Big birthday, dinner with a view and we are family

- A drive to be with beloved family members and friends to bestow gifts upon a deserving young lady, ie. bridal shower for my niece. It is just a coincidence that it is the 450th birthday of Pensacola, Florida. An event that even the king and queen of Spain thought it worthy to attend. And someone got the idea that perhaps party goers could sign a card that will be submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest birthday card ever.

- A lovely dinner at Atlas Oyster House on Pensacola Bay, where the featured dish is something called "Grits a' Ya Ya" - Gulf shrimp sautéed with spinach, portobello mushrooms, applewood-smoked bacon, garlic, shallots, and cream over a heaping bed of smoked Gouda cheese grits. Niece Abby saying to her Aunt Cookie, "I told you we eat good down here."

- A more rustic dinner at The Oyster Barn overlooking the marina bridge, where the food was almost as good as the staff was fun. And the official greeter was a cat named Gator, who the owner took in when she wandered up one day. He named her before her gender was known.

Best of all this weekend...being with family and friends (I had all my sisters with me.) Another good things moment - reading your blogs on Sunday morning while all the other gals energetically went for a walk. Looking up at the precise moment they walk by the window, they cheerfully wave in unison and I wave back.