New readers, please start here to follow this journey; I recently visited a friend in Nebraska after a twenty-year absence, creating wonderful recollections.
How can I possibly capture this entire experience in a single article?
I used to scrapbook, but now this Bildirimlerim site serves as my visual journal; however, I've compiled a brief virtual 'scrapbook' of my trip.
Here is the summary.
Let me introduce my friend, Kerry Lea.
Our friendship remained strong despite the two-decade gap; we instantly resumed our conversation after a seven-day visit, always having topics to discuss. It was a genuine pleasure to reconnect. {These photos were taken on the final night around 10:30 p.m. because we lacked a favorite picture of us together, so KL’s husband photographed us in all the rooms we shared. There was abundant laughter involved…}
Kerry Lea now resides in this lovely, scenic country home in Nebraska.
Since our last visit, she has welcomed a husband and five children into her life. {Notably, there are twins among the children.}
My initial task upon arrival was assisting with her youngest daughter’s 6th birthday celebration. As a mother of three boys with no prior party experience, this was new. The decorations, games, goodie bags, and outfits were themed around a 'horse,' which was very sweet. And, my, the 9 little girls were quite calm!
KL and her husband have added an extension to their beautiful old farmhouse, inviting me to help decorate. Since I arrived before the builders finished, our decorating discussion was limited to talking; however, we did some organizing:
In the Craft Room, KL is a skilled quilter with many fine fabrics and antique linens. She demonstrated a neat method for folding fabric over comic book backer boards for uniform sizing. (A tutorial for this method is available here.)
We also organized behind-the-door storage in her new pantry using a wonderful collection of old, sturdy oak(?) drawers for shelving. Designing the layout and incorporating her special vintage items was fun. I took countless pictures, but {regrettably} only these made it home with me…
Our final task was finished at the 11th hour on my departure day: the new downstairs 'Schoolhouse themed' bathroom.
I was preparing to write a detailed post tomorrow about this small powder room, but unexpectedly, I failed to transfer those pictures to my memory card—this is the sole set I brought back! You must believe me; it looked wonderful.
Beyond these images, many other uncaptured moments remain precious, such as: trying Nebraska runza, enjoying Happy Hour Half-Price strawberry smoothies at Sonic, browsing Hobby Lobby, visiting garage sales with vintage finds, the extremely comfortable $5.00 flip flops from Walmart, reading “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” drinking french press coffee, jasmine rice from a rice cooker {I really need one!}, singing harmonies in church, attending high school drama plays, sipping vanilla rooibos tea, relaxing on the back porch, and late-night talks.
Thank you, Kerry-lea {and your wonderful family}, for these memories.
Yet, even more than these recollections, I value ~
our friendship.
Warm regards to you…
