A Beautiful Day...

Just stopping in to say to everyone back home. I took this picture today specifically for you...I miss you terribly. What a gorgeous Sunday and last day of September we were given. Love, hugs and kisses, my dear ones!!!

A Personal Harvest

Our garden this summer consisted of six tomato plants, three pepper, four bean, and two squash. The squash dropped blossom after blossom and we still have nothing. The beans have given us five or six small reapings to date, the peppers have grown sparce, but steady and we might get two if we're lucky. And the tomatos are finally going wild...

Mochi

I thought I'd blog about Mochi because of Christine's blog with Madelyn eating her sherbet with chopsticks...

It kind of tastes like cold doughnut holes, filled with ice cream, because its rolled in a sweet, gummy rice-based dough...

I could go for some right now, since Boston is in the upper eighties this week!! (and yes, I have some in my frig right now, thanks to Trader Joe's!)

Copley Market

Isn't this a pretty place to have a market? This is near the famous Newberry Street with all the great shops...I happened upon this because Scott asked me to run to the bank for him after class.

It is difficult to believe that at 29 years old, I am still seeing things I have never even heard of..

Dragon beans...

Golden cauliflower. Really?

Celeriac must be a relative of parsnip?

So THIS is how brussel sprouts grow!

Purple broccoli. Unbelievable.

Have YOU heard of any of these?

This one's for you, Jessica!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away

~ Anonymous

I haven't seen you in ages, girl, but I hold you in my heart every day. Congratulations on your engagement in your 28th year!!

Have the happiest of birthdays and Make it a great one....

The Backyard Update

Well, I wanted to do this blog with a bunch of slideshows in order to show before and after shots, but I keep putting it off and since I wanted to show you all before the summer was over, here goes..

Happy Summer's End....

Happy Birthday, Ashlyn and Eric!!

Happy, Happy Birthday, dear Ashlyn and Dad Eric!! I'm a terrible aunt and sister-in-law for giving belated wishes...How I'd love to give them to you in person!

The Laundramat

I have to do some laundry today. Wednesdays and Thursdays are light classes for me. Dolly loves to accompany me. I wish that our purchase of Angel's washer and dryer could work out for us. When I had the plumber come and give his estimate, I was a little embarrassed for not checking it out before I bought the machines! $1,500 is what it would take to hook them up in our basement. So, we walk three blocks. Wonder how it will go in the winter...

Creatures Small...

"...He loves them all"

This little guy was found by Starbucks' neighbor Wings Etc. last night after my shift. He was so cute and frail, I couldn't let him be tossed out of the red bucket into the bushes and the cold night, so I brought him home, just until he could get his energy up. The way he clung to my warm hands was precious. There was definitely something wrong with him though. I gave him a box with some water and bread crumbs and tissue paper, but by morning, little Despereaux had passed away.

Providence

Rhode Island

Tonight, Scott and I are going to Rhode Island! It is only an hour away by commuter rail. In the summer, Providence holds a festival every other Saturday called WaterFire. All I know is that they put bonfires on pyre-like rafts on the waters surrounding the little town and have music. It is supposed to feel like Renaissance times. Our neighbors Brad and Olga are going to meet us down there for dinner and exploring and then drive us back to Allston with them. I CANNOT wait to stretch my wings, after not having a car since Chicago. It will be so fun to see some new landscape.

September 13

Once upon a time, just about a hundred years ago, a special man was born in a growing town in Northern Indiana. He had lots of brothers and sisters and immigrant parents from Poland. He loved animals very much and was very good with numbers and games. He had a kind heart and married a sweet Catholic girl who gave life to my Mother. Granddad, I wish I had the privilege of knowing you. Heres celebrating a pivotal life began 96 years ago today!...I love you.

Tuesday

This is the perfect day for a grilled cheese and tomato soup. But I am settling for pumpkin loaf and a tall, half-caf mocha at Starbucks, to check in with my boss, pick up my tips and say hi to my girls, who suddenly feel like such a kind refuge to me, after trying to break onto this musical theatre scene, with complete strangers that are supposedly going to become my best friends.

So it is Tuesday morning, September 11, and it is finally raining--I could cry as I write it. The last time we saw rain was somewhere around Aug 17, but all of August only got a total of 1/8" rain. My heart and body feel great relief. But I want to cry with this rain for so many reasons...I miss home for starters. But it's so much more than that. Scott got a rejection letter yesterday on his 30th birthday and the crushing weight of financial responsibilities is bearing down on me when it should be the demands of school that is overwhelming me right now. And it is, by the way. It is not too much physically, although I might change my mind on that one, but too much emotionally.

I have so many antagonistic notions dancing around in my head. Many are negative, perhaps only as perceived by those who are to become my closest colleagues in the next two years. But here they are: my age, the fact that bonding took place the two days of Orientation I had to miss, my marriage, therefore my seeming stability and inaccessibility, my talent or lack thereof, the fact that I can't help but compare this program to my bittersweet Bethel days (and how generally loving people were), the fact that I identify more with my professors than I do with my classmates, my inhibitions, my lack of formal theatre and dance training, my disinterest in social status, the nagging feeling that I should be doing something more important with my life, and of course my allergies that leave me feeling like a squashed cabbage leaf. And so I need this cry, but I can't let it get too out of control or all of my breathing orafices might swell up and I have to sing a meaningful, gut-level song for Musical Theatre class this afternoon...

First Day of Class

Today, I return to school after six long years of being away from it all. I have Cultural Perspectives at 10:30, Tap at 12:30, Script & Score Analysis at 3 and Ballet at 5. I'm supposed to sing something for my 3 o'clock class, but I haven't been able to prepare anything with these ruthless allergies. Hopefully, there won't be time for everyone. Then I have to rush home and make the rest of the day special for Scott. I have a half finished apple pie in the refrigerator. And we'll put some chicken and red potatoes on with a bottle of red. Oh the life of a student and wife. LOL

Happy 30th Birthday to My Love

Today, my sweetheart turns 30. "If you're lost and you look, you will find me, time after time. If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting, time after time..." There's a job out there with your name on it. Love you, Boo.