Pizza and Pointe

On this blustery Fall Veteran's Day we are remembering all those who served our great country in the past and present. Thankful for our freedom because of their sacrifice.

Also on this blustery Fall day we are also enjoying time with friends and family. We started the day at our dear friends house. She is a close friend ~ the kind where you always pick up where you left off, where you "get" what the other is saying, you laugh, and become concerned over the little and big things of life together.

My friend is absolutely so much fun. She cares for my kids like family; and that is a treasure. My children notice. They love hanging with my their friend.

Today she wanted to learn some of my son's chef tricks. Specifically how to make pizza dough. My son made two bowls of dough at home, let them rise, so they were ready to show our friend how to roll it out and prep it for baking. At her house, my son taught her the steps in making the dough, got it prepared to the rising stage, and she will turn it into another pizza for her family.

My daughter and I sat at the kitchen bar stools observing, in awe, as the two worked as a team making dough. Our friend is Martha Stewart-like, crafty, artsy, and a great cook. So, she taught my son some cooking tricks, and my son taught her some tricks. It was really enjoyable.

We are both enjoying pizza tonight. Her High School son was out while we were there, but was bringing home two additional boys for a pizza dinner. As I type, my son is turning one of the dough's into our pizza. He will be using the barbecue to cook the pizza. Our favorite.

Thank you, my Dear Sweet Friend, for an excellent cooking day at your house. It was so much fun and will be a great lifetime memory for us.

The other portion of my day was spent on a date with my daughter. She received the blessing from her teachers to get Pointe Shoes. Yea!!

She has been waiting since the beginning of her Kindergarten dance enrollment to get on Pointe (only a hint of joking). Finally, she is old enough and body-ready, and determined to work hard at making Pointe work for her. It was such a good afternoon together.

I have never touched a Pointe Shoe so it was a real eye-opener for both of us. It truly is just a hard wooden shoe. Nothing fancy in the middle like I was expecting; like perhaps some cushion or snug fit feeling where your toes are inserted. I don't know; I guess I never realized that the girls were really on their toes. I know that sounds funny, but until you are up close and personal with a Pointe Shoe, I guess it is hard to fathom (for me) that it really is toes on a block of wood. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

To get started, her dance studio requires the girls to be free of any cushion or aid in wearing the shoe more comfortably. They want the real deal as the girls grow and learn what it feels like, and what is required, to make Pointe Shoes work. Hard core, but necessary.

Rightly so, my girl was beaming today. I love her enthusiasm and passion.

Tonight is all about pizza and family movie snuggled with the fireplace on, perhaps with a puppy or two mingling about, as the leaves twirl wildly outside our window.

Pizza just finished .... YUM! Dinner's ready!