Confused Easter lilies bloom in June!
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"The simplest things give me ideas." ~ Joan Miro
My Easter lilies are blooming! Are they confused? Here it is almost officially summer and they have finally bloomed. These are the lilies we planted last Easter after they had bloomed in their florist pots. They multiplied; now where one plant was placed in the ground, four grow. They grew tall and green. But they didn't bloom at Easter! Perhaps this is their time, special, unforced by the conditions of a greenhouse.... so I just enjoy. Apparently, so does Max... I saw a bit of tell-tale orange pollen glow on his nose this morning. Bless his heart, he forgets they make him sneeze.
Mom had to be taken back to the hospital today for a scan of her leg. Swelling had gone down a bit but recurred and they are careful to screen for any deep vein thrombosis. I am not sure when we will hear a report, but hopefully this is a temporary problem.
Two weeks to closing on Stephen's house... well, our house. I have no clue as to how long it will take to move in, combine things and sell this house. Makes the head spin! Where will I put my pumpkins? I have a pile of papers from the homeowners association to wade through.... perhaps they have a ban on vegetable gardens. Actually there is an oval plot of ground in the middle of the cul-de-sac and I think it would make the most fantastic community garden space!!! Will take picture next time I am out there!
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Not your usual "danger" sign... but to the boys basketball team...
(Click picture to enlarge) "Live in danger. Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (1844 - 1900)
"You have a cough? Go home tonight, eat a whole box of Ex-Lax - tomorrow you'll be afraid to cough." ~ Pearl Williams
Danger comes in many forms. This brings to mind an incident I heard about at my college, many years ago. The boys basketball team had been irritating the cheerleaders for weeks, playing little pranks on them and generally making life miserable. Someone decided to teach the guys a lesson. Knowing that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and that teenagers had hollow legs and would eat anything, a cake was baked. It was a very special cake, big with three layers and a deep dark chocolate. The top and sides were lathered with rich chocolate icing and words of encouragement were written on the top. It was left in the boys locker room with a note that read.... "Enjoy". And they did. Within minutes the players had consumed the whole thing.
Of course, they had a long bus ride to a weekend basketball camp the next day. No one ever really knew who baked the big box of Ex-lax into that cake, but you can be sure that there was quite the "volcanic" eruption going on during that bus ride! None of the cheerleaders ever admitted involvement, but the team was careful to treat the them with respect from then on. Just the suspicion seemed to straighten the boys out.... that or the purging constitutionals they all had!
Yes, danger comes in many shapes and sizes.
Submission for Shutterday topic "danger". (end of post)
An outfit is not complete without a little cat hair!
(Click pictures for larger views) "Cats are just little hair factories." ~ James Davis, DVM
Willow (left) and her brother Nicky are gigantic blobs of hair plodding about the house. Unlike the Siamese, they aren't concerned with appearances; they don't feel that each hair must always be in place. In fact, much of the time they appear disheveled as if just coming out of a whirlwind. It seems to be too much effort to keep all that hair perfectly groomed anyway, so why not go for comfort?
Nyssa before and after the big haircut."Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play in your hair." ~ Kahlil Gibran
Last summer, Nyssa's hair was as on the left. This past January it had been cropped to the length on the right. She sent her long ponytail to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer or other blood disorders. This was the biggest change in her hair length in years. I've always envied her hair. She has that texture and body we all want and tried for years with body waves and spiral perms to get. When left completely alone to dry, her hair forms those lose ringlets, all on its own. And yet with just a bit of blow drying and flat iron action she can show up with straight as a stick looks. Absolutely, NOT FAIR! I can work mine with a hot air curling brush for thirty minutes, step out into the yard and in five minutes have little pieces curling up and I don't mean into those nice long curls.... mine turns into a frizz fest. Again, NOT FAIR!
Only a certain number of perfect heads exist.
God had to give the others hair."Bald as the bare mountain tops are bald, with a baldness full of grandeur." ~ Matthew Arnold
My cousin Ken has a receding hairline, several men in the family do. He is amazingly brilliant and excited about all sorts of different projects and hobbies. He is an engineer and has worked for Porsche and other car manufacturers. He has been renovating his home in Atlanta and taught himself carpentry, plumbing, and all the other skills needed. He refurbishes and rebuilds old and rare pianos; Stephen has him working on one right now. He is interested in all sorts of scientific fields and researches the history of Europe and the US, antiques and historical documents. And he loves cats. An amazing man!
Hair for all seasons; and you can keep it by your bed
.... or on the dining room table. "If wise men were hairs the world would need a wig." ~ Unknown
My mom has thinning hair... so do I, but just in one spot. As long as I can remember she has been adding hair pieces to give fullness and hide those thin areas. Many years ago now, she gave up trying to blend her own hair in with the "extensions" and started wearing wigs. Over the years touches of gray have been added to "keep things natural". On this occasion her friend had come over and styled all the wigs. They take their places of honor atop these styrofoam heads. You should see us go on a trip. A wooden platform with a protruding nail holds the styrofoam head with her "good" wig. On a trip to Chicago back in 2005, we didn't count on the 40 mph winds whipping through the streets next to the hotel in January and the head went flying... literally. Fortunately, someone caught both the head and the hair...
Not too long ago I was driving down a four lane parkway near here and saw one of these lightweight heads bouncing down the center line... no hair attached. All I could think was, "Oh! No! Someone's lost their head!" And the moral of this story is?
"Hare today, gone tomorrow"
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A hummingbird feeds in mid-air, its wings but a blur.
(Click picture for larger view) "A flash of harmless lightning,
A mist of rainbow dyes,
The burnished sunbeams brightening
From flower to flower he flies."
~ John Banister Tabb
The hummingbird does rest, occasionally still on the branch of a nearby tree; but only rarely. The nectar draws him in to feed and hovering, almost still but with wings always in motion, always active. Then to a vantage point he flies, to wait and watch and guard his territory. Fierce are the battles, back and forth, around and around the nectar. I often wonder that he has time to dine..... fast food, indeed!
Submission for PhotoFriday topic "active". This "hummer" will also take a ride on Friday's Ark, hosted by the Modulator. (end of post)
Try to picture this without the snow. "A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end... but not necessarily in that order." ~ Jean-Luc Godard
This story starts at the middle. Although I wish it started at the end, I'm sure that there will be more to tell in the future, but since the future isn't here yet... well, you see the dilemma. The real beginning would be when I was still a child, but then, that story has already been told. So we begin with the middle.
First, you must be able to visualize this scene without the snow. Yes, it is quite cool here currently, in the low 60's and damp and drizzling, but there is definitely no snow. In fact, last Friday, when the event happened, it was the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures reaching the high 90's. I could have taken a picture of the mailbox this week, but I have been avoiding the object.
With Mom having her knee surgery and my brother coming into town on the same day and with me, still looking at the last of the house possibilities.... June 4th was a blur. The 5th, 6th, and 7th weren't much better and with the whirlwind house search and decision and negotiations that tied one's stomach in a knot and then inspections, loan applications, power of attorney and the strange disconnection of Stephen buying a house... well, by Friday I was pooped out! I took Stephen to the airport for his early morning flight back to Washington DC and then on to Vienna and anticipated a few hours in bed. However, my dad had quite a bit of stuff to take to the rehab facility for my mom, so I went along to help.
Several hours later, we arrived back home and I was hurrying to get all the animals fed and off to Newport News to meet up with Nyssa. I walked down the driveway to the mailbox and somehow, the tip of my tennis shoe got stuck or my feet were flying too low, or something.... as I grabbed to open the mailbox, I lost my balance and though I stumbled half way down the street to the neighbor's house, trying to get my feet back under me... I fell.... hard. Actually, I think I fell on the curb rather than on the street itself, but my right knee hit, as did both hands. It was one of those "trip over the flower pot and go sprawling" moments (an earlier middle part of the story). Instant sharp ..... PAIN! My hands are scuffed and I know my knee is scuffed although it didn't tear the jeans!
My 79 year old father hobbles down the drive and wants to help me up.... right! I didn't want him down too as I knew I couldn't get both of us up again and right at that moment I just wanted to sit and catch my breath. Of course, a neighbor saw the commotion and came over to ask if I was OK. I finally got the courage to get up and thankfully was able to stand on my leg, so no broken bones. But, the knee was a bit crunchy or perhaps crackle is a better description... but only if you pressed on it. I knew ice was in order but it was time for me to drive to Newport News.
I found what was called a cold pack in the freezer. As I got in the car, I put it around the knee and tried to secure it with the velcro strips. Unfortunately, one of them was stuck and when pulled, it ripped the material and suddenly a thousand little white 1mm pellets started flowing from the hole into the floorboard of my van. So that was out. By this time it was rush hour so the trip took longer than expected and the knee was throbbing. I got a bag of ice at the restaurant and kept it elevated there then hit it with more ice when I got back home.
Saturday and Sunday were pretty bad... ice and heat and ice and heat and foot up. Monday, it felt almost like new and I wore a knee brace to the new house for the termite inspection. However, the deep muscle bruising has now arrived along with the swelling and sausage toes. From the purple, red, blue, yellow and other assorted mottled colors, it looks like the lateral calf muscles are banged up and the subcutaneous tissue of the shin, as well as the lower inner thigh. The knee area is also quite the colorful mix. It is now beginning to itch... this usually means it is starting to get better.
You know there is something fishy about this whole thing. When Mom had her other knee done a year and a half ago, Dad fell the Friday after she went from the hospital to rehab. Of course he hit on his buttock and had a horrible bruise from his waist to his knee. (Lost his balance and sat on the edge of a ceramic coated metal bedpan he was retrieving from the attic to take to Mom.... don't ask.) Now, on Friday after she is transferred from the hospital to the same rehab for her second knee, I fall and bang myself up....yes, fishy.
All I can say is... I'm glad she only has two knees. I'm not sure what would happen to Dad and I if she had three! As for the rest of the middle and beginning of the "stumbling saga that is my life". Well, it will just have to wait.... I've got to get this foot up!
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