The Absence of a Green Thumb.

Hope everyone had a delightful weekend.  Ours was typically chaotic full of activity, but was capped off by a lovely day on Sunday with the four of us alone.  It seems so rare anymore that we get a full day together.  Dinner together - at the table, no less - was the highlight.

One of the tasks I tackled on Sunday, was to work a bit on the planters and urns we keep on the various porches and patios around the house.  This sounds like I'm a gardener, which really couldn't be farther from the truth.  Although many years ago, as part of my ongoing Quest For Self-Discovery, I thought maybe this would be a good career for me.  Geoff and I met with a "Professional Landscape Designer" for half an hour regarding a project we were working on one summer.  She stood in our front yard giving us a few plant tips and enjoying a glass of wine.  I thought that looked like something I could swing.  Toss out a few terms like 'xeric' and 'deciduous' and sip a Chardonnay?  Count me in!

I even went so far as to take the CSU Master Gardener Program.  I sat in class for two months with people who actually grew things.  And kept them alive.  They divided plants and stimulated roots and knew how to get rid of slugs with beer and wet paper towels.  I was out of my league.  And even though I passed the program, I knew I was never going to be one of the helpful volunteers in the blue vests you see at the Garden and Home Show.  No.  While I have no trouble sipping wine in the yard, I'm not so good when it comes to actual gardening.  But I can confidently identify 'blight'.  I must have paid special attention to that term because it sounds so tragic.  So here's the deal, if the leaves of your plant turn black, it has blight, and you will need to get a new plant.  It feels good to share my knowledge.

I wore this to a Friday happy hour with our wonderful friends, the Chapples and the Ottensteins:

It's JD's Beatles t-shirt and the fabulous Pegasus necklace from Stella & Dot.  I read somewhere that "rocker" t-shirts are one of four must have t-shirt styles.  So I marched right over to JD's closet and stole his for immediate fashion gratification.  It worked.  I felt sort of cool.  And since I'm in my mid-forties, 'sort of cool' is really saying something.

Another Meatless Monday is upon us!  Tonight we'll be digging into Ina Garten's Szechuan Noodles.  So good.  And if you're wanting to serve it up any other day of the week, you can throw in some roasted chicken too!

gratitude:  the Carla Bruni station on Pandora, toasted baguette, taking walks, Tarte's Maracuja oil

thanks and love.