JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE

Yesterday Hubby and I celebrated 42 years of marriage. Add to that the four years we dated before getting married and, well, that's a whole lotta years and a whole lotta memories made. If you want to read the story of how we met, you can go here.

We already had plans for a little getaway to Fredericksburg -- a joint anniversary celebration with our BFFs, who are about to celebrate their 41st. So, it was a bit of a surprise when John announced that he was taking me to dinner at a little French place we've been talking about trying for ages, but never actually made it to -- Justine's, over in east Austin. I was positively giddy about finally eating there, not so giddy about the trip over and back. In fact, when we'd been stuck in gridlock for at least 30 or 45 minutes, I turned to John and said "I guess I'm officially old now, 'cause I've just decided that, between this and our deer-dodging drive home in the dark, going to have dinner in Austin just isn't worth it anymore!"

Perhaps I spoke too soon.

The sound system consists of a wall of vinyl and a turntable, and the whims of the bartender on duty.

We may have got a bit carried away with our starters,  ordering escargot (Oh My! Is there anything better than good French bread dipped in those garlicky butter dregs?), a cheese board, and at the last second, John threw in a crab salad. Which is probably to blame for the fact the we both brought home most of our main course (a pork chop with reduction sauce and potato gratin for me, and steak frites for John). Had to save room for dessert, don'tcha know!

My only complaint was that I couldn't hear a word John said all evening, despite the added baffling on the ceiling.

So, can anyone who's been there explain this...

a tiny little shed in the back garden, complete with bar stools and taxidermy?

If only they were open for lunch!

 

GRATITUDE

Back in WWII, people put a star in their window for each member of their family who was off fighting overseas. My Mimi and Grandad had four in their window -- one for each of their three sons, and one for their son-in-law, my dad. So, at this time each year, I am always overcome with gratitude that all four of those "stars" came home alive, if not unscathed. 

The kiddos were all here yesterday -- a bit of a miracle these days, with all the work travel son Austin has to do. I like to leave little surprises out for Calvin to discover when he comes over, mostly pulled from the fantastic stash that BFF Paula passed on to me. I especially like hiding stuff in that little tote bag you see below, which we pulled out to distract him from emptying out mom's diaper bag over and over. Now it's the first thing he heads for when he walks in the door.

We celebrated Memorial Day early, at our favorite family hangout -- Hays City Store.

It's a dog's life.

Someone has new twins!

Calvin really, really loves earrings. Thankfully, he no longer yanks on them. He just examines them. Uncle Austin really, really loves tickling the back of his neck, to make him shiver.

My constant prayer these days? May we never have stars posted on our own windows.
 

OH WHERE, OH WHERE HAS IT GONE?

I woke up one morning recently, and realized that I seem to have mislaid my art vibe somewhere. Well, maybe not my art vibe per se, but the ability to follow through on it and get things done. The realization hit me hard. Really hard. And, knowing that drastic times call for drastic measures, my first step was to declutter the bedroodio. I figured it might help if I actually had a space to work in. When I began clearing off my art table and trying to put things back on the shelves, I noticed how crowded they were, thanks to all those clear plastic shoe crates filled with my no-longer-new assortment of hand-painted collage papers, still waiting to be used. Something had to go, and it really got me to thinkin', ya know? About the things we hold onto.

My Original Plans For Our Mexican Hacienda Kitchen Courtyard Cantina Garden

Apparently, I am a binder hoarder. I make binders for everything -- for recipes, for project ideas, for bookkeeping, for visual merchandising and garden design work notes, for to-do-lists, for my own garden notes, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! I love, love, love taking a pile of papers that is ready to topple, and converting it into a well-organized system in a binder, complete with dividers, page protectors, and special pockets. Over time, however, the binders can get a bit out of hand. Like when I ended up with at least three huge binders full of recipes, along with about 50 cookbooks, in an age where one can google any recipe one could possibly want, according to what ever ingredients one has on hand. Seeing these shelves and all they held was kinda like that. It made me realize it was time for yet another major purge. And, if there's anything I actually love more than 3-ring binders, it's a major purge!

Proof That I Was Actually Once A Business Owner! (probably should have filed as a non-profit)

Notes From My Little Garden Design Business, Seasonality

Folder For Our Visitors, Showing All The Fun Things To Do In The Area

Outdated City Guides and Travel Brochures For Places We Won't Be Going Back To

I've tried to get rid of these things before, but could never quite do it. I guess they were visual reminders of a time in my life that felt almost too good to be true -- when I finally embraced my creativity and became the person I was truly meant to be. After we moved to the Hill Country, my life just got better and better. I started this blog, met The Muses, learned to draw and paint, became a much better cook and connected with local growers and producers, and planted a garden that I actually got to stick around and see reach it's peak and become fairly self-sufficient. Best of all, I became a grandmother which, surprisingly, has opened up even more avenues of creativity.

Anywho, the fact that I couldn't even remember what was in most of those binders, and that they were all covered in a thick layer of dust, told me that it was finally time to let them go. They represented the perfect jobs and interests for that time and that place and that season in my life. But seasons change, and now it's time to let go of one and fully embrace the next.

 Aaahhh! Already feeling the urge to rip up those color-mad papers and start gluing them on to something!

KNOWING THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Outdoor Woman And Their Newest Fuzzball, Gus

When you live in a small town, you tend to have friends or groups of friends that overlap with one another in several different ways. My friend Outdoor Woman knows pretty much everyone in town since she is not only a Muse and one of my Wino buddies, but also a member of just about every group in Wimberley. Which is why, when you consider everyone she is friends with and could have invited over, Hubby and I feel kinda like we won the lottery this week!

Their patio overlooks Lone Man Creek, where we might have gone for a float had it not been unusually chilly and drizzly.

It all started when she posted a picture of her kitchen counter absolutely covered in the fresh produce that her hubby had harvested from their backyard garden that very morning, and which it was now up to her to use or loose. I was thinking to myself "I'd be happy to help you with that!" but didn't actually say anything. Another of our Wino buddies, however, was not so timid, and immediately left a comment saying "Looks to me like you need some dinner guests!" Which is how we ended up falling into this!

A bit of color-mad coordination I just couldn't resist snapping a photo of.

The beans on the small plate are the purple kind which, sadly, turn green once they are cooked.

Deviled Eggs, Straight From The Hen House

Zucchini Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting and Fresh Mango

YUMMMMM!

And, believe it or not, she still had this left on her counter...

and more in the garden, just waiting to be harvested.

Like I always say, it pays to know the right people -- people with chickens and veggie gardens!

WHERE'D OUR BABY GO?

Mom, what do you think you are doing?

SHEESH!

Why are my best buddies here at Mima's house? They've never been here before.

I don't know what these weird paper things hanging everywhere are, but I kinda like them. Let me pull them all down!

YIKES! What did you do to those cupcakes?

Can I touch it?

What am I supposed to do with this?

A little help, please?

Hmmmmmm...

WHOA! That made my toes curl!

Got any more of that?

Who you callin' a baby? I'm a BIG boy now!