the first day of my vacation.....

ok, so technically i am on vacation.....and will not return to work until wednesday...or maybe thursday if i am feeling poorly after my trip......i can feel something coming on......haven't narrowed down the symptoms just yet...but then i do have time for this illness to...gel.....but since today is glorious....i spent as much of it outside as possible......i cut down the trash greenery that block the view of the lake from my new terrace.....wow.....this is square-footage that i am un-used to seeing....and there are many opportunities now that the underbrush is gone.......i also tilled and planted my vegetable garden...such as it is...behind the hedge.....i am thrilled to glean a few squash, tomatoes, green beans, and lettuces from this area....curiously, there are three cosmos plants that came up from last year's seeds......which didn't germinate at all last year...go figure......i planted numerous nasteriums....a plant that promises to be easy grow....which seems to imply easy for anybody but me................the rambler rose that has grown to enormous proportions behind the hedge is in bloom, and the aroma is intoxicating.......no idea what it is called.......tuesday night i plan to get out the rose bible and re-identify plants.......the deal is....sometime after we adopted our third child.....she helpfully gathered up all the tags from most of the roses....and presented them to me much as a cat presents a dead mouse......and i was so stunned that i made no attempt to put any of those tags back.....and so....the older roses i know well, and the newer roses i know...but those midling roses are a complete mystery.......lovely, but without names......we are leaving for cincinnati around 5.......and tomorrow i will venture out alone to d.c....to see the mother lode of rose gardens at the home of my bother-in-law nick...he has acres and acres of 'rooms' in the gertrude jeckyl style....and 2 substantial ponds.......and boxwood taller than most humans......it is one of my favorite places on earth, besides my own house...and i am thrilled at the opportunity to visit 'in season'......catch y'all tuesday night......