Last night Paul and Blaine decided they wanted to do the charity walk with us. It was an idea that Blaine regretted when his day started earlier than usual, especially after a late night. Still, by the time we made it to the venue--the zoo--he was his usual laid back, pleasant self. We met up with Eve and Paul outside the entrance. Paul, an early riser by default, looked ready for the day. Eve, dressed in an orange sweatshirt, jeans and orange tennis shoes, looked brighter than she felt. Blaine put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him. “Let’s do the route twice, Eve,” he suggested.
“OK, Blaine! I’ll be right behind you.”
As it turned out, we easily could have completed it twice. It was a very short route through only part of the zoo. I haven’t been to the zoo since college and was eager to walk through it. There is a lot of construction going on to prepare for new animals that are arriving in the spring. Perhaps that’s why the route was disappointingly short. It took longer to get through the registration line than it did to complete the walk. All that aside, it was a good experience. The team we walked for was a hoot, as were a couple of the other teams. This amount of money raised this year set a record, too.
Even with hanging out afterward to chat with the other team members we were done by mid-morning. Paul wanted to go to breakfast to kill time before the football game. We met them at a really good diner. Blaine and I had both had something for breakfast but that didn’t stop us from splitting a homemade cinnamon roll that was ridiculously large (and scrumptious). He had more coffee, and I indulged in more Diet Coke than I needed.
It wasn’t until we were paying the bill that it dawned on us that our next stop was a football party where there would be plenty of food. Eve, standing next to me, dropped her head against my shoulder and muttered something how too much fresh air in the morning isn’t good for any of us.
They went home to tend to Izzy, and Blaine and I went on over to the party at Steve and Jan’s. They live in a rambling ranch house built in the early sixties and designed for parties. Large rooms, a fairly open floor plan long before that was popular, and multiple patio doors leading to the back yard. Oh, how I yearned to wander around and see more of the layout. It pushed all of my house-envy buttons.
They had invited quite a number of people, including family and neighbors and all the regulars. They had moved the largest television out to the covered part of the patio. There was a second TV on inside if someone didn’t want to be outside. A third TV was on in the kitchen where the food was laid out. That’s the one I ended up watching most of the game on. I had gone in to fill my glass with ice water and found Jan and Kim talking. They welcomed me into the conversation. Eve joined shortly after. The four of us chatted happily until someone came in and chastised us for not being with the rest of the group.
Outside, Blaine and Paul were sitting on an outdoor sofa. When he saw me, Paul jumped up and moved so I could sit next to Blaine. Normally I would have told him to stay put, but today I not only let him, I sat a closer to Blaine was than necessary, all because I knew it would irritate someone. I was having a rare moment of I’m-with-him-so-deal-with-it. To my (petty) satisfaction, Blaine put his arm across the back of the sofa and told me to scoot in if I was cold. I wasn’t, but I scooted anyway.
The game was a blowout. Pretty much everyone there thought we would lose but no expected it to be as brutal as it was. One nice thing about this group is they are good fans. There is no anger or ranting about the coaching when the team loses.
We stayed for a little while after the game but did have to leave in order to make it to the art festival.
There was an area blocked off for sponsors. Blaine had a card that got us into it. Inside that tent were the tables where the silent auction items were displayed. Every vendor had contributed something so there was a lot to look at. Blaine bid on two items. One was a painting of a barn in autumn that he said reminded him of where his grandparents had lived, and the other was a black and white drawing of aspen trees along a stream with a single swipe of yellow across the trees. I’m hoping he wins that one.
He asked if anything caught my attention. I didn’t want him to bid on anything for me so I said no, but there was a necklace that I liked. We came across the vendor when we were looking around, and I checked out a similar pendant. It wasn’t terribly expensive but I rarely wear necklaces so I decided against buying it.
We didn’t go to a movie. There wasn’t anything out that we both wanted to see. Instead, we went to Blaine’s. We left the cell phones on the dining room table, Blaine turned down the lights and we cozied up on the couch and watched a movie on Prime. Our Saturday date night streak continues.
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