy, just chilly enough to enjoy the fire. I roasted marshmallows too! Yes I did get the curtains hung, they only took a few minutes to hem! I started Katies quilt today. Lots and lots and lots of squares to cut!
Love Di

Barb said...

What a wonderful post about the bounty of your weekend! I love the pic of you and Jake at the end. Also, Ruby is too funny!

Diana said...

Hi Barb,
I was thinking about you on Saturday, wondering if you had gotten any of the snow that they were talking about on the weather!
We're just trying to enjoy the nice Fall weather before our snow gets here!
Ruby is most definitely is quite a character! Love Di

Terrie said...

My husband is working on getting his CDL for his job but he plans on retiring as soon as he can to go drive. The funny thing is, when I mentioned that he will have to have a truck that has a sleeper in it, he said, Yeah, a big one for me and the dogs. I was referring to one for me and him so I could go with him. I guess we know now, who takes presidence. Anyway, I don't know how you do it, being away from Jake for so long. I'm glad you were able to have this unexpected time together. And like you said, sometimes the unplanned time is the best time.
Love Terrie

Dr.John said...

Now I really enjoyed reading this entry.
I love romance.
I even like firecrackers.
What a wonderful weekend.

Diana said...

Hi Terrie,
It took me many years to get used to not being with him everyday. But I had two young children ( 8 and 11) at the time to occupy my time! It still doesn't feel right and we both hate it but it's a living. He always wanted to take one of the dogs with but his company charges a five hundred dollar deposit to take a pet! I personally don't want to go, I hear all about it and it's not fun!
Love Di

Diana said...

Hi Dr. John,
I didn't know that you were a romantic at heart but I can most definitely picture you enjoying the fire crackers!
Love Di

Anvilcloud said...

Mashed cauliflower. New to me. Sounds interesting.

Jackie said...

Di...what a wonderful surprise for you....and it sounds like the two of you turned it into what was a well-planned fun time together. How sweet and romantic. I love the picture of the fire. I can just imagine roasting marshmellows over it...sitting by it.....enjoying the sounds and smells...uhhmm.
What a romantic post. Love to you both...
Jackie

Diana said...

Hi Ac,
Chop cauliflower into small pieces.
Barely cover with milk and boil slowly until you can mash it. Add salt, pepper and butter, Mmm, Mmm good! Love Di

Diana said...

Hi Jackie,
It was a wonderful evening and the marshmallows were good! It was a very romantic and fun night!
Love Di

Maria said...

Oh Diane... this kind of day is the best!
The ones that just keep unfolding...
Your pictures really add to the story... and actually they TELL the story...
I miss sewing... it was fun to see you doing one of my favorite things...
* * *love, love love to sew ...

love camp fires
love hugs
God bless you and your beautiful family, Diane~
Maria
* * * * * * * * *
ps. thank you for stopping by tonight, you always take time for others ~

Diana said...

Hi Maria,
I miss sewing too, that's why I offered to make Katie a quilt. I figured it would be a good winter project. It is hard to squeeze the time in though!
Love Di

Rebecca said...

It was so calming and sweet to read your post. The picture of the two of you together brought tears to my eyes. Happy tears. I know you treasure these moments. It shows in your words and the pictures you took. I'm glad you had the special time together.

I like the way you find "projects" to keep busy when Jake is gone instead of feeling sorry for yourself. It IS a blessing to have a job these days, and you make it easier for him by being flexible with your plans when he can be home unexpectedly.

Diana said...

Oh thank you Rebecca, the truth is that I love being a homemaker and if my arthritis had not gotten so bad I would be able to do so much more!

But yes flexibility is important. Jake loves coming home and I just can't bring myself to do things without him when he's home!
Love Di

Bernie said...

I had to check to be sure that I was at the right post....I had just read your "why" post a short time ago......LOL
Loved that Jake surprised you with his being home this weekend, I absolutely loved that picture of you both, glass of wine, sitting around the fire...sounds heavenly.
Katie driving....how much fun is that?....Good for your DIL, she sounds pretty special. Have a great day my friend....."-) Hugs

Unknown said...

That is soooo sweet! I love it! I know you love your man like I love my huhoney. I loved your pictures and just telling you story just made my heart skip a beat. There is nothing like "love in the air" and it sounds like you had it! So happy for you surprise visit! hugs...

Tranquility Speaks said...

I am beaming ear to ear after I finished reading :)

The best times are the one's that have been unplanned. I'd agree in totality :)

You and your husband look so good together. Made for each other couple :) I wish you loads of happiness and many such heart warming times :)