Erin's visit

My sister Erin has been in town visiting & it has been such a blessing. The first couple of days were rough because Andrew & I returned from Texas with bronchitis, apparently. I didn't have it as bad as he did, so he was home all week resting, reading & consuming vitamin C. After a couple of days in our little teeny tiny one-bedroom apartment, Erin was offered a place to sleep at her friends Mary & Karri's apartment & it was a good thing for all. Exposing a house (apartment) guest to bronchitis is not showing loving hospitality, methinks. :)

And so, I wondered if I'd ever see Erin again, her schedule being filled with the tons of friends she has in this place...but I did. :) Especially in the past few days we've had some really good time together. I have Wednesdays off from work (note: I am so thankful for my job, it is such a blessing, and I'm glad), and Erin & I spontaneously spent it together...it felt like a day off. No laundry, dishes, housework, etc. We visited Priscilla, a lady who formerly employed us both at the campus library. She gave me lots of papers & magazines for my artistic pleasure & I've been ripping out pages furiously to make into creative envelopes. Erin & I had a chance to go to my favorite coffee place & get real coffee (sorry Starbucks, sometimes I'd like a shape on top of my foam) plus lunch, & played Bananagrams! An amazing game, like speed Scrabble, that's what Bananagrams is. Then we went to this amazing gift shop that is a "sister store", meaning when I need a gift for any of my sisters, that's the place to find it.

Yesterday evening Andrew, Erin, Karri (one of the girls Erin's staying with) and I ate at a southern cooking restaurant... Oh my goodness. Pulled pork, collard greens, yams, beans & rice, sweet tea, all amazing. Before when we went to this restaurant, Andrew's Southern accent came out, but it didn't so much this time because I was teasing him about it, I think. I'll play it more subtle, next time.

After dinner, we went to a free outdoor play of Peter Pan. It was entertaining, but hard to follow sometimes because the wind & sound system caused the actors' lines to be lost. The little girl who played Wendy did an excellent job.

We had more dessert after the play, I admit. Well, coffee/tea/and I had something like gelato/ice cream that is vegan and safe and coconut tasting. It's was delightful.

Sometimes when relatives come to town, we go all out. Like eating a huge dinner, ordering dessert afterwards, and going out to coffee again. Why, even this morning Erin & I went to see Jamie, my dear friend who I want to keep forever (she's a treasure), over coffee. Then Erin has a friend who works at a bakery who can make leaves in the foam of a latte, so in order to see her again before Erin's departure, we visited another bakery. I got a vegan almond delight cookie, compliments of Amber, which I'll consume soon.

Restraint will be exercised soon. It's nice to have relatives in town, it's like a celebration, and a lot of coffees, meals, trinkets are purchased in those times (sometimes), and I think it's okay. Within reason. The reasonable season will begin Sunday, officially, but I'm glad Erin's been around.

Thanks, Abba. It's beautiful, this family idea that's Yours. Great idea. :)