A Really Nice Day

   Today was a really nice day. The alarm went off at 5:15 this morning and I rolled over and shut it off. Since my alarm clock is also my Ipod,I checked my email. There was a little bit of junk mail and one unexpected surprise. I had an email from one of my former interns. She was thinking about her time with me and decided to write.
   I seldom hear from an intern after they finish my rotation and recieve thier grade. The last time an intern wrote to me she wanted a reference for a residency. I wrote the required letter, but never heard if she got it or not.
  This intern had never written to me before. It was a short newsy letter that detailed some of the travelling she'd been doing. She asked me how I was and what I was doing.
  What a nice start to the day! After I read the email, I changed into my workout gear and headed for the eliptical.
   C gave me an Ipad for my birthday. Lately I've been using it to watch talks by LDS leaders on YouTube. There are two reasons why I'm doing this. The first is that they have good messages so it's nice to listen to. The second reason is that I'm doing an interpetive reading project for Toastmasters. I like watching good speakers and the LDS leaders are good speakers to watch and learn from. My current favourite is Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. This morning I didn't listen to Elder Holland. I listened to a talk given by the late President Gordon B. Hinckley. It was about lessons he learned as a boy. I had a good time watching it while I worked out.
   After the workout I went upsairs to feed the cats. Once they had finshed thier meal I went to the bathroom to clean up. I showered and dressed for the day. I went into the kitchen and heated up a cup of tea. I sipped at the tea and looked outside. The sun was shining.
   I woke up C. Our first order of business was a trip to the Farmer's Market. We wanted to get some sweet corn and cucumbers. While we were looking at the vegetables,C spotted some hot peppers. He bought them to give to a man at church who likes to make really hot chili. We walked past a stall that had baked good. I wanted to buy something for our friend, Eleanor.  We were going to take Eleanor to the Arboretum today. I thought that it might be nice to take a small present to her when we went to pick her up.  I found some banana bread. I bought it for her and some Irish Soda bread for us.
  We stopped back at the house to drop off our vegetables and grab a quick breakfast. I put in my contacts. We collected all the things we would need for the day and went to pick up Eleanor.
  Once we picked her up we started for the Arboretum. While C drove we had a nice chat. It had been awhile since we'd had a chance to talk.
  The weather at the Arboretum was perfect. C dropped us off by the main building then went to park the car. He met us inside the building  a few minutes later. He found a good parking spot.
  We walked though the new building, into the old building and out the door to the gardens. We walked all around the gardens near the building and talked as we walked. We walked past the dahlias and the herb gardens. We smelled the roses. C took several pictures of some of the roses. We walked into the vegetable gardens. Every once in awhile we'd find a bench and sit for a bit. We looked at the cutting garden and the rock garden. Eleanor told us about when she and her late husband, Ray, lived in Arizona. I never knew she lived in Arizona.
  We walked though the Japanese Garden. Normally C and I don't do that. After walking around the Japanese gardens in Chicago the one here seems a little small. We walked across the street to the fountain gardens and admired the plantings there.
  It was lunchtime. We decided that we would eat and then drive around a little. I was afraid the cafeteria would be crowded, but it wasn't too bad. I had a sandwich and some lentil soup. Lentils are supposed to be good for you. I wanted to try it to see if I would like it. I did. It was flavorful with just a hint of hot pepper. The broth was thick and rich. I wondered if I would be able to make soup like that. Every time I've tried to make soup without meat, the broth would be thin and flavorless.
  After lunch, C got the car and we drove around. We stopped by the Maze garden to show off the new brick that we had bought for the courtyard. We walked a little bit more to look at some trees. We got back into the car, drove the rest of the way around the garden and took Eleanor home. We all had a really good time.
  After we dropped her off, we did a quick grocery shopping run and bought some cat litter. We got home in time to feed the cats dinner. We put the groceries away and made a pizza and salad supper.
  It was a really nice day. The weather was perfect. We had a good time with Eleanor. Our groceries were bought and put away. We couldn't ask for anything better.