Rachael

mean to get me one of those shiny FAQ things. Now I have one.

My friend Esther has this in the front yard of the house she's currently renting. HAHAHAHA. Seriously, if I had this in my front yard, I would laugh every time I came home.

Instead, we have grass. I hate that grass. In our familial division of labor, it has fallen to us that Lala does most of the work in the back yard (BUT I DO THE TOMATOES I LOVE THE TOMATOES DON'T TOUCH THE TOMATOES) and I do the front yard.

Well, we have a gardener now. Or gardeners, rather.

I never thought we would. I thought we'd kill the lawn somehow and put in veggie beds or desert/native plants (we live in a hot zone of Oakland), or that I'd just keep mowing it with the gas-powered lawn mower I bought four years ago on Craigslist. It was the worst mower in the world and always took more than a hundred pulls to get it started, but it worked once it was running.

Then the mower died. And wonderful, perfect, best-of-all neighbor Sam moved (we are still in mourning). After the mower gave up, Sam would have pity on us every once in a while and do the front yard for us. We gave him huge hugs in return, which weren't enough, but it was all we could think of (besides giving his tinkering son our spare screws and loose bolts — Sakai loved making things). But after his family left, the grass just got higher and higher until the tallest weeds springing from the evil bermuda grass reached past my waist. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.

One day last month, I lost it. I drove around my neighborhood, looking for gardeners. When I found a team working nearby, I asked them to come over. They did the work in about fifteen minutes, mowing, trimming the edges, cutting back the camellia bushes, and weeding the flower beds (without pulling up the flowers). The loveliness of it all almost made me cry.

So now we are People With Gardeners. I never thought I'd say that. (Now, People With Housecleaners, YES. I'm living for the day we can afford that. I would hire a person to come in every day and scoop the litter, I swear to God. I hate that chore so much.)

But it's so nice to come home to. Nicer, I think, than that mower above, but I'm not sure, because that is HYSTERICAL.

And in the back, I've ripped up my square-foot garden and put in tomatoes and basil and some squashes and beets. This is what it looked like earlier this month:

That foxglove and those greens were taller than I was. A rainy winter and some sun made them shoot right up. I can't believe how well plants do in those little short boxes. Lala has done a ton in the yard — you should see the glass bricks she liberated from her father and made into a border. I'll show those another day.

Gardening. I like it. I should do more of it, in fact. (We need salad greens! Note to self to plant some!)

I know, it's been all mom all the time around here. We're missing her a lot this time of year. It's her birthday today and in a week or so it'll be the 2nd anniversary of her death.

Bethany dug out some great pictures for us, and I found one I've never posted here (of knitterly interest! It still exists 'round here!).

You already know the story of the sweater of hers I replicated just before she died? Here I am wearing it:

And here she is in hers:

What a great shot, huh?

All is well here; we celebrated nephew Isaac's first birthday and Lala's *mumble* birthday. Big parties, raucous celebration, Isaac and Lala both had their first beers (just kidding! It wasn't his first!).

Lala got a super-cool fanny pack hip holster that she's been dying for, and she's pretty happy with it. I'm stealing my sister's photo again, since I haven't dealt with my pics yet:

And I had a touch of stomach flu. But it was brief, and I'm all better.

(Gah. I feel like lately I come here and just put up pictures and tell you what I've been doing. Where is the introspection? The deep thoughts? The carefully crafted intricate lines between meaning and emotion? I ain't got none of that here lately, and I hope you don't mind. I feel rather pulled in quite a few directions lately, all of them good, but I hope you don't think we're losing touch, because we're not. We're as close as ever. MWAH! And OH GOD, you don't know the best news. I got a portable air conditioner that I can move between the bedroom and the office. I might survive summer after all.)

Bethany found the picture of our little mama she'd been looking for. And I stole it, just like a big sister does.

First, let me say that this is the biggest radish I've ever seen. At first, when I pulled it up, I thought it was a big beet, but then I cut into it, to make sure. Yep, radish. Shoe for scale.(E.T.A.: That's Clementine there, not Miss Idaho, as Erika first thought.)

Lala and my nephew share a birthday, and since he was born last year in Korea, this is the first one they shared. (The first birthday is a VERY big deal in Korea, so we're having a party tomorrow to celebrate. Can't wait!) 

Lala teaches him to blow raspberries. He's a natural, just like his aunt.

What, this toy? It doesn't present a problem to either of them.

They win!

Sushi afterward in the City. A good day. (Don't worry! This isn't a new sweater — I got it at a thrift store. But I'd like to duplicate it. It's CUTE, and I hate wearing a sweater everyone thinks I made…) (Oh! Also, my wonderful agent Susanna also shares their birthday. I think that day is AWESOME.)

And lastly:

Tomorrow, Saturday June 5th, I'll be part of a panel of writers giving a panel at Borders in Alameda at 7pm. You should come if you can — it'll be fun.

Moderator:
Christine London / Spicy contemporary romance with a Brit twist

Panelists:
JoAnn Smith Ainsworth / Lushly sensual historical romance
Karin Harlow / dark tales of suspense, love and things that go bump in the night
Rachael Herron / Sexy contemporary with a hint of danger
Patricia Simpson / Award-winning author of paranormal romance

And for those of you on the Central Coast, I'm reading in San Luis Obispo at Yarns…at the Adobe on Friday, June 18th, at 4pm. I would LOVE to see you.

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