Life: It Goes On - June 10

Oh my good lord, I hope it's not as hot where you are as it is here! I am avoiding the great outdoors as much as I possibly can the past few days except when the evenings are finally cool enough to spend some time on the patio. Or when we are at an outdoor wedding, as we were last evening. There was not a person there who was not sweating and/or waving a paper plate fan. About this time every year, I start to think "winter's not so bad; at least you can always add on more layers." Slap me if you hear me say that! I can never get warm in winter and I hate the short days!

Last Week I:

Listened To: I finished Heading Out To Wonderful (review next week) and started Special Topics In Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Like her book Night Film (my review), I suspect Pessl has loaded this book up with bonus materials: footnotes, images, etc. But I'm listening, not looking, and I'm starting to feel like I'm missing out on some of what makes the book interesting.

Watched: I finished season one of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, we watched an episode of Westworld (we may finally finish season one so we can move into the current season), and we watched a fair amount of the NBA finals. We don't watch a lot of NBA basketball so I don't know what fans think of having the same two teams play in the finals four years in a row; but I can't help but think it's not helping the game.

Read: I made quick work of a book about the Nebraska volleyball program, written by the coach, which I enjoyed (review this week) and I'm now reading Wiley Cash's latest, The Last Ballad. Having read Cash's first two books and the setting of this book, I have a feeling my heart will be broken before it's finished. I also finally finished Eats, Shoots and Leaves off my nightstand (review this week)!

Made: Not much. Pasta, salads, chicken salad made from a roasted chicken The Big Guy picked up at Costco. This week it's been all about quick food and as little use of the oven as possible.

The backdrop of the arch is hundreds of paper cranes and
they were also found in bowls on the tables and larger
cranes were given as favors. So neat!

Enjoyed: Watching a dear friend of the family get married. His parents live across the street from my parents and we consider them all family. The wedding was in his parents' back yard and their patio is big enough to have room for tables for dinner and a dance floor. It was great fun, even if we had to keep hugs to a minimum!

Also, bringing my dad home from the rehab facility on Thursday, two weeks after he had major back surgery. He is so happy to be home at last!

This Week I’m: 

Planning: BG bought a chain saw yesterday and will be cutting down a big pine tree in our back yard this week. It's going to leave a big area that will need to be filled in so I'm planning on what plants will be moved or brought to fill that area in, the possibility of making it a bird friendly zone, and, since we will be burying our kitty there (he loved to spend hours lounging under that tree where he could see all that was going on in the yard), some way to memorialize him there. Yep, I'm definitely much more affected by this cat's passing that I could possibly have expected to be.

Thinking About: How much yard work I should be doing and how much I don't want to go outside to do it.

Feeling: Sad to have missed a party with friends last night and a baby shower for my niece this morning but the wedding was scheduled first and had to be a priority.

Looking forward to: Dinner with a former coworker one evening and lunch with my best friend from my teen years on another day.

Question of the week: Do you have a bird bath in your yard? If so, is it more of a pain than it's worth, what with the constantly needing to keep it filled and the birds pooping all around it?