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,