We were supposed to be on a plane yesterday. We should be in Colorado Springs, watching the first of our nine grandchildren, Paul, graduate from high school today, and be at his celebration this evening. But after months of making travel plans and looking forward to this milestone event, the unthinkable happened and we got handed a bowl full of lemons. My husband woke up sick yesterday morning.

He had been coughing and congested all night, but luckily the at-home Covid test turned out negative. Nonetheless, flying on a plane and exposing so many people to a bad cold did not seem smart. So, we called the family and told them we couldn’t be there and cancelled all of our travel arrangements. Sometimes, doing the right thing can sure be disappointing.

This meant that were left with four days at home that we hadn’t planned on. We can’t go anywhere until my husband gets better, so we are “laying low.” Lots of sleeping and reading for Jim, and for me, some bridal shower projects that were going to get done next week. I have been shopping, planning and creating for a while now, but these unexpected days at home seemed like a good time to get more done, with the shower approaching in less than two weeks.

Last week, I made these cute wedding dress decor items that I found on a YouTube channel I follow called Jennifer Decorates. She had made a similar style, and using her pattern in my daughter’s colors, I created these wedding dresses that will be in the dining room and buffet table for her shower. They turned out better than expected and I was amazed at what you can create with a little glittery card stock, poster board, some dress making supplies, and lots and lots of hot glue!

The week before last, I created games for the shower attendees to play, printed them out, and started working on the prizes. The inspiration for most of these games came from online sources, and they should be fun, yet not drag on forever. One is called Would She Rather, where you test how well you know the bride. One is simply guessing the number of kisses in a jar.

One game I ordered from Etsy, which is very clever. You simply scratch the wedding ring center to see if you have won a prize. They send you the scratch stickers with 27 Sorry’s and 3 Winner’s, allowing you to control the number of winners, based on the number of attendees. The last party activity will be for the guests to fill out “Advice for the Bride” cards, with words of wisdom for the soon-to-be-Mrs.

The next project I had in mind was to get the napkins and silverware ready for the shower, so yesterday, I worked on that. First, I took the black and white striped paper napkins and placed the gold silverware in the center. Crossing the two sides over the middle, I held it in place with my finger and then tied it with gold ribbon.

The last step was to embellish the napkin packet with some artificial red roses that I had bought in two large bunches. And, voila, they were done and ready for the shower! The key to this project was having everything read ahead. Cutting the ribbon to length and pruning the roses off the bouquet made the process go so much smoother.

The saying goes “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” In this case, I’m not sure we were able to make much lemonade out of missing the graduation, but I did find ways to be productive and express my creativity as my hubby recuperates. And some days, that is the best you can hope for.

P.S. We were able to Live Stream the graduation this afternoon, and not unlike watching the Super Bowl on television, we had great seats for the ceremony. I think I smell some lemonade calling my name!

Good tidings,

Diane