JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU

If there's one thing worse than August in Texas, it's early September in Texas. By this time, most everyone else in the country is talking about their first cool snaps and ripening pumpkins, while we're still stuck here in Hades, swatting mosquitoes. It's way too hot to crank up the oven or stand out over a hot grill, but our veggie growers are doing the summer-to-fall-garden segue, so there's not much in the way of fresh local produce to inspire a light, simple meal. Which is why I have no foodie pictures to post. The swimmin' holes have shut down for the season, but the fall-festival-frenzy has not yet begun, so there are no outdoor adventure photos to post either. And, on top of all that, pretty much everything on our property is brown and crispy right now. So what's a gal to blog about?

Early this morning, before the sun came out and we worked our way back up into the 90s once again, I took my camera out and wandered around, desperate to find something, anything, to photograph. I'd all but given up hope when suddenly, I spotted this...

two little succulents -- sedum Autumn Joy and this thing I've always called Cow's Tongue, but just discovered is not -- which found themselves next to one another purely by chance. Both spent most of the year a solid gray-green, but have suddenly dressed themselves in these gorgeous russet tones that blend so beautifully with one another. Two perfect little autumn harbingers.

Just goes to show you. If you look hard enough, there's always something to be grateful for!

A NEW TRADITION

Believe it or not, with the five Muses ranging in age from mid-50s to mid-60s, we just now got our very first grandbaby in the group -- and it was the youngest Muse who bingoed first! Instead of throwing a baby shower, we decided to throw a Granny Shower.

And, since we are all a bit book-crazy, we made it a Build-Up-Granny's-Children's-Library-Shower.

It was held on the patio of Sugar Shack Bakery so, of course, there was cake!

And, since it's The Muses we're talkin' about here, there was also creative gift-wrapping...

and a bit of Show & Tell.

Best. Baby. Shower. Ever!

I DID A BAD, BAD THING

I have this thing. This thing for hi-liters. Whenever I'm reading a book I own, I can't resist hi-lighting anything that resonates with me. Which is why, when my friend Paula recommended The Happiness Project to me, she added "But, you need to buy your own copy so you can hi-lite things. You know how you are!"

So, recently I started reading this book called Crazy Rich Asians, which takes place in a part of Southeast Asia where we used to live, in one of our very favorite cities, Singapore! And, well, pretty much everything in the book resonated with me, from the mention of places I remembered going to, to all the descriptions of foods I loved and ones I wish I had tried, plus all the cultural things I didn't know about back then, but which explain so much about Asian people we have met through the years -- especially our son's best friend and next door neighbor when he was in middle school in Plano. We loved the kid to death, but at ten years of age he was already a devoted name-dropper who wore nothing but designer clothes, and his dad was determined to send him to a boarding school in Switzerland where he would finally meet "the right kind of people."

Needless to say, I just went to town in that book with my hot pink hi-liter.

Too bad it was a library book.

A COLOR-MAD GET WELL GIFT

On Friday my hubby announced that he needed to make a  frame-run to Michael's, over in Austin. "Need any art supplies?" he asked sweetly. "No, not really," I replied automatically. Then I saw his smile fade and realized, he wasn't just being polite, he actually wanted -- no, needed -- to bring me something.

You see, my hubby doesn't handle it too well on the rare occasions when I have anything more than a cold. It shatters his view of the world order, threatens to send the earth spinning out of control. And, since I mostly just want to be left alone when I don't feel well, I guess shopping for me was the only way to show me that he cared. 

Grasping at straws, I wandered over to my art table and showed him a picture of some liquid water colors -- just about the only thing I don't already have -- in my new Creative Girl art book by Danielle Donaldson. "Well, I guess, if you could find the smaller 1/2 oz. size, you could get me one or two of these. Just to play with, make sure I really like them before I buy more."

I should have known better, right?

Well, needless to say, I've had quite the color-mad weekend!

As if that weren't enough, he even made me a tuna fish sandwich! And, even though he had to ask me how to make tuna fish, I swear, it was the best one I ever had! Must have been just what my body was craving.