Sunday, June 17, 2007

50 years of friendship and conversation

Yesterday was my sister Lauren's 50th birthday (much to her dismay). I'll have to say, she does not look 50. Maybe not even 40. We went up to our parents' in Maine to celebrate the day with our other sister and family, her in-laws, and her sister-in-law and family.

There were 16 of us all told, and while it made for a full house, it was not too crowded. It was a beautiful day, so we were able to sit or wander outside in the beautiful backyard. The flowers and foliage has grown up in the three weeks since I was last there. The birds were as plentiful as ever, although the humming birds were a little shy of the numbers on "their" patio.

We had a delicious supper of haystacks and conversation followed by an angel food cake with fresh strawberries and a pineapple upside down cake that a friends had made. After the presents were opened, we had our final conversations, and a prayer good bye. Lauren is an avid gardener, so three of her presents were garden-related. My parents gave her a "Salsa-in-a-tub" container garden that I thought was so cool--all the plant ingredients for a delicious homemade salsa. Her in-laws gave her two lilac bushes, and Martha gave her a large patio planter for the deck of her pool. I gave her two books about lavender that I read about over at Gracious Hospitality, along with a book about Liszt and some lavender bath salts and soap.

In all, a joyful family celebration of one of my dearest friends.

3 comments:

Christy Woolum said...

What a lovely day! The cakes and gifts sounded divine. I felt blessed when I turned fifty that I had survived and lived a full life that long! :)

La Tea Dah said...

I'm so glad you were able to find the lavender book you wished for. :) Sounds like a lovely birthday!

R. Aastrup said...

It was such a nice day! And yes, turning 50 wasn't anywhere near as hard as turning 40.

La tea dah...she loved the books. I'm so glad you wrote about them on y our blog. They were the perfect answer to what I was looking for.