Wine and Family

First of all, you know your weekend is heading in a good direction when you step out of the shower Friday morning and find this peeking at you from between the shower curtain and tub:

Lucy playing peek-a-boo behind the shower curtain. 
She gets a get out of jail free card for the paw prints on the tile and the fur on the curtain solely because she was being so adorable

Friday night was a birthday party for Jen.  J and I made ice cream cookie sandwiches out of a batch of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate snickerdoodles he made Friday afternoon (we rolled them in mini chocolate chunks after assembling, for good measure). 

Chocolate peanut butter birthday cake, ice cream sandwiches and a potent, but delicious, punch are most likely the culprits that made my jeans difficult to zip up this morning.  We had lots of fun and partook of a late night game of 80s trivia before having to bow out to get home to the pups (who, as we suspected, couldn't have cared less that we were home after waking from their nap spots).

Saturday J and I loaded Lucy in the back of the CRV and dropped her off for grooming.  We made a run over to East Ave for a quick brunch, got in touch with my mum and dad, who were on their way up for a visit, and managed to get back to the groomer just in time to pick up a squeaky clean miss Lucyfur.

Mom and dad showed up not long after we got back to the house.  After a quick tour of the garden and a little time talking and hanging on the back porch, we headed out.  J and I had planned a fun visit for them, starting with a trip to a vineyard not too far up the road from us.  The grounds were lovely and the family that owns the place was very sweet.  We did a tasting, bought a case to split between us, and oogled the scenery.

This is, unfortunately, a case of bad iphone photography.  The tree below was the most enormous purple tree I've ever seen.  The photo does it no justice at all, but please imagine it as the majestic giant it is
.

J and I were so smitten by the place that we discussed possibly making it the location of a fun event we are planning.  It's certainly in the running.

Once we left the winery we stopped at two lovely plant nurseries.  My mom has one of the greenest thumbs I've ever met and J and my dad hung out and talked while my mom and I ran around gathering up dahlias and veggie plants while discussing locations in the yard that would fit another rose bush or maybe even a small fruit tree.

One last stop for dinner at the best Chinese restaurant in reasonable driving distance (I'm ridiculously picky when it comes to Chinese food and this place rocks like nobody's business).  We had a great early dad's day dinner; my dad actually really liked it, which was amazing because he's way more picky than me.  We talked about the plan J and I have set in motion, the pros and cons, the exciting possibilities and the realistic ones, too.

We got home to happy dogs who were thrilled to visit with my parents for a little while before they headed home.

Saturday night was a nice, quiet night at home. 

(I love those the most)

Sunday we slept in and then rode our bikes to East Providence, stopped at Garden Grille for brunch, then turned around and headed for Slater park in Pawtucket. We picked up the bike trail, rode it to the end and then turned around and headed home.  Full bellies and exhausted bodies, we collapsed in the living room and watched The Dark Knight Rises until we decided to call it a night.

The rivers are still running high and flowing swiftly. 
We stopped to marvel at the sight a few times along the ride.

This was a really awesome weekend.  Much thanks for the amazing friends and family (furry ones absolutely included) who make life sweet.  I couldn't, and wouldn't, ask for more.

Perfect Ride

We discovered that if we hop on our bikes, roll down the driveway, ride up the street, through a cemetery and through a parking lot for a baseball field, we can pick up the new Slater park bike path extension.  We take that path into Slater and pick up the second half of the path, hit the end, then turn around and do it all in reverse. It's just under 10 miles, it's a ton of fun, and we'd do it every day if it would just stop raining already!!!

58.4 miles so far this month, but it should be more.  I'm a weather wuss when it comes to riding.  I do not want to be soggy and dodging lightning bolts throughout the trip, so we're slaves to the sky this week.

The rain has been relentless (with the exception of a several hour break last night), so it has resulted in fascinating scenery for the water geek in me.

I'm enthralled by bodies of water, waterways, swampy marshes, tidal pools, ...anything of the sort.  The Ten Mile River is high and flowing strong right now.  The entire length of the path follows the river so as we ride I get to marvel at the high water levels, the spill pools and the swampy muck all around us.  It's awesome! 

Now that I've gotten in the habit of using my fun Road Bike app, we'll be comparing our ride time and the distance for the Slater ride, the Blackstone Valley ride, the brunch ride (to Garden Grille or Rasoi, around Swan Point and then back), the East Bay ride, and the South County ride.  A little competition against ourselves will be fun and hopefully it will keep all J's kitchen creations from popping up on inconvenient parts of my body. (Why do cookies never go to the boobs, it's always straight to the belly or butt?)

I'm excited for our next two wheeled adventure, but it's not going to happen until the weekend.  Rain today and tomorrow. 

Yay.

Rain.

CreeperPup

Have you ever been cozy in bed, just about to fall asleep, when suddenly you feel eyes on you? 

Someone is watching you.

In our house it's usually Ollie.

He loves to try to work us with the sad eyes, hoping for an invite to jump up and snuggle down for the night.

Unfortunately for Ollie, we have three comfy dog beds in the bedroom, so no pup is allowed to sleep on the bed overnight.

He got some head pets and a smooch on the nose and was escorted back to his sleep spot.

Goodnight, sweet bear.

More Dogs, Gardens, Thrones, and Bikes

The weekend was pretty sweet.

Friday night J and I hit the Wickenden for a beer and then hopped across the street for Ethiopian.  Date night fun times.

Saturday morning we played with pups.

Ollie chillin on a dog bed. I surprised him and he dropped his bone!

Looking at Necco with the "back off, this is my time for luvins" look in his eyes as J snorgles him and rubs his belly.

Lucy time. Her face kills me. So cute!

Then we spent some time in the garden before heading out for a late day bike ride.    



Beets and carrots are starting to look good! The kale and beans are thriving and everyone in the planters behind the raised bed is looking happy and healthy!  Yay garden! (so far)

After the bike ride we met up with a friend at The Grange for an evening vegan donut and iced coffee, a visit with friends on the west side and then back home to finish out the night on a quiet note, with the pups and a movie.

Sunday, we slept in and then hit the road for another bike ride.  We came home and did some cleaning up for company.  The Game of Thrones finale double-header was awesome.  We're discussing showing it in two or three episode blocks next year, possibly.  One hour just never seems like a long enough dose of dragons and deceit.

New Favorite

Watching Jason rock out/freak out to old Black Sabbath while sitting in the (almost) dark might be one of my new favorite things to do.
Trivia included.