Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

Dinner with my guy last night to celebrate our anniversary. A quarter century plus one. We decided on a low-key Italian place that we both love. It was a good choice. So was marrying him.

 A bouquet of red roses and a special bottle of pinot for the occasion.

Another good book. I finished Paper Palace last week. I liked it until the end when I reflected on the static characters and the tragedies the novel made light of. Now I'm onto Not a Happy Family and hoping that one of the 20 books I have requested from the library comes in so I can keep this momentum going.

A date to see Hamilton with Lil's last Sunday. It was WOW. Even though I think I was more blown away the first time I saw the show, I got the chills several times during the first number, several times throughout and cried at the end. Lils LOVED it too.

I'm feeling good about my decision to buy season tickets this year. It is such a treat to share my love of theatre with my daughter. It's quality mother daughter time. We love our seats in the side loge. We didn't have to wait for the bathroom at intermission or parking lot traffic after the show because we were able to get right up and out.

Teddy was offered two different summer internships with accounting firms in Chicago this summer. I'm proud of him for all of his hard work and tenacity. He's taking his future very seriously.

Lils is too. She's in the thick of essay writing for college aps. I'm blessed to watch them bloom and fly. 

Yard work after work. Twice this week, we got busy in the yard before dinner. The weather was gorgeous so we did some transplanting and fall clean up.

And it finally feels like fall the past couple days. It's time.

Finn our funny guy. He is entertaining. He's a little chirper, he has serious hops and while he's a little shy with strangers, when he warms up, he's the biggest lover. He likes Lils room. He curls up on her fuzzy blanket or on her furry rug in the sun. He also loves watching Bob, Lils' frog.

Our resident honey...Hazel. Sister likes to talk and to snuggle all night long. She is so minky...fur like silk. Her favorite spot right now is a little cave in the cat condo. She loves to munch on plants and flowers. Her favorite toys are balls and furry mice. She actually plays fetch.

 

And then there's Gus who is as precious as he is precocious. He has more energy than the other two and is constantly on the go. He loves to play with everything and anything all the time. Right now he is into bottle caps. He cannot resist the urge to get on the counters even when threatened with the spray bottle. His favorite spot is on Dad's lap.

 

 

 

Throwbacks to when they were tiny. 

 

 

And one of Ted too with his first furface, Tigger. 

 

 

Finding a little kitchen inspiration this week. This potato leek soup was a definite make again.

About Last Night

Friends came for a spontaneous dinner last night and it was lovely. I live for a good dinner party on any day of the week. It doesn't have to be a Saturday night to set the table, decant the wine, pull together a meal and gather around the table. Stick with me here because I want to share a little secret. There is something satisfying about not having the time to fuss and stress. It's liberating to not let perfect ruin good. In fact, I passed on a last minute grocery run and decided to just make do. Instead of buying a fresh bouquet of flowers, I combined two bunches from last week and discarded the tired stems. It was just right. I made the gnocchi mac and cheese the night before, marinated the chicken in the morning and made a huge salad complete with dressing after work. I even had time to bake a cake. Yep. You read it right. At the last minute, I whipped up an Apple Crumble Cake that may have been the star of the meal and we didn't even miss the ice cream. A single slice was left for me to enjoy with my coffee this rainy morning.

We lingered around the candlelit table smack dab in the middle of the week, Mike and the ladies, until we were all caught up and shored up for the rest of the week.

We sent Sue and O home with leftovers for Pete who couldn't come for dinner. Eliana took a piece of cake to go. We cleaned up the kitchen and were able to catch the end of the news before turning in after a good night. A real good night.

 

Mid October

Last night I finished one book and started another. Monogamy was a quick, compelling read. I was wrapped up in Annie and Graham's artsy, intellectual world. It was pushing midnight, but I was eager to keep the momentum going so I picked up my next book. Now I'm getting to know Elle and Peter, family and friends. It's going to be another page turner and 75 pages in, I like it even more than my last read.

 

I finally turned off the light. I struggled to succumb to sleep. That rarely happens to me so didn't let it work me up and eventually I crashed. I was woken in the dark by my feline trio. Hazel was her snuggly, lady-like self, Gus was jitter bugging all over the bed, and Finn came up announcing himself with a loud and lengthy song of mews. Then the early morning antics started and Mike got up to show them out only to lock them in. It was 6:30. I was awake and thinking about my new protagonists so I decided to get up.

I haven't been up before dawn in quite some time. It felt good. I've been lamenting the shortness of my days and getting up earlier is the best way to make them last longer. After a couple chapters and a coffee, I motivated for a walk. The air was muggy. The saturated sky promised rain. The path was busy with familiar faces and littered with leaves. I get lost in a podcast, but I always notice things and people. Things like the deer grazing on the softball field. The three friends who walk faster than I run. The two friends who were listening to gospel music while they walked. I looped them and on my return they wished me a beautiful day. It's so easy to be kind I thought. Goodwill is not lost on me especially in today's mad mad world. It's important to pay it forward.

I was in the mood for music on my way to work. Hamilton is Sunday so Hamilton it was. I was early for work today and I never got a 3 o'clock slump. I am almost as excited to see it a second time as I was the first. I'm feeling grateful to be able to experience the show with my daughter. Theatre is what I've missed most during the pandemic. Lils has always been my play date. I have zero regrets about buying season tickets because it's something we very much enjoy doing together. It will be good mother/daughter time during her last year at home. A Sunday matinee makes the whole week better.

She was hard at work on college essays last night. She shared her first draft with me a little deflated, but I was quite impressed and that was a confidence boost. After her tour Friday, she's stoked about Madison. Now this really matters to her as it should. I too feel good about her continuing her education there and would love having both my kids in the same city just far enough away for a stretch.

 She had a fun 24 hours with her brother. I thought he might show her the wilder side of campus life. Instead, he treated her to a fancy dinner and even ordered her two desserts. They ended the night with a stroll on State Street. She was in good hands. These two...they are my heart.

 

Grateful Friday

Mike and Lily left for Madison first thing this morning. Lily has the day off so they were able to schedule a last minute tour of the campus. She's spent plenty of time there, but this will be official. Early decision looms. She's getting tired of all the college talk. I'm not going to lie...it will be nice when she is set.

We had conferences yesterday. Virtual. I actually like that better than standing in lines in the high school cafeteria. It's no surprise that she is a teacher favorite. They all gush over what a joy she is to have in class. They all say she is diligent, engaged, thoughtful and kind. And I never tire of hearing it. Her senior seminar teacher is also her golf coach and we may have talked more about the season than the semester. He expressed that he was so proud of her growth and leadership. Apparently during regionals, her iron game was the talk of all the coaches. I shared that with her to lessen the sting of just not making it through to sectionals.

After today's tour, Mike and Lils will meet Ted for lunch. I'm sorry I have to miss it.  Lils plans to spend the night on Ted's comfy couch. I'm sorry I'm not a fly on the wall. They've both been talked to. Tomorrow she'll take the Badger Bus home. This is true training for the hopeful freshman. Next fall we'll be empty nesters. I take issue with this term. My nest will still be aptly full.

This has been a strange week. The trees are starting to turn, but it's been warm and humid. Every day I take the same route along the river to work and it's the closest I can come to time lapse. I see the change. I notice it. It's bittersweet because I would take a year of Octobers. 

Fall rekindled my love of reading. Or maybe that was Sue Miller's Monogamy. So far it's a character novel and I like the characters so it grabbed me outright. I don't think I've read her before, but I'm grateful this book came to me now. All of my library requests came in at once so I'll be able to keep going. I've long been awaiting Paper Palace. It appealed to me as a perfect summer read. I think I'll still enjoy it in fall. Sister is my reading buddy and really queen of our bed. She is almost always in bed when I am. I read not just for myself, but also for her. Everyone should have a Hazel. A Finn and a Gus too.

This weekend is open. So am I. Grateful for whatever it presents. 

 

Weekending

It's Monday. And boy it sure feels like one. I slept for 11 hours last night and I woke up still feeling groggy. It's gray and cool. I don't mind this weather at all, but today it feels heavy. It's just the kind of day I want to be lazy under a pile of cats with a good book. Later.

The weekend was such a good one that I was greedy for one more day. Good in that there was the right mix-up to dos and want tos. I love crossing things off my list almost as much as I love the fun stuff that fills weekends. Getting things done makes happy hour happier.

I was up early Saturday. Like earlier than I get up on work days. I was at the grocery first thing and then I got busy in the kitchen. We were having friends for dinner and I had a few dishes to make. My culinary inspiration has been waning. There's nothing like company for dinner to rev things up. Lily and the kit kats noticed that I also was a mad woman cleaning, pfaffing and rearranging. Never mind that the furniture ended up back in the exact same spots.

We had a great night with Pete and Sue. We love Pete and Sue nights. They are always easy and authentic and fun. Plus the guys always do the dishes while Sue and I have another glass of wine. They came with a beautiful bouquet Sue arranged herself and a squash from their garden. Perfect. We caught up on the last couple weeks and made some plans for both the near and distant future. The meal tasted so good. Mike's ribs were beyond tasty. Unfortunately, I overcooked the skillet brownie, but it was still delicious especially under a scoop of salty sweet butter pecan custard. Now I have to redeem myself.

I was up early again Sunday happy to find a spotless kitchen (see above). When Mike and Lils got up, we headed to the farm for apple picking. I was pleasantly surprised they both agreed to come. My girl has been an apple addict so I knew we needed the 20 pound bag. So many of the trees were sparse already, but we managed to fill our bag to the very brim with several tart, but sweet varietals. We missed picking the Honeycrisps, but we still have Ida Reds and Golden Delicious later this month. We'll be back at least once. I'll need a few more pumpkins for seeds too.

Sunday afternoon we watched the Packer's win and then we put on our new show...Midnight Mass. I'm unhappy there are only 7 episodes. I was in bed by 10:30 and sound asleep by 10:31.

Scenes from the weekend...