In the Garden with Gentle Palm

Indoor Soccer

G.P. started his first season of indoor soccer tonight.  He's a head taller than any of his teammates.....

Homecoming Weekend

It was Homecoming this past weekend at Corporate Capital Prep, and we started out on Friday night attending the Varsity volleyball game to cheer on Many Shoes and her teammates.  Before the game, the seniors on the team were honored:

And then the parents of the seniors were called out for recognition.  Many Shoes called out all three of us - D of L, her father Preacher, and me.  You can't see me because I was taking the picture, but I was very honored.

The next night was the Homecoming dance.  Many Shoes and some of her compatriots used Old Stone House as a dressing spot.  Don't they look fabulous?

The little one wearing the tiara didn't actually go to the dance.  (Where did he even find a tiara?  Isn't it amazing the stuff that gets into your house when you have kids?)

Nana was with us to enjoy the festivities.

And the next night, we had a dinner party for fourteen.  I was too tired to take pictures during the party, but I do have a shot of D of L's wonderful roasted string beans and fennel.

This will be our last Homecoming weekend unless G.P. ends up going to a school that has such things.  G.P. is clearly focused on the distant future, however.  Tonight, after we had read our chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he called me back into his room, saying he had a problem.  "What's the matter?" I asked.  "Mom," he said, "I don't know what I'm going to do after college."

Good grief.  I just want to get him through 2nd grade first!

A Proper Episcopal Send-Off

G.P.'s panda hamster, Sing Sing, after living the full span accorded to most hamsters, died this past Friday.  He was put to rest in our garden with full honors.  Many Shoes, who has said she wants to go to seminary like her father since she was 11, conducted the service.

Yes, that is the Book of Common Prayer. 

Mlle turned 22 and we had a gathering in her honor.

(The Boyfriend is very sweet and nice to her, but what IS IT with the chin hair?)

G.P. and I planted 700 Narcissus and Muscari at the foot of the new wall.

We did have the luxury of doing it the easier way; first the bulbs -

- then the dirt.

 

I am heartily tired of earth moving, but we are done.  The grass seed is down, rolled, and it is even raining!!  I would normally say that it would now be a race between the seed and the cold, but given that it has been weirdly hot all fall here in Little Blue State, I'm not so sure.  Perhaps we just won't have winter this year....  (Or, we will have 200 inches of snow, who knows?)

Halloween Costume Debate

We went Halloween costume shopping last night, Nana, G.P. and me.  G.P. wanted a "scary" costume, preferably involving dripping blood.  Yech.  I drew the line, pointing out that he would not be allowed to wear it in either his school Halloween parade, or the Halloween parade at my law firm. 

After much debate, he settled for a pirate costume, which was considerably more expensive, but his mom is happy.  He loves it too, as it completely violates our "no guns, even if they are toys" rule.  Sometimes you have to make exceptions.

D of L is in the Big Apple, hard at work defending liberty.  I hope she agrees with the gun v. blood decision.......

Visit to The Big Fish

Last weekend, D of L and I, along with Nana and G.P. went to Northern State to visit my middle brother, Big Fish, and my sister-in-law, Patience of a Saint.

Big Fish lives in the central part of Northern State, where more than 200 inches of snow a year is normal.  Sheesh.  We went during the salmon run, to see if we could get in some good fishing.  Here are Nana and G.P, with Big Fish (he's the tall one) and Big Fish's best friend and his son:

As Winnie the Pooh would have said, it was a blustery day.  But the Salmon River is beautiful, and we had a great time.

D of L and Patience of a Saint hung out on the bank with Nana:

The big news is that, for the first time in her illustrious life, D of L peed in the woods!!  What a milestone.  Big Fish informed her that she had achieved his respect.  Given that an hour earlier, he had been referring to her and Patience of a Saint as "Zsa Zsa and Eva," it was a high compliment indeed.

Mlle and Many Shoes came up later in the weekend so that Many Shoes could look at the Big Town University.  We also celebrated Big Fish's 42nd birthday, and Many Shoes' 18th.  Silly string figured prominently in the celebration:

We picked apples and pumpkins:

Aren't my girls cute?

 

What I Won't Have In My Garden

Answers to the above meme making the rounds.

1.  Tulips.  Can't stand 'em.  They look like harlots AND they don't come back.  Granted, those two objections are inconsistent, but so be it.

2.  Pampas Grass.  Save it for the tropics - it just doesn't makes visual sense here in the Mid-Atlantic.

3.  Cannas.  See above under "Pampas Grass."

4.  Any tree that drops all its leaves on the same day.  Makes me obsess about that day.  Too much like Armageddon.

5.  Rhubarb.  Why would anyone eat that stuff?  Just skip the rhubarb and eat the sugar straight out of the bowl.

Party On

It is official - Many Shoes is 18!  I guess now she should run out and sign a contract or buy a lottery ticket or vote.

Party group picture:

And the first course of the wall is in, the topsoil is rough-graded below the wall, the tractor with the backhoe has been powerwashed and returned to our wonderful neighbors, and I am going back to work tomorrow - to rest.

 

All Done But The Rock Moving

The grass seed is in!  What a job.  The terrace is dug, the topsoil is down and raked and rolled.  The seed is down, and it is rolled.  The sprinklers are on.  Some of the big rocks are even moved to the base of the wall.

It has been so hot - 89 degrees - here in Little Blue State the last two days that it seems like July.  It will certainly help the grass seed germinate, but I sweated so much today that I weighed two pounds less tonight than I did before breakfast, and that was with drinking about 8 glasses of water! 

Today is also Many Shoes 18th birthday!  I am so old.......   We are having about 20 of her friends in for dinner, and G.P. has Pacman over to spend the night as well.  Nothing like a quiet day.   

Last night D of L, Nana, G.P. and I went out with Many Shoes to celebrate her birthday.  I had worked so hard all day that the two glasses of wine I had with dinner (which is one over my usual) made me so buzzed that I couldn't drive home.  I am not only old, I am a lightweight.

Dig We Must

I am so tired even my hair hurts.   Let's just say it is a small backhoe and a big job.  But it is getting done.  Photos follow, as I am too tired to type.

Tomorrow I am hoping to finish the digging, get the first course of the wall in, get the topsoil down, and roll and seed.  It won't all happen.  But - I am taking Monday off, so there is still hope.

My Youth in Backhoes

I got the backhoe tonight, and started working.  No pictures, since I was using the little remaining daylight to dig!

But I come by it honestly.  Here I am at age 3, with my Dad and brother on the old Allis Chalmers:

And at age 6 on - what is that, exactly?

Pictures from the digging front tomorrow!