Oh my...is it mid August already? This has certainly been an interesting summer. Until last week the only tomatoes I've had were sungolds, thank goodness for sungolds! But it's certainly not easy to make a BLT with cherry tomatoes. This intense heat is starting to take it's toll. Even the bermuda grass looks like it's dying...I wish! I keep saying I'm going to water (not the BG!) but then "they" predict rain. Tomorrow morning I'll start watering some veggies and fruits. I do keep my blueberries irrigated along with all new plantings. We drink a lot of cranberry juice here so I poke a tiny hole at the bottom and use them for "drip" irrigation. The blues produced a few berries. It's so nice to be able to walk outside and pick fresh berries for breakfast. I have a single doyle blackberry plant that produced some flavorful berries as well. I've only had a few bush beans thus far, but grateful for the few. Pole beans are just starting to fatten up. Some peppers are producing well and others aren't doing crap. I'll bet I've harvested 25 or more hot banana peppers from one plant. Anaheim has been a great producer as well. The melons are starting to come in. We had the 1st ambrosia last week. Still waiting on Hales. I've had a nice harvest from diva cukes so far. They may be petering out as I type. They were looking a little wilty this morning. We ate the 1st okra last week too. We nearly fought over those few. I'm gonna pull my alpine strawberries this fall. They just aren't worth it. I think I've figured out how I can squeeze another row in my garden by reducing the size of a couple of paths. Now, what will I plant there? Hmmm... Happy harvest!!

Calliope and Rob's comments about Bulgaria in my patio thread got me thinking I should talk about what I know of the country and the trip before I go, and this is probably the most appropriate thread in which to do so... We are going because we have a lot of Bulgarian friends, and we have a priceless opportunity to see a new place in the company of insiders. We will be staying with a good friend who is a naturalized American but still keeps her apartment in Sophia. Also traveling with us is another native who now has an American passport, his wife (who's from ND, so you know she's cool!), and their 18 year old son. We'll also be visiting my girlfriend's parents, whom we've met before and who live in an apartment in the same building, and the wife of my girlfriend's brother. The brother is also a good friend of ours. He has a green card, so can't be out of the US for more than 6 months... and the wife is waiting for her green card and can't come here until she gets it... oh, and she's about 8 months pregnant. My friends promise to introduce me to a wide circle of family and friends. Most don't speak English, but my friends will translate... plus I understand I'll be able to converse with some friends in French... and I do speak a bit of Russian, if they'll forgive me for communicating in the language of a former oppressor. If all else fails, I'm a dang good mime. I'm actually surprised at how much Bulgarian I'm able to understand, and I can read the alphabet. We're planning on spending some time cooking together, some time visiting historic sites, like Rila Monestary, and some time at the Black Sea. From what I am told, these are some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe. I suggested we hit Greece, since we'll be so close, but I was met with disdain (and Bulgarian pride), after all, Greek beaches are horrible pebbly places, while Bulgarian beaches are beautiful and covered in sand. Bulgaria was dominated for centuries by the Ottomans, and there are lots of residual Turkish influences. Lots of Greek and Russian influences too. They are proud people, and while they have adopted many of the foods and customs of people who have dominated them over the years (they seem to be gifted at choosing the losing side in wars), they can be a bit touchy about the whole thing and are quick to point out All Things Bulgarian. For instance, Bulgarian doesn't use the Russian alphabet, Russia uses the Bulgarian (Cyrillic) alphabet. Bulgaria is part of the EU, but they haven't converted their currency yet. They produce most of the world's supply of rose oil, a component in nearly all perfumes. I was disappointed to learn the rose farms will not be in full bloom, because areas of the country feature valleys full of roses as far as the eye can see, and the scent is supposed to be heavenly. Oh, and nodding the head = "no" and shaking the head = "yes". Apparently this is the source of much confusion with outsiders. I have been told that this is because Bulgarians are largely comprised of three tribes of horsemen, and this body language emulates that of horses... (they nod when agitated) but I don't know whether or not that's an apocryphal explanation... We're leaving this week and will be gone for a while. I promise to take lots of pictures and post stories when I'm back and over my jet lag.

This has been a week that I know someday will storm my memory bank, take me by surprise, and leave me with a deep, heavy sigh. After a week off from work for a well deserved vacation, Tuesday found me back in the office and DS at his first day of 7th grade. I had so many phone calls while on vacation that DS finally took my phone away and turned it off with a stern reminder that "we're on vacation", but I had already received word that my office would be moving to the Headquarters on Tuesday. I knew I would be overwhelmed with packing, moving and trying to conduct operations and for the first time in 8 years, I didn't take DS to school on his first day. He said he understood but I could hear the disappointment at the base of his words and felt a stab of regret at breaking our tradition. He survived the first day, and I survived the 12 hours of packing up the office and moving to my new office on the 3rd floor...an office with a view! And AC! Phones haven't been transfered yet and I can't help but enjoy the solitude. It will be short lived, I'm sure. I managed to unpack the necessities but there are still 25 boxes of files to deal with, pictures and plaques to hang, and boxes of old mementos to haul home and retire to the attic. The new office is smaller so I'm forced to downsize...it was hard trying to weed through all the stuff, trying to decide what held the most value to me, what I really wanted to display, what statement they made. I've decided that the office should be professional but still have a touch of whimsy that defines who I am. All my awards will be packed up, I am not defined by those words. Instead, I've decided to frame the unit t-shirts I've been given, many which are works of art, and display them. My Iron Mike statue which is an award of sorts will share the spotlight with the GI Joe given to me by a unit, and the Knight in Shining Armor, given to me by my DS. Professional, yet whimsical. That's me. This week also found me in the company of my dear friend who returned from Italy last August. While we've stayed in contact over the past 3 years, I needed the distance between us to dissect every minute detail of my emotions in regards to him. It hurt when he left, there was a void that I never thought would be filled. As I dissected, I decided what I felt was an infatuation with him, and that left me with 2 options. I could let myself be infatuated and possibly scar a long term friendship, or I could grow up and understand that true friendship is priceless. Where I thought a void existed, I suddenly saw that it was just my imagination, if I had looked hard enough I would have seen that his friendship never waivered and he never really left me. It was ok, I was ok. This week was wonderful, we spent a lot of time talking until the wee hours of the morning, we laughed, I cried, we went to dinner, he brought breakfast to my office, we shared secrets, we had intelligent adult conversations, we dreamed and planned our futures...it was like old times, except I didn't feel that tug on my heart strings like I did before. He left around noon today to head home but at 5 pm my phone rang, he called to remind me it was Friday and I shouldn't work late. As we talked, retreat sounded and I watched the flag retire for the night and was suddenly filled with such a warm, happy feeling...everything just felt right, life was good. Reality hit me on the drive home...this is what love feels like! Not being in love, we're definitely not in love with each other, but we do love each other. It's an easy love, a comfortable love, perhaps even an unconditional love. Most of all, it's the kind of love I need in my life right now. Although I'm exhausted from all the late nights, for the first time in a long time I can honestly say that I'm truly happy. I know that some day, when I least expect it, this memory will storm my memory bank and I'll heave a big sigh of happiness. Maryanne

Awoke with a pounding headache this morning and knew we'd get a taste of Ernesto tonight. Oddly, the change in barometric pressure affects me, I'm just one of those super sensitive people. It's been raining all day, dreary and gloomy and muggy, a sad ending to the month of August. Around 2 pm, the county schools announced a 2 hour delay for tomorrow. I remembered to check with DS's school when I picked him up tonight, they were still on a normal operating schedule but were waiting for the next weather update. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home for cat food, there was no rush on bread and milk, but it was busy. I always marvel at the people who think it wise to buy massive amounts of groceries when a storm is approaching. After Hurricane Fran knocked out my power for 4 days and I lost everything in my freezers, I learned my lesson. What a shame, the store had a good sale on ice cream too. Oh well, the sale will be on tomorrow too, if the power holds we'll eat ice cream for dinner. I couldn't muster up the energy to cook tonight so treated DS to dinner at the local burger joint. We must be odd, how many people go to a burger joint and eat fish and chicken? The food was mediocre, the service was horrible, but the company I had couldn't be beat. On the ride home we heard the announcement that his school was delayed 2 hours tomorrow. He's ecstatic, I'm not. I'll have to go in to work for 1.5 hours, leave to take him to school, go back to work for 3.5 hours and then leave to pick him up. Lots of driving in miserably wet and windy conditions...not my favorite thing to do. I've been sitting here listening to the wind sigh through the pines, the sighs are getting heavier. Last check we had sustained winds of 15 mph with gusts of 25 mph. Not bad, but enough to send the green pine cones flying onto the roof like mini torpedoes. I guess I know how I'll spend my last free weekend for the next month....cleaning up debris. Oh well, it could always be worse so I'll just count my blessings and do what needs to be done. The end of August...less than 3 months until Christmas...I won't think about it today, too depressing. Where has this year gone? The older I get, the quicker time rolls by. I don't want to be this age any more, I want to be 13 again, the age when time seemed to stand still. There was so much to look forward to and it never seemed like it would get here. Funny how we spend so many years looking forward, then all of a sudden spend the rest of the years looking back. I'm tired of looking back, tired of saying farewell, so I'll just say Welcome, September.... Maryanne