Li'l' Sis in Da House

My little (but older) sister Sandy stopped by Dickinson on Friday to spend the weekend with us before departing for her own home in Omaha, NE. (She had just spent the week with my Dad on his farm outside McGregor, ND in honor of his 70th birthday, as faithful readers will recall.) When she had called earlier to ask about coming to see us, we didn't tell her that we had already planned to host an office party at our house the night that she intended to arrive in Dickinson. Instead, we told her to come in time to join us for supper. She was a wee bit surprised to pull into our driveway only to find it full of vehicles. When she came in the house and discovered it full of strangers (to her, at least), she started to note details about her own personal hygiene: whether she had taken a shower that morning, whether she had food in her teeth from her on-the-road snacking, etc. The gang all welcomed her, however, and she ate well from the potluck spread that everyone had contributed, visited easily with these people whom she didn't even know, and enjoyed, I think, hearing from my coworkers stories about my work life--stories to which she normally wouldn't be privy!

We enjoyed a relaxing weekend, and I think Sandy had a good time playing with the girls and visiting with us. On Saturday Sandy and I giggled as we played piano duets and looked through photos. She joined us for "family Sunday school" Sunday morning, sitting in the church basement at a table with us and the girls and joining in the Bible lesson and the craft projects that Sunday school leaders had planned for all the families in attendance. (Family Sunday school is the first Sunday of each month; other Sundays, the kids alone attend Sunday school classes while the parents drink coffee or read the newspaper or sleep in, depending on the household, I suppose.) We went to church after Sunday school and then out to lunch at Sanford's, where our delicious meal included an appetizer of fried green tomatoes. (Good recommendation, Sandy.)

Yesterday afternoon Sandy helped Susan make baked beans for me to take to a work function tomorrow. In the evening she joined Susan, the girls, and me in a game of Apples to Apples, which proved to be an entertaining way to wrap up the day. This morning we said our goodbyes and went to work and school, leaving Sandy behind to shower, pack, and head off at her own pace. It was great to have her around for a few days and to catch up on what's been going on in her life recently. We look forward to visiting her in Omaha sometime soon to see her new house and to play with her kitties.

P.S. Here is Sandy's version!