Friday's Fave Five

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday's Fave Five. Here are my favorite moments from the week. What are yours? Join in on your blog or tell us in a comment here.


Monday was my last day at the bookstore. It was a fun day helping customers select books and listening to a presentation from a local sales rep on how to use a certain writing curriculum called Institute for Excellence in Writing- a wonderful product. Then dinner with friends at a restaurant where I have never eaten before- Olive's. The food was delicious and the company grand!
My sisters, nieces and nephews visited Fash and I on Tuesday. The sun was bright, the pool water warm and the company delightful.



Three sisters checking out the periodic table, I remember Sn is tin because sin rhymes with tin and Pb for lead- public lead-Cu, cute copper- hey, had to come up with some way of memorizing the ones that didn't seem as logical waay back in the day. Now the illogical ones are the ones I remember best. And boy, is it ever a good thing to know. In case I'm ever on a game show like Smarter Than a Fifth Grader.



Wednesday, we dropped Fash off at the movies with her friend, then decided to go see one ourselves. Not our typical mid-week gig. We chose The Time Traveler's Wife. I like Rachel McAdams, the star of The Notebook, one of my favorite movies. But Traveler didn't draw me in. Too fictional. Not believable. I couldn't connect with the disappearing guy and felt a shock of horror every time he showed up in a different time zone naked- talk about my worst nightmare! I've heard if you read the book, you like the movie better. I didn't read it. Some people must have enjoyed this movie, because I guess it might be coming to ABC as a mini-series. What I liked best about Wednesday was the company- I was with I.T.- the star of my show.



Thursday I worked on my "project" organizing books for Fash's fall studies. I think we've got it figured out now. American Lit., Psychology, World Geography, Art, Consumer Math, Vocabulary w/Writing Studies and a College Prep study course. She tried out for the musical Annie and finds out today if she got a part and she's volunteering three days/week at a local retirement villa, leading arts and crafts, doing manicures and playing card games with the residents there. She is also affiliated with a drama team called Breakdown that performs skits, promoting positive messages about making wise decisions, for local school assemblies. Throw in babysitting and her social calendar and I think she's good for another fabulous year- her senior year! Wow! Fash is for sure one of my all time favorites.


This sign at the local retirement villa where Fash volunteers says it all. I.T. and I are looking forward to dinner with longtime friends and I hear one of them may have a "project" for me. Another "project". Okay. I'm ready. I can always add it to my list where I can try to stare it done. No really, I'm warming up to projects and I'm going to get this one from yesterday done today.

Adoption- the great gift!

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." Romans 8:14-17

Adoption is an immeasureable gift!

(photo by Tangible Sentiments Photography)

RIFF RAFF Review

Grab your toothbrush, a bike and your Hawaiian hairpiece and come with me to RIFF RAFF 2009 in Holly, Michigan. We'll be camping at Groveland Oaks county park in Oakland County.

Enough food and supplies to make three breakfasts, one lunch and two dinners for 75 people, clothes, bedding, camp chairs and toiletries for four, soccer balls and Hawaiian gear are all stuffed in the back of I.T.'s truck.

Four bikes, the propane tank, a table and tikki torches hauled behind in Grandpa's trailer.




Does this tire look flat to you?



Just under two hours later.... welcome to I.T.'s kitchen!

Unload the truck.


Relatives and friends arrive late into the night. They've come from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida and Arizona. Where are you joining us from?Up early each morning to fry up some pancakes, bacon and eggs on the griddle. Meet I.T.- my muscleman, brother-in-law, Joe and Uncle Jim.

Feeding the multitudes. Plenty for everyone!

Aunt Carol fashioned a quilt out of all the t-shirts we've had made over the years. It's not just a reunion, it's a wardrobe. This year's shirt- lime green with a Survivor logo- everyone gets a shirt, but lucky lil' Joey got the whole enchilada shorts pantsuit.
Survivor team #1- AMOHA-derived from the first letter of each of their first names. Fash is in the orange headband. Survivor team #2- Natty Light- derived from the name of a favorite beverage of one of my cousins- working on winning the first challenge. Get the team over the finish line. Every member must keep both feet on a carpet square at all times. If any foot touches the gravel drive, it's back to start. Team AMOHA returned to start three times, losing the challenge. It was time to vote one team member off the island.

Sister, A, and brother-in-law explain the next challenge. Grandma holds up the prize- a $100 bill.

Fash found the immunity in the woods, so did not get voted off after round one. Challenge #2- your teammate throws water from the lake to you. Catch as much as you can and dump it into the bucket at the end of the stick, when the stick falls from the weight of the water, it raises your flag. First flag up wins! My dad made this contraption.






Fash did not come out the winner on this one.

The stew! Yummy.

Seventy-five aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins once removed, 3rd cousins twice returned, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, spouses (one husband per one wife, just to clarify)- all being fed....not just the bodies... ...but the souls of each are nourished, as we share together the happenings of our lives and the care we have for each other. This is love. Love on bikes! Preparing to ride the 8 mile, paved trail in Oakland County- around a lake, some hills involved. Some ride in comfort. Some ride in style.
All ride in fun! Thus the name, RIFF RAFF (Ride In Fun For Relatives And Family Friends)
Luncheon on the lawn after the ride. I.T. is chillin', he did not have to cook this meal!
Strap on your coconuts and shake your grass, it's Luau time! The Birthday girl hula's at 80 like a pro. My niece and I try to keep up.Food prepsters.

Almost the whole gang- I'm front row, third from the left, Fash is 6th in, holding her cousin and I.T. is waaay in the background on the left, cutting up roasted pig.
Do the limbo! Hawaiian music playing on the boom box. Sister and brother-in-law, our activity coordinators, hold the stick. Only two Survivors left in the game, this one explains how he will spend the money if he wins, but pleads with his former teammates to vote for Josh- his opponent.
Josh wins the $100!

Sunday morning we gather 'round to worship God, to listen to scripture readings and to pray. The bass line. The children's choir.



It's hard to say good-by, the weekend is too short, the time between visits- too long. I.T. packs a much lighter load for the ride home.

So that's RIFF RAFF, everyone is always welcome!

I leave you with a shot of my Hawaiian hairpiece.

RIFF RAFF

I've spent at least one weekend every summer, for as long as I can remember, with my relatives on my mother's side. For years the gathering was called the DDD (Doc Davis Descendants) reunion. Well over one hundred aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins once removed, twice removed, in-laws and out-laws would get together to eat, churn homemade ice cream, throw water balloons back and forth until the last one busted and swim at midnight to earn a polar bear patch. The youngsters played kick the can, while the grown-ups talked, over card games.

When my grandpa died, this family affair slowly transitioned into an Easter event at my Aunt Linda's home in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Then Aunt Linda hatched an idea, as she often does. What if we all got together with our bicycles and biked the trails across the US of A? And that's what we did. What we do.

My relatives live in various states and we take turns hosting this annual event. It is called RIFF RAFF- Ride In Fun For Relatives And Family Friends. We needed the "family friends" part, because my cousins and aunts always bring friends to this reunion and these friends like it so much, they keep coming every year. At this point, it's hard to tell who is a friend and who is a bona fide relative. It's my family's turn to host the 16th annual RIFF RAFF. We'll ride a Michigan trail near Detroit. Next weekend, seventy some relatives and friends from age 6 months or so to 80 years old, will camp together, bike the trail, eat, play poor man's horseshoes and euchre and participate in a game of Survivor. My sister is in charge of that deal. I told her, I am not eating any bugs! She also designed this year's t-shirt, which I cannot describe, in case some of my cousins read this- the t-shirt logo is always a surprise. Shirts from years gone by are displayed at the beginning of this post for your viewing enjoyment.

I.T. and I are on the food committee. This always paralyzes me in the same way that painting my bathroom does. The formidable task! Impossible. Thankfully, I.T. is Mr. Budgethead. He plans everything to the penny. BUT. I did contribute. I.T. bought the meat and cut it up for stew. I chopped and diced and made that beef stew for 44. I agonize over cooking for two extra guests, so this was a real biggie for me. My mother also made stew for 44. We will serve it over biscuits and there will be plenty. I hope. Altogether, we must feed approximately 70 people three breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch, and provide drinks and cookies to go with their sack lunches on the trail. They send us money. We shop, pack, haul and put out a sign up sheet when we get to the campground. Relatives and friends are required to volunteer as meal prepsters. It is an amazing ordeal.

On Sunday, we all worship together in the great outdoors. My uncle is a retired Presbyterian minister. My brother-in-law pastor's a church in our state's capitol. But many participate, sharing with words, instruments and songs.

The whole, crazy thing is one of the most special events of the summer- every year.

We're loading the truck and counting down the days... 3.5 until departure.