Saturday on the Moops

George Castanza cheated on a game of Trivial Pursuit. That's where I got the word moops...but I know it should be moors. It's soaking wet (moop-like) here this morning. We have a five gallon pail out by the garage that is full to the brim. I suppose that means we've gotten five gallons of rain. The forecast is calling it flooding rain which is not good when we have the Minnesota River two blocks away. I'm not worried about it lapping at the back door but it could make it difficult to get to Mankato.

We've had a quiet weekend, so far. Last night we had lasagna roll-ups that Regis won in a bingo game at work, strange but true. I did some light cleaning (really, all my cleaning is light) and now here I sit, reading and writing and listening to the radio. We're picking Ella up later for a trip to Mankato while Bob and Emily do some furniture moving. We like to take her to the pet store and the new Barnes and Noble. She has some food allergies so Emily is sending a list of food she can't eat. We hope fried potatoes aren't on it because she sure loves those. What a good little Norwegian baby.

I have two tiny pots of pansies on the front step and the daffodils and tulips in the garden are poking up through the dirt. The chives are already about four inches high. I love those signs of life in the garden that looks mostly dead and dirty this time of year. We're going to plant more things that attract butterflies this year. In the past, I've tried things like small water ponds and stones for them to rest on but I never saw a butterfly on them. They like the coneflowers and the Joe Pye weed so maybe I'll encourage more of that.

Tiffany's coming home next weekend for Easter and Peter said he'd be here for Sunday dinner. Maybe even another time so we can celebrate his birthday. I told him I thought this was the first year he wasn't nagging me about what he was getting for his birthday. He laughed. It will be nice, very nice, to have them both here. The other kids are coming for Easter dinner, too. So far, the menu is ham with a Jack Daniels sauce and some kind of cheese potato. The kids all love those hash brown and soup cheese potatoes. I think they taste like wallpaper paste but who am I to argue with popularity. I think I'll have kids bring side dishes so the only other thing I have to make is bread. I have an oatmeal bun recipe I'd like to try.