a little of this and a little of that (and a trip to san francisco)

The image above represents the last of the tomatoes from my garden.  Despite the fact that this summer hasn't been too brutal (I just jinxed it, didn't I ...), I suspect that the plants just had enough of the mid-90s Houston weather, and even though they were watered every day, they withered anyway.  It was time.  They've been pulled, the soil has been turned, and now the bed stands empty.  I don't know if I'm going to research something to plant in it immediately, or if I'm just going to let the bed lie empty until September or so -- the humidity is getting pretty tough out there, not to mention the carnivorous mosquitos.  (Dear God, is it me, or are the mosquitos Chernobyl-style this year?  They are voracious, man.)  I'm thinking the fact that my garden is smaller for now during the worst of the Houston summer might be a good thing.

Or I might start a pumpkin patch.  You never know.

In other news, Wednesday morning Alex and I will wake up earlier than is reasonable to fly to San Francisco.  We're both really excited:  I get to see my sister and her family, and all of my good friends from the ONE Campaign, and Alex gets to attend her first business meeting.  I've been talking with her about ONE's latest initiative focusing on girls and women, and why an initiative like this is necessary, and my girl is fired up.  She has a new outfit and business cards and everything, and is really looking forward to meeting the folks at ONE.

(And we're both looking forward to meeting you, as well -- if you happen to be in the Bay Area, please join us at this event on Wednesday:  there promises to be good company for a good cause, and Alex and I would love to see you.)

So, because of this travel and excitement, I'm going to take the rest of the week off, and will return next Monday.  That said, as always, you can follow along with what Alex and I are up to by following me on Instagram and/or on Facebook -- and given my new little toy, I'm sure there will be tons of updating that happens on both.  Also, in my absence, I invite you to check out what my sweet friend Andrea Scher is doing over on her blog -- leaving little voice memos in lieu of traditional blog posts.  I love this idea.  I've done these before when I've traveled, but perhaps I should do the same more often here on Chookooloonks as well.  What do you think?

On that note, have an amazing week, friends.  See you soon.

 

Song:  Sittin' on the dock of the bay, as performed by Sara Bareilles