60's Party Recap (in parts)

Last February, we had a big birthday party for Brenna's 30th birthday. We had so much fun that we immediately started talking about "what we should do next". Well...it was quickly decided that since John's 60th birthday was in December, we were going to have a 60's party. We lucked out with the way the calendar lined up last year...we decided against having it on/near John's actual birth date of 12/20. Instead we determined that we would celebrate on January 2, 2016....which happened to be a Saturday. That way most Christmas and New Year's parties would be over...but we could squeeze in one more party before the holiday weekend ended. I didn't know if people would be worn out from all the holiday celebrations...or if they would be like me...hoping for one more thing! hahaha

                                                        All 60's...music, food and fun.

 With that decision...we were I was off and running.  I began searching I-Tunes for old songs I remembered from the 60's.

Of course, I had to keep in mind that my music...The Doors, Cream, The Zombies, Lou Reed, etc was a little different then John's idea of 60's music. He was the youngest in his family and had siblings 5-16 years older than him; so naturally he grew up listening to their music on the radio. He was more likely to request Frankie Valle, The Temptations, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye or music along that line. It was a challenge, but I loved it. I downloaded music and rearranged it and tweaked that list for months....until I came up with my perfect play list. hahaha all six plus hours of it!!!!
We told everyone about the party....way, way in advance. I did that for several reasons...one - in hopes that some family members would try to plan ahead to join us and also to give people plenty of time to look for a costume. I guess it also was a way to build up the excitement...because we certainly managed to do that! I know people thought we were a little crazy planning so far in advance...but I didn't care...I am crazy...hahaha.
First to "sign up"...my sister Martha and her husband Tony. We told them in March and she said "We'll be there!" She mentioned it to her son and his wife; she told them "We plan to be in Florida at Christmas time, meet us there."

They already had costumes from another party they had attended.....so they were one step ahead of the rest of us. With Martha on board, I started working on my other out of town family members. My brothers live here, so I knew they would be around, so now I was doing my best to convince
 the rest of the gang.
Some friends got excited right away...they said, we will be there and I'm getting a costume. Others sounded skeptical...hahah but eventually came around to my way of thinking. hahaha
Brenna and I had fun planning out the menu...looking for typical 60's dishes. Jello salad, Pigs-in-a-blanket, fondue, meatballs, shrimp (cocktail) to name a few.
We searched online and found our costumes...vintage baggies (a la The Endless Summer), wigs, gogo boots, glasses...I kept Amazon busy with all my orders.
As the months went by Elizabeth and Ellen made plans to join us. It looked like we were going to have all the Burtons together for the party. (The only one who didn't make it was our brother-in-law Rob and our nephew Shane. )

Sisters....and some kids....Meredith,Liz,Anne,Brenna,Ellen,Martha, Anna and birthday boy John in the back

In the end the only ones missing in my family were Rob & Shane, Ryan R., David and Samii B., and Marcus.
I was so happy to have everyone there...I didn't really care if anyone else came...I knew we would have fun. I knew they would all have costumes and dance and have a good time. We invited all of John's family, but for various reasons, they couldn't make it. He was a little disappointed...but that's just the way it goes. Sometimes it works out...sometimes it doesn't. He did say at one point..."I don't think this is even about my birthday...this is just a party so the Burton's can get crazy."  he might have a point .
We slowly got the decorations, etc together. As the list of people we were going to invite got longer...I decided if we were having it at our house, we needed some kind of tent for the back yard. It took some convincing...but we did order a 10 x 20 ft tent. We also had two 10x10 pop-ups available.

One thing I have learned over the years is that when you decide to have a party(here or past years at my parents house)...it requires you to give everything a good cleaning. One project leads to another and you clean your way around the house. In our case we worked our way around...cleaning the back room, the screened porch area

and then the garage. John figured we could set up the ping-pong table out there, something for the people to do that don't like to mingle in the crowd...hahah. We had been wanting to do something with the floor out there...and ended up tiling it. Wow...it looks great now!

 Once the floor was done, the walls looked crummy...so we did a quick (very quick) paint job. The garage was looking better than inside the house! hahahaha
 Cleaning up the garage gave us a lot of extra space for people. It was also a good place to move some of the furniture out of the living room to make more space for walking around near the front door. (it's a good thing we did that!...we needed all the space we could get!)

A few people had joked about the date, commenting that we probably wouldn't need much beer...since everyone would still be getting over New Year's Eve. (We ordered two kegs anyway and both were almost completely gone.) It seems my idea they people would always be up for one one celebration...proved to be true.
I Sent out a Save the Date in late October...figuring people could find costumes on sale; if they hadn't already found one. At that point more people were "jumping on the bandwagon"....and everyone seemed to be getting as excited as we were about the party.
Whenever I heard a song that might work...on the radio, in a movie (like The Man From Uncle...actually got two or three from that soundtrack), TV show, etc...I added it and tweaked the play list some more. (Poor) John had to bear with me and listen to it more than once...while I tried my best to get the right music playing at the right time. To me there's nothing worse than going to a party...and the music never really gets going until people are ready to be going. So John humored me and gave me feedback each time I rearranged the songs to get them where I wanted them.

I am happy to report that the music was a hit! Everyone enjoyed the variety.There was a core group of us dancing, but many times people would dance by singing and bopping along. It worked out pretty much the way I had hoped it would. There was a song for just about everyone there. hahah
Out of everyone we invited....only about 10 or 15 couldn't make it. And then several people told friends about the party...so we more than made up for them. It was a bit like a reunion...some friends there we have known for over 40 years! It was like a kind of crazy HS reunion in a way,,,hahaha

I am going to sign off for now...but don't fret...there are more picture to come. Just thought I'd give everyone a break for now...hahha

Is it strange to cry for someone you don't even know? For the last six months I have been following a young woman's story on Facebook. I linked on to her story through a friend who was following...which I guess is the way these things go.
The story caught my attention for several reasons. First, I saw that it was a community of people praying for a young woman who was diagnosed with Melanoma. She was also a mother of three little girls, one less than a year old. Some of the posts were written by her, some her husband, and many were written by her siblings. I could tell from what I read that she and all her family, were very devout Catholics...and that sort of intrigued me. I grew up Catholic and while I still have a strong faith...mine is different. This young woman and her family completely trusted in the Lord, with a deep , strong faith that was inspiring to read about. I have known other people that have the same strength and faith and courage and it always makes me pause and wonder a bit.
As the days and weeks went by...hopes rose and fell. Having lived through the loss of one sister to colon cancer 8 years ago; I was all too familiar with that aspect of the journey. Treatments work and then they don't...or they cause other issues and the patients and the people who love them try to hold on to hope. Any positive turn of events ignites that spark of hope that this is going to be the thing that will work...even when the underlying numbers still concern you.
Another small detail I noticed...was that many of the posts were written at the end of the day...11 or 12 at night. That is another thing I could relate to...those long hours at the hospital. Driving home on the (mostly) quiet streets, with a heavy heart, tired but not sure you if you will be able to sleep. For me I'd turn on a particular song, turn it up and just let the tears come while I drove along. No one could see me, I didn't have to explain myself to anyone and it would help relax me and settle me down so that I could try to get some rest before the next day. I found myself checking for an update before I went to bed....and feeling connected somehow to the writer. Imagining that I could relate to them...I could understand that by sitting for a few minutes and then  writing about the events of the day they were able to reflect and sort of decompress in a manner of speaking. By keeping all the blog followers up to date...it might also give them a chance to give up some of that burden of grief and sadness that I ( and most others, I suspect) knew all too well.
 I always feel like I wish  time would just stop for a while so a person could just grieve, be sad, whatever and not have to answer to anyone or anything for a little while. Reality is...it doesn't work that way; and maybe it's good to have things to do, places to go. It makes you get up, move forward and get on with living....which is not a bad thing.
With my sister ...she stayed so positive throughout her 5 year struggle. I think at times it was almost a matter of thinking  something like....I will not give in to this pain, this set-back, whatever....and I am going to keep going...I will not let this get me. As long as she thought that...she seemed invincible. Family and friends supported and prayed for her. Jenifer was on prayer lists at every church in town. As one friend put it when her daughter was sick "I don't care what church you belong to...I want God to hear her name and hear it often." He heard my sisters name...no doubt about it...and he heard the young woman, Molly's name. And when he heard my prayer it was something like this. "Please give us the courage and faith to accept whatever the outcome may be." Yes, I prayed for a miracle and/or a cure...but really... mostly it was for the courage to face what the future held...because there are/were no guarantees.
When this young woman took a turn for the worse recently, I continued to pray for her and be inspired by her attitude and that of her family. They weren't angry at God. They prayed for a miracle, they prayed for relief for her from her pain and for peace. And they trusted that God was in control. Their faith is/was unwavering. Tonight they posted that there is nothing more that can be done as far as a cure. They are preparing for the days to come and praying for comfort and peace for her...their sister, their daughter, friend, wife.....and going forward, Prayerfully, Hopefully,Trustingly. Joyfully.   As they put it "We are Easter people who put all our trust not in this fleeting world, but in the resurrected Christ and his everlasting world in Heaven above."
When I read that I couldn't help but think what a beautiful testament of faith it was. In their darkest hours they look forward with hope.
When my sister was nearing the end of her battle...my prayer was for her comfort and peace. She was in so much pain...I just wanted her to be free from it. The last thing I wanted to do was say a final goodbye...but in the end I longed for that...so Jenifer could have peace. I wanted her to stop fighting to live.... for us...and let go.
I tell people...going through the experience with her during the last weeks of her life was both one of the hardest things I have ever done...but also, one of the best. The out pouring of love and support was incredible. The closeness we felt as a family (at least for me) was wonderful. Even the funeral home director, when they came to the house for her, felt it... he commented on the special feeling of peace...and joy, even in the sadness.... you could just feel it.
It was the combination of everything....Her family, the many, many friends who came by during those last days,  the flowers...my goodness...all the flowers, they were everywhere. The food.....so many people bringing food that tasted good but was still hard to eat. The laughs we shared and the tears because we knew that there wasn't anything any of us could do anymore. I remember a card a friend of our family sent years ago...it was something about saying that final goodbye. I still think of that all the time and have often said the same type of thing to others facing loss of a loved one. It is hard to say that final good-bye; knowing that this time it really is good bye...this time they aren't coming back.
And so I sat reading this young woman's story and just cried. I still tear up when I think about her, her family and friends...and everyone else I know who has been through the loss of a loved one.It's something we all go through and some handle it better than others...but it is still just SAD.
**I starting writing this after I read the post on December 1oth. Molly died two days later, the day after her 5th anniversary. Her sister describes the last full day of her life that ended in a beautiful sunset...something she would have loved. She hung on until early the next morning. It was as I expected...but still made me cry. I started writing this post...then stopped. I felt like I wanted to save it and revisit it after a time and see if I really wanted to post it. I wanted to make sure I didn't over dramatize the whole thing. I've looked at it and reread it a few times since that night. Honestly with the holidays and birthday celebrations we had in the weeks after I started...I kind of put it " on the back burner". My whole family (most of them anyway) were all in town for the holidays and John's birthday celebration on January 2nd. I wanted to enjoy that time with them...and while I didn't forget about this...I just set it aside for the time being. But now...it's been kind of nagging me, that I needed to either finish it and post it...or give up on it. It's hard to speak from your heart sometimes....but I think I'm okay with what I've written and what I am trying to say here. It's not my usual musings and or pictures of family, friends and fun....but there will be more of that...soon (next up...probably a party recap)....so bear with me.  :)

It all started with a pancake recipe....

The holidays are over, but I'm not over them. hahah I had a great time with all my family in town. Megan arrived December 24th, Martha and Tony on the 26th,Ian and Tara on the 31st, Ellen, Erik and Anna on the 1st and Liz, Jon and Meredith on the 2nd. For a week or two it was like a party on the go wherever we went....at least for me.
I had suggested to my brother Mark that we plan to have a brunch on New Year's Day at his house. Almost everyone would be in town by then and I had a great pancake recipe I wanted to share with everyone. Well...Mark took the suggestion and ran with it.

He had two griddles ready for pancakes and bacon, sausage, eggs,assorted cheese, tomatoes, peppers, etc, fresh orange juice, champagne for mimosas, fruit, assorted breads and muffins  for toasting, and special Gluten free pancake mix for those who needed it. He also had everything neatly lined up and ready to go.

Most of us got there around 10:00am...the Burton-Bitterbaum crew arrived a short time later.(..straight from the airport!) We all enjoyed the beautiful (a little HOT) day. We played ping pong,

took pictures, watched football bowl games on TV and just enjoyed the morning/early afternoon.

Mark joked around with the chef hats...and when Tony stepped in to whip up one of his delicious omelets...he put one on too. (mostly so we could take their picture...hahaha)

check out that omelet!

We all sat around and laughed and talked. Made final plans for John's birthday party the next night. We all  also picked up pictures/papers Mark had sorted through and organized for all of us. Because he has been living in the house...we never had to settle up all the furnishings, etc still there. He has been slowly organizing things and is distributing them to the rest of us. We looked through my mother's jewelry, including pins, watches etc that belonged to her brothers and her parents. It was fun looking at everything and remembering stories about the different pieces of jewelry...who had given them to my mother, why, etc. We really appreciated all the time Mark had put in to sorting through it all for the rest of us. That day we looked it over...but we didn't take anything just yet...we wanted to wait for Elizabeth to get there.
It was a nice day...it seemed like everyone was having a good time...at least I hope so. I enjoyed being with all my family and assorted in-laws. It was a good way to start off 2016.
I never did hear if people liked the pancakes...but at the end of the day they were almost all gone...so I think they did. We topped them off with some real maple syrup some Mark had bought on a work trip to Ohio (side trip to nearby farm country) and a bottle of aptly named "Burton's Farm" fresh Maple syrup I got at the Farmer's Market on my trip to Chicago this past June.

Time Flies...cause I was having fun :)

Can't believe it is already January 8th! The last month has been kind of a whirlwind...but a good one!!! I thought about this blog a few times...but never took the time to sit down and write.
Now I guess I'll back track a bit and fill you in on what's been going on around town.
December 12th was the day of the annual Melbourne Beach Children's Parade.

 There is a local family that puts together a float for the Library every year. They always invite Dianne and I to participate. It's nice to be included...since I am only in the Youth Services area for a couple of hours a week. When I first started back at MBPL I was mostly in that dept and only 5 hours in circulation. Now I am in circ all but 2 hours a week. Sometimes I joke that I am like the "stepchild" in Children's area ...hahah Sad but true...everyone remembers Dianne....but not so much me. Ahh that's just the way it is. However...once a year when Sandy and family call to invite me to join them on the float...I feel like part of the gang again. It's fun to have kids and parents spot me on the float and call out to not just Dianne...but me too.

This year the float was designed to look like a big bath tub. we all wore bathrobes and blew bubbles.

                                                                        and a big rubber duck!
It was hot the day of the parade and we all joked that we would NEED a shower after it ended....because those bath robes were making us warm.

Sandy, Dianne and I

 

                 It was a beautiful day....and we had a nice ride up and down Ocean Ave.
After the parade I had to get home and finish packing because a friend and I were headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the day/night. I always enjoy seeing all the holiday decorations and lights, and I thought she could use a break after a tough few months....so we were off to "the happiest place on earth." to get happy. I figured it was going to be crowded but we just decided to deal with it. Brenna booked us some fast passes...so we knew we had at least 3 good rides planned.
It was, like I mentioned earlier, a beautiful day so we were happy about that. We put on sunscreen, short sleeves and headed out.

pretty warm for December 12th!

looking down Main Street when the lights came on...my favorite time of  the day

After an afternoon at the Magic Kingdom, we headed over to the Grand Floridian for dinner. Also wanted to check out the decorations there. Like this giant gingerbread house and beautiful tree.

When we finished eating we decide to take our chances and head over to see the Christmas Lights at Hollywood Studios. The last time I went in December...John and I were a little overwhelmed by the crowds...while everyone shuffled along the crowded streets...we saw a break and actually RAN!!! to get out of the park. It was like we wanted to escape...hahaha Luckily for Linda and I we did not have the same problem. It was too crowded and we could move along quite easily. We did and we really enjoyed the lights. It was great...we were so glad we took the chance.

It was a fun night. we loved the lights, loved the fact that we could move around comfortably and the fake snow was fun too. :)
We headed back to the hotel after we left the park. Sunday morning we got up and headed to Winter Park for breakfast and a little bit of shopping. Delicious breakfast at the Briarpatch.  Lemon pancakes with raspberry puree and lemon cream......YUM! I've been trying to figure out a reason to go back...hahahah

 We also enjoyed the scenic boat ride that takes you on several different lakes. We really lucked out...we just stopped by to check into tickets...but one of the boat guides flagged us down and told us we could hop on the boat getting ready to leave because they had a few seats available...PERFECT! no waiting.

All in all a great way to spend my birthday. Once I got home it was time to start making last minute plans for all the Christmas visitors we were expecting and of course the birthday bash we had been talking about all year!