Weekend Update

Chris' work schedule changed so he's going to have every other weekend off. This past weekend, he didn't work at all. It was so great to have him at home the entire weekend.

Friday night we went to artist Elly Gale's opening reception at Practical Art in Phoenix. The paintings are beautiful and Elly is a warm, bubbly person. There were lots of people there who obviously think the world of her.

At the reception, I ran into Joseph Perez, who I met at Bike to Work Day 2009. Turns out Joseph's wife is good friends with Chris' boss, so she and Chris had met before. However it was the first time for Chris to meet Joseph and my first time to meet his wife. It's always fun to have social circles come together. I learned that Joseph recently opened the Bike Cellar in Tempe, Arizona. The Bike Cellar is a bicycle commuter facility, providing secure bike parking, bike shop, and the added convenience of restrooms, shower, lockers and dressing areas.

Ryan and Kim joined us at Practical Art so we all had dinner afterwards. We walked a couple blocks up Central to Aiello's. It's an Italian restaurant that I've been meaning to try for quite some time. I was extremely impressed by the food and staff! We walked in the door at 9pm and I fully expected service to be lacking at that hour. Instead, we had the best waitress - she was so helpful and fun! The food did not disappoint either. I ate the sea bass which was lovely, but I fell in love with Ryan's raviolis - caramelized onions, prosciutto, and ricotta cheese with a vodka cream sauce. It was a great experience and so fun to hang out with Ryan and Kim.

On Saturday, it was a fairly lazy day around the house. Chris and I are talking about backyard landscaping so we spent a lot of time with library books. In the afternoon I helped my friend, Steve, with some web stuff. As an added benefit, Steve and his wife gave some great recommendations for landscaping ideas then sent me off with fresh basil and limes from their garden.

Saturday night we had dinner at Alex and Michelle's house. Really enjoyed spending time with Michelle & Alex's son, Axel, who is 11 months old. He was all smiles and sweetness. He even reached out to ask me to hold him. The weather was gorgeous so we sat outside. Alex showed us his garden and cooked veggies from it! This confirms that the backyard changes will definitely include a small garden. I'm thinking some herbs, onions, and peppers should be plenty to start with.

Sunday morning we worked on cleaning up the yard. Wayne dropped by for a quick visit and to see the bike Chris is building for him. Much of the afternoon was relaxing. In the evening Chris went on a bike ride with David. We met up later for Roller Wars at Boulders. All in all, a great weekend.

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