We are preparing for a winter storm today. We’re supposed to get several inches of snow. Wow, I just love winter (sarcasm)!!! I’m still taking meds for my face. I went to my doctor a couple of days after I went to Urgent Care. He gave me more meds and seems concerned. The redness is getting better but I have more wrinkles than I used to - I sure hope they go away.
Last Friday around 4 pm Wilda, a friend from church, picked me up and we went to a Ladies Retreat with several other women from my church. There were about 9 of us – we all went to the Friday evening session and then spent the night at one of our church member’s home. She has a fairly large house on a lake, near the retreat. The lake house is beautiful and Judy, the owner, is one of those excellent hostesses who make everyone feel welcome. She had prepared more food than we can eat, and hid “treasures” around the house for a treasure hunt - I found a beautiful ring and a jar of hand cream. Three of the ladies brought violins and did some practicing, while the rest of us chatted. At bedtime, some folks doubled-up in beds, Wilda slept on an air mattress on the floor, and I spent the night on a long couch. It was very comfortable and I got a good night’s sleep.
There were probably around 150 people at the retreat. It was really well done and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Friday evening there was one main speaker, and Saturday there were 4 more. Each one told her own story. One woman talked about how she learned to love her husband as she should, even while he was addicted to drugs. One woman talked about how she made the mistake of having an affair and how it impacted her years afterwards. Probably the most impactful speaker was a woman whose car was hit, causing the death of her two small boys. This all sounds sad, but they were able to balance the seriousness of the past with the joy of living today. They were able to demonstrate that they had become whole again. As the lady who lost her children said, that is not what she wants her identity to be.
The provisions were really well done. There was always a snack table set up with oranges, nuts, M&Ms, gumballs, popcorn and pretzels. They provided free water bottles, tea and coffee. For Saturday breakfast they provided big muffins, snack bars, bagels and Danish. Saturday lunch was excellent Рa huge chicken breast (lightly breaded and saut̩ed), fresh green beans, mixed salad, breads and rice.
Everything was over by around 5 pm Saturday. Wilda and I ended up staying in Bethalto at the house of Cheryl, another one of our church members. I got a ride with her to church on Sunday. After church on Sunday Randy and I went to another church for lunch – the local Zion Lutheran church’s annual Sausage dinner. I cannot imagine how many hundreds of people they serve, but they have a system so you don’t have to wait too long. We started going to that about 3 years ago because one of our best Lambert’s customers told us about it. Since she spent so much at our restaurant, we thought we should go to one of her events. I am so glad we did, because it is great! I don’t normally like sauerkraut, but they serve sausage, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, green beans, applesauce, plus dessert, and it goes together wonderfully.
Today I’m back at work, thinking of all that great food and wishing I could take a nap…..
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