Weekend hodge-podge

Sometimes in the heat of a Texas August I wonder why I choose to live in such a boiling hot state. As my bare legs sear themselves with the blaze of my SUV’s leather seats and I finally give up and settle on a ponytail for weeks on end to keep my long hair off my sticky neck, I fantasize about moving to the mountains with their cool nights and everlasting breezes.
But then we have a weekend like this past one, and I’m reminded of why I continue to stay. Because there’s nothing more beautiful than an 80 degree March day.
I spent the entire weekend outside basking in the glorious weather. Friday I joined with a local nonprofit that I serve as a board member for, and 1,300 of us fixed up about 30 houses in our community. I did what I do best… paint. Actually, I also scraped and learned to caulk, and then primed – which is like painting. I got dirty and sunburned, ate TWO hotdogs and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Later that night I got gussied up and went on a double date with dear friends and fellow newlyweds Randy and Lori. Oh, and Mr. Right and I made a slight detour to the bicycle shop to get me a basket for my beloved cruiser. 
I took my bike-and-basket on a test drive Saturday, and as soon as my tushy hits that extra-wide seat I transformed into an 8-year-old version of my self, enjoying the sweet freedom that a bike can bring as the wind blows through my hair. If only Harley the Wonder Schnoodle could fit in that basket.
Saturday we spent the whole day working inside/outside our house, with the windows open and the smells of spring washing out the staleness of winter. We planted our very first vegetable and herb container garden on the back porch – we spent $140 so that we can save money on tomatoes and jalapenos and poblanos at the grocery store. But it will all be worth it if our rosemary takes off, as that’s the secret ingredient to our sweet potato fries. For the past year we’ve been stealing (with his permission) from our neighbor’s rosemary plant, and I love it when the smell of a fresh piece fills our kitchen. We also tried cilantro and sweet basil and maybe another thing or two that I can’t remember at the moment – I’m too busy thinking about that rosemary.
And now I will start praying and laying hands on these vegetables, hoping that they can survive my black thumb and live to see a fruitful harvest. Please.
We also did some major spring cleaning – cleaning out the garage, putting things in the attic, cleaning out hall closets and washing windows. I got dirty and sunburned, drank decaf ice tea and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
That night we joined Mr. Right’s family for a birthday party at Joe T’s and then sat outside on a patio in the trendy part of Fort Worth and enjoyed ice cream and the warm night air. 
Speaking of food, Sunday night we went over to our dear friends’ house and brought these:

 Our world-famous chocolate cupcakes with homemade chocolate-banana frosting, Mr. Right’s super secret recipe invention. As good as these cupcakes look in the picture, let me assure you that they taste 10 times better. To save us from temptation he brought the leftovers to work today to give away, but rest assured I managed to snag a few for my freezer to save for a future rainy day.

I wish all my weekends could be like this one.

One Comment

  1. First of all, I didn't know you could freeze cupakes! Second of all, I have the blackest thumb ever and even I can grow rosemary! It will be out of control before you know it, but it will smell sooo good!

    Reply

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