Hey There!
It's 10:24 AM EDT, 75°F, Humidity 66%, Wind 8 mph SW, AQI 49
I'm getting to this a little later than usual because I thought I would wait until after my brother left to write this morning's post. It's been a very nice weekend with him and my SIL visiting.
Yesterday I went through my morning routine quickly, and when my brother came down we sat on the porch while I drank coffee and we had muffins for a morning snack. Once my SIL and DW came down we had a little breakfast. I settled for a bagel and cream cheese with a little fruit on the side. My SIL was planning to go to a garden show up in Big City, so we printed out some maps for her and I gave her a few tips on where to go to see the best gardens. She's really into gardening, and their house is replete with shrubs, bushes, and flowers. My brother and I hung around the house, but eventually we got it together to head over to the village one stop west where I've been doing the project. I had the day off from it, and there was an arts and crafts festival going on.
We took a walk around the space. Usually I don't care for all these crafty nick-nacks, but I like to go to see if there are any unusual food items. I did not find any, but I did buy some maple cream, and I also found a pair of earrings for DW made of lake glass. My brother bought a quart of maple syrup and a slice of grape pie. The pie was not good, and not representative of the grape pies the area generally produces. I'll have to wait until the fall to get a real grape pie.
We headed over to the pie shop to see if they had anything left for the day. We lucked out completely, as a peach-blueberry pie was just coming out of the oven. Otherwise they were sold out. So we bought the pie and had to let it cool down and cure a bit, that's how fresh it was. We headed over to the fish market for some perch sandwiches, which we ate by the beach. The day was really picture perfect.
My brother was interested in seeing the local Native American reservation, so we drove there to get gas. He was pretty amazed to see all the marijuana dispensaries as well as the tax-free gas. He let his wife know she should stop there to fill up the tank on the way home.
I also decided to check into a resort project I had heard about for a few years but didn't know had opened and/or was running. To my great surprise, the resort was in fact in operation, and looked very cool, upscale, and enticing. Lounge furniture on the beach, a grilling station, a bar, about 8 small condo units, and a restaurant were on the premises. Small, but rather classy. I was a little stunned to find such a nice place in my rural neck of the woods. I made a mental note to check out their website.
When we got back home, I gave DW the earrings and we put stuff away. I decided to take a nap. I am not sure if my brother took one or not. I woke up about 4:30, and by then my SIL had returned from the Big City garden tour. She said she toured around 20 gardens, which I thought was quite a lot. We prepped for dinner, and I went out to grill the chicken thighs while my brother and I continued to chat away. Chicken shwarma was on the menu. DW has been serving as the "hostess with the mostest" for this whole weekend, and had done a lot of preparation over this past week, baking muffins and cookies and preparing the menu. We always like to make my brother and SIL feel like they are on vacation when they come for a visit.
We had some pie after dinner, then went to the local park to catch the sunset. It was just a bit too hazy for a good sunset, and the pictures I took did not come out all too well, but sitting there in the park with a cool breeze was just so relaxing.
After getting home from the sunset excursion, my brother went to bed. He generally goes to bed quite early, around 8 PM, and gets up early. The women chatted in the kitchen, while I went into the living room to pass the time on the computer. The ballgame was already late into the game so I did not bother to turn it on. I didn't watch anything too significant, just a couple of camping gear equipment. I was the last person to head up to bed at around 11:30 PM.
My brother has already left for home as of this morning. This is the last day of the project, and by this evening I will be free of that obligation. Looking eagerly forward to that moment!
'Til We Meet Again!