Lobster. Facial Hair. Fancy Pillows. & Blessings.

Whew.  What a weekend!

We just arrived back at the homestead last night from a town a few hours away.

Why were we there, you ask?

Let me just show you:

Now, let me explain.  Remember our friends Jason and Aileen?  The friends we go shooting with?  And do craft night with?  And eat good food with?  Well, this trip was all due to our friendship with them.  And for that, I am grateful.  Lord, am I grateful.

You see, Aileen's wonderful Mom, Terri, is from Massachusetts.  And one of the things she misses most about east-coast living while living in the Pacific Northwest is the lobster.  The fresh, delicious, meaty, buttery, lobster.  So, in honor of her Yankee heritage, their family has decided to throw an annual lobster feed each year.  As in fresh lobster.  As in flown in from Maine the day before.  As in de-lic-ious.

And somehow, yours truly, snagged an invite.  We were invited to stay for the weekend and to enjoy all sorts of festivities.  And while this has nothing to do with the festivities, Aileen's parents had this in their house.

And I died with envy.

Mark my words. Someday, I will have a cow skin rug.  There are some things I just love.  Cow skin rugs are one of those things.

Anyway.

The day began with some time spent by the pool.  I can't even remember how many kiddos there were in the pool - I lost count at 648.  

Oh yeah - and did I mention that on this weekend, when we got to meet all kinds of new people, Stuart decided to shave his facial hair into a handle-bar beard thingy?

I told him he looks like he should be a member of the IRA.  Or a '70s Police Officer from Brooklyn.  I tried, and failed, to get him to shave.  So he went around the entire weekend looking like a serial killer.  Hey, I tried.

Anyway, back to the party.  Here's a rundown of the events:

1.  Georgia made all kinds of new friends.

2.  I got to sleep in a fancy bed that had so many pillows, I took a picture of it prior to sleeping in it so that I could remember how to make it up in the morning.

3.  I spent a lot of time talking with fellow bloggers and camera-geeky peeps.  I learned a lot and am ever inspired to further grow this 'ol homestead page... did I mention I finally bought my own URL?  Can you guess what it is?

No.  It's not up and running yet.  No, I haven't even begun to make the transfer from Blogger to WordPress.

No.  I don't know what I'm doing.

Thank you for asking.

Now, back to your rundown:

4.  43 lobsters met their maker.  Only, of course, after the kiddos had their fun...

Daryl, a fellow Yankee from Maine, made sure the lobsters were cooked correctly.  Nothin' like having a professional on your side.

5.  I ate this.  All of it.  

They ate these.  All of them.

6.  Post-lobster/coleslaw/potato salad/dinner roll/fruit salad/white wine, we topped the evening off with some rockin' music.

Ya.  That's my man.  Booya.

Oh, and did I mention that Jaret, Aileen's younger brother, plays the bagpipes?

Why are friends, family, food, and fellowship so enjoyable?  Why do I feel like I could have just died happy right there on the lawn at sunset - with my belly full of food and heart full of joy?  Why is it impossible to stop at two cookies?  (I ate four).  Why are there so many wonderful things to enjoy in this world!

Because they're from God.  That's why.  Pure blessings from heaven I tell you.

Just like lobster.