Spent the day out in the yard yesterday, raking through all of the promising places of myrtle and what might be planned-vegetation of some sort. The work felt good and imagining what I might plant where, even better. My daddy says that he will be out to help build the grape arbor and start the forever-process of growing the vines to fill it in. Today is all sleet and cold rain again, but that little moment of respite, that little porthole into Spring was a great reminder.
M's parents' anniversary is this week: FIFTY-NINE YEARS! They have such a kindly and strong bond and it is inspiring to see. I sent M-solo to celebrate as I don't like to do overnights at their house until I am officially fianceed-up and in honor of their celebration, I made a double-tiered anniversary cake. The initial plan was to use genuine Italian meringue icing but, I started late and as I was also using fondant and planning to stack the two layers of red velvet cake with a layer of chocolate-cherry filling and then bake a smaller cake and stack it on top of those, and elaborately decorate the entire thing. In light of that, I thought that an icing that I have never made and that had a danger of failing, might be less wise than an icing I know well that would leave me time for any unforeseen mishaps or extras. I must say that the final result: white fluffy, whipped icing with white fondant stripping around the bottom and a white heart and white roses for decoration (which, despite my sorely-lacking art skills, looked to any-eye, like roses and hearts)did my girly-girl heart good. If we have not spoken of my strange attraction to domesticity, one that kicked in after I got my degree, than post after post about food and decorating and entertaining should clue you in. What you don't see is how I stare at the china cabinet where I have now, a complete set of the very china I chose to be my wedding pattern when I was only fifteen. (But as there was no wedding then and has not yet been, I caved and registry-be-hung, bought my own.) Inside that same cabinet, is the better part of another set by Vernon, the dreamiest twilight and lilacy-smoky-mauve, plus a dash of ivory and butter and mint. In fact, the set looks like a very gourmet box of buttermints.
Friday began the good weekend with two former students driving all the way out to my pretty little home and taking photographs of me for one of their senior thesis shows. They brought the most delicious Greek food along and I made my feta theologos and cut up some gourmet peppers and tomatoes and we dined. The photographs were sent to me this morning, and for those of you who have seen how unphotogenic I can be, you will understand my shock when I say that the pics were wonderful and that it hurt their beauty for me not one bit, that the background of the one the student chose for her exhibit shows my kitchen table (have I waxed rhapsodic on it yet?) and yes, the china cabinet with its shelves of white on white roses, blue in their shadings and the aforementioned buttermint-ware.
The weekend has been a subtle bag of goodies.
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