Celebrating 50!

No, not me, my husband. I'm the trophy wife (ha!) Yesterday was the dreaded 50th birthday so we had a party. I spent most of the week beforehand cleaning up clutter, vacuuming (or having kids vacuum), clearing and wiping surfaces, cleaning bathrooms, and, the pièce de résistance, scrubbing all the mildew off the screen porch (it has been years since I scrubbed it). It was in sad shape; the roof has been leaking for years and we are currently talking to a contractor about tearing it down and rebuilding, so it has not been a priority. But with the party coming up and the possibility of being outdoors, it had to be cleaned. The things I'll do for the love of my husband...

before

after

It took me two days of scrubbing both ceilings and walls. Phew! Then, after all that, we had such hot humid weather the night of the party that nobody could stand to be outside, so we all stayed comfortable in the air conditioning inside. Oh well, at least as the weather cools in the fall we'll have a lovely, clean, comfortable screened porch to enjoy.

With all the party prep, I lost steam on my olympics knitting. Closing ceremonies are tonight and I'm not very close to finished. No medal for me!

It's more than halfway done though, and I will finish it and find a person or charity to give it to. I think it will really blossom when I block it.

Now that we have enjoyed and cleaned up from the big party, it's time to get ready for the next "thing," the trip to California for a family Bar Mitzvah. We have to be packed and ready by tomorrow night so we can leave the house the next day before the crack of dawn to catch our very early flight. So today it's laundry, lists, and more organizing. Phew! No wonder the summer always seems so short; we never have time to get bored and lazy!

The Bar Mitzvah is in San Diego, near where we lived when the two older kids were born. The summer weather out there can be hot, but predictions are for fairly comfortable temps this coming week (high 70s and low 80s), and there will be virtually no humidity! Yay! I'm going to really appreciate that, as I need to fit in a 10-mile run sometime during this week in order to stay on my training schedule for the half marathon in September. Our 90% humidity here has really slowed me down lately.

Onward!

Shelley in CT