Arrived home at about 7 to find the lawn had grown maybe six inches since Evelyn finished cutting it THIS Tuesday. So I jumped into some old pants and went at it for more than 30 minutes, and then Evelyn came out and cut for 30 minutes more. The lawn was so wet and long that we were clearing out the caked-up grass from the bottom of the mower every couple of swaths. So we didn't finish. Evelyn hopes to cut the rest (mainly the front) tomorrow night while I'm at a meeting at church.
The same sun and rain that made our lawn grow (and the trees and bushes in our yard bloom) created magnificent displays at the Missouri Botanical Garden, which we visited yesterday afternoon with the Friskneys. I posted 20+ pictures on Facebook, but I'll choose a few here to give an idea of the beauty of this place. I really hope we can go there again.
After visiting the Garden from 2:00-5:00 (when they closed), we drove up to The Hill, the Italian neighborhood of St. Louis with a wonderful restaurant on every corner. We chose a place called Zia's and had a sumptuous feast of breaded artichoke hearts, stuffed mushrooms, delightful salads with a sweet vinaigrette and fresh-grated mozzarella and parmesan, grilled chicken, pasta with shrimp, and cannelloni. (We didn't all have all of that, but you get the idea.) It was early when we got back downtown, so we changed into walking shoes and browsed up and down Washington Avenue, a happenin' couple of blocks with restaurants and clubs and interesting people to see. We stopped for coffee and a little something sweet at the 12th Street Diner before calling it a night. Really, it was a wonderful time.
