Thursday, September 21, 2006

Life

I had a good weekend and now it is almost time for a new one! :o) Denis worked last weekend, so I was on my own for most of the time.

I went contra dancing on Saturday night. Contra dancing is a bit like square dancing in that it is a called dance. But instead of being in a square with 8 people, you are in 2 long lines down the hall with you partner facing you. The moves are the familiar ones like circle left or right, do si do, etc. The dance is a set pattern that repeats over and over. You dance with your partner and one other couple. When the set pattern is over, you have moved one spot down the line and the couple you were dancing with has moved one spot the other direction. It is a lot of fun and good exercise. in Portland, I was able to go each week if I wanted to, but here it is only offered once a month.

Sunday evening I rode my bike up to visit a couple from my church. This was good exercise too, obviously. I was sweating profusely while we visited.

Monday, Denis was off work, so we had some time together. We had company over in the evening. I made won ton soup and Denis made his famous salmon again. This was part of our project of having people from church over. After dinner, Debbie and I visited while Denis and Brent played guitar. Their son got a rare treat to watch TV!

Starting this past Tuesday, I am working extra hours to help cover the vacation of one of my coworkers. I will be working four days a week for a month. I normally work half time - two full days and one half day each week. It is amazing how quickly I have adjusted to my reduced hours, and I know that I'm going to be tired by the end of the month. Even though I know it is still not full time! What a wimp I am...

Denis did a project this week that he has been meaning to do for a while. He touched up the finish on our kitchen and bathroom cabinets. They are natural birch wood cabinets with just a clear finish. Did you know that water is the enemy of most building materials? This is what I have learned from Denis. Unfortunately, we both have drippy arms when we deal with sinks. (It's a height issue). So now they are good as new again.

The weather has turned cooler now as summer is drawing to a close. The leaves on our baby dogwood are showing some reddish color and our adolescent maple tree has its little helicopters ready to fly. The flowers are finishing up their blooming time and some of them have already turned kind of ugly looking. We bought some new irises - two siberians and a couple of pacific coast varieties are on their way. We are also expecting tulip and daffodil bulbs to arrive soon for planting. Next year we really hope to put in a veggie garden in the open space adjacent to our garage. Denis' compost project has been a huge success. We have one bin with some beautiful stuff awaiting the next planting need.

Well, I think that about brings you up to date with our life.

7 comments:

Priscilla said...

I think we are slightly ahead of you in reaching fall. The helicopters have flown, the summer flowers are mostly all ugly now and the trees are definitely turning.
I see a lot of mums on my neighbors porches and steps. I'd like to get some too.

Priscilla said...

For the Australian readers, "mums" refers to a kind of flower...not mothers. LOL!

Tracy said...

I really like mums, but Denis is not a big fan. We settle for compromise flowers in our garden. :o)

kristina said...

I like chrysanthemums, but I have no love for petunias. I really want to go to Duluth and the North Shore before it gets cold. The leaves are at their peak now. Maybe I will go on Saturday.

kristina said...

Woo Hoo!
(I never say woo hoo in real life) but my comment worked! I really have been trying to write comments.

Tracy said...

Yay! I'm so stoked that you finally were successful. Good to see ya. :o)

I'm jealous that you are going to Duluth. It seemed like a neat town to explore. D and I were there for just a couple of days and it was kind of rainy. I would have loved to drive up the north shore all the way to Canada. I love back roads.

Tracy said...

be my guest and ask about salmon all you want. I may have to defer some questions to the expert. :o)