Here Caitie is playing a pretty song, with sound effects, on the piano. Her daddy put in a mini synthesizer so the piano would make sounds similar to other instruments, and make special effect sounds as well. Caitie and her daddy played around with this while I made a simple picnic dinner (it was supposed to be lunch, but time got away from me) per Caitie's request. The task was pleasant and relaxing due to the pretty and sometimes interesting sounds coming from the piano in the living room. (if you look really hard, you can see my feet in the reflection on the piano. i'm sure you're glad i pointed that out; i knew you wouldn't want to miss it! ummm, yeah...)
Even Bailey found the music/sounds relaxing.
Here are the mini egg salad sandwiches I made, along with some chips and there's also dessert, which consisted of halloween mini candy bars cut in half; I added toothpicks to make the dessert look more sophisticated (yep, i sure did). I also put some caramel candies to add some variety, and I put plain M&M's on the plate to add color. I'm sure you're writing all of this down, how can you go wrong with such a delectable and easy meal?
We had planned to picnic in the backyard or at a nearby park, but when it got dark and I was still preparing the meal, we decided the upper deck would make a good place for an evening picnic. It was nice looking over at the lake across the way, with the occasional car driving by to add some drama. It was a bit on the chilly side, so we didn't stay on the deck too long, but it was nice while it lasted. In case you're wondering, our drink of choice was iced tea, which I poured into Little Bear cups I had on hand. Well, Michael was the exception, he had his usual 64oz soda; he can't get through a day without it. The styrofoam cup you see next to Michael's drink was the makeshift 'teapot'; it wasn't just a picnic we were having, it was a picnic/tea party. I didn't want to use one of Caitie's teapots due to the possiblity they were made in China... and you know how that goes when it comes to kids' toys... Need I say more? I think not. Bailey had eaten already, so she just sat back and relaxed while watching us eat.
Later in the evening we had a birthday party for the cats that lasted approximately 15 minutes; we go all out. They turned 11 years old last month; Holly and Molly did, I'm not sure when Sassy's birthday is, but we celebrated her birthday as well. We went to Petco a few weeks ago and got the cats some canned food, they usually eat dry cat food, so this was a treat for them, and also got a cat bed for them, which was more for Holly, but they can all share it, which we know won't happen, but it was a nice thought anyway, and we got three autumn designed collars, one for each of them to wear during the special occasion. It was a nice little celebration.
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It was a nice, relaxing day that extended into the evening hours.
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I'll sum it up with Sandra Lee's exiting line on her Food Network show... "Keep it simple(check), keep it smart (check (i think)), keep it semi-homemade." (in this case, meaning, in this post, this has to do with my delicious semi-homemade meal) ummm, yeah...
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Life isn't meant to be extravagant(difficult) and dramatic... so keep it simple, folks! Life is so much more pleasant and memorable when you do. :)
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