Derby Party
We have had an enormous amount of rain. April was the rainiest month ever in our area, southeast Massachusetts, out to sea on Cape Cod. When it isn’t raining, it’s cloudy or fogged in. We’ve never had a spring like this. The cole crops –broccoli, red cabbage, bok choi Brussels sprouts—are thriving, but it’s not good weather for transplanting the tender crops from the greenhouse. Everything is getting huge. The pumpkin plants got so big we had to plant them with some protection. They were flopping over. The lettuce is also very happy. We ate eating salads earlier than ever before. Salads in late April –surprising here. If it ever stops raining, we started transplanting all the tomatoes, cherry, main crop and paste. They’re growing up through the next wire shelf. I planted all the paste tomatos except for part of one 6-pacl that weren’t as developed as the others. Woody planted about ½ of the main crops and all of the cherry tomatoes.
Lady, the cat who had belonged to Woody’s mother, is thriving at CASAS, where she has her own room. She is eating, using her box, sleeping in her bed and enjoying lots of attention. They have put her on a diet and are working on her matted coat. It will take some time to get her coat sorted out. She would be a pretty cat if her coat were brushed out and she lost some weight. She has a sweet disposition and loves attention.
I tried for a second opinion on my ankle yesterday inHyannis. I do know now what the problem is, two sore ligaments – no problem with bones or tendons. I did not find the experience at that facility pleasant and hope I won’t have to go back. The X-ray woman was fine but the PA seemed to take an instant dislike to me because I tried to explain. my problem more exactly. My ankle wasn’t unstable, etc. A lot of pain sometimes, sometimes a little, sometimes whole days without pain. He gave me conflicting advice: I shouldn’t be wearing the boot by now; I should wear it outside; I should go and buy a new pair of shoes to fit over the boot. He sent me to rehab, which I’m trying to arrange.
This Saturday we held our annual Derby Party. Twenty-one guests came, more than the number of horses in the Derby, Woody and I did not pull horses from the hat and the person who came very late didn’t get a horse. There was a lot of food. I made guacamole, stuffed hot mushrooms, shrimp with a good hot sauce. Woody cut up our gravlax and baked spanakopita from Trader Joe’s. We also had three cheeses. People brought many goodies also including 4 desserts. Woody made mint juleps for everyone. It was lively and wonderful till the stewarts reversed the results. Maximum Security was ahead just about every second [minus a brief time when the jockey allowed another horse to pull ahead very briefly]. If anyone voted for the longest shot in the field, they went home with $$$. Even if you bet $2, you get $l70. It didn’t rain yesterday afternoon [the party started @ 4:30 and went on till it ended. The last guests left at 9:50. Gigi and Ralph really helped us clean up. A number of guests pitched in.
The cats forgave us for shutting them up in one wing of the house. Willow, of course, didn’t need to be secluded as whenever she hears someone come in who isn’t Dale or Melenie, she runs to her condo in the wall of the storage room. Today we’re waiting for the plumber to come as a pipe in the laundry room sprang a leek and soaked everything it could. We save decorated boxes to put gifts in and some of them were quite beautiful.
The leak turned them all to mush.
Today I just want to get the house laundry done, change the sheets from flannel to percale and, I hope, received the plumber to fix the damned leaking pipe, and put the house back together after the party.