scenes from the weekend

Friday I spent the entire day in the kitchen preparing food to serve to our homeless neighbors under the Broadway Bridge. While I was cooking, Jon picked up McKinley and took him to get his CDL renewed, FINALLY! Glory, hallelujah, what a hassle, but now he can finally find a job.

That night we served delicious Italian food to a robust crowd, and I also contributed cupcakes as it was our friend John’s birthday. I discovered (by way of the blogosphere), the best way ever to top a cupcake: toasted marshmallows. Way less hassle than frosting. Just pop a marshmallow on top of each of your baked cupcakes and put them back in the 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Then pull them out and gently smoosh each marshmallow down over the cupcakes. If you really want the toasty marshmallow flavor, broil them, but keep an eye out not to burn them.

Saturday was GLORIOUS. We went for a little bike ride around the neighborhood to enjoy the cloudless, 70 degree day. It was my first ride with the new panniers I got for my birthday.  I call them my “bike trunk.”

We came home and found what appeared to be a stray puppy in our front yard. Turns out this cutie’s owner thinks it’s a-OK to let his pit bull pup run free around the neighborhood. Besides the huge risk of him being hit by a car, it’s illegal to have loose dogs in the city, and on top of that “potentially dangerous breeds” are supposed to be registered. When I called Tiger’s (that’s his name) owner, I think he expected me to just turn him back loose again, but I kept him leashed on the porch until he came and got him. I told him my Olive gets out a lot, and I worry about them being hit by the cars that drive too fast through our neighborhood. He said, “He’s a smart dog. He’ll be fine.” He totally missed my point. Next time I see the dog, I’m calling the city, poor thing.

I spent the afternoon reading (my friend Kyran‘s book! It’s amazing and funny and touching and real! I ended up staying up til 2 am reading it because I couldn’t put it down. Pre-order it now!) in the back yard with a glass of iced tea by my side, wearing a tank top. IN JANUARY. Every so often, the dogs demanded I throw a ball for them to fetch. Every so often I got lost staring up into the blue blue sky. It’s easy to believe spring is here, but there are colder temps ahead in the 7 day forecast. I have to bask while I can. It’s a lesson I’ve learned from my dogs.  My secret to the yummiest not-too-sweet iced tea: one teapot, 4 bags Lipton, 1 bag raspberry or peppermint or blackcurrant or some other flavor of tea (for just a hint of flavor, not a full out assault), add hot water and let steep. Pour teapot contents into pitcher with 1/3 cup of sugar, and fill the rest of the way with water (or ice if you’re in a hurry). Chill.

Sunday I tried to recover from my late night of reading (seriously, staying up til 2 am is rare for me, these days, as I’m an old fogey at the age of 26). I baked a couple of loaves of bread for my church friends, and we checked out our church’s new home. It’s a real fixer-upper, but it has awesome potential to really allow us to serve our city in new ways– one exciting possibility is a community garden! I stole and altered these next photos from my friends Ryan (second and third photos) and Cara Beth (top photo).

We’re definitely keeping that “We Save Soles” sign for sure!

All in all, a lovely weekend. How was yours?