My sweetheart left yesterday for Las Vegas. He is attending the National Association of Broadcasters convention as he has every year since we first set up house together so I should be used to it by now - unfortunately, it is just long enough after the end of hunting season for me to have gotten used to having him around again!
I spent the day doing laundry, napping and watching HGTV. I am addicted to House Hunters, especially the International version. I am especially keen on kitchens and bathrooms and when there is an indoor courtyard, whee!
I will be growing some of my very own blackberries now, so bowls like this one won't cost two day's worth of grocery budget.
My son came over with his post-hole diggers, dug holes and planted the berry bushes, my mimosa tree and two hydrangeas. I tended my little garden and added Japanese Eggplant, more cucumber, yellow squash and zuchinni. I am going to put my bell peppers into pots since I don't think there is enough room in the raised bed for them.
The meowies helped, naturally enough. Pojr led the black cat brigade of himself, Tip and Fang as they frolicked around the bed while I worked. Tip invited himself into the middle of the little garden, jeopardizing the future of a newly-planted cucumber and I shoo'd him away. The boys have sweet, very tiny voices so when they complain it sounds more like a chirp than a kvetch.
They quickly lost interest in the garden since I wouldn't let them dig and began running as hard as they could back and forth across the yard. My golden boys, Cabrillo and George, used to like to do that when they were younger. They also engaged in Matrix-like mid-air collision avoidance, leaping 3 or 4 feet up and twisting their bodies to insure a feet-first landing. The sheer joy they have in breathing fast while running, feeling the sun on their fur, and watching the little world that is my backyard reminds me to enjoy these things as well.
Which I did, until the damned mosquitos began gnawing on me like I was crab legs on the Chinese buffet and they were tourists. GAH!
Sunday night and we are winding down from a lovely, productive, happy weekend - the kind I never dreamed I'd have with a spouse. Never thought I'd have a spouse that I'd have long enough to WANT lovely weekends with. I adore my husband.
Anyway, with that as the backdrop, let me paint my weekend for you:
Saturday morning my sweet husband got outside and built a raised garden bed for me.I had already bought some heirloom tomatoes to plant there and went to Lowe's to get more.
These are my blackberry bushes.
I got Blackberries, eggplant, zuchinni and yellow squash along with another cucmber plant. I also had to get some flowers!
Lantana and begonias having a drink in the sink.
We went to dinner Saturday night at the world'd finest Italian restaurant, Ferrucci, with our friend Dan. He was in town to dismantle an amateur radio tower. He lives near Sarasota and reminds me of a Koala bear. He loves going to Ferrooch (our nickname for the restaurant) as much as we do. If you are ever in Panama City, do yourself a favor and go downtown to Ferrucci. Have the handmade mozzerella appetizer and a bowl of God's own Tomato Soup.
Today we met our son, lovely daughter-in-law and granddaughter for brunch.
Decisions, decisions! Do I eat the lemon slice or another cheese cube?
Her hair is long enough to hang in her face but not long enough to tuck behind her ears so the Cindy Lou Hoo look is the coiffure of choice these days. I love that Dr. Seuss is the Vogue magazine for the under 3 set:)
She likes to eat and walk and have faces made at her. I think I have taught her to bat her eyelashes. I fluttered mine at her to see if I could get a giggle and instead got a stern look followed by a very deliberate blink. She is a very attentive child; the people around her aren't just occasionally amusing flesh-trees but creatures to be studied. There are new tricks to learn, new things to teach her body to do - like eyelash-fluttering:)
This is her "I am most displeased that you have taken the bag of cheese cubes, Mommy" look.
We ate on the outdoor patio-like area so we could see the bay. Jacque wanted to walk without an adult holding her hand so her Granddaddy and I obliged her. This meant, of course, that we were bent over nearly double so that we could be sure her little feet didn't encounter any dangers that might lead to skint knees and sobs.
The kids are really good, calm parents. Heather (my DIL) has given her curly-lipped smile to Jacque and her whole face changes when she grins. She smiles that smile herself when she tells Jacque to "sit on your bottom, you know you're not supposed to walk on the table."
Chad, like his daddy, is a big bear of a man and when he holds Jacque she looks like a doll. When Charlie holds her the non-verbal communication begins. They look into each others' eyes and nod and then begin making raspberry noises.
After brunch we drove back to town and did the necessary errands for dinner to happen, watched the rest of a movie, and I planted some of my vegetables in the garden. We had Greek Spaghetti for dinner. I was feeling so happy and geeky about being so goofily happy that I looked at my husband and said "I think this was a very good weekend."
He raised his eyebrows, his "really? why?" face in place and I looked into his light blue-green eyes and said "I am happy. Not about just one particular thing, just happy."
He said "Good. You're supposed to be happy."
Isn't that a nice thing to be told by someone you love, who loves you?
