The Lime Tree...

            When we moved into our new home, 7 years ago, finding that Antonio, our third blessing, had squeezed our 1300' home beyond our means, our friends Andrea and Mario bought us a lemon tree as a home warming gift.  Kim used lemons in so many recipes.  And drinks.  We love lemons.  Over the years, this tree has brought us much happiness...and it is a beautiful tree to look at , too.
             At one point, each season, our lemon tree becomes infested with cocoons, that are harmless to the tree.  Each of these cocoons, blossoms into a stunning black monarch butterfly, with vivid blue markings.  This past season, was the most fruitful season ever...we enjoyed every lemon that our tree produced.
              Another of Kim's favorite citrus fruits, has always been the lime.  I always meant to plant a lime tree, to compliment our lemon tree...but, time eluded me and I never got around to it...until today.

            Until today, after a scintillating 6 hours of sleep, I was primed to garden!  Autumn and I headed down to Civano nursery, just north of our home.  Mrs. Kosick, who's daughter Joy, has gone through school with Cody since, well, kindergarten, works there and helped Autumn and I pick the perfect 'dwarf' lime.  Now, why is it that a 'dwarf' lime tree is perfect?  Well, for those of you who knew Kimmy, she was moderately obsessed with height.  'Hey Kimmy, my Nana was 4'10"'...'A legal midget!' Kimmy would shout, with a gleam of triumph in her eye.  She knew, that a legal midget was quantified at 4'11" and felt blessed to be a full 3" taller than a 'legal midget', measuring in at 5'2".  Nicely done, Kimmy!
             But I digress.  Mrs. Kosick, helped us find a healty tree.  I explained that we were planting it in Kimmy's honor.  That she loved limes, to cook with, to put in her iced tea, to squeeze over fish and tacos, to put in mixed drinks, to make limeade for the bambini, etc. etc. etc.
             While she helped us choose a tree, she told us how much Kimmy would be missed.  And how much people thought of Kimmy.  And how much she personally loved Kimmy.  We appreciated her help and could feel her passion and sympathy.  We thanked her for everything and went home to plant Kimmy's tree.
             I know I've told you that I am in hell.  Paying for my past.  And today proved it.  This soil is so arid.  So full of rocks.  And caliche, that layer of solid, white clay that is nearly impermeable.  I blistered.  I sweated (mostly beer). And I cursed, profusely.  It's all good.  The hole got dug and the earth was ready to accept our gift.  Bella made sure that she closely supervised this project!
            Cody worked hard in the fields with me today, clipping back dead branches, putting in new lights to highlight Kim's garden and cleaning off our porch.  We planted some new Hearts and Flowers in the garden - it's a great ground cover that Andrea recommended, and has little red flowers.  We also put in more Mexican Sunflowers to fill in some of the space.  Cody worked hard in the hot sun and we cranked up some tunes to pass the time...
             And then what?  What to fill in our evening??  We invited the Musynzki's over for dinner - I made Janene's chicken and Rotel recipe, putting 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a crock pot with two cans of Rotel for about 4 hours.  It literally falls apart and is perfect for burros or tacos...Amy and Tom brought chips and salsa.
            I tried to make a Kim-like presentation...anytime we had people over for dinner, Kim always knew how to arrange the food to look even better than it was...although, when Kim cooked, the food was always better than it looked.  Yet, she had such a flare for display...
            I did my best.  But when I was putting out the sour cream, in it's original container, I knew Kimmy would have had a cow.  I did use her chili pepper serving bowl to serve the shredded cheese, cilantro and slice limes! 
            It was a fun night, accentuated by us watching 'Jackass 2.5' (Amy's choice).  You know, I'm in the wrong business!  Bam Magera drives a Maserti!  He's a West Chester Pa native.  My friends and I were making better video than this back in high school, but failed to get it out there...Jim Friedman, where are you now??
           Meanwhile, in the background, 'Heckle and Jeckle' are killing each other.  And they are killing me.  So I go to investigate.  Poor Tonio, he's the victim of an apparent Autumn drive by.  These two can get along so well one moment and the next, Aut is hating on Tonio, who is so sensitive, especially lately...I got it ironed out and went back to watch the fine piece of cinematography we were watching...'Did I miss anyting?'...
           Amy and I talked about the Mommywantsvodka.com website (not for children), she checks it out too...that lady makes me laugh daily.  I replied to one of her writings that she could write anything she wanted and still make me laugh.  Funny stuff.

            AND the Stanely Cup Playoffs have started...16 teams...One Cup!  Kim and I followed NHL playoff hockey closely.  And she has bought me so many nice jerseys over the years - I'll have to do a piece on just jerseys...and adult Garanimals.   But this jersey I bought for myself, in memory of Kim...13, the day she left us...on the Flyers, that is Dan Carcillo.  Tough, gritty and talented.  Carcillo can kick your butt and then score a goal - a rare combo in the NHL these days.  Last year, Carcillo led the league in penalty minutes.  Tonight, he helped tie the Flyers first round series against the Buffalo Sabres with a critcial goal!

                                                             Let's Go Flyers!!!

       Pay no attentionn to the boy behind the jersey....

      Whew, another long day...thanks to Cody, the yard work and planting went smoother...and my back is not as broken...we got some sun, too.  Tomorrow's another day...
 
         Love,
                  Dave