It Was a Picture-Perfect Weekend

We had a great weekend!

On Saturday, Phoebe, her hubby, her daughter, and a family friend all arrived for a weekend photo shoot. Phoebe's daughter is a senior and wanted me to take her yearbook picture, which I was more than happy to do.

Since they were already in Neighboring City for a volleyball scrimmage Saturday morning, it made perfect sense for them to head our way for the rest of the weekend. It was an opportunity for us to do some "summer" photos, and to get our plan together for both fall and winter shoots (Young Miss isn't sure what she wants, but she definitely wants to have a lot of options! Ha!). It was also the perfect opportunity for Hugh to bust out his cooking skills on his new Blackstone, which, he did on both Saturday night and Sunday morning.

It was also my chance to watch Hugh lose at Checkers, which is something I have not witnessed since we started playing last week; Young Miss managed to defeat him in their second game.

Phoebe and I were busy drinking wine and catching up on all the news from back home and from each of our individual chats with the rest of The Girls. It was a relaxing evening.

Sunday morning, Hugh fired up the Blackstone for a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and homestyle potatoes, while I set out the Mimosas for myself and Phoebe. Priorities, ha!

After breakfast, Phoebe, the girls, and I headed out for that first photo shoot and some of the resulting pictures take my breath away. I have no idea how this kid got to be this mature, this fast; wasn't she born just yesterday?

Anyhoodle, I really enjoyed my time with Phoebe and I am looking forward to our next session, which will happen sometime in the autumn. Hopefully, however, The Girls will find sometime to get together before that; Phoebe and I both agree that we are way past due for some Girl time.

And, now I am off to work for a week that promises to be both busy and challenging. I would much rather be in a sunflower field with my camera, in case you were wondering.

Ode To the Hummingbird

Summer is almost over and I have yet to do my annual hummingbird post. 

Can't let that happen.

I've had the feeders up since early June, I believe. However, it's only been in recent days that my favorite of the hummingbirds have shown up to partake. They are orange Rufus and they always make me think of flying goldfish, so, I can't help but try to capture them mid-flight to illustrate that opinion.

The purple-throated hummingbirds are also pretty, but man, are they assholes. They chase the orange and green birds away from the feeders, regardless of the fact that I have six feeders in total, so there is more than enough to to around.

It's kind of ridiculous.

So, there you have it; my annual Ode To the Humble Hummingbird.

Jebus Cripes, I really am getting old.

 

Tell Me You're Getting Old Without Telling Me You're Getting Old

The house sure got a lot quieter when Queen B went back to Texas. 

I'm not loving it.

Hugh and I have had to find ways in which to keep ourselves busy, and, thankfully; the garden has provided an outlet. This past weekend, we harvested a few of the ripe squash and peppers and cooked them on the grill. 

I know; the excitement was overwhelming for me, too.

But, we gathered up the energy to dine on the porch before settling in for a several matches of Checkers. 

Yes, Checkers.

Hugh beat me at every game, but that's all part of my strategy; I'm going to lull him into a false sense of security and then start kicking his ass.

That's my plan, anyway. I'll let you know how that goes.

In other Old People News, we bought a Blackstone. So, in addition to frequent posts about hot flashes, board games, birds, and the current state of fiber in our diets (post coming soon!); I'll also be posting Blackstone recipes from the Facebook group that Mama Jill talked me into joining.

So, yeah.

Tell me you're getting old without telling me...

In Which I Convene With the Bees

My favorite way to spend weekend mornings lately is in the garden, where I have developed a lovely simpatico relationship with the bees that flit about the squash blossoms and flowers. It's a very satisfying feeling to know that they aren't troubled by me and that I don't fear them (I am baffled by people who swat at honeybees as though they are aggressive and determined to sting).

Judging by the numerous vegetables forming in the garden; the bees are doing good work. I am especially thrilled with the way my butternut squash plants are training over the trellis; it's so pretty!

And, since butternut is my very favorite squash, I am excited to see the baby squashes forming. I see butternut squash soup in my future.

I also have a lot of peppers growing; mini bell peppers, banana peppers (this was the request of the Man-Cub), and jalapenos.

My cucumbers and green beans are winding their way up the strings, but, as of yet, I haven't seen a bean or cuke. Hopefully that will change, soon. In the meantime, I am getting a kick out of watching them grow; string training has been so interesting.

The summer squashes are coming along, nicely. So far, I see a few yellow squash and several heirloom scallop and Patty Pans forming. I've never grown either breed before, so I am looking forward to cooking them.

The flowers in the garden aren't quite ready to cut yet, but, they add a lot of really pretty color to the garden, including the sunflowers, although, they were supposed to be pink. That's right, pink. I ordered the seeds from a specialty catalog and, the package clearly stated that they were pink. Did they turn out pink? No, no they did not.

It's ok; there is plenty of pink amongst the zinnias.

 All in all, gardening in raised beds has been very exciting, while being utterly relaxing; I don't have to water as often, there is nary a weed to be picked, and the vertical nature of string training is a trip. I'm enjoying it, immensely and; I couldn't do it without the bees.

Seeing July Out in Style

Last night, we gathered as a family and introduced Queen B to what has become a summer tradition for me and Hugh: grilled pizzas. The Man-Cub has dined on the pizza before, but we didn't really start making them until Queen B was out of the house, so it was a new treat for her.

Queen B, the Cub, and Shanti all assisted with the pizza assembly and we ended up with four pies that spoke to each of our tastes: pepperoni and cheese for Shanti, Hawaiian for Queen B, meat and mushroom for the Cub, and a Margherita for me. Hugh is equal-opportunity when it comes to pizza so he was all-in on every flavor.

While the pizzas cooked, we played with the dogs; Shanti's lab had never chased bubbles before, so it was fun to watch her. Boomer loooooves bubbles, so he was in Heaven.

When the pizzas were done, we posed for a quick family picture before grabbing our plates and heading for the front porch. I had also made a huge platter of Caprese salad and a basket of baguette that I served with spinach-artichoke dip, so it was a great meal.

Queen B leaves us today and I am going to miss the heck out of her. It's been so awesome to have her here for an extended period of time and I am grateful for the opportunity. She'll be back to help us get Mom moved over from Mayberry, but I will miss her terribly in the time between now and then.

Friday Favorites

Thank God it's Friday. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I am just about peopled out; I am looking forward to a weekend with nothing on my plate but nesting. Before I get to that, though, it's time for the favorites from the past little bit, including the time that I have had to spend with Queen B and Mom; when I say I'm peopled out; they don't count.

The Man-Cub drove Mom home today, before the ink was even dry on the contract for her new home. Wait, what?! Yep, we found a house! And it only took three days! It's a town home that checked all of Mom's boxes: 

• Single story
• Low maintenance
• Large enough rooms for her current furniture
• Enough storage space
• Move-in ready
• Quiet neighborhood
• Near the Senior Center, church, stores, and medical center
• Plenty of green space

It was in her budget and she will close on it September 6th. 

There is also a rose bush in her yard, which she was happy about. 

Speaking of roses; the bushes at both Not So New Job and my house are going gang-busters this year! I love them, so of course that makes me happy.

Also making me happy is this new mug.

I picked it up at the dollar store down the road from us and it cracks me up. Ha! Egg pun!

Anyhoodle, I'll leave with this: pictures of the last two dinners that we had with Mom. The first is a tortellini in cream sauce that I had at our favorite little Italian place the night that Mom decided to put in an offer on the house, and, the second is last night's dinner, which I enjoyed with Mom, Oscar, Emily, The Man-Cub, Shanti, Queen B, Hugh, and Mikey.

Queen B will be flying back to Texas on Monday, but I'm not going to think about that right now. I mean, why ruin a perfectly good Friday Favorites?