oh my what a lovely weekend

this weekend i:

• raked up four years of pine needles, which is the equivalent of eight really, really big trash bags full, which will all be sent to Stu's compost pile, because they will improve the ph of his soil.
• cut back all of my perennials, which is the equivalent of another eight really, really big trash bags full.
• discovered a nest under one of the ornamental grasses from last year, full of small white eggshells, likely a quail's nest, since i regularly saw parents with their young scurrying around the gardens last year.
  
• ate dinner at hires' with cory, jessie, breanne and janey: big h burger, onion rings, diet coke, and a hot fudge brownie sundae, and two adorable girls who lovelovelove to be with their gramma, which is demonstrated by pats on the cheek and tugging on my hair until my face is touching her face and the longest kiss on the cheek i've ever received.
• watched proudly as the drummer's group of kids in their flannel cowboy shirts and jeans and cowboy hats played spaghetti-western songs on their drums and other percussive instruments--think the good, the bad, and the ugly, and other familiar favorites--and the music was arranged by my drummer, as was the marching program.
• felt entertained by little audrey as she played with the princesses and the doll house and after a bath, lotion, and into jammies, read book after book after book with her.
• realized after friday night's gashing bite marks on my hand, and saturday's nearly-broken elbow by the chomping of her ever-powerful jaws, that when i was ready to keep her on her leash forever or maybe even buy one of those dog cages to keep her in, fell once again in total love with jojo when i realized she likes to smash snails after using those ever-powerful jaws to chomp them. yeh, sick, i know, but jeez i hate snails and she seemed delighted to find something new to chew on. win-win if you ask me.