Birthday! ~ Rain, Glorious Rain!

I spent the evening baking a cake for our daughter who turned 17 today.  We made homemade frosting and added homemade lemon extract this time (vs. vanilla).  I also splurged and picked up two half gallons of organic ice cream.  It's so hot and humid here, I did not want to attempt homemade ice cream.  It was so hot in the house, that the frosting was drooping.  We put the cake in the refrigerator last night.  We only have one air conditioner unit in downstairs and the kitchen is pretty warm.  

Our  now 17 year-old, frosted the cake after I added the first layer.  The kids love to learn how to do this, as I learned from my mother.  In fact, Mom donated all her cake decorating supplies to the girls, and a two layer 9-inch round cake is traditional here.

Last night we also received rain.  Woo hoo!  Finally.  The storms, thankfully were not too bad, and the rain came down.  I am so thankful.  The gardens really, really needed it.  I attempted weeding the herb garden yesterday, but the ground was too dry to even do it.

The saga of the raccoon from h-e-double hockey sticks continues.

Random Tidbits

No rain as of today (Wed. morning).  The forecast states that we have chances of bad storms late tonight, including bad winds and hail.  I could do without the storms, but we need the rain. 

The grass is dried up and brown, and the dirt around my trees have dried so badly, the ground is cracking.  

First lettuce from the garden.  We enjoyed it with homemade bean burritos.  It felt so nice to go out and pick it vs. have to drive to the store and buy it.