You know, I'm tired. Laugh all you want, but watching all this hard work by Mr. Troutbend is wearing me out.

But it's more than that. I'm going to a family reunion next week, my cousins on my dad's side who grew up in the same town I did, just up the road from our house. Our mothers never got along, lots of back-stabbing over the years, and for many years our dads weren't speaking to each other. Of course this was after my grandma died; they'd never have gotten away with that if she was around. My cousins had a slapdash upbringing because their southern belle mother was too busy playing bridge to be a mother. Yes, this is my mother's version of the story.

The reunion attendees are going to be 4 of the 5 cousins who are my age, most of their children and the grandchildren. They are mostly coming from out of state, and there is a venerable lodge/motel in Manitou Springs, Colorado that will be reunion HQ.

As the date nears, emails have been flying hot and heavy, mostly regarding meal planning for the three communal meals. Of these 20 or so people, it's getting to the point where no two people can (or will) eat the same thing due to general picky eating, dairy-free, gluten-free, and kosher requirements. You've heard me talk about gluten-free relatives before - that was my in-laws; we've got gluten-frees on both sides of our marriage.

I have been volunteered to assist with the Saturday night meal, but the organizer has ignored my request for an advance assignment so I can plan ahead and not get stressed by last minute fire drills. This is exactly what I fear from this bunch: utter chaos that could have been prevented through better planning.

The other thing that has me out of sorts is some friends who have invited themselves to dinner or lunch or something at my house this coming Sunday. More picky eaters, and I'm just not in the mood. I refuse to make a special trip to town, 25 miles one way, to buy food I think they will eat, only to find out they won't. Oh, with friends like that, who needs relatives? I'm going to tell them I'm too busy helping Mr. Troutbend with his projects, and I'll see them when I get back from the reunion.

Here's my tomatoes with a zucchini on the left: