In My World

By the time this post goes live, I will be at the lake, and working on the first of my summer series of Postcards at the Lake. But before I start those, I thought I'd give you a mini update on life as we left it! (That orchid is now bloomless.)

 

We've had some fun time with friends, including a wonderful chicken dinner at their home; then more chicken at Rick's a week or so later! When we were at Mark and Jan's, they made a beer can chicken but in this kind of cool pan I'd never seen before. So moist and flavorful and no can required!

 

I haven't seen as much local theater as I'd hoped but I did catch a most delightful production by our university's free summer theatre called "Pride@Prejudice," a very fun version of the classic in which five actors played countless parts, often changing character within seconds. They were fabulous!

 

I did earlier posts on our trip to Stratford where we saw two magnificent musicals, then to the Emmy Awards with our friends and finally a recent Cork Poppers. It sounds like we just do stuff like this all the time, doesn't it? But we don't! And believe me, this was over three or four weeks. 

On the home front, Rick has been going through a world of hurt with his house. Water issues mean that part (hopefully not all) of a wall is coming down and then rebuilt with new wood to replace the rotted part. (The other side of the wall is a bedroom closet and that's the door you see.)

 

When they pulled off the drywall, the wood was so rotty that he could pull out the nails by hand -- and they were so rusted, they were bent.

 

It will also mean work outside, reinforcing the roof overhang. When that's done, drywall, painting, and floor repair. 

 

Meanwhile, at my house down the street, I had weeders come in to tackle the overgrowth in the front yard. I wish I had taken "before" pix, but the "after" looked great. You could actually see spaces between the day lilies and the ground! (That pile of green on the right is the sweet pea, Audrey Two. She looks flat now; give her a week or so and she'll be taller and filled with pink blossoms!)

 

And, there is finally room for the berries to breathe with the traveling sweet peas pulled out -- at least for now. (Not that I expect berries anymore this year, but at least it looks better.)

 

Most of these plants are now in their new summer home at the lake. The car trunk was a tad full! 

 

RIck has been on two bike hikes. The first took him to Ohio and Indiana for a weekend ride. Then it was off to the lake over six days and five nights.

 

As he took off, he passed by the truck with the workers getting started on the wall problem. Probably glad to be out of it! 

 

Finally, the night before I left for the lake, I had one last dinner at Coral Gables, an old favorite restaurant that is going out of business after decades. Well, I didn't have it AT the restaurant -- I couldn't have got in if I tried, it was so packed. But I picked up two of my favorite things -- the Caesar salad and a mini-pizza to take home.

 I had lots of good memories of the Gables, dating back to age nine when we had a college student living with my family. He spent practically every Friday and Saturday night at the Rathskellar, where good bands performed and the beer was plentiful. Years later, my family went there after the funeral of my dad, sharing many memories. Most recently, it was the first place our WKAR retiree group met when we were still very small and intimate.

I saw Notre Dame burn on its oversized screen in the bar. One that usually was tuned to some sports event held shock diners who were riveted by the tragedy.

 It has been the spot of many lunches and dinners with friends, the 90th birthday party of my dad's last living relative, his cousin Marie. It will be sorely missed by many of us for its good but fairly priced food and warm friendly service. 

As I said at the beginning, I am now at the cottage! When I drove up, it did not look like this! The grass was knee high and my first shopping job was to head to Lowes to get a lawn mower! (I also have a scythe for round one of cutting it down to size. 

 

It may be a bit before I get out the watercolors!

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