Hey, just wanted to say thanks for checking in about the garden. I know it took me longer than I expected to get back to you, but the weather has actually been better than the forecast predicted. We ended up spending most of Saturday outside, pruning the old rose bushes and clearing out the raised beds. The soil looked better than I thought it would, though there were a few spots where the clay was still pretty compacted from winter. I mixed in some compost and a bit of sand near the back corner, and that seems to have helped a lot. Honestly, I think we got lucky with how dry it stayed until late afternoon. The only thing we didn't get to was repainting the shed, which I still want to do before the humidity really picks up. If you have a free weekend next month, maybe we can tackle that together. No pressure, just thought it would be a nice reason to hang out and catch up. Bring a hat and sunscreen, because the back side of the yard gets direct sun from about ten onward. We can take a break for cold drinks whenever it gets too warm. I'll text you closer to the date.

Okay so, the short answer is yes, I found the recipe card from my mom's old binder - it was tucked between a hand-written pie crust note and that weird Jell-O salad nobody ever made. I took a photo of the front and back, but the back side has a few stains from what I think was vanilla extract, so parts of the instructions are a little smudged. That said, you can still read the ingredient amounts perfectly fine. The note says to let the dough rest for at least thirty minutes, so don't skip that step no matter how tempted you are. I also remember she always used cold butter straight from the fridge and grated it in with a box grater, which honestly feels like cheating but works incredibly well. If you want, I can type out a cleaner version and send it as a shared note tomorrow. I just have to finish a few errands after work first. Also, I finally found that extra set of measuring spoons you asked about months ago. They were in the back of the drawer under the rolling pin, still in the little plastic sleeve. I'll bring them with me next time I see you, or I can leave them in the mailbox if you'd rather just pick them up. Anyway, send me a message if you want the typed version. Happy baking.