The GTC 2008 Reunuion is in full swing!

[Pburgh]

Hey yall!

Gtreetings from Pittsburgh and the 6th GTC Annual Reunion!

Our group of thumbies is now complete- Rhonda (Danaus29), Tim and Rebekah just arrived!

We are being completely pampered by the ultimate hostess Karan (Pburgh)! She is unbelievable! We spent Friday relaxing a bit and visited the Andy Warhol museum. Karan's garden is just lovely with a back patio that allows you to enjoy every flower and plant in site (complete with a stocked cooler of any beverage of your choice). I have been enjoying strawberry daiquiries my self! We have enjoyed fresh watermelon juice & biscuits, french toast with homemade maple syrup brought by Petal Pusher, Taylor ham brought by QtBug from new jersey, homemade lasagna, meatballs, & perogies made by Karan. GAAG and Tommy brought delicious virginia peanuts. French toast was the joyful breakfast this morning. And yes- we do plan to see some more sites and flowers! Today it's Ducky tours and the botanical garden. We'll be grilling for dinner tonight. Petal Pusher (Pam) also brought wonderful fresh cherries. Tomorrow the Aviary!

QTBug, Beth and I took a walk last night through Karan's wonderful neighborhood to walk off some of this food.

The goody bag staging area is ready! Each of us has personalized bags that we have been filling up with special items brought by each of us.

Danaus29 brought duck! cool! Our group of 9 thumbies (15 total) is having the reunion of a lifetime. These are some of the most wonderful and gracious people I have ever met in the world that I am fortunate to call my friends (and that includes many of you who could not be here).

We are taking lots of pics we will share as time permits. Here's the group:

bloominyard (Mel)
QtBug (Laurie) and Ben
Richard, Janet, Beth and Craig,
Lauren and Tommy (GAAG)
Karan and her friend Carol (Pburgh)
Petal Pusher (Pam)
Danuas29 (Rhonda, Rebekah & Tim

Love from everyone to you!

Mel
AKA bloominyard

[Bird Lover]

Thanks for the report Melanie. I've been feeling so blue, thinking of Rhonda's comment about life being too short. Well, as long as I can see some pictures of all the happenings, I'll feel as if I've been there.
It's been raining....torrential rain actually, for the last hour here in my hometown. I hope you're all enjoying good weather to go along with the good friends & good food.
Pat

[herasday]

Oh, Dang. You make me want to get in my car and take off for Karan's house...I could probably be there by 11 pm. LOL. But its not in the cards this year.

Is not Karan's lasagna the best in the world??? Sounds like you are all having a cooking club meeting instead of Gardening. Rhonda, you brought DUCK??? Wow. I think I am missing the best one ever.

As Pat said, I wish you all a happy weekend and take LOTS of pictures!!

[Danaus29]

I am home now, safe and sound. We are exhausted and ready for sleep.

I hope GAAG, Tommy, and Bloomin'yard made it home safe. And I hope Bloomin didn't get stopped by Homeland Security for having contraband bunny poo.

We really missed you Birdlover, especially while we were at the aviary. And Herasday, you would have loved the conservatory. Pictures will be coming soon. Just too tired to stay awake much longer.

[Daylilydayzed]

I wish I could have been there. But finances would not allow me to travel out of state. The farthest I could go out of state would be to the Valdosta Ga area. I can drive there in about 4-5 hours and come home on same day. I hope everyone took lots of pictures I want to see them if you did.

[Frozen_Signal]

glad all made it there safe and sound....and having a gr8 time post those pics....

and pls be careful going home!

[greenasagourd]

Tommy & I made it home safely last night. We already miss all of you. We had a wonderful time in the Burgh! Great sites, gardens, eats & the best group of friends were thoroughly enjoyed. Loved meeting Pam & Rhonda for the first time. Loved seeing the rest of my garden family again.

Karan, thank you for sharing your lovely home with us. It was fantastic to hang out there with you, Miss Mostest Hostess. You outdid yourself cooking for us, providing our favorite drinks, etc., just fabulous. We loved your & Carol's gardens too. Tommy has informed me that we need to plant more flowers here after seeing yours -- LOL! He sends his thanks also.

Thanks gang for visiting the Warhol Museum with me. Touring the Phipps with Thumbies & discussing plants was so much fun. Our dinner at Le Monte was special -- fantastic view! You all will have to fill me in on the Aviary & other goings on for Sunday. The best part, of course, was being with our buddies -- luv to ALL!

[greenasagourd]

I forgot to mention our goodie bags! Melanie crafted the cutest bags for us & started stuffing them with goodies before she hit the door. She even had special bags for our family members who made the trip with us. She is a treasure, not to mention one fun Thumbie! Thanks Bloomin! And thanks for all the goodies from everyone else. I'm looking forward to trying everything out!

[Frozen_Signal]

god willing perhaps kathy and i might be able to make it next year .....glad it was a blast!!

[Danaus29]

Yes, Dee, I brought duck. Unfortunately it was frozen and uncooked so we didn't get around to making one. Karan is going to try some recipies and let me know how they turn out and which ones she likes best. If you have a free weekend you might be able to run over there and sample one.

I am downloading pictures into webshots now. This is going to take a loooong time. I am not sure how many we took since I had shots on 3 different flash cards and the one I did locate has over 100 photos. Some are doubles where I was trying to focus, some I'm sure are blurry, one Rebekah took that will NOT be posted, and I have yet to view all the ones Tim took. And I doubt anyone wants to see shots of a young house sparrow taking a dust bath. (if you really do let me know and I will post those in a different album.