Tag Archives: friends

Babies and Cell Phones

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Motorola MOTO™ W755 in purpleI’m apparently one of those grandmothers who will give their grandchildren anything they Danielle McCann Photographywant. I was not this way with my two daughters — as they’ll happily tell you — but something’s happened in the intervening 20 years or so and I’ve been reduced to a “Whatever you want, sweetiepie” maternal spoiling-machine. But my grandson’s so cute! He’s adorable! How could I resist those sparkling blue eyes, that precious little curl of soft wispy hair at the back of his head and those darling pudgy little fingers? So when it turned out that one of his favorite things was my cell phone, I turned it over to him without a thought. He loved the beeps and chirps. He was delighted with the lights and the colors. It was our thing: He wanted it, so I gave it to him. Other, wiser people were cautious, however. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” my daughter — his mommy — asked me. “Are you sure you want to do that?” Of course, I assured her. I’m a cool grandma. It’s fine. Until, that is, it wasn’t. Turns out baby slobber has supersonic powers to short out cell-phone speakers. Who knew? Now you do. Read more about it in my column, http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090306/ARTICLES/903065003.

Baby Showers

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Baby giftsI love getting baby-shower invitations, because who doesn’t Baby showersall adore all those sweet tiny baby things? And I would never express a preference for baby-girl things over baby-boy things because I’m having so much fun shopping for my precious 11-month-old grandson, but there’s just Baby giftssomething about little and pink and frilly that makes us grown women go sort of silly. We can’t help it. And guests got a delightful dose of that baby-girl femininity this past weekend at a shower for the daughter of a friend of mine. So much Baby shower decorationsfun! As much as I like to be sophisticated and grownup —  no, really, I do —  I cannot resist miniature pink baby buggys filled with candy. And one of the best things about baby showers in my Alabama town is shopping at the Baby’s Room, our local baby store. Expectant moms go there to pick out shower presents, parents-to-be shop there for nursery furniture and giddy grandmas go there to buy those gorgeous and impractical outfits only grandmas can get away with. Plus, I love the way the Baby’s Room folks do gift registries: You’re assigned a cubicle and you physically put what you’d like in your cubicle. Friends and family members shopping for you get to see and touch and feel your choices before deciding. (Coming in and perusing the cubicles is also a good way to keep up with who’s pregnant.) The best part of Baby’s Room shopping? The free and beautiful gift-wrapping. Actually the best part is that the Baby’s Room owners and staff make you feel special just for coming in. That’s the way shopping used to — and should —  be. Check it out at http://www.thebabysroomstore.com/.

Food and More

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Mexican foodI don’t care what you say — I think this is a balanced meal. Look, Mexican foodyou’ve got your dairy (cheese dip) and your grains (tortilla chips). Hot peppers are full of nutritional stuff, and didn’t I read somewhere that beer is pretty much almost nearly just as good for you as red wine? And of course, you can never have too much salsa. This is an example of the weekly date night my husband and I cling to no matter what else is going on. But not just any Mexican restaurant will do. We head to a specific one that we’ve gone to for years. In fact, the waiters don’t even ask us what we want anymore — they’ve practically got it on the table as soon as we sit down.  My husband pours the beers and squeezes the limes and always makes sure I get the coldest mug as we munch chips and dip. Sometimes we order actual food. Sometimes not. But we always have a good time.

Random thought  — Welcome back, Tiger Woods. Hope your knee is better.

Blog recommendation — For a different take on Lent, visit today’s post at A Day That Is Dessert , http://www.leciawphinney.com/. Lecia passes on a wonderful Lent idea from her pastor. Don’t miss it.

Consignment Store

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Name that store! Here is your chance to have a hand in a new business opening up in Sheffield, Alabama — and your chance to help a friend of mine. My talented and creative friend Susan and her talented and creative daughter-in-law, Freda, are opening a furniture and home-decor consignment shop. They can’t decide on a name for it and need y’all’s thoughts. Here are the two choices they’re considering: Repeat Street and Upscale Resale. They like them both equally and so are sort of stuck in the middle. Or maybe you’ve got something better. They’re open to all suggestions. What do you think? They want as many ideas as they can get so please poll your friends and pass this along so they can get lots of input. Vote here in the comments or e-mail me at cathylwood@gmail.com by Wednesday night– and then, of course, you’ve got to plan a trip to Sheffield to see their shop. Knowing them, it will be fabulous.

Update: Looks as if Upscale Resale is winning. Thanks to all for your help! Susan and Freda don’t need to make a decision until Wednesday night, so there’s still time to chime in if you’d like.

Update No. 2: Upscale Resale it is! I think cyber-voting is the way to go now when it comes to naming new businesses. Anybody else got something that needs naming???

Friendship

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Dinner with friends

If you’re like me, your friendships with your girlfriends are some of your most Shoe shopping with friendsvalued relationships. We are so blessed to have these smart, strong and talented women in our lives. I am in awe of my friends and grateful every day that they let me hang around them: My high-school pals who gratefully have allowed me to grow up and out of my geeky phase, my college roommates who know the real me but love me anyway, the moms I raised my children and many many glasses of wine with, my margarita- and book-loving co-conspirators who can smell a shoe sale from 10 miles away and the wonderful women I continually am privileged to meet and get to know. What would we do without these special people? I recently witnessed once again the healing power of friends and laughter (and shoe shopping, of course) when a friend needed our help preparing for her husband’s funeral. Read about it in my newspaper column, http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090220/ARTICLES/902200301. And while you’re at it, you’ve got to read this wonderful piece from national columnist Sharon Randall: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090221/ARTICLES/902210301. It’s her birthday list of life lessons she’s learned so far. And I don’t know her, but from her list I think she’d make a good friend, too.

Book Clubs

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Harry Potter and the Socerer's StoneIn the spirit of trying new things, I’ve joined a book club called “Reliving Harry.” It’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsfor folks who’ve read the Harry Potter books already but want to reread and discuss from a long-range we-know-how-it-ends perspective. What a great idea! We meet every month at the library and already have done the first book. The group mostly is 20- and 30-year-olds who read the books as teenagers and still can’t get enough. There were a couple oldsters like me who first bought the books for their own kids plus a 10-year-old boy who is just beginning the books and already is quite fluent in Hogwarts-speak. As in all book-club discussions, I learn so much from everybody else and enjoy picking up details I completely miss on my own.  I’m constantly amazed at how the Harry Potter series touched so many different people — everybody has their Harry Potter stories. Go to http://en.wikibooks.org and http://www.scholastic.com for discussion questions.

Memorials

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jims-quilt-0031My friend’s husband, whom the women in our church made this prayer quilt for during his jims-quilt-0032battle with cancer, died this week. He was a good man who made everyone he met feel special. He loved motorcycles, airplanes, his farm and his family and friends and enjoyed so much being around the people he cared about. He should have been given more time to do that. But right now you and I have that time, so to celebrate the memory of his life, please enjoy being with the people you care about today. Give them lots of love and tell them it’s from Jim. He would have gotten a kick out of that.

Valentine’s Day

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valentines-day-0161It was Valentine’s elegance when my friend Susan hosted valentines-day-018cooking club. She and her daughter-in-law are the most creative people I know. They excel in using simple everyday items in innovative ways. Like these table decorations. Mixed in with the shiny heart garlands are vintage costume jewelry and clear goblets filled with water and topped with upside-down silver Christmas-tree balls for some metallic reflection.They then tied everything together with valentines-day-020red and white linens. And see those white cards on the table? Those were our place cards. Susan had written “What I love about you …” descriptions for each of us. We had to read them all and guess which one went to which person. Fun, fun, fun! Valentine’s touches were valentines-day-025everywhere, like the red ribbon Susan tied around the cake stand to highlight the heart-topped petit fours. Now, I know that up North petit fours are what y’all call those little torte-like cakes, but here in the South (well, at least my part of it), petit fours are tiny two-bite-sized cupcakes with melt-in-your-mouth icing decorated with colors and themes of your choice. The best come from Victorian Tea Room in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. No occasion around here is complete unless there are Victorian Tea Room petit fours. Visit http://www.victoriantearoomcatering.com, tell them Cathy sent you and you valentines-day-030valentines-day-0191might talk them into shipping you some. Susan even gave us extras in the Valentine’s candy boxes she gave us that also has miniature fudgy brownies and heart-shaped mini pink chocolate-chip cookies. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost. She got the boxes at our local big-box arts and crafts store, but almost everything else was what she had on hand. We were all impressed and felt special and pampered. We also immediately assured our newest member most of our cooking-club meetings are not like this. In fact, when it’s at my house everyone’s just happy I remember to vacuum up the cat hair. But we’re glad we’ve got people like Susan to show us how it should be done.

Restaurants in Franklin, Tennessee

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sol-archwayAs Liz Lemon says, don’t you “want to go there?” This is Sol, a funky and fun sol-waitingrestaurant on Main Street off the square in Franklin, Tennessee. My husband and I wandered in on a recent late-night meander and instantly were captivated. Only the bar was open so we plopped ourselves down and enjoyed exploring the whimsical Mexican menu — and decor. Both are sort of  casual-cool with an eclectic twist. It’s Frida Kahlo meets Iron Chef and obviously a popular gathering spot for the young and hip. We felt right at home (!) and happily devoured some deliciously fresh nachos washed down with cold beer — one of our favorite meals — and vowed to come back when we could work our way through the dinner menu: salmon wrapped in a banana-leaf, fish tacos and a poblano-potato cake especially looked good. We remember this same space when it was an upscale Italian sort of restaurant and marveled at the transition. Downtown Franklin is a happening place, worthy of a visit just to walk and eat and shop. Check out Sol at http://www.solonmain.com/ (that’s where these photos came from — it was way too dark, in a good way, for pics the night we were there) and learn more about Franklin at http://www.visitwilliamson.com/

nashville-jan-2009-038On that same trip to Franklin, we also ate at Basil Asian Bistro, on nashville-jan-2009-034Carothers Parkway across I-65 from Cool Springs Galleria. If Sol is vibrantly energetic, then Basil is calmly zen. It’s white tablecloths and quiet conversation but with the same appreciation for fresh ingredients and authentically prepared food. The extensive menu offered sushi, pad thai, curry and other classics. Luckily, we were with our friends Ted and Elayne, who had picked Basil for our lunch and steered us to their favorite dishes — and they were right.  My husband and I especially loved the inventive sushi, the crisply cooked vegetables and the strong and fragrant hot tea. Good food and good company can’t be beat. We’ll be back. Go to http://www.basilasianbistro.com for details.

Quilts

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jims-quilt-007There were just two of us for Sunday school so we didn’t have class jims-quilt-003at my little church this past Sunday, but I learned a lesson anyway: (K)not all sermons come from the pulpit. When I got to church on Sunday morning and it became apparent only one other of the usual five or six women in our class was going to show, I contemplated going home for more coffee and Sunday New York Times. But before I could head for the door, our minister asked the two of us (our church is small so there’s no place to hide!) to finish a prayer quilt from the women’s group. The quilt is for a church member who’s fighting cancer, and our minister wanted to bless it at the service and deliver it that afternoon. My brain said, “But I have no crafting skill whatsoever and besides, I want Sunday Styles and another cappuccino,” but my mouth said, “Sure! Of course! Love to!” That happens a lot at church. But I was so glad — this time, at least — that my mouth paid no attention to my brain. Turned out all the quilt needed was tying some knots, and I’m very good at tangling things up. Our church women’s group makes these prayer quilts for people who are sick and in need — when you tie one of knots you say a prayer for the intended recipient, who then gets to wrap up in cozy warmth and love. As we tied and talked, I suddenly sort of time-traveled back to old-fashioned quilting bees, where women gathered to care for each other through fabric and friendship, and I finally understood the timeless power of needle and thread. To make it even better, this quilt was for the husband of a friend of mine. I sat beside her during the church service. When our pastor blessed the quilt and announced it was for her husband, I got to hand her a tissue and give her a hug. Definitely worth the loss of a second cappuccino.