A Helluva Hen Party…or…There’s a Fox Coyote in the Hen House!

Saturday couldn’t have been a more beautiful day. The weather was a perfect 75 degrees, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and a perfect cooling wind breezing through the fields.

The beauty of the day transcended so much more than just the weather, though. Mack’s cabin sits at the bottom of a hill beside the still waters of a creek. Today, that cabin was inhabited by women whose beauty supersedes even the glorious surroundings of this place.

There was delicious food. From Aunt B’s tater salad (can it be called “tater salad” if a Midwesterner prepared it?), to chicken, to snacks, to the most amazing authentic tamales from Mack’s local connect, my crazy aunt Wanda’s mac-n-cheese casserole, to…goodness, I can’t even remember it all…but it was all soooo wonderful. Then there was the choice of beverage. I gotta tell ya, we put Frugal MacDoogal’s to shame on beverage selection.

The tequila flowed and we toasted friendship. Not sure how many shots I had, but I am proud to say that I remained upright and fully clothed the entire time. (Well, except for that one time that Aunt B and I flashed our boob freckles, but nobody was paying any attention. Their loss!)

Everybody pitched in with some contribution to the beauty of the day, even though their presence was more than enough to make the day everything that it was. Each woman’s smile and laughter brought an energy to the place that is indescribable. All I can say is that I do believe if Mack had gotten his Karaoke machine out, Kat would have indeed gotten up on the table and sang “I Am Woman” with me, newscoma, and Kate O’ singing back up complete with choreography. Alas, we never got that far in the festivities as time got short.

It was absolutely wonderful to get to meet some of the women who, through blogging, I have found so much in common with and yet at the same time have debated issues for which we have differing viewpoints. This day, regardless of our philosophy of life, religion, political view, or experiences, we all met on common ground. It was amazing. I am richer for knowing these women.

I was so excited to get to ride on one of Mack’s four-wheelers again! Soon, I hope to be able to spend more time on it. I found my inner dare devil surfacing and I’m determined to get airborne one of these days! I hope I didn’t scare Rachel too much, but I was amazed at her ability to stay on the thing while so gracefully carrying a bottle of cooking oil from Mack’s house back down the hill. I wasn’t a witness to this, but I hear that Malia is one rockin’ rider. A secret biker chick has been revealed. I want to go riding with her, too! Good times, good times indeed.
As the night wore on, some of us took it inside and got to be spectators on a mean game of Euchre between the teams of Mack & Ivy versus Aunt B and Kat. Let me tell you, these people mean business on their card playing. I await the opportunity to be a player myself at some point in the future! As this was going on, poor Lynnster fell asleep sitting up at the table. She had driven in from Memphis just to join us…what a blessing she is.

I almost forgot to mention that Mack and his kids did a little “decorating” of the cabin in honor of our hostess. Some photos suitable for blackmail somehow made their way onto the walls and appliances. Thanks to Mack’s thoughtfulness, we were all given the opportunity to salute our favorite nemesis, one Rep. Campy… I’ll bet some of the residents of the state pen would love a chance to do this before the law is passed that they can no longer moon folks at the prison. (Yes, folks this is an actual proposal!)

By the end of the evening, we all left that beautiful place having been blessed by each other’s presence there. I am so glad I had the opportunity to get to know each of these amazing women just a little better than before. From Kathy T., the Professor, nm, Squirrl Queen, saraclark, and oh Lord, I hope I haven’t missed anybody, to that foxy coyote in the hen house himself…

Saturday couldn’t have been a more beautiful day.

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Update:  More incriminating photographs at my Flickr site!