A Gray On Gray Sunday

7:54

It's 7:15 and I have been up for an hour and the view has not changed much, just a slightly brighter shade of gray.  When I walked outside, it was drizzling and overnight, we received an inch and a half of rain. It looks like cool temperatures, in the low 60's and overcast skies until 2:00 or 3:00.

Orange On Green

Saturday was a day of contrasts, overcast and drizzle early, then some sun and blue skies mid-afternoon but by 6:30 heavy thunderstorms moved in for the rest of the night.  We enjoyed the morning and did not really get outside until around 10:30 when I took our trash to the Transfer Station.  By 11:00, we were outside, pulling weeds, mulching, and seeding, and Evie made a barrier for our fall clematis which keeps safe from the local bunny population.  Around noon, I went inside and heated up some leftover beef stew for my lunch, watched some Jack Taylor, finished up my Bernie Gunther novel and started a new Alice Mc Dermott novel, THE NINTH HOUR.  I also took a much-deserved nap!

Around 2:00, we gathered up some gardening tools, the plants we were taking to Linda and Ron's home and drove over as the sun began to appear.  We then spent a good half hour digging and planting the Jerusalem artichokes along the edge of Clear Creek, which runs behind their house.  They will make a nice barrier of tall, yellow flowers in mid to late summer.  They had also gotten their mattress repaired by Jamestown mattress and no longer needed their topper.  So they offered it to us and we quickly accepted, not realizing how heavy and bulky it was.  It took both Ron and me to get in downstairs, into our car, then take it to our house, and somehow get it upstairs into our spare bedroom and on the bed.  Both of us needed Advil for our backs after the digging and moving of the topper.  But, hey, now we have a much more comfortable king size bed in our spare room.

Afternoon Calm Before The Storm

We then just plopped down on our couches for an hour, reading and surfing the Net before showering and getting gussied up for dinner.  Linda and Ron came by around 5:45 but I  drove the 35 minutes to North East, PA, where we had reservations at the newly renovated Skunk And Goat Restaurant.  It was our second visit, their first.  It's a renovated bank, on the square of the picturesque town of North East.  The restaurant was crowded but we had reservations, a good idea.  We all agreed that the food was good, especially our appetizers of Firecracker shrimp, with sriracha, soy, and cream.  I had a flat iron steak, Evie a great chicken sandwich, and Linda and Ron ordered appetizers and soups. Our only beef was a slow, unapologetic waiter and service. We waited over an hour for our dinners. Still, we liked the ambiance, the bar and will go back.  We left in a light rain and didn't get home until around 9:00, in time to watch some of the Cavs game.  It was nice to see them play defense, with some intensity.

Saturday Night Fever