Dori Drives

Dori finally finished all the training she had to do to get a license. She had the last hoop to jump through yesterday. The driving test. We borrowed Sal's small car so that Dori would not have to drive our huge vehicles. Dori practiced an hour or so on Thursday then we drove again right after school on Friday. She was scheduled to take the test at 5 PM but the examinier called and asked us to come early. Dori was a nervous wreck! I tried to make light jokes and tease her a little so she would not take herself so seriously, but she was visibly nervous. When we got there she had to pull up to a line, back into a large boxed area then demonstrate that she could parallel park. She was a little unsteady and very nervous, but she did it. She tipped one cone almost over, but it bounced back into place when she turned. It was good that we borrowed the small car!! On the road test, Dori's biggest difficulty was knowing her left from her right, but she did drive just fine. I got to sit in the backseat and try not to say anything out loud. (I prayed silently lots though!!) The last thing the examiner told Dori was to smile for the camera-- I am sure she will have no trouble with that!!

We topped off the evening with dinner at 'Skip's Supper'. It was a Mardi Gras feast. Lots of sweet, southern cooking. As always, everything was excellent. Pepper and I brought a wine that we got on our weekend trip up north and it was the one that I was looking forward most to try. For dessert, Skip had self-serve Sundaes. The kids loved them because they could put on as many toppings as they wanted... I enjoyed the wide variety of chocolate choices!! We also spent some time planning summer camping trips (which always makes me happy!) and the kids all decided to go ice skating together on Saturday. It was a very nice evening all around. :)

Chinese New year Celebration

The new battery in the car.... did not help. :(     Today the car still would not start. Grrrr..... Uncle K came and looked at it. He had a couple ideas of what the problem could be and ruled out what it wasn't. Not the battery, not the starter and not the alternator. Definitely a problem the dealership will need to determine. Cha-ing (sounds costly already!!)

Had a very nice dinner tonight at Skip's. It was part of our Christmas gift.... special meals at their house once a month.... we'll call them "Skip's Supper" here on the blog. We celebrated Chinese New Year this month. Good stuff!! Won Ton soup, sweet and sour chicken, Braised Pork, rice, almond cookies.... Skip is an excellent chef. She really gets a good workout adding our family to hers.... it makes 11 all around the dining room table. We are quite a large group! I feel guilty just standing around in her kitchen watching her cook.... she is quite efficient though and never looks like she needs much help. I am better at clean up and dishes anyway!! 

The kids really look forward to the dinners. Dill, Pete and Macy all got invited to go to a basketball game tonight with Uncle K. They all love basketball, especially Macy. They thought about it and said, "We'll miss Skip's Special Supper!!" I said yes, they would and then Uncle K said he'd buy them hot dogs at the game.... no way. All the kids opted for the supper. Uncle K said he'd try again some other time.

My two fortune cookies said: "The object of your desire comes closer" and "After all is said and done, often more is said than done!" Hmmm, that must mean I should be done typing and head to bed with the rest of my family. Tomorrow I deal with the car again!!

Happy Chinese New Year!!