Lake Bound

A Man, His Granddaughter, And His Dog

Marisa Loves Her Granny

Tree climber

We are up early, 5:15, because it's light out and we want to be on our way back to Chautauqua and avoid traffic.  We are leaving the good weather behind, as we may have rain much of the way.  It's sad to leave both the Bissells and Albarrans, but we will be seeing everyone in just over a month in Topsail, NC, for a week.

Yesterday began with my sitting around waiting for everyone to get up.  Finally, Marisa, Evie and Rami were up by 8:30 and by 9:00, Rami, Marisa and I were off to Stamford to have breakfast at the Lakeside Diner, a popular place for locals and they make their own donuts.  Marisa and her Dad had breakfast; I had a donut and coffee.  The placed was packed, sitting next to a small lake, and I can see why it's so popular, lots of breakfast and lunches options at a good price.  And the donuts are homemade each morning though not as good as Evie's Knock Off Krispy Kremes.

d

Donuts At The Lake Side Diner

Everyone seemed busy the rest of the day, knowing, I suppose that their move was imminent and a weekend is a good time to get things done.  Around noon, however, Ramiro and I packed our car.  I was worried that we would not have enough room, but Rami, the master packer, said there would be no problem and he was right.  We even have enough room for the things we brought with us like clothes and shoes.  Mid afternoon, Beth's good friend Nancy stopped by on her way from the city which was a nice break from the organizing.

Mitchell's T's

Marisa's room is completely done, compliments of a 'pushy granny' according to Marisa. And she loves her newly organized drawers though she made it clear  it would not stay this way. What a kid. And Beth culled through all the kids' school stuff and art work: 12 years of Tyler's, 11 of Mitch's and 6 years of Marisa's are packed and ready for Dallas.  Around 5:00, Marisa, Evie and I took Cody for a final walk in Darien, kind of sad.  He liked it though.

Mission Accomplished 

Playing With The Neighborhood Dogs

At 6:30,  Beth and Rami's neighbors picked them up and were meeting three other couples from the neighborhood for a bon voyage dinner at the Beach Club in Stamford. We begged out, saying we wanted to stay home with Marisa.  So, we stayed home and Evie made pizzas for dinner and we watched four episodes of Parenthood with Marisa.  Beth and Rami returned home around 10:30, had a good time, but were tired so we said our good byes and went up to sleep,

Mitchell's Prom, Dinner At Brasitas, Packing For The Lake

The Dude And His Family

Fashion Plates Of Darien

Well, it's a different morning here at the Albarrans but not for me.  I have been up at my usual 6:00 but it's now 7:00 and I am the only one up.  Everyone must have had a busy yesterday.  Mitchell, I think, had a sleep over but he has volleyball practice in an hour so he better be up and heading home or the coach will be giving him h-e-double toothpicks.

Not much to say about yesterday until late in the day.  The same olds, Beth and Evie continuing to get things ready for the move, my walking the dog.  Ramiro returned from Dallas around noon, and Evie and I went to Fairway, the grocery store for some reason, just to do something I guess, and we came home with a cherry pie for dessert.

Things began to heat up when Marisa got home at 3:00 and Mitchell rushed in from his volleyball practice at 4:00.  His coach, a disciple of Bobby Knight, could care less that there was a prom and had her usual practice.  Mitch jumped in the shower, hurriedly dressed in his tux, rushed downstairs to all our huzzahs, then drove off around 5:10 to his date's house, all of us following in another car. His girl friend, Mimi, lives about 10 minutes a way and they invited all of us over for some wine and appetizers, and for the picture taking.  They have a lovely house, are lovely people, and we sipped wine, ate shrimp, on their back patio, overlooking their rock garden and lawn, a beautiful night to be outside.  After an hour, the kids went down to their yacht club and we followed, to take even more pictures of the couple.  There must have been twenty to thirty couples there as well, with parents, all enjoying the night and the well dressed teens.

At The Yacht Club

With Granny, At Markham's Party

We thanked Mimi's parents and drove off for dinner around 7:00.  We finally found a restaurant that was not too busy, Brasitas, a South American fusion restaurant that we have eaten at a couple of times and really liked the originality of their food.  We were able to eat al fresco on a pleasant evening and our meals were great, especially Evie's and mine.  I had a whole red snapper, deep fried, with various spices and Evie had something called Wellington chicken, which was about as good a chicken as she has ever had.  We could give the restaurant and A+.

Dining Al Fresco At Brasitas, In Stamford

Marisa And A Red Snapper

We did not get home till after 9:00, spent about a half hour downloading prom pictures and playing with them on the computer, then had our dessert, cherry pie a la mode and watched a show with Marisa called So You Think You Have Talent.  It played the tragic, tear jerking card quite often. How could the judges vote off a kid who stutters, lost his voice, but wants to be a comedian.  Or the singer who wrote a song about his five year old son who died of cancer.  Shameless, like politicians, using the emotional tugs to get ahead.  It worked, so we can watch both of them next week if we want.

I am discovering the irony of Obama's presidency as I read Axelrod's BELIEVER; he got elected because he represented, to the electorate, a change to the divisiveness of the Congress only to find that because of who he is (black), what he represents (the people), and what he hoped to do (make sure the middle class got its fair share), he became the most divisive President in history, mainly because the Republicans vowed, from the beginning, to refuse to work with him, to block every and anything he proposed.  It makes me wish I had voted for  McCain or Mitt only because the Democrats would have been willing to compromise and allow them to get some needed things done, unlike the reprehensible Republican right who are impossible to deal with, with their 'uncompromising certainty' which leads nowhere.  Pelosi and Reid are no angels but they are saints compared to some on the Republican right like Louie Gomert, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, and friends. Enough.

It's after 8:00, no one is up yet and I made a faux pas.  A few minutes ago, I discovered Mitch was upstairs sleeping, woke hime because of his practice at 8:00, only to have him tell me it was cancelled.  Sorry Mitch.  It looks like our final day in in Darien will be nice.

Volleyball Regional Champs And Prom Night

FCIAC Champs...On To State

It's 7:00 and everyone is up, ready for the end of the week.  Mitch is non communicative, after a late, late night, having won the volleyball game, then celebrating with a swimming party at a friends house, not getting home until 12:30.  Ah youth.

A Canopy Of Green

Yesterday was a decent day out though it was supposed to rain.  Again, we did not do much more than hang out.   Not much new to tell, kids in school, walked the dog, did some reading and broke the morning up with hanging out for an hour at the local coffee shop called NEAT.  Yep, it's neat.  Since Beth and Evie spent much of the morning sorting through the kids school papers (great fun to see their drawings and other papers during their primary and middle school years), we ordered sushi from Matsuri, about a five minute drive.  Lunches are always a deal so we splurged on six rolls and a couple of salads.  Yum.

A Morning Egret At The Pond

I read much of the afternoon, finally making some progress in David Axelrod's memoir BELIEVER. The digital loan expires in six days so I have to hustle to get it done.  Beth and I were leaving for the volleyball game at 6:00, so Evie fried some bacon, and we had a BLT's before heading off to the game. Evie and Marisa stayed behind, to Marisa's joy, as she has had enough of sitting at Mitch's games over the past three years.  They had fun, I guess, going through Marisa's clothes, deciding what to keep, then Kondo-izing her drawers.  She loves it.

Our drive to and from the volleyball game confirmed why I love living in Chautauqua.  Traffic to Fairfield and back to Darien was backed up all the way, so we had to creep along, taking over an hour to get to the game when it should have taken 15 minutes.  The game, at least, was exciting, lots of fans and noise, and Mitch's team won in five games though Mitch did not get to play.  Still, he was excited, a good teammate.  I am not sure why the drive home was also backed up at 9:30 at night but such is life on Interstate # 95.  When we got home, we both were hungry, so I made myself another BLT and Beth snacked on chips.  We were too tired to wait up for Mitch, a good thing because he did not get home till late.

Tonight is Prom Night for Darien, so at 5:00, we have all been invited to Mitch's date's house, for a cocktail and to see the couples and take pictures.  Rami, fortunately, will be able to get there as well, as he flies home from Dallas this morning.

A Muggy Thursday Morning In Darien

Final Game Day

At Another Bar In Stamford, Where Else

I slept in till 6:15 and Evie and Mitch were already up, Mitch in coat and tie, ready for another volleyball game day at school, Evie making him a breakfast of a Turkish menemen and two lunches, since he won't be home until 9:30 because of the tournament.

Yesterday was mostly sitting around reading, watching some TV, walking the dog, getting some chores done and waiting for Marisa to come home at 2:45.  Evie and I did venture out of our house to hit Costco one more time because Evie found some clothes she liked.  It was packed as usual; I have never been there when the parking lot and store were not full.

Steady As She Goes

Once Marisa came home, Evie made her a snack, then all three of us took Cody out, the girls riding bikes, me walking the dog.  Evie has not been on a bike in awhile so Marisa rode circles around her, laughing at Granny's cautious ways.  When we got home, Evie talked Marisa into organizing her crafts, so they spent a good hour getting it ready for their move.  Beth left around 4:30, for Mitch's volleyball game, which should have taken about 20 minutes but took close to an hour because of an accident.  Mitch's team won, winning three straight after losing the first two games.  They play for the regional championship tonight at 7:00.

Biking With Granny

We did not go to the game because Marisa had Irish Dancing at 6:30, so we drove her to Stamford. It's usually an hour and a half practice, so we planned on eating at a sushi place near the studio.  We walked by a local place called Vinny's, checked it out and thought this is the place for us.  On one side were booths, with families, the other a huge U shaped bar, seating around fifty, and we were able to scratch together the last two seats by asking a couple of guys if they would move over one.  It was packed with locals, all ages,  but mostly a neighborhood bar.  Evie asked the women next to her what was good and she said everything but especially the pizza and wings.  We both ordered the thin crust pizza's, Evie's a Parmesan pizza with a salad on top, me the traditional pepperoni and mushrooms.  Both were about as good of pizzas as we have had in awhile.  Around 7:30, the bar slowly started to empty so that their were seats available but until then, it was filled with happy people, eating and drinking, our favorite past time as well.

Great Pizza At Vinny's Backyard Bar

We left just before 8:00, picked Marisa up a sundae, with hot fudge and marshmallow, and drove two minutes to the studio, where she was outside waiting for us.  She loved the surprise sundae, of course, and we were home by 8:30.  Beth had just gotten home from the game as well and was enjoying a glass of wine and some dinner, having stopped at Stew Leonard's on the way home from the game.

Mitch did not get home until after 9:00, having gone out to eat with teammates and I watched the NBA game.

Mid Week In Connecticut

Game Day At Darien High

I heard the coffee pot start grinding the coffee beans at 5:00, but I stayed in bed till 6:00, when it was too light in my room to sleep.  When I got downstairs, Ramiro had left already to catch his plane to Dallas, cancelled yesterday because of bad weather in Texas. I guess the heavy rains have been terrible, especially in Houston.  Mitch was up by 6:30, followed by Evie who made him breakfast and a couple of lunches because of his game today.

Yesterday we did not do much but hang around the house, occasional excursions to stores, practices, coffee shops.  It began with dropping Marisa off at the bus at 8:20, then a stop by Rami at Starbucks picking up more coffee for us.  Around 10:00, Beth, Evie and I took a must visit to Costco, already crowded at 10:15.  We wanted to pick up some food for the week, even though we are going to be busy most nights, with volleyball games, dance, the prom, and a dinner at the club.  Still, we picked up lots, the major item being a power washer for Rami, to clean lots of outdoor things before the move.  Evie picked out a couple of clothing items, always a deal but that was it for us.

When we got home, we had a lunch of leftover Chinese food, and Rami and I watched the end of the Golden State game from the previous night.  We then went out and power washed anything we could find in the yard, the play house, bird feeders, bikes, grills, chairs, all things that needed to be clean. Marisa got home around 3:00 and I took her to soccer practice, after her snack, at 3:45.  Because it was 15 minutes away, I stayed in the area, stopped at a hardware store to pick up a wire brush, browsed first a wine, then bookstore before getting some yogurt and granola at the local grocery store.  While I was out, Beth and Rami visited the local Mini Cooper Auto dealer because Beth will be getting a new car in Dallas and she thinks this is the car for her.  She really liked the Countryman, a four door, with a little more room, lots of zip.

Cooking Up Some Trouble

When I got home from soccer, Beth was taking off to the hospital, where she volunteers Reiki for the patients as well as a gathering with other practitioners.  Meanwhile, Evie, Rami and I had cracked open a bottle of wine, got the steaks ready for grilling, and Evie sauteed some mushrooms.  We fired up the grill, put on the steaks but of course, ran out of propane.  Fortunately, Rami had an extra tank, so the steaks were done in 15 minutes and we were eating by 7:00, devouring the rib eyes, mushrooms, salad and potatoes, leaving just enough for Mitch and Beth when they got home.  Since Marisa did not have to go to school until 10:00 because she had finished her State math test two hours before the end, she convinced her father to take her to Gofer's, the local ice cream parlor.  Lots of families had the same idea.  We then watched So You Have Talent with Marisa until 9:15, when she went up to bed.  Rami, Evie and I then watched the Cavs crush Atlanta and celebrate their win before going to bed around 11:00.  Beth did not get home till 11:30, as she will most likely not see any of her Reiki friends again because of the move.

Adults Play Hookey While Kids Are At School

A Happy Sixth Grader

A Rhododendron Stained Window

It's 6:20 and only Mitchell is up.  I thought Ramiro was off flying to Dallas which he does the beginning of each week but he walked downstairs a few minutes ago.  His flight was cancelled, not sure why, so he will wait to fly to Dallas tomorrow.  So we can spend the day doing more purging as they are moving to Dallas in less than a month.

Memorial Day was festive around here though we did not participate.  There was a parade downtown, neighbors had a huge trailer decorated, filled with kids to be part of the parade.  Our day started, as I mentioned, with a volleyball game at Darien High School.  This is Mitch's third year on the team and he is the setter.  Fortunately, both varsity and jv won in three and two, so we were out of there by 12:30.  His team plays in the state tournament on Wednesday and Thursday, in Fairfield, about 25 minutes from here so I am sure we will go at least one night.

We vacillated about what to do the rest of the day, whether to have a cook out, what else to do.  So we finally decided to have take out Chinese, making it easy as we needed to make more progress the rest of the day working on purging the attic and other areas of the house.  Basically, the Albarrans have to go through their entire house and decide what they want to take to Texas.  The movers will come in and pack, but as we all know, purging takes lots of time.  Rami and Beth spent a good amount of time just going through ski stuff, deciding what still fit or would fit the kids.  The attic is also filled with Rami's twin obsessions, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations but he has already packed that and it's ready to go.

Lucky us as we are becoming the beneficiaries of some of the cleaning out, like a bike for Evie, a bike rack for me, two club chairs, and lots of boating stuff that will no longer be needed in a landlocked Dallas. Our problem is if we take something, we are going to have to find a place to put it, or store it.  And we don't have much attic or garage space left, so I am leaving an inflatable raft/boat behind, too heavy, too large to store.  While we were working, Marisa was doing her homework, making a power point on Micronesia.  It's interesting how different school assignments are today. Kids can really make interesting reports on a computer.

At Work

At Play

Around 6:00 we relaxed around the kitchen island with three cheeses and wine, talking about what to do with all the purged items, the intricacies of moving that far and the mundane, what food to order from Steam, the local Chinese restaurant.  We ate around 7:30, ordered too much food but it will be good for lunch today.  We then relaxed, everyone but me playing Words With Friends or Scramble on their iPads while I watched Houston decimate Golden State in the NBA Western Finals.  We stayed up till 11:00 even though we were all really tired from all the decision making.

One Of Our 'Last Suppers' In Darien

Today looks like a warm one, and its deathly quiet already as the kids are off to school.  What to do. Only Evie seems raring to get busy.

Good Morning, Darien, CT

Dinner Out With Our Grandson, Mitchell, and Mimi

Morning On St. Nicholas Drive

No curtains in my bedroom, so I was awake early, around 5:30 as I forgot that the sunrise here on the east coast is much earlier than at Chautauqua Lake, about twenty minutes earlier as I recall.  It's 59º here, the same as the lake, and partly cloudy.  It looks like a pleasant but different Memorial Day for us.  For example, Mitch, our grandson, a junior at Darien High School, has a final school volleyball match this morning at 10:30.  I have rarely heard of high school matches on school holidays, so this is a first.  He has a team breakfast at 8:00, then the match, then a picnic at home with the family.  It should be a fun day.

We left from Virginia yesterday around 8:30, and already miss Hayden and Halle.  And, just as expected, the drive, most likely our final one from Bristow to Darien because the Albarran's are moving to Dallas, was pleasant, through the beautiful hills of Virginia and Pennsylvania, to the more crowded and busy highways of New Jersey.  Crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge is always exciting as is trying to find the Merritt Freeway instead of Interstate 95.  We had a couple of stops at Mc Donald's, our go to place on trips, and arrived in Darien, at 2:45, a little over six hours on the road.  We knew Beth and Rami would not be home until this morning, as they were visiting friends in the New London area for a party and staying the night.  Mitch, however, was home and he and his girlfriend Mimi were making cupcakes when we arrived.  And cookies, so we had a tasty snack after our drive.

Making Cupcakes

We hung out during the afternoon, just relaxing, watching some TV, and of course, taking my good dog Cody for his first walk in weeks.  It's amazing to see the change from our stay her in March, when it was cold and snow covered our entire time.  Now everything is green, the road umbrellaed by trees, the rhododendrons, dogwoods, and wisteria in full bloom.

Doing Dishes

We took Mitch and Mimi out to dinner at Bodega, a fairly new Mexican place in town that people have liked.  It had a nice atmosphere, but the portions of a variety of tacos, were ridiculously small, the beers expensive, and the bill shocking.  Welcome to Darien.  Still, it was fun to be with Mitch and Mimi and they enjoyed it, dinning with their cheap, curmudgeon of a grandfather.  Give me Jamestown's Taco Hut, three tacos for 2.99.

We came home to a quiet house as Mitch went over to Mimi's to watch a movie.  So, we watched most of the Cavs game until I got tired of watching them play poorly and did not really care at that point if they won or lost so we both went up to bed around 10:45.  I am starting Obama's chief strategeist, David Axelrod's, memoir, BELIEVER: MY FORTY YEARS IN POLITICS.  It has gotten good reviews, especially if you want to understand the political process, what it takes to energize the masses and get elected.  So far, it's very readable and interesting even though I have yet to get to the Obama years.

It's now just 7:00 and Mitch is up.  Beth, Rami and Marisa should be back in a couple of hours because they want to be back in time for the volleyball game.  We cannot wait to see them.

Seven Hours to Darien, CT

 LovIn' Other People's Dogs

We are up later than usual at 7:00, sitting around drinking coffee, talking with Drew.  We are driving to Connecticut to visit the Albarrans and we are in no hurry this morning which is rare though I suppose we will be on our way by 8:30 anyways.

Yesterday was a warm, Virginia spring kind of day, sunny, blue skies, in the 80's with a breeze to cool us off.  We were all busy in the morning.  Drew cut the lawn, trimmed, things like that.  Jill went off to the mall to get more curtains; it's like picking out paint.  You cannot tell if you like them till they are hung and then it's easy to return and get more.  She's tried a couple of sets already and may look for 'just the right ones.'  I took the dog for a long walk, helped out some, watched the first half of last night's Cavs victory over Atlanta.  The girls did not get up until late, typical teens.  Evie helped Jill do some planting of hydrangeas and dahlias and they look great, a good choice.  After Hayden and Drew worked out, Evie made BLT's for all of us.  We then drove to get Hayden some running shoes because she is getting serious about being a runner which is great.

Old Bust Head Brewery

We just relaxed the rest of the early afternoon until about 4:00 when the four adults drove off to a nearby brewery, called Old Bust Head, a smart thing to do on a hot afternoon.  The girls stayed home, preferring their friends and the quiet of home to a beer garden I guess.  It was a great day to be out, lots of people both inside and out, enjoying the various beers.  We only stayed for one beer because we wanted to get home to the girls.  They were fine, of course, playing at a neighbor's party which went from 3:00 to who knows when.  In fact, after dinner, around 9:00, Jill and Drew went over to the party and it was still going strong, for both neighbors and kids.  I guess the neighbor takes whatever he saves from Costco and has a party, a great idea.

The Bissells

Mother and Daughter

After the beer garden, we decided to stay home for dinner, with burgers and Italian sausage; so Jill made up a guacamole and we sat out on their porch drinking margaritas, wine, or beer, enjoying the late afternoon on their great porch, surrounded by trees in full bloom.  We did not even want to get dinner started but decided we had to around 7:30 so Drew fired up the grill, cooked the burgers and sausage, with potato salad.  It was just the four of us as the girls were playing with the gang from the party (about 20 kids), racing in and out of yards, and played a game called "Manhunt," hiding, then trying to tag the tree before you are caught.  Things never change.

Halle, Hayden and Neighborhood Gang, Playing Man Hunt

Evie and I were happy to relax for an hour while everyone else was at the party.  We were invited but it sounded good to just stay home and enjoy the quiet.  We kept Coco company and watched the beginning of the NBA playoff game between Golden State and the Rockets before going to be around 10:30.  The gang, including he girls, did not get home until midnight, so it was a wild night for the Bissells.

We should be off this morning by 8:30; I am not looking forward to the drive but it's worth it to see Beth, Rami, Marisa and Mitch.  Tyler is still at school getting ready for final exams.

Final Day In Bristow

Happy Merrifield Nursery Day

Up at 6:30, just Drew and me, talking about politics and military matters.  Drew has spent lots of time in Iraq, so he clearly does not like what's going there now and sees ISIS as a real threat to the US as well as the rest of the world.  The problem is what to do about it, whether we need to be more involved, perhaps putting boots on the ground, or just advise, which is what we seem to be doing but does not seem to work.  As usual, no easy answers as politics, military strategy, and popular opinion intersect.

Great weather returned to Virginia yesterday, with a full day of sun and warmth, the highs in the 70's, perfect for walking the dog.  Because the cleaners were here at 9:00, I wanted to get out of the house so Coco and I took a long walk in the neighborhood, packed with parked cars because no one seems to use their garage for cars, but for storage.  Interesting.  And every house has at least two if not three cars.  Around 10:30, we drove off to the amazing Merrifield Nursery, about ten minutes.  My sister Ellen turned us on to this nursery.  It's a huge place, with just about any tree, shrub or plant you could want.  And inside, not only do they have anything a gardener would need, but also a coffee shop, a wine area and my favorite, free popcorn for when you browse.  We picked out a couple of Endless Summer hydrangeas for Jill as well as a two Dahlia's for potting.  Evie picked up a swan like water can, plastic but pleasing and I bought a plastic flower that glows in the sunlight.  We lingered, wanting to buy, buy, buy, but knew we had no room in our car so we left it at a water can and a fake flower.  We then stopped at Target to get Hayden an alarm clock, so she could be like her sister.

Decking It

Happy To Be Home

When we got home, the cleaners had vamoosed, thankfully, so we had the house to ourselves until the girls came home at 3:30.  We did not do much, had lunch and watched HGTV programs, one called Affordable Lakefront homes, the other, Log Cabin retreats, a good way to waste the afternoon. I picked Halle up from school at 3:40 and by 4:00, everyone was home, both Jill and Drew from work, Hayden from school.  Hayden immediately grabbed her Dad and they went downstairs to do the Insanity workout, while the rest of us chilled.  Evie had simmered the chicken thighs mid afternoon, for grilling later.  When Drew and Hayden were finished, we moved out to their deck, with Drew's new umbrella shading us from the sun, and had wine and appetizers.  It was a perfect late afternoon to enjoy the fading sun.  Hayden, however, decided to go for a run with a girlfriend, even though she had worked out an hour before.  We stayed out on the deck until 7:00, then Drew barbecued the chicken and Evie cooked the noodles in chicken broth, the best.  Hayden was back in time for dinner, and all of us were hungry, devouring the noodles, chicken, broccoli and coleslaw.  For dessert, Evie had cut up strawberries, so we had them, on top of pound cake, with a mountain of Reddi Whip, compliments of Halle.

Barbecuing With Wine and Jack

We sat up watching Modern Family reruns until about 10:30 when everyone was ready for bed. Today is our last day with the Bissells, alas, as tomorrow we drive to Darien, to spend time with the Albarrans. So though we are sad to leave, we get to enjoy more grandchildren for a few days before heading back to the lake.

Sun and Warm Weather Return

Mom's Home

Dad, Too

TGIF

Up at 6:30 and Drew already left for work at 5:00, and Jill was up as well.  The girls are up now, as is Evie and it's 7:30, almost time for Hayden to catch the bus. A sunny morning, light peaking through the leaves, and a cool 50º. And it looks like a good Memorial Day Weekend as it warms up.

Yesterday was cool and overcast until late afternoon, and Coco was not very happy taking an early short walk in the rain.  After the girls went off to school, we got the house in order, started the dish washer and went out to shop for the next couple of days' dinners.  We stopped at Target, first, as Evie need to get some hooks for Jill's new kitchen drapes.  We then hit the local discount super store, B.J.'s, a store we had been to once in Ohio and did not much like it.  This was is not quite Costco but is trying hard to be like them.  In fact, it reminded me of Costco when we walked in,  We disciplined ourselves, only looking for the food we needed, lots of fresh fruit for the girls, salad, melons, things like that.  Evie could not resist however, buying Jill a new  grater, an ice cream scoop for herself.  We ended the morning at the local grocery store, Giant, picking up the makings for baked ziti for last night's dinner, chicken for tonight's barbecue.  And a pound cake to go along with the great strawberries, raspberries, and black berries.

We were back by 12:30, in time to heat up some leftover Asian food, better than the night before, and watch the rest of the Cavs game.  Fortunately, I was able to avoid seeing who won the night before, so it was fun to watch Lebron and the Cavs hang in there and pull it out.

Before Granny

Evie was busy until Hayden got home, making the ziti for dinner and when Hayden got home, the two of them went upstairs and spent a good two hours, continuing to purge Hayden's room.  Hayden, of course, loves it and has thrown away junk she's collected over the years, like all of us.  Tidying up is truly life changing; it puts a smile on Hayden's face.

After Granny

I picked Halle up from school, where she has an extra hour of tutoring at 5:00. We all relaxed until about 7:00 and decided not to wait dinner for Jill and Drew as their flight was delayed.  Just as we were finishing, however, they walked in, having an easy ride home from the airport.

Salad Helper

So they sat down, with us, filled us in on their days in Tampa, had dinner, as we ate our dessert, pound cake and fruit.  They looked tired from the travel and delays, but were glad to be home, to see the girls and of course, Coco.  We all stayed up until 10:00 when everyone decided to crash as both Jill and Drew had work, the girls school.  Only Evie and I are free, sort of , as this morning at 8:30, the cleaning ladies come in for three hours so we are going to have to hit the road for the morning, perhaps a visit to Merrifield Nursery, then Wegman's for lunch.

Even Coco Loves A Made Bed

Tonight looks like a perfect evening for cooking out, sitting out on their deck, enjoying a beer or wine and the evening.  Let the Memorial Day holiday weekend begin.

Ellen's Garden

My Sister Ellen

Talking Weddings On The Deck

I woke up late for me, at 7:00, frightened that Hayden was not yet up.  But the light was on in her room, so my worry, like most, was unfounded.  It's our last day of watching the girls, as Jill and Drew return around dinner time from Tampa, so I did not want to mess things up on the last day.  We almost had a catastrophe yesterday, however, when Halle's friends walked in and Coco,  definitely a runner, took off.  I was out looking for him the car and the entire neighborhood was out as well; finally, he was cornered by one of the neighborhood girls and brought home. Whoa!  Catastrophe avoided.

Peace And Love

Yesterday was the reverse of Monday and Tuesday's warm, humid summer like days, more like fall actually with temperatures in the 50's and 60's.  At the moment, there's a light rain outside and 55º. So yesterday was typical, with one exception, we drove to my sister Ellen's home in Herndon, VA, about a 40 minute drive.  She, like my other sister, Linda, loves gardening and has a spectacular garden.  We left here about 9:30 and spent a couple of hours with her, touring her garden of course, in full bloom, so unlike Evie's Chautauqua garden which had yet to show much color other than green.  The lake must be at least a month behind Herndon.  Ellen has a great variety of bushes, plants, and trees, all carefully thought out but natural looking.  And it no doubt takes lots of work to keep it looking so nice.  She must be the envy of the neighborhood.  Besides gardening, we talked weddings, as Ellen's daughter Julia had just gotten engaged, and all the wedding planning has begun, stressing her out.  She will survive.  We left about 12:15, an easy drive home, to an eager Coco, happy to see the both of us after being locked up in the study, though a room with a view.  The joy of a dog...they are always happy when you return and show it, unabashedly, no second thoughts or agenda.

Cozy, Back Yard 

Pots

Kousa Dogwood In Bloom

Evie made me a great turkey and cheese sandwich, herself a salad, and we took it easy the rest of the afternoon, at least I did.  Evie, however, always can find some thing to do.  I watched the last half of the Golden State/Rockets game though I missed the last minute (don't laugh Evie) because I forgot to extend the DVR.  No big deal.  Hayden was home by 3:30, with no afternoon commitments, happy to have time to get her Spanish project done.  Evie and I walked Coco to pick up Halle, about ten minutes to the school.  It was a perfect afternoon for a walk, sunny and cool enough to want a light jacket.  As I mentioned, the major excitement was Coco's taking off into the  neighborhood.  The other was we decided to give him a bath which he needed.  So Evie and I put him in the kitchen sink, drenched him with water, and Evie scrubbed him down and he did not seem to mind much.  We rinsed him well, then toweled him thoroughly and let him run.  He then did his after bath dance, by scurrying along the rug, trying to dry himself off.  Finally, we grabbed him, wrapped him in towels, put him on the couch and he was happy.

Washing Coco

For dinner, the girls wanted Asian so we ordered from Pei Wei, a chain of Asian restaurants, part of the P.F. Chang empire.  It was mediocre at the best though the girls seemed to like it.  We ordered five different meals, yet they all looked the same, chicken nuggets, with a sauce and rice.  It was hard to tell any difference between them, and they lacked vegetables and sauce.  Not worth the money for sure.  Hayden was able to finish both her Spanish project and get in her forty five minute Insanity workout; she is possessed in a good way.  It would have been easy to blow it off yesterday but she did not.  What discipline.

Finito

We finished the night watching the disgusting Kardashians with the girls for a half hour, as their Daddy, Bruce Jenner, tried to explain to the daughters his 'transitioning.'  Gross because they are capitalizing on something that is important to be said, but not in this format.  The special with Diane Sawyer was interesting and heartfelt.  This was plain sensationalizing, the worst of reality TV.  Yuk.  I watched the Cavs on tape through the first half; will watch the second half this afternoon.  Don't tell me who won.

I came across this quotation in an essay called "Collateral Grief", written by Ann Klotz, Laurel's Head of School and contributor to the Huffington Post.  I love the last sentence: "Be swift to love, make haste to be kind".

 "Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the journey with us. Oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind."

- Attributed to Henri Frederic Amiel,