You Go Girls!

I'm doing time at a tea with church ladies.

Ball and chain. Gray hairs. Prim and proper.

Oh, turn the page.

This tea party's in southern California. And there's more cleavage
(modest, mind you) and high heels than chin hairs and orthos. (I, by
the way, supply the only gray hair, I think.)

I've never attended a church tea party. So I found the invitation to
this one irresistible. The hostess is a friend of MY friend Nicole
(the lady at left in the photo), whose husband Carlos pastors a
bilingual church in Long Beach, CA. The only thing required of me is I
arrive in a dress (not going to happen) and a bonnet (OK, we'll dress
up Nicole's cowboy hat).

I walk in the door and the first thing I notice is a patio full of
tables and chairs with covers and bows and flower arrangements
interspersed with brightly colored cupcakes. The next thing I see is
the food: piles of sandwiches, fruit salad, confections and more.

And then, the women begin to walk in. These are beautiful women,
 and nearly all have tended well to their hair and
makeup which accents their beautiful dresses, and the hats! I see
feathers, bows and netting. They took their invitations seriously. And
it makes the whole patio even more splendid.

I no longer feel like I'm doing time at a church social. Instead, I
meet new friends, eat fabulous food and laugh and smile.

Which, come to think of it, is EXACTLY what happens at a church social.