Spotted on a wine truck...

Contributed by Cool. Cool, Cool!

Out in Public with j

Last Saturday j and her husband had a garage sale which was successful for them financially. They invited me to bring any items over I wanted to sell, since they were borrowing some tables from me. When all was said and done, I made $11! With all their hard work behind them, j asked if we wanted to meet for dinner later. We had a delightful meal at the Clubhouse at McCormick Woods, and j treated us to a bottle of Pinot Grigio. I don't know what the cork is doing in her mouth in this picture, but I can explain the makeshift bib. It took three large linen napkins to protect j's clothes from her dinner. Does she have no shame? Personally, I wasn't ashamed to be with her. It was Happy Hour all evening! Great time out with j and mr. j.

The Good Mother/The Godfather

Elletu's daughter is an accomplished cake decorator, that is for sure. When Elletu's granddaughter turned six last month, her talented and thoughtful mom baked her a cake and decorated in a theme she knew would please her daughter. Clearly, this cake had to take a lot of time to put together like this, but isn't this a little creepy in a way? Does this make anyone else think of a certain scene from the movie "The Godfather"? Still, this BVGO is a good mother to this BVGOO.

Ladies Night Out

Hooray! This is our monthly BVG night, and as always we are happy to be together. Earlier I made the rounds to pick up the other Sisters to come to my house for dinner. We call this our 'monthly cycle'!

Keeping Cool at Cool's

It was a hot day in Port Orchard, and bless Cool and her husband for inviting all of us to cool off in their lovely backyard oasis. It was all very promptu, so promptu that Elletu couldn't come. She was tied up at a family BBQ. I don't mean literally, but you know what I mean. So three BVGs and three BVBs sipped and supped and laughed quite a bit, especially after j brought this old ad up on her phone. The best thing I can say here about this is, "No comment."

Even when it's not an official BVG night, it's a great night. Looking forward to Wednesday night--three nights from now!---when it is our official night.

I'll be cooking a deLUXe dinner for sure!

Happy 34th BVG Anniversary!

Thirty-four years ago today the four of us met together for the first time. The occasion was Cool's son's (he is pictured above with my daughter) third birthday party. Cool, j and Elletu were already BVGs but didn't know it. I was the newbie, the one invited by Cool to join in with her two neighbors and their children for a fun birthday celebration at a local park. I had a feeling that day that something special would come from that gathering, and the rest, as they say, is history. When I started calling my new friends from Bethel Valley Lane the Bethel Valley Girls I do not remember, but we all remember clearly that first day, June 2, 1981, when God began knitting together a Sisterhood like no other.

Today we say, "Thank You, God!"

A Very BVG Mother's Day

We raised our children together, so shouldn't we be together on Mother's Day? The three members of the AMA Division of BVG (for abandoned mothers) spent the afternoon and evening together, husbands included. Meanwhile, Elletu was being wined and dined (and candied and flowered) by her daughters and grandchildren. She is fortunate in that two out of three of her children live very close to her, and by the way, they all love to be with her. She even has more celebrating coming up with one of her daughters next weekend. As for our Mother's Day, the six of us hung out at j's house, enjoying the beauty of her backyard for a few hours before driving to Tacoma's Ruston Way waterfront to eat dinner at the Ram, where they do not accept reservations. I do believe we waited nearly two hours for a table, and once seated, it was another good hour before dinner was served. It didn't seem to faze us or the guys, who, by the way, all get along famously and enjoy their own conversations. Something like 33 years ago we were getting babysitters and gathering together once a week for a couples' Bible study through Christian Women's Club. We didn't need to get babysitters yesterday, and we won't this Wednesday night when we all get together at our house for dinner before we watch this season's American Idol Finale. Cool, j and I are excited. My hubby and Cool's hubby are looking forward to it. I sense that j's husband is not that enthralled with American Idol. Let's just say he's 'not a fan.' Let's hope he gets with the program before Wednesday night, because otherwise he's going to stick out like a Cougar in the middle of a Husky pep rally!