with the single exception of it being the perfect season for gardening, there is nothing to like about Summer. it is hot, muggy, and soul-draining most of the time, and the air is constantly filled with the happy sounds of dogs and children reveling in joy. i hate the happy sounds of dogs and children reveling in joy. yes... i may have been Grouchy Smurf in a former lifetime.
seriously though, it was so cold just a week ago that we had to cover up the tomato plants overnight. now we are at the point where they issue warnings to keep pets, old people, and small children inside. seriously...? according to the forecast, we are expecting a high today of 32°C (90°F)... feeling like 41°C (106°F)! seriously...???
as if the hot, humid, sunny weather were not enough to ruin my otherwise cheery disposition, this also happens to be the time of year when i was born. there are some people who regard their birthday with the same reverence as the most sacred of holidays (cough cough... mom). needless to say, i am not one of them. the single exciting part of a birthday at this point in my life is that it is a guilt-free excuse to eat cake.
my favorite animator announced a couple weeks earlier that he had ordered a cake for my birthday. we are never that organized about anything, so that in itself was quite the surprise. he was taking a quick showering before heading out to get said cake, when the phone rang.
me: hello...?
voice: [momentary pause followed by a panic-laced] hello... uhm... can i... uhm... speak to ---?
me: he can't come to the phone right now. can i take a message, or would you like for him to call you back in a few minutes?
voice: [even longer pause] uhm... just... err.... tell him... that...uhm... tell him that his order is ready.
there was a tone of extreme satisfaction when he said that last bit, like he had accomplished some great feat in getting the words out. i thought nothing of it at the moment, but when the call was done, i looked again at the name on the display and realized that it was the bakery... and that this poor creature probably thought the cake was meant to be a surprise. my favorite animator popped his head out of the bathroom at just this point to ask who it was on the phone.
me: it's the bakery. the eagle has landed.
he returned home a short while later with the cake in hand.
me: did you explain to the guy that it was not meant to be a surprise and that he didn't give anything away with his call?
him: are you kidding me? he was still talking about it when i got there. he was so proud of himself for outsmarting you, i didn't have the heart to tell him that you knew all along.
then we both had a good laugh before opening the box to admire said cake. it was the lemon-strawberry cake from the local Polish bakery. trust me when i say that Grouchy Smurf on his grouchiest day would love the lemon-strawberry cake from the local Polish bakery.
[and, yes... i believe in the fundamental right to privacy for cakes of all types.]
this cake consists of a barely-sweet, lemony mousse sandwiched between thin layers of the pillowiest sponge cake ever created, and a lovely strawberry gel that tastes like all those wonderful things other people say about the summertime. i am not a fan of custardy things, but this one is less like the eggy custards that i usually avoid, and more like a tart, refreshing Greek yogurt that tastes like happiness and sunshine. we tried a slice a few weeks earlier, and i fell in love at first bite, so it was a perfect choice for the day.
i ordered some cotton yarn about a week earlier, and it showed up that very day. it was not intended as a birthday gift for self (as i do not usually need an excuse to justify the purchase of even more yarn), but it did kinda make me smile just a bit harder when it arrived. i may have even clapped my hands a few times and uttered something that sounded like the noises dolphins make when they are happy, but i will deny all of that in a courtroom. it is a cotton-acrylic blend in two shades of blue and a silvery-grey that is so light, it may as well be white. i have enough to make two or possibly three items that i will actually be able to enjoy wearing. that part definitely makes me smile.
i took a super-long shower, then grabbed a cushion and sat cross-legged on the balcony in between the pots of veggies (that is only half of it) to soak up a bit of sun while my hair dried.
it was the perfect setting for knitting up a swatch while pondering what i might make with my new yarn.
i was joined at some point by an extra-fluffy cat, though she was (mostly) there to eat grass. watching that cute little pink tongue lick the edge of the bowl could melt the heart of even the grouchiest of misanthropes.
i sat there, daydreaming happily for a couple hours or more until the sun had disappeared behind the line of trees to the west, before picking up the cushion i was sitting on and going back inside. i challenge anyone to find a more perfect way to spend a birthday.
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