Friday night's party turned out very well. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and there was just enough food left over to convince me that people liked the offerings. I was pleased to meet more of my husband's colleagues and the Boy Wonder even managed to say, "It's nice to meet you" to the first several arrivals. It was, in short, an all around good time. I've asked my friend Barb if I can post her recipe for pickled shrimp, which was the best thing on the table. People just couldn't get enough of them.


Also, here's a handy tip which I learned a couple days ago just in time for the party: cheese will stay "good" even on very hot days if you place it on marble that has been frozen. It's true! The heat index on Friday was nearly 100 degrees F but the cheeses I set out stayed perfect. I used a marble board given to me as a wedding shower present by my dear friend Alisha almost exactly nine years ago.


After spending most of yesterday cleaning and recovering we are today enjoying the warm glow of achievement. The weather is much more mild than it has been lately and there is not a cloud in the sky so we are taking this opportunity to work outside. I have been weeding (you should see some of the scary ass weeds I've been pulling - some are taller than I and covered with thorns) and spreading peat around. My husband has been working on the play set and a quick look out back reveals a raised platform with the slide attached. Things seem to be going well.


I recently discovered a volunteer squash in my one raised bed so I was careful to weed carefully so it would not be overly disturbed. There are a dozen, maybe more, blossoms ready to turn into squashes (I hope) and lots more buds. I'm a little concerned that it's a sterile plant. Since I don't know precisely how it got there I'm wondering if perhaps it grew from something that can't reproduce itself from seed. If that's the case, though, would it be flowering? I checked the flowers today for swelling at the base and a couple look like they might be ever so slightly larger, but it's hard to say. Watch and wait is the only thing to do, I guess.


I also transplanted four marzano tomato plants and two cherry tomato plants (one red, one yellow) into the newly peated herb garden. I never did fill the whole space with herbs, which is good since I probably overplanted as it is. Now that I've seen that the space receives adequate sun I thought the tomatoes might actually do okay since they weren't thriving at all in their containers. A good soaking this evening with the hose and hopefully they'll settle right in.