We've been away visiting the grandkids in the Pacific Northwest and tending to family and friends here. We come back to the remnants of tropical storm Fay and the incredible growth of everything green. I had to cut back the vines on the door to the vegetable garden just to get in! Andy mowed the yard today and it looks nicely manicured. But all the gardens are in sore need of attention.
This rainy season when it is too hot and steamy to work outside I have been working on my book, a memoir of my life as a teacher. A former student of mine has been my summer editor, and she was a hard taskmaster! Other former students have contributed drawings and editorial input. My daughter has scanned many artworks for the project. It feels like a community effort. I will be done with this project in less than a week. Presumably, the book will be out before Christmas.
In the coming month I will reduce the biomass (weeding!) and make all the gardens look great. I have my new seeds for the salad trays and the compost pile has cooked all summer, ready now to be dispersed into all the garden containers. Right now, I am enjoying the magnificent blooming of the orchids.
Next week will be the 48th anniversary of our marriage. I think we shall continue on with it! I am so appreciative of my spouse right now. He has been so supportive to me this summer as I spent hours and hours working on my book and just surfaced for wonderful dinners he made for me. We walk and talk every day.
My girl posse, for whom I made the quilts, are now at college and I have had photos of their dorms. I am wishing them well.
This week I took photos of my daughter and her son, Quincy, on the day they both started school. My daughter, beginning law school, was dressed in a tailored suit, and her son was in shorts ready for preschool. I suck in my breath and hope for the best.
