Slow Down Monday

 A steady light rain has been falling most of the day. That's OK. We needed a slow down day.

Well, sort of slow down. It's house keeping and laundry day, and we started slow and worked slow and got it done. I just got back from the clinic where I had a blood draw for a lab test, a regular event. 

We've been busy and we needed the rain too. During one of my slow downs this morning I took some rain photos. 

Down on the deck it's raining wisteria petals now. We hate to see them go. but nothing lovely lasts long in spring time. 

This week Tom lifted all of the tulip bulbs that had been planted in gallon nursery cans. Then we made some changes. Things we had tried in the tulip bed for summer weren't working so we decided to do a permanent planting of hostas.

That involved cleaning out a lot of stuff and rebuilding part of the wall. The hostas are different sizes because we made a list of what we wanted and then shopped for them over the last two months, finding all on our list, but in different places and in different sizes. 

They'll grow, and while they do I've planted some clumping nasturtiums for summer color and we will still plant tulips as long as there is space for them. 

While Tom was doing the heavy work  I was deadheading poppies, edging the lawn and planting seeds and flower starts in the raised beds. I also just enjoy being outside in our garden.

More rainy morning photos. 

Self seeded fox gloves are blooming.

There are chickadees in this bird house. 

Greenness. 

Edges. 

I found a place for the May Apples that Tom grows in pots, sheltered under cover for the winter. 

 Friday and Saturday our activity schedule was built around watching live streaming of granddaughter Irene's participation in her first high school league track meet. She qualified in four events. On Friday afternoon she ran one leg of the 4X200 m relay and competed in the 100 M hurdles, improving her league placement from 13th to 10th. 

On Saturday we had to pull over in the car and watch on our phones as she ran the 300 m hurdles and a leg of the 4X400 m relay.

Irene fell on the last hurdle, losing what might have been her second or third placement, but she got up and still came in 6th. After being mad briefly, she said she felt proud,

Bandaged but unbroken. 

Jill was working the meet and had the chance to take photos and videos which she shared with us. 

We were in our car Saturday morning because we were garden touring and hosting our garden club for the tour and then a bring your own lunch in our garden afterwards. Amazingly, I took no photos this time, choosing to just slow down and look and then get back home to have the hot coffee ready when the guests arrived. It was a cold morning and we mere making them sit outside. 

After lunch we led tours of our garden. There were lots of appreciative comments, some good questions, and lots of ooing and awing over the wisteria. No one was in a hurry to leave as the sun came out to warm us up. 

Sunday was Sounders day. The stadium opened up a section for vaccinated season ticket holders and we were able to get tickets. I was a bit nervous about navigating the light rail and the stadium, but we used elevators when there were no escalators and I had selected seats with easy access. We were not worried about Covid exposure. Masks were required on the train and anywhere in the stadium not in our section. Our Vaccination record was checked on entry. 

On the Train.

Our view from our stadium seats. 

The tifo said it well, "Meant to be together". 

It was good to be back. The match ended in a tie, which we didn't love, but being there was great. I managed physically well enough that we will be back in those same seats next Sunday, hoping for a Sounders Soccer victory. 

Now I need to get another set of PT exercises done before I have to cook dinner. Gotta' keep moving, even on a slow day.