In Which We Finally See The Sun

It was such a beautiful day today! 

The sun was positively glorious-- so much so that I actually got a tad bit sunburned-- and for the first time this year it actually felt like we might be nearing summer.  It's been so gloomy and rainy recently that with such beautiful weather today everyone went a little bit crazy and spent the whole day outdoors.  Everywhere I went I saw people (and animals) just sitting out in the sun and soaking it in!

We had respite care today, which was nice for Connor because it meant a day spent mostly at home.  We've really kept him hopping the last few days, so I think he badly needed a break!  Jeremy went hiking with friends up the far side of Mount Rainier, and they had a lovely time.  Due to time constraints I wasn't able to go with them, so I was left with a rare afternoon to myself.  It doesn't happen very often, so it was a nice change-- particularly on such a gorgeous day as this one.

After eating a tasty brunch, I saw Jer and the rest of the gang off.  Then I headed across the street to the Puyallup Farmer's Market, which was in full swing.  I idly browsed for a while before finding the henna table, where a couple of very competent artists were creating beautiful designs on some very happy fairgoers.

Henna is great because you can have a fun tattoo done that only lasts for a couple of weeks.  I'm all about body art, but I prefer to play around with things that aren't permanent.  I used to have henna tattoos pretty often, but I hadn't done one in several years.  For one thing, I haven't had the time to sit down with an artist.  For another you usually have to keep the henna paste on for several hours to get a good stain, and there is no way I'd usually be able to get away with not picking Connor up or moving around a lot.  But since I had respite care and time to myself, I figured "why not?" and plonked myself down in a chair.  I got up a few minutes later with a beautiful Persian design of stylized flowers and leaves trailing down my left arm. 

Since I didn't want to do anything that might mess up my beautiful henna design, I wandered over to the library next and spent some time browsing the books.  Then it was off (of course) to a coffee shop, where I sat outside for a while (hence the sunburn) and read while drinking an iced tea.  Finally I hit the craft store to buy some art supplies and the pet store for more practical items, as the cats were nearly out of food.  Then it was time to head back to the house.  What a great outing!

Connor ended up being scared of the henna and refused to let me touch him with that arm.  Apparently he didn't recognize it as my limb and thought it was a Stranger Arm or something, or maybe he thought I had a giant sticker on my arm and I would infect him with Stickeritus if he allowed it to get too close.  At any rate he refused to let me pick him up with it and I had to wipe the henna off prematurely, which meant it didn't have a very dark stain.  Oh well.

Otherwise it was a great day!

~Jess