SU Graduate School Graduation

The crowds filled the sides of Key Arena.

The keeper and Patty B got seats right over the platform on the stage.
They waited for Leticia and Elizabeth to process in with the other STM grads.
One of them read and the other checked Facebook a lot and played Words with Friends.
They texted the graduates, who eventually texted back.

Leticia receiving her Masters in Pastoral Studies degree. They hooted and cheered.

Elizabeth receiving her Master of Divinity degree.
( Patty B's snap)
They hooted and cheered again.

Two very relieved and proud and exhausted graduates. 

Congratulations! 

To Key Arena and SU Graduation

When it was time to go to the graduation, she caught the Monorail. Lots of tourists.

And lots of people young and old playing in the fountain.

Early Sunday Afternoon Research

After Mass this morning, the keeper headed downtown before attending the SU graduation. 

She told me she went to a large bookstore and did research on what to do with the ground in our back yard.  Should it be filbert husks or corn gluten or wood chips or gravel in between the beds of plants? She found some ideas to take back to Jesus.  She learned today that the County gives away free wood chips. That sounds like a pretty good deal.

I told her I thought I hoped she did some other fun things while she was down there. 

She told me not to worry, that the salmon patties on the bed of shredded fennel were heavenly.

First 2015 Dinner on the Almost Complete Deck

To celebrate this spectacular productive and active day, we had dinner on the deck.  She was very happy to share her Copper River salmon with me. I had suggested a white wine to go with it all, but she clung to the red. I dozed and she read her back issues of The New Yorker. 

PS.  No, the deck is not finished yet, but we are not letting that stop us.

Dr. Patio Furniture Dresses the Deck

The keeper ran over to Lands End at Sears to return a sweater.  

As she was racing back to her car she ran through the patio furniture section. 

Lucky Day: she found an amazingly good sale with just what she had been looking for.

Carlos, the helpful sales associate, member of the most understaffed sales team ever, helped her collect her bargains and even helped her get them out to the car.

When she got home, she realized that she needed even more. So she returned to the store to  track down Carlos, her new best friend, who was going to save things for her.  But Carlos was beginning to have a very crazy day, and I think she was part of the craziness. When his manager came and told him to help someone else, the keeper shouted, " No! He is helping ME!" The supervisor obeyed, and left him alone. Carlos thanked her. Carlos finally got his first break all day at 4 PM after the keeper finally left with all the pillows he had. The keeper learned all about Carlos' hopes and dreams to get back into the tech world as a support person.  He is very patient and we wish him well.

My day was far less traumatic.  I simply tested pillows as they showed up..

An Outdoor Saturday

Well, readers, we got up early this morning.

The keeper discovered why I was feeling peckish and off my food.  She had thought it was the thyroid treatment. But she discovered the evidence which I  had "coughed up." Yes, it's true, I slipped back into my old habit of eating clear plastic bags. I feel better now, so I must have coughed all of it up. 

With that new information, the keeper spent most of the day in the yard or getting things for the yard.  We had a morning of pruning roses and weeding and filled a very large dumpster.

Then there was the trip to LFP Town Centre to the hardware store which resulted in four flats of summer flowers marked down 75%!  A $25 deal, if there ever was one! She was a greed hog with the Wave Petunias.

Meanwhile, in the Burbs

It was pretty chill!