Monday Musings...
Been an interesting weekend, and I don't mean that in a really "bad" way...
Saturday began with our weekly soiree to the Scott's (now Kroger-owned) grocery in Waynedale.
Nice place to shop early on a Saturday morning.
And it was there I got another "taste" of the spirit that I always used to believe was a part of the Midwest.
*** We were barely down the first aisle, when one of the checkout women stopped us and told us about Ron.
Ron Jewell was one of those souls that always provided you with hope for humanity, simply by the way he conducted his life.
Always there with a smile at checkout, and engaging in conversation...the type of folk you'd find in some general store, near the cracker barrel holding a push broom in another time...
The checkout woman told us that Ron had passed away the night before from a series of strokes.
And I had just seen him the other week. He was only 60 years old and had a family.
Now, this checkout woman doesn't really "know" us, other than seeing us both once a week, most every week, but it was touching to know that people still care, and are willing to show it.
Mrs. Bobby G. and I donated to his memorial at the service counter, and somehow, something was still missing.
I mean, it would have been nice to say goodbye in some manner, and when I said to Ron the other week, that "I'll see you next week...take it easy", I had no way of knowing that it would be the LAST time I'd see him.
Amazing how that works...people who are "only" folks you meet in passing, perhaps once a week...maybe less, and yet you DO form a bond with them...you expect them to be there the next time you stop by.
I guess it goes to show that we touch others in more ways than we realize...we connect on levels we're never even aware of.
And that's a pretty decent legacy...for ANY person.
We're gonna miss you, Ron, but rest assured that there are many who will not soon forget you.
Moving along...
*** We finally got to plant some flowers and ornamental grasses about the property surrounding our "Fortress of Reason".
That didn't take long, as Wifey and I had thought about locations well in advance.
And when we don't...we "wing it"...LOL.
We DID get some nice purple fountain grass alongside our front steps (shoddy as THEY have become over time), and when (more importantly...IF) it grows in the manner it's intended to grow, it will look pretty astounding.





And hopefully, they'll look something like the "after" picture seen here
Our "freebie" yucca appears as if it will bloom again this year...it's already taller than me.
Our catalpa trees have bloomed and are shedding the flowers (blink and you miss it), and our roses are doing VERY well, as are the several lavender plants.






We've got New Guinea Impatiens blooming, and some petunias and snapdragons still to plant, but I think they'll wait a spell for now.





Makes for a pretty fragrant time out on the old patio with the sweet woodruff, roses and lavender.
The Asian Lillie's are beginning to bloom also, and they look SO damn nice, that they should smell good...but they don't.


Not at all.

Somehow, in the flower world, I think they got short-changed.
We do what we can, when we can to make the place look as nice as possible.
Lord knows this area can use ALL the sprucing up it can get, what with all the numb nuts around us that do absolutely NOTHING to enhance the ghettohood (and BTW, acting stupid and being a general annoyance to normal people is nowhere close to an enhancement...in ANY way, shape, or form), except hang about in the middle of the street, tossing rocks up and down the block (guess the basketball's in the shop for repairs?) instead of doing something (or anything, for that matter) PRODUCTIVE.
Yeah, it's a HUGE stretch for ANY of these throwbacks, I know.
But, at least WE do what WE can...in our little OASIS.
And at least God's little critters seem to appreciate it.
That's thanks enough for me...
To think that when I lived in Philly, the closest we'd get to anything blooming, was what we could cram onto a patch of grass about 10 by 10 feet.
Everything else was concrete.
It's got to be the whole "as you get older, you DO appreciate things you hardly noticed when you were younger, and the things you did appreciate then....you cherish now" gig. That would explain the speeding up of time thing, too.
Less time to do what you should have done when you were busy doing stuff you didn't need to do.
Yeah, it's sort of confusing, but I think you get the drift.
*** Wifey's last "official day" of school was Friday, but she went in today to tie up all the loose ends (easy to do with no "yoots" around, being a distraction), and get things done in preparation for when school starts back up...
And when she has to return to school kinda bugs the hell outta me, and I'll tell 'ya why.
Mrs. Bobby G. has to head back ON MY BIRTHDAY (22 August)!
I mean... "WTF?"
How unfair is that?
I get to spend my birthday by myself ...well me and the two cats and whatever critters swing by for their "daily bread".
But, they (FWCS) could have held off for a couple more days...I only get ONE birthday a year (and these days, thankfully so).
Wifey's birthday is a week from this Saturday, and our anniversary is next Tuesday, so she gets the "double-dip" as it were.
It was exactly like that with my Mom.
My birthday came first, but Dad's was a week after mine, so I took whatever money I got and put it aside for Dad. And then DAD'S birthday was less than two weeks before Mom's birthday, so he put the money I gave HIM aside for Mom's birthday.
Mom got it ALL in the end.
She made out like a bandit...EVERY year...LOL!
Sometimes, you just have to smile at life's ironies.
*** Tomorrow is FLAG DAY, so you know how marvelously self-explanatory THAT is.
Which means you know what you have to do.
And although we're nearly halfway through the month, it IS "Adopt a Shelter Cat Month" (according to the HSUS - the Humane Society of the United States). That doesn't mean get to the nearest shelter and scarf up all the felines in sight.
You can adopt a cat simply by providing food to that shelter, or a donation.
But, if it's in your budget, and you want a furry companion to curl up in your lap while you're tyring to read, or purr in your ear when trying to sleep, then by all means, take the time to seek out a four-footed friend.
I'm holding out for "Chain up a bunch of rabid badgers along your property line to keep the unwanteds out" week to arrive...LOL.
So there you are...all (or even some) of the things you might need to get your week started.
Have yourselves a fantastic next 120 hours...and may all your troubles be worth sharing, so that they be halved.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.