Meandering on the Way — February 13 to 19

Tuesday, February 13th

Lots of dull, damp days this week, neither cold nor warm. In the morning E went out and did a little garden work in the drizzle while M went to the eye doctor to discuss whether cataract surgery might make things brighter. Eye doc seems to think so.

In the evening we went up to Salem to have dinner with K and J. K made a great salad with fried chickpeas, kale and spinach. We brought a chocolate pie for dessert. And it turned out that chocolate pie is one of K’s favorites.

Wednesday, February 14th

E went down to Eugene today to meet S for coffee and to go shopping. She went to Nordstrom’s in the Oakway Mall and was pleasantly surprised to see that they carried quite a collection of shoes in her size.

For Valentine’s dinner we had Brazilian fish stew from a Local Ocean dock box. Out of this world delicious in E’s opinion. For dessert we had a bonbon or two. Also delicious.

Thursday, February 15th

Our friend P came to lunch. We had take-out sandwiches from the Vietnamese Baguette. We also finished off a bag of Kettle chips, but it was only one of the really small bags.

Friday, February 16th

We’ve been looking into getting some solar panels, which at first seemed pretty complicated. By now, though, we’ve gotten three estimates and narrowed it down to one. A technician came this morning to take final measurements and to inspect our roof and electrical panel. Everything seems fine, so it looks like the project will proceed.

Mostly cloudy today but not raining and the roads were dry. M took the Jaguar out for some exercise. What a noisy and bumpy car that is! Clearly, you must put it into Dynamic Mode and ride around in the foothills raising a ruckus. (In a suitably restrained sort of way.) Nice.

Saturday, February 17th

Another soggy day. The yard is like a wetland. It could really use some attention, but it won’t be getting it today.

Sunday, February 18th

E has been doing a lot of preparation for the upcoming birthday celebrations. For one thing, she’s planning a dinner for the extended family on the day before the main party. She’s looking forward to having as many family members as possible seated around her grandmother’s oak dining table. Complicating matters is the fact that we also need to prepare for a trip to Salt Lake City this upcoming weekend. We’ll be attending a wedding, so we should probably think about what we will wear…

We did manage to get in an afternoon walk on the Calloway Creek trail. It didn’t rain on us right then, but there was a coldish wind and the southern portion of the loop was a mucky mess.

Monday, February 19th

More rain early this morning. We passed that time doing our grocery shopping. As usual E went to the Co-op and M searched the vastness of Winco. Then, in late morning, the sun came out. Wow! That drew us both outside, where we accomplished quite a bit. The yard was soaked and the grass was squishy, but it made for easier weeding. M planted a new little blueberry bush, continuing his quixotic quest to replace an old one that mysteriously dwindled and died. Last’s year’s replacement plant did not thrive either. But hope springs eternal.