Confession: I did something a little shady this weekend. In the dark of night, I put on my navy hoodie, grabbed my shears, walked down the street and raided my neighbor's lilac bush. Please don't think too badly of me; the house is not currently occupied. My neighbors moved to another state a couple of weeks ago and their house is for sale. I miss them. We have been good friends for years and they are a homeschooling family, too.

"Sometimes it's fun to sit in the sink," says Indiana Jones. This cat makes me laugh every day.  Both of our cats are strictly indoor cats. After our last cat "Mischief" was hit by a car and killed, we stopped letting our cats go out. I hadn't realized how much of their lives I was missing when they were outside. Really, you don't know what they get up to out there on their own. Amy and I read the book Lost Cat last year, and it made me think lots about that.

We had another banner day this weekend! Saturday was Luke's eighth birthday. It began with clouds and rain, but by mid-morning it had brightened into a beautiful, sunny day. I was glad, because his "big" gift was a new, blue scooter.

He also received a Lego set, Minecraft figures, a stomp rocket and some new summer clothes. And, of course there was cake. Chocolate. ♥

I'm feeling happy about my vegetable beds at the moment. I say "at the moment" because every day something new happens in the garden. A few weeks back I found all six heads of my delicate Boston lettuce dug up and in tatters. It seems that our resident squirrel remembered he had buried some walnuts in my garden boxes last autumn, but as is always the case with squirrels, he couldn't remember the exact spot, so he set to digging everywhere. (Apparently, squirrels are not the least bit afraid of gnomes.) We are now without the Boston, but thankfully, there is still the Romaine, and we have lots of broccoli, spinach, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, peas, and radishes, too.

I enjoyed a quiet Sunday afternoon on the back deck watching the birds, the chipmunks and squirrels, sipping iced tea, reading The Moonstone (a terrific mystery) and working on the sleeves of my cardigan. It was relaxing and peaceful--just what I needed. I was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and from what I understand getting enough rest is vital to managing it.

Last night, I watched the season finale of Amazing Race and spent the rest of the evening happily browsing sock and hat patterns on Ravelry. I'm trying to hurry and finish up knitting the sleeves of my cardi, so I can cast on with my new yarn. I love the feeling of starting a new project, don't you? I just wish I was faster at completing them!