A Nice, Relaxed Saturday

I love a Saturday when you can start a job and stick with it till you're finished or you're at a good stopping point--instead of rushing to quit before you have to go do something else. This Saturday morning was like that. I plowed through several tasks that I had been putting off: tackling a pile of papers, receipts, and reports that needed to be filed; sorting through the folder full of information we need before we can do our taxes; figuring out how to get the balance from our Flex Savings Account online (I finally had to call 'em); ordering some books; balancing the checkbook; and paying bills. I wasn't able to cross everything off my weekend to-do list, but I was pleased that I had the chance to get done as much as I did.

Evelyn and I took a walk too: 50 degrees, sunny, and not much breeze. A perfect day to go to the park, which was also the conclusion of a couple dozen people (and their dogs) we saw there. One little group was even having a picnic of sorts as they huddled in hoodies around pizza boxes. (Best sight of the day: a 10-year-old on skates being pulled down the asphalt path by an enthusiastic dog on the end of the leash he was holding.)

Yummy appetizers at our dinner:
homemade hummus with roasted
tomatoes and pita wedges . . .

This evening we went out to eat with Dan and Cindi Cooper. We told them we wanted to take 'em out sometime soon after Cindi's Dad's funeral last weekend. We went to Teller's in Hyde Park--I think we got the last available reservation they had open this evening. The place was packed. The food was good. The conversation was a good mix of laughter and catching up and considering all they've been through in the last couple of weeks.

. . . and buffalo chicken egg rolls,
an especially wonderful treat!

After dinner we window-shopped for a few minutes in Hyde Park Square, and then Evelyn suggested we drive down to Grandin Drive and gawk at the mansions behind the iron fences on either side of the street. We decided we need to come back in the daylight--maybe some summer weekend evening--when we can see more.