It’s going to be a rainy weekend here in D.C., so there won’t be a ton of outdoor activities on this week’s list. But I don’t think it’s going to thunderstorm anymore, so they won’t be precluded altogether.

I was supposed to start this weekend with an author event, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s talk about the D.C. Reads book, The Refugees. Unfortunately, I got stuck late at work and wasn’t able to attend. I managed to wrap up by 8, though, so Rudi and I met at a local park, where they were showing The Post, the movie about Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee and the battle over whether The Washington Post should print the Pentagon Papers. When we missed seeing it in the theater, I’d intentionally held off watching it until our outdoor film season, figuring it was a logical choice for a number of them to pick. So we watched the film two blocks from the White House (currently occupied by another president who wants to actively erode the Freedom of the Press) and four from the former Post building and had the film introduced by former Post reporter and editor Len Downie, who had advised the film production. (He tearfully admitted the film set of Graham’s Georgetown home was so accurate that it was hard to be there and not believe she wouldn’t just walk around the corner.)

Speaking of walking, tomorrow is the Dupont-Kalorama art walk, which is when several neighborhood museums open their doors to the public for free. The event has shrunk over the years, but there are still two museums on the list I haven’t visited (one of which is in Georgetown, but who’s counting).

I have things that are overdue to the library, so I’ll be making a trip over there.

I also need to stop at the garden to pick peas and strawberries and lettuce. I was hoping to finish assessing which of my herbs need replacing and to plant beans, flower, and squash seeds, but that might need to wait until slightly drier days.

If the thunderstorms do hold off, I should probably hit the pool. Going last week made it plain that while my legs were up to the task of swimming, my arms had become jelly-filled over the winter and need exercising.

I’ve got several books on the go and a sock that’s hovering at the heel turn (I took a different project to New York because I somehow thought I might finish and have no knitting to replace it) I’d like to wrap up.

I’m mulling a trip to a local farm to pick strawberries, but think I might hold off until next weekend when Sarah is back from her vacation. But I do have berries in the fridge that I need to deal with (ice cream, I think), as well as some rhubarb (which could get paired with the strawberries, but instead I’m thinking about a rhubarb-lavendar crumble I just saw a recipe for).

I’m also contemplating a trip to the office. I’m launching a website on Monday afternoon and made some necessary changes last Friday that had a ripple effect on the way the site appears to some of my coworkers, and I might feel better about things if I do an hour or two of last-minute checks that today’s work repaired the problems.

Household chores were carried over from last weekend. I have a bag to unpack, clothes to put away, more laundry to do, a kitchen floor to wash, and, if rain keeps Rudi home on Sunday, a closet that requires two to reorganize properly. (He tried to tackle it on his own a couple weeks ago and conceded that it would be easier with a partner.) I should also take some of the books we’ve culled out of the house, either to the library (come to think of it, they might be collecting books for an upcoming Friends’ sale tomorrow) or one of the Little Free Libraries around the area. Oh! And the tea canisters need refilling. I love tea day!

I hope your weekend includes lots of fun or necessary tasks. What do you have planned on your agenda?

I had a nice Memorial Day weekend, but somehow three days always seems so short.

Rudi and I saw Solo on Friday night. It was not my favorite of the recent Star Wars movies.

Saturday, Julia and I went to the National Gallery of Art to see the Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now exhibition. It was more interesting than I thought and the museum less crowded than I feared. (The above sculpture is by Kumi Yamashita and uses a spotlight at a particular angle to create the image.) We ate lunch at a bistro nearby and although the skies rumbled ferociously, they did not open up on us. I did a little shopping after we parted ways and read some of my book.

Sunday was my lazy day. I went to the farmers market, but then came home and didn’t leave again. We did some cleaning and watched Ferdinand, which was sweet.

Today, I did some more cleaning and some shopping, went to the garden, and swam at the pool. One of the things I had to buy was taller stakes for my peas and because the closer hardware store was closed for the holiday, I ended up biking back home with my groceries and with a package of six-foot-tall stakes. I felt like a knight on horseback with a lance and realized I’d never given much thought to how awkward that really is. I did feel very accomplished though, and my peas are so much happier now.

Rudi and I kicked off the long weekend tonight with a date night to see Solo and for dinner at a nearby Asian restaurant.

He’ll be working the rest of the weekend, but here’s what else I’m hoping to get up to this long weekend:

• My friend Julia and I are meeting up today to catch an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (her idea; I’d never suggest going to a Smithsonian on the weekend during tourist season) and to have lunch.
• The pool opens tomorrow for the season. As per usual, the weather isn’t expected to be ideal, but that won’t stop me.
• I got out of work early today and was able to get to the library to pick up a couple things on hold, but didn’t return the things that needed to go back, so I’ll be heading back over tomorrow or Sunday.
• I need to give the peas more string, and I could use some additional supports, so a trip to the hardware store or garden center and to the garden are on the agenda.
• Laundry. I only have one more pair of tier-one underwear left and the towels may march themselves to the washing machine.
• Make something with strawberries. Maybe more than one thing. (Ice cream or quick bread or a crumble with rhubarb or … or … )
• We have someone stopping by the house next week, so I’d like it to not look like juvenile hyenas reside here when she does, so some cleaning is in order.
• I don’t need much at the farmers market this week, but I missed buying shelling peas at the market on Tuesday, so am hoping to track some down.
• I didn’t make it out last weekend to look for ducklings further down the towpath, but since my bike is clear, I think I’ll give it a shot this weekend.
• Sleep.

How about you? What are you hoping this weekend holds for you?

Rudi and I got up early, watched the royal wedding, and feasted on homemade scones and a pot of English breakfast tea. Then he went to work and Paddington moved right in. I’d worry that Rudi had something to fear, but I’ll never be a good source of orange marmalade, so I think we’re all okay.

I also finished my Victorian-era mystery featuring a minor member of the royal family and it did not disappoint (although the series is written by a Virginian, so calling it British could be questioned).

It was a good way to pass a rainy day.

It’s going to be a rainy weekend, which will definitely curtail many of my outdoor plans. But not all of them. Here’s some of what I hope my weekend includes:

• Making scones because I’d like to eat them while …
• Watching the royal wedding (possibly through my eyelids, but that’s my tradition).
• Taking part in the Bout of Books Twitter chat. (That will give me a reason to be awake later in the morning.)
• Putting away the flannel sheets. (They got washed earlier in the week and they’re still sitting in the laundry basket. It requires moving things to get to the bins under the bed.)
• Seeing Sarah on Sunday.
• Planting my potatoes. (There are potatoes growing all over my kitchen. I’d like to move them below ground.)
• Heading to the library to give back some books.
• Starting Wildwood Sock #2!
• Doing some shredding. (I hatehatehate the sound this shredder makes, which means I have done no shredding at all since making this discovery. I’m hoping headphones and ’80s music will help with the problem.)
• Writing an Into the Stacks post.

How about you? What are you hoping to do this weekend?

Rudi’s and my mothers don’t live in town, so unfortunately we won’t have the chance to see them in person this weekend and will have to make do with phone calls. But the thing about reaching middle age is that you become highly aware just how lucky you are that you’re able to make do in that way.

Other things I’m hoping to be lucky enough to do this weekend:

• Like last weekend, this Saturday features open houses. This week’s are the members of the EU. I’ve got my eye on four of them — Sweden, the Netherlands (I’ve visited them before, but not in their current embassy), Ireland, and the Czech Republic — but they’re in different areas of town, so I may not hit them all.
• The Funk Parade is tomorrow, as well. I went a couple years ago and had a good time. It’s going to be in the 90s, though, and it overlaps with the embassies, so it may not all work out.
• Rudi’s heading to a show tomorrow night, so I may take myself out to eat.
• One of the farmers said last week that they should have morels this Sunday, so I’ll be up early Sunday to get there before they run out.
• The garden is Sunday’s top priority, since I bought a dozen plants or so last weekend that need to go into the ground. I have more things growing than usual this year, so I admit I’m not totally sure how I’m going to squeeze them all in.
• I need to run over to the library to return an overdue DVD. If I finish either of the two books I’m reading, they’re overdue, as well.
• The Timeless season (hopefully not series) finale airs Sunday, so you’ll find us in front of the tv at that point. We don’t get PBS in over the air, so Little Women has to wait for streaming on Monday.
• I’d like to make strawberry shortcake. Anyone have a shortcake recipe they’re particularly fond of? I grew up with the Bisquick recipe, so that’s what I like best. (You must be able to approximate Bisquick from scratch, right?)
• I’m making good progress on my sock, so there’s a possibility that I might finish it.
• Cleaning. I don’t want to do it, but it’s overdue, so I really need to deal with some of it.

How about you? What do you hope your weekend includes?