Nathaniel and friend Sarah came for almost 24 hours so that we could celebrate his university graduation. This was my favorite photo of the two of them.
We had the celebratory meal at the Blue Rooster where we could hear and see each other.
Nathaniel sat right under one of the blue roosters in the dining room.
A Nathaniel creation was planned from the beginning, and he made a strawberry shortcake with the berries he, Sarah, and friend Dakota picked the day before. Sarah did a beautiful job of preparing the berries.
When the cake was half way finished, I asked them to pose with it.
Everyone waited patiently for the official photo and a close-up of students and cake.
What you can’t see or hear was all the cheerful chatter. It was wonderful to have these hours with them, and I think we made the most of it. Congratulations on your graduation, Nathaniel!! We are very, very proud of you.
Mehrling Muse 
The cake is beautiful,and so is the story. 🙂
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Please give Nate my love and congratulations on his graduation 👨🎓 quite a few graduations in the Mehrling clan this year!💜🤙👏💚
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Thank you, Ruth.
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Beautiful cake! Congrats to the graduate and the grandmother too! Gosh, I hope Nathaniel stays close enough to visit!
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Our fingers are crossed, too. Sarah has two more years at university, so it’s likely he’ll stay close.
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Yay for girlfriends!
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A photo-opt with a half-finished cake! You remind me of my aunt more and more. That’s a good thing, btw. Congrats to Nathaniel.
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I’m sure I’d love your aunt. The finished cake was on the table, though. It didn’t last long.
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Yea!
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How wonderful! The cake is amazing. Congratulations to Nathaniel! I feel we have been following his progress.
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Nathaniel has been in my posts since he was 15 years old. Thank you for following him the last few years.
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social gatherings like this have been sorrowfully missed by all! So it’s great to see them coming back Anne!
I bet that desert was the best!
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The strawberry shortcake was very light and full of flavor.
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I can’t believe you already have fresh picked strawberries?
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Nathaniel lives in the center part of North Carolina which is always warmer than the mountains.
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Congratulations on this whole family milestone.
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I’ll tell him. Kate is over half way home now.
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Congratulations, indeed! And what a joy for John and Anne!
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Yes! We are joyful, thankful, and proud.
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Might not have been able to hear the cheerful chatter but I could feel it!
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You are exceptionally sensitive. Thanks for sharing our joy.
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Congratulations to Nate on his graduation! They did a great job on the cake . . . it looks delicious.
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Thank you. The cake was delicious and so was the company.
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Congrats to Nate and what a beautiful cake! I’m happy he’s made a friend, or a girlfriend 😀
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They’ve been seeing each other for months, and we love her.
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That is awesome 👏🏻
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Yay!!
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Congratulations to Nathaniel and that cake looks so fabulous.
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Congratulations to Nathaniel And to you. Delicious strawberry cack.And what a joy for both of you . So beautiful picture in Frist one. God blessing.!
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Nathaniel has a culinary degree in baking and pastry. He has never baked bread in our kitchen, but that is what he says is his favorite thing to do.
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Very nice. Nice interest baking and pastry. Well doing. Iam so happy!
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Congratulations Nathaniel!! Love the pics. Really looking forward to meeting Sarah some day.
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Congratulations to Nate on his completion of his degree! The cake looked fabulous!
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Congratulations Nathaniel!!!
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Lovely time celebrating, and wow that’s a gorgeous cake!
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That time flew by for Nathaniel’s time in school to get his degree, as well as the time spent visiting. What nice photos you have of that beautiful cake and your loved ones.
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The family is used to my lurking with camera in hand.
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I did the same thing for years with my pocket camera. I took that camera everywhere – it was a sad day when the cover no longer stayed shut.
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I think I’m on my third small pocket camera. I don’t take professional shots like you do.
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Thank you Anne. I am on my second pocket camera and felt badly buying it because my first one had 4X zoom and otherwise worked fine but this one has 12X zoom so I got it back in 2015. For years, I just used a Kodak Pocket Instamatic. I took that camera on trips and always carried it in my purse. I have been using the compact digital for all the photos I have been taking and not used the DSLR since last Fall. It is easier to grab and go and also, I have taken a ton of photos over the last several weeks with the small camera as my car has been in the shop since May 4th, first getting its electrical quirks deal with and also a new A/C unit. There were two vehicles getting new A/C units ahead of me and I am told that is a laborious job and only one of their mechanics knows how to do “dashboard tearouts” so it sits there – hopefully I get it back Tuesday. The weekends have been gorgeous and next weekend we are getting to 90. Too soon for that – we have 80s today with a real feel of 91 and bad weather tonight.
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Sorry your car is laid up.
We’ve had a pretty day with a few spits of rain.
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I’ve never had it in the shop for more than overnight and that was for the locks. I told him when I took it in to just replace the A/C unit, but he/they insisted on testing it for leaks (which has been the problem several times – they charge the A/C, it leaks out again). They should have done that first … but happily the car won’t unlock itself while I am driving and the window won’t go down all the way when I only want it to go down a few inches. A vehicle with a mind of its own.
They originally called for a rainy/stormy weekend … now no storm until 7:00-ish and that’s the first time.
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Congrats to Nathaniel!!
Strawberry shortcake is right up there with chocolate cake on my favourites list! This one looks sublime. Nathaniel is so talented. Sarah looks like a sweetie!
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We’ve been with Sarah only a few times, and we love her already.
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