This Dear Lady Turned 80!

This year was a big birthday for my mom as she turned 80! Always the planner I am, so of course I came up with some ideas of how we could celebrate. One idea was to invite some friends to join us on the Blue Heron Cruise on the Cumberland River and go to dinner afterwards at The Riverview Restaurant in Ashland City. And that's what we did!

But first, Mom's actual birthday, June 2, I brought in some dinner for us from Panera, and we ate and spent the evening together at her apartment. She'd already been treated to lunch the day before and to a luncheon in her honor with some friends, so she celebrated all week long!

Some of the birthday cards she had received during the week.

Then on Sunday, June 5, a group of twelve of us met up in Ashland City to go on the Blue Heron Cruise. This was my fourth time to go and I think that many for Mom as well (though not all of our cruises have been together). Captain Jim runs a fun boat and he was very accomodating to our group. Even though we didn't rent out the whole boat, we ended up being the only guests, so it was like we were on a private cruise! Captain Jim took us up the river to a marina and off into a little tributary to see some nature up close. It is always a relaxing ride and it was very fun to be together to celebrate Mom's birthday!

Celebrating Cindy!

One of my most cherished gifts in life are the friendships that I have. Some friends have been in my life for decades and others for a shorter time, but all of them are so valuable and needed!

And one of my favorite things to do is to celebrate my friends' birthdays! I got to do that with Cindy and helped as she moved into a new decade! Robin had the idea for us to spend Sunday afternoon exploring the antique shops and galleries in Leiper's Fork, a little wide place in the road down in Williamson County. We ended our outing with dinner at Puckett's Boat House in Franklin. We had a very fun day together!!

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but will say that time with Robin and Cindy is always an encouragement to me and I am thankful that God has allowed us to walk through life together!

We always have to get a selfie!

Our favorite gallery!

Some live music out on the back porch of one of the shops.

The Three Amigos

Cindy enjoyed her coconut shrimp with special sauce!