there's always time to party

so, didn't really have time for this birthday thing.

an insanely busy school/work year

got even more crazy

when Joseph suffered a broken finger at school

(his right hand, of course)

& now needs nightly assistance

to complete some of his school work

(thank you voice-to-text technology & semi-ambidexterity)

but i am a woman who enjoys being celebrated!

can't you tell?

looking fancy for my birthday dinner

 at some point

i may regret telling people

that my favorite animal is the octopus.

but not yet!

childhood mantra:  "read the card first"  a good policy!

 the cupcakes were a slight ordeal

(i hear),

but they turned out quite yummy

 we all held it together

in the face of our individual exhaustions.

happy birthday to me!

 ~~~~~

several days later,

we had a slightly more rested look

(anticipating a three-day weekend!) 

although we had just walked miles around the state fair

(which i will post separately)

Dad

Mom

Joseph & Dad

pre-dinner hanging out

only serious birders would have a huge telescope trained on the backyard birdfeeders

 i had a delicious cherry pie on my actual birthday,

scrumptious tiramisu cupcakes for our family celebration,

& ever-popular pumpkin pie at mom & dad's!

i did not get any better at blowing out the candles, however.

as Joseph reassured me, 'isn't 3 your lucky number?'

 

birthday tulips

here's to 46 more...

hello, 92?

maybe.

farm*fresh*friends

a morning left to my own devices,

i went on a quest for canned tomatoes.

(of course.)

although i did not find any

(and, therefore, must obviously learn how to do it myself),

i found

kathy, brandy, elizabeth, ann, jean, another anne,

tahe (and we both agreed we missed seeing betsey), marilyn,

bags and baskets

filled with eggs and flowers and a rainbow of fall vegetables.

a veritable treasure trove of friends.

~

much better than canned tomatoes.

i also found (& devoured) pies of all sorts from the Augustino Gusto bakery

& enjoyed seesmelling the beautiful garden flowers

some lacey greens

and some ribbons & lace

your guess is, i wager, better than mine

a peck-o-peppers

& a pallet-o-pansies

i will suggest....endive?

a whole lot of yumminess potential

a rainbow of swiss chard

i might rather have a vase of this than a vase of flowers.  might.

old favorite jeans.  new favorite shoes.  & my favorite season.

rambles around the garden in the rain

i have spent so little time in the garden recently.  days went from mosquito-hot to clammy-cold with little of that glorious autumnal summer in between.  but this morning, i put on my wellingtons and tromped around the perimeter to see how things are faring.

~ the violet seems to thrive on my neglect, surviving on the back porch, more than once burned by late afternoon sun and, now, rejuvenated by the rain-filled air ~

 ~ summer flowers arching towards the earth,

bowed down by all the recent rain ~

~ the basil leaves yellowed, a last batch of pesto lost

to the cool, wet weather (as well as my limited time) ~

 ~ on the back fence, these porcelain berries

resemble tiny speckled bird's eggs ~

 ~ and, under the dogwood canopy, leaves glow

green, gold, and red ~

 ~ the clematis, which i diligently (and daily) curled around the lamp post this summer, is covered with 

miniature white star-like blooms ~

 ~ the stump of an old, forked dogwood that used to stand guard near the birdfeeder is now home to fungus and moss rather than sparrows and finches ~

 ~ i hope the autumn flowers, sasanqua camellia and sweet olive (which announced autumn's arrival with a sweet, subtle scent days before the little white flowers burst open),

will outlast the rains ~

 ~ like a leopard, this leaf ~

 ~ and the figs have, once again, come to naught.

they remain hard, green fruit, now absent of warm sun

even as the rain finally arrives ~

 ~ after my ramble, i fixed myself a fried egg and tomato on toast and left the garden and rain to their cold, wet day ~