bits & fragments

we're in the heart of a wet mississippi summer. we've had to say goodbye to a few of our much cared-for plants that just couldn't swim. 

the crape myrtles are in full bloom and grace my dining room table shadowing the oranges. the neighbors share their tomatoes. the mint i picked from below the back steps and potted has outgrown its quarters. and the rosemary is just as content as ever to never die. i had a pear right off the tree. they are only excellent when they are crunchy.

still somehow on a school schedule, i am yet again amazed at how quickly the summer break flies by. i am relieved, for the first time, that it has done so. the work days are so much longer when the kids are at the Club all day. 

two weddings have come and passed. one, a traditional first methodist gig with chill-bump-inducing choir music, rooftop dancing, and shrimp & grits. the other, a horror movie themed union of jew and catholic in an historical musicale. both were rather elegant in their own way, and when there's cake, there's always a good time.

i had another birthday. this one came during a vacation for the first time. the beach, gourmet popsicles, lots and lots of Italian food, winning trivia, lots and lots of cake, my first cannoli, a musical review, my first chocolate martini (which was delicious and made me realize i should never waste my money on that again because white russians), and breakfast every day with family i never see.

i'm reading the cuckoo's calling by jk rowling robert galbraith. cracking the spine of the ninth book by such a master has for the ninth time, reminded me of how inadequate i feel as a writer and how eager i can be as a writer. but once more, i remind myself to be a reader.

wedding pictures are available here and here. we were tremendously blessed to have Sara Beth taking stock of each moment that day, as well as many others who gave the use of their cameras to supply more memories.

i have been home for one week, and i ache for travel again. moving around a lot lets you know that you don't need as many things as you think you do. keeps life lighter. to be able to pick up and go at a moment's notice, and you know what is of value.

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends.
You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things: air, sleep, dreams, sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.”

~Cesare Pavese~