...with prayers, blesses you with love and encourages you with hope.
My friend Leslie decorated twenty or thirty bottles with this quote and tucked them into clear cellophane goody bags for my party on Saturday - along with lots of candy, colorful, sparkly confetti, and packs of Cosmos seeds.
I thought the pack of seeds was especially very fitting - I know it sounds really corny, but this group of friends are like Cosmos - each so unique and beautiful (yes, even the guys!) in their own individual way, and becoming a beautiful, colorful bouquet of flowers when together...blending together and complementing each other, but staying true to ourselves, appreciating the differences.
I don't think I've ever had a better birthday party in my life! So many friends coming together, some traveling through storms to get to Austin (two from out-of-state...one I hadn't seen in about 15 years) to laugh, eat, drink, talk and help me celebrate my 50th birthday a little more. In reality we were celebrating OUR 50th birthday and friendships that go back almost to the beginning of those fifty years.
The morning's storm clouds gave way to a sunshine-and-blue-sky afternoon in my dear friend Darla's gorgeous backyard - not too hot, not too cold, no bugs (well, hardly any) - just perfection! There were the goody bags...the cake with my 17-year-old Homecoming Queen face smiling up at me (I keep expecting to see her in the mirror, but she's long gone from there!)...the wonderful gifts (I'm not a card-carrying member of the Red Hat Society yet, but I've got the boa and red hat!)...the Rudy's barbecue...the millions of photographs...later, a "happy birthday"serenade by my girlfriends accompanied by The Rhythm Dawgs , thanks to Larry's connections, (and subsequent groupie dancing on stage - a first for me!)...and last but not least, CAGE DANCING, another first! It took turning 50 (and my adventurous friend Rae who doesn't have a shy bone in her body getting up there first) for me to have the courage to climb up there. The kids in the club were probably horrified and possibly had nightmares about it later, but who cares? I'm FIFTY and I had fun!
Every picture tells a story...but I could only post a handful here...
