Emily Days

We were all a little sad when Emma and Mindy drove away Sunday morning to return to Chicago. The past two days had been packed full, like a Cracker Jack box, with fun and a surprise present. We waved good bye until we meet again in July.

Preparing to go to church Emily was a little hesitant and shy, it had been 1 ½ years since attending the Susquehanna Ward. Emily looking beautiful, put on her happiest face and together, hand in hand, we walked into church. Remember the scene from The Sound of Music where Maria works up her CONFIDENCE before entering the von Trapp mansion?

Once inside the building, the worries melted away and Emily rushed up to the Taylor and Bullock girls….beaming when she returned to her seat, she knew that “all was well.” Everyone was thrilled to see her again. Immediately plans to meet with her friends were being plotted…socially that is.

Sunday afternoon, the beautiful and unique churches in Havre de Grace were hosting an open house for the public. We decided to visit these chapels we had only seen from the outside, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist and Lutheran, all within two blocks of one another. We were greeted at the doors and welcomed in.

Each church and chapel was distinct and unique. One church had the true musty odor of a 200 year old building.

Chapels were gilded and adorned with painted flourishes, fresh flowers and pine boughs. Still other denominations were modest and moderate in decoration. What do you like?

We talked about the churches and how they differed from one another but yet, how each was a Christian church believing in Jesus Christ.

Twelve year old girls LOVE SLEEPOVERS, and this was in the plans for Emily and her friend, Alisha. It didn’t take long before the initial shyness evaporated and they were talking and giggling as though they had never been separated. There was a lot to catch up on…and perhaps “height” was the first thing they noticed. Both girls had grown taller and more mature, but Emily got the blue ribbon in the height category.

Alisha is very interested in art and loves to draw. She brought a portfolio of sketches for me to see; so glad that a painting project was soon under way. The girls were very excited to decorate headbands. This was taken seriously and lots of time was spent laying on gobs of paint, glitter and fake stones. It took serious over night drying, and they were still tacky… but nevertheless

…the next step was to model them. What do you think? They could start a Painted Accessories business! Note their matching outfits. Pure coincidence!

That night ended with videos and pizza. Amazingly we all were in bed before midnight….hmm, when did the girls go to sleep?

Breakfast the next morning was a round robin—cereal for one, pancakes for the other, eggs for one, and so forth. Breakfast is a serious thing: a girl has got to be properly nourished!!!

Sadly, it came time to return Alisha to her home in Bel Air. From there we headed out to Ashley and Daniel’s home….more fun was in store for us…..

Hampden is a quaint, historical section in northern Baltimore. Squished tight brownstone townhouses, quaint colorful shops, ethnically diverse, funky and quirky all describe Hampden, now host to the HON FESTIVAL and all things “HON.”

The best way to describe “HON” is visualizing cat-eyeglasses adorned with fake diamonds, pink and purple feather boas, gobs of lipstick and sticky thick mascara, toppling beehive hairdos and sparkly, outrageous clothes. Who comes to mind, is our Aunt Leona in her younger years!

We walked through quirky, quaint, unique stores looking for the perfect item for Emily to buy. We held up cat-eye glasses, wrapped boas around our necks, stared at postcards depicting Hon images, visited a soda fountain—but nothing really caught Emily’s eye UNTIL

Tata took Emily into a wild CONSIGNMENT shop, filled with vintage dresses, aprons, purses, jewelry and FUR coats.

Behind a veiled curtain, Emily modeled herself in a sequin and chiffon frock! THIS WAS IT! She tried on many dresses and one “OVER THE TOP” neon-yellow, nylon peignoir set complete with corsage! (Aren’t you grateful mom and dad that she didn’t choose that one?)

Pulling Audrey Hepburn inspired dresses from the rack for her to consider, she stuck with her instincts and purchased the sequined beauty! This was one JUMPING HAPPY Emily!

At the last minute, compulsive shopping bit further into her wallet and she bought a see-through, plastic Louis Vuitton handbag. Now Emily was truly a HON!

All this shopping makes a girl hungry, so off to the Hon Café, where EVERYONE in Hampden was eating that night.

We crammed around a banquet table, spent way too much time reading the menu and then finally ordered….

Emily, was torn between ordering a crab cake her dad’s favorite, or what really caught her fancy: shrimp alfredo! Alfredo won the day!

Another crazy, fun Emily Day came to a close!

New Year’s Eve Day became catch up time with more FRIENDS.

Hannah, Esther Taylor and Emily have been friends from church. Emily was invited to their home where a lot of chatting took place.

Sophia and Olivia are friends from the apartment complex where Emily lived for a number of years. Eric and Tracy took the four giggly girls to see Bed Time Stories. Time simply flies when fun is being had, but the bewitching hour and preparations for New Year’s Eve were fast approaching.

We were in such a “HON” mood that the choice of the evening was to watch HAIRSPRAY and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S…..yikes, TWO movies…..coupled with platefuls of mock Chinese food. It did seem a little “empty” without other family members gathered together, but we three made a terrific TRIO.

At midnight the duck dropped in Havre de Grace and fireworks blasted away. The winds were so strong, that it seemed like the fireworks were tilting!

We rang in a New Year!!!