Last of the Lilies

I think today's lily picture is the absolute last one.  The color is duller and the anthers, the pollen covered dangly things, have fallen off.  The fragrance is pretty much gone too.

Searching for another flower to photograph I saw this little bit of a geranium in one of the pots.  You can see there are more florets going to open but I like seeing this one bloomed all by itself.

I made the pompom for yesterday's preemie hat.  One thing I like about this yarn is that it's self-patterning but that meant that one half of the pompom is green and the other is a mix of purple and pinkish orange.  It's a strange looking pompom but it'll do.

Just as the light was going this evening I saw a Hummingbird at the nectar feeder but it flew away before I could take its picture.  Natch. However right after that this Downy Woodpecker came for a suet snack and since I already had the camera ready I got it.

I got something interesting in the mail today.  It's a WW 5 lb. charm.

Now, I've lost 36 lbs. since last fall but for some reason WW didn't zero out when I reached my zenith, instead it kept some random weight as my starting weight.  As far as WW is concerned I've lost about 7 1/2 lbs.  So I got a charm and a split ring to hang it from.  I wonder if I'll get another charm when I hit 10 lbs. lost.  I don't really care, I'm happy with myself for sticking to it.  Well, not this week.  This week has been an ice cream and pretzels week but that stuff is all gone so tomorrow it's back on track.  It's a nice acknowledgement no matter what.

06 August--Barbara Malcolm, Better Than Mom's. 

That night Fay made sure to stop at Naomi’s door on her way to her apartment and ask her to come eat with her.  She did not want Marcus eavesdropping when she brought up the possibility of Naomi coming to work at Better Than Mom’s.  She took a quick shower and did the few dishes in the sink.  She had stopped at the flower kiosk that set up when it was warm in the motel parking lot next door and bought a bouquet of bronze and pale gold asters that she arranged in an empty mayonnaise jar to put on the table. 

Naomi had showed her how to make sun tea in a big glass jar with six teabags hung in it instead of buying that nasty powdered tea from Safeway.  She would get the jar filled and float the teabags in it before she left for work in the morning, making sure it was sitting on the counter where the sun would hit it for most of the day.  By the time she got home around three o’clock in the afternoon, tea would be mahogany colored and just like she liked it—strong.  Fay would stir sugar into it and squeeze half of a lemon in.  At first, she just sliced the lemon and dropped the slices in but that didn’t make it lemony enough for her.  She liked it really sweet and kind of tart.  Naomi was a soda drinker, but Fay was trying to change her mind.

 “That stuff in the cans will rot your teeth,” she said.  “Tea is all natural and I put in real sugar and real lemon.  Soda has a load of chemicals in it and I heard that artificial sweetener kills lab rats.  It is bad for you.” 

“Do I look like a lab rat to you?” Naomi said, mock anger wrinkling her forehead. 

“Not hardly,” Fay said back.  “But drinking something homemade has got to be better for you.  Besides, you taught me how to make it.  Why won’t you drink it?” 

Naomi looked away.  “Mama used to drink it all summer long.  She and Aunt Tessie drank it by the gallon.  I should know how to make it; I made enough growing up to float a boat; I do not have to drink it to know that.” 

“Okay, I am just concerned about your health and your teeth, that is all.”  Fay could tell by the tight set of Naomi’s shoulders that the subject was closed.  She let it drop. 

Fay thought about running down to the bakery next to Safeway to buy a little cake they could have for dessert but then she thought Naomi would think that Fay had something up her sleeve and be suspicious.  Better to let her think that Fay had just gotten a cheap bunch of flowers to brighten up the drab apartment and not be on her guard.  She heard a door slam in the hall and went to open the door for Naomi.  She was embarrassed to see a policeman lead one of the teenagers from the end apartment in handcuffs.  As they passed Fay’s door the young man hung his head and did not look at her.  The policeman nodded at her and said, “Ma’am” before leading his prisoner toward the stairwell.

She pulled her head back into her apartment after the pair went by, feeling like a turtle retreating into its shell.  Oh, I hope Marcus is not in trouble too, she thought, rubbing her suddenly sweaty palms on her slacks.  Her next thought took her by surprise; it was the hope that Naomi would not forget to bring her supper. 

“Tsk, that is not like me,” she said to the empty room.  “It is not about supper.  I want to tell her about maybe finding her a job, that is why I hope she does not forget.” 

She nodded her head twice as if trying to convince someone.  Nervous now from the scene she witnessed in the hallway, she paced from the front door into the kitchen and back a few times until she caught her toe on the edge of the end table.  Then she hopped around the living room cursing and swearing. 

As she flopped onto the sofa to rub her toe and check if it was bleeding she heard a soft knock on the door and a cheerful, “Suppertime.”  She hobbled to open it. 

Today's toss was a fish shaped dip dish and six water glasses that used to be my mother-in-law's.  The glasses got fogged in the dishwasher so they are more items that I question why I kept them.

I got to Zoom visit with two high school friends, one in Minnesota and one in Indiana, this afternoon.  We had a lovely chat and agreed to meet that way on a monthly basis to stay in touch.  We were supposed to meet in person at the end of July but the pandemic ended that plan so we Zoomed instead.  Not the same but not bad either.

--Barbara