Wordless Wednesday

More August

It's getting to be the end of August.

Bruce and I went out last week to a place called Floyd's, and sat outside to listen to music and eat some surprisingly good food. We were on the upper deck, and there was a nice breeze blowing and lights twinkling in the trees. It was the perfect summer night.

Nick turned 26 yesterday. He picked up a stone chess set at a thrift store, and we found out that he's pretty good at the game. I think I used to be okay at playing chess, but it's been a very long time. Wish I could remember my favorite moves!

The sunflowers are gorgeous ...

And, Grandma Gloria is doing well, too. They say she's now adjusted to the cats not being in her room anymore, which is good. We've discovered that Cleo likes to bite, mostly little love bites, but we're hoping that as she has more space to roam here, she won't do it as much. Both Pumpkin and Cleo are getting braver and have started wandering down the stairs. Minnie Mouse watches, sometimes gives a little hiss, but there really hasn't been any big cat drama yet.

One more week until Labor Day weekend, and Bruce is taking me to see The Little Mermaid at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre as a birthday present!

Birthday Treats

Looking at the pictures, I can see that there was no shortage of birthday treats this year! Gummy dirt cups for the family dinner, homemade apple chips made by Katie on the chip maker she gave me for my birthday, decadent chocolate cake created by Jake, and magic pretzel wands as my gift to my people at work. There was also a special bottle of diet coke and freezer jam from Terry, and roses and chocolates from Bruce. Good stuff!

Date Night at the Red Rooster

Three Good Things

Besides being Friday, a few good things are happening today.

Number one is that I actually have a sunflower about ready to bloom by my mailbox! I have tried for years to get one to grow, and have never had any luck. This year I planted a $1 packet of seeds from Target, and look what happened!

Number two is that the Vine Hill Road bridge is finally completed, and I can once more drive over it and turn onto my beloved Ridgewood Road. I've missed how peaceful that road is, complete with the sound of frogs.

Number three is that Bruce just called and said, let's go out to eat at the Red Rooster.

Life is good!

Wordless Wednesday

Rainy Weekend Up North

There was a gorgeous moon last night!

We went to eat at Players, and ordered the special of the day, which was Polish sausage with kraut and tater tots. We added a salad to make it seem more healthy and then each brought half home to eat for our lunch today.

Today it started to rain and never stopped, so Bruce said it would be a good day to replace the broken water softener. We drove to the Home Depot in Brainerd to get one, and the guy at the register said, did you know that Menards is giving 11% off things today because if you did and you told me, I'd give you 11% off, too. Well, sure! So we received a $50 gift card from Home Depot, which was a pretty nice thing especially since it was unexpected. Bruce installed the new softener and then chipped at the impacted salt in the old softener. Once the salt is out of it, it will be easier to carry up the stairs to get rid of! Then as we waited for the water to regenerate, we watched Burn While Reading and sipped on a beer, mine in a wine glass with ice. Yum!

It will be nice to have soft, clean smelling water again.

And it's so nice to have a handy husband, too.

County Fair

Now I'm re-thinking my need to go to the State Fair this year. Last night we went to the Carver County Fair, and it was so much fun! Smaller than the State Fair, of course, but it had all my favorite things to do and it was so much easier to get in and out of. The animal barns are still the best, and they also had llamas. One came up behind me and blew in my hair. (The girl walking him said, oh excuse us.) They had all the usual Fair type food (we had gyros, corn on the cob, fries, lemonade) plus buildings like  the 4H and agriculture. We didn't go on any rides, but just soaked in the whole atmosphere. Pretty cool!

Wordless Wednesday

Finally Summer

It's the beginning of August and people are already talking like summer is over. I prefer to think that it's only August and we have at least another month of summer to enjoy. We've been up north to fish a little and enjoy beautiful skies. We've grilled veggies and fried fish and gone out for ice cream.  We've sat on the patio, sipping Sangria and Mojitos. I think we still need to take a walk around Lake Harriet, and, of course, go to the State Fair, but it's still August and there is time! It's all in the attitude.