May 26, 2010, Purple in my garden

In March, the dad of one of our good friends passed away. He and his wife live in the San Fransisco area and he was known for the huge varieties of Iris in his garden. Several years ago, he was here for a picnic while my iris were blooming. His immediate response was to get my mailing address and vowed to send me a few from his garden.
Aren't they just gorgeous? They are so huge and heavy that with any rain or wind they tend to fall down. I caught them right before that happened.
Here are the ones on the east side of the house that seriously need division this year:

Thursday, May 13th, Happy Birthday, Candice

I have to work tonight, so in trying to make Candice's birthday special, I surprised her by taking her to a tea room in Antioch. I had never been there before, but had seen advertisements for it and since she is such a tea connoisseur, I thought it was the perfect place for a mom-daughter birthday lunch.
There have to be about 100 different teas on the menu and we ordered a pot. They bring it to your table with an electronic timer so you can drink it when it has properly steeped. This pot reminded me so much of the tea pot that my mom and I used while I was growing up. We had many a shared pot of Constant Comment with dinner. At that time, that was the only "special" tea other than black pekoe. Candice had the Quiche of the day with a side salad and declared it delicious....just another reason why we will never bring Chuck here.
I had the crab salad sandwich with soup. It was wonderful. I just loved the eclectic china and cups that they use. The silverware didn't match either. After lunch, I took her to a cupcake shop around the corner for dessert.
I love this girl, she has grown into such a delightful woman and we always have a ton to talk about. Also, I am extremely proud of what she has accomplished.

Sunday May 9th, All done!!

Chuck, Catie and I went to the early Baccalaureate service today. The chapel on Hope's campus is all stone, wood and stained glass. Even though we allowed plenty of time, we sat in the balcony and didn't see her until after the service. If all of her classmates wouldn't have dressed alike it would have been so much easier!
We then headed back to the hotel to meet the rest of the family. Dad drove up just for today and he was waiting for us. The cafeteria had a brunch and we ate our fill of pork, chicken, salads, and desserts.
Then we hung out in a lounge on campus until it was time to head to the ceremony. Chuck, Catie and I went to a reception for the social work majors and met a few of her professors. Today dawned clear and blue, but not a whole lot warmer than yesterday. We decided to sit on the east side of the stadium to get the warmth from the sun, however, we were faced directly in the wind and it was so cold!!

We heard her name announced and yelled "We Love you" but never really saw her. Again, with the dressing alike! Finding her was easy enough after the ceremony. I was amazed how they can get through all of those names, speakers, etc in two hours.
We are so proud and so relieved that she is finally done!
Lots of family love all around.Candice and one of her best friends, Brittany Stock:With the famous anchor:This picture was taken by the very artistic Catie. For more on her amazing work, click here. We love you Candice and you never cease to amaze us!!! And she graduated on the Dean's list!