Holiday Weekend!

Since I no longer have "off-track" time, I've learned to savor Saturdays and holiday weekends.  Though I didn't do anything "fun," this weekend was especially nice.  

My dad's birthday was on Friday and my mom and I took him on an excursion.

Did we take him to Greece?  No, just to Thanksgiving Point.  Though he is just 76, he is in poor health and no longer drives or gets out much.  He really likes going to Thanksgiving Point.  We rent "jazzies," and he enjoys driving around the gardens.

The jazzy has a turtle-to-rabbit control for speed.  We keep it rather rabbitish.  My mom usually ends up having more fun than any of us and always wants to go for another round.

There are very large and colorful carp in the pond, as well as lovely water lilies.  In this picture, the fish were clamoring for the pellets we tossed for their lunch.  You can't see it, but one had a lovely blue delft painting on its white back, and I wondered if it had Dutch ancestry.  :)

VERY large, fuzzy bees were all over  in the salvia.  Some even had bright orange in their "fur."  I hadn't seen bees like that for a long time.  Maybe there is hope all won't be blighted by the ailment attacking them.  Seeing so many gave me a little hope for the world.  -And for apples.

This robin was taking a nice bath in the Italian tubs.  I tried getting closer, but he wanted his privacy.  Despite, it was entertaining to see him ruffle his feathers in the cool water.

It is a joy to go to the gardens with my parents.  It is sad to see them age, but I'm grateful for the time I still have with them.

After the gardens, we had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes.  My dad said it was his best birthday ever.  I think I look like my dad.  What do you think?  We definitely have the same pale, easy-to-sunburn, freckled skin.

On Saturday, I worked many, many hours in my yard.  It is hard to keep up with it while working so much and not having anyone to help me.  I finally hired someone to mow and edge, but I still like to keep up with the flower gardens and keep my vast amount of sidewalks weed free.  Digging in dirt and planting is good for the soul, as well as pleasing to the eye.  My mom came over and helped me for a few hours, which really lessened the load.

This is the bed leading to my front door.  If you look close you can see my dragonfly and "believe" ornamentation.  Thanks to the nice mix of rain and sun we've had, the petunias look perky and well adjusted for having just been ripped from their plastic homes and pony pack siblings.

I have a "Dr. Seuss" tree in my back yard.  It looks just like a tree from his books, especially when it is in bloom.  I've been trying to find a fun name for it, but I think I'll just call it "Seuss."

Sunday was uneventful, unless you were my washing machine and dishwasher, or the twelve pages I added to my journal.  -Always good to have a catch-up day.  (I do know Sundays are not the best time to do dishes and laundry, but when working full time, it is often the only time I am home long enough to get it done...  My laundry ox is most often mired.)

Today (Monday), I cleaned my house top to bottom.  I'd add a picture of my squeaky clean floors, but cream-colored linoleum isn't exciting to photograph, even if it is spotless.  

As productive as the weekend was, I could have done much more, and did not get to a few projects I wanted to complete.  Instead, I got sucked into to "internet research."  Finding new music  has been a surprising fringe benefit to reading blogs.  On Saturday morning, I came across a song from Shrek (originally written by Leonard Cohen) on a blog that led me to find a version of it by a group of Norwegian singers with whom I am now obsessed.

I've spent more hours than I'd like to admit testing out their music on iTunes, watching videos of them on You Tube, learning about them on fan sites and Wikipedia, and then listening to my downloads nearly non-stop.  I feel like a 16 year old groupie.  I'm sure the intrigue will wane, but I've sure enjoyed it this weekend (and it's been a good distractor for my worries and woes of late).

If want to see them in action, visit this You Tube site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPl01GRU2Zw

The guitar player, Espen Lind, is yummy handsome, and isn't his acoustic playing haunting?  On his latest album, he has some unique pieces with a ukulele.  The singer with the largest gap in his teeth, Kurt Nilsen,  has an AMAZING voice.  From my "research," I learned he was a plumber before winning Norwegian Idol and World Idol.  

BTW, I in all my "research" I found a great CIA website that gives detailed information about every country.  Did you know Norway spends about 2% more of its budget on education than America does?  All those hours mesmerized by a blue screen weren't for naught!

Well, there you have it, my weekend in review.  A long blog...  Thanks for reading to the end.  I'm going  listen to more Guitar Buddies now.  :)