FLOWERING CHERRY: Life is just a bowl of...

Quiet day... I'm up early and enjoying the morning--making some French Press coffee and a pear salad before 6:15am. Plenty of time to read my latest Elizabeth George novel before CA is up. At 8:00am I call the Auto Doctor to schedule a second opinion on the fate of the Forester. Dr. Auto is very reassuring and encouraging and tells me to bring the car in tomorrow morning. Maybe we can save a few hundred dollars over what the dealer quoted.

JS calls me at 9:00am and we meet at her house at 10:00am for an hour walk through the neighborhoods and country club of McHenry. It's low 40s this a.m., so our walk is invigorating. We plan to walk again soon.

Before going to JS's CA and I prune some branches from our flowering cherry tree and I tie a large red bow around a bunch to brighten JS's day. I can hardly wait to arrange a large bouquet for our mantle.

I stop at Joseph's for some domestic feta and end up buying some beets to roast--something I've never done. I've seen recipes involving blue cheese, so I add some Gorgonzola to my cart. And, when I spy the sweet potatoes I can imagine how good a roasted one will taste with the gorgeous lean pork chops I find. I also get 3 lbs. of lean ground pork for chili verde and 2 NY strip steaks just because they are so yummy. We've grilled these steaks twice lately for our Monster Tacos. I'm thinking CA and I will share a grilled steak one dinner soon.

I snuggle into the big red chair next to the fireplace with my book and spend the afternoon reading and napping. Sweet.