The Curse of the Crappy Concrete Patio

Apparently it's genetic! When I was growing up in South Dakota, we live in two different houses with lovely, big decks. Plenty of room to picnic, to lounge, or whatever kind of outdoor enjoyment. The problem: it was always too hot, too cold, too windy, or too buggy to really enjoy the deck more than a couple of times a year. Then, in 1987, my parents moved to Oregon and bought a house with no deck, just a concrete slab patio in back. Lo and behold, gorgeous weather, lovely evenings, lots of opportunities to sit outside and read, or picnic, enjoy a cup of coffee or a refreshing adult beverage. Since then, much work has been done around the slab and my parents actually have a beautiful outdoor living space that gets used frequently.

So, when Kitty Daddy and I lived in Iowa, we lived in two different houses that had lovely decks (fwiw, my dad was responsible in full or part for all four decks...and they were nice!!), but (guess what), it was always too hot, too cold, too windy, or too buggy to really enjoy the deck more than a couple of times a year (sound familiar). So we move to Wisconsin and have an apartment with a slab concrete patio in back that we are out on almost daily, except for the hottest weather. The kids run around in the back yard and I can sit and knit. It would be glorious to have dinner out there, but there really isn't room for a table. *sigh* Maybe someday...

This gripe was motivated by the break we have gotten after last weekend's hot weather. Those of you in the toasty Pacific NW might want to skip the rest of the paragraph...just sayin'. Today is the second day in the mid-70's and the kids and I were out back from after supper until pajama time. My toes were *almost* chilly by the time we came in! We spent a couple of hours at the zoo yesterday morning. Except for the fact that we were clearly not the only ones who thought it would be a good zoo day, we had a wonderful time. We saw youngish prairie dogs (not babies, but clearly not full grown either) and we spent a lot of time at the herpetarium/discovery center looking at the exhibits. We also caught the bats actually moving! Usually they just hang there the whole time, but yesterday several were flying around! There was even one that would hang on a lower point so that Bug could get a closer look. We also discovered a bat skeleton that has always been there, but we hadn't been to the discovery center since starting the bat craze. This morning, we took the sand toys to the volleyball court at "Keys Park" and played for a while.

Apparently, my freak magnet is still in good working order. While we were playing in the sand this morning, two girls came over and, naturally, Bug invited them to play. A couple of minutes late, their mom came over, picked up their shoes and snack (or something in a ziploc) where they had left them and walked away. She finally came back about 20 minutes later and still really didn't say anything except to ask if some nearby buildings were condos (I didn't know). Then she told the girls they could play a few more minutes and walked away again. What the heck?? There have been a few times when we have been playing with our sand toys that a mom and a couple of kids have wandered over, but the mom always asks if it is okay for her kids to join and then keeps an eye on them. This was just weird.

While at the park, I started on a new sock. I am trying the toe-up recipe from the Summer Interweave issue. Since these are destined to be gifted, there won't be any pictures until all is said and done. Just in case the recipient is reading or one of my readers blabs to him/her...kwim?? The Black Gloss yarn is going back in the stash to think about its misbehavior. We'll try the Rosa socks again after this pair is done.