an unexpected visit

My long-time friend, Lida, called me the other night and said she would be in town just for one day and would like to stay overnight with me. I love it when she does this. We get some time to chat and she gets free bed and board. She came in about 9 PM, so we had some time to play catch up on news of families and friends. Yesterday AM, we went shopping. She was looking for something to wear to her daughter's wedding (in October). I'm not sure if she found what she wanted, but I enjoyed browsing in stores (and departments) where I seldom shop. I do not have any reason to buy dressy clothes, since retirement. Frankly, I don't want the kind of life-style where I have to dress up often, but it's fun to look at all the sparkly dresses.

I did a bit of gardening yesterday - planted some red trilium that my SIL gave me and repotted some plants. Mostly my garden just needs trimming these days. If I get a dry afternoon, I will try to tie back a beauty bush that has taken over a section of the back. So far, it's been too wet, either from AM dew or PM rain to fight with that bush. And, of course, the forsythia is all over the place again. Don't ever plant forsythia, unless you have lots of room! I've cut the thing back to within 12 inches of the ground several times, but in a couple of years it's right back there in my face! If the soil weren't so hard to dig in (clay and stones), I'd dig the darn thing out and put in something more civilized. However, it's been there 20 years and getting it out would require a backhoe! I guess it's time to cut it back again and make it start over.

The photographs are of the the place where I ate lunch with two of my classmates last week on my visit to New York State. Snug Harbor is on Keuka Lake (one of the Finger Lakes). We sat on the porch and enjoyed the lake view. Good food and good friends. Who can ask for anything more?