As a blogger, I LOVE days that provide a lot of “fodder” for future posts.  Today was such a day.

It started out with Michael and I driving to Atlanta and visiting the quilt show at  historic Bulloch Hall…..more about that later this week.

We then drove to our favorite Barnes and Noble in Buckhead and spent 3+ hours relaxing and reading….my choice was to check out all of the new quilting magazines…..more to come about the things I learned.

The final part of the day was meeting our Son (Brian), his wife (Amber) and our Daughter (Jenny) at a wonderful Brazilian restaurant called  Fogo de Chão.    We had heard about this restaurant for years but hadn’t had a chance to visit.

The evening started with a traditional Brazilian drink called a Caipirinha.  It is made with cachaca (distilled from sugar cane), sugar and lime.  It had a wonderful, refreshing flavor and was cool looking as well……

I particularly liked the thin sliced baby limes!!!!

Now, on to how this restaurant works.  First of all, there is a salad bar that has all sorts of salads, vegetables  and cheeses.  I was particularly fond of the Tabouli.

Then comes the fun part……when this disc is green side up…..

…..here comes the meat……everything from sausages, chicken wings, roasted lamb, lamb chops, pork ribs, bottom sirloin, filet mignon and on and on and on and on…..you get the idea!!!

It is flurry of activity as the servers flock to your table proffering wonderful food.  They slice it at your table, giving you small tongs to hold the meat while the servers are slicing it.

When your plate (or your mouth) is full, you turn the disc over and magically the meat servers go away…..

You just have to remember……green means go, red means no!!!

After we had ingested as much red meat as we could stand, we of course had to have desert.  Here is Jenny’s interpretation of how we all felt  (but still room for more)…..

The deserts were all magnificent and this particular restaurant gets an A+ for presentation…..

It was a wonderful evening out with our kids and a fun memory for the future….

My Dad passed away almost 11 years ago, and today would have been his 90th birthday.  As soon as I heard the date on the radio, I started thinking about him and all of the memories of our good times together.

He was a sports nut, especially when kids were involved.  He coached Pony League Baseball before I was born and had team photos of many of the men who were leaders in the area.  I often wondered if  that was just a coincidence!!

When I was a kid, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for girls to be involved in sports,  but he made sure that I knew how to catch and throw a softball and that I understood all of the rules to Football, Baseball and Basketball!!! 

He taught me how to drive and I spent many weekends going with him to our farm (30 miles away) so that I could drive.  He laughingly said that he was going to enjoy the time while he could because he knew that I wouldn’t be going with him once I got my driver’s license.  I remembered those words and enjoyed the time with my kids as well.

When I got involved in the pep-squad, he was always there in the parents section yelling for the team too.  He ran a gas station on a prominent corner in Abilene, Texas and many of my friends and fellow students would go by and talk to him.

He was a handy-man deluxe and I spent many, many hours in the garage helping him with his various projects.  I think of him every time I  need to pry something apart (he had a wonderful lecture on using levers), spackle a hole in the wall, or fix a venetian blind.  Most of these projects were performed while listening to the Houston Astro’s on the radio.

He loved our kids and were so proud of them.  He loved it when they got old enough to  start playing baseball and softball.  When Brian decided to switch to Soccer, Dad immediately started to watch it on TV and learn the rules to the game.  Unfortunately, he never got to see Brian play in person, although he did see a few videos.

His health deteriorated and he was seldom able to play with the kids, but he loved to watch them when they were together.  He always talked about the day that he told Jenny to “choke up on the bat” and then she went out and hit a home run!!

Jenny continued to play Fastpitch softball all during school, and was named the Georgia State Player of the Year after her senior season.  After one particular game, I remember her saying that she wished G-Pa could have been there to see her play because he would have been proud of her!!!

His service flag was used at the softball field during all of the home games and she said that it felt like he was there too!! 

He was known as “Uncle Buddy” to all of my cousins and I remember the fun that we had at the funeral home remembering all of his antics!!  

……..that is what I am remembering now!!!

In the midst of all of the planning and hurrying toward Christmas, we got to celebrate our daughter Jenny’s graduation from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Education (Exercise and Sport Science).    It was a wonderful ceremony, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates talking to the graduates about the importance of service….of the need to look for what you can DO rather than what can be done FOR you.  I think this is a great sentiment in today’s environment!!!!

We are very proud of both of our children and their accomplishments in this world and look forward to seeing their futures unfold.

Oh, and one more thing……anyone got a job that needs filling?????