I decided that since Jo-Jo's upstairs litter box was so picturesquely nestled between a Banana and a pot of Bird of Paradise and Ti, she could use a nice Hawaiian print:
So far she hasn't thanked me for it.
We've had a very cool second half to our summer, but both girls had a nice sun nap the other day. It's so rare for them to snooze so close together that I had to take a picture.
I'm very excited! My Night-blooming Cereus bloomed!
I've had this plant for 10 years, and this is only the second time it has bloomed. The first time was six years ago, so it's been a long wait. Each time I only got one bloom. The plant itself is a rather squid-like cactus that is tethered to a curtain rod to keep its tentacles and suckers away from our TV. The flower is beautiful, though, and the scent was heavenly. Kind of like plumeria.
I've become a Cereus filmmaker, and I tacked together all of my photos to create a simulated time-lapse of the flower blooming, taken from several points of view.
I also grew this fantastic bunny carrot! Eyes added, nature did the rest. After I took the photo, Jo Jo ate the carrot. That was its destiny.
My brother Brady is still on the Appalachian Trail! A few mishaps have befallen his friends, and they've had to drop out and rejoin, but so far Brady has remained pure and steadfast in his continuous trek. His worst mishap has been poison ivy, while others have contracted Lyme disease or sprained their ankles. My Dad and Stepmom, Becky, hiked with him in early July, so I got an update on him when I went home to Maine to visit at the end of July. He had safely passed the halfway point.
Last week I finally heard from the boy himself, and he's heading up into New England. Mt. Katahdin is almost in sight! He checked in from Wingdale, NY, which is about 1440 miles along the trail. 2/3 done!
Since it's been so long since my last Brady reporting, he's gone through several sections of the map!
I think the trail has been good for him. He started off as a squeaky clean Harvard grad who imagined having lots of time to read at camp. Instead he's found great friends, drank beer on cliffs, and generally transformed. Way to go!
A couple of weeks ago Surly Spice tagged me. Since I've already been tagged, and only sorta-complied then, I'll only sorta-comply now. I'm going to take Surly's 8 things, and edit them to make them mine. I'm not gonna tag anyone.
i have four one cats and one rabbit.
i have a sister in law who teaches yoga.
i love think meatball subs are OK, but the ones from Grinders Hot Sands are out of this world.
i do not buy a lot of shoes.
i compulsively pay my bills late on time.
i make a lot of lists. Yes! Me too!
i would rather read the book watch the movie than watch the movie read the book.
i lived in brooklyn and worked in manhattan for nine months seven years.
Michael and I just had our 5th anniversary. You've heard of the silver anniversary, or the golden anniversary? Well, according to a reference book at work, the 5th anniversary is "wood or decorative objects." Whoopee. Some websites list the modern 5th anniversary as the silverware anniversary. It just so happens, we managed to cover both, with this!
Not very decorative you say? But it's wood! And brass! And it holds up silverware! Our silverware drawer broke, and it turns out an awkward plastic thingy which held the drawer slidey-track thing to the wall had shattered. I figured the silverware drawer would sit on the kitchen table for a week or two until I got around to finding a replacement part. But no! My sweet baboo immediately fashioned above pictured bracket, and the two of us managed to install it successfully.
I know this may be hard for many wives to believe, but it was the perfect anniversary gift. Then, after dinner, Michael went to his buddy's house to play Halo. His friends were amazed I let him out. Thus ends a wonderful decoratively wooden silverware-related 5th anniversary.
In addition to meeting old and new friends, I also of course spent time with my family. My Dad and I had a nice drive to Skowhegan to see my Grandma H and Aunt V before heading to Harpswell for the rest and relaxation part of my visit. I enjoyed reading on the porch while bird watching. I helped my Dad set up a nice awning on the porch; we can call it an awning because it was white and green, otherwise if it had been blue, it really would have been a good ol' Maine tahp. A quick trip out to the Henderson Mooring at the Orr's-Bailey Yacht Club was a nice interlude, too.
I started out the week in Camden with my Mom, and I helped her get a blog started. She'll be heading to Quito this weekend for her next teaching assignment, and hopefully she can keep us updated through the blog! Earlier in the week I enjoyed visiting with my Grandma R and Aunt C in Camden a few times. I also had some extra family around since my sister-in-law's niece was visiting so she could take sailing lessons at the Camden Yacht Club. We had fun painting our nails and putting jewels on them.
All that fun aside, nothing beats the energy of my nephews! We all trooped out to Fernald's Neck Preserve and Balance Rock and had a swim, and Aaron and the kids tried a little fishing.
On the way back my Mom treed the kids in an old cedar tree.
I was also a Very Bad Aunt and encouraged violent behavior from Julian; but he's soooo cute!
And while we're on the subject of attacking Henderson's, let me close with this link my Dad sent me. It's a mashup from the Prelinger Archives showing the Henderson family protecting themselves from a zombie attack. Enjoy!
[edit: embed removed because it would automatically play, which is annoying. Follow this link to see the video.]
