This weekend I have four weddings booked. I'm still not sure how that happened. I have to learn how to turn people down. Only one wedding is a full sized wedding cake. One is strawberry shortcake for 141 people. It's been a challenge finding fresh ripe strawberries in a state that hasn't seen good hot sunshine since last September. My strawberries certainly aren't ready. There aren't even any in the valley here. I had to order a thirty pound bucket of berries from the other side of the state. That kind of cuts into the profit.
So I'm trying to stay organized and on task without any assistant. Alyssa is at camp. Kristin and Florian showed up early from their two month Mexican adventure. I will be putting them to work for sure. Next weekend there are two more weddings. We are also throwing a big celebration bash for son Neal who just became a journeyman electrician after five years of hard work and study. That means we need to mow the lawn. And weed the garden. And a few other things. Stain the deck, paint the porch and cook for a hundred people. Did I mention that I am doing six weddings?
And while I am rambling, let me just issue one more complaint about the weather. Last weekend we reached eighty degrees. It was a miracle. A one time miracle because that hint of summer promptly disappeared and it's been in the FIFTIES all week. And windy. And the rain came back. I'm sure this weekend will be nice though because of all the brides and grooms that are on their knees praying their little hearts out for sunshine.
And just to show you how late we are in our seasonal status, here are some photos of my irises, currently in bloom---a good two weeks behind their usual bloom time.
The flower gardens are cycling through their bloom times and I have been unable to enjoy them without bundling up in hat and coat. No breakfast in the gardens this year.
I used to have over twenty colors of irises and that number has significantly decreased. Every year there are more varieties missing. Apparently some are being crowded out and that means I have to renovate beds. Which I don't have time to do.
My favorite, named "Repartee" is still going strong.
So what do you have planned for your summer weekend? Tell me about it and if you say "lounging on the sunny beach reading a book" I'll try to not to cry.