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Originally uploaded by Tonja Owens.

On our trip to Birmingham last weekend, we got to spend some time with our youngest son,Ian. He is in grad. school. He invited us for dinner one night…and this is what he served. We were pleasantly surprised. It is N.Y. strip and grilled salmon on tossed blue cheese salad accompanied by grilled peaches in rosemary oil. WOW! He is 23 and has found out he has quite a flair for cooking. Now, I have to be honest…he never got a meal like that from me when he lived at home. Somehow, I was born without the “cooking” gene. Cooking happens to be my least favorite thing to do. My mom and my sister are excellent cooks…as was my MIL…but none of it has rubbed off on me. I can pull off a good meal if necessary…but it is not of my list of fun things to do. However, Ian is having a blast learning new cooking skills and his roommate doesn’t mind testing out his new creations. Needless to say…we are very proud of him…not just in this…but in so many ways. Thanks, Ian, for a wonderful visit.

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Originally uploaded by Tonja Owens.

Isn’t this just the most unique old house? It is on Hwy. 231 between Troy and Montgomery, AL. I’ve watched it deteriorate over 30 years. It has been a sort of landmark to our family as we travel back and forth to Birmingham. Last year, my son Adam, the photographer, stopped and made a picture of it and had it printed and framed for me for Christmas. It is a treasure. I wonder who lived there and what their lives were like. I would like to have a studio built just like this in my back yard. A little haven. I would have the only key and visitation would be by invitation only!

I went to Birmingham with Don over the weekend. While he was in meetings, I went shopping. Now, Birmingham is one of my favorite places to shop…but not on this trip. I went to several of the malls and also some specialty shops…and I was not a happy shopper, willing to part with my hard earned money to look cute and stylish. Who are the buyers for these large department stores? Obviously, they take kids right out of college, stick thin, and oblivious to the fact that there are middle-aged women who are bigger than a size 4. Where are we to shop for clothes that are current and stylish, not cut down to there, or UP to there? Most of the clothes that are the NEWEST styles…I wore years ago in high school and college. Remember the baby doll dresses, and the Pucci prints? The stores are full of them. Now, I can tell you this…this 53 year young lady will not wear a baby doll dress. Oh, they do have those old lady clothes, to be fair. You know the polyester pants with the long tops and the denim embroidered with cute butterflies and flowers. You know the ones I’m talking about…the ones that look so good with the Easy Spirit shoe. There is one shop in Birmingham that I love to shop in and thank goodness, THEY had things age appropriate and still very stylish. This shop is in Mountain Brook and it is delightful. It is called White Flowers. All the clothes are white or pale gray with black prints. All cotton and sooooo comfortable. And that will be my wardrobe until my next shopping trip. Maybe the other stores will have a better selection by then. If not, there’s nothing like new shoes or new purse or new jewelry to update an outfit from last year. Right?

I am leaving tomorrow to go to Birmingham with Don. He has a hospital board convention to attend. So, I’m going along to do a little shopping, and a little resting.[or a LOT of shopping and a LITTLE rest]. I will also get to spend some time with my son, Ian, who is in grad school at Samford. So, good-bye for a few days…will see you on Sunday.