Saturday, July 19, 2025

118

My 2 younger children and DSIL arrived yesterday. We went out to dinner at a place I hadn't been to previously and the food was quite good. I thought I had made a reservation but it turned out that I made it for tonight not last night by mistake. Luckily they could fit us in. We had a fire in the pit out back afterwards but I was falling asleep in my chair by 10:30. I am still not fully on US East Coast time.

We are going to a somewhat well-known restaurant/bar on the beach called the Beachcomber today. DH likes to have t-shirts from there and his current one is falling apart. DD has never been there and requested specifically that we go. Because it is a popular spot and way off the beaten path you have to go early and often have to park at a remote lot and take a shuttle bus. Seems like a lot of effort to me but it's the thing to do around here. Tonight we are having lobster at the house and probably another fire. Hopefully I can stay awake longer. I did sleep more or less until 5 am which was better than the prior nights.

Have a sultry Saturday!

121.9 yesterday and 123.4 today! Still below my low range so all is good but I never like to see a gain!

Didn't make it here yesterday! Busy day! DH and I took a Pickleball lesson to see if we might like it. I am so very uncoordinated when it comes to sports of any kind! I think we will pass for now and maybe give it a try again in FL.

After lunch we took our DH walk. I made a yummy dinner of grilled salmon and veggies and then our good friends came over for patio sitting, a few drinks and snacks and hot tubbing. Fun night. These friends have (cheap) Pickleball equipment for 4 so we discussed just goofing around at the courts in our neighborhood park. No competition, just fun. That's what we want out of it anyway!

Today we have a birthday party for a 1 year old (couples Bible study members). DC will most likely come over for dinner. A nap may be in order. Later night than usual for us but not much later than Liz had.

Enjoy the lobster dinner Liz! And more importantly enjoy the time with your kids! We have crab legs in the freezer that I might have to make this next week!

Pickleball is all the rage in Florida especially. I have arthritic knees which I would prefer not to have to replace so I am not interested in playing. My PT for my shoulder told me that the most sports injuries they have are due to pickleball. It isn't as low impact as it seems.

Now I'm curious about this restaurant that sounds more like a pilgrimage than a dinner out! Fire sounds nice. Its still overcast here, and damp, but maybe we can have one tonight.

Paula your evening with friends sounds just about perfect.

Adopted nephew is closing in on a condo. An offer was made yesterday. I would suspect a counter offer will come, although if they did accept his initial offer, he'd be getting a good deal.

We're going to head off to the rally in a little bit. I'm not sure what to expect. Years ago I went to a candle lit vigil in my city after that horrific school shooting in Florida. I went mostly to mourn, not to protest. There was a decent turn out on a cold February night, so maybe this will be too. Although a Saturday in July is a precious thing and people may already have other plans.

After the rally, not sure what we will be up to. There is no shortage of household tasks I want to tackle. The other day I sorted through the pantry, and everything I knew I wouldn't use, I put in a box on the table. BFF tends to leave food she's purchased in our freezer, fridge and pantry. There's also stuff I bought, or DH bought that we changed our mind about. I told everyone to look through it, and put it back in the pantry if they planned on eating it, and what was left over I would donate. Just about everything went back in, but now BFF is reminded that stuff is there. If it's still there when this visit is done, I'm tossing it. I will do the same with condiments this weekend. There are 3 million bottles of salad dressing. 2 of them are mine. DH never wants to use the last inch of anything in a bottle, but he'll open a new one and not throw away the other one. Presumably because I will use that last inch? This scenario needs to be repeated in the freezer too. Than onto linen closets, drawers in buffets, and bathrooms... Everything that gets tossed feels great, and its such a pleasure to have some space for the things we actually use.

Wow, you are energized! I did so much culling last year when I sold my cape house that I don't have the mental energy to do it. I have noticed that some junk is creeping back in here in some spots such as the basement which was spic and span last year. I don't understand why 10 beach bags are needed and why they have to be thrown here, there and everywhere. And the quantity of junk food like chips and candy is appalling. Kind of weird since both daughters are trying to lose weight. The grandson doesn't eat that stuff because he lost a lot of weight a couple of years ago so that just leaves the granddaughter who probably could benefit from a smaller selection of junk food. She is 13 and approximately 50+ pounds overweight.

I'm sloooowwwly planting flowers in a bed by one of the patios. They may be eating by the tremendous number of deer we have here, but I feel like it's worth a try. The sprinklers just came on so a good excuse to take my 10th break of the day. Plus bending over gives me heartburn. I have 8 one-gallon pots in the ground. 29 to go. At least Michigan dirt is soft! I went with things I hope the deer won't like (though they seem to destroy a plant to come to the conclusion they don't like it). Kirby is stealing all the empty pots and plant tags. So helpful!

Tonight we're going to a smash burger place for dinner with neighbors.

It's humid with storms maybe coming and it's brought out the biting flies. Argh! I think I'll go get 3 more plants in and take another break.

I always just hand the dogs the empty plant containers. They find them a joy. AND... it keeps them occupied and out of my hair while I am digging and planting. Win, win in my book. When I'm all done planting I clean up the pots and tags as part of the general planting mess.

He loves the crinkly plastic noises they make! And taking something he thinks is valuable to me in some way is a huge part of the fun.

Stinker dog!

It's the rabbits that destroy my flowers. Luckily they don't seem to like impatients. But they are deadly for any perennials I'm trying to coax into living in the shade. As soon as the little green shoots poke through in the spring, they're nibbling them to the ground.