My, it has been awhile since I last wrote, due to foreseen circumstances that demanded my attention. The Amos Cottage Aces for Amos Tennis Tournament and Silent Auction was a slamming success and I am putting all the Treasurer's duties to bed today. I have a great feeling of accomplishment. In looking at the widget thing or whatever it is called where the countries of followers are located, I noticed I picked up a new country...Moldova. Is it coincidental that I wrote about Ion, the watercolorist who had a recent showing here and that is where he is from? I love it.

The auction was back to back with my three sisters coming to Winston Salem for our yearly "Sister's weekend." They have graciously allowed Randy to be an "Unofficial Sister." I say unofficial so as not to emasculate him. (He doesn't want to be thought of as a sister.) I have told him in the past, as long as he doesn't act like a husband, he can stay. He drives us all around and has the best sense of time and direction than any of us, so you can just picture all 4 of us being chauffeured around wherever we go like in the movie "Driving Miss Daisy," but it's more like "Driving Miss Crazies." (Or from Randy's point of view, it could be "Driving ME Crazy." Hmmm....never thought of that one before.)

Anyway, it was great to have everyone here. We took them to the Reynolda House Gardens, shops and Museum. They loved it. I cannot get enough of the history of Winston Salem, and even though I could probably be a docent there, I enjoy going through it afresh every time. We also took them to Boone & Blowing Rock. It just so happened to be the rainiest day ever, and I wonder when I will ever learn...it is always colder in the mountains. We froze, but everyone was just happy to be together. Of course, everything was centered around cooking and food, but there was a "memory moment" when we were all sitting upstairs in the library at our game table playing Scrabble. Scarlette (yes indeedy...she lives in Atlanta and our father named her during the "Gone with the Wind" heyday.) very quietly said, "Do you all realize that this is the first time we have ever sat and played a game together?" Scarlette and Linda are 10 and 7 years older than me, respectively, and our younger sister, Pam, is 18 months younger than me. They were far more in tune with other things than playing games with Pam and I when we were younger, so there's no time like the present to make up for lost time. I would love to post a picture of us from this past weekend, but no one thought to take one. Crazy, huh? So I hope to post one from last year.

The pool opens this weekend in the neighborhood. Summer is coming! All the spring flowers are looking like wilted discolored crepe paper, but the hope of the summer flowers are getting ready to burst forth. We have found 2 at least 4 ' snakes in the yard in the last week, black and harmless, so I have instructed Randy not to harm them, even though they may give us a heart attack if they sneak up on us. I am getting very brave and actually stand over them and watch them maneuver themselves. My goal is to maybe touch one someday. For some reason, I know how they feel with their muscles working like steel cords in their bodies. I must have played with some kind of toy snake that was very realistic long ago. I've researched them, so know without a doubt that they are not copperheads, and supposedly water moccasins don't cross west of the Yadkin River...not too far from here. I am standing on that one, whether it sounds believable to you or not. :) (Randy has discovered that black snakes swim across ponds...and even go and visit beavers that live on the other side.)

Bo...like your new picture you posted. I hope all is well with all of you!