Birthday

I had a lovely birthday this year! I felt love from friends and family, and there's nothing better than that.

Book Club actually ended up here on my birthday, too. All I had to do was provide wine coolers and lemonade, and they (Mona, Cathy, Kat) brought everything else ... wow, did they bring everything else. 😂

I was still so full in the evening, that we decided to just pick up some pizza from Detello's and eat it on the porch with a glass of wine. But the blueberry icebox cake had to wait for another time.

Bruce gave me (us) a membership to the Minnesota Arboretum plus a couple of decks of cards with hummingbirds and raptors on them from the Arboretum. Katie sent me a book of poems by Mary Oliver. Birthday greetings from both of my boys, and I had Happy Birthday sung to me from five different people, including Mom. 💖

I don't really feel 60.

Slow-Cooker Borscht

Leroy and Elizabeth gifted us with veggies from their yard ... some beets, a zucchini, and an eggplant!

Always ready to take on a new cooking adventure, I decided to try to make Borscht. And if it could be made in my slow-cooker, all the better. I've never worked with raw beets from the garden before, frankly they kind of intimidate me, but this recipe looked easy enough, and all I had to do was peel them and cut them in half. Same with the potatoes and onion. Add some broth and tomato paste and let it cook all day on low.

My hands did get a little stained from peeling the beets, but then washed off with cool water. Maybe that was the part that was so intimidating! Later on after things were cooked nice and soft, I used my immersion blender for awhile, leaving things a little chunky. Spices and shredded cabbage were added next and then allowed to cook some more. And, oh, the dill weed makes it taste so good! We'll add a good plop of sour cream to the bowl right before eating ...

Now, what am I going to do with that eggplant?

One Last Day

Katers flew back to Maryland last evening, but not before we had one last day of fun.

We decided to take a lunch to the Minnesota Arboretum, and then stop by Grandma Gloria's bench, which is close to the sculpture garden, and overlooking the new Chinese garden. The Three Mile Drive took us most of the way, which we decided was the best thing to do because we didn't have much time before we had to leave for the airport.

The weather was absolutely perfect with cool breezes and blue skies, and our sandwiches and lemonade from the CoOp tasted pretty darn good.

We explored their latest seasonal exhibit, the YouBetcha Willow structure, goofed around some in the gift shop (do we look okay in large hats?), took a few selfies, and admired all the flowers and shrubs. I especially liked the 'Blazin Rose' Bloodleaf, and wondered if it might look good somewhere in our own yard. Maybe we should get an Arboretum membership ...

When we got back, Katie managed to get Koshka stuffed into her cat carrier, and then thought to tuck a tee shirt of Bruce's over the top and a little bit over the sides, hopefully to help her stay more calm during the flight home. I guess it worked, so that's an idea we'll need to remember for the future.

Katie's back home now with Avi, and I'm already missing her. Next time we see each other might not be until after baby is born!

Shower

First of all, I'm going to be a grandma, and baby is due on Thanksgiving! 👶💕

Katie and Avie wanted to wait awhile before making a public announcement, so we had to be patient before telling anyone the exciting news. And that was kind of hard, but it's good to be able to keep a secret sometimes.

And, we don't know if baby will be a girl or boy yet, either ... well, Katie does, but that also won't be revealed just quite yet. So, our sweet, little shower was a bit old fashioned with no gift registry and no emphases on boy or girl gifts. People could pick out what ever they wanted!

Debbie helped me co-host, but she always ends up doing pretty much everything. She brought fruit pizza, veggie cream cheese pizza, and cucumber cream cheese tea sandwiches. Bruce made chicken salad, I made deviled eggs, and Katie made angel food cup cakes with cool whip and fresh berries on top. The food table looked really pretty, and we let people eat before playing games and opening gifts. I think everyone liked that. 😊

It's so fun to have people over.

Katie invited some old friends, I invited some old friends, and I think she felt loved by them all. I feel grateful to have so many loving people in our lives.

A new baby. 💕 I can hardly wait.