GIRLFRIENDS

“GIRLFRIENDS”
Young and newly married, I relaxed under a pecan tree on a hot Texas summer day, drinking iced tea and getting to know my new sister-in-law, Estelle.
Not much older than I, but already a mother of three, Estelle seemed to me experienced and wise.

“Get yourself some girlfriends, Lacreta,” she advised, clinking the ice cubes in her glass. “You are going to need girlfriends.

Go places with them; do things with them.” What a funny piece of advice, I thought. Hadn’t I just gotten married? Hadn’t I just joined the couple-world? I was a married woman, for goodness sake…not a young girl who needed girlfriends.

But I listened to this new sister-in-law. I got myself some girlfriends.
As the years tumbled by, one after another, gradually I came to understand that Estelle knew what she was talking about. I remembered that she had said the word “girlfriends” with emphasis. As I went along, I discovered the subtle difference between friends and girlfriends. You go to work with friends, go to dinner with friends, go to church with friends, belong to clubs with friends. You send friends greeting cards. You need friends in your life, all girlfriends were once only friends. But a girlfriend is different.
A girlfriend is not “just like a sister.” Sisters have a distinct bond, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sisters flow from family attachment; girlfriends choose each other. A sister can also be a girlfriend. As a thank-you to my sister-in-law and to the other girlfriends in my life, I offer this praise of girlfriends.

Here is what I know about girlfriends:
Girlfriends don’t compete.

Girlfriends keep your children, and keep your secrets.

Girlfriends give advice when you ask for it. Sometimes you take it, sometimes you don’t.

Girlfriends don’t always tell you that you are right.

Girlfriends might send you a birthday card, but they might not. It does not matter in the least.

Girlfriends laugh with you and don’t need canned jokes to start the laughter.

Girlfriends don’t yammer behind your back.

Girlfriends pull you out of jams.

Girlfriends don’t keep a calendar of who hosted the other last.

Girlfriends will give a party for your son or daughter when they get married or have a baby-in whichever order that comes.

And girlfriends are there for you, in an instant and truly, when the hard times come.

Girlfriends listen when you lose a job or a husband.Girlfriends listen when your children break your heart.

Girlfriends listen when your parent’s minds and bodies fail.

Girlfriends bless my life.Once when we were young, with no idea of the incredible joys or the incredible sorrows that law ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.I want to tell young women to take my sister-in-law’s advice.

Get yourself some girlfriends. You are going to need them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOOD FRIEND

It's great to have good friends visit, expecially when somebody special is

having a birthday.

Happy Birthday Janean

VINTAGE THINGIES THURSDAY HURRAY

Just found another great post opportunity. "Vintage Thingies Thursday" I can do Vintage-- I am Vintage. Until 3 years ago at the cabin we had avacado green countertops, and a refrigerator the same color until about 6 years ago. The girls in our family would love to redo my house and I would love to win the lottery so they could. I cannot tell you the last time anyone saw me in an apron and yet my fondest memories of my grandmothers always have them wearing one.

Please visit here for all things vintage and a fun time.

http://anapronaday.blogspot.com/.

This is a photo of some great friends and neighbors of ours. They have 7 or 8 antique Model T's and Model A. This is their newest baby. It was in about 10 pieces when he found it and hauled it home and put it back together. They all run-- very smoothly, thank you.

The following pictures are of a great store that just opened a branch in my neighborhood. It's called "Hip and Humble" and is owned by two sisters that grew up in our neighborhood. They deal in retro and vintage originals and reproductions.
I was so excited when I rounded the corner in the small shopping center and there it was in front of me.

REMEMBERING PARIS

Great article in yesterdays Sunday NYTimes "A Guide to the French. Handle with Care", by Elaine Sciolino who is just finishing her stint as Paris bureau chief. According to her the french are:

1. Obsessed with history, partly because of a genuine affinity for the past, part a desire to cling to lost glory, etc. No anniversary is small to celebrate. In the past 5 years France has celebrated the 20th anniversary of France's sinking of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior, the 200th anniversary of the high school baccalaureate diploma, the 60th anniversary of the bikini and the 100th anniversary of the brassiere.

2. The French are proficient at doctoring interviews and transcripts released to the public.

3. The Customer is always Wrong-- In arguing with a shopkeeper over an inferior product that the customer was returning, the customer was forced to remind the shopkeeper of the French saying, "The customer is king." To which the shopkeeper replied, "We no longer have a king in France."

4. Make Friends with a Good Butcher. Her butcher once cooked her Thanksgiving turkey when it was too large for her oven. Even when he delivers bad news, his explanations are delicious. Once she ordered a 16- pound turkey and got an 11-pound bird instead.

"It was the fault of the foxes," he said gravely,

"The foxes?" she asked.

Yes, the foxes." It seemed that the electric fence surrounding the turkey pen had shorted out and the foxes had a field day.
They only ate the big turkeys," he explained.

5. Dress up even when just going to the corner for butter. She dashed out one Sunday morning in her morning jogging clothes and before she got home had run into: a senior Foreign Ministry official, the Swedish ambassador and his wife and then a deputy Treasury Security all of whom

knew her well due to her position with the NYTimes.

6. French women seem naturally skilled in the art of moving, smiling and flirting. They spend 20% of their clothing budgets on lingerie.

7. Politeness Lessons: Never say "toilette" when looking for the powder room; never say "Bon appetit" at the start of a meal. Don't talk loudly. Never discuss your religion or your money at dinner. East Hamburgers, pizza, foie gras and sorbet with a fork. Always say "bonjour" to the bus driver, and to fellow passengers on elevators.

In reading this delightful article I was reminded that I broke almost all of these rules the year

Twila and I went to Paris and then on to Munich and Frankfurt. It was a great trip.

Through no expertise of our own we landed a sweet hotel just up the street directly in back of me as I took this photo.

In front of the Louvre and the line that wound around the interior of the courtyard twice. Evidently the Paris museums had been on strike for 3 weeks and this was the first day they were open. We decided life was too short and walked across the street for lunch and browse through Rick Steve's guidebook. Low and behold he tells in there how to skip the lines. Marched back over to the Louvre, found a young guide outside and ask him where we could buy "the special pass" you need to jump the line. He told us and then looked at the blank look on our face and said "I'll do it for you". Took our money and dashed across the street and down a Metro entrance. Came right back up and gave us our passes (don't ask me why the only place you can buy "the secret special passes" is in the Metro's. Anyway went down under the pyramid and right into the museum in the "special line". Cool.

Late lunch on the Champs-Elysees

Morning Outdoor Market at Versailles

VERSAILLES

TWILA'S BIRTHDAY

Twila's birthday is March 2nd and she is leaving for Israel on the 3rd so she got her birthday gift early. She has collected chicken related items for many years. Richard raised chickens when he was a child and Twila wrote a delightful book about his experiences. I made 3 trips past this and each time it yelled "Send me to Twila". Hope you have a great trip.