A Fun Weekend With Family

Curt and I hosted not just one but two of my sisters and their husbands this weekend. My sister Linda (in the green) and husband Jerry came up from LaCrosse, WI to go to the Twins game, even though they were cheering for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Twins lost, so they had a great time. We considered locking them out after the game, but let them come back anyway. The other sister in white is Janice. She and her husband Bob came up to hang out, see the house and gardens and talk about some options for a scrapbook for their oldest son who will be senior this year.
Saturday, Linda and Jerry and I went to the farmer's market near closing time and ate two for one brats. Cheap and tasty- the ideal combination. Curt was playing volleyball in a tournament. He got the call to play on Friday when a transvestite named Denise was unable to fly in to play on her team. I told everyone that Curt was being a stand-in for Denise the transvestite. He kindly suggested I find a different way of wording that.
When we got back from the farmer's market, Janice and Bob were making use of the chaise lounges in the back yard. We all hung out for a while until Linda and Jerry left for the Twins game. A little while later I switched into Becky Homecky mode and started dinner. The menu: pork chops on the grill (thanks, Dad!), a pasta salad with balsamic vinaigrette, green olives, tomatoes, onions & pumpkin seeds, and some fresh sweet corn made with heavy cream, butter, fresh rosemary, salt & pepper. Curt came home just as dinner was ready so we all ate out on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful evening. After dinner, we took the pooches for a walk, ate rhubarb crisp with vanilla ice cream and watched 'Juno.'
During the night there was a huge BOOM! This was quickly followed by the electricity going out. The whole neighborhood was quiet. Rationally, I knew that a transformer had gone out, but my mind started wandering to aliens taking over the earth. Fortunately, my strange half-asleep thoughts were put to rest when the electricity came back on about an hour later. Bob figured that a squirrel might have caused the a transformer to blow. Who hires squirrels to work on the power grid anyway?
Sunday morning, everyone but Jerry got up early and were out the door before 7:00 to head to the farmer's market. Both Linda and Janice left with some nice perennials. Curt got some gladiolas. I got some pickles. We then picked up Jerry and went to an all you can eat brunch. Janice and Jerry showed some restraint, but you could say the rest of us got our money's worth. Everyone was gone by about noon leaving the house feeling a little empty after all the activity. We tidied up a bit, read the paper and retired to the couch to watch the Twins stomp the Brewers 5-0. Sweet!