Delightful

After Hebrew class this morning, I met up with Pippa for the day. Those of you who know Pippa will not be surprised that it was a delightful day, but somehow it was even more delightful than expected. Perhaps I've just been away awhile. At any rate, we packed a picnic lunch - hummus sandwiches, fresh guacamole, chips, carrots, and a bit of pomegranate - and took it out the the Botanic Garden. After lunch we walked the gardens, which are considerably more spectacular in September than in March, came back, and played a game of Mille Borne. After doing our afternoon chores, we made dinner - microwave gourmet: spaghetti and salad - then played a few games of Sequence, then went for gelato. Then we watched Belles on Their Toes, complete with commentary (we'd both seen it before), and played a few games of Uno. Things got a bit exciting in the middle of the movie when Pippa asked "What's that?" and I followed her gaze to a cockroach crawling across the common room floor. I don't mind a few bugs, but I do mind cockroaches in my living quarters (as I've mentioned). Since I just got back in town and spent the last two days cleaning, I fail to see how this can in any way be my own fault. Tomorrow, a work order. Anyway, I'm unusually exhausted for 10 pm (of course, I've also been waking up before my alarm recently), but very satisfied. It was a fun day.

New art

One of the things that occasionally happens when Pippa comes over, as she does every week, is that I end up with new art. Usually it's for one of my doors, though I have a lovely bouquet complete with butterfly in a vase on the coffee table. Today, though, I hung a new piece of art on the wall.

It's a score sheet.

We picked up a running game of Uno today, a game that shouldn't have taken more than one hand to finish, because Pippa was up 435-206 and only needed 65 points to win. Except that somehow I managed to get another 300 before she got that 65. It was remarkable. There ought to be some sort of Guinness Record for that kind of underdog recovery.

So the score sheet, which convieniently has a hole in the top, is now hanging on the wall in the blank space left when I took down another piece for a few weeks. It served during the rest of the afternoon as a sort of Icon of the Underdog, and I imagine it will stay there until the regular art comes back home - because it makes me giggle, and who can't use a giggle once in a while?

Lately

My mother was here for a few days. We:

~ate a lot
~went to the Botanical Gardens
~went to Ikea
~went to the Talbots Outlet
~walked on the beach during a few exceptionally warm hours
~watched a family history video and a quantum physics and spirituality one
~found me a bridesmaid dress for summer

Pippa was here last night, and will stay tonight as well because of the weather. We:

~ate dinner with Hope and Andrew
~read
~welcomed prospective students
~played Uno and Zigity
~went to church
~ate pizza with prospective students
~sang evensong with prospective students

Now we're watching Hook, and then we will go to bed, because that's what people do at night.