My Walking Girls, the Ballet and Handsome Fella' at the Sundial!

What an awesome weekend!

It all began Friday morning with my walking girls, Cinda and Joyce!  Stop whatever you are doing right now and clap your hands...a lot!!!!!  That's applause for these two remarkable women who for the THIRD time walked 60 miles in three days, this time in Philadelphia!   Yes, there was a bit of rain but hey, the tents were indoors this year!!!!  No muddy footprints on the mattresses!  I am so proud of them and their knees and feet.  Think about it.  When was the last time you walked one mile?  They walked 60!  WOW!  They are such an inspiration to me, AND they do it for all of us.  That's just over-the-top awesome!  I love them so much!

Friday evening I made two new friends (I think).  I had a lovely dinner with Handsome Fella' and his best friend and his wife.  I must admit I was a bit nervous.  When you've been married for a ton of years and your spouse dies, all of a sudden you are one instead of two.  All of your friends are used to you and your spouse and the "couple" you are.  It's quite a "moment" when you appear with someone else. We arrived a bit late (not my fault) and his friends were already there.  So, introductions were made and the evening began.  How am I supposed to relax, talk, EAT, and be comfortable while I'm wondering what they think about this...and me?  They were so warm and friendly to me.  The conversation included children, grandchildren, the "old times" stories, and the history between Handsome Fella' and me.  (Remember, 40+ years ago, Handsome Fella' and I dated prior to me marrying HC Baker and Handsome Fella' marrying Miss Patti.)  Dinner was delicious, Handsome Fella' was right beside me and kept me included and the evening ended with hugs!  Sigh of relief and smiling!  (And Cinda and Joyce walked!)

Saturday was filled with the usual Saturday things.  However, I was looking forward to the evening with Handsome Fella and attending the Louisville Ballet's production of Giselle, my most favorite ballet.  Many, many years ago I performed with the Louisville Ballet and danced twice in Giselle.  Absolutely love it!  And Handsome Fella' had never been to the ballet!  (He's a sports guy, especially baseball as he nearly made a career in that profession.  More about that later.)  So, he picks me up and we head downtown.  Dinner on Main Street and then to the performance.  I did offer a very brief synopsis of the story of Giselle so he would hopefully be ready to see and feel the romance and heartbreak of "the dance".  So often the choreography of many of the original classic ballets is altered, but the new artistic director of the Louisville Ballet retained much of the original work.  My feet wanted to move with the music so many times, I was afraid I would jump up from my seat and dance in the aisle.  (Kept myself in check!)  It was beautiful.  Giselle and Albrecht (the prince) were fabulous!  She was graceful on pointe with beautiful extension.  He was a master of leaps - great height and precise beats.  And Handsome Fella' now has a new respect for the artistic ability of dancers.  He was impressed and enjoyed the performance, maybe would even go again!!!  We both agreed on one thing though.  Having not attended a Louisville Ballet performance in over five years, I was surprised the music was recorded, as was he.  Does the Louisville Orchestra no longer provide the music for the ballet?  What about the opera?  What happened?  My goodness, the orchestra would have so enhanced the performance!  But what an evening!  Perfect from beginning to end!  I was happy to see a few wonderful friends at the ballet too.  (And Cinda and Joyce walked!)

Sunday morning, Handsome Fella' invited me to breakfast.  The day was so beautiful, after breakfast he decided we would take a road trip!  We began to drive east on US 60, something I hadn't done in quite some time.  Interstate highways are wonderful when you're traveling long distances, but there's nothing like the "old" road to relax and surprise you!  And the day was gorgeous!  Perfect temperatures and wonderful sunshine were everywhere we went.  Our first real "slow down" was in Frankfort.  I love Frankfort.  We drove down (or up maybe?) Capitol Avenue, circled the capitol and saw the floral clock.  Good grief, I remember when it was brand new!  We drove past the Governor's mansion, and I remembered having dinner there twice in my life.  Handsome Fella' has had dinner there lots of times over the years.  Memories!!!!  We saw the sign for the Kentucky Viet Nam Veterans Memorial and he asked if I'd ever seen it.  I said yes, several times and he said he'd never seen it.  We agreed to go, and I took him right to it.  (If you've never seen it, shame on you.  It's very special in it's location and design.)
Here's a bit of history about Handsome Fella'.  He was an Airborne Ranger in the mid to late 60's and served in Viet Nam.  He is the recipient of two Purple Hearts.  With the design of the Memorial, he could stand on it just where his name would have been inscribed had he lost his life.  Fortunately, he did survive his injuries, but those injuries did cancel his baseball contract as a short stop with the St. Louis Cardinals.  Despite his incredible disappointment at not being able to play professional baseball, he has achieved business successes worthy of the true American hero he is!  I am so proud of him and am blessed to call him my friend.  

From the capitol, we traveled the back roads and found Woodford Reserve Distillery.  I had been there several times but he had not.  (All those business successes kept him pretty busy.  He is just beginning to learn to relax a bit.)  We decided to take the tour and what fun we had.  Again, the beautiful day added to the enjoyment!  It seemed every time our guide asked if there were any questions, I was the only one who had something to ask!!!  (Go figure!)  Well, most of you know how that tour ends and we enjoyed that too!  As the sun began to set, we headed back to Louisville.  What a glorious day!  (And Cinda and Joyce walked!)

Another beautiful day today (Monday), and I got to have lunch with my dear Harrodsburg friend who was in town for a morning seminar.  We shared about our families and laughed!  What's better than that?  (And Cinda and Joyce flew home!)

Life is short Friends!  Praise the Lord, do your best, laugh a lot and enjoy every moment!  xxoo