mostly sunny and 85!! wow!

I'll take it! Today is going to be a very special day! I'm going to Lowe's (home improvement store) to meet Benjamin on his lunch hour, so we can order the wood for the new pool deck! Why is this so exciting? Well, Ben is one of my favorite kids, I just still love spending time with him, still have to pinch myself that he actually lives nearby. And...a pool deck! After all these years!

The other kids are going on an outing today to a waterfalls with Emily and some of their friends...so I'm going off on my own, to the small city. That means I can stop at the thrift store if I want, with no eye rolls or sighs, or, "Can I just wait in the car?" Oh, listen to this: yesterday, those girls went to the thrift store without me! Ironic, because they don't LIKE the thrift store. Only 4 fit in the truck, so I told them to go on and go somewhere and have fun, I don't need to go...and that's where they went! harrumph. They came home with cute jeans, one pair new with tags.

Sonja, Charlotte Claire and I got up and took a trip to drop off lots of donations, that old van in the driveway is now cleared out! Then into Walmart to get some oil for Jon's four wheelers (he has three that he is working on and fixing up). A coffee from the local place, and home. (I got cold brew with heavy cream and one shot of sugar-free coconut. Not bad!)

I spent a few hours painting the back of the deck rails while the girls went out and about. (They returned all the cans and bottles, $40! That's a lot of seltzer.) Then I went in the pool, and talked to my sister on the phone. It was a gloriously lovely day. Dinner: chicken grilled, which had marinated in vinegar, olive oil, and Montreal chicken seasoning...jasmine rice, a homemade salsa (tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, chopped red onions, a dash of olive oil), green peppers...

Have a really good day, and if you're in the northeast of the U.S., enjoy this weather if you can!