The Hub

Well, my plan to finish last night's entry and then go watch this week's Outlander on my iPad didn't quite work out.  I forgot the time difference between here and California and at the time I finished writing, Outlander hadn't yet aired on the west coast.  So I just went to sleep....BUT when I woke up at 3 a.m., there it was, so I watched it then and then went back to sleep.  "The Wedding" was the best episode yet (and the thousands of Facebook posts this morning seem to agree with me!) 

Jeri was participating in a bike event in Boston (Boston Hub on Wheels), with a group of thousands of other bikers, and rode some 35 miles through the scenic, historic and back roads of Boston.  She seems to have had a marvelous time, despite getting a flat tire at the end.

Phil went to yoga and Walt walked to the arboretum, which was a rest stop on the bike event.  He was able to bring Jeri her sunglasses and sun screen, which she had left at home and texted about before the race started.

He came home reporting it was quite humid out and I probably was glad I had not gone with him.  I lay down on the couch to read (since Lester was using the chair) and fell asleep, dreaming of being in the shower surrounded by thousands of flying insects and one gigantic multicolored beetle, the size of a pot lid, in one corner.  I did the logical thing--screamed at the insects and ran for the camera to take a picture of the beetle who, by the time I got back with the camera, had opened its wings and revealed it was a huge parrot.  That's when I woke up. I almost never have dreams like that.

By the time I woke up, Jeri had just arrived, with tales of her adventures.  She was exhausted and went to take a nap.  Walt and I went into the living room and first he napped in the chair and then I fell asleep for about 2 hours on the couch.  

While we were all sleeping, Phil was "puttering" and by the time I woke up, he had this gorgeous "beer can chicken" just about cooked on the Weber.  He also had other goodies prepared...he had been a busy bee during naptime for the rest of us.

We staggered outside and he served us appetizers of fabulous bread, thin slices of cheese, avocado slices and tomatoes (regular and heirloom) that tasted--gasp!--like tomatoes used to taste.

Jeri, Lester, Walt and I sat in the garden, drinking the "Pretty Things" beer we had purchased yesterday, and watched Phil work.

 

When dinner was ready we went inside and enjoyed the fruits of Phil's labors.  He had even baked a delicious peach pie.  He had lost my crust recipe (which is really Julia Child's) and asked if I remembered it.  Turns out I have it in my "notes" file on my cell phone (I need it when making a pumpkin pie at Alice Nan & Joe's house).

While we were eating our pie and the ice cream Jeri went out to get, Jeri read today's comics to us.

 

Now it is 9:30 and everyone is going to bed.  Jeri is exhausted from her long ride, Phil is exhausted from his day of puttering, Walt is exhausted because he's old and I'm not quite exhausted yet because I've had two solid naps, so I think I'll watch Outlander again, by which time I should be ready for sleep again too.

Best of all, I have had no heartburn at all today.  It's been uncomfortable the last 2 days, but it seems it has finally passed.

Shhh...don't tell Polly!