Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Beach, Beethoven, Birthday

Do you ever have memories that make you suddenly laugh out loud at totally random and odd times? Even when you're completely alone? I hope so. Because this happens to me a lot. I like to laugh, but I think I also have really funny people in my life.

Case in point, I was in Germany with my mom six weeks ago. We had a lot of adventures and a lot of fun.

She and I spent one of our days enjoying the white sand beach of Heringsdorf in northeastern Germany. It was absolutely gorgeous outside. The sky was clear and blue, the sun was hot, and the fresh ocean breeze was blowing just enough to keep it from getting too warm. My mom was sitting in a German sand basket (Strandkorb) and I was next to her, sitting in the sand on a towel. It was an ideal day to relax quietly, think our own thoughts and watch everything going on around us.

Suddenly, apropos of absolutely nothing, I hear from my mom's little sand basket:
"Did you know that Beethoven's housekeeper had a really hard time with him? He was a real slob."

Silence.

I thought about this for a moment, considered it from a number of different angles, and then replied rather incredulously, "Really, Mom? Of all things, you're over there thinking about Beethoven?!"

She leaned forward, peeked over and gave me this look:

That's my mom. Sitting on the beach. On vacation. Just thinking about Beethoven.

Happy Birthday, Momma. You're lovely, you love us all so well, and...you make me laugh.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

If you are so inclined, you can send your own birthday wish to my mom (on her blog) by clicking here: X

Friday, August 21, 2009

My baby is growing a beard


It seems like only yesterday that I brought Pete and Reggie, my two Nigerian Dwarf baby goats, home:

And, really, it was just in May but look at how tiny little Pete was back then:

Now, at only five months old, look what's sprouting on Pete's chin:

Judging from the looks of Pete's daddy, Sugar Creek MT Tell Me More (aka "Telly"):

....Pete is going to be sporting one fine looking beard in no time:

I like beards.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Say hello to my little friend


I went out to my garden to look for some peas and, instead, found this little guy:

He blended in so well with his surroundings, at first I thought he was a plump pea pod waiting to be picked:

He didn't startle at my presence, he just sat quietly and waited for me to finish:

At the end, he even gave me a little smile. See it?:

Nice motivation for maintaining a chemical-free garden, don't you think?:

Monday, August 17, 2009

Waiting for me at home


I had a really wonderful time visiting my pal, Marcee, in Illinois, but there's nothing quite like the feeling of coming home. Among the many wonderful treasures that were waiting for me:

Goat love. I was smothered in furry goat kisses:

The first ripe tomato:

So what if the sign was wrong...:

...and I was expecting tiny yellow tomatoes. It was still quite delicious:

My first zinnia:

with the promise of more on the way:

My first Yukon Gold potato:

My first Costata Romanesca zucchini:

My first "Buttercream" sunflower blooming in my sunflower test garden:

Here's the test garden...can you even see the Buttercream in all this chaos?:

The season's first apple:

A couple unexpected things awaited me, too...

Sadly, there is blossom end rot on my San Marzano tomatoes. I probably won't grow these again next year. They're very prone to this problem and I've been informed that they aren't the greatest variety to eat raw, which is how we primarily eat tomatoes around here:

Something is chewing on my Red Fingerling potatoes:

and I'm willing to bet it came out of *this* hole:

But, tomato troubles and nibbling nuisances be damned, nothing can detract from the peace I feel when I am here. There's really no place like home, is there?