The Camellia Chronicles

Today is my sixtieth birthday. I will not comment upon aging because I do not have time as the day is not over yet. Anyway, Matt and DIL Ashley and Alexander appeared on the doorstep at nine with grocery bags. They then took over the kitchen to prepare Crêpes Filled with Almond Whipped Cream and Strawberries (and blueberries) from the Top Chef cookbook. Oh, I almost forgot the main event. Before they started cooking, everyone presented me with a little gift bag with a variety of kitchen tile samples to choose from. The plan was to redo one kitchen counter today and the rest later on. We headed out to Lowe’s to buy supplies, the favored tiles and a new sink. Later I will post a photo of my demolished kitchen because it looks like we’ll be eating takeout for a day or two. Not complaining, of course!

To be continued …

Today is the last day of our staycation. DD Ashley flew out Friday night, ending nine days of one of the most wonderful visits we’ve had since she moved to Portland ten years ago come September. Not quite ready to come down to earth, we have been roaming from New Iberia to Breaux Bridge to Arnaudville to Grand Coteau to Washington to Lafayette and back again for two days with DS Matthew, whose wife and child are out of town visiting her grandfather who will have either angioplasty or open heart tomorrow.

I can’t begin to go into detail about the past week and a half, so I’ll just say it was perfect and leave it at that for now. Ashley ended up borrowing my camera because she left her charger in Portland, so I really didn’t get many photos to show for her visit, but she did, so it’s all right. I made up for that a little today, so there are some new things at Flickr. I’ll be around to visit you v. soon!

Just checking in to say all is well. DD Ashley arrived Wednesday night, and we have been so busy I haven’t been able to get online much. She leaves Thursday, so I will have less to write about and more time to do so after that. Isn’t that one of the little ironies of journaling?

Anyway, Ashley is on a two-day jaunt to New Orleans with a high school friend, so I was able to watch The Jane Austen Book Club last night and enjoyed it in spite of having read the book first. It has great appeal for Jane Austen fans because it manages to capture the enthusiasm we feel for her works, but others may find it more difficult to find depth in these characters than in the original book by Karen Joy Fowler. Some subtleties of characterization are necessarily lost in translation, although Maria Bello is just perfect as the Elizabeth Bennet incarnation Joycelyn. I fear I will buy this DVD someday, somewhere because it’s worth a second look and more.

I have recently been intrigued by the digital scrapbooking graphics at Two Peas in a Bucket. There’s a whole world of vintage goodies, and one of my favorite designers is Cherie Mask. Her work is awesome! There’s a pink and girly freebie called All Twitterpated that’s worth a look.

I really am twitterpated today with babysitting Alexander tomorrow and DD Ashley flying in from Oregon as well. (My DIL and DD are both Ashleys.) Actually, I’m too excited to sit still!

1. On a vacation at a private seaside lodge in the Caribbean, I decide to jog along the seashore and up ahead I see what looks like a cave in the rocks. I jog to the cave and enter cautiously. After all, it’s time for a little adventure!

2. Once in the cave I wait for my eyes to adjust and along the wall in front of me I see a flashlight, using it I walk slowly and suddenly come to a decaying chest.

3. With wonder and awe I continue to walk through the cave until curiosity gets the best of me. I return to the chest. Feeling like Pandora, I slowly open the lid and discover a curled up dead body.

4. Upon leaving the cave and replacing the flashlight I think to myself, “Where is Miss Marple when I need her?” Suddenly, I awake to the noise of Agatha Christie’s A Caribbean Mystery sliding from my lap onto the floor. I just knew Jane wouldn’t let me down when I needed her.

The Saturday Special