sunburns for St Patrick's Day

Hello everyone!I had a really fun weekend with Sara & Jeremy in town for a visit. When I got home from work Friday it was a fantastically beautiful day out. We hung out in the back yard for a bit before heading over to Elaine’s house. We sat on her front porch with Elaine & John soaking up the last of the sun before it dropped below the trees. We had one of Elaine’s delicious calzones for dinner. We started playing Shanghai Rummy but after a few round the game began disintegrating. Sara and Jeremy were beat after their long drive down so they walked back to my house to get some sleep while I stayed. Elaine and John and I headed into the basement where we played ping pong until calling it a night around midnight and going home.

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day. We spent the as much time as possible sitting outside in the sun. I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday and talk for awhile. After getting something to eat Jeremy and I drove to the store to pick up a rat trap. It seems we have a little creature living in the small roof above our stoop. We’re guessing it’s a squirrel but I don’t know since I haven’t actually seen it. We can hear it scratching in the roof and it’s making a tremendous mess of shredded paper and leaves and other debris sifting down. After the hardware store we stopped at another store so Jeremy could buy some shorts and flip flops as he was totally unprepared for the exceptionally warm weather. Back at the house we set up the trap in a box with a hole cut in it, not wanting to accidentally get any of the many outdoor cats in the neighborhood. Camille joined us in the sunshine and we talked and drank beers, marveling at the fact that it was 70 degrees on St Patrick’s Day. Sara would end up slightly pink from the sun!

Later in the afternoon it began clouding it up but remained very mild. We went up to Mt Tabor Park and walked around the upper reservoir then headed down to Hawthorne Ave. We stopped at Pastaworks to buy some fresh pasta for dinner that night. We went Elaine and Gina’s house where Elaine was already grilling vegetables for dinner. She would grill onions, eggplant, asparugus and green, red and yellow bell peppers. Camille and John came over too and we all hung out on the porch drinking beers and talking. The last thing on the grill was two huge flank steaks then dinner was served. It was a phenomenal meal with the fresh pasta, a huge Caesar salad and delicious red wine. After dinner we cleaned up and after hanging out for a bit (John and I got another round of ping pong in) we all piled into cars and drove down to the Goodfoot Lounge.

Our friend Lincoln’s bluegrass band, Cross-Eyed Rosie was playing and their shows are always a great time. Melissa and some other friends were already there. We ordered beers and talked and listened to the opening band, who ironically enough were from Bellingham, where my sister lives. When Cross-Eyed Rosie played I danced and took photos. They are such a fun band to see live! We left late and I slept like a champ.

Sunday I woke up and showered. We made some food and hung out. Sara and Jeremy were itching to go out while I was feeling very tired from a long week. I gave them some basic directions and they headed off to Hawthorne Ave to explore while I stayed home and watched Netflix and read my book. When they got back we all watched a movie together and ate a dinner of snacks: hummus, tzatziki, nuts and cheese and salsa. We headed over to Elaine’s porch where we hung out drinking beers and talking until bedtime called.

So that was my weekend! I had a great time with Jeremy and Sara and the warm, warm sunshine! Please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to!

xoxox,
carolyn