I am very blessed to have had the chance to spend three days with my youngest sister this weekend. You may know her as Frankie, of Just My Opinion. Frankie teaches kids at risk, and August through May, her calendar is SO booked up that it’s tough to get more than a day or two together other than major holidays, and even those can be tough to schedule.
\nShe arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and we kibitzed and caught up on family news, and then Dear Husband fixed his famous Caesar salad with marinated chicken chunks. I added bowls of strawberries, mandarin oranges, and a plate with tomatoes and olives. It’s a good thing dinner was light because the food really flowed the next two days!
\nFrankie and I went out about 7:30 and worked in the gardens for three hours. She helped me to dead-head the peonies and cut back iris. I pulled weeds and she hoed out some invasive clover. Each time we drove by that garden for the rest of her stay, I slowed the car so that we could “Oooooh and Aaaaahhhhh” over how beautiful the garden looks now!
\nWe were going to work on her quilt top on Thursday afternoon, but we seemed to need a bit of couch potato-ing instead. We read magazines and sat with feet elevated, and schmoozed. We collected my stepson and Dear Husband and went to Olive Garden for dinner. Our waitress must be good at pinball. She was incapable of setting something on the table without hitting something else. Luckily, nothing was spilled.
\nFriday morning we went to my regular exercise class, cleaned up and headed down to visit with Elegante Mother. On the way, we stopped at Trader Joes. I want to tell you that it is NOT MY FAULT that I bought all that candy. This was the second time in a week that I got to visit Trader Joes. The first time I brought home chocolate covered raspberry sticks and English Toffee. This time, I replaced the toffee that mysteriously disappeared, and also picked up chocolate covered peanuts, and praline pecans. Ohhhhh, isn’t a sugar high wonderful while it lasts???
\nElegante Mother is doing relatively well. She still has a little cough, but even that has improved. Frankie brought her new pictures of her family, and we also gave her a lovely apricot colored miniature rose, and a purple orchid from Trader Joes. The orchid really made a hit.
\nI have to tell you that Frankie is VERY careful about what she eats. She doesn’t binge, and she doesn’t eat empty calories, and she doesn’t overeat. She’s very selective about what she puts into her body, so it can be difficult to decide what to cook when she comes to visit. She, on the other hand, chooses to give up those restrictions when she comes to visit. That’s how we ended up at Merishka’s having garlic poor boys for lunch. The buns were just soaked in a garlic-butter mix, and the sandwiches were so oversized that we could have purchased just one. We each ate half our sandwich and brought the rest home. Thank you, dear Sis, for the garrrrrrrlicky lunch!
\nOur next stop was a quilt fabric shop to see if we could match a piece of fabric. You know that the answer was NO….and you probably also know that we both left the store with about seven yards of fabric unrelated to the projects on which we are working. (We just couldn’t resist! Frankie is already planning her return visit.)
\nThe last stop of the day was Caputo’s Fresh Market. It’s a store that carries virtually every fruit and veggie that you could want, as well as an amazing array of Italian foods. The deli area alone really deserves an hour or two to peruse.
\nDear Husband broiled flank steak for us. Frankie saut\u00e9ed mushrooms, I made a fruit salad and baked potatoes, and we cut into a loaf of bread from Trader Joes. Mmmmmmmmmm! Hit the spot.
\nI had to say goodbye to both Dear Husband (who went to sail for the weekend) and Frankie, early this morning. Frankie would have liked to stay one more day, but there were two engagements calling her at home. Her social calendar is astonishing!
\nSooooooooo…..What does a girl do on a free, rainy day?? (Grins)<\/big><\/big><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am very blessed to have had the chance to spend three days with my youngest sister this weekend. You may know her as Frankie, of Just My Opinion. Frankie teaches kids at risk, and August through May, her calendar … Continue reading