Weekend Wrap Up - Music, Ocean, A Debate
It was a great weekend, and hopefully I am still friends with a neighboring gentleman after going head to head on an issue I'm more passionate about than I'd realized!
Friday - This was housecleaning morning, and in that I'm on the early schedule, with my wonderful cleaning team arriving at 7AM, my husband and I head down to the harbor as soon as they arrive. We sat in our car for the first hour, while we sipped coffee and read our iPhones. Once sufficiently awake, we enjoyed a lovely and cool five mile walk, which was particular appreciated after a series of warm days here where I ended up throwing in the towel and finally turning on our A/C.
Normally my husband and I go to lunch after walking the harbor together on housecleaning day, however, I'd hit a new low weight threshold in the morning, and asked if he would mind eating at home instead, so I could eat a smaller meal in my almost-there efforts to reach my revised goal of 110. He was kind enough to agree - thank you honey!
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| So, so close! |
This is the evening I grilled the London broil I'd been marinating. It turned out really terrific, and although I made homemade steak sauce to go along with, it really didn't need it. The marinade (recipe here) did a lovely job of permeating the meat.
Saturday - Worked outside in the adjacent HOA area (I have no landscaping around my own property - it's all hardscaping aside from two very small planters. This was deliberate on our part, as we wanted to achieve a lock-and-go situation for long travel periods). I actually enjoy trimming and weeding - I find it tremendously satisfying.
I got good and sweaty, so I enjoyed my lunch and some reading outside in our yard, where a really nice breeze was blowing.
Afterward I showered and got cleaned up for a Happy Hour event we were attending with two neighboring couples. The Happy Hour restaurant was lovely in that we had a shaded outdoor patio table. We all six were having a wonderful time talking and laughing when, somehow, one of the husbands and I got into it over the most basic of basic gun regulation efforts. He immediately went to the stance of "You all just want to take our guns away!" I responded, "Dude! We just want to see the needle moved slightly - even 5% would help. Stop with the '5% will turn into 100%!' BS!"
Oh gosh, it got heated. But 1) he started the conversation about guns and gun control efforts, not me, 2) our current no-regulations situation is causing harm to innocent children, which is 1000% unacceptable to me, and 3) we did manage to hug and shake hands afterward. And now he knows - don't start it and I won't seek to finish it.
Sunday - Up early to drop one of cars at the harbor for a floating concert happening later in the day. We returned home to attend spiritual services, then walked back to the harbor on foot to enjoy the concert, along with a lunch I'd packed earlier and left in the car. The harbor was packed when we arrived, so it was definitely a good plan to head down earlier in order to reserve a parking spot. The concert was great fun, as was the mass of small watercraft that crowded in. Plus, bonus, we watched an Osprey scoop up a fish in its talons right in front of us.
We drove home from the concert, and enjoyed the last of the London broil steak for dinner, along with rice and broccoli. I also made pesto with the last of the summer's basil, which I then froze for future use.
Good day, good weekend.
See you back here in two weeks when I return - likely with some good adventuring stories!
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I am pleased that you were able to end the 'discussion' with your neighbour on a kind of 'agree to disagree' stance! The regulations, or lack of, baffle those of us who watch from afar.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a good idea to grab a good parking spot in advance of a night out, you are lucky to have event venues within walking distance and be able to do that. The last thing you want after a fun evening is an hour sitting in a car park waiting to get out! Have fun on your trip.
If not for the cocktail I was drinking, I would have likely simply changed the subject. But, instead I ‘went there,’ oh well.
DeleteI should clarify that we walked three miles to get there. But it was comfortably cool, slightly downhill, and scenic, so not an unpleasant endeavor at all. Knowing the holiday patterns is definitely helpful, and eliminates a good deal of stress.
Have a great time hiking in Canada! Agree with debs14 that you were able to shake hands with your neighbor and agree to disagree. It is such a hot topic. I grew up in Newtown CT, the home of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Never in my life did I think anything like that would ever happen. I am beyond bewildered that the slaughter of 20 5 and 6 year olds and 6 educators still didn't precipitate any change in gun laws.
ReplyDeleteMaura
I referenced Sandy Hook during our discussion (really an argument 😕 ). That is the event hat changed my stance on guns forever. There is no returning from that tragedy, ever. And of course, the tragedies have continued.
DeleteThank you for taking the time to comment, Maura.
Good for you for being able to engage your neighbor on the subject of guns. I am 100% with you! Have a wonderful time on your trip to Canada!
ReplyDeleteI am not shy about returning fire with fire, but I am rarely guilty of starting it. I just won’t standby silently, for better or worse, once things get started.
DeleteI am very much looking forward to the adventures that await, so thank you!