Easter People

Dear Mom,

We had a wonderful Easter in Charlotte. You would have been so proud of Leigh Ann! She invited the whole extended family to her house for lunch. 

Everybody brought something. The table looked so pretty with Grandmama's table cloth, and all of your silver and Mimi's silver, which LA was up until midnight polishing! (I do have a photo of that, but I will spare her the joy.) 

We had ham and turkey, Grandmama's hash brown potato casserole, Patsy's carrot soufflé, beet salad, deviled eggs, tomato and cucumber salad, green salad, fruit salad, rolls, etc. Everybody wanted the recipes for Sarah's beet salad and Patsy's soufflé (it's in the RFM cookbook for the Quincy crowd). 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/06/red-beet-salad.html

She said she goes easy on the mayo and adds a little extra vinegar. 

For dessert I made banana pudding, and Aunt Tillie brought a chocolate cake. Leigh Ann got her neighbor to come over, and we took a group shot. 

LA wanted an updated version of this photo from Bruce's 65th birthday, when the kids were little. (I was in Brazil on a mission trip and missed out!)

Now...some people may be wondering: how did two girls from Quincy end up with all of these relatives in Charlotte? 

Well, Aunt Tillie moved to Charlotte after Converse College, and she married Uncle Jim. Tillie's girls are Cindy and Mary Beth. Cindy is married to Anne, and Mary Beth and K.B. have two kids, Ellie and James. K.B.'s parents are Joyce and Bruce, and his sister is Laura. Laura and Ken have Elizabeth and Kenny, and Joyce has a sister, Emily. 

Several years after Uncle Jim passed away, Tillie began dating Harry, the father of Mary Beth's friend Sarah. Sarah and Ladson have twin boys, Crayton and Mills. 

Leigh Ann's house looked great, so it was fun for her to have everybody over. 

Everybody stayed and visited for a while, enjoying the sunshine and the nice weather. And we took a few more photos. 

Leigh Ann with Anne and Cindy.

Ellie and James.

James wearing LA's bunny ears and Anne in her Masters sweater from her 40th birthday round at Augusta National.

We scattered some of your ashes by the Saint Francis statue from your yard, which LA now has.

James and the twins helped with the ashes, and James offered up the sweetest prayer afterwards. It was really special. 

Leigh Ann and I crashed to rest after everyone left, as we were pooped from getting up early to beat the crowds at church. We hit the 8:30 service, which was about 70% full when we got there at 8:10. Then we had to get our photo! LA humored me and wore a coordinating outfit...

It's too bad the flowering cross doesn't get early morning sun, so we did one on the brighter side too...

I'd flown in on Friday and spent the whole time visiting with friends. Xanie had me and Lisa over for pizza on Saturday night, which was a ton of fun. Of course her house looked fantastic, as always. We were bummed it was raining, so we couldn't enjoy her gorgeous garden, which you loved so much that time we met her for lunch. 

It was a wonderful weekend, and I stayed over through Monday for my condo's HOA meeting, where I finally managed to pass the crown of president. Mary Beth is going to help me try putting it on the market when the current tenants move out this summer.

As you know, Charlotte is so gorgeous in the spring when everything is in bloom, and I definitely remembered how much I loved living there. Leigh Ann's azaleas looked gorgeous! 

But I am still 100% glad I took the leap and moved to NYC, as Charlotte will be there if/when I am ready to move back. 

By the way... We sprinkled a few ashes in front of that duplex you'd picked out! So, you did end up with a "place" in Myers Park after all. 

Saudade,

Lynsley 

P.S. Miss Litty made "your" fruit and granola yogurt parfaits for the Centenary breakfast. We told Marisa how much you love that creation. She and Matt hosted a brunch for the church gang, which we were sorry to miss.