Perfect MDW recipe: Garden tours, a hot bath and (good) friends

Hey Midlife gang!

How’s everyone doing? We’ve reached the intermission stage of MDW and will soon be (sadly) moving into its final act. My line dancing injury persists and while really annoying to have a hitch in my step when I get up after sitting a while, it’s still a great bit that I am leaning into.

LOL: line dancing injury.

For me, the holiday weekend had been both relaxing and busy — despite the lousy weather. Highlights have included an impromptu walk through my old beach town with a friend that took a delightful turn. We’d decided to walk inland rather than the boardwalk due to the cold wind. We walked west toward Main Street past all the perfectly groomed landscapes and waving American flags before heading east back toward our cars.

We stopped to admire a vibrant yellow rose growing up the front of a home covered in cedar shakes. We got to talking to the owner and soon found ourselves on a backyard garden tour, where we got to inhale so many other varieties of roses as well as ooh and ahh over all the peonies and the bright fuschia honeysuckle climbing up a trellis wall. You could tell this was his passion in his retirement and he could have talked about every shrub and plant in his charming yard. It reminded me of when we’d visit my in-laws and my MIL would take me on a tour of whatever was blooming in her garden. That really instilled in me my own love of gardening and reminded me that one day I’d love to get back to it. Maybe in my own retirement.

Another weekend standout was getting a late breakfast/early lunch with the Ladycationers on Saturday. We met up at Jus in Atlantic Highlands where we sat on a wooden bench and I had eggs baked in a little baby skillet with veggies served with a yummy slice of rustic sourdough. We caught up on recent happenings — a double college graduation weekend for one and upcoming knee replacement for another, which is a new kind of milestone for us.

We talked about another foursome we know who are walking the Camino Trail right now — they just crossed the border of Portugal into Spain via boat — and how we are all itching for some kind of big adventure like that. Then we finally got to see another friend’s big home renovation that’s just about complete and had them out of the house for a few months. Gah, it seemed worth it to me. Perched at the top of the hills of Atlantic Highlands, it’s all light wood floors and big glass windows looking out over Sandy Hook Bay. I joked it looked like a perfectly styled home photo generated by AI but also, super cozy. We were all so happy for her.

Added to the list of MDW good things is the hot bath I got to take in my condo’s giant 1980s Jacuzzi tub (sans the Jacuzzi jets part). My younger daughter got me all sorts of accoutrements for the tub for Mother’s Day — including a wooden bath tray and glass apothecary jar she filled with Epsom salts. I recently added a bath pillow I got on Amazon and now I have the sweetest reading setup (althought sometimes I slide into the hot water wearing my headphones to listen to an audiobook). For good measure, I poured in these CBD bath salts — which filled the bathroom with the most fragrant lavendar/bergamot scent — that you can also grab next time you get your hair done here.

Still on my MDW checklist are a number of other meals to share with friends, including a breakfast later today and dinner with my sister tonight. I am also still planning on guilting my 23yo into seeing the new Star Wars movie with me. I love that little Grogu guy and of course — Daddy Pedro.

I hope no matter where you find yourself this weekend, you are able to carve out a little joy and lots of rest.

Yesteryear: I double dipped book club picks for two groups I’m in and picked Yesteryear for both. Whoa. What a ride. The author packed so much in. Like it or not, there will be a ton to talk about.

This is Not About Us: A series of interconnected stories (vignettes?), what I most loved was that the narrator is the same one who does all of the Lucy Barton books, so there’s definitely a sensibility. Some stores were better than others but overall, I enjoyed it.

The Things We Never Say: The newest Elizabeth Strout novel veers away from her usual cast of characters (Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, et al) and introduces a male protagonist. Literally just started listening yesterday but I know I’ll love it.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny: I think I started this at the end of last year but with everything — the move and my current phone addiction — I hadn’t picked it up in a while. I have this weekend and now the pages are a little soggy from the aforementioned bath. Lovely writing and imagery.

Martin Short doc (HBO): DELIGHTFUL

Rooster (HBO): Really enjoyed and kind of hilarious now that I am in my Office-rewatch era that Michael Scott has repositioned himself as a romantic lead.

The Other Bennett Sister (Britbox): In this retelling of the Pride and Prejudice classic, Mary Bennett gets the star treatment. Known mostly for her vigorous piano playing and singing that her father needs to shut down, now the middle sister is much more complex as she struggles to get out from under her sisters’ giant shadow. Also, Mrs. Bennett is a real B. Only five episodes available now with new ones dropping every Wednesday. I am here for them.

Hacks (HBO): What can I say? It’s the best. Will be sad when the last episode airs this week and we finally have to say good bye to Deborah and Ava. It’s been a great ride.

I stopped by Trader Joe’s yesterday and remembered a TikTok I’d seen about this gummy candy that makes people go to the bathroom. “Hilarious,” I thought, throwing it into my shopping cart. I went home and ate about five while I unpacked the groceries and … okay. The internet was right.

xoAmy