...

YESTERDAY I CELEBRATED WITH MY SISTER, Nitabee. She's the much younger one of us, although I love the way the occasion we were celebrating briefly takes away the much. We visited the Museum of Art, which was simply a cool place to spend the day, coolness being highly sought after at that time and that place--that time being just about the hottest day of the summer thus far. That place being a mere pleasant little train trip away for each of us. So we met at the train station. We then discovered that the walk to the museum, despite what the guy at the info desk had told us, was not an easy little jaunt, but a sweating-profusely and resting- often and searching-out-shade sort of a trek. Had the guy been oblivious, or did we actually look much younger than our ages? We agreed it was the latter for sure, dragging ourselves into the welcome chill of the museum entrance.

Now that we'd arrived at this air-conditioned arena, it was first things first: We had to eat.


And so we dined. Dining, especially when celebratory and with a sister, is more agreeable, and extends much longer into the afternoon than simply eating.


Next on the agenda was shopping. And don't worry, there's plenty of shopping to be had at this museum. Celebratory shopping, especially with a sister, is quite agreeable and can extend until the museum is about to close, if one isn't careful.











There was still some time for art perusal, though. Hence we got to share commentary on the nude paintings (only with each other, of course, and the one man who overheard, much to his amusement), imagine ourselves in 1850s French apparel (and choose dresses for each other--my choice for the birthday girl being simply the best!),













ride a very unpopulated trolley to a separate building of the museum, and view more--etc. etc.--art.




Celebratory afternoons, especially... (alright, alright) do speed away, however, and it came time for a very hot ride on a now very populated trolley (crammed to the gills, actually) back to the general vicinity of the train station--general vicinity meaning that it was close enough we could survive the trudge back before our scheduled return trips, and still in the area where we were likely to find some refreshment for our gasping, parched, dehydrated bodies (I do exaggerate somewhat, but hey, it was really hot, and we were really thirsty!)

And that's where I'm going to leave you...schlepping along the sidewalk with us...because, you see, there's more to the story than just to say that we hopped on our return trains and headed home. Oh, heavens yes, there's more.

...to be cont'd
...

...




JUST RETURNED FROM A brief vacation back in the Beautiful Valley, where I and my "I do" man spent time with many family members. Okay, yes, he's my husband; and yes, the family members were all extended relatives of his (and mine, due to "I do") --descended via his maternal grandparents; and certainly yes, as you've no doubt deduced, it was a family reunion.





I'll tell you why I like this family and why my weekend was quite well-spent: One-- The members of this clan enjoy being together, which means that they all get along, they like each other. They have these reunions every two years and most of those who can make it attend each time. Two--They generally find good places to meet, always where we are served our meals and don't have to be scrounging around and spending time in a kitchen. Three: They like to laugh. Maybe it got passed along in the DNA--these people love to have fun! Jokes and story-telling abound, as well as stunts to produce more laughter, so that, you know, there'll never be a shortage of stories to tell and more amusing stuff about which to reminisce.


Four: Do whatever you please, as far as how you spend your time at the reunion. If you want to squirrel away and do your own thing, no one seems to be offended. Possibly that's because

there are always plenty of people to join in the excursions (are you kidding? always excursions --this past weekend it was antique shops, Amish stores, road-side stands, gift shops, a winery--the beautiful valley had them all, and the van-load of women [yes, well, the men aren't as big on this kind of jaunting] investigated as many as possible). If one prefers to stay put, one can always join the league of jigsaw puzzle-piecers. Or sit on the porch and chat (where much of the laughter occurred), or study the table of family history albums and geneologies. Whenever hunger strikes, one can cruise the snack table; alas, I neglected to capture a picture of that. Too bad--it was impressive!




Equally impressive, I thought, was the hummingbird that came to the feeder at the porch, and just look at the shot I got of her.










When it came time to say goodbye to the grand view and the people who had enjoyed it for the past two days, it seemed a little too soon.







So we drove very slowly out the quite awesome tree-lined driveway, making it a shorter time until the next get-together with these dear folks.












...

...


CHEERS FOR THE LOWLY ONION. No matter how much I have to cry over them, it gladdens my heart to see them rolling into my coffers. They find a place in nearly every soup, salad and sandwich I prepare, not to mention most of the hot dishes.






Also rolling in are the watermelons---ah, the sweethearts. No one around here has to beg for hurrahs when we slice into one, and, although the color isn't deep red, the taste is as refreshing and satisfying as laughter (well, perhaps. tell me a joke and I'll compare).


Next on the roll-in line-up: those handsome Aubergines (ha, just the eggplants putting on airs).
I'm eagerly waiting while they primp and plump.


...

...


I'VE GOT MY OWN PERSONAL GUINNESS RECORD to relate. Calm down, Reader Dear. Yesterday I may have mentioned (just in passing) the sipping of mint juleps, but I haven't taken up any head-tilted-back, gulping-and-belching guzzling of beer just yet. I'm referring to the Guinness Book--you know, the one with all the superlatives.


A few days ago my daughter of the prolific garden came toting an enormous armload of her red zinnias. "I brought you a bouquet," she said with a laugh.
I was aghast. "Why ever did you do that?!"
"Oh," she said, "the eggplants need some room to grow."

Thus I got quite the biggest bouquet ever--personally speaking, of course.


























"Throw them away if you want," my daughter said, when I pondered what on earth I was going to do with them. She deposited them gently on the porch and returned to the garden. Throw them away?! Now THAT I found impossible! These long-stemmed beauties had the lengthiest stems I'd ever seen on any Zinnia. Come to think of it, they were the longest-stemmed flowers I've ever been given*( That's the second entry for my Guinness book.)






With a lot of trimming, a little ingenuity, a plastic trash bag and an empty planter, I got the flowers corralled into a fantastic bunch--not so tidily arranged, but impressive for their mass.




Later, when the weather threatened to storm on my largest-ever bouquet, I brought it indoors, where those flowers seem to sit expectantly, waiting for some grand event to take place.



"This is it!" I explain each morning when I come downstairs. "The earth is still spinning in space! There's still hope for the human race!" And they seem to lift their pretty red faces and smile in understanding.




...

...


IT'S HOT. IT'S TOO HOT to work outside where everything is baking in the sun. It's also too hot to go anywhere, getting into a garageless car and suffocating until the cool air kicks in. Fortunately for me, I've got another option I am free to choose--being penned up inside with the fake coolness of air conditioning. It doesn't seem like freedom to me, though; it makes me feel like a prisoner. I put off thoughts of it as long as possible, and dream instead of lounging in a hammock in the shade, sipping mint juleps and being fanned by someone else. Today, however, everything roasts in the sultry air. It addles my brain. The snug little blanket of heat and humidity is wrapped too tightly, and, alas, there's no one clamoring to fan me. So I've given up my freedom for refrigeration, and flipped that little switch to "cool." It's got to be a hot idea on a day like today!


...