My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light.Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
In the real world, we have been burning the candle at both ends and desperately trying to find a way to light the middle.
Last Saturday we both worked the 6 House's Annual Back to School Festival. 6 House, a faith based outreach group in Newport News, with help from local sponsors, handed out school supplies to underprivileged children. It was a really cool event. They had face painting, a rock wall, inflatable optical courses, free snow cones and popcorn. There was a performance by the Hampton High School Drum Line and the Hampton High School Football team played games with the kids. There was strong showing of support from the community and everyone had a great time. Ryan and I both got some incredible footage:
I also babysat on Friday night (twice!) and Saturday night. My calendar has been filling up fast with sitting gigs thanks to a recommendation from my buddy Jocelyn who teaches Music Together classes here in Williamsburg. I've got another couple of days booked, and I scheduled a photo gig on Thursday night. The extra cash is nice and it's going to fund a refurbish of the big closet in the hall. Come winter - when there is no gardening to be done - we are going to tile it and install shelves. The result should be a brewing room, pantry, and clothes closet all rolled into one. (Just so there's no confusion, yes I do still have my regular 8-5 top secret government job.)
Ryan's had several gigs too. He shot some stuff for Smirnoff Ice at the East Coast Surfing Championship event in Virginia Beach on Sunday and he's booked for all of October as the Director of Photography on a film in DC. Next weekend we'll be traveling up to Alexandria to go to the premier of the 8th Plague (visit www.the8thplague.com to see the trailer) which is the same group that's doing the film in October. Ryan was Assistant Camera on the 8th Plague, and they liked him so much that they want him back as the DP.
The gardens have been slow, other then my herb garden, which may be a blessing in disguise. The weather has been obliging and kept everything watered, and we are just now starting to get some tomatoes. There were some acorn-like squash off of the volunteers in the compost pile, a few concord grapes, and some blueberries. The only truly prolific plants were the snow peas, which burned out in June. There were so many peas that we couldn't eat them fast enough. But, when life gives you lemons, make lemon wine! Or in this case Pea Wine. (He he he... I can't help myself, my inner 5 year old is rolling on the floor. Pea Wine!)
Ryan put in the extra effort when he wasn't working and diligently sprayed his Dad's fruit trees. There were peaches, figs, and cherries - all tasty and fantastic. We got some really nice second tomatoes and watermelon from a farm here in town, and Ryan made several batches of tomato sauce and pickled the watermelon rind. It's all good eating, but I wish it was our plants that had made the contribution. Hope is not lost yet, we took a tip from mother nature and planted some pumpkins in the compost pile. Keep your fingers crossed for pumpkins in time for Thanksgiving pies.
Along with his famous sauce (stolen from Alton Brown and reworked) Ryan made a TON of chicken and mushroom hand-pies which are stashed in the freezer. They were one of his favorite foods when he was living in London, and I must admit they are horrifically convenient and addictive. (Yes, we still eat chicken. No, we will not eat our chickens - you don't eat pets.)
We've also been trying to put together an informal cookbook with all our favorite recipes. This project was started last year, with the thought that it would make a cheap thoughtful Holiday gift for our family and friends. Gathering and writing down our favorite recipes, however, is a larger project then originally anticipated. Our reputation is on the line, so I feel compelled to tweak every recipe to perfection. This means many diligent nights in the kitchen carefully crafting and writing notes. Then there's formatting the copy, and of course illustrations of some sort. Perhaps a fancy cover... I don't think we will make to print by New Year's, but it is in the works.
Speaking of chickens, the Ladies will hopefully start laying next month, if we can keep them in the pen. Whoever told us that a four foot fence is adequate for keeping chickens confined was a big fat liar. Beth can get to the top of the 6 foot gate to roost. She's broken out of the pen entirely a couple of times now. Fort Chicken is now jerry-rigged in attempts to keep her from flying the coop. We believe that once the gals start laying they will get too heavy to leap to such great heights, so we only have to worry for about another month. Still it is a pain in the ass to have to go out every night right before the sun sets to make sure everyone goes to bed in their coop. If we don't this is what happens:
This is Beth roosting in a tree 25 feet from the coop, after getting over a 6 foot fence. This was NOT a fun evening. It was dark and we were combing the back yard with flash lights looking for a carcass or blood or something to explain why we were missing a chicken. Now we try to make sure they are all in bed before sunset, which is getting earlier and earlier.
Yes we've been crazy busy, but its all been fun. I can't remember a time since Final Girls that Ryan and I were this overwhelmed and happy about it. We have become neurotic about our calendars, and I'm petrified that something is going to slip through the cracks. But as the great Warren Zevon said, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."
- Gretchen