We are the LOL!

My name is Lucy* and I have four fantastic friends named (in alphabetical -- and I think also age -- order) Amy, Becky, Carolyn, and Lisa. We all love cross stitching, which is how we all got together and became such good friends. Please note that by "we all love cross stitching," I mean we are all obsessed cross stitchers: we all stitch like mad at home, we attend retreats dedicated to cross stitching, we make road trips to cross stitch stores, and we may or may not each own enough cross-stitch-related supplies to open a store of our own should we so desire.

So, stitching is what brought us together, but deep friendship keeps us there. I love my friends! They are one of the greatest joys of my life and absolutely the most delightful friends an old lady like me could want.

I had best state right up front that I'm actually the only "older" lady in the group, being nine years older than Lisa, a decade older than Carolyn, and even more-than-that years older than Becky and Amy. Yikes. Lisa wanted me to call this blog "Grumpy Old Ladies," but Amy took exception and said it better be called "Grumpy Old Ladies -- And Amy." However, I really wanted it to be the LOL Diaries because:

• I don't think we're that grumpy, but every time we are together we laugh -- a lot -- and we Laugh Out Loud. Just last night we met at Barnes & Noble and laughed so much and so loudly that we may have disturbed other patrons, even though we were sitting at the farthest table from anyone else, hidden between a display of coffee mugs and the window. We definitely noticed that the poor lady sitting at the table nearest us had to turn her head away to try to keep us from seeing that she was laughing with (or possibly at) us. 
• I anticipate a diary-like bunch of writing about navigating life since I'm the older lady, the main author, and the only unmarried (divorced), childless one in the group. And I have a cat. ('Nuff said, right? You get the picture.)
• We have stories!! We are witty!! We are funny even when we don't mean to be!! 
• We also have, among other things, sorrows, issues, anxiety, depression, asthma, allergies, OCD tendencies, sarcasm, brilliance, pets, families, and comfortable clothes. We need to tell someone about these things.

So, there you have it. Five friends, laughing out loud. Join us!

* Edit: For blogging purposes, because of my original blog about my mom and me, called "Two Lucys"  because we shared Lucille for a middle name, I introduced myself as Lucy on this blog. Actually, several friends do call me Lucy in real life, but not the ones mentioned in the first paragraph above. Those friends call me Jackie. They didn't want to be written about by someone using a nom de plume when I'm using their real names. So now you know. I'm a Jackie and I'm also a Lucy. Howdy!