Mother's Day CUP

Polka dots and a big cup! G went shopping for Mother's Day and brought home two of these for me to fill with annuals or indoor foliage. They have drainage holes, so no coffee. Of course, they glued the saucer to the cup making drainage difficult. The last time we had one of these in the greenhouse (potting it up for an employee's mom), we had to chase down customers who kept taking it to the cash register, trying to buy it. So, I am waiting for a "slow day" at work. And I figured out how to crop the photo. Always learning new things.

I have been busy, tired, having a sore back etc. I can do a lot, but when the limit is reached, at my age, there isn't much of a reserve left. I hate having to take pain medication every morning. My work pants are getting looser but the scale shows no weight loss. So I'll just be happy with the loose pants (for whatever reason they are getting loose).

The days are just racing by, it seems. The past two months seem like two weeks. And when we reach the end of June the "new, fresh, bright beginnings" period will be past and we will be into the long, hot (then cold) decline which ends on December 31st. Not so long ago. BUT. This year I know what I'm doing at work and have repeat customers who sing my praises. Boy, that is definitely good for the soul!

My seedlings of tomatoes and squashes are doing just fine on the window sill. My fava beans are growing but the beets, kale and rabe just aren't coming along. The seeds didn't germinate. the lettuce, chard, celery and parsley are doing fine. I forgot to purchase a dill flat yesterday and they will probably not have any by tomorrow. I may just seed a flat here at home. Still too cool for plants to be outdoors. Everyone wants to garden this year. And they want to garden NOW!!!!

My perennial yard at work is most excellent. Alphabetical by Latin names. We can find anything, IF we know the Latin name. I am learning them. Not pronouncing them correctly most of the time, but I am learning their names. Linum for Flax. Because we make linen out of the Flax plant. Latin is such a pure language. I have spent the past two full days out in the perennial yard (I must take a photo for you), full sun, breeze off the ocean. Nice work.

Today, I get my hair cut. And, today, I have lunch with my husband. We both have today off. Riley is busy examining the yard.

The sun is shining. The sky is very blue. A Maine blue sky is one of those things I wish everyone could experience. It is SO VERY clear and intensely blue. And the grass, from the stoop, is emerald green. Close up it's not so lovely, but from the stoop or the street, well, it's a carpet of chemically enhanced green. My hollyhocks from last year have returned. We may actually get the plum tree into the ground today. We may dig and move the Germanic Irises which are now in the "wrong" spot. My peonies are huge. My lupine are all back and some are getting very large. Most of my "five dollar" roses made it through the winter. One died. I have rhubarb in the fridge for pie. Life is good, right now.

So today. A haircut. Perhaps a visit to Big Lots on the way home. The library to return books. The bank to deposit my pay checks. Lunch at 111 Maine and we will linger over coffee and chat with our favorite wait person and the chef.

I have to go. Next Tuesday I have Art Club. That should spark a good post. And I want to take pictures of the long traffic delays on Maine street where we are (finally) getting new sewer pipes, and the homeowners are seeing, actually, where the front of their property line is and having trees, lawns and driveways chewed up by the biggest machines and trucks. It is amazing. And because it's Crooker and not the Town, the employees are so very gracious, smiling, stopping traffic in a very organized way etc. etc.