What a great birthday weekend

 

Conditions at 5:15 am: 15' and a little overcast
Expected later: 25' and sunny

What a great weekend! After spending all day Friday stressing over the fact that there was no way Lloyd was going to get a flight, he arrived promptly at 6:00. We have no idea how that happened  but obviously it was meant to be. We went into town and visited a new store on Queen Street that sells 'all things olive' and tasted some great olive oils and balsamic vinegars. After choosing one to bring home, we headed over to the Mack for "Come all ye". What a great show! If you're in the area and have the opportunity to go, try to get there. It is very funny and entertaining. Well worth it.

I worked on Saturday and it rained a lot so I really didn't mind. When I got home, Lloyd and I went into town to pick up some stuff he needs to secure the shelter, and a few last minute things at the grocery and liquor stores. When we got home we made supper and then the Van Gaals came over after. Brenda and I made the rub for the ribs and got those coated and wrapped and into the fridge, while the men supervised. It had rained pretty much all day but the weather network was promising a warm sunny day on Sunday.
Guess what, it wasn't. It drizzled most of the day and only cleared a little around the time we had to put the ribs on. I had planned to put the big tent up so we could sit inside and also put the food out there but the grass was just too wet. So eventually we ended up just putting up the little dining tent. We put the picnic table and the folding table in there and we could have all fit in but it would have been pretty tight. In the end, the men stayed at the little table by the BBQ so it all worked out. The weather did finally clear but it wasn't that warm and it still misted a little bit from time to time. But we did manage to get the ribs cooked and we had lots of salads to choose from to go with them. I had opted to use real plates instead of paper or Styrofoam, thinking that it's hard to cut meat on a paper plate, totally forgetting that we were having ribs and you didn't need to cut those. My apologies to all the ladies who spent considerable time washing dishes at the end of the day. I'll try to think it through next time!  All in all, it was a pretty great weekend. One of the highlights for me, was the beautiful bouquet of flowers that Brenda brought over. It was sunflowers from one of their fields that are in bloom already, as well as some purple Monkshood from Brenda's flower gardens. It is truly a beautiful display. Of course the bottle of beer in the photo adds to the ambiance!

One of the other highlights of my weekend was the birthday emails I received. It really made the day special for me, so thanks to Jana, Kay, Helen, Judi, and Cathy.