Friday evening Lindee & Clara were going to the Olivia Rodrigo concert in Charlotte – the tickets had been one of Clara’s Christmas present. They had a ticket for Mal to go with them, but she was at the beach on spring break, so a good friend Keira joined them instead. Our house is on the way to Charlotte – theirs is way out on the other side of town – so they came here to dress & meet up with Keira. I love when they do that & I get to see them off on their adventures. As it turned out, we were having Addie’s birthday supper that evening. We knew Lindee & crew wouldn’t be able to be here, but it was just the only evening we could find to have it. With all the teenagers in the family now schedules are insane, so we just have to roll with what we’ve got. As a matter of fact, Addie & June just came on their way home from Rock Hill, where June had gotten a spray tan to get ready for her dance competition the next day. Lee & Mason came from their house a little later. It was a busy, crazy evening at our house. Here is a group shot before Lindee, Clara, & Keira walked out the door.

The program at the auditorium here in town last week, as part of the Performing Arts Series, was The Jersey Tenors. It was just a great show – so much fun. They sang lots of the music of The Four Seasons, as well as other artists from New Jersey – Frank Sinatra, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, John Travolta, as well as some other music. They were very entertaining and had great voices. And then for their encore, when they came back out we learned that they had all met when they were singing on Broadway in the cast of Les Mis, and sang One Day More, from that play. Everything about that play brings tears to my eyes, and this was no exception. So, so good.

Earlier this week my friend Flo and I went to Charlotte to see the traveling exhibit, Seeing Auschwitz, on display at one of the arts centers there. It was so moving and so, so well done. The pictures were from an album found after the Allied troops captured the concentration camp. Here are a couple of pictures that were on display along with the descriptions. Heartbreaking – most people were crying when we walked out the door.

Other signs by this picture said that the Allied troops arrived ten days after the Nazis had abandoned the camps, and these barracks were still burning due to all of the bodies they stuffed in them, too – the human fat served as fuel so the fires didn’t go out. It is just impossible to grasp.

I took a picture of the puzzle during daylight hours, so there wasn’t any reflection from the camera light. It came out much clearer.

Last Sunday after church Clara & I headed to Tony’s Ice Cream in Gastonia for an afternoon outing. We did eat a tiny bit of real food – well, a hotdog and some chicken strips – but then the highlight of the day was our ice cream goodies for dessert. I had a banana split for the first time in decades, but Clara went with a peanut butter swirl milkshake. YUM. MY.

We did a little bit of shopping at Bath and Body Works, and then after I dropped Clara off I got home and finished up the jigsaw puzzle I had been working on. Jeff had been sick since he got home from his trip to Indiana, so I managed this one on my own. It was a fun one to work.

The Worship Arts committee at our church is so talented. I absolutely love the display they’ve created for the front of the church for the season of Lent.

This past weekend Lesley was in town, along with Connor, to go to a wedding, and we had lunch here at the house Sunday afternoon so as many people could see her as was possible. Lindee & Clara were sick, as was Meg’s husband Mike, and June had a dance competition so they weren’t here, but we had so much fun with the ones who were here. I got this group picture before everyone started dispersing. Bottom row is Boo, Lesley, Adam, and Meg. Those three in the middle are Ryan, Connor, and Charlie. In back are Leesy, Shea, Andy, Amy, and Jeff behind Jenny and Andrew in the shadow. As always, it was such a blessing to be together.

I worked this jigsaw puzzle while Jeff was in Indiana helping with his mom. I think this was the first time I’ve worked one by myself in like 50 years. Crazy.

Saturday we were at Rock Hill High School to see Adam’s first track meet as a high school freshman, and his first ever as a pole vaulter. It was a huge meet – 11 schools – and Adam ended up coming in 5th overall in the pole vault. We were SO excited and happy. His highest jump in practice had been 8′, and he jumped 8’6″, so he was fired up. Fun way to start the season.

Sunday night Jeff & I were at Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte to see Blackberry Smoke in concert – a band that I have loved for a long time, and Jeff has become a fan, too. We were very excited to see that Duane Betts was opening for them, and he and his band were amazing, too. I got this picture of his guitarist, Johnny Stachela, during the concert. He was just so, so good.