It's alligator!

It had been another long week for both of us; early mornings at the gym before work, a long day and then home only to repeat again the next day. But it was 5 pm on Friday and I wanted to get hold of my sweetheart and see what the plan was.

He wasn't answering his work phone but after several tries I got hold of him on his cell as I was just leaving work,

"when do you think you will be able to pull yourself away?"

Well to my surprise he had left work already and was in the checkout at Coop ...

"just picking up some vegetables. I'll meet you at home"

As he often does, my guy was preparing a special evening for the two of us. By the time I got home, his beer was chillin and my martini glass was in the freezer - the martini in the fridge getting nice and cool.

What a nice reception.....

A perfect evening to sit out on the deck.

Nice vegys!

But what is this meat??

Alligator and sausage!

I have never tried alligator - just taken pictures of them. David picked it up at Summit meats on Central. What fun!

We relaxed on the deck, enjoying the warm weather. As David BBQ'd I took up my E 30 and did a walkabout the garden.

...the tiger lillies are running three weeks late.

Heliopsis will be full of yellow blooms soon...

Bleeding hearts are almost finished...

...the hosta's are incredible this year

The lilacs are late but I am enjoying the aroma

Can you see this mama sitting on her eggs? She made her nest in the tall cedar bush next to our house a few weeks ago and we have been keeping a close eye on her. I am sure she is regretting her choice of real estate.

Daisy's from ken - thanks Ken.

What a wonderful, relaxing Friday evening and the perfect end to a long week. God is good!

Alligator BTW tastes similar to pork or chicken. We likely won't buy it again - because pork and chicken are much less expensive. But it was fun t0 try it.

And here are a few picks from our sat am bike ride....

.... when I see a hot tub fly....

I guess moving a hot tub is an expensive proposition.

Relaxing weekend - loving the sun and weather.

Hope you have had a great weekend too. Aren't they just too short?

Saturday's To Do list

1. Weed the front garden

This is a "Winged Weeder", the best little garden tool I have ever owned. Bought it at the local spring garden show and I am going to buy the larger size as well. This tool just skims through your garden slicing off those weeds at the roots in no time. It still worked as well today as the day I bought it four years ago. Love it. So at 7:30 this morning I was out there doing the front garden...just in case Angie wonders by. hehe (see comments on last post)

2. Sat am bike ride with my sweetheart (and a coffee and biscuit too). This is our Saturday morning tradition and we haven't been able to do this for a few weeks.

3. Check the repair on the linoleum in laundry room and put felt under the dryer legs. Balance the dryer while dh runs to the office for notes for meeting this am.

4. DH returns from office and together we return the leftover boxes of maple hardwood for refund and .....pay the bill. 'Think of the points dear, think of the points' my dh continually reminds me.


5. Return the U-Haul trailer before we get dinged another day

rabbit trail.....We have been in Brandon MB at Marks graduation for the past three days and brought home all his furniture and belongings with us in a U-Haul (are we good parents or what?!) The Mazda and U-Haul were parked in the back of the Brandon hotel. Thursday night we discover that someone has spray painted the side of the U-Haul bright blue. Oh great - and I declined the insurance - so a $700.00 deductible on any damage. sigh. (should have taken a picture) David and I get up at the crack of dawn Friday morning (that is 7am actually)- head to Tim's for coffee and breakfast and then the home hardware store next door to the hotel. We spend $30 on graffiti cleaner, rags, rubber gloves and such, in hopes of saving $700. The stuff worked - it came off - ALL of it! phew!! And phew again - that stuff smelled! Now it is time to pack up, head over to Mark's place and start hauling stuff and furniture out of the basement apartment. And were off on the 6 hr drive home to unload it all into the garage last night ....like I said are we good parents or what?! I think Mark appreciates it though. ....end of rabbit trail... more firefighting pictures to come. What a handsome dude - nice guy, available to the right gal...I digress.
...back to this morning Sat..... the U-Haul gets returned - $10.00 less then we expected. Glad to have that emptied and safely returned san graffiti.

It is now almost 10 am. On schedule - way to go! The day is flying by but the "to do" list is shrinking. YEAH!!

6. The front of the Mazda looks gross - clean it up. I should have taken a picture first - how many bugs are there between here and Brandon? Cazillions! And they are stuck like glue to the front of my car. ..heated up and melted on there.

7. Tackle the back yard weeds - ALL of them - wear sun screen! Much larger garden then the front. David is off to a meeting (volunteer stuff) It is hot out there. DH arrives later (didn't volunteer for anything and kept his mouth shut - the meeting was short - good job dear!) and we are done by 12:30. Working fast to get out of the heat.

8. Eat something before you faint. And so here I sit with my salmon and cucumber sandwich - actually it is now gone and so is the Classens pickle - should have taken a picture of that too! haha

9. Paint the front hall - last room to paint. DH to run out and get semi-gloss for the two metal doors.

10. You may now scrapbook or check your google Reader if it is not 10 pm at night. Have a beer - you deserve it!

That is the adgenda for the day and I plan to complete it all and sleep well tonight.

An IKEA delivery (due in 1 week) (so, so, so excited) and the reno's will be complete. A few 8X10 black photo frames needed to complete the front hall and some art for two walls on the fam room - also looking for a very funky and different floor lamp - any suggestion on where to look?

Hope you day is warm and full of blessing and you too get to cross lots of stuff off your "to do" list.