A BVG Night Without j is like...

...coffee without the caffeine

...a latte without the espresso

...a summer in Port Orchard with no sunny days

...trying to paint your toenails in the dark

...the Seahawks without Russell Wilson

...Hall without Oates

...receiving a box of caramels on the day you get your braces put on

...locking yourself out of your house in your pj's

...running into another car during your driving test

...forgetting to remove the original card when re-gifting

***************

Do you know what's worse than all of this? Elletu getting sick just thinking about a BVG Night without j. That is what has happened, and so...

Tonight is not a BVG Night after all. Instead, I am renaming it:

"Cool and Billy B Come for Soup on a Monday Night Night"!

Feel better, Elletu. Enjoy your grandkids, j. Miss you both!

Thou Shalt Not Worship Other Idols

A current BVG demographic: 3/4 of the BVG's watch "American Idol." Only Elletu abstains. On last night's show the Top Ten was announced, and it is a talented group for sure. While I was watching their performances I texted my friend Jeanne in Hawaii who also watches, but of course Hawaii is a few hours behind. Jeanne texted back and asked me who I "support" on Idol. It was an interesting question considering that our texts and e-mails during the past few months have all been about Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. My answer was this:

"MacKenzie, Sonika, Dalton, Avalon, Trent, La'Porsha and Lee, but not necessarily in that order. They are all so good, it's hard to choose my favorite. Now, if I could only feel that way about even just ONE person who is running for President!"

We talked about both of these issues at our BVG Night, the sad state of this Presidential race and the outstanding talent on this, the final year of "American Idol." I've always voted Republican, but I can't find one Republican running for President this time around that I want to vote for. I'm certainly not a fan of Hillary or Bernie either, of course. But look at that list of six potential Idols---I'll be happy if any one of them wins the Idol title. They are really all that good.

In the grand scheme of things, what's most important? The sign above says it all. I have put this on the blog before, and I might do it again several times between now and the November election, and beyond. Politics aside, Jesus is our leader. Reality TV aside, Jesus is our Idol.

That being said, Cool and j, what do you think of my list of six "American Idol" favorites so far?

Trending Topic: j is a Volunteer Stripper!

Why is it that on our blog the topic that has gotten the most views is the recent "j is a Volunteer Stripper!"? Does this say something about our audience? Is this how you get your blog to go viral?

Just asking.

BVG Night - February 2016

Our dear Sister j remarked to me recently, "I'm glad you're our historian. I would forget everything." So this one's for j: We had our monthly BVG Night last night, Wednesday, February 24, 2016, and it was at my house. It began at 4:45 PM. We dined on a new gluten free pasta and Italian sausage dish I found online. Frozen peas are cooked with pasta, and kale, onion and garlic are sautéed together, then added to the pasta and previously browned and drained Italian sausage. Accompanying this was a beautiful green salad compliments of j. For dessert, I prepared Baked Apple Slices, another recipe I found online, with cinnamon, raisins and walnuts. Four and a half hours after our gathering began, thoughts of getting up to an alarm to get to work the following morning prompted Cool and Elletu to signal the beginning of the end of our night of visiting. Clearly, we had not run out of things to say. Have we ever?

Have the topics of our conversations changed over the decades? You bet they have! It's been a really long time since we discussed things like diaper rash, head lice, temper tantrums and ear infections. Last night's dialogue included Elletu's story of babysitting her granddaughter and her granddaughter saying, "Grandma, your boob's hanging out!" When I heard that I thought about the recent story of j stripping. This one begs to be called "Elletu: An Accidental Stripper." Even though she denied it, it turned out to be true, it really was hanging out. (Thanks for keeping us abreast of the situation, Elletu.)

When the BVG's are together, we do let it all hang out, and what I mean by that is we can be ourselves. There are no pretenses. Lest you think it's all for laughs, it's not. In fact, last night we touched on some very serious issues facing us as the older women we are. We were a support group back when we were stay-at-home mothers of young children, and we are a support group now as we inch closer to 65 (Cool and Elletu) and 70 (j and I). Those ages are a few years off for each of us, but we are getting pretty close to identifying as 'senior citizens' (yikes!), and that makes our perspective on 'the future' quite different from what it was 34 years ago.

Thanks for keeping life fun, Sisters. Treasure each day of our friendship. How blessed we are!

I Heart My BVG Sisters

It is Valentine's Day Eve, just one hour away from the beginning of the Hallmark-inspired Day of Love. I am inspired by a little poem running around in my head:

Dear God, thank You for blessing me,
With friends who seem like they're family;
Family of the very best kind,
Who always have my best interest in mind.
But it's not just me, their love is complete:
You taught them to share Your love with those they meet.
They are good, they are loyal, they are such fun,
As their close friend, I'm the fortunate one.
Three special friends, Sisters I hold dear,
That You wove our hearts together is so clear;
And now I pray, bless them, please,
And thank You, God, for the BVG's.

                   ********

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, SISTERS!
LOVE YOU..............................LOVE US!

Our j is a Volunteer Stripper!

 

This text just arrived on my phone from j:

"I am a volunteer stripper now."

For a minute there I thought perhaps she meant to say she is a volunteer 'striper,' as in a Candy Striper at a hospital. To think of something other than that was too wild, too unbelievable, too un-j-like. Or was it? I vaguely remember a story she told us some time ago, something about her being up on her laundry equipment when her hubby came home from work. The memory must be vague because I tried to block it from my mind before I got an image stuck in it.

Anyway, above the above picture, to my relief, j's text continued, "That is, I am cutting and sewing strips for a quilt at church." And below the above picture (does that make sense?) she captioned, "My first strips."

I'll say this for j: She sure is a colorful stripper!

And I should add, good for you, j! I know these quilts bring great comfort (hence, 'Comfort Quilts') to those who receive them.

Oh Where, Oh Where Are the BVGO's Now?

My younger son is working in South Korea for a week, and my daughter is working in Switzerland this week, London next week. My other son is hard at work on the East Coast, so we are indeed a spread out family. This got me to thinking about how far-flung the BVGO's are. Our ten precious children all 'flew the coop' long ago, and their careers (and loves) have taken them near and far. Just how near and just how far? Here are their current locations, in descending order by age:

Dallas, TX
Port Orchard, WA
Basel, Switzerland
Turkey
Sacramento, CA
Yakima, WA
Durham, NC
Port Orchard, WA
Tulsa, OK
Suwon, South Korea

Fly high, BVGO's, but never forget your roots: The playground at Bethel Valley Lane and the Piggy Park!

So far, and yet so near...........always in our hearts....................always in our prayers.