Weather, Market Day, Etc.
Topic: This and That
(I took this picture of Ryan just yesterday.)
I would like to wish my friend Jenn's husband Fred a very happy belated birthday!
The weather has been really nice lately. It's been sunny and warm. Ryan and I have been going out for walks, enjoying the mild summer weather. Yesterday I took him to the Stray to run around for a while. From there, we went to the Victoria shopping area. I keep forgetting that the second Thursday of each month is market day. (I mean really, how are people supposed to remember something weird like a second Thursday???) I decided to indulge a bit. Everything is either hand made, or locally farmed, depending, and is pleasantly fresh. I bought some scones and some double cream, and some strawberries that were so fresh, their fragrance was wafting on the air. I also bought a heavenly tropical fruit smoothie.
Later on in the evening, I made strawberry shortcake with all my fresh ingredients. It went very well with some auslese wine.
I wanted to let everyone know that I won't be posting for the next few days. Tomorrow we are leaving early for Edinburgh. Larry's running the marathon there on Sunday. It will be his first marathon. Edinburgh is a wonderful city, so I'm sure Ryan and I will be able to keep busy while Larry's running.
We will be back on Tuesday.
Just to update, we never did find out what the "incident" on post was.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Run
Topic: This and That
Yesterday I ran for the first time in three weeks. I expected to feel pretty awful, but had the very pleasant surprise of feeling very good! I think I was sailing away on endorphins the rest of the day. :) Eager to repeat the experience, I ran again today, for a slightly longer period of time. I felt good while I was running, but instead of riding out the day on an endorphin high, I took a nap when Ryan napped and have felt unmotivated to do much the rest of the evening! Oh well. I think I might give myself a break and not run tomorrow.

Wine and Headphones
Now Playing: My Own Eclectic Mix
Topic: Stream of Consciousness
Larry got a really nice new set of headphones recently. I think he got them mainly for using Skype and for language training. Tonight I am borrowing them for the first time. I used to have several sets of headphones. I realized now I don't have any. Ever since Larry got his, I've been eying them. I mentioned in this blog a while back that I used to listen to music on headphones for hours, immersing myself in it. I don't get that opportunity much anymore. However, last night (after Ryan went to bed) I borrowed Larry's headphones, and for just a little while, got to relax and truly listen to some music. (Larry kept his ear out in case Ryan needed something.) It was just as enjoyable - if not more so - than when I used to do it years ago.

The Weekend
Now Playing: Misty Purring
Topic: This and That
This picture was taken on the morning of June 1. Ryan put Larry's boots on and walked around in them. A few weeks ago, the boots were too heavy for him. Now Ryan's got no problem tromping around in them!
Saturday morning, Ryan and I took off to MHS for a birthday party. When we approached the gate, we were met by MOD (Ministry of Defence - that's how they spell it here) Police. I was told that the base had been closed and no one was getting on or off because of an, "incident." The police officer said that it could be hours before the base was open again. The road up ahead was closed as well, so I was directed to do a U turn and go back.
Unfortunately, the base was coincidentally closed just for the duration of the birthday party, so we wound up missing it. I'm hoping that maybe today at work Larry will have heard something about the "incident."
Saturday was gorgeous out, so in the afternoon, Ryan and I spent a couple of hours just walking around and hanging out outside. Ryan ran around on the Stray, then I took another stab at finding a geocache that is eluding me. (No dice yet.) From there we went to Starbucks, then once home Ryan played in the back patio for a while.
Sunday morning was sunny again, so I dressed Ryan in a cute surfer shorts outfit. The day turned out to be cooler and rainy. Oh well!
It's nice out again today. Ryan didn't want to nap, but not long after we went out for a walk, he fell asleep in his stroller.
I finished The Da Vinci Code. It was entertaining and thought provoking.

Belated Anniversaries
Topic: This and That
Saturday was my friends' 6th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary, Rene and Brice! Hope you had a great one!
Yesterday was my parents' 40th anniversary! A HUGE "Happy anniversary!" to you guys, Mom and Dad! Hope you had a great time in Laughlin!

Not Exactly Balmy
Topic: This and That
By the time we get Ryan down to bed, it's usually around 9:15pm or so. Since it's still almost full light then, I thought it would be neat to go sit in the back patio with a beverage and read, write, relax, that sort of thing. Well, I went outside and it was great, except for one little thing. After about five minutes, I realized I needed to get warmer clothing or go inside! I think in my head it was balmy out. I forgot where I was. That's ok though. I am really, really loving not being hot. Although I had a great time in the States last summer, I was hot almost the entire time, and I hate the heat.

Harry Potter and the Da Vinci Code -The title of the 7th book! (Just kidding!)
Topic: This and That
I can't believe May is over already, and that this year is almost half over already. "Time is a difficult thing."
Monday we wound up not really doing anything. I took Ryan in his stroller and walked around the Stray Fair. Ryan's still way too little for all the rides, so we contented ourselves with taking in the sights and sounds of the fair during our stroll.
Yesterday I took Ryan to Starbucks with me. We shared some yummy chocolate cake. I don't know what it is, but sitting in a cafe having coffee and cake is very relaxing - even with Ryan!
I am reading The Da Vinci Code right now. I'm about halfway through and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I also had to laugh out loud when Harry Potter was actually mentioned in the book (as well as in a review printed on the back cover)! "Harry Potter is inescapable." (To paraphrase a line from a Glen Cook book.)
The weather was great today. Ryan and I were out and about walking around, enjoying the warmer, drier weather.
Ryan was out of sorts today off and on. Not sure why.
A few days ago I noticed I had hundreds of page views for my website. I was stunned. After a little digging, I realized it was all web bots and web crawlers. Weird. A while back we found out some photos from my site came up in a Google image search. I realize that the internet is a public place, but it's still kind of weird to know that there are cyber creatures trolling for things and that anything posted on the net is fair game for the world. This site is for family and friends. I don't publicize it, so it's odd when someone I don't know finds out about it.
Today Ryan and I were at our next door neighbor's house when one of the girls who lives there asked me if I'd like to play "knots and crosses." I said I didn't know how. She started drawing a tic-tac-toe board. I said, "Oh! Tic-tac-toe!" Neither of us had heard of the other's name for the game!

Hard Rock Cafe
Topic: This and That
Yesterday wound up being a rest day, for the most part. Ryan and I were wiped out from three days of day trips in a row. Larry was wiped out from his work week and two days of trips in a row.
In the early evening though, we did go out. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Leeds, which Ryan and I had never been to. (For Ryan, that makes three Hard Rock Cafes before the age of two!) It was fun to go out for dinner, especially because we don't very often.
We stopped at Starbucks on the way back to the car. We own stock in it, so we feel we're reinvesting! :)
Not sure if we're going to do anything today yet. It's only 10:30am though, so the day is still young!

Memorial Day
Topic: Holidays
Today is Memorial Day. Let us all remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

Butterflies
Topic: Day Trips
I apologize for not identifying the picture in my post about Tropical World (and York). The photo is of big butterflies eating from a dish of what I think was fruit.
I hope to have more about our weekend posted soon.