graculus

Last Tuesday, the 7th, was my 74th birthday. We celebrated quietly, no big fuss, no gifts. It was a delightful day. I received several cards, several phone calls and I spent a big chunk of the day with the kids. The weather was beautiful - sunny and warm and a clear blue sky that seemed endless.

Started the day with coffee on the porch. Now that all the trees are leafed out, you can't really see the houses across the pond.


Kayden really loves the early morning sun, too.


My son and DIL picked me up and we drove over to Tacoma to visit Wright Park and its tropical conservatory. Lovely big park with lots of trees and a glass conservatory for tropical plants. I forgot to take a picture of the conservatory itself, but you can find photos online if interested.

A giant bird-of-paradise plant. It was blooming at the time, although hard to see. There's my six foot son for size comparison.


Unusual cup shaped blooms on a plant. My DIL said they are carnivorous plants.


Another giant tree, this time a lemon tree. Just look at the size of the fruit!


After the conservatory we strolled around the park. That would be a very nice park for a picnic. I should've worn better shoes than my slides, because the gravel in the paths kept getting in my shoes and annoying me. There was also a plant sale going on and both DIL and I were tempted, but we managed to resist buying anything.

A view of one of the park ponds with a fountain, from the bridge separating the two ponds. There were ducks and turtles in the pond but I don't think any are visible in this photo.


View of the bridge from the far side of the pond.


By this time it was noon and we were hungry and thirsty, so we headed back to Puyallup and a place that does unusual and custom pizzas. I had wanted to try it, so we did. I was boring and got just a regular thin crust tomato and meat pizza, but the kiddo tried a pickle pizza with a ranch dressing sauce. I tried a piece - definitely not my thing. He said it was okay but would probably never get it again. DIL had them build a custom pizza for her order. They had a nice outdoor dining patio in the shade so we lingered there for a while.


Then we were all warm and sleepy, so the kids took me home and we all napped a bit. For dinner I made shrimp alfredo and ate out on the porch.


My last Amazon Prime Days order arrived on my birthday! Aren't the little kitties adorable?


And that was my birthday. It was great, just enough activity and socializing.

Here's a bonus aerial view of my neighborhood I stole off a real estate listing. We are smack dab in the middle of a busy town, with a main street in front of our gate, Costco literally across the street, a big mall and huge shopping district two blocks away - and with all the trees surrounding, you'd never know it. It really dampens the noise. I love how green it is here. Had the picture been angled a bit more to the left, you'd see Mt. Rainier.


Since then I've been slowly fiddling with decluttering/scanning/shredding tons of old paperwork. Probably should have done it before moving, but oh well. It's getting done now. Yesterday I finally took the car into the shop for an oil change and got some bad news - it needs a couple of expensive repairs. And this morning I had the HVAC checked and it was as expected. The air conditioner is dead and beyond repair. Needs to be replaced. Will be getting estimates for that cost. I haven't used it yet and may not use it much, but if there is another heat dome here like other places in the world are under, I will want air conditioning. It's kind of annoying that even without a mortgage, there is always something demanding excessive money be spent. At least the furnace is in good shape.

Picked up the latest Murderbot novel, so that was a lovely excuse to re-read the entire series again. So nice to sit out on the porch with a drink and read away the morning or afternoon. Or evening.