I had intended to remove the screens tomorrow, clean the inside windows, wipe up all the spider webs, clean the screens and re-insert them. It sounds worse than it is. We don’t have screens on every window, and they are taken out from the inside. It’s a rite of Spring, part of spring cleaning that really needs to be done after a long winter.
I could get this job done despite the heavy rain coming through, but there have been a few changes to the game plan. Elegante Mother was not feeling well on Thursday, so she canceled her standing hair appointment. I made another appointment for her this Saturday morning at 8:30.
Then, I’m sad to say, a friend from the Empty Nesters group at Elegante Mother’s church has passed away. He was a fascinating man. HE had just recently been moved to a nursing home. His 88th birthday was about two weeks ago, so the Empty Nesters all gathered to celebrate with him. Walt had been in the Army Air Corps stationed in England during World War II. He became very fond of English tea, not just the drink, but the afternoon meal. The EN group arranged for small sandwiches, sausage rolls, fruit, punch, tea, and birthday cake. Walt couldn’t get enough to eat! I suspect the food at the nursing home was radically different from what he was used to eating.
The ladies of the Empty Nesters got together and designed a wall hanging which one of them created using embroidery machines. It commemorated Walt’s life, with squares about England, and Wisconsin. We all signed the back of the wall hanging.
So, it was with great sadness that I learned he had passed away early this week. There will be a service Saturday afternoon, followed by a reception. We’ve offered to provide Caesar salad, brownies and lemon bars for the reception, and I’ll serve while EM sits and talks with friends.
Shortly after the reception, we have to hurry and get a light dinner. One of my talented great-nephews is performing in “Les Miserables” and we have promised to be in the audience. EM is going to be exhausted! This is a lot more than she is used to doing.in one day.
So…..clean windows have been set back a day or two in favor of much more important activities. I can’t say I really mind.
Daily Archives: May 2, 2008
Gone, But Not Forgotten
We have several plants that are harbingers of spring. They bloom when all the others are still thinking about creating flowers, and are opening their leaves to the sun.
My father had a star magnolia outside the windows of his last office, what he called “the shop.” The magnolia was planted on a rather steep hillside in Stone County, Missouri. You can imagine how difficult it was to water that shrub adequately. First there was run-off because it hadn’t been set into the hillside properly,and second, the ground absorbed the water and it drained off immediately. I didn’t understand these things at the time, and I thought this little plant was destined to be just three feet tall.
More than twenty years later, I bought a star magnolia, a tip of the hat to my Dad’s choice of shrubs. It’s planted just outside the window to MY office. This “shrub” has grown to be 18-20 feet tall and the blooms were awesome this year! As you can see from the picture, the entire plant was densely covered with blooms.
The CPA’s assistant came to visit a couple of weeks ago when the magnolia was at its peak. I had the windows open, and a gentle breeze was coming in past the magnolia. The scent was amazing! Our heads swiveled in unison to sniff the air! *G*
Unfortunately, the blooms on our star magnolia last barely a week, less if the temperatures are extreme. So they have given way to the daffodils and tulips and other flowering shrubs.
We have one pod of very early tulips that I believe are the “Darwin” variety. Usually tulips die a quick death in the clay of my gardens, but these have lasted for easily fifteen years. For some reason, the chipmunks who live in that garden leave them alone. They seem to have the same protective scent or taste that daffodils have, and pests leave them alone.
I love the bright color. It’s a shock to the senses so early in spring!