ah, saturday

We're having a lovely weekend. We made a trip by the watering hole last night and talked to lots of people. Nice way to start a weekend. We're trying to organize a trip in late June to the two vineyards in the area and maybe an end-of-day trip to Cambria to the burger joint. There's a big green bus that might be available and Al just got his license so he needs the practice.

Yesterday, we went to Ella's last day of pre-school program. Here are a few pictures:

Ella and her best pal.

Ella and her mom.

Performing girls!

Tomorrow, the off-spring and their families are coming for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. Amber and Emily both have to work which seems unfair. If there are ribs left at the end of the feast, we'll send some home for them. I'm making roasted red potatoes, roasted cauliflower (our current favorite), and a triple berry trifle. Regis is making his famous ribs at Ella's request.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom. I've published this poem for her before, but I think it's a good one for the day.

What She Taught Me

by Teresa

For Mom

She taught me knitting, sewing, Teeny Tiny,

and reading every night before you go

to bed. She taught me how to make things for

people you love. She taught me how to make

stuffing by letting the butter and chopped onions sit

on the stovetop overnight. She taught me how to

make spaghetti from scratch

and that leftovers make a good meal and that pets,

even messy ones who come through the screen door

during thunderstorms, are part of the family.

She taught me that it’s more important to bake

fresh cookies or to read a book than

have a clean house. She taught me that having piles

of books around your house is decorating and that wearing

a flannel nightgown until noon doesn’t mean you’re

lazy. She taught me that you invite people over

if you’re lonely. She taught me how to always

believe you can fix it yourself and to keep on learning

and that when you go on vacation you should

stay with relatives. She taught me that cookbooks make good

reading and if you don’t have what it calls

for, you use something else. She taught me that hunting

down a good deal and taking a long nap in the afternoon is

the only exercise you ever really need in life.

When my dad died, her husband of more than fifty years, she

taught me that you cry but you go on. You go on living. You keep

the ashes in the window sill, you tell stories about the memories

and you laugh and you cry. But you keep on living.

Hmmm. This isn't looking quite right when I try to go from html edit back to compose. I'm going to keep going and hope for the best.

I went to the coop to buy berries for the trifle. It was pretty quiet there this afternoon which is nice since I have a low tolerance for crowds. I like to buy organic berries but they're more expensive. I like to buy meat there, too, especially since seeing Food, Inc. Don't watch that movie if you don't want to change the way you eat.

I picked up sticks from the birch tree this morning. It was so cold I had to come in before I was done but holy crap, there are a lot of sticks. I think this tree sheds some sticks every spring but with the high winds of the last week, they all came down at once. The city will come around this week and pick up any yard waste that you've piled up along the curb so we don't have to pack them in the trunk and haul them to the compost site.

I had a couple copies of my guest column in my purse last night so when the guys on geezer's row at Patrick's said they had read it but missed the last three paragraphs, ta da...I could supply them. Regis thinks I'm shameless and I probably am.

Just an observation on robins. When I was driving to the Pulse this morning, I noticed that they run back and forth on their tiny legs to cross the street. What's up with that? Wouldn't it be safer and faster to fly? I wonder if the eggs they're making are weighing them down because they don's seem to run so much later in the summer. I googled this but had no luck coming up with an answer.

A man joined us at our table last night and before he even said hello or took off his jacket, he launched into a joke. Then another joke. Then another joke. What the hell. I have a low tolerance for jokes. I can enjoy one now and then, but I think there just could be more to social intercourse than constant Little Johnny jokes. Arrghghghg. I had to get up and scope out another place to sit. Anybody else feel like this or am I the crazy one?

I have a new recipe for a thin crust pizza I'm trying out tonight.

Update on the menu for this evening. Decided to go with fresh pico de gallo and a guacamole dip instead of pizza. Might bake some nachos, too. We should have some company for this meal.