Friday 5/31, Susan met me at the house and the three of us took off for Daly’s so I could pick up paint for the condo. We chatted in the car quite a bit and next headed up to Crossroads to the GO. It is very nice and we all really cleaned up. I left with several overflowing bags. We got a ton of snacks and I had a ton of fun. We headed home and Susan took off for Jon’s. Eric and I had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Thursday 5/30, I stayed a little late at work and luckily the day went pretty quickly. Eric made a delicious veggie quiche for dinner and Cherry gave us a whole bunch of kale from her garden that Eric sautéed up. I spent time putting things away and doing things around the house. I got quite a bit done, including setting up Jorge to come over Saturday to paint the condo. We went to bed at a decent time.

Wednesday 5/29, We were up by 6:30, packing, getting ready and I went out and tried to clean up the car. We said goodbye to auntie and were on our way. We stopped at the smoothie place where we both got one and a cookie for the road. We were super low on gas and were trying to make it to Kapa’a to fill up. It was a close call but we made it. I dropped off Aubrie and went to return the rental car. Caught the shuttle, dropped my bag, went through agriculture and security and then called Aubs who was waiting for her flight. We went to the gift shop and looked around while looking for Amos on facebook. No luck, but we’re going to do some more work when we get home. We sat at her gate until it was time to go then said our final goodbyes and I headed to my gate. I got a sandwich for the flight. I read during the flight and watched Bridesmaids then started another movie before landing. My luggage came out super fast and Eric pulled up shortly after. Eric had made a quiche so we had some of that when we got home. The dogs were very excited to see me. We went and sat out in the backyard and talked and hung with the dogs. We went to the store to get a few things then home and into the shower. Eric wanted to get a party started so we chatted in the shower then into bed and messed around. It was late by the time we got to bed.

Tuesday 5/28, We slept in a little but eventually got up and headed into Hanalei to get some breakfast. We went to the coffee roasters place where we both got smoothies and I got Eric a rooster bookmark. I also got a blueberry muffin. We sat for a long time and talked and people watched on the lanai outside the gift shop. We perused all the cute things in the shop before walking over to the bathing suit shop so Aubrie could get another bikini bottom. We stopped at Foodland on the way home to get a cucumber for auntie then we picked up some souvenirs like chocolate covered macadamia nuts, a shot glass, some serving utensils and gummy hula dancers. At home we got ready to head down to the river. I called Web again and then Auntie did but no answer. We headed down anyway. Amos was down there and we were both so excited. When I walked up he was like “Back for some more, huh?” so he clearly remembered. We reintroduced ourselves and he said he’d get the paddle boards ready. We went out but the wind was stronger than the prior time so we kept getting blown over to the side. We went in a few times to warm up and take some pictures and eventually went in for good. Aubrie asked Amos if she could get a picture with him and he was happy to oblige. I got two and they’re both cute. She was shaking as we walked back to the car. He gave Aubs his number and we said we’d hang later that night and maybe walk the bay. Aubrie and I went into Hanalei to get a milkshake and we sat and people watched until it was too cold. We sat in the car and AL came and met us. We went to Darcy’s to walk the beach and went all the way to the river. Aubrie and I got in and she got a couple underwater photos. Jake caught up with us on his run and ran all the way back to the pier. Aubs was texting with Amos and were going to meet up later. We rinsed off at Darcy’s then I headed home with Czar while Aubrie went with Jake to go to Queen’s Bath. Auntie came home and I showered and started packing. The two of us went to Kilauea to get pizza with Ahmet and Tracy Ann. Dylan was there, hot as ever, and gave us some of his special kambucha that he’s selling for $50 a gallon. Aubrie and Jake arrived and we had pizza and salad. For dessert we all shared a piece of chocolate cake. Aubrie’s phone had died so there were no plans with Amos, unfortunately. I was really looking forward to seeing him one more time, but it wasn’t meant to be. It started raining so we ran to the car and headed home. I kept packing and Auntie wanted to watch a movie so I picked Scoop. Aubrie and Jake went to hot tub at one of the resorts. I finished packing and got ready for bed. Auntie and I talked for a long time and she showed me a bunch of pictures. I was falling asleep and it was 1:30 so I told her I was tired and eventually started dozing off. Set my alarm and said good night. Aubrie came home at 3am.

Monday 5/27, We were up early so I could take Eric to the airport. Aubrie had just come from home from sleeping on the beach and was accompanied by Jake. They were going to go paddle boarding so I said I’d call when I got home. We made good time and had a nice chat on the way in. I dropped him off and we had a nice goodbye. On the way home I stopped at the little smoothie place and got one. At home I decided against calling Aubrie right away. I did some stuff on my computer then fell back asleep for a couple hours. Aubrie came home and I was tired and didn’t know what I wanted to do. We decided to make a move and to go into Hanalei to get some lunch and hit the bathing suit shop. We ran into Kalei and Moki who were just sitting hanging out. Kalei is so intense, but he’s attractive so it’s alright. They gave us some recommendations on shops then we took off. Aubrie got a new suit then we decided to try the new Brazilian / Mexican restaurant. I had a veggie burrito with purple squash, broccoli and carrots. It was delicious. We went to Hanalei Coffee Roasters so I could get some coffee to take home and decided to get an aloha bar while I was at it. We decided to go to Lumahi and Jake drove. He had what looked like a brownie taped with electrical tape to his clutch. We parked and walked down and it was beautiful. We were on the tourist side. We chatted and got in and out of the water. We took some pictures and Jake wore Aubrie’s bikini top in some of them. Jake jumped off the rock and shortly after we packed up and took off for home. Jake went home or somewhere else and Aubs and I decided to look for Kalei’s nasty video and also listened to clips of his songs. We did not find the video, but we did listen to a song that had the lyrics “put on your cutest panties” and we were dying laughing. Auntie made veggie pie and we watched Don Juan de Marco. Aubrie took off to hang out with Jake to watch a movie and hang out at his place. We watched the movie then put on The Artist in the bedroom. I fell asleep in the middle of it. Aubrie came home at 5am.

Sunday 5/26, We were up by 8 and out of the house and to Jake’s by 8:45. He hooked us up with an umbrella for our visit to Polihale (Bud Light). We stopped at the smoothie place on the way south and Aubs and Eric got smoothies while I got fruit and yogurt. We all got cookies for later. We kept on and made our way around the island. When we hit the dirt road for Polihale state park it was super rough, rougher than I remember, and it took us forever to make it to the beach. We made it there after a two-hour drive. We found a nice spot and set up camp. Lathered up on sunscreen and relaxed. We went in the water and drew things in the sand and took pictures. We stayed for 2.5 hours and I mostly stayed under cover. We packed up so we could get something to eat and to see Waimea Canyon. Luckily there were two places to eat right in Waimea and we decided to do Island Taco. The prices were over the top, but the food was excellent. After lunch Eric got a shave ice with macadamia nut ice cream while Aubrie bought a new pair of underwear since she’d bled out in her bathing suit. We headed up the mountain and I kept wondering if we’d passed it or missed the turnoff because I didn’t remember it taking so long to get to the lookout. It was 10 miles up, but it was gorgeous when we got up there. We took pictures and just stood and marveled. The breeze was wonderful and the view was amazing. We stayed for a while then headed back down then north. We drove through Hanapepe and made good time on the way home. We showered and got ready and decided to do Dolphin for dinner. We had a bit of a wait so we did some window shopping. We had a nice dinner and I got the beer battered fish and veggies. It started raining as soon as we left the restaurant so Eric went and got the car. At home Aubrie took off with Jake while Eric and I packed and got ready for bed. Auntie and Jay watched Crazy, Stupid Love which she loved. We went to bed and we were out.

Saturday 5/25, We got up and we had our day all planned out. Aubrie and I were going to paddle board and kayak down at the river mouth and Eric and AL were going down to the Monsanto protest in Kapa’a. The three of us went to the farmer’s market and I got an acai smoothie with granola. We sat on a little grassy knoll and ate our breakfasts. It was hot and I felt like I was burning so we headed home to meet up with Auntie. By noonish or so we went down to the river to find Web’s place. He wasn’t there but he told the guy down there, Amos, to give us anything we wanted. He was super cute and Aubrie and I kept making jokes about wanting to get a look at his famous cookies. First we did the kayak and went up river a bit then went into the bay and just let the current take us. It was really nice and we were having a great time. We did a lot of laughing and talking and looking at Amos from afar. Aubrie wanted to try the stand up paddle boards and I reluctantly agreed. We lathered up with more sunscreen and talked to Amos while we waited our 15 minutes. He’d only been on the island for two weeks and some other stuff. He is so cute. He got the boards ready for us and gave us a short intro and let us go. I just paddled kneeling and sitting on my butt. It was really fun and we went all over. Mostly we would go up the river and then float down. Amos would come out and check on us on his board and we’d chat. We started to get hungry so we decided to head in. We asked Amos to take a couple pictures of us and he did a pretty good job. We told him maybe we’d be back and he said no problem. We left feeling a little lightheaded because of Amos’ charm and good looks. We called AL to see where they were and she asked if we could pick up Czar at the gallery so we did, but ended up being there for an hour as Mercedes finished everything up. She gave us some extra paintings for nothing and mounted them on the pretty paper and backing so we can pack them with no problems. We were really ready to be home and eat. When we got home we heated up leftovers. We were all so tired we crashed. Like, out for two hours, dead to the world crashed. None of us were hungry so we decided to postpone dinner and invited Jake over for a movie. He brought popcorn and homemade mochi over and we watched Skyfall. After the movie we all went to bed.

Friday 5/24, We woke up kind of late and sat outside on the patio for a little bit. I was hungry so I petitioned for a move to Hanalei Coffee Roasters for breakfast. We got our suits on and headed out. Breakfast was good and I got the granola with yogurt and fresh fruit then a Mango Madness smoothie. We packed up and headed to Tunnels (end of the road) and it was packed. We made our own parking spot and it worked out fine. We walked down past the swimming area a little ways and set up shop. We went in the water multiple times then back in the shade. I still burned; however, my hair is getting bleached out. We went to swim in the calm part for a few minutes then headed back. It was after 1:00. We stopped in Hanalei, picked up some things, stopped at Art and Soul and bought some paintings from Mercedes and headed home. We ate lunch when we got there (leftover enchiladas for Aubrie and me) Auntie arrived shortly after. We decided to get ready and get some ice cream at Lapperts (I got Heavenly Hana) where Czar pulled Auntie and her sorbet went flying (“ahhhhh!”) then we went to see Jake at work. Auntie wants a water feature by the front door so she was looking around to see what tickled her fancy. We told him we’d meet up with him later and went down the road to Kilauea to see the little shops. Didn’t buy anything, stopped at the health food store to get stuff for the potluck, then heard there wasn’t a potluck but decided we were going to go anyway and eat our snacks on the beach in Hanalei. We got home, got everything together and headed off to see the sunset and lunar eclipse. We stopped at the lookout, took some pictures and headed down to Darcy’s. We went out, took tons of pictures, there was a double rainbow and we got in and out of the water for a while. It was pretty warm and the bay was so beautiful. We put out our blanket and snacks and chowed down. Auntie’s three friends came (Vilma, Tim and Kris) Jake showed up on his paddle board and hung too. We watched the moon rise and people slowly peeled off. We were going to stay down there so we drove Auntie to Vilma’s car so she could catch a ride then Eric and I went and found Jake and Aubrie. She’d ridden on his paddle board to the other side of the pier. He was getting a fire going and snacks out. We stayed down there until 11:30. Jake did fire dancing and gave Aubrie some lessons. We also did one of those prayer/hope/wish lanterns that you light and let go. It was really pretty and we watched it until it went out or was so far away it was not visible. As we were sitting there a helicopter kept flying over the bay and Jake said someone was out there and they were looking for them. As Jake started giving Aubrie the fire dancing demonstration we decided to go and Jake was going to bring Aubrie home. We drove back, talked with AL for a few minutes then to bed. I was more burned than I thought. Nuts.

Thursday 5/23, We got up early for a hike and Auntie had called someone to take us: Jake. Eric made smoothies and then Jake brought some too. We took off and while it was beautiful, it was a lot of uphill and I’m not in great shape. Jake told us a lot about the plants and terrain. Aubrie and I were lagging behind. When we got to the top the view was gorgeous. We headed back down then to Tropical Taco where we bought Jake lunch. The food was alright. We went back to Auntie’s and Jake took off. We didn’t shower because we were going to go to Auntie Angeline’s for the steam bath and lomi lomi. On the way over we stopped at the farm and picked lychee and met Dylan, the gorgeous blonde Brit with a bun. So hot. Aubrie pinched my butt as we were talking to him to signal her appreciation. So, so hot. We went over to Angeline’s but there was no steam so we just sat around and roasted on the deck. Diva and her friend Soleil arrived as well as a few others. Since it was off and it was so hot we decided to head back north. We stopped at the farm again on the way home and picked more lychee, avos and limes. When we got home we got ready and headed down to Anini with Czar. I got in the water to help my mosquito bites and we took some pictures. Czar was restless and we couldn’t find Diva and Soleil so we headed back after a half hour. When we got home Eric went to the store with Aubrie to get food to make enchiladas for dinner. A bunch of people came over including Jake, Diva, Soleil, Jay and later Mercedes. Eric made guac which we all enjoyed and worked on the rest of dinner. It took a while but when it was done it was delicious and everyone loved it. People started peeling off after dinner. Auntie served up ice cream with papaya for dessert. We all went to bed not much after.

Wednesday 5/22, The three of us were up early and decided to head down to the health food store and all got smoothies. We headed home and got our suits on. Auntie called Kalei and I talked to him and Mary and let them know we’d be down at Hanalei Bay lying out. We were out for a while then K and M showed up and K was wearing one of the most bizarre suits I’ve ever seen. It was like two layers of knit tights cut off mid-thigh. And white. When he came out of the water we could see everything. We sat and talked for a while and they did some swimming. I got something in my eye so we went to the store so I could get some contact solution and I could get my contact back in. We decided to go to Cold Pond, but when we arrived it was so crowded we went upstream via private property and sacred spot. It was chilly, but really beautiful. We stayed for quite a while then headed back into Hanalei. We dropped them off at the taco place and headed home. We filled Auntie in and all got changed and showered. We had Gangster Squad to watch and snacked on something, but I don’t remember what. We didn’t stay up too late past the end of the movie. We were all tired.

Tuesday 5/21, I woke up at 4:30, got ready, packed my bag and went inside to see if others were awake. Dad, Mom, Aubrie and I headed off to the airport and chatted the whole way. They dropped us off and the security line looked gnarly; all the way outside. We checked in, got our bags checked to Kauai (used MVP desk) and Aubrie went and stood in the security line. It moved quickly and we made it to our gate after each getting a breakfast snack. We boarded our long flight to Maui. We watched Your Highness and talked a lot. A lady next to us told us about biotin, which is great for hair, nails and skin. When we landed it was only 10 and we were starving so we went and got breakfast and headed to our gate. Our flight to Kauai was pretty quick but Aubrie still fell asleep. Eric emailed me to say his flight left over 1.5 hours late so he was going to be getting in later than expected. We got our bags, rental car (upgraded) and headed out to find something to do for a while. We ended up at the mall and got some snacks then waited in the car until Eric texted that he had arrived. We went and picked him up and headed up to Princeville. It didn’t take too long and the drive was gorgeous. We greeted Auntie and settled in. She had to run out to pick ferns so we stayed behind and decompressed. We decided to go into Hanalei to get something to eat and went to the health food store. No smoothies but AL called and said she’d pick up a pizza so we got stuff for a salad. Kalei and Mary were there so we said hi and that we’d see them later. We drove over to Pine Trees, saw the beach and surf, then back up to AL’s. We ate dinner and Mercedes came over to grab some for her mom. I showered while Eric and Aubs helped AL with her ferns. We were all so tired we were in bed by 10.

Monday 5/20, I was on a mission for shorts. We had some breakfast and got ready then Mom, Grandma and me went to Target. I tried on some things but nothing looked good except a little cardigan thing. I also got the new James Bond and Silver Linings Playbook. Next we went to Nordstrom Rack where I scored two new pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans and some new underwear all for like $50. We headed to Panera to meet Papa, Aubrie and Christian for lunch. I had a salad. We went home and Aubs took off for work. I did some laundry and started the process of packing and deciding what to send with Mom and Dad in the motorhome. Mom took a nap and I looked at dahlias online and made a list of the ones I want. Dad came home and him and Mom took off for the airport with Grandma and Papa. I read outside for a little bit then talked to Monique about listing the condo when I returned from vacation. Talked to Dad and Mom inside about Eric’s graduation present. Alishia and Pete came over for dinner and we had Kassie’s enchiladas. The conversation stayed civil but I know Pete and I don’t see eye to eye on many issues. Except dogs. He likes dogs and I guess I’ll have to take what I can get in that department. They left not too late and Dad made popcorn for us. We watched Castle, which I’ve never seen and it wasn’t too bad. I was doing stuff online while we watched. Mom was upstairs practicing her set. We all went to bed early to prep for getting up at 4:30 am to head to the airport.

Sunday 5/19, Aubrie decided against doing her school-wide grad ceremony. I made plans with Court to meet her and Ashley for lunch. I was out of the house by 10:45 and on my way south in Mom’s car. I met them at the Dana and soon we were off to lunch at a pizza place. I got to meet Ashley’s oldest daughter. We had fun and caught up and soon we were on our way back to the cars. Pat gave me a ride back to my car and then I got turned around getting back to the freeway because it’s like a gd maze down there and very poorly marked! When I got home I sat outside and relaxed and soon we were getting ready for the boat party. First we went to Aubrie’s to see her place and hang out and have some snacks. I talked to Eric on the phone out on her little deck. We headed down to the waterfront to board the Hornblower dinner cruise. We had a special table and had a very nice dinner. We were all missing Eric. The food was good and everyone did some dancing except me. Grandma broke off a piece and some black lady came over to tell her how awesome her moves were. I drove on the way home and we were all tired. Went to bed not long after we got home.

Saturday 5/18, I got up after sleeping in and Dad made pancakes for breakfast. Everyone was up and we started getting ready for Aubrie’s sociology graduation ceremony. We left around 1:30 and made our way down, parked and walked to the gym. It was indoors. It was a little bit of a long ceremony but some of the speakers made good points. Dad was beside himself. Afterward we took pictures outside then headed back to the car and back to Mom and Dad’s for the grad party. We talked about Pete most of the way home and I was not looking forward to meeting him, but Kassie said most of it on behalf of the rest of us. When we got back we started in on making guac and I was dreading him arriving. It went fine, but I didn’t say more than 4 words to him. The party was fun, but for the first part of it I was restless and didn’t want to be around anyone. I got over it and had a nice time. Food was good and I ate way too much. We all stayed up late; it was probably 11 by the time everyone left and around 1:00 before I went to bed.

Friday 5/17, Spent the day at work trying to get everything wrapped up before leaving on vacation (San Diego for Aubs’ graduation then to Kauai). Did a pretty good job and P let me leave a little early. I got home, showered, threw the rest of my stuff in my bag and had a little something to eat. Eric made veggie burritos so I didn’t have to worry about eating at the airport. We took off earlier than we needed to, but I was going to get there with plenty of time to spare. I went through the First Class line and checked my bag, then over to security where I got to stand in the short line. I made it through very quickly and walked around browsing. I stopped in Fireworks and got Alishia and Aubrie both something, then over to Dillatante, where the cookies were half off and the lady tried to get me to buy two. Kass and Sky changed their flight to mine so I met them at the gate. The flight was uneventful and it was late when we landed (11:30). Aubrie and Christian picked us up and we drove to Mom and Dad’s together. Kass, Sky and me were staying in the motorhome so we all sat out there talking for a long time before going to bed. I think we went to bed at 2.

Thursday 5/16, It was the night of Kassie’s spring open house. We got ready and headed out a little after 6. We stopped at Office Depot for some stuff then headed to White Center for the party. Sky and Chrystol met us there. The space was totally different from the last time we were there and it looked really nice. We stayed until 9:30 and headed home. Kass gave me a huge bag of hand-me-downs with some really good stuff. I did some packing and running around, checked in for my flight then to bed.

Wednesday 5/15, Blair was at the house after work, and was there to evaluate Fae. She was there until after 6 and gave us some good tips for building confidence and setting some boundaries. After she left I ate some dinner and worked on getting things together for our trip and also put some stuff away. Cindy and Andrew arrived after 7 and met Fae. We sat in the living room and talked until 8:45 so that was really fun. I think Fae will do ok there. We took off for the Rack where I got some new underwear and a new pair of shorts for Hawaii. Back home, folded some laundry, took dogs out, organized my bag, went online and saw I got upgraded to first class for my flight to San Diego. Yay! I wrote some emails and updated this before going to bed.

Tuesday 5/14, I stayed late at work then sat in a ton of traffic trying to get home. Eric had dinner waiting for me, but I had plans to get the peonies planted first. Eric said to just put them where I wanted them and he’d do it. I cleaned the bathroom instead. I had dinner after, then hand washed a few things. I did some things online then onto work. I worked for two hours then got ready for bed.

Monday 5/13, Eric took Jojo to work so B could pick her up. P confirmed I was still getting a raise all because she wants to reduce her taxes. Win-win. Power went out around 1:45 at work so I couldn’t get done what I wanted and asked P to send me my spreadsheet so I could work on it at home. Her power never went back on so I couldn’t do any work. I started packing and putting clothes away. Eric went to a movie and I watched Blue Valentine with the dogs. Eric was home not long after my movie was over. I went to bed by 11.

Sunday 5/12, Eric let me sleep in and got up with the dogs. I had a lot to get done but didn’t really want to. I did laundry, got out my luggage and spent some time in the backyard with the dogs. Eric went to work when I was talking to Mom on the phone for Mother’s Day. I went out in the yard and planted most of my new plants and did some trimming and pruning. Alix called and needed to talk so that took a little over an hour. I went to the store and picked up some things. At home I fed the dogs and did some other things, including bagging up a bunch of electronics to recycle. Eric arrived home just as I was making some dinner. I was tired and cranky and he told me I am the love of his life. It was so sweet I wanted to start crying. We took it easy for the rest of the night and went to bed.

Saturday 5/11, I was up early because Mom and I were celebrating mother’s day early. I tried to get a few things done before she arrived. We went to Brown Bag in Kirkland and had a nice breakfast then off to T and L where I got three new peonies, three lemontini hostas, three different hellebores, three cosmos and one blueberry (Reka). I wanted to get more but I refrained, especially since I didn’t know where I was going to put what I’d purchased. We went home and unloaded then into the house where we discussed the bathroom plans and out to the backyard to talk about those plans. We waited for the contractor and we went over everything then he took off. Doug and Ryan showed up and we went over window designs for the master bath and I think we came up with a good solution. They left and Mom stuck around for a little while longer then took off. I was tired and laid down for a little bit then Eric came home. We got ready for dinner and took off for The Saint to meet up with Roberto and Hisam for dinner. We stopped by Stefanie’s to pick her up and did some catching up on the way there. Dinner was fun and there were some others that were there as well. We decided to go up to Von Trapp and five of us decided to walk. We found it and went in. The place is huge and very unique. I liked it even though it was very loud and crowded. We were there for 45 minutes or so then the three of us walked back to the car. We dropped off Stefanie, went home, got into bed, watched the first part of SNL then fell asleep.

Friday 5/10, I was so happy the week was over. We were having people over for dinner. Eric was cooking when I got home and I took the dogs out to run around and play in the yard. Eric joined me for a while then we went back in. I showered and got ready and helped with the risotto. Susan and Jon showed up first and brought gelato. The risotto was taking forever. Sky and Chrystol showed up a little after S and J. We all talked in the kitchen while dinner was being finished. We ate in the dining room and had a lot of good conversation. Eric made brownies so we had those with the gelato. I doubled up on the brownies. Susan and Jon left around 10. We moved into the living room and talked for a long time and thankfully Fae came around and wanted to be pet by both S and C. It was a big relief. They left after 11 maybe, and we were both tired. Went to bed.

Thursday 5/9, When I got home I talked with Eric in the backyard because he was mowing. I went in and brought the dogs out into the backyard and played around. I went out in the front yard and planted the last dahlia. I split it into two and Eric got the big shovel out to get out a rock and old tree roots. Got them in and watered, then into the back to water the dahlias from the day prior. I worked with Fae in the backyard then we took off for the store, on foot. We picked up stuff for dinner the next night, then to get teriyaki for dinner. Walked home, ate dinner, watched tv and updated this. We had a couple of dog incidents, got them cleaned up and watched tv. Eric went into the den with Fae and I went into the bedroom with the other dogs. I worked a little and went to bed.

Wednesday 5/8, When I got home I was really tired and couldn’t fathom a run. Instead I laid on the bed and started to close my eyes. Then Fae jumped up and submissively peed on the bed. So then I was up and washing bedding. I decided to not be lazy and to get out and plant my dahlias. I got eight of them planted and split one so I hope it takes. Eric heated up dinner for me. I sat in the den with Fae and worked on keeping it quiet. I did some work and watched Modern Family. Went to bed not too late.

Tuesday 5/7, Eric and I did a walk / run and afterward I transplanted two of the euphorbia from the pots on the patio to the backyard. Eric made fish tacos for dinner and they were good, but I would have preferred steak. We watched Splash and I did a little work. We went to bed early-ish.

Monday 5/6, When I got home we busted ass in the backyard and pretty much got the rest of the backyard cleaned up. We finished around 8 and we each just scrounged for food. I may have brought some work home with me and worked on it in the bedroom. I wrote a long email to the NR ladies about Fae and some of the issues. I got a lot of responses from the ladies about Fae and Janell said Cindy would take her while we’re in Hawaii. They gave me a lot of good advice too. Watched some of DwtS then to bed.

Sunday 5/5, I wanted to do yard work and get the back cleaned up. Eric wasn’t interested which I wasn’t happy about, but headed out anyway. It wasn’t super warm but it was beautiful outside. I continued on my weeding and when Eric came out I got all my ranunculus planted. We’ll see if they come up. He did some weeding and fertilizing and I continued with my weeding. We made some good progress before heading in. Sky and Chrystol were coming over for dinner and bringing all the food. I laid down to relax and ended up taking a really long nap. I felt out of it but we needed to get going. We did some grocery shopping and got ice cream. Chrystol called to see if they could bring Jason, since him and Jen broke up and he’s sad. I was a cleaning machine while Eric went out for a run. They were running late, but when they arrived they got dinner going. We had bbq tofu on the grill, delicious mushrooms, a fancy potato salad and lastly some other kind of apple / carrot salad. We sat out on the deck and ate. It was a beautiful night. We went inside and sat in the living room. Fae wasn’t very happy with Sky and Jason which started to freak me out. They left around 10 and we got ready for bed.

Saturday 5/4, Jojo had us up at 6:30. Christ. Eric got the dogs fed and brought some of them back into the bedroom. I went in and out of sleep for a couple hours and finally got up to get my day going. We drove out to West Seattle to drop off work stuff to P. Back at home we walked up the French Bakery and each got a little treat. The weather was gorgeous. Eric and I got into an argument about half way home that lasted until we arrived. I wanted to get some yard work done so I changed and headed out in the backyard. I was out there for a few hours and Eric came out off and on (and apologized) and kept me company. He went to work and I continued on. I got a lot done, but was exhausted. I showered and headed out to the bread outlet and picked up a whole bunch, then to the lighting place where I perused nightstand lamps and found two I liked. Back home I fed the dogs and sat on the couch and relaxed. I watched tv and eventually heated up some dinner. I watched Cops and 48 Hours until Eric got home. We watched another one together then into bed. I couldn’t stay up for SNL.

Friday 5/3, When I got home we took Nyx, Clancy and Jojo to the blueberry farm for a long walk to hopefully wear Jojo out since she’d gotten us up several times throughout the night. It did the trick. When we got home Eric made me a burger with fake meat and it was excellent. Plus yam fries. We went to Fred Meyer so I could pick up a couple things then went to DQ via the old Paldo World shopping center to see the construction. It was nuts; they’re really digging down and whatever’s going in there is going to be huge. When we got to DQ it was packed, despite being like 8:30, so we went to Menchis instead. We did some people watching while we had our desserts. We went home and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Thursday 5/2, Jojo was dropped off earlier in the day when Eric was home. When I got home I did my run really quickly and hopped in the shower. I left after getting ready to go meet Kristel at Lincoln Square for Place Beyond the Pines. We both liked it, but it’s not a really uplifting film, though we weren’t expecting it to be. We chatted afterward on the way to our cars and I caught her up on the Alix saga. It was about 10 and I headed home. We got into bed and went to sleep shortly after.

Wednesday 5/1, I got into work super early and left around 2 for the funeral. I rushed home, let the dogs out, changed and headed back out to pick up Eric on MI. We drove to the temple and talked with everyone out in the sunshine before heading inside for the service. It was nice and all the sons gave nice tributes, then Alan’s ex-father-in-law got up there are really talked it up for a long time. After the service we drove to the graveyard for Ernie’s burial and everyone took turns shoveling dirt with the idea being your friends and family and all those close to you bury you rather than a stranger. We went back to Erika’s for the shiva. It was catered and the food was excellent. We were trying to get Alix’s secret out of her but she wouldn’t budge. We decided to head out and it was 7-ish maybe? We said goodbye to everyone and started back to Kassie’s house since Eric had taken my car back to MI so he could get his car so he could go to his town hall meeting. Alix started telling us and it continued well into when we got to Kassie’s. Alix had warned us it would take us 1.5-2 hours and it did, and then some. It was what we all thought it was, with some caveats. I’m glad it’s out in the open and we don’t have to pretend anymore. It was almost 10 so I said I needed to go and Kass took Alix and me to MI where I picked up my car. When I got home the dogs were very ready to be out and to have their dinner. I started the process of taking them out and feeding them and Eric walked in. We ended up sitting in the bedroom and just talking and spending time with them, which really helped Fae calm down. Went to bed by 11 and Eric stayed up.