ZTA Mother/Daughter Tea

It may have been a rainy, cloudy day,

But when we arrived on the MSU campus

and drove up to the beautiful ZTA House...

We knew we were at the RIGHT place...

Yes, it's a special female bonding occasion,

and daddy wouldn't be able to go into the building.

Not to fret - He went to the Student Union and watched TV and drank hot chocolate

And it's OK - this is SEC Football Season with games galore!!

Once inside the ZTA  house, we moms and daughters took our seats

around the tables and admired the lovely decorations.

The glass pitchers of flavored cold teas,

the little white teacups,

the clever paper plates with autumn themes and birds,

the petit fours....

We found balanced on our chair an 8 x 12 white canvas...

hmmmmmm??

And at each place setting were brushes and bottles of wonderfully colored paints.

double hmmmmmm??

Yes, we were going to learn to paint in the next hour and a half!

*** And now I have to confess that I did not take camera photos of this scene,

I just watched and soaked it in...

those of you who know that I carry a camera with me

like it was attached to my arm, will be surprised at this.

Never fear, there are some photos from my daughter's phone!!

But First........

First of all I find out that my dear daughter is as tall as me.

In flats.

And I look un-relaxed and forgot to mirror the hand on hip, knee lift.

Geeees mom, get with the times!!

This is the one picture I have of the room.

I'm so clever (not). 

This shot is at table level and  I shall explain...

Our first step in the painting process was to cover the canvas with turquoise,

THE sorority color.

That's it drying at my table place.

 

Then it was time to sample the pitchers of cold tea

and ooh-ahhh over the

wonderful plates of munchies at the back of the dining room.

Then it was back to work,

listening to a lady give a few tips on painting our subject.

Everybody was laughing as we tried to follow instructions,

and follow the instructor's finished piece......

Yes, we learned to paint strawberries!!

First you draw a red heart, then you shape it out. 

Then you give it some white reflection,

then turn your brush upside down, dab it in the paint and dot on for the seeds,

then throw on  a leaf hat, trying not to make it look like a Strawberry Palm Tree!

Finish it with swirls of painted ribbons....

 What a blast!!

Now seated under the Crown and Crest of Zeta Tau Alpha.

Behind us are the words  "Welcomes You!"

AND Amanda ordered each of us our T-shirt...

With the paintbrush on it to celebrate this day!

And, it's a pocket T-shirt, hurray!!

I Love you to the moon and back,

my dearest ZTA daughter.

                                                                                              xoxo, mom

A Vacation to my Birthplace...

 

A Little Backstory:

My ancestors came from Germany and Ireland and England,

and settled in Chicago in the late 1800s.

The stork delivered ME through a freezing snowstorm

in February of 1960, although I really don't remember that part.

I DO happily remember living my first 8 years in a tiny community
on the South Side of Chicago, called Roseland.

My parents, in 1968, were the first in the family to pack up and go West to set up

housekeeping in Tucson, Arizona.
They got tired of the harsh Chicago winters and
My dad chose to do his post-doctorate work at the University of Arizona. 

So, I was 8 when we moved to the Southwest,

But what do I recall of my first 8 years in the Mid-West??

Good times for a kid!!

*Huge snowstorms for sledding. (The blizzard  of 1967)

*Fireflies in summer.

*Snowboots and frozen toes.
*Hide-and-go-seek with the neighborhood kids.
 *My mom working downtown and taking the El (elevated) train,
no matter the weather. 
*My dad graduating with his Ph.d. in Chemistry.
*The 2 huge cherry trees in my grandma's backyard.

***So many, many more wonderful memories...
hard to believe that I absorbed so much with such a new little brain, haha!!**

In later years I went back to visit a few times,
but had not been back to show my husband and daughter MY City ~
my daughter's heritage!

And that's almost 25 years!!


Time for a Tourist Trip to Chicago

Let's start at the beginning.....
New Albany, Mississippi

 When you start out your drive early in the morning,
the first stop is breakfast-to-go at McDs.

 Then take to the road with your daughter's GPS 
(named Valerie)
attached to the front windshield - the black rectangle on the left...
Valerie became a very good friend. 
(Spoiler:  we never got too lost)

 Begin by heading northwest through Memphis, TN.
This is The Pyramid on the Missisippi River.
(Points for you if you guessed the correct shape).
 It was first built as a huge Convention Center,
but is now owned by a HUGE sporting goods empire.
 
But remember this:  Aren't The Pyramids in Egypt?




Continuing on.......

 I really adore complex bridge structures and this one is taking us over
The Mighty Mississippi River 
and leading us into...

"Are we there yet, are we there yet?"

How close is Arkansas to Chicago?

WHOA! a sign for our destination ALREADY? 
Arkansas IS close to Chicago!
Did I fall asleep??
How fast are we driving??

WOW, the sign on the right says Cairo...
Is that Cairo, Egypt??

What continent are we on now??

Where are the Pyramids??  

Wait, The Pyramid was back in Memphis, remember?!

I'm so confused (more than usual, ha)!!

(Geography was never my strong subject...duh, ya think?)
 
Look...A SIGN......

 No, not there yet. Or yet.  Or even yet.

Time to watch the beautiful farmland and silos and houses race by the windows...
We're passing through Missouri and Illinois...

Hmm, that's more blurry than the first photos...
is the driver speeding up?!

 No, that's definately a clear picture of a red barn.

Uh, yes, that's the same red barn as the last picture, but somebody put a large orange/white piece of
Highway Art in front of it.
If you've driven on highways, you know what that means.

More Highway Art...which leads to...

 Road Construction!!
Luckily we're driving on a Sunday, so no actual workers are out.
But the signs are still shouting out your speed,
So, someone, somewhere is watching.

 What does it say??
End construction (silly optimist)???

Oh.  Yeah.
A blinking yellow arrow guides the way.

Time to look at the scenery...

 Haha!  If you're going to have a pavillion for family picnics,
put in a port-a-pottie behind the bush!!
Especially when you're this close to the highway!!

We have arrived!!!

 

 Early Sunday evening and we're at our motel!
In Tinley Park, about 20 miles from downtown Chicago.

 A very nice meal at a close-by restaurant.
...do we look a little road-tired?!
Mark did all the DRIVING, 
while we watched the countryside speed by. 

Yes, Amanda can and would love to do some driving, but her dad
worries as a passenger...
not because he doesn't trust her driving, but
he was in a bad car wreck in his 20s and can never relax
as a passenger.

Well, the vacation days will be flying by, so
Tomorrow we become Tourists.

More story and pictures to follow...