Bryon’s First Communion

Impossible pies – spinach & bacon

Our story of B ryon’s first communion begins Wednesday. It was quite a busy day for both of us. One of the residents discuvered the update of our websie had a major flaw. I didn’t figure out the cause until early Thursday morning. I spent most of the rest of the morning fixing the website. I had enough time to pack and grab a quick shower. Just as I was starting my shower, Bud showed up at our house looking to go through some stuff we were holding for him and a lunch. He and Danita had gotten their signals crossed. Danita was able to give him his stuff, but unfortunately we didn’t have any food in the house and he left withut lunch.

Cupcakes

We headed off to Staunton, checked into our hotel, and immediately went to the Mill House Restaurant.We had eaten there before, and knew the food would be somewhat expensive, have very large portions, and be deliciously prepared. What we didn’t know is that by arriving before 6, we were eligible for the early bird special, which was amazing. Portion sizes were just right for us. The food was just as good, and the price was an umbelievable bargin. I had a Cajuin steak dinner with ‘taters, fruit, and a small desert for about the same price as Outback. My only comment was the steak was CAJUN. But it was still quite good. We just had time for a gellato at our favorite Staunton ice cream place, The Split Bannana. I had spicy chocolayte, which was marvously good and certainly much better than it sounded. Then we were off to Henry V. This is not my favorite Shakespeare, but it was done quite well, and it was Shakespeare after all.

Danita’s famous potato salad

Thursday we drove to Jul’s and did grocery shopping. Jul and Pat were both running late. All we had time for was dinner and preparing for bedtime. Friday Danita cooked As you can tell from these pics, Danita had a fantastic day and the food came out looking GREAT. I did a loop around the area, staying on back roads. I was surprised at how rural this area is. I spent mostly of my time riding past farms.

Jul, Bryon, Baner

Saturday was the first communion. The parish had 72 children this year. They split them into three services. Bryon’s group was at 10:00 Saturday. They did a beautiful job. Children came up, one at a time, with their entire family. The child had their first communion. Then each member of the family had either communion or a blessing. You can see Bryon and Julia before the service started, along with Bryon’s first communion banner. Below you can see a picture of all 24 of the children after the service. After the service, we came back to the house for a family party. Danita prepared much more food than was needed, plus one contingent cancelled at the last minute. So there was plenty of leftover food.

Zip Line

We decided that going to church once in the weekend is enough. But it had been a big weekend for everybody. So we visited a local park with a very nice playground, including a zip line. We also went to see “Jungle Book”. It is a good story, well told. And the computer animation is mind-blowingly good.

Party pictures are below. Jay and Melody are Pat’s parents. Barbara is his Godmother. The rest of to folks are all assorted family members. You can also see some of Pat’s amazing garden in the background.

We’re driving home tomorrow. I hope this finds everybody doing well.