Friends and friendships

Great wonderful friends are truly a blessing. In every possible way aren't' they? I have been very fortunate to have girlfriends in my life for, well ok I’m not shy, over 40 years! Carolee and I met when her family moved down the street from my family, we were in 6th grade. Our friend Patti we met in high school, I believe it was 10th grade. And the 3 of us have been best friends ever since, through thick and thin. Of course we don't see each other like we did back then, but when we do it's like rolling back time! Patti's husband is in the military so they move around quite often, right now they are in Texas. Carolee and her husband moved to wine country a few years ago, so she is closer but still a drive to see her.
But, Patti is here in Sac visiting her dad for 3 weeks. Yahoo! Last weekend we went to Carolee's home and spent the weekend! What a great time we had, her home sits on a little hill surrounded by vineyards. Just a beautiful spot to be. And we had a blast together!

This is a picture of us standing in front of Carolee's house. We arrived Friday night, after fighting traffic on Hwy 101, bla. Ate shrimp tacos, very yummy! Stayed up late just chatting and catching up! Saturday we took a little tour of the area, went to Sebastopol saw some really great sculptures. Drove to the little town of Bodega and toured the old school building where the movie "The Birds" was filmed. Then we went into Bodega Bay and ate clam chowder at The Tides, another spot where "The Birds" was filmed. We fed some gulls french fries… yes we were trying to encourage the birds!! Eeek! Took a drive up the coast. The northern CA coast is so very beautiful! Made our way back to Carolee's. That evening, we ate a wonderful meal prepared by Carolee and her hubby David. And then played dominoes! Sunday we went into Santa Rosa, to go to a little stitchery store Carolee found. Patti is the stitcher really, although I've attempted one or two. Patti is a wonderful quilter too, and we share a fabric addiction. We passed a little store called Material Girl and said hey can we stop there?? Carolee was kind enough to u turn and go back. She neither stitches or sews much well if at all, but she is a truly great friend and took us back. She sat and watched as we mulled over fabric in the sale bins. Material Girl is an independent quilt/fabric store and had some really great fabric patterns!!! So cute! Check out their website: http://www.materialgirlfabric.com/
We did each end up with some fabric for our collections! Too much fun! The weekend was a blast. Thanks to Carolee (and David) for hosting us at The Nest!

I started a new health habit. I can say it's a habit now… I think… because last night was my 10th time in 2 weeks. I am attending water aerobics classes at the YMCA. Well mostly classes, there were 2 or 3 times I went during an open swim and used the water dumbbells and noodles and did the exercises I've learned. I feel so much better already! My hubby is going too, but not to the class, he goes and uses the equipment while I'm in class. Go honey!!! And Lindsey my daughter is going to class with me. Yeah!!! We are all trying to be healthier! I told Patti and Carolee about it, they were both curious so Patti went as a guest last night, she was funny! She kept giggling, just like I did my first day or two, doing those moves is awkward in the water! I think Patti is going to come with us again tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it! We get to see Carolee again on Saturday, they have an annual end of summer party at The Nest and it's is this weekend! So the 3 BGFL (Best Girlfriends For Life) will be together again!

On another note. This last week I struggled with issues that were happening in a women's art group that I did belong to. There is so much gossip and yammering going on in the group, I couldn't take it anymore, life is too short, so I quit. Sad because I've made some great friends, and I hope we'll keep in touch, but at the same time it feels so good to be done. So I'm putting this out there… As you make your way through your life, don't take to heart hearsay, gossip, or 3rd party information ever. Someone says that someone said about you… bla bla bla. Don't let it hurt you because it could be just unkind untruths, words that have been twisted and taken out of context. And that can unravel things faster than a kitten pulling on a ball of yarn!

Go forth, be well, be creative, and mostly be kind. Thanks, Tj.

Love you BGFL's!!!