Not So Lazy Monday

I had big plans for sitting around, for lolling around today but that didn't happen.  See, last

week I was told that Durwood doesn't need to be in the skilled nursing facility, that he would be better in an assisted living situation.  (no one mentioned that when I was scrambling around to find him a place at the end of June)  Last night a friend mentioned a couple places that she was familiar with so I decided to make a couple unannounced visits this morning and I found the perfect place only two blocks further from home than he is right now.  And even better, about half the cost.  I put down a deposit to hold the studio with the best view of the garden, took pictures, and visited another place which was lovely but more expensive, farther from home, and didn't have a kitchenette.  Tomorrow the nurses from the assisted living are going to visit him to evaluate which of their levels of care he fits into and with any luck he'll be able to move by August 1.  Fingers crossed.  This is the garden his room overlooks.


 
The stargazer lilies are showing themselves off.  Even though they're pink which isn't anywhere close to my favorite color, I love them.  They're gorgeous and they smell almost better than Dad's roses.


 


Speaking of Dad's roses, this little rosebud is fixing to open.  Hopefully the Japanese beetles that turned the strawberry leaves into lace last week won't notice it.  Japanese beetles love eating roses.


 

I was quick enough and lucky enough to snap a cellphone photo of this little lady hummingbird on the feeder today.





 

In between roaring around checking out assisted living places and getting ready to go to Aqua Fitness at the neighborhood pool tonight I managed to add ten rows to the Bodhi Leaf Washcloth so I'm ready to start the decreases.  With any luck I'll get it finished tomorrow.


 

Oh, and the zinnias really like living in the green planters on the edge of the patio with the petunias.  Why do I keep forgetting how pretty zinnias are and how easy they are to grow from seed?


July 23--Josephine Trotter, Frank's Party.  All Frank wanted to do on his birthday was ride the carousel.  Since he was now an old man of five years old he wanted to ride on of the life-size horses on the outer ring.  Frank had been in love with the carousel since the first time he rode it with Pop holding him tight and standing alongside him.  Every year Pop let him choose a horse on the next ring out.  His third birthday was the first year that the horse went up and down.  That year he had begged to ride every ride, to spend all his tickets on the carousel.  Last year Mama had given up inviting his cousins and friends to go to the amusement park for his birthday.  They wanted to ride on all the rides but Frank only rode on the carousel.


In honor of Shark Week on The Discovery Channel I dug out the "creature cup" that DS gave me for either my birthday or Christmas a couple years ago and bumped noses with this critter as I sipped my coffee.  Makes me smile and these days I need smiles.

You know, forty-five minutes of jumping around in a pool kicking your legs and swinging your arms is tiring.  My eyelids keep slamming shut.  I hope I manage to write more than ten words before I conk out.
--Barbara