A Busy Summer

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Every summer I have visions of taking it easy and concentrating on my gardening, puttering around the house and generally trying to be as free of outside engagements as I can. Every year it seems that the universe conspires against me and places all manner of commitments in my path as if determined to undermine every single relaxed summer thought I had. This summer is no exception.

The busy-ness began in the spring with the preparations for my parent's 60th wedding anniversary. On the heels of that event came Mother's Day, Father's Day, a Memorial Day barbecue, my husband's 60th birthday celebration at the end of June followed by another barbecue the following week. Somewhere in between all this I participated in a Moth Storytelling Workshop which had a culminating recital in mid-June. A week later my flamenco dance class participated in the annual student dance showcase where my classmates and I did a short flamenco number. As if all this wasn't enough, I enrolled in what I thought would be a short sandal making workshop. It took me over two months of Sundays classes to complete a pair of ugly sandals. This weekend my nephew Daniel, who lives in Europe, flew in for the first time in years just in time for his 24th birthday which was celebrated, along with his younger brother's, at my mother's house on Saturday. On Sunday, there was a barbecue at my in-laws to celebrate my mother-in-law's 82nd birthday and to send off my husband's twin nephews to college in Atlanta. I truly have not had a weekend to myself in months.

Well, the birthdays are over until September when my father turns 80 and  my father-in-law turns 87. Then there's a whole spate of family events in October. I'm taking this time to breathe a bit before the next flurry of activity. I'm also posting a photo of my brother and his two handsome sons for whom we celebrated birthdays this weekend. You can tell they're related...they all have the same devilish eyebrows.

I think I need a vacation.

- Gitana, the Creative Diva

The Official Start of Summer

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A Black Swallowtail Butterfly blesses my garden with beauty.

My loose leaf lettuces in all their colorful glory.

Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer, has come and gone along with the requisite barbecue celebrations that go with it. We hosted a barbecue that was very well attended by more than 30 family and friends. My son manned the grills, cooking burgers, hot dogs, barbecue and jerk chicken wings, spare ribs and steaks to complement the spicy guacamole and salsa he made from scratch. (Yes, my boy can COOK!!) My contribution to the food was vegetable rice and a big salad fresh from the garden. Not only did I use leaves from the various colorful varieties of lettuce I'm growing, I also added some chickweed, cilantro and mint, also growing in the garden.

Yes, Memorial Day spells summer to some but for me the official start of summer is the arrival of the migratory birds and the butterflies and this year I was not disappointed. I've already seen a bright red male cardinal and heard the call of mourning doves and the neighborhood's resident mocking bird. Although monarchs are usually the first butterflies to visit my garden, this year I was treated to the sight of a gorgeous Black Swallowtail that flitted among my creeping phlox blossoms and sampled the few blooms left on my old azalea bush. The sight of that beautiful creature filled me with more joy than I can describe. This year I planted some milkweed seeds in the hope of growing some milkweed plants to attract more butterflies, particularly the monarchs that I dearly love. Hopefully they will germinate. In the meantime, my garden beckons and I will answer its call with pleasure.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva