Early bird gets...a rocking chair?...

One of my favorite places to eat is Cracker Barrel, not only because of the very good, down-home cooking they prepare there daily, or because of the special items you can find in their "General Store" area, but because of the wonderful rockers they have out on the "front porch".

I've always wanted a porch big enough to put a rocker or two on and have never lived in a house that had a porch to accomodate that dream. Still don't. Cracker Barrel satifies that deep yearning in me just fine, though. I suppose if I could get down there every evening just to sit and chat with the diners as they come in and out I might say I was living a good life. As it is, we usually find ourselves gravitating to the CB for special events in our lives. The kids, especially, like to eat there for their annual birthday breakfast with Dad. This year I asked for birthday breakfast with Dad and sneaked away with my sweet husband to have a meal and maybe get to sit in the rockers. Now I know what all the fuss is about.

So, last night, before we went to bed, my husband and I decided to get up early to have breakfast together before work and before the kids returned from their Spring Break visit to their grandparents' house. We chose(of course) the CB. The waitress informed us that the special today was the Uncle Herschel (which happens to be my husband's fave) and we were off to a good start. Now, you have to know that every time I go there I either ask about getting a chair, or hint that I'd love to have one of those chairs, or just wish inside with all my heart that today will be the day that I get one of those rocking chairs. It hasn't happened yet, but I keep hoping.

We had been seated at the window and I could see the rockers out there decked in spring colors to entice people like me to buy them for Mother's Day or Easter, or Daylight Savings, or whatever reason you might need to put $100+ on the counter for your own little piece of heaven.

Our breakfast arrived and was, as expected, a very good meal. My husband was happily sipping his coffee and I was looking out the window. Today was one of the days when I didn't hint, didn't ask and was convinced that maybe he could read my mind. It wasn't to be. Sadly, I didn't go home with a rocking chair, but I got to thinking about it later. Would it be the same to have the Cracker Barrel rocking chair out on my little uncovered sad excuse for a porch as coming down to the Cracker Barrel and sitting on their wide, inviting porch with people coming and going, delicious smells emanating from the kitchen and kids playing checkers a couple of feet away? I don't know. Maybe someday I'll have a porch fit for the chair and that's when the dream will become reality. One can only hope.

Diaper Cake

Made a diaper cake yesterday for a baby shower I’m helping with next week. A couple of friends and I decided we’d try it out, even though none of us would consider ourselves creative in any way. We found directions and muddled through. Not too shabby.

These are cloth diapers wrapped around a cylindrical “base” (A baby bottle would do. We used two travel-sized packages of hand wipes stacked one on top of the other). We filled the diaper with little travel-sized items you might need for a baby and decorated the outside with ribbon, flowers, stickers, etc. Pretty cool, eh?