long weekend

i ate a bug this morning.

E's family are WWII re-enactors. her brother recently bought and repaired an authentic army Jeep, and he was asked to drive it in the Memorial Day parade today, so 10am found E and i running full-tilt towards City Hall (we left the house late). we were nearing the crowds of spectators, when a small bug flew in my mouth and lodged in my throat.

my choices were swallowswallowswallow, or barf in front of a couple hundred people.

mmmmm, protein.

on Saturday (Caturday!), i moved Houdini to E's. she's settled in nicely, despite getting out of her carrier en route and absolutely panting with terror. the Oregon contingent arrives for a visit on June 14th, and two of them have cat allergies (and the third is scared of animals and Muppets). we had a couple friends over for dinner - grilled steaks, corn on the cob (bought late last summer at Eastern Market and frozen in the husks - it's still delicious), Asian coleslaw (a friend brought that, and i'm still eating it), radishes from the garden, and home-brewed beer. it was a nice and mellow night, and we ended it with the first bonfire of the season:

on Sunday, we did absolutely nothing productive other than grocery shopping. it was LOVELY. we haven't had a real day off together  - a day where nothing has to get done - in a very long time. i watered the garden, we ate roast beef sandwiches for lunch, grilled bratwurst sausages for dinner, and very nearly fell asleep on the couch.

this morning, of course, was the parade, followed by speeches, patriotic songs, a 21-gun salute, and the ceremonial laying of wreaths at a statue dedicated to our fallen warriors:

there was also an elderly veteran with a bugle who played the smoothest, most beautiful rendition of Taps that we have ever heard.

E's brother gave us an exciting lift home in the Jeep (he had a little too much fun turning corners), and we got down to the real business of the day - transplanting our tomato and basil seedlings! we put 12 tomato plants in the ground (7 Roma, 3 Beefsteak, and 2 Cherokee Purple):

this is a Beefsteak, it was the most photogenic. poor little plants - we're gardening by the moon this year (thank you, Farmer's Almanac ), and this was the first good day for transplanting. i sure hope they make it!

incredibly, last year's sage, oregano, silver thyme and French tarragon came roaring back this spring, so we wiggled new rosemary and thyme plants between the pallet slats, and gently separated and planted the 9 healthiest basil seedlings:

you can just see them peeking out behind the rosemary!

i'm so twitterpated with our tiny farm! i patrol it several times a day when i'm here, weeding and giving motivational talks to the plants. i like the mornings best - coffee mug in hand, greeting the plants, checking for new growth, and then giving everyone a nice long drink. evenings are nice, too, because you can see how much progress has been made in a day - like this beet seedling, just starting to grow its first set of true leaves:

or the hops, which pretty much have to be re-directed on a daily basis:

tomorrow morning, i go back to Mom's for a couple days. time to start de-furring the house for the arrival of K, J, and Little V! and of course, i have to check on the blooming strawberries:

this homesteading business is extremely satisfying!