Really funny story @Miss_belle - so appreciate you sharing. Got a really good laugh out of it!
1 Like
A peony from our garden. Happy hump day everyone! Except for @LindaWhit, for whom it’s already Thursday. You’re all on the downside now, and can do it!
5 Likes
That peony is a delight. I’m very envious - but peonys and lupins die on me as soon as I look at them. Tried both several times and they just give up the ghost within a couple of years.
We’ve long had a house cleaner come in once a month. It only took me a couple of years to talk my wife into it. Some of you will recall that it took her twelve years to talk my into a cat. Make of that what you will. Then COVID-19 reared it’s ugly head and we’re back to cleaning the house ourselves. My wife has done some really deep cleaning, progressing through the house. Somehow her avocation involves me moving heavy things like refrigerators and couches and recabling all the computers and entertainment systems we have. sigh
Later this morning our house cleaner returns. She’s really quite wonderful. While she doesn’t clean behind the refrigerator she does a marvelous job and we love her.
Even Emma the cat likes her.
For us this is truly Good News in the Age of Corona.
8 Likes
That’s me and any plants, except chives and rosemary. I have peony’s and they are a gorgeous color but I get one or two beauties and the rest group up dead.
I’m usually OK with both these. However, the last few months, both of the rosemary plants look very sickly. Can’t think why. Can’t be water as they have been fine in their positions for some years. I’ve even tried feeding them without any improvement.
Totally get it @Auspicious - our housecleaner starts again for us on the 23rd, and I think H will be much happier. It took no time at all for me to convince H of the need. I’ve had various cleaners since the 80’s, and I’m just so grateful she can start working for us again. I absolutely adore her, and while she’s not perfect, she busts her butt, and gets an incredible amount done. Deep cleaning or detail work is simply not her forte, and I’ll or H will spend some extra time on the trouble spots. For us, it works, and is worth of every penny.
1 Like
@Harters and @winecountrygirl - I too have a black thumb! Thanks to H we have a beautiful yard and garden. I agree that peonies are a special gift from Mother Nature, complete with a beautiful fragrance. We’re down to one plant, and need to get more.
1 Like
More “Good News.” I finally got around to uploading the avatar I use across social media. I’m no longer just a big A. During the times of COVID-19 my standards for good news have dropped.
Really good news is that we’re running low on leftovers so I can make what I want for lunch instead of just keeping up with food that needs to be eaten.
5 Likes
Oh, for the joy of a ham & mustard sandwich, instead of trying to create another interesting lunch from cooked aubergines.
On the “good news” front, we have been OUT on a proper trip to visit the gardens at Tatton Park, which has reopened this week as part of the relaxation of restrictions. Tatton comes with some serious history. The Old Hall (which still exists on the site) dates to around 1500 and was built probbaly by the Stanley family who owned much of the county. A century later it was bought by the Egertons. The current mansion (still closed under lockdown) was built at the end of the 17th century. In 1958, the last Lord Egerton died and he willed the property and parkland as a donation to the National Trust which, unusually, does not operate it directly but contracts the management to the local council. The grounds have a large herd of deer which, apparently, have recently been calving but there was no sign of any young Bambis. The garden will have been at their best a couple of weeks or so ago, as many of the plants are azaleas and other spring flowering shrubs. But it was really nice to see the Japanese garden. We’d taken a picnic but it rained so we ate it in the car. The car, by the way, has done more miles this morning than the total since 18/3.
8 Likes
I’ve been known to eat a mustard sandwich. Just mustard and sourdough bread. Not a fan of aubergine, although confit byaldi does turn my head from time to time.
I can’t think of a garden within an hour that is conducive to distancing, and there are simply too many Americans who don’t behave properly. Perhaps in July or August when it is stifling hot and people stay home more we’ll plan an outing to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. We’ll see. I have been known to make a dandy picnic lunch.
Great news, quest has ended for 70’s style patchouli oil. Thanks to the fine people of Portland, Oregon, who managed to extract it well and true to that era!
Got some other essential oils and blends for candle making, including a bottle of lemongrass oil, supposedly great for repelling insects outdoors. Don’t think it will smell bad around food either, as some do.
2 Likes
Like wow, can you smoke that stuff?
2 Likes
They’re playing pro golf in Fort Worth today with 7 of the top ten in the world golfers with no spectators and the caddies sanitize the pins.
Food? A bowl of pasta with Rao’s marinara cut with pasta water and freshly grated parmesan while I watched.
Dang, dunno, could almost ingest it! Whatever, it’s so good I’m getting flashbacks 
I’ll send you some lol…
1 Like
Patchouli oil? Please tell me that’s not making a comeback. Some of my friends used it but I didn’t care for the scent at all. It was all the rage back in the 70’s though.
3 Likes
No, don’t think you need to worry about it @Miss_belle! But who knows given current situation! I always liked it, but not if too strong. Had some patchouli soap over the years I’ve loved, but it’s been discontinued. I’m trying to recapture memories from a happier time, thus the quest for real deal patchouli. Now, if only I could find that cheap strawberry incense I used to love, at 15 or so. Thought it was all that & a box of rocks!
Good news: The Andy Griffith show. Family values that have stood the test of time after all these years.
Bad news: Why did Aunt Bea always attract guys who weren’t worth a flip. You could see it coming a mile away. But Andy to the rescue as usual.
2 Likes
There wasn’t a lot to pick from in Mayberry.
Miss belle, did you really watch the show?
We all know it’s Ain’t Bea, not Aunt Bea.
4 Likes
I wish I could find the original Herbal Essences shampoo. I always loved that scent. That would really take me back to a happy hippy time!!
1 Like
