Erev was quiet and peaceful.  I made challah, coconut lime chicken with jasmine rice, and salad from the garden.  Later K made a beautiful raspberry cheese cake to take to a friends’ event Saturday.  Avdi and I watched old Star Trek NG episodes.

Yesterday was our [No Kings] B&B.  I helped set up as usual.  It started out slow, but then Jess recruited R and all their friends to come over, and things got more B&B-like.  Avdi got to relax in the pool.  One young guy surprised me by coming over and engaging me all evening on a wide variety of esoteric and personal subjects, which was fine and worthwhile!

This little bunny was on our front step.  I saw my first monarch of summer on the milkweed!  The whole time, the little bird couple with their big fluffy babies were scolding us for disturbing their peace.  Lots of poppies were blooming and cukes were hanging.

I should mention, we had unintentionally prescheduled this B&B for No Kings Day, or we probably would have been at a local protest rally.  But I know that there were huge turnouts of peaceful protesters all over the area and city, as well as the country.

Yesterday was a little different, because Jess came up with a plan to make sure Avdi eats (he often forgets), and get him out of the silent solitude of working at home without the level of chaos he’s used to.  All of which is to say, I made him a nice lunch and dinner, and in between he and Jess co-worked elsewhere.

That’s the short form of the story; suffice it to say, some crises may not be completely fixable, being the human condition, but can be made more endurable by having extended family with strategies to reduce the damage going forward.  Sort of like, you can’t control a tornado disaster, or depend on the gov to come through, but your “village” can organize relief strategies to mitigate some of the devastation and despair.  (You know me and my metaphors.)

I try to avoid going all foodie on you, but I made parmesan polenta with homemade herby pasta sauce, a salad mostly from the garden, shelled peas from same, guacamole from scratch, baked rolls, and even crafted bloody maries with garden “shrubbery”.  Like a salad in a glass. K joined us briefly for dinner.

It was starting to (gasp) rain outside, so I didn’t have to water.  This little chipster kept popping in and out of their vast network of tunnels throughout the garden, then just basked near me while I harvested.  The little bird couple with the babies over the back door continually scold me whenever I get too close.  I noticed the babies seem to know to shut up when a human is nearby.

I was forced by circumstances to retire early, which I resented at the time, but there are definite perks, if you’re resourceful with the little you’ve got, and determined to keep living and learning.

It doesn’t take much to get me excited and feel accomplished.  You may laugh at my simpleness, but I finally grew cucumbers!!  Look at these fat beauties.  I almost wish Y were here to admire them.  (They can’t have their phones at camp, for good reasons.)

Next case in point: the prickly pears are starting to bloom!  Most of the family wouldn’t miss them if they were gone, but I’ve worked at cleaning their bed up so they could thrive.  I haven’t attempted eating them yet (ouch), just love their flowers and desert appearance.

Look at all the snap peas from just one harvesting!  I have plans for them, too.  With most of the kids away, I don’t have to worry about who will dislike what, and can start preparing foods Avdi likes and doesn’t have time to fix or eat.

Just a quickie, because I had to take time out to catch up on business at home.

Yesterday was another perfect spring day for gardening, so I started extreme weeding and cultivating in the veg garden (peppers), weeded and reseeded the under-germinated melons in their raised bed, cleaned up E’s “secret” outer area a little, finished mulching the lilacs, and prepped for K mowing.  (BTW, when I say “mulching”, I mean with our own composted soil/organic material from the big mountain I cleaned up.)  I’m earthy as well as watery air.  Occasionally I dunk my head in the pool to keep cool!

Speaking of K, he baked croissants, and a beautiful key lime pie from scratch, which was excellent.  And mowed.  With everyone else not monopolizing the kitchen and whole house, K has been venturing out of the cave into the kitchen and trying new skills.  He’s really good at it.  He even gets some quality time with Dad.

How irregular, a dry, sunny, perfect garden day, so that’s what I did.  I planted some rooted cuttings, reseeded some okra, transplanted Y’s potted veggies to the outside of the veg garden, and weeded all around it.  Meanwhile, the poppies are popping, trumpet flowers are trumpeting, cucumbers look like big fat pickles, and everything is fat and happy.

Later, I vacuumed the pool, and then Avdi and I jumped in.  It was perfect temps out and in.  I always feel much better after the garden and I are watered and aired out.  Must be an Aquarian thing.

Once again dodging t-storm warnings, I made it over to A’s and did some straightening up, laundry, etc.  The garden is perpetually wet.  Another poppy bloomed!  A chipmunk kept popping in and out of its vast tunnel system through the raised beds.

Later, Joyce came over with outstanding homemade lasagna and joined the last few of us for dinner.  I made crafty margs, and provided garden salad.  Poor K, also not feeling well, may have gotten out-talked by us!

I’ve been feeling so out of it lately, physically and mentally.  Even my dreams are ever darkening fiction narratives of being forced out of the workplace due to age and incompetency.  I have to fight to stay on top of this state of mind.  In real life it was due to my aging demented parents needing my full time caregiving, until I couldn’t have returned to that work anyway.  I refuse to ever put my son in a similar position.  He already has too much of it as it is.

The “squirrels” were safely deposited at camp, and the house is almost empty.  I spent the day at my apartment.  Rain continued to water the garden for me.

In the evening, Avdi and I and Jess ended up at the Crack Fox (dance club and dive bar), where they danced and I held down the table of drinks.  A introduced me to some of his DJ and other friends, who were very pleasant.  I wasn’t feeling at my best, but I enjoyed watching A get his needed dance fix.  He’s going through a lot of life changes, or passages.

It continued to pour, and fog shrouded the tops of tall buildings downtown.  It’s always very atmospheric here.

This was the final erev before the “squirrels” leave for camp for two weeks.  Duffels and suitcases were everywhere.

I baked challah, harvested another large salad, including celery, made spaghetti and sauce, and heated some great rice and veg leftovers by E.  It was just A, K, Y, and me for dinner.

This morning A drove E and Y to camp.  Of course it continues to rain and flood.  I haven’t had to water in days.  The first calendulas and poppy bloomed!  Also orange daylilies.  Hummers are buzzing around in a feeding frenzy.

I think I’m about to be on mini-staycation between my two homes.

As always, a night out with Avdi is always a memorable occasion.  It was pouring after the tornado warning, but that didn’t deter us.

First we ate at O&O (Olive and Oak) Pizza in Webster Groves, which sounds like an ordinary pizza dive, but is upscale, lovely, with exquisite Italian food and wonderful craft cocktails served by professionals.  The food was extraordinary.  Homemade gnocchi, morels with herbed polenta, and the absolute best veg lasagna either of us had ever had, don’t even begin to describe how perfect it was.  The drinks were very unique, as well.  I think we both died and went to Italian heaven.

Then for a switch, we checked out the Berlin-styled tschüss bar and club in the Cherokee Street District of StL.  I think they were having an off night with understaffing, so I won’t judge it by the drinks.  The atmosphere was pleasant.  Downstairs was a very divey dance club, no frills, but good DJs (one of which was a friend of Avdi’s) and house music.  I couldn’t stop photographing this one person who threw themself into dancing.

I didn’t even get schnockered this time, because the first drink was for savoring, with water, and the second was undrinkable, so I shared Avdi’s!  The rain let up, providing just the right atmosphere for holing up in nice bars.

Yesterday I got to spend most of the day at home: then I covered for Avdi overnight.  E had prepared a great-looking dinner, but I wasn’t up to eating.  Mostly I just went to bed upstairs and actually slept.

E stayed up baking up a storm (i.e. working through some private stuff).  I think everyone was up half the night but me.  Then they slept in and I got up.  It was very quiet this morning!  It had rained a lot overnight, and was continuing on and off through the day, so I didn’t have to water.  All the plants were twice as big as yesterday!

The bird pair have a nest full of babies right over the back porch.  They’re getting used to me and let me take their picture.

Finding I didn’t have a whole lot to accomplish there, I walked home during a brief rain break.  Later, Avdi and I are going out on our monthly date.  I wonder what new discoveries we’ll make.  Stay tuned.

I just have a brief rant digression.  St. Louis is still reeling from the tornado devastation, yet up until now, only local grassroots orgs and volunteers have shown up to do the heavy lifting; the gov, local, state, and fed, have been nowhere to be found.  It’s obvious why: racism.  I keep thinking, if this had been WG and other well-off suburbs, the city, county, and state would have been out there doing the work from day one.

These local groups are not even set up to do this job, but they took the initiative right away, because who else would?  It really reveals the hypocrisy and indifference of people (repugs) in power.  It gives them an excuse to clear away the rubble of unwanted people’s lives, leaving even more  homeless.

And ironically, the sirens just came on again.  It’s too much.