But first party first: The Gala at the Arboretum was FABULOUS. My sister Katie rode along with me and Jay because her husband, who had also been invited, was unable to attend: he was busy celebrating his Edina High School golf team's second State Championship! Congrats to the hornets. The three of us arrived at the party right on time, so we were some of the first people there. As per directions, we entered the garden from a back gate. The party was up on a hill by the Red Barn. If you've been to the arb, you know what I'm talking about and if you hadn't, I feel both very sorry for you and also kind of jealous because you have such a treat in store for you if you plan on going.
We rolled up the drive, tossed our keys to the parking valet and were immediately accosted by waiters offering us wine and hors d'oevres. So fortified, we ambled over to the registration tent where we were given our name tags, table identification and signed up for the live auction.
From there, we ventured out on the perfect green lawn under a blue sky tinted pink all around the edges due to the forest fires raging in Canada. As the sun slowly sank in the perfect sky, it became larger, pinker and more opaque. It was gorgeous. A slight breeze ruffled our fancy dresses as we watched the guests arrive.
Ladies: you know how whenever you go shopping for clothes, you are drawn to filmy, fluffy dressed and wide brimmed, romantic straw hats, only to realize that such outfits have no place in real life? This setting was the place. The barn is on a hilltop, rising above the surrounding woods and gardens like magical island. No movie set was ever lit to greater perfection than the Red Barn under the setting sun with the filter of distant smoke turning it all a soft pink.
Our hostess Liz arrived about ten minutes after we did. We weren't very close to the entrance at the time but I saw a petite blond and said to Katie "Is that Liz?"
"You mean that bolt of lightning that just walked in?" Katie replied. "Of course it is."
Liz's dress is covered in beads and sequins and when the sun hit her, she looked not so much like a bolt of lightning as a fireworks display. If I looked like Liz, I'd dress that way too. She makes J-L0 look lumpy and frumpy. Liz is an influencer!
Since I haven't been in great shape since the early 90s, I opted for a much simpler frock.
Liz had filled three tables with old friends and we were situated in a corner of the dining tent, so when it was finally time to come in and settle down, we had a terrific time. Our table included a few new friends and two gals (and their husbands) that I've known since high school. The food, which was farm to table, was much better than the fare one usually gets at such events. The evening's financial target was to raise $125,000.00 for the arboretum's current project, which has to do with urban trees. I know that the arb has experimented for years on different ecologically sound surfaces for streets and parking lots. Part of that whole idea is trees that do well in such stressful surroundings and add to the value of the situation by providing shade. They do wonderful, world supporting work there and I am more than happy to support it. There's no reason good works can't be gorgeous as well (in fact, I think they should be.)
Adding to the perfection of the evening was the fact that it was over before 10:00pm. We were home before it was full dark. We're old. Staying out late is sooooo 20 years ago.
The day after that party, I babysat #6 while Zach and Sara went on a karaoke cruise on the St. Croix to celebrate their second wedding anniversary. Saturday, Jay and I trekked all the way to Burnsville in search of a Honey Baked ham. We had decided to serve that on his birthday/father's day dinner. Next door to the ham place was a Turnstyles, in which I found a working Ottlight floorlamp. I have one in the basement for doing needlepoint and making rosaries while I watch movies and now that it's summertime, I'd rather watch TV on the porch and I'd been thinking of ordering another so a second hand one for $18.00 was a no brainer! All in all, it was a very profitable trip to Burnsville.
Father's Day began sort of rainy but it cleared up by mid afternoon and when all the kids arrived, we were able to eat outside. My trees were filled with grandkids. The ham was so good it was totally worth the drive. Everyone brought side dishes that were as good as the sandwiches: Katie brought a vat of her famous gazpacho, Sara brought her jalapeño poppers, Ty brought potato salad and Josie brought a delicious carrot salad I want the recipe for. We gave everyone ham to take home and still had enough left so that I could have ham sandwiches for lunch all week.
Monday I worked. Tuesday #6 came to hang out with me and I brought her along to the Picket Fence and to Mom's for lunch. As usual, she was completely delightful. My mom has never heard her cry. Well, once, when she didn't want to get back in her carseat, she yelled but that was understandable.
Wednesday, Katie and I headed out to Liz's house where the three of us had a very well deserved pool day. It was perfect: blue sky, 90 degrees, a slight breeze and a cool, salt water pool...
Wednesday evening, I went to hang out with BoopityBoop while Katie played volleyball. The girls wanted hot dogs rolled up in crescent rolls for dinner. I let them do the rolling. We split the dough in half, along the perforated lines and I gave each girl the hotdogs she would need. Boopity's rolls looked like something out of a magazine. Boop's looked like a 6 year old made them. The difference is that Boopity paid attention to the perforations and split her rolls into perfect triangles, while Boop just ripped hers to bits and packed the dough around the wieners. You know what? They all tasted great. We ate dinner and watched Monsters Inc. It was the perfect ending to a perfect summer day.
Thursday, I had a bonus day with #6. We went for a long walk in the morning and while she napped in her stroller, I ransacked all the book houses in my neighborhood. I don't know how widespread the phenomenon is but Minneapolis is very big on the sidewalk libraries. Our friend T, who is a librarian, objects to calling them libraries, so I think of them as 'book houses'. On my two mile walk, I passed five or six of them and came home with 4 new Lee Child titles! Who knew Jack Reacher was so popular in this corner of Minneapolis? Next week when I take #6 for her nap/walk, I'll bring some books along to replace the titles I took.
But I'll be keeping the Reacher books.
Friday, I worked in my office and then out in my secret backyard.
The secret backyard has nothing to do with all this. You can't see it from the rest of the yard. That's why it's a secret.
It's been four years now since I started my experiment with shrubs in pots and I must say, they're thriving. I had to repot one of them, as this last winter, which was remarkably icy, destroyed one of the big terra cotta pots I had them in. At the moment, the garden is still a cinder patch but I have hopes that we'll be able to find someone who will build us a patio back there, maybe even this year. The problem is everyone is booked up till Kingdom come. Before I have the patio built, the area needed to be cleaned out so I spent 3 hours yesterday raking out the dead leaves and removing the shards of the pots that didn't survive the winter. Then I ran to the nursery up the street and bought some flowers so I could spend the weekend planting them in my remaining pots. I did some of that today.
It's been a very busy week. Now I have to go sit on the front hill and watch the sunset.