Worship service and dinner at church.......

Note: Some have inquired as to how Edward is progressing after surgery....he continues to do well...still on the weak side.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers...for both of us....

I decided to post another segment...Marion and John are out of pocket but I'm sure she'll catch up shortly........

Arising early, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.....and then off to Bible Study and worship services.......our congregation was familiar with Marion and John.....Marion and John had kindly remembered several in their prayers who had special needs.....and our congregation had prayed for Marion when she had surgery......


Edward, Betty, Marion and John



In Marion and John's honor we had a southern church dinner after worship service........many different southern dishes.......each lady usually has favorites that she brings.....
Double battered thick sliced smoked bacon deep fried........(this is a favorite with everyone and my family also).....
Ham, fried chicken, fried quail, roast, chicken and dumplings....yum, yum.......
Chicken and dressing.......
Potato souffle, creamed potatoes with cheese topping......corn, baked pineapple, peas, butterbeans, cabbage casserole......
Potato salad, pineapple sandwiches, cheese and macaroni, strawberry salad..........
Don't forget dessert.....cakes, pies, brownies, cobblers, ice cream
and cookies..............gallons of sweet tea and lemonade........

I am always gobsmacked (as the English say) with the variety of dishes brought.

After relaxing on the patio in the afternoon, we returned for evening services......it was a wonderful blessing to have the privilege of sitting on the same pew with Marion and John. Something I had dreamed of for a very long time.....thank you dear Lord.......

The next posting is when we attend the Red Hatter's luncheon.....

Southern HospitaliTEA......in honor of my friend, Marion.........

Edward and I were so excited having Marion and John visit...but equally so were Amy, Erin, Elisabeth and Ellie....they planned a special event in Marion's honor......Beth, a good friend of Amy's helped co-ordinate, cook and decorate.....delicious hors d'oeuvres, or vol-au-vents (as our British friends would say) were served........
One of the gifts Marion brought was this beautiful snow-white drying cloth....it is a work of art....a perfect cloth for the tea cart...different teas, Peach, Heavenly, etc....were served.
Erin, Amy and Elisabeth............
The excitement began building as the first guests entered the back yard.....everyone had looked forward with great anticipation to meeting Marion.....many had read her blog and felt as I had that they knew her........earlier in the week, two friends were discussing the tea party and the English honoree....one asked the other if she would be attending.....to which she replied, " Yes, that's the closet to royalty I'll ever be!"

One guest, Pam, had relatives who came from Wales...she brought along a genealogical book. She and Marion had quite a discussion about Wales..... Cousin Mary Jo 'knew' Marion and John from conversations with Edward and me......

Several young ladies accompanied their mothers....they were in their Sunday best and on their best behavior........

Before the tea came to an end, John was summoned from inside, where he Edward and Bobby, a cousin, were engaged in 'man talk'........all the ladies wanted to meet John........

Much to soon, the evening came to an end and the guests departed......many memories and friendships were made........

Our granddaughter, Erin, kindly shared her slide show............

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Lunch at Jackie's and an exhibition day lily garden......

'Miss Marion' as we say in the south.........

Wednesday we arrived at our home......Marion had commented at some earlier time that as an English person, she would like to fly the Union Jack.....that lodged somewhere in my mind and I ordered one off the internet.....prior to our arrival, Amy had put out the flag, turned on the lamps throughout the house......


Marion and I have discovered a secret....a little mean, green demon sneaks in to our cameras and deletes pictures that we know we made.....we had lunch at my friend Jackie's home on Thursday.....another southern delicacy....Bar-B-Que...along with the side dishes of potato salad, baked beans, sliced tomatoes, pickles and bread were introduced to Marion and John.....for dessert or pudding we enjoyed cake........ as I was saying, we know Marion made pictures but they're 'just plain gone'.

After lunch, we visited one of the prettiest gardens this side of heaven.......hundreds of varieties of day lilies, and any other variety of plant you can think of.....the grounds are absolutely gorgeous....the setting for several weddings.......visiting Marion's blog you will see many more pictures than I'm showing.......below: Jackie, John and Marion...no, that isn't a birdhouse hat on John's head. Pictured Jackie, John and Marion......

Another day we visited another favorite eating place we enjoy so that when we say, "we ate at so and so", Marion and John can picture the place........





There's that iced sweet tea.....John's hooked......

After lunch, we went to a neighboring town to shop.....Edward had ministerial duties to attend to so John graciously escorted two wild shoppers! We checked out several shops including thrift shops and consignment shops.....needles to say, we didn't come home empty handed........

The next posting will be an event planned by our daughter, Amy, Erin, Elisabeth, Ellie and Beth......a southern Hospitali-TEA on Saturday afternoon......

Dining at the Blue Willow Restaurant....

Life doesn't always happen as we think it should or plan that it should....as you know, Edward had extensive surgery to remove blood clots from his leg......we are home and doing well.....so after almost a month.........back to the Marion-John-Edward-Betty saga...............

After leaving the cabin, we meandered down to the Blue Willow Restaurant in Social Circle......this is a culinary experience among the very best........The Blue Willow Restaurant is in a beautiful antebellum home...when you walk in you instantly know you are in for a special time......

We were greeted by Nancy, a who made us feel so welcome....no this isn't Nancy in the red dress.....this is a picture from the Blue Willow web page......

and no this isn't either of us......another picture from the web page........
After introductions and chatting for a few minutes we were seated in the Garden Room.....present were people from Australia and a couple who had lived in London for eight years.....

What a meal....I can't begin to list all the dishes....but of course fried chicken, dumplings, peas, beans, sweet potato casserole, etc were all there.....with salads and breads. By this time, John was an Iced Sweet Tea convert.......The dessert choices were outstanding. We lingered over coffee.....




Nancy kindly offered to take photographs......
Marion talking to the couple from Australia.....
Standing on the front steps.....
Please meet Nancy................
Next we walked over to the gift shop next door. John on the bridge.....
Do we look stuffed or what?
Another view of the Blue Willow ........next posting will be after we arrive home.......to be continued......

Update...........Thank You Again For Your Prayers....

Edward continues to do well and we are very thankful....he goes every few days to have blood drawn to adjust coumadin level.....

I am planning, Lord willing, to resume the Marion-John-Edward-Betty saga....probably tomorrow.....

I've missed visiting with you and I'm anxious to hear what's going on in your lives.....God Bless....Betty