Five Things

Is mowing the lawn exercise? Yes! The actual amount of calories burned depends on your weight and the type of mower but this is comforting news. I suspect all my bending to pick up sticks and branches is more valuable fitness-wise than pushing the mower but you never know.

My favorite striped petunias on the front steps

Perhaps this week’s moral lesson is NOT to buy Talenti Gelato unless it is on sale. I was brought up to know better and I am punished for too quickly grabbing a pint of Sea Salt Caramel which, upon arriving home, turned out to be Coffee Chocolate Chip Gelato, a flavor I don’t like. I would like to give it to someone if I could deliver it unmelted.

Newly planted hydrangea

The other night my sister Andrea and I tried to go to my favorite ice cream store, Cabot’s in Newtonville. To our distress, Cabot’s was closed for the 4th of July holiday week!  I don’t begrudge their holiday but I was sad about my peppermint stick deprivation. We went to White Mountain Creamery in Chestnut Hill where the raspberry sorbet fell off my cone (they replaced it with a much smaller portion).

I found a crisp $5 dollar bill on Cambridge Street as I dashed to the Red Line the other day, and hesitated before picking it up. After all, I pick up a stray penny (all the day you’ll have good luck), so why not $500 pennies? I waited a couple minutes in case someone came back to claim it but, really, on a very busy Boston street, someone else would have grabbed it, right?

Gardening is not something I enjoy but I really want to have a beautiful, labor-free garden so I try every summer to plant and cultivate. So far this year I have planted six hydrangeas and killed two and a half.   In the fall, I think I will plant more day lilies as they seem reliable and relatively maintenance-free.

This day lily is making its second appearance