wrapping the weekend

* first thing on saturday, i headed to the ‘burbs for a weekend of yard work. saturday, i’d help YB tackle the preliminary winterizing of her garden; sunday, we’d both head to my parents’ house to clear cut and then mulch mom’s backyard. so, just after 9am, i was on the subway, going north.

* work at trixie’s house was pushed back to the afternoon. we spent the morning out grocery shopping. sadly, cupcakes were not on the list, though we did buy butter with which to make cupcakes later in the day.

* after lunch, YB and i grabbed the shears and yard-waste bags and rakes and set to work. it was a perfect day – sunny, cool and breezy. three woodpeckers dropped in to say hi. squirrels ran past on fences and overhead wires. the yippy dog next door went nuts. YB's backyard is HUGE, and the dent we made was slightly more than minor, slightly less than moderate. but it did mean i got to spend some time pruning her tall bonsai tree. unfortunately, this delightfully relaxing activity was thwarted by the relentless mosquitoes that became more numerous the lower the sun sank in the sky. i had about two inches of wrist exposed (it was brisk, so we were dressed for the weather and i was wearing gardening gloves), but that was enough to attract one particularly determined skeeter. i killed as soon as i spotted it, but the damage was done... and i now have my late-in-season second mosquito bite of 2010.

* we were pretty pooped when we were done, so we made pasta for dinner and skipped the comparatively labour-intensive cupcakes for soup. trix wanted to make a big batch to freeze for her lunches, so she pulled out her recipe and whipped up an absolutely DEEEEEELICIOUS chipotle-squash purée, garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds and homemade croutons. had it not been so late in the evening, i would have had a massive bowl of it. (i opted instead for a small bowl. :-D)

* sunday morning, trix baked homemade corn muffins. fantastic! plus, the ideal accompaniment to the aforementioned delicious soup. i have two full servings (soup + muffins) in my freezer as i type this.

* we arrived chez maman et papa just after 10am and promptly began dismantling the garden. it was an interesting process, given that we were pulling out/cutting down all the things we planted just seven months ago... which had, obviously, grown in size exponentially in the time since.

so cute and fluffy

* not too long after we began, an adorable, super-friendly cat wandered into the yard... and then hung out with us for the rest of the day. she just wanted to be loved, and stuck right beside us for the duration of her visit. she would roll over on her back for belly rubs if any of us bent down to give her a pat, and i don’t think she ever stopped purring. kyle, meanwhile, was inside the house, absolutely LIVID. he hates other cats – always has, which is why he was in a room by himself when we first found him at the SPCA. so, seeing an interloper frolicking in the yard with his humans had him pacing at the window and, we hear, moaning in that threatening “i will give you a beat down!” way. though we felt bad for mr. poo, and tried to keep our feline visitor out of his line of sight, we all agreed that kyle would do well to take a cue from this huggable cat and perhaps be a teensy bit more affectionate himself. less chomps, more kisses.

* by the time we all sat down for dinner – pot roast and mashed potatoes – we were ravenous... which makes any meal that much better, in my opinion. had trix and i not been so tired, we would have stopped to pick up cupcakes when she drove me home. but we were both overcome with the kind of blissful fatigue that comes with two days of yard work, so we did not.

* i love manual labour. i love it. it’s a fantastic way to relax and to work off stress or anxiety or sadness or whatever emotional junk you want to clear out in a physical manner. i also love autumn. and my mom and my sister. and cats. and that SOUP (omg)! so, it was a really lovely couple of days.