Meanderings

Allium

 Kris said the other day that she likes posts where I meander because it seems more conversational. Well, I can meander with the best of them (just ask Ward), so that's what I'll do today.

I'm up early - a little earlier than I would like but the sun decided it was time to get up, and so did my body. Wally and Theo are coming over this morning, and the males of the family are going to do a charity run/walk in our little town. Afterward, they plan to have lunch and do other fun things they have yet to figure out. I, on the other hand, have to work today. We will have lean staffing, so it will be a busy day.

Waiting in the kitchen are tomatoes that I picked yesterday that need to be processed. We had a big storm on Monday with a lot of rain in a short amount of time, so they are all split. If things are normal, I'll be too tired when I get home from work today to work on them, so maybe tomorrow (Sunday). Growing up, we heard every week at church that Sunday was for resting, just like God did when he created the world. But that didn't always happen. Sometimes my mother would wash a load of clothes that we would hang up outside. I was so embarrassed as a kid to have the neighbors see that we were working on a Sunday. As an adult, I understand that sometimes, chores had to be done on Sunday - especially in a house with a bunch of kids and a sick grandparent. But I didn't when I was little.

And most of the stores were closed on Sunday for the same reason, along with giving employees a chance to attend church. Some places actually had Blue Laws that said most stores couldn't be open on Sunday. When Ward and I first moved to New Orleans, they had them, and it was nice to be forced to not do any shopping one day a week. But the whole idea of everyone resting on Sunday works best in a predominantly Christian community. The area where I live now has many different religions that practice on more days than Sundays. 

Last week, I had an eye treatment where I had to wear an eye patch for 48 hours. It didn't hurt (or help much, for that matter), but it was definitely annoying. You need two eyes for good depth perception, so I would have to grab for something a couple of times before I made contact. Also, I am left-eyed, which was the one that was patched, so sometimes my right eye had difficulty focusing, and I couldn't see very well. Ward insisted I not drive or use a knife while my eye was patched, and I agreed. I know the brain can adjust to new input, but I didn't wear the patch long enough for that to happen. I am very thankful that I have two working eyes, even if they itch and burn most of the time.

"The shower is here!"

I think I've meandered enough for this morning, so I'd better tell you how the baby shower went that we had here recently. I said I would do that in my last post. I was fretting about it because of the difficult coordination beforehand. But you know what? It went well. It was an easy crowd of about 30 people who didn't mind being crowded together. They spent most of the time in the kitchen where the drinks were, even though we had the food in another room. We had it set up as an open house, but everyone came and stayed the whole time. Ward even gave tours of his workshop to some who were interested. But the important part is the expectant parents got many things they needed to start this new adventure.

Until next time...

Musings

When I post, I like to have a point that I want to make, explore something I learned from an experience, or muse about an observation. And over the years, I've been able to do that - sometimes. But the reality is that kind of post takes more effort and time than I often have or want to do. So then I think about doing a post with just an update on what I've been up to. While that kind of post is much easier to write, I wonder how much I want to reveal about my life or those around me - even if I am using pseudonyms. Or if anyone even cares what I did last weekend. That leaves me indecisive, and I then end up not posting anything. Have you caught on yet that I often overthink things? Or another way to say it is I am a perfectionist. 

I was surprised when I figured out that I have perfectionist tendencies. I certainly didn't do everything perfectly, and many areas of my life were not perfect. However, the ah-ha moment for me was learning that perfectionism often results in an all-or-nothing scenario, and often, it's nothing. I pondered most decisions for a long time, not wanting to make the wrong one. I remember when I was a young professional and read an interview with the president of the company I was working for where he said making a decision, even if it is wrong, is better than no decision. If it's a wrong decision, you learn from it and move on. I was incensed when I first read that. What do you mean that a wrong decision is okay? After thinking about it for a while, I guess I saw his point, even if it didn't seem right. Since then, I've slowly learned to accept that fact and try to practice it.

The Frugal Girl said something the other day that I also had to learn. "Done is better than perfect." This blog, in particular, has helped me with that idea. I have had to accept that posting with typos was okay. Of course, I try to proofread, but I often miss things. I was really worried about that in the beginning, but I'm okay with mistakes here now (well, mostly). 

Over many years, although I've been working on letting go of my perfectionism, it still doesn't come naturally. I have to make a conscious decision to change how I think if perfectionism or indecision is getting in the way of moving forward. I have had to learn to trust myself enough to know if I make a wrong decision; I am strong enough and smart enough to handle it. 

But letting go of perfectionism doesn't mean I don't strive to do things well and make good decisions. It just means that I get to the action sooner. But with all things, including this one, I'm still a work in progress.

So what does all of this mean? I don't know. I sat down to write a post about how the baby shower went last week and ended up with musings on perfectionism. If I don't think about it too much, I'll tell you about the shower next time. :)

Until then…

A Second Look, August 2, 2023

 We finally had more than a few sprinkles of rain when a front came through last weekend. It brought over an inch of rain with it, along with cooler temperatures. While there is still plenty of crunchy grass around, things are greening up. We did minimum yard work during the heat, so soon, we will have to catch up with several things. In the meantime, here's what I found during my Second Look this week.

We have one daylily blooming. 

However, the four o'clocks are as prolific as ever.
That is if you can wait until late afternoon to see them.

The fig tree is starting to develop figs from the bottom up.

This flower box is entirely self-seeded with moss rose from last year.

The begonias are doing great along the front walk.

However, around the corner, in another bed, the black-eyed Susans don't look so healthy. Fungus and insects have been taking their toll on them. Black-eyed Susan and coneflowers are usually very easy to grow, but they have never done well in this bed. Time to rethink it for next year.

The rhododendron that we thought was suffering from heat and insufficient water is now dead. We'll have to examine the roots to determine what happened because there was nothing on the leaves that showed any problem. Luckily the other two on either side of it still look healthy.

Every time this sunflower dares to grow leaves, something comes along and strips it.
It's not looking good for the big blooms promised by the seed package.

However, we have little sunflowers planted by the birds blooming in various places.

The anemones have started to bloom - a few weeks earlier than usual.

That's about it for this week. Until next time...

This and That

 You know, once you get out of the habit of posting, it's hard to get back into it. And I'm out of the habit. Just as I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, I can't remember what we've been up to around here. So I'm going to give it a go with a stream-of-consciousness post.

First and foremost on my mind is a baby shower we're having here for my nephew and his wife on Saturday. We expect around 35-40 people. The planning has been a bit cumbersome at times, trying to coordinate among several people, but I think we have a plan, finally. The weather is hot, so it will be entirely inside, which is not ideal. I do not have the entertaining house that you always see on HGTV. We don't have an open floor plan which was not all the rage 34 years ago when our house was built. But we'll manage. The important thing is to shower the expectant parents with much-needed baby gear. This is their first child, so everything is needed.

One of the decorations for Saturday's shower.

And speaking of baby showers, we went to a baby shower for my niece and her husband last weekend. This is their third baby, but the twins, who were their firstborn, didn't live more than a few weeks. Things are looking good this time around, and we are all excited for both little ones who will be arriving in the next couple of months.

In other news, Wally and Theo have decided to become roommates. They have found a nice townhouse not too far from Theo's work. Wally works entirely from home, so he was flexible with location. Theo did an initial move-in last weekend but has more things to move. Wally's lease is not up for a few months, so he won't be moving in immediately. When Theo moved here, his furniture furnished our basement, and we tried to keep his things separate from ours, but some of his things got incorporated into ours anyway. We're trying to tease those things out now. Like is this our colander or his? Rent is so high these days roommates are a necessity for most people, and we're happy the two brothers want to give it a go. They haven't lived together as adults, so it should be interesting. However, they have been very good about sorting out the roommate issues beforehand. The good news for us is that we can do one-stop visiting now.

And speaking of hot weather, we are in the middle of it. Temps this week are in the mid to high 90s with humidity. No rain is in sight, but a popup thunderstorm is always possible. I am so thankful I have good resources for dealing with this weather. I have air conditioning and easy, clean water to hydrate with. I do not take it for granted that that is not a given for many in the world or even in this country.

A true summer joy happened today. I had my first tomato sandwich with a fresh tomato from the garden. I love tomatoes - fresh and cooked, but nothing beats one off the vine. Especially the first one of the season. We also have been enjoying more blueberries from Uncle Billy's patch. I think this will be our last picking, as many of them are starting to get mushy. I have frozen several and have a pie planned with the remaining ones. And by the way, individually frozen blueberries are a real treat - especially on these hot summer days.

Ward picking blueberries.

That's enough for now because dinner is calling, but I'm not sure what we're going to have. I think I will start with tomatoes and cottage cheese. Another summer favorite. Oh, I do love fresh produce!

Until next time...

A Second Look, July 15, 2023

 My thoughts are with the people suffering from the extreme weather we hear so much about in the news these days. While we are not having extreme conditions here, we are in the throes of summer weather - sweltering days with little rain. And we're all feeling it - me and the plants. Our rhododendrons' leaves are starting to shrivel. I've never had to water them before, but I have started hoping I can revive them. Thank goodness the rain barrel is still providing water. The water smells but is still good for the plants.

I've been watering, so the vegetable garden is doing okay. This past week we had the last of the spinach, broccoli, wax beans, and two kinds of squash from it. However, I didn't get any pictures - too busy trying to beat the heat. Anyway, here are a few pictures I did get from my Second Look.

This is the planter outside of Ward's shop. His father made it for him from an old water heater. Ward selects plants for it every year.

Not sure where the bird had been to get muddy feet, but it left tracks on our porch railing.

The hydrangea blooms are fading and turning pink.

More daylilies are blooming.

Miraculously the deer haven't eaten these hostas, and they are blooming.

Even though the wind drops a lot of pears, the trees are still full of growing fruit.

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I  planted two sets of sunflowers along this fence, and this is the only one that came up. We'll see how it does because something has been enjoying its leaves.

Uncle Billy invited us over to pick in his blueberry patch.

I find it interesting that blueberries in the same cluster ripen at such different rates. 

That's about it for this week. However, let me add that I am very thankful for a working air conditioner. 

Until next time...