Of Many Things

Photo
Japanese Peony Tree

Anne and the Boys Visit
Anne and the boys stopped by for a couple of days on their way home from a week in Maine. We hadn’t seen them since last year and it is amazing how much the boys have grown…they are 8 and 11 now.

On Monday, we went to Great River Park to do some of the Lincoln sculpture walk. I wanted to post a picture of Anne, Jacob and Andrew with Mr. Lincoln, but Anne objected to having her picture posted. So, if my grandsons read this they will know why Gramma didn’t put their pictures in her on-line journal. We crossed over the Founders’ Bridge into Hartford in search of statuary and cold drinks. We found both. The boys got tired before we had a chance to see all the sculptures, but that was OK. We can do the rest the next time they come.

Anne made the most amazing chocolate cake! It was so moist and it was gluten free. For you folks who can’t tolerate wheat, here is a cake mix for you. Available from http://www.namastefoods.com/. Go to their website to find a store near you that carries their products. I will be going to Whole Foods this morning for my Quinoa Flakes and I’ll look for the chocolate cake mix. I don’t have a problem with wheat, but I love that cake (my mother didn’t object to it, either!).

Permission Granted
Speaking of not objecting, Jacob gave me permission to put his poem, A Day With Grandma, in my next family book, Come Ride With Me. The poem was a birthday present from Jacob to me this year and it is beautiful. Jacob is 11 years old according to his birth certificate, but so wise for his years.

Brrrrr
This morning we woke up to a low of 49°. That’s cold! Luckily we closed all the windows last night before going to bed so the house retained most of the daytime warmth. The furnace is shut off and I will probably have to turn it on. There will be days when, for my mother’s comfort, we will have to take the morning chill off the house.

I hope this heralds a change in the weather pattern for the northeast. We have had nothing but rain all spring and summer! I would be ecstatic if we had a sparkling, warm autumn. That’s my favorite time of year.

Wardrobe malfunction
After riding last Saturday, I became aware that one of my new biking shoes felt funny. Upon inspecting the bottoms of both shoes I could see where a piece of the bottom on one shoe wasn’t there any more. It’s the patch that goes over where you would attach clips if you were using them. I never will. Back to REI to resolve the issue. Since none of the pieces covering the clip area are needed, a nice young man took all that stuff off/out of both shoes. I have been assured that this does not compromise the shoe’s functioning. I love my Keen commuters!

While I was there I picked up an REI Visa credit card application. The rebates to REI members who use this card is very good in addition to the rebate you get just for being a member. AND I’ll be able to put my latest purchases on the new Visa card, which will give me an excellent rebate!