I like being Avdi’s “caretaker” while he’s away, because I always find things to do and small “projects” to take on!  It’s my obsession with creating more order and organization.  Avdi never seems to mind!  (Or have much to say about it, heheh!)

I did eventually make it out to the garden, mainly just to water.  It’s been so humid and buggy, it’s hard to work outside for long.  But gradually I’ll prevail over that challenge, as well.  It gives me something to stay alive for!

…and takes my mind off of precarious politics for a little while.

One thing I do miss about Ohio is all the beautiful wild natural preserves with their wetlands, prairies, tall cliffs and gorges with rushing rivers, old forests of hemlock, cedar, sycamore, and buckeye, and masses of native ephemerals.  The mushrooms and fungi were extraordinary.  Lots of native wildlife.  You could hike for miles imagining you were in a primordial world.

I’m sure similar backwoods exist here in MO, but so far all I’ve seen is manicured city and town parks with some planned natural areas of native/nonnative flowers, and human-made ponds.  Lots of dogs.  Not to be critical; there’s a place for those, too, and STL is known for its beautifully curated green spaces.

These interesting mushrooms growing out of a rotting tree, in stark contrast to the manicured school lawn surrounding them, are a case in point.  I feel a metaphor coming on, but I’ll spare you!  In almost every other way, I prefer the intelligent and progressive culture of STL to the backward-thinking conformity of much of Ohio.  Which gave us a J.D. Vance.  Rest my case.

Back to the usual drill, I made lunch for Avdi, featuring southern-style assorted greens from the garden, did laundry loads, and of course some garden first aid.  There’s a stubborn, aggressive weed grass that has taken over and refuses to yield to force, so I’ve been reduced to covering much of the veg garden with broken-down cardboard boxes, in hopes of subduing it.  One way to recycle cardboard, if nothing else.  Later we had gin cosmos (my idea) on the patio.

Avdi is off on another out-of-state road trip to visit a friend, so I’ll be doing my semi-caretaker role for a few days.  Let’s see what mischief I mean deeper-dive projects I can get into!

How’s that for clickbait!  It actually is relevant, read on.  Hopefully FB doesn’t take me down again.

You can tell I’ve been playing hooky at home by all the nothing I’ve posted for days.  This lovely photo of a clean bathroom says it all.  At least it’s not Skibidi Toilet!  (Yes, I’m a grandmother of Gen Z/Alpha kids.)

But I finally made it back to the garden, and got a lot done.  It’s a total jungle in there.  I did manage to rescue some veggies out of it.  As usual I made lunch for the hardworking A&J, featuring whatever needed using up in my trademark clever way.

Later, Avdi talked me into “supervising” his intense workout in the garage (I call it the Inquisition).  That means I sit and drink Gatorade while watching him do painful, sweaty things.  I even “lifted” a couple of tiny weights and learned some exercises I could do to build bone density.  Blah.

As a reward for all that grueling torture, we went out to Frisco Pub for dinner and craft beers (excellent food and bar, by the way), and watched people go by in Old Orchard, and talked Vampires.  “Interview with..”, that is.  Keep up.

So, the only reason I haven’t mentioned the latest, greatest political development in like, decades, is because 1. so many other, savvier people are doing it more justice than I could, and 2. I’m still kind of stunned, in a good way, that something hopeful could actually happen to our country at the last minute.  I’ve been conditioned to expect the worst and not get my hopes up for so long.  So I tend to stand back and watch it all play out–and of course vote when the time comes.

I’m glad I got to live to see the possibility of defeating Hitler-wannabees in my lifetime.  I leave all the talking points and conjectures to smart people like my son.  I know he didn’t get it from me!  Some big ironies in there if you know his background.  I just hope we collectively do the right thing this time around and don’t repeat history.

For our latest erev Shabbat outing, Avdi took me to The Grove, the historically gay neighborhood, now starting to gentrify.  It’s full of diverse ethnic restaurants, cafés, and bars, with an inviting, safe, and comfortable vibe.  It’s also very BLM.  One end of the street appears to be a little Afghan neighborhood which refugee families have made their home.  You’re surrounded by a kaleidoscope of aromas, colors, music, and people.

We did a mini pub crawl, checking out the colorful places and getting local craft beers at The Gramophone, and handcrafted summer cocktails at The Handlebar, relaxing on a patio where a DJ (trans girl?) was setting up.  I had the best cucumber mint gin drink I’ve ever had.

We ended up at Sameem Afghan Restaurant, an unassuming place with exquisitely wonderful food.  At the nearby tables were a large Afghan family, a group of young SE Asian students, and so on.  We totally recommend it.

To walk off the fabulous meal, we strolled around some more under a full moon.  Everywhere you look there are colorful wall paintings and inclusive flags.  People of all colors obviously take pride in their ‘hood and in beautifying it.  In stark contrast to the thriving area, there’s a row of abandoned, derelict buildings at the far end of the Grove that reflect a far less prosperous time in STL.  The city is full of these dark reminders, but also of creative, dynamic communities working hard to make their city inclusive and stand against persecution.

Today while A&J worked, I played chef!  [Non-Kosher Alert] I made Cajun-style shrimp and fried okra with tomatoes in a pan, and they gobbled it up.  It wasn’t even slimy.  It’s fun getting to cook real recipes for an appreciative grownup audience.

Just to confuse us, it was like a pleasant spring day out.  I got a lot done, planting, weeding, harvesting, watering, etc.  I actually grew a broccoli head!  I cleared a space and planted the rest of the elephant ears, so it’s looking very tropical around the patio.

Let’s see if this post meets FB’s high standards!  (I’m the Propagatrix they warned you about.)

I finally made it back to the hacienda after all the weatherpocalypse.  Once again the floodwaters had receded and the garden survived.  I planted some herbs I had grown at home, and did some minor triage.  Another watermelon had appeared, and the bird of paradise leaf was starting to unfurl.  Pink spider lilies and skullcap were blooming, and the okra had gone crazy.  See what happens when I stay away?

I made Avdi this vegetarian lunch of sautéed zucchini “noodles”, onions, carrot sticks, okra spears, tomatoes, fresh basil and other Italian herbs, and hand-grated parmesan.  Later we went to the botanical gardens where he worked and I explored.  Look at all this gorgeousness!  As always I learned a lot and got some ideas for challenging areas of the garden.  Last but not least, we stopped at the library and I got my next installment of The Expanse, which for me is like getting ice cream.

Oh, and better than even ice cream, my plea to the universe to help me out with finances was somehow answered, and perio refunded me a large amount that they had billed me!  Stuff like that never happens to me.  I am amazed and thankful.

Well, here goes…let’s see if FB throws me in delinquent jail again.  I’m so evil with my gardening and botany and cooking!

Heat index 112º.  Soon it will be India here.  Good thing I practiced broiling there.  Extreme heat advisory means I get to hunker down and chill, i.e. get things done at home.  This is luxury.

While waiting for my monthly minimal Instacart delivery, I repotted everything from the hydroponics cube, then disassembled it and gave it a much-needed cleaning.  Eventually the plants find their way into the Avdi’s gardens or into my mouth.

Filed documents.  Answered mail.  Wrote this.  Didn’t broil to death.  A productive day.

Heat advisory–heat index at 109° as I write.  Still, I walked to Avdi’s to water the garden so it wouldn’t die.  Avdi vacuumed the pool.  It was hot enough out to boil to death, but we lived.  Then he drove me home.  The luxury.

This huge mushroom was on the way to A’s.  Look at my corn row, over my head!  And there’s finally actual broccoli heads on the plants.  This heat doesn’t seem to faze the plant kingdom, just me.

I sweated it out in the garden planting, weeding, etc, while A&J worked in the office.  The humidity in STL is abominable, but you adapt–and shower.

Later, Avdi and I tried out a Biryani restaurant nearby.  The décor sucked (typical) but the N. Indian/Pakistani food was excellent, and we had the place mostly to ourselves.  They even had authentic Indian-style chai.

Then we checked out Laumeier Sculpture Park, a combination of unique industrial and other sculpture and a park with trails.  Here is the iconic eyeball.  I feel seen.

Avdi is under pressure to use his abbreviated summer efficiently, while still taking time to do some of the things he never gets to do.  After he dropped me off, he went out to a dance club.  The day before, he got to sit and catch up on his streaming series.  I’m happy to see him getting some R&R with grownups.  It’s just as essential to mental and physical wellbeing as sleep.  People with kids, especially neurodivergent ones, know the toll that deprivation takes.

No, I’m not tripping.  If my readership of 1.5 recalls, there were these large mushrooms (at the school on the way to A’s).  Yesterday they had opened up to these umbrellas!

Also, while gardening I discovered this starfish!  Actually, two types of okra which are finally maturing.  Good thing Avdi likes okra!  Without the kids here, we can fix whatever we want.

The water has receded, but the garden is a total weed jungle!  It was hot and humid, but since my work inside was done, I tried to restore some order outside.  I’m recycling cardboard boxes by laying them down between rows on top of the stubborn weeds.  I did some more weeding and found some more veggies struggling to make it.  The “afterthought” tomato row is really thriving.  I cleaned up the herb garden and trimmed back some of the giant flowering plants.

Avdi and Jess were working in the office, kid-free, so I tried to be as quiet and unkidlike as possible!  Later, Avdi and I went to the hardware store–I know , exciting, but any outing not involving working around kids is refreshing.

Today will be a different kind of erev, not featuring the usual preps.  We may just go out for dinner!  The freedom!