Ok -- I've managed to put up some of the photos from our vacation.  For now I've only managed to upload Sept 1-4 (Airports, Monte Carlo, and the first night on board the cruise ship).   On the 5th we hit Rome, and that's probably going to need to be it's own album.  Anyway -- for those that wanted to live vicariously through me... I present our European Vacation (part 1).

This year, I attempted something new -- growing my own vegetables.  Thanks to an aerogarden that I bought over a year ago, I began to have modest success growing herbs.... so I figured what the heck.  thebigo built me a 4'x8' bed and helped me fill it.  Thank goodness he's sturdy -- it took a thousand pounds of soil and compost to fill the bed.    I started some of the seeds off in my aerogarden and then moved them to the planting bed.  Add lots of water and sunshine...

And this week we harvested the first of our summer squash.  We picked and ate a few baby squash before going out of town for the weekend, and picked several more (including an 18" giant zucchini) when we returned on Monday.  I looked today, and we have plenty more coming in.   I'm so excited. 

Here are photos and details for those of you who actually find this sort of thing interesting.

Managed to post a photo of us from this past weekend. 
Here we are, in our pirate finery.

Three weekends ago, I finally unpacked and organized all of my cake decorating equipment.  Two weekends ago I actually baked and decorated a cake.  Angie (one of the owners of the Copa Wine Bar) turned 40 on the 19th, and I volunteered to do the cake for her big party.  Considering I haven't decorated in years, I'm pretty proud of how it all turned out.  She requested that her cake have polka dots, swirly metal deely-bobbers, and her nickname 'Cuchillo' on it.  You can see the full-size photo of the cake here . 


The cake itself was Bailey's chocolate fudge and pistachio with a chocolate Bailey's marshmallow filling, covered with a traditional chocolate buttercream, and then covered with dark chocolate Satin Ice.  The polka dots and pearls were made from White Satin Ice, tinted pink, generously brushed with luster dust.  It was 4 layers (12", 10", 8", and 6"), and each layer was between 3 and 4 inches tall. It was quite heavy when it was done -- thank goodness I had
musicbyoscar  to help me move it.  

My darling Rachel loves her new pirate parrot boat!

We bought it last weekend, and since then she has spent every afternoon in the boat sailing the high seas in my home office.

It's been 30 days since I last talked about it online.  The yard next door has only gotten worse  during that time.  Complaints have been filed with our HOA as well as with the city of San Antonio.  Oscar came close to just taking a weed-eater over to his back yard and trim part of it down (because the weeds are so tall, their seeds are blowing into our back yard.)   The HOA has asked Oscar not to do anything though, or they'll have to start over with their efforts.  *sigh*  Does he really think he's going to sell that house for a profit with a yard like that?

Some of you have heard the weather reports of flooding in Texas, and some have even sent me messages asking if we've been seeing any of the bad weather.  The answer is wholehearted YES.    Normally summer is the dry season around here,  but this year it just keeps raining.   The weather service issues flash flood watches and warnings almost daily.

Statistics for those who are interested:  San Antonio averages 33" of rain annually.  By this time of year, we usually average only 15".  This year we've gotten 27".  That's 12" more than normal. 

For those of you who think that it takes hours of rain to start a flash flood -- you're very mistaken.  It's been so wet that the ground just can't  soak up the rain very quickly.  We had a brief (less than 30 minute storm) move through on Sunday, and Oscar and I watched the neighborhood fill up with 6+ inches of water (photos from the storm are in the gallery).

Now the forecast for the 4th is more rain (70% chance of thundershowers) which kills off the fun outdoors stuff like barbecues and parties and might even have some of the big fireworks shows canceled.  

I suppose there are other indoor options for the 4th, but hey... my life's already a circus.  I want to see some fireworks!!!

I'm so excited.

I made the cover of Wired magazine ! 

Okay -- I realize that it's nowhere near as cool as pyratelady's  Grammy nomination, but I'm still pretty pleased with it.

The idiot who bought the house next door to ours never moved in -- he just bought it and is trying to flip it for a profit  (which is a joke since there are plenty of new homes still being built in the neighborhood).  

It's been vacant for several months now, and the backyard is hideously overgrown with weeds.   Oscar took this photo of the yard looking down from our deck (which is around 8 feet above the ground) so it's slightly deceiving.   Some of those weeds are actually taller than our 6 foot privacy fence.   Does he really think some potential home buyer is gonna fall in love with that mess???  

Yes, the HOA association has sent him letters.  They might even fine him.  Somehow I don't see that making a big difference.  He obviously doesn't care about keeping the house and yard attractive -- in spite of the fact he could sell the house faster if he did.

Me?  We're trying to landscape our back yard -- and I'm tired of their unkempt yard o' weeds constantly blowing seeds into our yard.

Heck -- isn't  it bad enough that the lady who moved in 2 doors down has 12 foot sunflowers in her backyard?