Saturday morning, one of my favorite times of the week, reflecting on the fun things to do this weekend and thinking back over last week.

I was a minute or two early to work on Friday, beating Meredith. yay! worked on P&P some, don't really know what else. Lots of calls and people coming by. A young computer guy looked at what we have briefly and said he would call his connection at Dell to see if he can get us new computers within our budget. A petite man named Andy came to look at the dishwasher and see about connecting it. I could not find the specs/instructions that came with it. Of course it's been several months, but I was pretty annoyed. One of the board members who's a CPA called about the budget, now that tax season is over. So we will be having a meeting of the Finance Committee early next week.

At lunchtime, I walked to the Bottleworks, had lunch and walked back. It took a little over an hour, but I enjoyed it. The lunch was a little disappointing, though. The Pad Thai wasn't as good as I remembered.

After work, Ray and I went to the Ribbon Cutting for a house that ALT built in Forest Heights. To avoid having a lot of cars parking on the street, we parked at the church and they ran a shuttle bus. There were still a lot of people who parked on the street. It is a beautiful wonderful house, worthy of Dwell (magazine)! It is a "green" house with Earthcraft certification for a mother and 3 children. Lots of energy efficient features--2 x 6 wall framing, lots of insulation, downstairs floors cement, beautiful landscaping, but very small--3 bedrooms, 2 baths, small kitchen and open living-dining area...carport, deck. The Land Trust owns the land, she gets a mortgage for the house--under $100,000.

For supper, frozen tomato sauce that Vanessa made last summer with pasta. Ray took a nap. Captain was working outside until after Vanessa and I ate, setting out peppers and eggplants. Ray got up in time and ate. The three of us headed to Town & Gown to see Picasso at the Lapin Agile, but Captain said he didn't feel well, mostly from trying to hurry and be ready to go.

We enjoyed it, excellent acting, funny and a little peculiar. Vanessa said we should get the book and read it, because you have to really pay attention to catch everything. She and I both dozed a little. Just one act, but a little long. That's what happens when we sit down and relax. But we were home before 10, in time to watch a little TV before bed while we ate our ice cream.

Yiippee! Amelia is coming to France with us. That will be wonderful.

Yesterday Ray and I played racquetball--I won the second game 14-12, thanks to skillful playing on Ray's part. I was at work before 10, but really wasn't into it. Hard to concentrate on those policies and procedures. Went to the bank and HED. Thursday is the day that Ray has to stay until 4:30 (due to Journal Club), and it seemed like forever to me. We were home by 5. The Captain was in the garden, setting out peppers and eggplants and bemoaning their health. He watered thoroughly. No rain in sight. Supper was good. Amelia called before I went to bed to say she was looking at flights. She had been whining at work about how much she wanted to do this, but couldn't really afford it, and others had told her she should do it.

Now to find where to stay in Toulouse.

I had a good day at work. I was actually there before Meredith yesterday. Sunny and warm again. Starting to worry a little about the garden not getting enough rain, although the rivers are full now. M. has hired a new person to replace the one she fired and we are looking forward to her starting in 2 weeks. That gives us a little time to make sure we know exactly what we want the position to look like, what our personnel policies should be, and what kind of training/orientation she should have. That's a lot in 2 weeks. I continue to be grateful that she has to decide everything, and yet I very much appreciate being included in the conversation. Spent a little time talking with K. about the policies and procedures for the shelter.

I had a nice lunch with Becky and Janna. Becky is leaving today for a cruise in the Mediterranean with her aunt and uncle and their friends from England. Sounds great. I can't wait to hear about it. We realized we were old. We talked about our upcoming travels, our children, our doctors and dentists. I took Janna back to her office, so I was gone about an hour and a half. That's the beauty of being paid on an hourly basis. I don't have to feel bad being gone--on the other hand I don't get paid if I'm not in the office! (Of course, I'm the one who processes payroll...fortunately, I'm excruciatingly honest).

Ray and I were home by four. Cathie and Ryan were cleaning our bathrooms. She did the stairs, too. She will come every other Wednesday. It is wonderful!

Unfortunately, something I had for lunch did not agree with me and I was pretty uncomfortable for the rest of the afternoon and evening, keeping me from doing much. The garden looks good. We went to potluck but I didn't feel much like eating or socializing. I did enjoy choir rehearsal, though. And by the time I went to bed, I was pretty much over it.

Another sunny and warm day yesterday, high of 81.

On Tuesdays, my Mom goes to yoga at the Council on Aging, about 5 minutes from my office. I usually take her, drop Ray off and then go to work. She has to be there at 8, which is pretty early for her to get somewhere. I usually make oatmeal on Tuesday mornings for the two of us (or 3, leaving some for my Dad to have when he gets up). Ray doesn't like oatmeal and has yogurt almost every morning. Yesterday I made the oatmeal, took the dogs out, got the newspaper, came back and ate breakfast. My Mom eats really slowly. Usually at dinner, I stay at the table until she is done. But not at breakfast. I was upstairs, getting my clothes, when I heard some bizarre stomping--like my father was pretending to be an elephant--running. Then there was a crash and breaking dishes. I ran downstairs and found my mother sitting on the floor in the kitchen. "Are you okay? What happened?" "I'm fun, I just stumbled. I was coughing and got a little dizzy." She was carrying the dishes to the sink and almost made it. She sat there for a minute and we cleaned up the broken bowl and cup. Ray wiped the floor. She has a terrible bruise on the end of her finger, where it was holding onto the cup, we think. I was very frightened, but it is really nothing. I was trying to tell her that if something like that happens, she should not ignore it and try to soldier on, but just sit down and let the dishes go. Hard to tell yourself, though. She insisted she was fine and went to yoga as usual. We were a little late, though.  Ray and I actually went to the Ramsey Center after we dropped her off and played a couple short games of racquetball. I was at work about 9:40, a little later than I intended, since there is a staff meeting every Tuesday at 9:30. I worked for a while, then I went to lunch and met Ray at Cozy Yum Yum. It was in a basement downstairs and a little grungy. The food was good, but I like the Thai restaurant at the Bottleworks better. Then I went to a training from 2-4:30 about communication. It was pretty good. The most surprising thing I learned is that you don't need a brochure. It's too vague. You should have materials for various target audiences--consumers, donors, volunteers, but they might not be brochures.

I was at Ray's office at 4:45. I knew he was listening to a thesis defense. It was hot; I rolled the windows down and listened to the news on NPR. There was nothing  he could do; you can't get up and leave when you are on someone's thesis committee and they are defending, not even long enough to call and tell me they were running late. It was 5:40 when he came out and we drove home. We had drink and snack and started supper. Jaron, the Americorps volunteer at the Shelter, and his girlfriend Amanda, who is a law student, came to see the house and garden and meet the dogs. I showed them all around. They will stay here while we are in France. She was so grateful. She said, "you don't even know me." I said, "I know Jaron." She will be doing some writing for the law school (write on) after classes get out and thinks this will be a great place to do it. I am glad to have someone in the house. They will take care of the dogs, maybe water the garden some, and harvest some of the produce. My Dad showed them some of the same things I did, like how to feed the dogs, but they never said, "Patty already told us." She has been to France, speaks French, Spanish and Malagasy. I didn't even know what that was. It's the language of Madagascar, where she was a Peace Corps volunteer.

Then we ate, watched TV, and went to bed.

Beautiful day yesterday, good day at work. M. and I on same page re future employee benefits. CARE's leave policy is 20 days a year! They also allow you to take paid sick leave whenever you are sick. hmm. I didn't think that would work, because it seems like it would encourage abuse, but maybe it encourages honesty...I certainly like people staying home when they are sick and not calling in when they feel like they have to use all their sick leave. Did payroll, finished the reimbursement requests, bought stamps, worked on P&P. I also opened an IRA at the credit union. The CD gets 3% interest! and lowers the amount of taxes we have to pay.

Spent some time in the yard, planting things and checking everything out. We are going to have about 100 strawberries already! We froze a cup of asparagus, because we went out to dinner. Harry's Pig Shop has lots of different pork recipes, including pork wontons, that we had for appetizer. They weren't my favorite, basically just ground pork. I guess I like veggies in my egg rolls. Captain had pork barbecue ("pulled pork"), Vanessa had a BLT on a croissant (it was delicious), Ray had a chicken salad plate (with bacon), I had baked beans and potato salad, which also had bacon and was really good.

Captain and Vanessa went to play bridge. Ray and I were outside for a while until the sun set, then finished our taxes and watched some TV. We're all excited about going to France.

Yesterday was lovely. I need to do more outside work, because the least little amount of digging or whatever makes me tired and sore.

Ray and I had a nice walk with Cameron. Breakfast was pancakes made with sour milk--half whole wheat flour. They were great. I had a nice bath and we went to church. Second Sundays are the only ones that I am not singing in the choir and Ray does not have an assignment either (greeting, sound, RE), so we can sit together, which is kind of nice. People often comment about how romantic we are. In church?

For lunch, we met Captain and Vanessa at a restaurant downtown. I have a coupon book that expires 4/15, so am trying to use a few of the coupons before then. We decided on Cozy Yum Yum, a Thai restaurant we have never tried. On our way, my Dad called on the cell phone and said he had dropped Vanessa off and was looking for a parking spot. When we got there, she was standing on the sidewalk. They were closed for Thai New Year! We put her in the car and called the Captain to tell him. He had turned his cell phone off and left it in the car. Ray dropped us off and went to look for him. Naturally he was a little upset, but he got over it. We had lunch at Doc Chey's Noodle House instead. It was good and interesting, but really big and noisy. Then I went to the library and got some books about France! Ray picked up Janna and brought her back to our house. Usually at least once a year, in the spring, she comes to sit on our porch and admire the garden and the peace and quiet. Another good thing that happened at church--I asked J, our Americorps participant, if he and his girlfriend (a law student) would like to spend a couple weeks house-sitting. They seemed very interested, so that is a relief.

Janna and I had a lovely chat in the sun and then Ron came to get her. I planted a few things, but there is more to be done. Couldn't really decide what to have for supper--ate some leftover quiche, Ray mashed some potatoes, and that seemed to be enough. Watched a recording of the Vicar of Dibley--funny and quirky, sort of like Monty Python humor.

It's hard to believe it's only been a week since Easter. My memory apparently relegates anything that far away to history. It is definitely spring now.

Yesterday was Barbara Ruff's memorial service. She was a friend and colleague of Ray's who died in October after her ovarian cancer came back. Her three sons and many grandchildren were obviously devastated at her loss, even though she was 75. I did not think of her as old. She was beautiful and serene, with gray hair and a lovely smile; someone I liked but never got around to inviting for dinner or getting to know her better. The service was at the botanical garden in the spring, because she loved plants and animals, gardening and walking. There was not a minister or any singing, only reminiscences by friends and relatives, and I learned about her life.

Her brother, Moose--a nickname she gave him--said the defining event of their lives, which made them very close, was the sudden death of their father when she was 6 and he was 9. (heart attack?) He was a lawyer in New York. Their mother was not working and had never worked. Relatives decided they should go to a Catholic boarding school in Buffalo (?) while she became employable and employed, which apparently took about 6 years. They were free spirits and the discipline was very strict. He told about putting a frog in the holy water when a bishop was visiting, for instance. The education was excellent, apparently, and stood her in good stead all her life. She went to Bryn Mawr and was somewhat wild, smoking and being the belle of the ball at parties. She won a Charleston contest, for instance. Her marriage was not referred to, but apparently her husband was an alcoholic and she suffered greatly, finally getting divorced. She loved her children and grandchildren deeply and spent a lot of time with them, including summer visits to Blue Mountain Lake in upstate New York. There was a slide show and their life together seemed wonderful. She even had a trip to the Galapagos. They all mentioned her love of animals and gardening, including a favorite pet rabbit (as an adult), and even road kill in the freezer. She was a paleo-archeologist, but worked at the natural history museum on campus and teaching geology. Anyway, it made me cry a lot. I need people like that in my life--how will I find them?

On the way out, we saw a car with plants in it and realized today was the day of the Botanical Garden Plant Sale. So we turned around and bought some plants, a fitting tribute and antidote to the sadness. Dianthus, rudbeckia and several other flowering plants, mostly natives. Many of the plants I have in my yard came from the botanical garden. I don't feel bad spending too much money there because it goes to a good cause, even if I manage to kill the plants.

After lunch, Ray and I spent a couple hours outside. First, we planted the two fruit trees we bought Friday--a granny smith and an Elberta peach tree. The planting didn't take long, because Ray had already dug the holes. But we also had to fence them to keep the deer from eating them. Now we have 2 peach and 3 apple trees, as well as 3 pecans,  6 blueberries and 10 strawberry plants. The blueberries and strawberries look great, like we will actually harvest something this year. I am excited! The fruit trees were always a long shot. Apparently, it is very hard to raise tree fruits without pesticides. If I don't get any fruit from them, I will enjoy watching them grow. The pecans take about 10 years to produce, if then.

Then we wandered out back to look at the things we planted there last year. There is a dogwood that blooms this time of year. Maybe we should put a bench under it some time. It is beautiful. Yesterday was the kind of weather where it is warm in the sun and cool in the shade, so you can always find a place to be comfortable. We found all but one of the plants from last year, although the makeshift fences had mostly fallen down. They need work to protect them from the deer. Columbine, calla lily, redbud, viburnum, 3 hydrangeas. I have to look up the things I bought yesterday and decide where and how to plant them.

Then I did it! I booked our tickets to France. OMG, I can't believe it. We are going to France again, for almost 2 weeks. We will see Nathalie and spend a week on a canal boat. We are flying in and out of Toulouse, a city about which I know almost nothing. But we really like the south of France.

After making and eating a delicious spring supper including some asparagus from the garden and the first of the new  lettuce and radishes, I was pretty worn out from my day and couldn't stay awake long.