is there any more pie?

What I do for fun:  look at western boots on ebay.  Yes, that does sound terribly exciting, doesn’t it?  Hey, it beats cleaning toilets.

I rarely bid on them.  Usually the ones I like (the fancy, multi-colored pointed-toe babies) are too expensive.  Prices go up pretty quickly, especially on the last day of bidding.

I’m pretty content to window shop.

And at any thrift or consignment store, the first thing I look for are cowboy boots.

  But they’re only easy to find in Texas, and the prices there are not cheap, unlike the gorgeous boots My French Friend Janou helped me find last summer.  Remember these?  I wear them just about everywhere.

I used to buy all sorts of bargain stuff on ebay, back before it was a household name.   Whale bone, jewelry, antiques, tablecloths…ah, those were the days.  The thrill of the hunt!

But last night I bought these.

Let’s hope they’re this pretty in person.

Everyone who knows and loves Banjo Man knows that he is very, very spoiled.  It’s part of his charm, unless he is getting on my nerves and then I have to scold him.

Sometimes his very sensitive feelings get hurt, but most of the time he remains immune and cheerful and takes great pride in his spoiledness…spoiledicity…spoiledom.

Everyone who knows Banjo Man also knows he is the Biggest Tease in the Universe.  You can ask his sisters if you don’t believe me.

On his birthday he wanted chocolate ice cream from The Pantry.  This was after he wanted coffee on the dock.  At the Pantry I bought him a huckleberry muffin and sourdough bread.  He insisted on a huckleberry pastry ring.

Then he wanted a nap, but he couldn’t sleep so he woke me up from my 10 minute nap (see blogpost about our late arrival home from the Big City) on the lounge chair on the deck to tell me it was time for wine and snacks on the dock.  He was very cheerful, especially after tasting his fancy-schmancy birthday Chianti present.

He took several birthday phone calls.

He requested and devoured my peach jalapeno jam (batch #2, the spicier version).  And requested and ate a bowl of my canned apricots (hurray for the Peach Man!).  He kept me hoppin’.

Banjo Man talked all day, from the time he woke up until he was in bed beside me that night.  I was reading and selfishly wishing he’d get the hint and call it a day.  I tried to hide my need for silence (yes, I admit to hermit-like behavior), but my crankiness took over and I finally–in a not-so-patient tone–told him to be quiet and go to sleep.

And then Banjo Man started laughing…and laughing…and laughing.  He wiped his eyes and started laughing all over again.

Uh, what is so funny???

Because, he said, he knew he was aggravating me and it was the funnest and funniest thing in the whole world.  He had had such a great day.

He has been teasing me for forty-two years.  Forty-two years???!!!???

You’d think I would have caught on by now.

Duh.

Yes, the rumors are true.

Details of his birthday tomorrow.  Chocolate ice cream, Chianti and huckleberry baked goods were involved.

“I’d like to thank the Academy, my parents, my fellow actors, my very patient director and also the writers, without whom this movie would have been impossible.”

“Ooops…..I forgot to thank my agent!”

“Help!!!  I can’t see the cue cards!!!!!”

One of the benefits of getting old is enjoying friends’ grandchildren.

The 28th annual Bodacious BBQ comes to an end.  A good time was had by all, and hopefully a lot of money was raised for a good cause.

I give up.

The damn deer have triumphed again.  They wriggled under the steps and found their way to my tomatoes and basil plants.  I chased them off, but they returned (when I was off getting netting).  I came home to pitiful, munched-down stalks.

So much for gardening.

I shall stick to baking from now on.

But…next time I’m in a restaurant that serves venison, you know what I’m going to order.