South African butt plant

I actually had a really great time in Bakersfield. I guess I should expect to have a good time; otherwise, why would I visit? (Out of obligation, I suppose.) Anyway, the trip was relaxing and productive, which is what I was hoping for. My sister-in-law and I got my brother to taste raw fish while we were having sushi (think of how picky an eater I am, then marry it with intractable stubborness, and you have my brother) and we taught him how to use chopsticks. Well, okay, she did most of the teaching, partly because he takes instruction from her more readily than from me, and partly because I find that when you're learning to do something, it's usually not helpful to have more than one person telling you what to do. But I did throw in the insight that the bottom stick should be held still while the top one moves, which I think was helpful.

I spent a lot of time in our backyard helping my mom with chores and playing with the dog. The landscaping my mother has done is really beautiful, and the weather was perfect: sunny and 70ish with a slight breeze. If only Bakersfield would stay like that instead of becoming an unlivable furnace. We also did a bit of the requisite shopping; at Target, my mother-approved (and mother-financed) impulse purchase was a little succulent garden I made by purchasing three succulent plants (they're a kind of cactus without pokey things--or at least that's what they seem to be) and a red pot for them. Two of the plants I bought because they were pretty (and in my experience succulents are quite hardy), but the third I bought because it is shaped exactly like a butt. Exactly.

According to the plant's tag, it is South African, so I asked my sis-in-law about it. She said she'd seen the sort of plant before, and that the butt will open up and a second pair of "cheeks" will grow in perpendicularly to the first. Apparently it will also flower in the winter. But isn't it freaky looking right now?

DWE is coming to SF tonight, a day earlier than was expected. I hesitate to even mention this, partly because it's trivial, and partly because more important "anniversaries" have gone unexcusably unheralded by me (specifically dear, wonderful A's birthday, which I neglected while wrapped up in the PacDev converence), but today is the 6-month anniversary of when DWE and I met. It seems like it's been longer, especially given how often he's out of town, but it also surprises me that it's been that long, given how much can and does happen in half a year. So far things seem to be working out pretty well, but I guess I'll get back to you on that in another six months.