Blooms

 

One of my housecleaners remarked to me, "You sure do like flowers." I do sometimes have fresh flowers in my home, but I think she was referring to my decorating. I have 2 framed prints of flowers (irises; pink generic blossoms), a decorative cross-stitched pillow, and my bedspread which is pictured above.

I have pots of flowers on the front porch to enjoy. Geraniums, calibrachoa, and the violas are still hanging around with the cool spring weather continuing.

The geraniums are the same as what I bought last year. I was glad to see Meijer had them again this year.

Since I put the pot of geraniums under the Victorian gazing ball, I moved the violas to the other side of the porch. I expect them to fade out once hot weather arrives.

My cheddar pinks in the patio plot are in full bloom now. Once the flowers dry up, I will cut them off. Usually, I will get a second blooming later in the summer. They smell nice. I always take a sniff while standing on the patio grilling.

What is in bloom at your house?

Pink!

 The patio cheddar pinks are in full bloom.

Monday I bought two pots of geraniums that are now sitting on my front porch.

It's been a bit breezy to sit on the porch lately. Maybe tomorrow. I borrowed 2 books on spiritual formation from Hoopla. I started one. I have 20 days left to finish them. 

My insurance company pays for Mom's Meals, but it looks like only for people who have been hospitalized. I will need to check on that. We can self-pay. We might do that for the first week after my back surgery. These have a long shelf-life (well, really refrigeration life) and are microwaveable. Of course there are frozen items from the grocery store that can be microwaved. I think I should hear from the surgery scheduler by the end of next week as to insurance authorization for the surgery. Once it is authorized, I will communicate with United Healthcare to see how Mom's Meals are covered and the qualifications. Only 3 weeks away now.

Almost Ready

 The new woodworking/hobby shop is almost ready to occupy. The closing on the property with the old shop takes place May 24th or 25th. The people hired to do the painting are supposedly going to move the equipment and supplies and workbenches, etc. So far, nobody seems to know when, but obviously it needs to be soon.

My husband supplied the movers with a floorplan with the equipment represented with templates. He and the other two guys have finished boxing up supplies. Once everything is moved, I expect to see very little of my husband for many days as he gets situated in his new workshop. 

They did a lot of fixing up and sprucing up of the old garage now converted to a shop.

The new heating/cooling unit is mounted up high so it won't take up valuable floor space. It is a heat pump. It has a remote controller for changing the temperature.

There are 3 windows plus a backdoor with a screen door that has a window to allow air in.

There are two overhead doors, but one was blocked off with a wall of pegboard. (Sorry I didn't get a photo of that; you will have to wait until things are all set up.)

An epoxy floor replaced the pitted cracked cement. Lots of outlets were added and a new breaker box to up the capacity of the electricity for all of the machines.

Things the guys really wanted that were nixed were a sink and a urinal. No running water. They walked to the Robin Hood Community Center for a bathroom. They jerry-rigged a water source in the old shop with jugs of water and a sink and will have to make do in the new shop as well. The man who does stained-glass needs water to ground down edges. Two of the guys live within easy walking distance and can use their own condo bathrooms. We will have to invite the third guy to use ours if he needs facilities.

Last night we turned on the furnace in the evening and I slept with my electric blanket on low. Later today we will probably have to turn the air conditioner on as it gets to 80 degrees. 

I have some plant growth in my patio plot: cheddar pinks and Asiatic lilies.

Along the side of the house is a blooming bush whose name I never obtained. Some years it hardly had any flowers (I think because of pruning at the wrong time), but this year it looks pretty good. My irises only have 6 buds so definitely not as good as in the past. My neighbors' peony bushes have the round globe buds already. Won't be long before they bloom.

I finally have a hanging basket on the porch. I first bought a fuchsia; we have a chain hanging down from the porch ceiling hook. The crook of the pot only fit part way through the link. My husband was working in the garage when he heard a crash. The plastic pot had fallen and split into pieces. I thought I might buy a pot but I really wanted a plant to hang not sit on the porch. It probably would not have received enough sun anyway. I saw a calibrachoa on sale at the grocery store and bought it. I have grown these in the past; they ended up with powdery mildew a few years. I hope this one doesn't get that problem.

I saw a pot of verbena for $5 and added it to the geraniums.

I bought a pillow to use with my porch rocking chair. My scoliosis makes one area of my spine bulge out, and the hard polywood slats hurt my back. Most of the pillows are too poufy. This one I bought at Walmart has a zipper; I took out some of the filling.

Now it feels comfortable and if it gets flat I can add back more stuffing. Spring always makes me feel happy after the cold winter.

Bloom and Zoom

I plan to grill some hamburgers on this holiday weekend. I also bought some sweet corn and potato salad. We will fly the US flag from our porch flagpole Monday. The sacrifices most of us are making during the pandemic lockdowns seem puny compared with those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Lots of iris buds but no blooms yet at the front corner of the house. I do have cheddar pink blossoms. I think this is the largest number of flowers on this plant since I put it in the patio plot several years ago. I guess it likes lots of rain. I hope it continues to spread. I would like it to fill in the front of the plot.

A hint of red sprouts for the portulaca, but they do not like sitting in pools of standing water. Last year it wasn't until the end of July they finally grew, and the year before that they all drowned so there were no flowers. I bought a pot at the store to get them started again. The veronica (speedwell) is growing well; too early for its flowers. Maybe in 2-3 weeks. It is nice to have happy things to anticipate.

Our Zoom session had problems. The newbie could not get her camera and microphone working. She could hear and see us, but we could see only an icon representing her and no sound. Finally, she did get the camera to work, and we used chat and nodding of heads to communicate. She was really hesitant to try. Maybe we will have to practice a few times, just the two of us, before trying all 3 sisters again. It was obvious we all needed haircuts. The beauty salons are open again in Indiana, but a big backlog. I finally found someone to cut my hair on June 4th. I hope she is good because she is going to have a shapeless head of hair to work with.

Some rain predicted for us but temperatures in the low 80s the next few days. Right now it is warm with a nice light breeze. Good grilling weather.

A Good Day After All

I was sort of dreading this day, but God showered His goodness upon me.

My cheddar pinks are opening now. The plant has grown and spread out quite a bit in the past couple of years. Originally I had 4 plants, but all but this one died over several winters. I hope it eventually takes over the whole front portion of the plot. The portulaca also keeps putting out blooms. 

I announced the committee members at Winona Literary Club this afternoon; no hostess committee so no luncheon next year. But after the meeting a member who had been on a mission trip in April when I asked for a volunteer said she would chair the hostess committee. I already had somebody who said she would serve if there was a chair. An answer to prayer. I do have two slots to fill for the meeting hostesses.

Also, I announced the dues would stay the same next year, but we might have to reassess that in the spring since we are now being charged a monthly bank fee. My new treasurer, bless her heart, had taken it upon herself to talk to a different bank which agreed to service our small account for free. All last year, people were encouraging the current treasurer and the president to find a new bank. 

The Literary Committee lady showed up today, and she said she would still serve but she didn't know the people well enough to ask. I gave her a list of ladies who had given book reviews in the past or were avid readers. That is a big burden off of my shoulders.

I am actually happily looking forward to next club year.

More Spring

We are enjoying some nice springtime weather; perhaps a bit warmer than typical with occasional showers. This year May showers will bring June flowers.

The lilacs are still very pretty. The peonies and irises are coming on strong and will bloom in the next few weeks. My cheddar pinks in the sunny patio are finally opening.

 

 

The moss rose did come up again from the seeds I guess. Starting to fill in around the cheddar pinks.

I decided to add some color to my sunroom, too. I found a nice round tablecloth on sale at Kohl’s for 60% off.