The Big Benford Show

I had so much fun this weekend. First, we started with a gathering at my house for my birthday. We grilled chicken, sausage and veggies, there was a delicious pineapple cake (I love pineapples - thanks Thura) and lots of munchies (thanks to everyone). It was yet again, another great birthday celebration.

On Saturday, I slept in then cleaned up the house a bit, I headed down to Buda to see my friend Jeff C and have some dinner. His house/property is beautiful. Lots of Buda there - it’s nice to see the old things restored then enjoyed like that. We sat, chatted and caught up for hours. Good food, wine and conversation. An ideal Saturday evening, actually. Even the drive to and through Buda was nice. Thanks, Jeff!

On Sunday, I made a pasta salad that I hadn’t made in years but it’s a great summer recipe (see end for ingredients) and headed to Kerey & Jeff M’s house for a Memorial Day BBQ. Again, lots of great food, conversation and drinks to make this lady a happy one.

Today, I finally got up and headed to the gym. It’s been about a week and a half since I’d been but it was good rest for my body. Did some leg work and swam, then headed home to clean up. Jeff C and I went out to the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum then to the Austin Wine Festival. He’d never been to the museum so it was neat and watch him learn all over again. Jeff and I went to high school together so learning together is something we do well, I guess! I hadn’t been there in a few years (with the exception of seeing Star Trek the other day - review for another blog entry) so it was nice to see some of the changes to the exhibits. I do enjoy a day at a museum…too bad the Blanton wasn’t open. The Austin Wine Festival was nice as well and we found a few wineries that we enjoyed. One told me that you could taste the granite in their wine so I passed. Nothing like paying to lick a rock! YUCK!

A fun filled weekend with great friends. I can’t wait for the summer to have time for more days like this! Sorry there aren’t any pictures - I haven’t been as much in the picture taking mood lately. Hopefully, that’ll change.

Isn’t this the truth?

When You’re Smiling
by Larry Shay, Joe Goodwin & Mark Fischer

When you’re smiling
When you’re smiling
The whole world smiles with you

When you’re laughing
When you’re laughing
The sun comes shining through

But when you’re crying
You bring on the rain
So stop your sighing
Be happy again

Keep on smiling
Cause when you’re smiling
The whole world smiles with you

When you’re smiling
When you’re smiling
The whole world smiles with you

When you’re laughing
When you’re laughing
That sun comes shining through

But when you’re crying
You bring on the rain
So stop your sighing
Be happy again

Keep on smiling
Cause when you’re smiling
The whole world smiles with you

I’ve got garden pictures!!!

The original garden box has a few things that came back strong, some new additions that are flourishing beautifully!

The rosemary and sage are back strong from last year and the basil and Greek oregano is new for this year.

This is “Pepper Row”. The pepper plant in the front is new…but I can’t remember what kind/color of bell pepper it is. The pepper plants behind it are from last year. Pimento, cow horn, jalapeno, I think.

My new tomato plant is HUGE. I thought this was going to be a full size tomato plant when I bought it but I think they’re going to be smaller (cherry or plum) ones.

Do you see the 2 poblano peppers on this one? The plant is from last year, too.

I filled in the 2nd garden box this year and planted mostly seeded plants in it. Here’s the “big picture”:

So, in this seeded garden box, I have zucchini & yellow squash, cucumber, and radish. I also got 2 orange bell pepper plants and put them in here as well. I bookended the box with the squash but can’t remember which side has which. I guess I’ll enjoy the surprise when the plants mature! Here are detailed pics of that box:

One of the rows of squash sprouts:

Orange bell pepper plant #1

Radishes. Lots of radishes. I actually have to thin this row out quite a bit.

Cucumber plants

Squash on the other side

I also like to take veggies I already have, root and plant them. Here are 3 green onion plants:

My peach tree is growing leaves very nicely. Now, for some fruit! You can see that my crepe myrtles are blooming in the background as well.

All the gardening has also inspired me to add some natural color in other places of the house as well. In my living room, for one:

And I love the color to the bougainvillea out front:

So, that’s the farm…er…garden. If you’d like some radishes, I can certainly transplant some of the buds when I thin out that row and donate it to your health. I have LOTS!

I can’t believe that 3 years ago today, I closed on my house! I wish TextAmerica wasn’t so stupid and didn’t delete my account (they shut down free memberships a while back) ’cause the post from that day had a great shot of my “taking a break” from moving. Too bad I’m no where near paying off the mortgage! Thank goodness my mortgage agent told me that in NO WAY was I to even consider a variable interest loan on the house.

For two nights in a row, I’ve not been able to sleep through the night. This morning, I woke up at 2:30 am and yesterday, at 4:00 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m not quite sure what’s causing it but today, it’s really affecting my overall mood and thought process. I’m thinking it has to do with my change in exercise routine and my body will adjust back to “normal” sleep patterns soon.

What changes, you ask? Against my disdain for them, I’ve joined a gym. I found a location of Gold’s where I feel very little competition and over all snootiness and feel like I can get in, do my thing and leave - no judgements about it. They also have a pool, which was my primary reason for seeking out a location other than my home or the out-of-doors of my neighborhood. I try to go three times a week and have been going for about a month now. Between this and my workouts I’ve been doing since marching season ended, I’ve lost almost 9 pounds. I enjoy the fact my clothes fit better…or are starting to get to the “falling off” stage with some items.

Now, for the sleep patterns to normal out again!

Quite a few things have happened in the last month or so. I guess I should bring my silent readers up to speed. I say silent readers because I was told yesterday, “I think everyone reads the Big Benford Show”. Kinda made me think I might wanna update this more regularly now! By everyone, I think Steve may just mean him and a few other music folks but hey, here’s a shout out to anyone who reads the blog:

Over spring break, I did some more planting. My intentions were to start the 2nd garden box but I didn’t end up getting enough soil so it’s just sitting, waiting for more soil still. I might plant some stuff once school lets out so I can have a fall “harvest” as well. In the original box, I planted a tomato plant and a pepper plant as well as some basil and more Greek oregano. A lot of the things I planted last year are coming back. I have a couple of poblano peppers that are already almost full size! The tomato plant is HUGE already and I have a lot of little green tomatoes starting already. If anyone needs any sage or rosemary, please let me know. I have so much, I’ll never be able to use it all. I guess I should find recipes that call for both and give that, as well as the herbs as gifts. I’ll try to get some pictures of the garden soon and post them. I’ve been slacking on picture taking of it. I also planted a peach tree recently. I have pictures of it -

Here’s the tree about where I’ll plant it.

Here’s the hole I dug.

The tree is in!

It’s got quite a few more leaves on it now, too. It had one little tiny peach bud pretty quickly but the storms and high winds that came through in late March knocked that bud off the tree. I’m hoping more leaves = more buds soon. I’m just happy to have another tree in my barren back yard!

After Stanley passed, I spent a lot of time trying to be home as often as I could be for Pfema. I think it took about a week or so for him to miss Stanley and now, he’s just kinda lonely. My dad says that animal don’t necessarily remember specifics like that for too long. The Jazz Ensemble kids were great and they showed up to school on Monday with tulips for me. I need to find a place to replant the bulbs…I think there are too many for the small pot they were in. I need to learn more about bulb planting - can’t be that hard.

Later in April, our bands went to UIL Concert & Sightreading Contest. For the first time in Stony Point Concert Band (my group) history, we got 2-2-2 on the stage and 2-2-1 in sightreading. This is a great step for this ensemble and I’m so very proud of them. No trophies yet…just improvement. YAY!!!

And that brings me to the other reason why I kept saying that April sucked - Keith and I broke things off. It wasn’t mutual at all but I respect his decisions. It’s really better for me in the long run. I, like Pfema, got beyond it pretty quickly…especially understanding who he is and how that is different from who I am. There are things about him I miss but honestly, I mostly miss the male companionship. Luckily, I have smart friends and for the most part, no one we both hung out with feels as though they have to choose sides. I guess it helps that we didn’t break things off angrily.

This brings us to May - and BIRTHDAY MONTH!! It’s funny, a few years ago, you would have known May was birthday month WEEKS in advance but this year, I’m not feelin’ it as much. Maybe it’s because I’m a much happier person in general these days and I don’t need a special occasion for me to feel excited about life.

I’m really coming to see that sometimes, people do things to fulfill their need to feel important. I know there are many things I’ve done in my life for that purpose. I also know that there are many things I’ve done in service of others or for true personal growth. Finding the distinction between the two is not always easy, especially when you are not centered and truly understanding of who you are and what your life’s purposes are. I’m very fortunate to have parents who have guided me, since I was very young, in a path of self understanding. I think this is why I have achieved so many great things so far in my life. When I bought my house 3 years ago (can you believe it’s already been 3 years?), my mom asked me if I was afraid that being a home owner might intimidate any men I might be involved with. I told her that if anything I do intimidated someone, they’re not the right person for me to be involved with. I feel the same for my friends. I’m quite blessed to have many friends who have their own lives and don’t feel a need to compete with the people around them because they are secure enough in their own lives. It sure does make life easier.