Age or time served?

So, it seems that I've already learned something in my 41st year:

It takes more than a hoe to make a vera contadina.

Yeah, ok, so I finished project 12 but, well, I'm not so proud. Have a look...



Let's compare that to what Augusto "helped" me to do...



Yeah. Well, what's there to say? I need a motozappa? Like that would help. I mean, it WOULD help, assuming I could use it, but tools are not really the problem here.

Remember Rolf?

Rolf said to me once, "Lynn, you need to be a certain age to garden." Actually, since Rolf, of the former East Germany, speaks to me in Italian because he doesn't like speaking English and I don't speak a lick of German, said something along the lines of (translated) "Age, she needs for to work for the garden" or something like that.

According to me, Rolf is for to be right.

Thumb-sized eggplant anyone?



Yeah, ok, let's look at the birthday sweater instead...



A little better than the garden.

Age or just time served?

On a completely unrelated note...METTE HAS A BLOG!!!! Please do go check her out HERE.

(a little background music for today's post)




"L'alba, fa bene al cuore, fa male agli occhi" --Franca, la barista. September 16, 2010



"Sunrise, good for the heart, bad for the eyes."




My writing isn't good enough to explain the sensations of the day I spent saying hello to my 41st year. Let's just look at the photos from the top of the world, which is where I spent the day.










When I reflect on a year finished, I like to think of the things I've learned. Looking back on my 40th year, I can proudly say it was this...



Interpret that as you wish.

It started like this...

I'll let you know how it finishes when it's finished.

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes.

Let the games commence... and recommence...

So I'm thinking that beans weren't such a wise choice for the Orto.



Yep. That's the crop. Did I mention that the bean plants took up approximately one-third of the total garden space?

Are you wondering why my beans are not green? Or rather, are you wondering why I let them dry on the vine? Yeah, well, about a month ago all the plants were heavy with fruit and David was home. I said, "do you think we should pick those?" He said, "I think we should just leave them and pick them when we can have dried beans."
Seemed like a good plan at the time.

Now, I'm not so convinced.



Here's why:

1. fresh beans are nice. I didn't eat any fresh beans from my garden.
2. picking beans sucks. picking beans off of dried out and brittle plants sucks more.
3. fresh beans can be eaten without removing their pod. Shucking dried beans might suck more than picking dried beans.
4. I planted, watered, weeded, watered, weeded, waited, waited, waited, picked, and shucked my crop of beans to get this



and I can buy this



for about 43 cents at the store.

House project number ...um...damn....is it only 11? No wait, it's 12! There was an 11, I just didn't write about it. I reorganized my studio, which used to look like this



and now looks like this



Yeah, ok. You can't really tell the difference in those photos. Trust me, there is one, a BIG one.

Anyway, number 12: get a grip on the orto...might even plant some new stuff.

Knitting project 12? Well, my birthday happens to fall this week. This of course means that I head to the top of a mountain, or the bank of a river, or the beach (or all three - but not at the same time) and I cast on my birthday sweater!

As you long time readers know, I like to spend the day of my birthday alone (casting on a new sweater in some beautiful spot!). This tradition was born out of necessity. Several years ago I realized that, because of work, I AM always alone on my birthday so it's a good idea to celebrate myself. This year David helped me kick of the festivities before he left town...



with a picnic by the sea followed by a trip to the river with the dogs and mexican feast at home. A great start to my week.

So, where were we...

Oh yeah, I was getting myself a life. Here it is...

This guy had a birthday last week,



And seeing as how Ruff and Q's



favorite sitter



was shacking up with me, I thought it a good opportunity to get on this



And go here



to surprise that birthday boy



Luckily for all of us, that birthday boy's lovely sister was visiting to celebrate her birthday (which is just a few weeks after her big brother...one year apart, poor mamma Cornwell - she must have been cursing life 50 years ago, 'specially given that her two infant children had been proceeded by 4 other siblings, all one year apart...but I digress)



They had been cycling around Tuscany when I met them in Siena



And crashed their party



They didn't seem to mind, though



Then little sis came back to Liguria with me



where we did some of this



And a lot of this



And danced a few times to this

Life ain't so bad when you get one.