it's her party, she'll wear a sash if she wants to

Nana turned 88 last week and we had one riproarin' party.  Sister (who shall heretofore be known as Miss Holmes) and I decorated the dining room within an inch of our lives.  We went to dinner as a family and then came home for cake and presents.  Miss Holmes dreamed up and brought to life the most wonderful gift in the history of gifts for Nana.  She took one of Grandpa's (who has been gone for nearly 10 years) rings, similar to a class ring, to a jeweler to turn it into a pendant.  The jeweler removed the stone, breathed new life into it, melted down the ring, and created the most beautiful gold pendant.  Nana was absolutely in shock when she saw it and even more so when she realized it was her husband's ring.  To round off the evening, we nearly burned the house down with candles, gorged ourselves with cake, and went to bed blissfully happy over one fabulous day for one of our favorite people.