The Happy Pills

"One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small . . . "
- Jefferson Airplane, White Rabbit (link to the song on Youtube)

It had been way too long since we'd visited my family. They don't live that far away but I hadn't been there since Christmas. So on Sunday, we went visiting! I'm from a large family (I'm the fifth of six kids: five girls and one boy) and somehow even on an impromptu, ad-hoc visit, we managed to have quite a few family members present: my mom and dad, two of my older sisters, my younger sister and her husband and daughter, my brother and his wife and their two boys. Plus my husband and me. That's 13!

We had a very nice visit, sitting around talking in the living room, playing with my little niece's various toys on the floor, and putting together a few quick puzzles.

It was also the first weekend for the local Creme Stop to be open, so for our supper, we enjoyed some treats from there. The Creme Stop's opening is one of the many signs of spring. My sister-in-law called in our order and then my dad and "the men" of the family went to get our treats and bring them back: we laughed to see snow on top of the milkshakes when they were brought in! Hmm. Maybe not quite spring yet . . . For my own supper, I enjoyed a steak hoagie with tomato dressing, a large vanilla shake, and some french fries. (And that tasty treat was nearly today's photo!)

My eldest sister has gotten me hooked on a special brand of manzanilla olives which are available only at several grocery stores local to her. We had eaten the final two olives on Saturday, so I was very grateful to have more! She had also bought copies for everyone of my latest little photo book, and she pressed me into signing them - like a movie star! - at the kitchen table, while the elder of my two nephews who were present took pictures of the autograph session.

Both of my brother's boys are very creative: their brains are always cooking up neat ideas. My younger nephew showed me a little something he's come up with: a small glass bottle with a cork lid, containing some colorful pills with various happy face designs on them. However, if you look more closely, you'll note that the pills are not real pills; they are pill caplets into which you can place individual little rolled-up scrolls containing private messages! (Note tiny orange scroll in photo.)

My eldest sister and the two boys and I had great fun arranging the pills and the crittergators on my mom's kitchen table so that I could take a few pictures. My crittergator photo shoots are usually a pretty low-key, solo affair, just me and them and whatever props I've come up with and my camera and the bathroom sink (such as this recent one featuring asparagus). So it was fun to have some help!

P.S. This photo is the FOURTH in the Crittergators in Wonderland series. The first three links are included below:

Tuesday 18 September 2012: Through the Looking-Glass

Sunday 6 January 2013: The Tea Party (The Outtakes) - you may note that one of the little "red shirts" finds itself inside looking out in this shot, as well

Monday 21 January 2013: The Chess Match