2008-08-28

After Morning Offering, Mick set out on his rounds of lawns to mow and gardens to tend. The highlight of his day was completing a large garden bed which he had begun the other day for a customer whose bed had been destroyed by the plumbers who dug the trench for the connection of her home’s plumbing system to the new sewers. He promised to take me by so I could see the finished garden. He is tickled at how it came out.

He also found the time somewhere to plant some Montauk daisies around the huge twin sycamore in our back garden. Our lilies are spent now, and there was no bloom there. Now the area is all shined up. As to the ajuga, he ran out of time to transplant that, but he did get the ground all prepared and tilled, ready for whenever he does get to that.

As for me I knew the day would be hard on me, but it needed doing, and I was weary at the end of it but thrilled that what needed doing was done. I got the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen labeled for our attendees and I sorted the spice and herb lazy-susans so that the needed condiments could easily be found. Then Aaron T and I worked on the rum cake for Friday night’s welcome feast and the brownies for thereafter. I got the ingredients together so that Aaron could put together the layered dip for snacks on Saturday night before finally conking out completely late in the afternoon and coming upstairs for a rest before bath time. We have only the fruit salad to cut up tomorrow morning and all our cooking is done!

After our bath, Mick and I had a lovely date, slept a bit in the afterglow and then came down to welcome the gathering clan.

Jeremy W arrived early in the afternoon. He and Gary stopped at Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart to finish shopping for the Homecoming and came home with tons of beverages and other bulk supplies. Then they tackled the recipes for the feast – chicken curry with Thai rice, asparagus mimosa and cauliflower with mustard sauce. They finished up in time for us all to watch the Colbert Report and then the Democratic Convention coverage on PBS, for which Romi joined us. Mick said that Obama made a wonderful acceptance speech. I missed it, having succumbed to sleep. I felt like a little child who has worn herself out on the swings! Sleep was utterly irresistible and delicious!

Romi offered the closing prayer at the Gaia Meditation.

Lorena L-O washed the French windows across the back of the house in the morning and she and husband Mike O played with their 13-month-old daughter, Reiko and napped with her, alternatively in the afternoon, as childish laughter rang through the house and good vibes abounded. The clan is definitely gathering! We officially begin our Homecoming 2008 tomorrow evening.

Our tent is up in the back yard now. The two-man team took a couple of hours to raise it. Jim’s garden in the center looks splendid. We’re ready!