Floral Display

Today we have lots of flowers.  Nothing new but flowers I couldn't resist taking pictures of again.  First of all, best of all we have the Stargazer lily.   There's only this one plant left but it has at least a half-dozen blossoms on it, and the fragrance is strong and sweet.

In less durable lilies, this day lily is a pale peachy orange with a yellow center.

The purple coneflower or echinacea are blooming away.  I was struck by this one and the spurts of orange around the center.

This goldfinch found the fast-fading zinnias today and enjoyed nibbling on the petals.

30 July--Barbara Malcolm, Better Than Mom's.

She did not have a television or a radio so she opened her windows and listened to the music of her new neighbors while she moved around her tiny apartment wiping down everything she could reach with one of her new sponges and her new saucepan filled with hot soapy water.  She used colorful sarongs from her suitcase as temporary curtains and resolved to get acquainted with someone in the building who might own a vacuum cleaner.  She also wanted to walk down to the mall past the garage after she got off the next day.  Surely there would be a dollar store or maybe a Kmart where she could buy a mattress pad and some inexpensive sheets so she could sleep in the bed like a human.  Fay had turned the mattress over hoping to find the cleanest side but, no matter how she turned it, it still looked like someone’s dog had lost its dinner on it.  That is what she told herself, that the stains were the fault of an accident-prone dog with an upset stomach.  If she let herself imagine what humans would have had to do to make those stains on the mattress she would never get to sleep on that bed no matter how many layers of plastic and fabric were between her and it, just like The Princess and the Pea, her all time favorite fairy tale. 

She had always thought she was a princess who had accidently been born into a commoner’s family.  How else to explain her desire for pretty dresses and sparkly jewelry?  Fay was good at walking in high heeled shoes the first time she tried on her mom’s red ones when she was six.  Even though the shoes were way too big for her and scuffed across the floor, Fay did not lose her balance or have to hold onto chairs and tables like her cousin Mildred did.  But it stood to reason that someone named Mildred would not be good at walking in high heels, even if she told everyone to call her Millie.  I mean really. 

Fay slept well in her new place.  She locked the door, slid the chain in the slot and closed the deadbolt; there was no reason to be careless in a new place.  She also closed and latched all the windows, even though she was on the second floor and could not see how anyone could climb up since there was no balcony.  The lack of a balcony almost made her refuse to rent the apartment.  Everyone knows that a princess had to have a balcony, but she had come to her senses and realized that no balcony and a one minute walk to work every morning beat a balcony and having to slog home a half an hour or more after spending the day on her feet waiting tables hands down. 

I spent some time this afternoon working on a small scene for Better Than Mom's.  I'm still trying to figure out how to end the thing but don't worry, there are lots of pages between now and when it ends so I have plenty of time to work it out.  (she says hopefully)

Today's toss was the last case of booze from the basement.  I know it's sacrilege but I won't drink it and didn't know anyone to give it to.  Nobody I know drinks much anymore.  I sure don't.  I never ha a head for spirits and still don't.

One cool thing that happened today.  I read the comments on a FB post of a high school friend only to find another high school and college friend so I sent a friend request and have already heard back.  Nice to be back in touch.

--Barbara