Here's the last shot of our gorgeous flowers from 2023.
I have to admit we played last week perfectly. On Monday my sister MJ took her kids out of school and she, my Mom and my sister Katie spent the day at the arboretum. It was absolutely spectacular! It was 70 degrees and clears skies, colors were at their peak and it was the most beautiful day of the year. Tuesday was cold and wet but fun. I didn't have #6 with me, as I usually do but Mom, Katie and I went to Granny Camp at our friend Liz's place. Granny Camp is always fun; Liz feeds us soups, salads, breads and deserts that she's working on for her own lifestyle brand. Everything was fabulous and we stayed late enough to avoid rush hour traffic. Wednesday I had #6 with me and we just hung out all day. I bought her a lined raincoat at Marshall's because I couldn't resist it, so we took our usual long walk together in the afternoon. She was warm and toasty in her raincoat and napped in the stroller. I made the mistake of wearing an unfamiliar pair of shoes. Despite socks and everything, a mile from home the blisters on both my heels were so bad I had to strip everything off and finished the walk barefoot. It wasn't bad! I don't take walks barefoot anymore but the soles of my feet are still plenty tough; it's my ankles and the muscles in my feet that need the support of shoes. The ground was cold and damp but with my wooden feet it didn't bother me at all. It felt 100% better than those shoes did. When I got home, the shoes went straight in the goodwill bag and I stuck my feet in my foot massager to avoid any unpleasant aching later. Thursday I got a ton of work done before heading down to Tyler's house. I had dinner with them and hung with the kids while Ty took Megan to a concert. Babalouie did his homework, Xena stayed in her lower lair, only coming out to do chores and and Kitten took a bath. Then we watched a movie together. Kitten conked out on the couch so I shoveled her into bed and Babalouie followed before the movie ended. Xena came up to say goodnight. I had packed a bag for the night so was in my pajamas by the time Ty and Megan came home. They had a great time at the show. It was still before midnight so the three of us watched some Nate Bargatze, then hit the hay. Friday I slept in and drove home by lunch. I was more than happy to be home by myself (Jay was in and out) for the next few days.
Most of the trees in town have finally reached peak and the cold, windy wet of the last few days has managed to strip a lot of them of their leaves. The purple ash in our backyard is always the first to start changing and usually the first to lose all it's leaves. This year has been no different as this morning it was finally bare. But it's the 29th! Most years that tree is bare by Katie's birthday.
Oh! I forgot that we had Katie's birthday party here, two days after #6 turned 1. That was fun! We had a huge pot of spaghetti for dinner. Grandma Punkin came so we had a houseful. Tyler came but Megan and the kids couldn't, as it was a school night. I gave the leftover spaghetti to Ty to bring home for them. The party didn't go late, as BoopityBoop also had school in the morning. As usual, #6 absolutely loved hanging out with her older, glamorous cousins. I can't believe it's been 39 years since that early morning in Jamestown ND, when I woke Jay up and told him I was in labor. We dropped Tyler, who was 22 months old, at a friends house and got to the hospital by 8:00 am. Katie was born at 10:45. Both my girls were quick labors and deliveries. Seems like yesterday. I remember sitting in the sitz bath and thinking "I have a boy and a girl now and I don't ever have to do that again." But of course, 5 years later I had Zack and 6 years after that, Josie arrived. So NEVER SAY NEVER!
The trees outside my front window are still green. The maples in my front yard are gold but the trees across the street missed the memo that it's time to put on their party dress. Such a funny time of the year; kind of schizophrenic. The boats are off the lakes and the city has starting packing in the bouys. Four weeks ago it was 90 degrees but there's a chance of snow in the forecast.
I love Minnesota.