Finally they all went to their various homes and the five of us were left in relative peace and quiet (Gary, Shon, Lori and our favorites, Ron & Ellen Wellborn). We enjoyed the remainder of our Sunday evening on the front patio -- which is available to any and all hotel guests to enjoy. We also have a private deck out the back which overlooks the Spanish courtyard, but it is small, long and narrow.
We have enjoyed a lovely and lazy Monday. Coffee on the front patio which started out with cold weather that gradually warmed up to the point of moving to the shady areas until we decided it was time for breakfast. We went downstairs around 10am for a delicious breakfast in the main dining room eventually heading for Velma's around noon. She was pleased to have they company and we chatted for almost two hours. When it was clear that she needed to nap, we dashed off to grab a light snack.
By the time we returned all the kids and grandkids has converged on house and it was chaos all over again. And suddenly Lori was surrounded by four "short people" who wanted to sew with her. She had captivated them on the first day by teaching them how to sew hexies, which are her latest passion. She is working on sewing 3200 hexies to make a quilt.
The adults gathered in the living room relegating the kids (and the pied piper) to the dining room to wait for the pizzas to be delivered. After dinner we enjoyed outside activities until it was time for cupcakes from the Mission Inn's bakery. After successfully sugaring up the children, we decided it was time to leave!
We returned to the hotel and to the Presidential Suite to have a final farewell toddy before separating until we see each other again. We poured drinks around and decided to enjoy them on our outside patio. We exit the front door ... and horrors ... there is a couple sitting in the area we wanted to be... so I said, "Hi lovely people, we're going to join you!"
You know, people are funny. Some would find that entertaining and invite us in, others would not want company. I was only briefly concerned with what sort of people this couple would be. Turned out they were the friendly kind. Turned out they were semi locals -- they live in Yucaipa and were celebrating their 25th anniversary.
They thought my introductory statement was just fine and welcomed us into the circle. We laughed and made jokes, they had looked into our suite the last time they were here and had poked their noses inside when housekeeping was in there but wanted the "grand tour" which Lori was happy to provide. Well, since it was their anniversary we used their camera and took pictures of them sitting on the bed and in front of the fireplace so that they could tell their friends that they had been in the Presidential Suite. We probably spent two hours laughing, chatting and photographing them. They were delightful ... and lovely! This was a wonderful end to a wonderful trip. Family We can be stressful, family can be joyful, family can be comfort. Family can be wonderful.
Meet the Lovely's:
As they were leaving I grabbed the quart of organic strawberries from the fridge and offered it up as an anniversary gift. The one thing the grandchildren (locusts) didn't consume the previous day, "Enjoy!" A great fun ending to a very fun trip!
Happy Birthday, Velma! I'm glad you turned 95!
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