10 Pleasures in July

1. Ginger Ale. The slight sparkling when you pour it in your glass, the smell that is only a foretaste of its actual flavour… especially with crushed ice.
   
2. Mika. I like the duality of his songs, great, feet-moving melodies with nearly morbid lyrics and a hint of disco somewhere behind the velvet curtains. Great for the summer.
   
3. Kurt. No, not Kurt Hummel from Glee, but the plant I brought home with me from the field trip last month. I still don’t know what in particular he is, but maybe one of my darling readers can tell me?
   
4. Cherry Tomatoes. Great with mozzarella, basil and litres of balsamic vinegar. Nom.
   
5. MariMite aka. Maria-Sama Ga Miteru, an anime about a group of pupils – the “Roses” – at a catholic girls school with a nice hint on romantic friendships that go a little further…
   
6. Wind. It’s really precious these days, carrying away the hot, sticky summer air to bring a fresher one.
   
7. Wasabi Nuts. Contain wasabi. Do I need another reason?
   
8. New Glasses. I finally ordered some after about two years of living with contacts only! They’re oval, wire rimmed with the colour of a graphite pencil, and I’m definitely looking forward to get them.
   
9. Dragon Boat Races. Our Ivory Tower took part in the one at the village fair last weekend, dressed up as druids and bards. We won neither the race nor the costume competition, but it was great fun, though. Plus, the water was pretty cooling. ^^
   
10. Jostaberries, a crossbreed of blackcurrant and gooseberry that grow in my garden. I’ve already harvested about two pounds of them for a cake and syrup, and there’s even more to come!
    

My Secret Garden

Yesterday I got a carrier pigeon from Simon the Kobold with the question if I were familiar with plants.
I told him, yes, I were.
Now I’ve got a garden.

My own! Small, but precious.

It’s right upon the old city walls. The boys let me care for it as they are not very interested in gardening and didn’t even know what to sow there.

At the moment it’s still pretty overgrown with ivy, but there are two shrubs of black currant, a plum tree, peppermint and maybe even some wild strawberries. I can’t wait for the first blossoms to open!

Today, with a little help from Simon and Bertie who came over for a visit, I got rid of a lot of dead wood and even more ivy that choked the other plants. Well, there’s more than enough material for bonfires with bread-on-a-stick and gazing for the milky way now! We even slung the ivy twines to wreaths and hung them up to dry in the shed. Why waste something that you can burn later? The prettiest of these fairy crowns now rests on a window sill in Simon’s staircase (and I wonder how long…).

I also added a new one to the categories, Sally Gardens, which will be the one for all things concerning plants, flowers, gardening and the harvest moon, named after an Irish traditional that is loaded with memories for me.