#3039 three things: trips and a movie

my three dancing squirrels

Hi! It's been awhile since I've written here. I was visiting Mama and Lizzie for a couple of the writing days, then I was busy adulting and time just slipped by. I'm ready to get back to it, though, so here are three random things.

1. The trip to CA. As I mentioned above, I went to southern California to visit Mama and Lizzie for six nights at the end of March. T came with me, and we had a nice time! Lizzie and I went for walks in the mornings and then to get coffee. The four of us went on a couple of adventures: to Sunset Beach to dip our toes in the ocean and have some lunch, and to the Fullerton Arboretum to look at trees and flowers. It was, once again, a good combination of chilling at home and doing stuff. The weather was really nice, and I think it was a perfect amount of time to be there. We weren't there long enough to be too annoying, but not long enough to be tired of each other. Does that make sense?

2. Easter in Pocatello. On Easter Sunday, MT, T, and I drove to Pocatello to spend Easter with MT's side of the family. I remember some of my childhood Easters when we had to look for eggs inside the house because it was raining or snowing. Not a problem this year, though. The weather in Poky was excellent on Sunday. Linda had tables set out on her back deck so all 19 of us could sit outside. She smoked a pork butt, and we had pulled pork sandwiches and every type of salad. Three of the great-grandkids were there, all under five, (I think) and it was cute to watch them look for the Easter eggs. We came back to SLC late in the afternoon because we had our tax appointment on Monday morning. It's a long way to go for a meal, but it was nice to see the family. 

3. The Drama. No, no family drama; The Drama is a movie starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. T is a Robert Pattinson fan, and who doesn't like Zendaya? T and I went to see the film this afternoon. I had no idea what it was about, but I like hanging out with my son, so why not? The movie starts out cute and sweet: Charlie (RP) and Emma (Z) are going to be married and Charlie is writing his wedding speech with the help of his best friend Mike. Through the speech writing, we learn how Charlie and Emma met and fell in love. Wedding plans are moving along until the night Charlie and Emma go with Mike and his wife Rachel (who is Emma's matron of honor) to dinner to choose the wedding dinner items. Over drinks, the question, "What is the worst thing you've ever done?" is asked, and each of them has to respond. Turns out, Emma had a doozy, and the relationships were put to the test after the revelation. The last half of the movie is uncomfortable to watch, to say the least. No spoilers from me, but damn.   

Enjoy the rest of the week!

#3009 pdin 28 they didn't have stuff like this when I lived there

My BFF LA and I got together for coffee this morning (I never thought I'd say/write those words!) at what may be the cutest coffee shop I have ever been in. Gate City Coffee is in Old Town Pocatello on Center Street. It's one of those places you just know will hit all the right notes as soon as you see the pretty window display. The place is enchanting.

LA and I sat at that table on the right. In the back section, there is a little wine bar. Dreamy!

The owner told us she had spent several hours last night putting up the Christmas decorations. 
They were expecting a lot of people to come in this afternoon and evening as Pocatello is holding it's annual Christmas parade which goes down Center Street.

I really liked all the old black and white photos of the early days of Pocatello.

If this little scene doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will. And look at that exposed brick wall. LOVE!

Please look at the curved ceiling with the pretty raised frescos. There's LA on the left placing her order!

The shop is so cozy and inviting to look at, I couldn't stop gawking. I wanted to stay there all day! There is a little bit of Idaho merch for sale in the shop. The couple also owns the building next door and it is a full on gift shop that is equally enticing. These folks really have their style dialed in.

Yeah, but how was the coffee? Well, it really good. I had a cappuccino and a cinnamon roll.

The baked goods are homemade on the premises. The owner makes all of them herself. The roll was big; I only finished half of it and I'm looking forward to warming up the other half for breakfast here at home tomorrow. 

I had such a great morning hanging out with my friend, chatting, having breakfast at this gorgeous shop, then doing a little of of shopping here, too. Gate City Coffee will be a regular stop on every trip to Pocatello.  It's like the perfect chick lit coffee place. If they sold books, it would be a chick lit dream come true! I would love to find a cute shop like this here in Salt Lake. I don't know if one exists, but I'll be on the lookout. 

#2765 weekend wrap-up

 It has been a busy and eventful weekend for me. I meant to write on Friday, then it got to be 11 pm and something had to give, so sleep won out over writing. Let's catch up...

On Friday, I went to the gym for the first time in awhile. My work friend told me she was going to a Zumba class at the Vasa near my house and encouraged me to come dancing there. I think the last time I went to a Zumba class might have been in March. I do love to Zumba, and I was planning to go to the gym anyway, so what the heck? I went and we danced our faces off. 

Note that I said I was planning to go to the gym. I set a goal for myself this month that I would go to the gym at least once a week. CHECK!

After dancing, I came home, heated up some leftovers, talked to my mom, picked T up from work, and then I was done with being awake. 

On Saturday, MT and I drove up to Pocatello to attend an open house baby shower for our best friend's son. Caz. He and his wife are having their first baby, and we had to go wish them well. I hadn't seen Caz in awhile, so it was nice to catch up with him for a few minutes. Of course it was wonderful to see my bestie, LA, and her husband. MT always says that they are our oldest friends, which is true. We have been solid friends for over 30 years. 

MT had some work thing he needed to do, so I hung out at Linda and Jake's house (my in-laws). The three of us sat out on their back deck, read, and snoozed. The temperature was in the 70s and it felt wonderful. It was a little smoky because of fires in the area, but it wasn't bad enough to send me inside. They live in a quiet neighborhood, their yard is nice, and my seat on the deck was shady and comfy.

Sitting there with an iced PSL and reading my book was exactly what I wanted to do that afternoon.

MT and I had an early dinner with LA and Rob at a cute little BBQ place. The restaurant had a groovy patio. We enjoy sitting outside to dine, so it was pretty wonderful. The food was good and the company was even better. 

We drove home in the early evening, and the harvest moon greeted us when we got home.

Kind of a cool photo, huh? I don't know how that line got involved, but I like it.

This morning, the day started slow, just how I like it. I made a cup of coffee, grabbed a book, and sat out on my deck for 10 minutes or so before the rush of the day started. So good.

After that, it was all go. I did the docent gig. It was beautiful up at the Garden this morning, of course. 

Wouldn't you like to sit on that bench and let the sunshine warm your face on a cool morning? That's the bench I sit on when I'm in my feelings. That isn't where I hang out when I am being a docent, though.

After the docent shift, I needed to record blooms. I was unable to get to the Garden after work last week, and I will often do blooms on Saturday morning, but I couldn't do that this week, so I had to do them today. The blooms are really winding down now. The anemones and asters are going strong, and there are still some roses and a few others, but not too many fresh new flowers. The leaves haven't quite started to turn yet, except in the highest branches of the tallest trees, like this guy:

I actually took this pic last week, on the 2nd. He's a little more orange and gold up top now. 

I got home around 3 and let myself chill out with football and phone games for about an hour before I started on some chores. I picked T up from work at 6:00, and we went to Lowes. I bought some mums to plant in a pot on the deck. I also bought a coleus plant. I've been wanting one for a long time, and today was the day. He will live inside the house.

After that, it was dinner time (orange chicken from Trader Joe's), a quick walk with the dogs, then helping MT with some paperwork. I just took a cool shower to relax, and now here I am, writing and thinking back on the weekend's good times. 

I really need to get to bed, but there are pages that I want to read. I've gotten myself into another book situation. I can't help myself! Here's the thing: I'm reading Wrong Place Wrong Time and it is really compelling and I need to find out what happens to Jen. That one is an physical book from the library. I am also reading Carrie Soto is Back. Will Carrie win a Slam, five years after she retired from the WTA? Will she become a better human? I gotta know! That book is also from the library, but it is on my Kindle. On Friday I got a notice from the library that a book I had on hold had arrived, and I've been wanting to read it for so long that I couldn't let it go back into circulation. That one is called Beach Read. While I was at the library, I couldn't help but look at what else was available, and on the Lucky Day rack, there sat the new book by Sarah Addison Allen. I LOVE HER BOOKS! I had to get it. The twist on that one is that I can only have it for seven days, no renewals. I just started it this morning, so I only have five days to finish it now. PLUS, I just got a new book from Ekpe for book club. I've got to read 150 pages of that by Saturday at 1:00. To recap, I am reading one book on my Kindle, plus three physical books, and one book impatiently waiting on my nightstand. I know. I'm a nut when it comes to books. #bookworm #problems

So I'm going downstairs to lay on the couch and read for 20 to 30 minutes, hopefully. Honestly, I'll probably fall asleep with ten minutes, but what can I say? 

What's coming up this week? Not too much, really. I'll go to the gym at least one time (#goals). I will finish Other Birds, the book by Sarah Addison Allen. I don't have any concerts or events this week, so it ought to be pretty calm, hopefully.

Take care! Write on your blogs! I want to know what you are doing :)

#2303 Christmas Eve

My darling dog paced the length of the hotel room all night yesterday, making sleep a difficult proposition. I got up to take her out at 10:30, 2:30, and 5:30.  I gave her CBD oil to try to get her to calm down, but it didn't work. . I managed to get her up on the bed for a couple of hours and that was the best stretch of sleep I had. The good news is that she is walking just fine.

Because of all that up and down all night, I have felt a bit out of sorts today. The three of us (MT, T and I) went out for breakfast, then we came up to Linda's house for awhile. We left Osi here and the three of us went to see the new Jumanji movie. I wanted something funny and easy and popcorn-worthy and it ticked all those boxes. I was entertained, and so were MT and T.

After the movie we came back to Linda's house. T and I both took a nap. T's nap was much longer than my nap. Linda made a couple of soups: chili and corn chowder. Tracy made a yummy salad and there was big old shrimp too. There were eight of us hanging out tonight. It was a nice mellow evening with nice food and family.

I've been reading a book, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I don't love it. The scary parts are good, but all the rest is a slog for me.  It is a book club selection and our final discussion on the book is Thursday. I've got about 70 pages to go.

I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get some sleep tonight, but I have my doubts. Osi is having epileptic twitches, not seizures, but she's clearly uncomfortable. I wish I could turn off my "dog mom" hearing and just sleep through, but I can't.

Tomorrow will be a big fun day.  I think Linda is expecting 20 people for dinner tomorrow. The Christmas meal is more of a buffet style than a sit-down meal, so it's casual and fun. Since I have to work on Thursday, we'll be leaving tomorrow evening.

Have a good night! Sweet dreams! Hope Santa leaves lots of good toys at your house!

#2302 two days until Christmas

Hello from Pocatello!

This morning was our annual office Christmas breakfast. This year the venue was a meeting room at a movie theater. It was pretty nice. There was a well decorated tree under which were a bunch of gifts. We play a game where each of us draws a number, and then we choose a gift in the order of the numbers. My number was two, so I chose the second gift, which was a set of noise-cancelling headphones. I was stoked! The thing is that the next person, or tenth person, or nineteenth person can "steal" my gift. That did happen, so I ended up stealing some headphones (there were two in circulation) from someone else. In the end, I got to keep the headphones and I am excited. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but I hope to have a chance tomorrow.

After the breakfast we all headed back to the office. We only worked until noon. I headed home to pack and get ready for our trip. MT took Osi to the groomer this morning, and when she was all cleaned and clipped, we picked her up and headed north.

We spent an hour or two at Linda's house before we came to our hotel. It is comfortable and pet-friendly and not far from Linda's house.

Let the Christmas festivities begin!