Our Week Begins

Memorial Day

It's almost 8:00, and Beth and I have been up since 7:00, with Marisa waking at 7:30. We planned our day, and Beth just left to supervise the moving of the last of their household items from their previous house, which closes tomorrow. Marisa will join her, and both should be back with the movers in an hour or two.

Morning With Evie

Monday was a low-key Memorial Day, with little celebration beyond the flags in Beth's neighbor's yard. We had no real plans, so we mostly hung out. Beth and I were up early, of course, though both Evie and Marisa slept in. I decided to make the usual breakfast — yogurt with granola and blueberries. Once everyone was up and fed, Beth, Marisa, and I took the dogs for a walk along the White Rock Pathway. Because of the holiday, the path was busy with bikers, skateboarders, scooters, runners, walkers, and strollers. It was warm, close to 80º when we left around 11:00, but it didn't seem to bother the runners. We were out a little over half an hour, worked up a sweat, and the dogs were happy to get home.

White Rock Lake Trail

Beth, Marisa, And The Dogs

When we got back, I went to work outside cleaning Beth's grill, inside and out — a dirty job given all the grease. I scrubbed with a wire brush, hit it with degreaser and paper towels, and got it ready to be put up for sale. It's a Weber Genesis gas grill, so I hope someone wants it. For lunch, I had the leftover lemon chicken, then decided to take a nap around 1:30. Tin Tin joined me, so I read for a bit and drifted off for about an hour. The afternoon went quickly. Beth and Marisa got some work done, while Evie and I watched Stephen Colbert's final show — another blow to free speech — and before we knew it, it was time to figure out dinner. 

In The Pantry, Hiding From Thunder

We went back and forth between eggs and home fries or burgers, fries, and onion rings from Rodeo Goat, a place about ten minutes away. Rodeo Goat won. Beth ordered around 5:30 and drove off to pick it up at 5:50. While she was gone, I took the dogs for a walk, and for the first time, they seemed reluctant, wanting to turn back — probably worn out from the morning. By 6:15, we were devouring our burgers and fries and watching another episode of Malcolm in the Middle. We followed that with the final three episodes of 1923 before going to bed around 10:15. Tin Tin joined me for the night, snuggled in a blanket at the foot of my bed.

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday: occasionally, a photo pops up on Facebook of a young man — just out of high school, sometime in the 1960s — and when you look beneath the photograph, you realize he died in Vietnam. It always shocks and saddens me how young they were and what a waste of life.