Recipe for a Perfect Weekend

I have to say I just had the best, if not perfect, weekend. Nearly all of the stars were in alignment for things to be at the optimum – it was great.

Reading a Good Book

It’s been a long time since I took the time to read a book for pleasure. I can’t explain exactly why that is other than there has been a lot going on in my life. Within the past five years I have done the following: met and married the man who is now my husband; purchased a home and with that comes all sorts of responsibilities; been laid off, ran my own business and started a different job; had two pets die but adopted two; had a step-daughter graduate from high school and, because I don't have enough going on, I started grad school.

So, short story, not much time to read books for leisure. But in the past few weeks, thanks to my niece, Christiana Johnson, I discovered the Hunger Games trilogy. I had seen the movie a couple of times but hadn't taken the time to read the book. I am ecstatic that I did so. The movie was phenomenal but the book – oh my, what a trip. It had me from page one and has not yet released me.

Yes, I'm in grad school but yet, I can't put these books down. I have plowed through books one and two and book three beckons me as I type. Alas, so does homework . . . ;)

Doing Yard Work

Given all of the snow, rain and lack of sunny weekend days this year, I feel as though summer only just began. I didn't plant my entire garden, my peas and beans were planted terribly late, and only half of my flower boxes have some semblance of flowers in them.

This past weekend was filled with yard work, fence building and pulling weeds. I never thought that pulling weeds would land in the “great weekend” category but guess what, it did. At the end, I felt that a job was accomplished and that eventually something would grow strong and straight, no longer hindered by weeds.

Visiting Family

I had the opportunity to see my niece this weekend along with visiting with her little boy. Christi is much like the daughter I never had. She was born when I was only 14 and we pretty much grew up together. Then, when she had her son, Owen, life dropped me in her city with a new job and time on my hands. Throughout the time I was living in DC and babysitting Owen, I grew closer to both my niece and her son. There are times that she feels like both my sister and my daughter as well as my niece. Always she feels like my friend and confidant.

So to me, the combination of reading, doing work in the garden and visiting family account to the best weekend I've had in a long time. Nothing better than expanding your brain, getting dirt under your fingernails and getting caught up on family stories.