Bern's Steakhouse

What a fabulous weekend!!! We enjoyed lots of time playing and relaxing as a family. We haven't relaxed enough in recent memory. Last night we enjoyed a FABULOUS dinner at Bern's Steakhouse. If you ever visit Tampa, you need to go. Sweet friends from Raleigh were here visiting the Sunshine State, and we were able to enjoy a wonderful evening together. Some of our best friends here shared the name of their server, and that makes all of the difference when you have a great server. The meal was timed perfectly, and we enjoyed the Special Chateaubriand. It was one of the best steaks we've ever eaten. DH enjoyed the second half of mine today and said it still had the wonderful hickory and oak flavor we enjoyed last night. Our friends enjoyed their foie gras and a great bottle of wine. Our fabulous server made our meal. Cheese crackers are served before dinner, followed by French Onion soup and then a salad. The steaks are accompanied by a potato, green beans, carrots, and delicious homemade onion strings. YUM.


Bern's has the largest privately held wine cellar in the United States. To say it is impressive is an understatement. We all enjoyed the kitchen and wine cellar tour.

After dinner, we resigned to the Harry Waugh dessert room. Harry Waugh believed that dessert should be enjoyed in a room other than the dining room. It is to be savored and enjoyed with select dessert wines, port, cordials, et cetera. Last night DH ordered me a 15 year old Madeira. It was delicious and different. It was fun to drink it slowly and enjoy laughs and good conversation. We sat inside one of the wine casks and listened to live jazz music as we savored Baked Alaska, special bread pudding, macadamia nut ice cream, and key lime pie. What a night!

"I'll have a hot dog, please."

What sort of understood "rules" did you have growing up in your family? My family was wonderful and we laugh about some of our rules. First of all, eating out was a treat that RARELY happened. When I say rarely, I mean RARELY. We were not a family that enjoyed many Big Macs, Whoppers, or soft drinks. My grandfather was so funny because you could have only 2 things at Hardee's. For example, you could have a burger and fries or a burger and a coke but you couldn't have all three. As we grew older, he apparently let my younger brother order anything he wanted as long as he ate every bite. I wasn't so lucky!

Another rule was that we did not stop in restaurants on long trips. It wasn't that we couldn't afford to eat there, it was that my parents chose not to spend their money that way. So, we would eat sandwiches and drink cokes poured out of a hot 2 liter bottle. We'd stop at roadside picnic tables and munch away. I can remember a hot, hot summer in eastern North Carolina where we pulled over and ate smashed sandwiches, chips, and hot cokes.

My parents also taught me to be a good guest. To be a good guest, there are lots of rules, and I'll elaborate on most of them in another post. My friend, Frances, often took me to lunch at the Club. My mother told me that I should always order the cheapest thing on the menu and drink water. So I did. Frances confessed last week that she just thought I LOVED hot dogs because I'd order that hot dog meal for $1.25 every.single.time. Little did she know, hot dogs were not the food of my dreams! We laughed about this over lunch with W & K. W took us to the Club here, and I was just parched for a Diet Coke. A fountain Diet Coke is a real treat. However, I knew I was not supposed to be so rude as to order a beverage. W insisted that I was no longer under my parents' roof, and that as her guest, I should order that Diet Coke!! We laughed and laughed. She was also great at insisting we order whatever we like. What a fun lunch with great friends!

So, what rules did you have as a child?

Frances

Don't you just love old pictures? Frances & I have been friends since childhood. We've had the best time seeing each other the past few days. Laughter has filled the air. We have so much to talk about; there is not enough time:) The above picture was in high school when we went on a trip to Alexandria, Virginia.

Here we are at Homecoming our Senior year. I loved my convertible fiat. Frances was on the Homecoming Court.

We were so excited to graduate! Watch out world, here we come!!!

Tuesday's Tip

What a JOY it is to receive potted flowers as a gift. When our precious triplets were born, the church had three Easter lillies on the altar in their honor. I was still in the hospital and did not get to attend the service, but they delivered the flowers to us after the service. Dh & I enjoyed their beauty and fragrant smell until all of the blooms fell off of the stems. I couldn't bare to part with these lovely reminders of our precious triplets' birth. Therefore, we planted the lillies in our yard by the back door so that we could enjoy them every spring.
We were also given three GORGEOUS hydrangea plants when the triplets were born!! Doug's sweet Daddy went out in our yard and planted them in three different places for our enjoyment. Every June I loved being able to clip beautiful hydrangea blossoms. I filled vase after vase in our home. One of the hardest things to leave at our old house were those hydrangeas!! They grew larger and larger over the years. So, if you receive a potted plant, investigate to see if it can be planted in your yard!

Make new friends, but keep the Old

Today my best friend from childhood is coming for a visit. I am so excited that my tummy is all jittery!! We have not had a few days together in several years. Most of our visits in our adult life have been spent sharing time with her niece and nephews and my 5 children, which is delightful but doesn't allow for a conversation to be finished. We hardly finish our subjects anyway before jumping to the next because we have so much to talk about when we see each other. Frances lives in NY but we grew up together in NC. We think each other is "HA-larious" (I know it's spelled with an "i") and so we laugh and laugh when we're together. I can't wait. This old girl could use some laughs!! Frances' life is full of adventures around the world and mine is full of adventures around the washing machine and toilet. We appreciate our differences and just love to be together. Frances and I have been encouraging each other in our faith for years. Sometimes we don't agree on politics and other things but I always admire her stance on things. Frances doesn't just pick a position and talk loudly about it. She lives her life that way. She has the biggest servant's heart of anyone I know, the kind that serves behind the scenes where no one even knows. I admire that. I struggle with serving but wanting everyone to applaud me and pat me on the back. She's just not that way.
Tonight we'll enjoy dinner out and come back and laugh at the Bachelor or just each other. We'll enjoy long walks on Bayshore, looking at all of Tampa's gorgeous homes, and time by the pool. I am so thankful for ALL of my friends. Time spent with them is a true joy, and I know the next few days will be no exception! I'll try to find a picture to post of us:).

Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and Flicka, Ricka, Dicka

I just love Classic literature for children. I love the way the language is slightly different and more formal than how we speak today, and I also love the precious illustrations. Of course there are very few books written about triplets. Imagine my surprise when I learned that a Swedish woman named Maj Lindman wrote not one, but TWO series about triplets that were first published in 1932! What fabulous news from my sweet Dallas friends, A & Mel. I bought several of the books as Christmas gifts for our children and we have all been delighted to learn of the adventures of the triplet boys Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr and of the triplet girls, Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka. You, too, will delight in these sweet stories to read to your young children or students! They are hard to find in bookstores, but you can find them on Amazon.com! Happy reading!!

How do you greet your man?

When DH comes home, it is at that bewitching hour where children are full of energy, some are crying, some are running wildly through the house, and I am trying to cook dinner and check homework while throwing in a load of laundry or changing someone's sheets. Needless to say, he rarely comes home to find all 5 children sitting quietly poised on the sofa waiting to greet him. In fact, he has NEVER found that. I do try to have the children bathed or homework finished or both, but it is tough. Tonight was one of those chaotic nights where some children were still in the tub, 1 or 2 were screaming, and dinner was cooked. Granted, the children were just having hot dogs, but still.

So, hubby left for Bible Study and I am home alone to put the troops to bed. They're all in bed though 2 are still giggling. I decided I want hubby to know what it feels like to come home to a happy wife and a quiet home. I read to everyone, said prayers, and gave them good night kisses. I wanted to jump in a hot bath, but I made myself come downstairs and finish cleaning the kitchen and making lunches. I just finished. I wiped the countertops, lit a pretty candle, and turned on John Pizzarelli for some quiet and peaceful music. My post was just interrupted as DH walked in the door. He noticed the music immediately. I am trying to do more little things like this because I know that he, too, has had a long day. What sweet things do you all do? I need inspiration!