time spent with a friend :-]

     A week ago Saturday I got to spend a few delightful hours with "my" Kate. :-]. She drove, I treated to lunch, and then we went shopping.

     We headed out to Grand Rapids Brewing Co. for lunch. If you've never gone there, you really should go!!! Yes, it is a Brewing Co.. But the 'pub' part and the restaurant part are completely separated. Yes, you can still order a brew while sitting in their dining room. But enough about all of that. I'm sure you get the general idea.
     Like I said, 'if you've never gone there, you really should go!!!' Their food is really good! They recently got a new chef who made changes to their menu. Some of the newer dishes are more along the lines of some of the now more popular veins in cuisine (things such as including goat and other 'fancy' cheeses, etc.). But they still have some of their old favorites (such as their huge wonderful hamburger). And I filled out a comment card requesting that they bring back their Pecan Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich (a fav. of mine), their loaded waffle fries (something I probably shouldn't like, but they were just so-o-o good!) and their Lumberjack sandwich (which was one of Brian's fav.'s). ;-)
    I would hate to see this be another good place to eat in G.R. that closes.
    O-kay, so-o, enough of that free commercial. ;-)
    Our lunch time took quite awhile because we were so-o enjoying our conversations. While we do have a lot of differences, we are none the less truly 'kindred spirits'!
    And then there were the phone calls I kept getting. More drama in a family members life. But Kate totally understands that that is a big part of me. The being a part of my family members lives. And thus she even joined in on the listening and encouraging. Thanks Kate!!

   We then went shopping. As you know, that is something that I seldom do any more. Vertigo and shopping do not blend together smoothly. But we did so for two reasons.
    First, as my unofficial yet almost official 'doctor', Kate has learned well how to read my body language over the years. By looking at my eyes, the color of my skin, the way I move, she can tell whether I'm attempting to push myself further than I should. And, when of my own accord I admit that I've had enough, she never squabbles over it. Thus we went shopping to see how much I was now up to handling. People. Movements. Scanning things on racks. Etc..
    Secondly, earlier that week there had been a message on our answering machine that the local Salvation Army Stores were running big sales that Saturday. I had understood it to be 50% off all winter apparel, including winter outerwear. The announcement that came over the intercom shortly after we entered the store, stated that it was 50% off ALL clothing. Kate asked, "Children's wear?" With a huge smile I had answered "YES, please!!!"
   
   We were going to head that direction, but then a display caught my eye. In it was a pair of shoes that literally shouted "Kayla" at me!!!!!!! They were oh so bright pink, with white polka dots. They were platformed fronts with thick heels. They had little bows both on the toes and at the back of the heel. While you knew they had been worn, they didn't at all appear "worn". They were oh so super 'girlie' and shouting 'Kayla' at me. And I thought the size was right. So I called Kayla and inquired. They were!!! But I didn't tell Kayla a thing about them, just said, "ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies" o;-p!

    (the pink and white polka dot parts are actually fabric!)

    When I showed them to her the next day, Kayla did the excited 'girlie girl' giggle. She was thrilled they fit. And then she gave me a wonderful hug. ;-]  In-fact, much later before they left, she purposely came back in the room to again thank me and give me another hug. ;-] For $4.99, I had hit the bulls eye. Thank-you Lord!  She plans to wear them for Easter.

    Kate and I then did make it to the children's clothing. What fun!!! We pulled out and showed each other ever so many adorable clothing pieces!!!  It would have been oh so easy to buy Analyse clothing through size 5T. LOTS of it! But I took a deep breath and kept to being practical. Practical, but also ever so frugal. Seeings how all clothing was 50% off, I didn't pay over $1.50 for anything for Analyse. Here are pictures of what all I was able to get for her for $19.00.

   two pairs of pajamas. Not super heavy winter style, but not thin cotton either.

Both the black pants and the full length overalls are cordory. Cute! Speaking of cute, check out those denim overall shorts. They were a 'must buy'!!!

two summer dresses. The pink and green one is seersucker like material and the other is a brushed cotton.

 The sleeved one has lace on the top of the bodice, and the skirt is sort of scooped edged which just flows when moved. It's going to be ever so cute on our always dancing Analyse!
   The sleeveless one is brushed cotton and is a mixture of a dress front with a onesie style middle. (hope ya get what I mean.)

   I got our dancer a 'tutu'. :-} [hey, I saw her stand on the very very tips of her toes to be able to reach something she was determined to get! ;-p]

   Yet again, God had provided. When we were there recently, the "kids" had just pulled out the stored away box of size 24 month / 2 T clothing, due to Analyse now being that size. There wasn't a whole lot in there. This week I will be shipping my recent purchases to them. And soon I might be brave and venture out to do some more shopping. While I do hope they are again running a good sale, I never the less hope that it's not heavily attended. Too many people, not standing still, making so-o much noise, and .... Yup, I've still got a ways to go on this road back to 'normal' (which I freely admit I have never been. o;-p) But in the mean time, I spent some delightful time with "my" Kate, got some adorable shoes for my daughter-in-love-to-be Kayla, and some great clothing for my grand daughter Analyse. It was a great afternoon!!!