Yesterday a friend came over to fix my mower and help me tackle the yard for the first time this spring. Normally I can handle it on my own, but rain and warm weather led to a bit of a back yard jungle. So we worked for about 4 hours: pulling weeds, trimming, edging, and cleaning up in general...he even hacked apart the Christmas tree I'd left to shrivel up in the back yard back in January. (I know, I know...at least I took my lights down early, ok?) And when we were done, voila, a beautifully manicured, lush, (mostly) green oasis emerged.

So today after going to mass, I took myself outside to have some cereal and do some computer work in the sun, glare and all. The heat climbed a bit and I decided to slap on my bikini and lay out for a little while. I had a wonderful long chat with my grandma on the phone that ended abruptly when my dangling feet collided with a bee. After a moment to grab an ice cube I ran to my neighbors' for some bendadryl...about 20 minutes later, back out in the yard and reading my romance novel, I fell asleep. Dead asleep. So asleep that when I woke up I found that one of the dogs, Goldie, had grabbed my cell phone from right under my nose and taken it out into the grass by the trees. I'd been asleep for over an hour! The cell phone is fine, but my whole backside is burnt to a vivid lobster red. So much for dodging that skin cancer bullet. (However, I do wear a 30 SPF minimum on my face and I don't even have a hint of a tan there from my little nap.)

I used the rest of the day's light to head to the Kyle HEB for some colorful plants and flowers. They have an excellent selection of drought hardy varieties and I eventually--after roaming the "Texas Backyard" section for an hour--picked a few, including an orange honeysuckle plant, for the planter area near the 'robots' in the front yard.(The robots are the utility boxes of various shapes and sizes that, for some reason, are planted smack in the middle of everyone's front yards in my neighborhood. The builders said the city made them do it, but I don't see that anywhere else in Kyle. All of the residents, myself included, make valiant but futile efforts at hiding them with islands of shrubs and blooms.) Made it home with just enough light to plant my lovelies in the ground and hang out with Evita at dusk.

All in all, it was a lovely Sunday, and just what I needed to prepare my mind and spirit for the morning...I'm heading to court at 9 a.m. My understanding is that by this time tomorrow I will have been several hours divorced. We're both going to be there, but it should all just be a formality because our decree has basically been finalized. I'm glad to be so near what everyone tells me will bring some closure to all of this, and yet...

I guess I just want to get through the day. I'm glad I'll have to head to work as soon as it's done...and I'm glad for a lovely home to come back to and animals to greet me when I walk in the door, with good friends just a stone's throw away, and a whole lifetime of possibilities still ahead for a much more hopeful, joyful me. Sigh. My grandmother told me that she prays every day for my cousin Michelle and me, for us to be happy and to heal, and for our "marriages that were blessed by God but destroyed by man." I think it's a good sign that the writer in me thrilled to the poetry in that language as much as the romantic in me was touched by the sorrow in its tone. Let's accentuate the positive, shall we?

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It's Academy Awards night and I haven't seen a single one of the films that are nominated this year. No really, not a single one--and I'm not talking about the big five, I mean every category. For shame. Oh well, I've been, shall we say, busy. Perhaps I will spend the next couple of weeks catching up, and then stay caught up in the coming year.

I have, however, been reading like a mofo this year, [Side note: What in the hell is up with Travolta's hair? I'm watching the red carpet pre-show and he looks like the old Moss Man action figure from He-Man.] but I've been completely non-committal--you know, reading several books, sometimes half a dozen or more, at a time. One of the books that I picked up a loooong while ago, and then immediately put down, was Eat, Pray, Love. I thought, at first, 'Aw Jesus, a book by a divorcee about a divorce and her journey back from it...I don't need to read that shite right now.' A wee bit reactive and negative, perhaps, but it was probably a good idea not to dive in while the wound was still bleeding. I'm up to my neck in it now, though--the book, that is--and I'm loving it. I highly recommend it if you are interested in any of the following: good food, Italy, religion, yoga, India, love, divorce, good food, men...did I mention good food?

Simple_and_divine

One particular passage inspired my early evening meal today, which I lovingly gathered at the store and then arranged so prettily on the plate that I just had to take a picture--as I'm often wont to do these days. Feast your eyes, my lovelies.

No, I didn't eat everything. I tried, but there was no way. (Plus, it just looked so nice all piled up like that.) At least half the sliced meats went to my doggies, and though I made it through the goat cheese, I left the mozarella mostly alone. The bread and strawberries and most of the asparagus is in my belly, along with some Topo Chico and dark chocolate (not pictured). 

The earlier part of the day was spent running a few errands in the loveliest of Austin spring weather--78 degrees or something like that--and an impromptu meet-up with friends at Birds on Lamar for a trim. (My bangs are no longer impairing my vision like a shaggy dog.) And now I'm vegging on the sofa, watching Jon Stewart, and being thankful that such a simple day can leave me happy and sated.

Ready_for_my_closeup

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