What a birthday week I had! After a family birthday celebration on Sunday, I enjoyed lunch with some wonderful ladies on Monday then had dinner Monday night with the B family (forgot to take photos of that one!). Finally, on Wednesday I was whisked away by Grace Girls for a big evening out. We headed to Macon for dinner and a play and had an absolutely marvelous time! Thank you so very much to ALL who made my big birthday so special!
heading down to pick up Sheryl
Laura, Susie, Karen, Chris, Sheryl, Brenda, Deb
Yes, I am wearing the 2nd tiara of the week... whew. World record!! ;) This tiara says '21' and the banner says 'Finally 21' (courtesy of Chris). :) Ummm.... I'm a slow bloomer?? hahaha!
Sheryl, Karen, Susie, Laura, Chris, Deb
(Brenda took this picture)
I asked a guy in the parking lot to take our whole group photo. :)
Sheryl, Deb, Chris, Laura, Karen, Brenda, Susie
Not only had I not known we were going to eat at AJ's Restaurant (so yummy!!), but I had no idea that dear Donna was also driving over to meet us! What a wonderful surprise when she walked into the room at AJ's. :)
The whole crew at AJ's. Chris, Susie, Karen, Sheryl, Deb, Donna, Brenda, Laura
I hadn't seen Mike in about 30 years. It was great to see him and we definitely enjoyed our dinner at his restaurant!
Laura and Mike
Their onion rings are still the best anywhere...
I had the special of the evening and it was amazing! Tortellini with shrimp in a white wine cream sauce with asparagus and red peppers. Wow!
:) Birthday treat.
Here is our funny mystery of the evening... I had chosen to actually wear jewelry on this evening, something I haven't made a habit of for many years. (I have decided that at 50 I should start again.) :) Anyway, I ordered a new necklace and earrings and they came that very day. So I pulled them out of their new package and put them on, then went out for the evening. Somewhere between dinner and dessert I realized I no longer had my left earring. It had somehow fallen out. Brenda and I had just been to the restroom so we retraced our steps looking for the earring. (Thanks to the 'other' Brenda we saw in the bathroom who also helped us!) But no luck. We returned to our little private room where we were seated and everyone looked thoroughly. Deb even sent a waiter to 'frisk Mike' to see if it had fallen into his pocket when we took our photo. (Haven't seen him in 30 years and I cause him to be frisked...) :D hahaha! We couldn't find that crazy earring anywhere! So I simply removed the other earring and we went on with the evening. When I got home that night I walked to my jewelry box to put the necklace and 1 earring away. When I opened the box I was momentarily confused. I was holding my necklace in my hand, yet I was looking at that necklace in the jewelry box. What? Finally I remembered that I had ALREADY ordered that necklace/earring set a few months ago and so this new set that had arrived that day was a duplicate! ha! Soooo... the good news is that I have 2 necklaces and 3 earrings. The bad news is that I am losing my mind! :D
Following our yummy meal we headed over to Maples Repertory Theater to see 'Mamma Mia!'. It was a fantastic show! I think they said they included 28 songs in the play. We all left the theater with Abba songs on our minds!
So glad Donna drove over!
Susie, Sheryl, Laura, Donna
Susie, Sheryl, Laura, Donna
Chris, Deb, Brenda, Karen
Sheryl's family was able to come down for the play, too!
We had the dessert ticket for a treat during intermission.
Susie, Deb, Brenda, Karen
Laura, Sheryl, Donna, Chris
After we saw Donna off, Deb took one last picture in the parking lot.
Sheryl, Laura, Karen, Brenda, Susie, Chris
The first Friday night in May was perfect weather for gathering at Karen's beautiful barn in the country. Although Deb and Sheryl couldn't make it, the rest of us enjoyed time on the porch visiting and taking in the scenic view. Plus eating - there is always eating with Grace Girls. :)
You can't really tell it, but Brenda is in this picture.
She is roasting a marshmallow on the fire for a s'more! :)
Susie holding Chris's new puppy. :)
Chris
Karen enjoying a s'more :)
Karen and Jr. J (this is HIS farm!)
Thank you Jr. J for letting us come and visit your lovely farm!
Then mid-May we had our last meeting of the year and went out with a celebration of birthdays - Brenda and Chris. My friend, Donna, was visiting and got to join in on the fun, as well. Fun night with dear friends.
Laura, Chris, Donna, and Susie - waiting for the others to arrive.
Too funny... dear Deb brought awards for Sheryl, Chris, Karen and me for our participation in the murder mystery dinner several weeks ago. She presented us with little 'Oscars'. :D ha!
Sheryl got the 'best actress' award.
Karen got the award for best props (for all the great stuff she loaned to Deb)
Chris's look when she received the award for best comedic performance. :D :D :D
Brenda and Susie were good 'onlookers' :)
With our 'Oscars' :) Sheryl, Laura, Chris, and Karen
Then it was time to celebrate TWO birthdays in the group - Brenda and Chris. We enjoyed Bellacinos sandwiches, several sides, and a yummy ice cream cake. It was a great way to end the year together.
We Grace Girls like to try to celebrate when one of us has a birthday. I mean, who passes up a chance for cake?? :) This time it was Deb's turn. Thankful for these ladies! :)
We have all agreed that this year we will turn '19'. It works. :)
Apparently, ice cream cake needs a
little time to thaw before you cut it... :D
This post has been sitting in my queue for awhile now. In fact, since this fateful night in February, I have been back to Olive's house multiple times! This was definitely the start of a beautiful friendship... :)
Let me introduce you to Olive Gilbreath McLorn, a fascinating woman indeed! Olive was born and raised in LaPlata, MO, graduating from high school in 1900. She attended Wellesley College, graduating with her Bacheor's degree before earning her Master's degree from the University of Michigan. She traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Russia during tumultuous times in their own history. She was the author of 3 books and many articles for publications such as "Harpers", "Yale Review", and "Asia Magazine". She married David McLorn at the age of 51 and together they lived in Shanghai where David was a banker. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 they were interred by Japanese forces who were occupying China. They spent 2½ years in a concentration camp until their release in 1945. After the war, Olive and David moved to the house in LaPlata where they lived out their days. This is a mere snippet of Olive's life. And while the house is the focal point of this post, it is Olive herself who draws us in. I cannot believe that I have lived in this area most of my life and yet did not know about Olive Gilbreath McLorn until February of 2018!
So, how did I finally 'meet Olive'? My friend, Sheryl, is on the board of the Gilbreath-McLorn house and she offered to give our little Grace Girls group a tour of the home. Sheryl warned us that she herself had become obsessed with Olive and her history... and we all quickly followed suit. The night Sheryl took us for our first tour, we all fell in love with Olive. Her spirit, her story, her love for her home drew us right in. This will not be the last time you hear about Olive on this blog! :)
It was a dark and (sort of) stormy night when we first visited Olive's home, but that seemed totally appropriate somehow. :)
Chris, Karen, Sheryl, Susie, Deb
Laura, Karen, Sheryl, Susie, Deb
Sheryl sat us down in the dining room to give us an overview of Olive's life.
the three books authored by Olive
you can see the Asian influence throughout her house
Chris, "who doesn't like museums", had the most fun of all looking through all the drawers! She was like a kid in a candy shop and gleefully channeled her 'inner Olive' throughout the house. :)
her excitement was tangible and catching! :)
love the pocket doors
Olive in front of her home.
so many cool architectural details, like curved walls
David McLorn's luggage
Chris - channeling Olive :)
clockwise - Sheryl, Laura, Susie, Chris, Karen
Olive's father was a cattleman - photo of record sale of cattle at Chicago stockyard in 1917.
in the attic
going to the basement - notice another curved wall
in the basement
Deb, Susie, Karen, Sheryl, Chris
If you are interested in more photos, you can see an entire album at this link.
And here is a video from our first evening at Olive's house.
I imagine that some of you reading this post know about Olive Gilbreath McLorn. If you have any personal memories of her or stories about Olive and David, let me know. I would love to visit with you! And if you are interested in preserving local history, consider taking a paid tour of the home, renting the home to host an event, or simply donating to the home. This is a treasure in our midst and I hope to be a part of helping to preserve it. Here are links for your information.
I found the Nomination form for placing the home on the National Registry of Historic Places to be quite interesting reading. You can download a copy at this link... https://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/78001667.pdf
