five: dish towels

Aren't new dishtowels the greatest? Stain free, snag free, and beautiful. It's so nice to reach for a brightly colored towel. My other towels were very boring, and these are so cheerful. Some might not be exited for towels, but I love useful things - and I will dance around the kitchen with these! Yippee for new towels!

six: a toaster

Well, I guess no wedding or anniversary would be complete without the gift of a toaster! Ha Ha So, here's mine. Actually, I am really glad to get this from Tom. We have been without a toaster for at least a couple of months. Last time after I cleaned out the crumb tray, it quit working when I plugged it back in. It might have been the only time I cleaned it out. Maybe it just couldn't handle the stress. I'm not really sure. But, yay! We have a toaster again!

seven: cribbage board

About five years ago Tom found out there was a local cribbage club. Most of the members were elderly, but he didn't care. Tom really liked the challenge of cribbage. It was a numbers game, used lots of strategy, and above all: it was competitive. The club met every Thursday night at the Red Cross office. It cost $5.00 to play a nine game round, or tournament. Tom then found out about cribbage tournaments that were hosted on weekends in various locations around the United States. When he first told me he was going to Oregon to play in a cribbage tournament, I was a bit puzzled. I remember saying something like, "Seriously! Why in the world would you travel to play cribbage. That's just weird."

It turns out that there is a cribbage tournament available every weekend in some part of the United State and Hawaii. Again - seriously! There is a whole other world out there of people who sit at long tables during the weekend and play cribbage for 22 games. At the end, the score cards are tallied, and the top 25% of the cards go on to the play offs the next day. They play the best three out of five to move on until there is one winner of the whole tournament. Those who don't make it in the top 25% can opt to play in the nine game consolation tournament. There is an official American Cribbage Congress website where accumulated scores are kept: monthly, yearly, lifetime, etc. Those players who have been playing the longest have achieved one, two, and three star status. Some are considered masters: it's all based on your point totals. You only receive points if you win or place in tournaments. Otherwise, your tournament play counts for nothing.

There are also judges - players who have volunteered to study and pass a test of all the ACC rules of cribbage. If, during a game, one player commits a mistake of one kind or another, a judge can be called to rule. Generally two judges are needed. This brings up the point that there is a whole rule book on mistakes and misplays that can occur, as well as the penalties for each. The American Cribbage Congress has an Ethics Committee, a Rules Committee, and of course, a Board of Directors. Whew! Way to make a "game" stressful, right? But, that's how most games become.

And there you have it: the short version of official cribbage tournaments. This anniversary gift from Tom is exactly like a trophy board that some players win. We will play our first game on it soon - I hope I win!

eight: glass heart necklace

I Snoopy

Another necklace! Yay! This is a beautiful piece of glass art. And, it's a heart. I love hearts. I will wear this a lot!

What a cute card! I have to post pictures of the cards. They have taken so much of Tom's time. LOL

nine: necklace and earrings

Another year together and another pretty necklace. I think Tom is running out of ideas, and jewelry is always appropriate, right? 

I love this card, too. Yabba-dabba doo!

thirteen, twelve, elven, ten: family portraits

My grown-up kids!

A couple of days ago, Stephanie told me not to come to her house because Dad was having her do something for him, which had to do with the thirty anniversary gifts. She said I needed to call her first. I assumed, wrongly, that whatever she was doing would be inside her house. So, I called, like she asked me to. When there was no answer, I again wrongly assumed that she was all done, because if she was outside, she was obviously doing chores or something fun. I needed to go to Tom's mom house to put all her week's medicine in the container, and I decided to bicycle there. I pass by Stephanie's house on the way to mom-in-law's.

My little kids

As I get to Stephanie's, I hear all kinds of giggling, laughing, and happy screams. I think our grandkids are out playing, until I see Jimmy chasing a ball down: Jimmy doesn't live at Stephanie's. Then I see Casey, who also doesn't live there. First, I think, "Hey! What are you all doing having a good time without inviting me?" And I have to admit, my feelings were a bit hurt.

The whole family!

So, I yell out, "Hey! What are you guys doing?" But I stay up on the road on the bright pink, Schwinn cruiser bike, complete with basket in the front (so cute) because I also think, "Uh-oh," when I see more of the family come from around the corner and everyone is wearing blue. Stephanie says, "Mom! I told you to call." I say, "I did, but you didn't answer. I thought you were done." At this point, everyone is laughing at me, teasing and saying, "You just couldn't stand it." "You had to come down."

Old-Fashioned Fun

Stephanie was the photographer for all these picture - and they are really, really good. Taking a picture of a photo in a frame does not do any of them justice. Thank you so much, Stephanie. You are a sweet, talented and generous daughter. Thank you to all of my kids, JW, Casey, Jasmin, Jimmy, Liesa, Jordan, Malley, and Samson for spending all that time giggling and smiling - just for me. And, thank you to my dear, sweet husband for being so thoughtful. I love all of you!

fourteen: the cutest shoes - ever!

I have a confession to make! I picked out these shoes. Oops! But, Tom was running out of ideas: he said it's more difficult than he thought it would be to find thirty gifts in thirty days. He said finding all the different thirty cards has been challenging, too. So, when I saw these in Kokopilau (a lot of my gifts seem to be coming from there) I started to buy them for myself. I had them at the register, and all ready to go, when I remembered my romantic husband, struggling to keep his creative mind flowing for gifts for me. So, my overwhelming generosity motivated me to just put them in the back, with his name on the box, until he could pick them up the next day. Now, you may ask how that was being generous. But, let me tell you, when you have the world's cutest shoes in your hand, and you have to wait, even one day,to get them: it's a sacrifice. Seriously!

I love these shoes! The brand is Jambu, and I highly recommend you find some. Check out the cute flowers on the sides of the soles - and matching ones inside! And, they slip on. They're a bit dressy, but extremely comfortable and still a bit sporty. They are like Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way! Yay!